Nissan surgery

HI!
I am new here. I wonder if any of you have had the Nissan surgery? I had surgery 7 months ago, and cannot seem to heal properly. I am still having burning pain and cramping now, after I eat something too sweet, too spicy, too heavy, etc. The GERD symptoms seem to be improved, but now I have Esophageal spasms! A new symptom!
At times I have to still pulverize and chew, and chew my food, especially bread and rice and fibery things! It is painful at times, and sometimes I simply cannot swallow, and the food just sits somewhere between my esophagus and my stomach I think. In April, it happened in public, and I ran to the bathroom tpo spit it all out! I cannot speak, swallow, or even drink and swallow fluids to make myself swallow! I hear a little bubbly sound from my esophagus then finally after a long minute, and it will go down then, painfully hard, and I eat some more and after a few bites, finally I can swallow almost normally.

I also have a lot of left upper quadrant pain that feels like burning, almost like a poker thru my upper rib, it feels like it's thru to my back sort of. I don't know what to do. My dr is completely oblivious to anything being wring, and I did an upper GI which shows normal function! I have lots of bloating too.

wildrice-
Welcome to Healingwell. It sounds like your wrap may be a little to tight. I had somewhat the same issues with my first nissen and they dilated it and that helped for a short time. But that is because mine was done wrong. sometimes they have to dilate them a time or two if they made it too tight. As for spasms, they meds to help with that. A couple are heart meds like nitro pills and another that starts with a d. I am currently in the hospital, but I will get the name tomorrow from my records and let you know what it is.
I too would like to hear what diagnostic tests you had done prior to surgery.

Take care,
Bill

The thing he put in to elevate your liver is probably delaying your healing some.
The grumbling is gas. The gas issues usually takes several months to pass.

Joy, would you say that you are back to normal again as though you never had the surgery. Are you able to burp easily and at any time that the feeling is to burp, and what month (time) did this happen. Please share some of the things I should expect for the next little while. I am, I think, into my eight month. I still find it hard to burp in the mornings untill I eat some breakfast. It almost seems as though I get fake burps...I do the motion of the burps but I don't feel any gas coming up. After that happens for a few times, I can feel the rumblings. I asked my surgeon yesterday and his reasoning is that the gas is there but the stomach is contracting. Did you experience any of this???? If I don't get the gas build up, I would be very happy or that rumbling where I am forced to eat.

I can eat almost anything and I don't have any swallowing issues. I don't get bloated anymore.

Any advice/help is greatly appreciated here. I noticed you are very quick in responding and trying to comfort others. Thanks

Cindy

Hi Cindy and Wild Rice,

I remember when I had the surgery in 2009, experienced members here told me that most of the healing occurs in the first six months, and it takes a year to heal completely.

I suspect that many of the issues you are dealing with resolve on their own. I do eat normally now. That said, it's unrealistic to expect the wrap to act the way our LES worked before we had the problems that led us to the surgery.

I am very happy I had the surgery. I also had atypical symptoms, and needed the surgery because I have asthma and the reflux was causing my asthma to become uncontrollable. I didn't know when I had the surgery if it would work, but thankfully, it did.

Try to be patient, Cindy. Chances are most of those annoying symptoms will work their way out over time. Wild Rice, you may need to have your wrap dilated to make it a bit looser.

Good luck and best wishes to both of you!
Denise

Hi Cindy,

If you are doing better, I'd stay away from endoscopies and dilation. You know your own body best, but if things are straightening out with time, you don't want anyone messing with your wrap.

My GI doc had the attitude that he didn't want to go near the wrap unless I was having real difficulties.

Just a thought...
Denise

sorry that last post was from Cindy

Hi Gladiola:  I have just passed my six month mark. I am feeling a lot better now.  I just want the rumblings and the burping to come back to normal and Denise and Joy mentioned to me several times that it will...I need to have patience.   I get frustrated sometime cause when I think I am taking a few steps forward, something happens, and I am going backwards.  I think this surgery bothers me more since I had silent reflux and wasn't feeling anything so for me it seems as though I have gone backwards.  I have to keep telling myself that I did the right thing cause who knows what might have happened over the years.  My surgeon also said that silent reflux is hard to treat. 

How are you feeling?  Are you able to burp at ease?  Most people on this site seems to be okay with burping.  The shoulder pain will subside significantly.  I only get it once in a while now.  I am able to eat anything but I do watch what I eat.  I take an enzyme with my main meals (i.e. lunch and dinner) so that I am not putting a lot of stress on my stomach. My surgeon had recommended it.  Try taking some aloe vera gel at night before you go to bed.  The taste is not the greatest but it does wonder for healing tissues.  You definitely have the right attitude.  I wish mine had given me this information.  He said 2 to 4 weeks I should be back to normal....well you can imagine my surprise.

Take care.  Glad to hear from you. 

Cindy

p.s.  There is a wonderful woman on this site that I connected with about two months now who has gone through this surgery but had a difficult time with recovery....she saved me.  I can e-mail her at anytime and I can even call her....what a blessing. 

Cindy,

When you have the grumbling and rumbling, does it end up with some diarrhea? That can be dumping, and is a problem that occurs with some post-Nissen patients. I have gotten it occasionally. Rarely, but every once in a great while--more in the first year--although even then it wasn't often. I don't think it has happened to me in months now. It is usually when I've eating something very irritating to my wrap.

There were times within the first year when my stomach would rumble and growl so much that people offered me food, thinking I was hungry. I'd be at meetings, and it was very embarrassing because I knew everyone at the meeting could hear me. That problem has gone away. It's a healing thing. It takes time for your upper GI tract to adjust to the changes that have been made.

Patience, my friend. Patience!
It will get better.
Denise

Hi Cindy,

My surgeon told me that I would not be able to burp or vomit after my surgery, but lo and behold, I was able to do both. (Keep in mind that even if you can vomit, you shouldn't, so if it should happen you need to have anti nausea drugs at hand to stop things immediately. If you feel like you're going vomit, take the anti nausea drugs right away, as vomiting can cause harm to your wrap. Mine is fine, thankfully.)

While I was still in the hospital I was already burping little burps. A surgeon in the practice with mine said that I might be able to burp (when I questioned him), and said that it would be beneficial.

I will say this about my burping. I have always felt as if the burping occurs on its own. My stomach burps itself. I can't "burp" by forcing it. It's either going to burp itself or it's not going to burp.

I have found that the bloating does get better over time. Mine has been very inconsistent. At times my stomach burped itself and all is well. It's those times that for some reason it doesn't happen that I've had bloating. And yes...if you don't burp it out, it'll come out the back door in a big way. Hey, it's just one of those things.

You'll find that as you continue healing your bloating/burping/farting issues will decrease. Every once in a while, for no apparent reason, I will get some bloating, but I don't consider it a real problem.

While I was having the loud grumbling issues, it was very embarassing. The problem is when you're in a quiet place and your stomach is so loud that everyone else can hear it. I can tell you that this problem doesn't bother me any more. Maybe I'll get it once in a blue moon, but I can't remember the last time it happened. It's more a healing symptom.

Why does it happen? I haven't a clue.

Our surgeons have never had this procedure. That's why this forum is such a great resource. You can come here to find out if you're the only one who has experienced this side effect of the surgery, or if it's a pretty common problem.

I wouldn't try too hard to burp things out. When your stomach burps you burp. Are you drinking with a straw, or talking while you're eating? Both can introduce more air into your stomach. If you eat something that tends to be gassy, try taking BEANO at the same time you eat and see if that helps. Gas-X can help, but if you're not in a burping mode it's not much help. I find that if I start having a little stomachache, I can take some Gas-X and it goes away. You might try the Gas-X at the beginning of your bloating, before things get out of hand.

Stay away from soda/pop. It's filled with artificial carbonation. Some can drink it without problems, others can't. You may find that as your healing progresses you will be able to drink it again. If you enjoy it flatter, let it sit out for a while and get rid of some of that carbonation.

Bill, a moderator here, says that he's heard that people with GERD tend to swallow in a way that introduces more air into their stomachs. Do you find you swallow a lot in between meals? Whenever you swallow without eating you introduce air into your stomach.

On the bright side, think of how well your wrap is holding that acid in your stomach! Before you had the surgery your LES didn't stop any gas OR acid from entering your esophagus. Creating a wrap is a balancing act...making it tight enough to do the job while but loose enough to avoid bloating.

If your discomfort persists no matter what you do, you can always get it dilated. However, if you can give it longer to heal, it may resolve on its own.

Glad you've joined us! There aren't that many people "out there" in our lives who've had the surgery and can understand what we're going through. It's great to have our family or wrapped friends here at Healing Well to talk to!

Take care, Cindy. Hang in there. Things will get better. (I can go to a meeting now without serenading everyone with stomach grumbles!)

Denise

Post Edited (dencha) : 8/12/2011 9:13:33 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Cindy,

Cindy said...
I pray to God I don't get any food poisoning.

Don't we all--either wrapped or unwrapped! I was told in my early days here that if I should know I have food poisoning, I should get to an ER to pump my stomach. I'm sure it would make its way out, but it would be lots quicker to get rid of it. Plus, it's probably hard for the anti nausea meds to work if you're bad enough. They do work great, though. I had a stomach bug and like clockwork every 4 hours I'd need another dose or I'd be back to vomiting.

Cindy said...
Although, if I get a few of those, I call them "fake burps", the stomach starts to grumble and I have to eat so I wonder if it's the stomach contracting or a burp. I am really curious to know if that's what you are talking about.

The burps I'm talking about are small real burps...I can't make myself burp. That said, I can have some really big burps...they're just not produced by any action I take. They just pop out whenever they want to. If I try the burping action that is typical among the unwrapped, nothing happens.

I'm wondering why you need to eat when your stomach gets loud? Is it just to quiet it down, or does it do something more for you? I never did that...just sucked it up and lived through the symphony!

Cindy said...
I have never really thought about if I swallow a lot during meals but I'll make a note of it. As I am typing this, I just swallow cause I am thinking about it.

I'm not just talking about during meals. We also swallow a lot throughout the day...probably from habit...it's our upper GI's way to send comforting saliva down to protect the esophagus, I guess. It's hard to be aware of it, but it just may be true. Anyway, that's what I've heard and read. Also, that we gulp more air when we swallow food.

Cindy said...
Is dilation permanent and isn't there a chance that I can make things worse.

I'm not sure if it's permanent in all cases. It can be. Others have to have it dilated more than once until it's big enough to solve the problem. And yes, there is a chance that a dilation can destroy the protective qualities of the wrap by making the opening too large and allowing some acid through. That said, others have been dilated and it has worked out just fine. As long as you can tolerate what's going on and see some progress, it might be in your best interest to just watch it a little longer.

Cindy said...
When did you have your surgery? and would you say you are 80-90% back to normal. I don't think we'll ever get back to normal again.

I had my surgery in February of 2009. I am definitely "back to normal"...you are right that the wrap doesn't fix us to the place we were before we ever experienced GERD. In that way, I guess it's not "normal", but as far as being comfortable and being able to eat pretty much anything, I'd say that I'm very normal.

I would never want to be back to the "normal" of the time when I finally decided that surgery was my only option. I embrace the changes that have made a more healthy life possible. Are there a few little quirks I live with? Of course. But they don't really bother me. When I experience one, I just accept it as the price I had to pay to get my healthier lungs back! Really, I enjoy doing all the things I did before the surgery, including going out to eat.

Things will get better, Cindy. Just hang in there.
Have a great weekend!
Denise

Post Edited (dencha) : 8/12/2011 12:41:18 PM (GMT-6)

Hi Cindy,

If eating a little when your stomach starts grumbling and getting bloated helps you, I can't see a single reason why you shouldn't do it. You're just lucky you found a solution! I think you're very smart to stick to this routine until you progress further in your healing. You're still in the early stages. Remember, you'll continue to heal throughout the first year, and I personally feel I continued to improve throughout the second year as well.

Hope you're having a good day!
I hope others read your post and try your routine. It makes lots of sense, and the "proof is in the pudding!" It works!

Take care,
Denise

Hi Cindy

Maybe nibbling all day is the answer. If it works then certainly continue with it.

Since I started back at work I find that I am always hungry??? (well I think that's what the feeling is) & like you I have found that eating helps my grumbling tummy, just small amounts often. I was thinking that maybe now at 6 1/2 weeks post op the swelling has gone & there is more room in my stomach to be filled. I am very aware of portion size because I don't want to overeat & then feel bloated & nauseous. Once my surgeon gives the ok to start on a more 'normal' diet instead of soft mushy foods then maybe I will notice an improvement but for now I also find myself nibbling all day.

Hang in there. I'm sure the problem will resolve itself soon or you will gets the answers you need from your surgeon when you see him & you will be able to move on.

Take care

Lynda