Posted 2/18/2014 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
I've had horrid heartburn since I was 14 and my family dr put me on H2 Blockers which didn't work so then I was given PPIs which also failed, I was convinced that there was no cure and I had to power through these attacks which left me lying in a ball daily crying my eyes out from the pain. When I was 17 I remember setting in class and getting the worst stomach pain/hunger pain I'd ever had it was so bad I was doubled over in my seat pushing on my stomach as hard as I could trying to stop the pain and muffle the sound until it turned lunch time, lunch time came and all was well until 30 minutes after which is when the symptoms came back so after about 3 days of this I figured I might have a stomach virus and I went to my family dr and that's when he said I might have a hiatal hernia. I was sent to a specialist where an Endoscopy was performed and then a Esophageal Manometry test was performed, test results came back and it was discovered that I had GERD and a Hiatal Hernia (come to find out this runs in my mothers side of the family big time) so my dr explained that surgery was recommended and that I had two options a Nissen Fundoplication or the TIF surgery. He told me the TIF surgery was a better option for me because the hernia hadn't got that big yet and it was minimally invasive but it would take longer to actually get the surgery because my medical card had to approve it and he and his staff hadn't actually performed one yet so they had to go to Washington DC to perform it on beagle hounds to get the training, It was months before anything happened and we finally told him we would go the traditional route and he kind of talked us out of it telling a us what we wanted to hear. I ended up having the TIF surgery and it was awful I remember waking up after surgery fighting to keep from throwing up and nobody was even around in the recovery hall I was in but finally after dozing in and out I seen someone in scrubs walking past and told them I was about to throw up, next thing I remember is them telling me to set up and take this medicine because I can't throw up and all I could do was beg for my mom to be back there and after I woke back up she was there which is a good thing because they left me setting up in my bed while I was still doped up. It's been almost 2 years later and I'm still having all my symptoms I had before my surgery plus I'm having new symptoms, lately I can't eat anything with out the last bite getting stuck in my throat and anything as simple as a cough or sneeze causing me to throw up. My grandmother said she has the same problem with her hernia and it is making me think that my hernia has come back, I went to my family dr and explained I wanted to see a different specialist (which was my only option seeing as the dr who done my surgery is no longer there). He gave me a number to call and it turns out she doesn't do those kind of surgeries anymore that she only knew of one place that did and that was a hospital about 2 hours away, I don't know where to begin even and I'm so in over my head. I'm wanting a Nissen Fundoplication surgery NOT the TIF which I'm hoping I am a candidate for especially since the TIF failed, but I have no Idea if this hospital even performs these since the TIF is supposed to be the newest and greatest thing out there now, my mom said tomorrow she will try and get ahold of someone at that hospital but she don't know how much calling and getting ahold of she can do or how much good it would even do. My family doctor said he would do everything he could to help us out so fingers crossed they actually perform this surgery and I'm a candidate for it!!!