Day eleven after Nissen

Bill is right.  Dumping does not have anything to do with the two week issue.  You've had major surgery, and your upper GI tract has been revised dramatically.  Your stomach has been stretched, wrapped, and stitched.  Dumping is an issue that most people deal with while healing from a Nissen.  Generally it's intermittent, and goes in streaks.  You may have several episodes, then it calms down for a while, only to flare up again later.

As Bill said, it's generally related to something you've eaten.  Mine often came (once I'd reached a time when I was eating pretty much anything) when I ate something like salad, which was irritating to my wrap.

I had dumping episodes every so often into my second year post op.  Since reaching year 2  (it'll be 3 years in February) I no longer experience them.

This recovery requires patience and perseverance.  For me it was much better than the many gastritis/burned esophagus recoveries I'd dealt with before I had the surgery.  Still, it takes time, and you'll be dealing with the healing long, long past two weeks.  The two week mark is just when the wrap is at full swelling.  Most often after that, swelling goes down and you'll find eating will become easier.

Hang in there, my friend.

It will get better.

Denise

dencha said...
Hi Solivar,Bill is right. Dumping does not have anything to do with the two week issue. You've had major surgery, and your upper GI tract has been revised dramatically. Your stomach has been stretched, wrapped, and stitched. Dumping is an issue that most people deal with while healing from a Nissen. Generally it's intermittent, and goes in streaks. You may have several episodes, then it calms down for a while, only to flare up again later.

As Bill said, it's generally related to something you've eaten. Mine often came (once I'd reached a time when I was eating pretty much anything) when I ate something like salad, which was irritating to my wrap.

I had dumping episodes every so often into my second year post op. Since reaching year 2 (it'll be 3 years in February) I no longer experience them.

This recovery requires patience and perseverance. For me it was much better than the many gastritis/burned esophagus recoveries I'd dealt with before I had the surgery. Still, it takes time, and you'll be dealing with the healing long, long past two weeks. The two week mark is just when the wrap is at full swelling. Most often after that, swelling goes down and you'll find eating will become easier.

Hang in there, my friend.
It will get better.
Denise

dencha said...
Hi Solivar,Your doctor is right. You do not need to check anything. Not until you've given yourself a chance to heal. Keep in mind that the majority of your healing takes 6 months, with the rest taking a year.

I started eating anything I wanted to eat normally by the the end of four months. That said, my eating moved in that direction very gradually. Many surgeons expect their patients to remain on a liquid diet until the sixth week. I feel that I was very fortunate that my surgeon trusted me to make good choices. I was told that I could eat anything that could be CHEWED TO A LIQUID. I was told to take very small bites and chew whatever I ate to a complete liquid. If whatever I was eating didn't chew to a liquid, I deposited it into a paper napkin and didn't swallow it.

In the beginning your stomach fills up extremely quickly. That's because the swelling caused by the surgery is interpreted as fullness. Over the next weeks the swelling will decrease and you'll be able to eat more.

It sounds like you're trying to eat things that aren't appropriate for this time in your recovery. Be sure you don't eat anything that can't be chewed to a liquid. Take small amounts. You can eat more often, but tiny meals.

We all loose weight during this recovery. Once you're completely healed you will gain the weight back.

The dumping I experienced past the year mark was very rare. It really didn't bother me. I expected I'd probably always have it from time to time, but somewhere around the two year mark it disappeared and I didn't have it again.

Slow down. Don't worry. You're at the very, very, very beginning stages of healing. It takes a LONG TIME for the healing to occur.

Relax!
Denise

You shouldn't eat ANY bread, big OR small at this stage in your recovery.  Bread just chews into a ball, and then gets stuck.  My surgeon said to stay away from steak and bread or sandwiches for about 8 weeks.

At this point you should be very careful what you eat.  During the first two weeks, it was just plain difficult to swallow.  As far as an irritated esophagus goes, just remember that it takes a very long time for that very delicate tissue to heal.  Also, I think I may have told you before, but plain surgical pain in esophagus can be interpreted by your brain as reflux.  Your esophagus can't differentiate between different types of pain.

It's going to take a LONG time for you to heal.  While the outside of you will heal very quickly, the work that was done inside will take a lot longer.  Your stomach was stretched and wrapped around your esophagus and stitched there.  This was major surgery.  You will not be able to eat normally  for quite a long time.  You will gradually notice improvement.

Bloating is a normal issue in recovery from this surgery.  It should improve over time as well.  Your LES valve was allowing everything to escape from your stomach, including gas.  Now it is closed off tight to things escaping into your esophagus, and this causes the bloating.  As your swelling goes down and your healing continues, this should improve.  Be sure not to drink from a straw, drink carbonated beverages, or eat things that are gassy.

Remember...healing will take from six months to a year.  Your eating will continue to improve over the next few weeks.  Just don't eat any bread now.  Well toasted, it's okay for you, because it chews to a liquid then.

Hang in there...things will improve!

Denise

I know how frustrating it must be to have been led to this surgery without being prepared for the recovery.  I knew what to expect before my surgery--in fact, I prepared myself for a much more difficult recovery than it actually was. 

Please don't worry.  Things will heal and you'll gradually be able to eat more and more normally.

Here is a link for a suggested diet:

http://slhhn.org/docs/pdf/keystonesurgical-fundoplication%20diet.pdf

For some reason it doesn't work as a clickable link.  If you copy and paste it into your browser it will work.  It'll bring you to a document that tells you what to eat and what to avoid.

It's very normal to have a very low appetite at your stage in recovery.  Things will improve gradually.  Just take it easy with your eating choices for a while.  I hope the link/document helps you.

Hang in there!  It'll get better...just be patient.

Denise