Recovering Nissen Fundoplication Part 1 of 2

Hey Friends
I am today 14 weeks post Nissen. I am feeling well and the only thing I have to gripe about is what everyone that has this surgery goes through. I am slowly getting a grip on my impatience... I have found a snack that I can eat without issues. As long as I do not over do I can eat Goldfish crackers. The Cheddar and Sour Cream & Onion are the best. I can eat what they call 1 serving size (55 pieces) over the span of about an hour with no issues. This is great. I was a chips nut and now I am learning to do without them. This is a great snack at work. I can put a serving in a snack baggie and there ya go..I am to the point that veggies are taking the place of a lot of the junk food I used to eat. I am glad I live in FL, that way most of the year I have veggies. Now if I can keep this diet working for me.. I will be good to go in every area!!
I am hoping to introduce another fresh fruit this weekend.. will let you all know..
Have a wonderful weekend..
Sandi

Hello Friends
The weekend went well except that I fixed Beef Tips and Noodles for dinner on Saturday and I was good to go with the Noodles and fresh mushrooms in gravy, but the beef tips did me in again. I tried 2 small bites of the beef.. cooked so tender you could pierce it with a fork and it fell apart. Chewed until it was paste and my stomach yelled... OH NO YOU DON'T.. NO BEEF FOR ME OR I'LL MAKE YOU NAUSEOUS!!!! So I will wait on beef if it isn't ground first...
I don't understand this, I can eat boneless pork chops cooked tender and they do not bother me.. but not beef... hmmmmm. But there isn't any meat that I can eat any sizable amount of. 5 or 6 bites is all I can do to any of it. Fish is the only thing I can eat that doesn't bother me at all. OK then, fish and seafood it is...
This will not get me down..

now if you wanna talk getting me down...
I accidentally dropped my laptop today and it is broken... my son gave it to me and I broke it.. I am sick over it.. it wasn't new, but it was new to me and I recuperated with it as my closest friend.. I am going to send it back to him to see if he can fix it, but there isn't much hope for it.. it has something to do with the power plug in thingy... well anyway.. I am back on my desk top ( this is also thanks to my son.. he built me my first one 12-14 years ago and has kept me updated ever since. He is a special kid to do all this for me. He made sure I had the laptop before I had surgery so I could stay in my recliner and keep in touch.)
I hope you all have a wonderful evening
Sandi

Thanks Joy,
I either wasn't in class that day (haha) or I just missed the beef reference. All my Doc told me was no steak until at least 4-6 months... didn't realize that encompassed most all of the beef family.. well I will keep that filed and just fix beef (except ground, that doesn't bother me) for my hubby for now.. they say you learn something new everyday and since this surgery I have found that they are right...
Yes you are right Joy, he does have a knack for fixing things.. he is as good with cars as he is with computers.. I am blessed, both of my sons are mechanically inclined and my daughter is talented at decorating and business marketing.. I am a proud Mom..
Have a great night and thanks for clueing me in...
Sandi

Try some very toasted bread. At 15 weeks you should be almost on full diet. Just nibble it.

Hi Sandi,

Grilled cheese with tomato soup sounds great! I don't know if you tried it yet, but I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to handle that. The toasting of the bread is the key. Also, as you've learned so well...small bites and chew, chew, chew!

Happy Eating!
Denise

Hi elsiem,

Welcome to Healing Well! You're not the first friend who has joined us from New Zealand! Happy to see you!

I'm glad to hear that things are going smoothly. Be sure to stick around and let us know how things go. We'll gladly be your cheering squad!
You're now a member of our
Healing Well Wrapped Club!

Take care,
Denise

Hi Lynda,

I understand your frustration with eating at such an early stage of healing. Your wrap's peak swelling occurred at Day 14 (it's common for swallowing to get progressively more difficult during the first two weeks of healing) At Day 18 or so, the wrap's swelling is just beginning to go down, but it's understandable that you're having difficulty eating. It's still very early in your healing process.

As you know from reading posts here, this will gradually improve over the next weeks. Do you have a slow cooker? (The most popular brand in the US is called a Crock Pot.) If so, you could put some carrots, onion (very little), potato, and some beef (or lamb...NZ specialty) in (follow a slow cooker recipe for stew or pot roast). Let them all cook for HOURS and hours. When everything is very soft, you should be able to chew the meat to a liquid and eat it quite easily.

At least you'll be able enjoy the veggies, infused with the flavor of whatever meat you choose. I made this at the recommendation someone who'd had the surgery 2 years earlier. She was concerned that I get my nutrition, and expected me to eat only the vegetables. To my surprise, the meat was so well done and soft that I was able to eat everything.

You can use the slow cooker to cook chicken, too. As long as you remember to take small bites (and I mean small) and CHEW CHEW CHEW CHEW everything until it's a liquid, you should do well.

Of course you need to listen to your body/wrap, and there may be times when you need to back off and take things a little slower. That shouldn't be very often, though, if you make careful choices, take tiny bites, and don't eat too much at a sitting.

No bread or steak...they can get stuck, and can't be chewed to a liquid. Bread that is toasted is another story. It seems that crackers (called biscuits in NZ?) work well...crispy things chew to a liquid pretty easily.

Hang in there...you'll lose weight in the beginning, but will gain it back later. It's a gradual process, and if you can just surrender to the recovery and follow it where it takes you, things will go much more smoothly. It's the people who stress and fret, and struggle against what's happening that really have a tough time.

Happy Healing!
Denise

Lynda,
Welcome fellow wrapper.
I don't know if they have vienna sausages in NZ, but they were my favorite meat to eat the first weeks. They are like little, mushy chicken hot dogs. Something a baby can eat.

I just noticed the reply regarding cooking some meat and vegetables in a crock pot. I am 20 days post fundoplication. Can the meat and vegetables be cooked in tomatoes sauce and be made a stew?

Hello Friends..
I have been extremely pleased the last several days, everything has been well with me and the stomach. I have been eating most everything. I even ate tomato soup and 1/2 of a grilled cheese. It was sooo good but even though I took small bites I felt a tad of discomfort at the wrap site. Maybe I am just destined to not eat bread.. which really wouldn't be that bad for me. I always was a bread eater and it showed on my behind. I won't have so much of a behind if I don't eat it... ;-)
I do not even have trouble eating pizza.. can only eat 1 piece b4 I am full but... and I am able to eat semi-spicy food with out a problem..(tacos, tortilla's, burritos, enchilada's etc.. do not bother me any more..YEA!!!!!!
Have a great evening
Sandi

Hi Sandi,

Good luck with your doctor appointment. I hope he/she gets things figured out so you can feel better!

Don't worry about the bread...it will come. You will continue to heal throughout the first year...especially during the first six months. I remember thinking I'd never eat another bagel, and guess what? I'm eating them.

Keep in mind that once you're healed and eating normally, you may irritate your wrap from time to time...generally whatever irritated it was well worth the trouble, so you'll go back and eat it again and again! It's a makeshift LES, so be patient with it! It's still far better than the alternative. I find that when I chug water it can get backed up a bit, and I can feel it as it makes its way through the wrap. I think my swallowing reflex is a bit quirky in the area of the wrap.

Whatever...I'd do it again in a minute!
Have a great day tomorrow and again, good luck with the doctor.
Denise

Just a question for everyone...

I have a wrap done 9 years ago and most recently I had revision 3 weeks ago. For a week now I have had difficulty eat. I am trying to stick with soft foods but last saturday night I had food stuck for 18+ hours. These symptoms continued on into monday. I finally went to emerg to have whatever it was stuck removed and the local hospital wouldn't touch me because I am a high risk case. I saw my surgeon on tuesday and he ordered a gastrograftin swallow. After many back and forth phone calls I was giving an appointment on Wednesday. I am allergic to barium and IVP dye so the test wasn't done. The radiologists wanted the surgeon to complete a scope. My surgeon left tonight for 3 weeks of vacation and he isn't going to scope me until he comes back. In the mean time I am to be on a fluid diet. And I have never been so sick in my life. I am constantly nauseated and I have been using gravol or zofran. If I am getting 1000 calories a day I would be lucky. Tonight is the night I have felt the worse. I have a lot of stomach pain, which I am assuming is from NO solid food, or anything other than soup or ice cream. But I am also having a lot of heart burn, which I contribute to lack of food to absorbe the HCl in my stomach. My doctor isn't sure if it is post swelling or if there is a partial blockage.

Has anyone else had any similar problems. I am beyond frustrated and hungry. I am losing weight at a dangerous rate.

Help!

Joy

If you read this post, I just wanted to tell you that my son has fixed my laptop. Actually he bought one just like the one I sent back to him that needed some parts. He took my parts and put in the one he bought and VOILA! I have a laptop once more. Well as soon as he sends it back that is..
I hope you have had a good weekend and things are going well for you..

Bill, I hope that you are feeling better, only one more night and maybe things will be on the right road for you too!

Denise.. I know you are looking forward to relaxing... hope the weather cooperates for you...

Nursemal.. I do hope that you are able to get this situation under control.. did your surgeon leave someone on call for him while he was gone.. if your issues are a concern to you, call them..

Have a good nite everyone..
Sandi

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Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 8/1/2011 8:54:50 PM (GMT-6)