Posted 2/5/2019 7:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone!
I'm already into week 6 Post Op Nissen Fundoplication and thought I'd share a few things about my experience! Please note: Since the day of surgery I have had no acid reflux, I'm taking no medication, I have no pain in my abdomen from surgery, everything is going well!
1) Charcoal Pills-
I found that after taking charcoal pills it helped with some gas I was experiencing. Doesn't completely take it away but definitely helps! I'll keep you posted on if this makes a huge difference.
2) Abdominal Binder-
I got one off amazon for about $20. This really helped me during the recovery of the first 4 weeks while my abdominal muscle was healing. Highly recommend!
3) Alcohol- let me preface all 3 of these did NOT give me any acid reflux after consumption.
Beer/champagne- I've had beer on several occasions. I was worried about the carbonation and I can definitely say for me, I'm 1-2 beer max (full pints). You do get the full feeling. I noticed also if I had a carbonated drink and had dairy in the same 5 hour time span, this would cause really uncomfortable gas pain. I'm trying to test out if charcoal pills will assist with this experience. I'll keep you posted. But, I have not felt any burning sensation from beer.
Hard Alcohol- I have not taken any direct shots, however, I have had a vodka lemonade & Bloody Mary's. Hard alcohol definitely hits me differently then it had before. I used to have about 3 drinks before getting a buzz and now two drinks make me feel like I did an afternoon of drinking. Made me very sleepy but not drunk however I'll say that after two drinks I felt uncomfortable driving. I did wait 4 weeks prior to trying alcohol.
Wine- I started off testing out white wine/rose. This was swell! I didn't feel bloated like beer would make me feel. I had some red wine as well and almost expected to get indigestion or acid reflux but felt totally okay and no after symptoms appeared!
4) Caffeine - Coffee, tea are both going well. I as well waited until week 4 to try these. I'm definitely drinking way less coffee then I was before. I have not tried stronger caffeinated items such as energy drinks or espressos. I try to limit 1-2 cups daily of caffeine and have been sticking to non-caffeinated tea.
5) Exercise - Being that my abdominals no longer are sore, I did try a little light work out, nothing too extreme. No weights, just body weight. Was definitely sore the next day. Going to take it easy for another 2 weeks or so to give myself a full 8 weeks of recovery. I'll keep you posted.
6) Eating - After week 4, eating became a much easier task than it once was. I noticed if I do swallow too big of a bite, I get pain in the left side of my neck. Not sure why this is but could be a nerve reaction. I tried chicken breast last night, and that was just fine. I'll eventually move onto steak and pork but giving myself a little longer. I did have short rib and cut it into very small pieces and chewed well and that experience was slightly difficult but that was around week 4.
7) Dairy - I never really had an issue with dairy prior but something about after surgery definitely changed things. I had vegetarian enchiladas and the cheese did not agree with me. Not saying this is for everyone but it has been the one thing that makes me feel like I have a stabbing pain in the gut and had to be near a bathroom. Also, for some reason, the reaction is worse if let us say I had a beer and mac n cheese within the same few hours. I think the carbonation mixed with the dairy does not agree with the gut.
8) Hot Sauce / Spicy food - No acid reflux after consuming jalapenos or hot sauce.
9) Sleeping - Many people with acid reflux know to sleep more upright. I've been able to sleep with just 1 pillow perfectly fine.
10) Weight loss- I lost 20 lbs from the procedure and I've finally stablized. I definatly feel hungrier during the day then in the evening. Dinner is prolly my smallest meal. I'm eatting 3 meals a day / 1-2 snacks.
I hope my experience can give people hope with the procedure. I'm so happy I went through with it. If you have any more questions about my experience please let me know! I wanted to share these because these were often topics I had questions about.