Terrified of surgery

I hope you have a good rapport with you surgeon and can ask him to confirm why he thinks xyz needs to happen and why not just the hernia repair, find out his reasons if possible, it's so easy to not quite take in what doctors sometimes rattle off. I wish you luck

I had both, was terrified, but am very happy I had an excuse to get the fundo done. I was on PPIs for many years, nearly when they first came out. (I'm more than ten years older than you.) They worked for me, but I still had non-acid reflux, and like you was I trouble if I ate late.

I knew my LES was bad all those years, but it was tolerable until the hernia got large (car wreck). I was actually happy to finally be getting both procedures done. Eight years later I am still happy! I stopped the PPIs cold turkey a week after my surgery. My stomach does a better job of digesting food now that it is acid again. There was no acid rebound since my LES was repaired.

I don't know why your doc would say you still will have to take the PPIs. If he is that unsure of his skill, maybe you ought to get a second opinion. It really makes a huge difference if you get the best surgeon, even if you have to leave the state.

Don't be silly and insist on getting a half job. Talk to your doctor. He's the one with all those years or training. We're just patients and should be wary of falling for the latest fads or otherwise trying to out think the doctors.

MASS406:

I agree with Alcie and would get a second opinion, here's why - a lot of people have small hernias and never realize they have them. It is not absolutely necessary to repair hernias, unless it is causing you problems that can't be controlled, or it's medically necessary because it has caused your stomach to move into your chest. I understand why you wouldn't want to have NF done if you are able to control your symptoms. I had the full NF done, but suggest that it always be as a last resort. Get a second opinion, find out if it is medically necessary to have your hernia repaired and if you can have just repair and not the NF.

Thanks everyone for your input. I've been told my hiatal hernia measures 5 centimeters and that 15percent of my stomach is through it. I have canceled my surgery until I can talk to the surgeon again. I understand that most people who post here are the ones that had problems but I still feel that if I can avoid this surgery
and just continue with my meds than I'd rather do that. Still like to know if anyone has just had the hiatal hernia repair.

Like MASS406, I was also terrified to have the surgery. I am going to be 70 this year, and didn't want any more surgery than absolutely necessary. I talked to my surgeon to see if I could just have my hernia repaired. I had a paraesophageal hiatal hernia. One third of my stomach was in my chest. My surgeon said if I didn't have the hernia surgery, it wouldn't be too many years before half of my stomach would be in my chest. It caused a lot of symptoms, like chest pain and tightness, a rubbing sensation in my chest, shortness of breath, constantly clearing my throat because of excess mucous, etc. My primary physician wanted me to stop taking PPIs. I'd been on them for 15 years. My GERD wasn't being effectively controlled by 40mgs of Omeprazole and I was using Tums, and sometimes ranitidine in addition.
My surgeon said that if he just repaired the hernia, that I might still have GERD, and then I might have to have the Nissen surgery anyway. Also, a technician that assisted the doctor when i had my barium swallow told me she'd had the surgery 15 years ago, and it was the best thing she ever did. After talking to these people I felt a little better and I had the surgery on May 3, 2017.

That was about 19 days ago. A week after the surgery I was having difficulty even getting water down. It seemed to sit right at the bottom of my esophagus and take about 20 seconds to slowly trickle down. Sounded like water going down a drain. And I couldn't even get a tiny pill down! My doctor ordered another barium swallow and we could see that the LES was very tight. He considered stretching it at that time, but wanted to wait a few more days to see how things progressed. I'm glad to say that I am now able to eat soft foods. I just have to be sure to chew well, take small bites, and wait for the food to enter my stomach before I take another bite.

So, MASS406, my advice would be to listen to your surgeon.

OK, this following isn't necessarily related to my surgery:

Just wanted to comment about my experience with Ensure and some of the protein powders that I was using. All of these have sugar in them. In the case of my Ensure Enlive, corn syrup was the first ingredient after water. At any rate, about a week and a half from the date of my surgery I ended up with a very painful bladder infection. I believe since everything I consumed had sugar in it, that led to a buildup of bacteria. Bacteria feeds on sugar. My primary care provider agreed with me. So I stopped using my protein powders and stopped the Ensure. I'm eating smoothies, but instead of adding protein powder, I'm adding Knox unflavored gelatin. It has 6 grams of protein per tablespoon. And no sugar or fat. Incidentally, I lost 12 pounds in the first nine days (while on Ensure and protein powder), but have gained back 3 pounds even without having the protein powders and Ensure. My weight is stable now for the last three days. I'm getting enough calories from the soft foods.

Post Edited (Maggie A) : 5/22/2017 11:08:21 AM (GMT-6)