Saw the GI specialist

And after I told him how this all started he kept saying "how bizarre", "how bizarre", lol!

So I'm scheduled next Tuesday for an Endoscopy with Bravo. The Bravo is the Oh probe they put in, but instead of two seperate procedures it is one, and they put the Ph probe and attach it to the lower esophagus and it stays there for a couple of days and passes naturally after that.

I have seen this GI specialist before, but it has been a long time since I saw him. He remembered me when he walked in the door.

He asked me some odd question and I didn't really get to talk much about my other nasty symptoms, the hypersalivating, and burping, but I did tell him and he made note of it, but didn't say anything to me about it. Just ordered the testing asap and wants to see me a week after the tests.

So next week I have the testing and it should show what damamge there is to my esophagus, how much heartburn I'm having, and to see if my hiatal hernia is larger(I know I have one already), and to see how the lower esophageal sphincter is functioning. I will get the answers I need to move forward.

He did say he thinks I need to have the Nissen Fundoplication if the testing shows what he suspects, that I have bad GERD! I told him I hated to even talk about that surgery and that to even consider something like that bothers me. He just smiled and said, he understands. But I think he has seen it all and done it all for years and know the Nissen is probably the way to go. I am not sold on it and can't fathom getting that done.

it is horrible. They basically take the top part of the stomach and wrap it around the lower esophagus and tighten in, than staple it to the other side of the stomach permanently. You never can throw up again and maybe not be able to burp either.

Yuck! Not sure I could handle something like this.

Ya know, the Prilosec worked for me so well, but I can't take it because of the horrible side effects. I plan on asking my allergist in 2 weeks when I see him if he'd consider doing desensitization therapy for me so I can take it again. I will do anything to avoid that surgery!

Also, you are lucky to just have to have the one procedure.  My (former) GI doctor would not go to bat for me with the insurance company about the Bravo, so I had to have the endoscopy and the ph probe.  Even my pulmonologist said that all he would have had to have done was call the insurance company.

Carla

Halls,

You are so lucky to not have to have the ph probe.  You're right, if you have a good surgeon, you will be o.k.

I had my surgery in 2005 and I think I only stayed one night in the hospital.  When I woke up, yes, I was in a lot of pain.  The pain was not from the incisions, but from all the work they did on the inside.  My doctor sent me home on some good, awful tasting liquid pain medication.  I'm allergic to Codeine, so I'm limited when it comes to pain meds.  You won't be able to swallow pain pills right after surgery.  Your esophagus is going to be very tight.  Even with the liquids, don't try to gulp them down.

I was still working then and I took a couple of weeks off.  My worst problem in my recovery, even after I went back to work, was a lot of diarrhea.  But, I have a couple of friends who have had the surgery and they did not have this complication.

You will start with milk shakes, jello and soft foods and work your way up to the real stuff.  When you get back to the regular food, just take your time.  The esophagus stays pretty tight for a while and when it gets stuck going down, for a few seconds it can be painful.  It moves on down quickly, just not quick enough for you.  This is the point where you can't throw up.  I can remember trying to get food to move on down and then trying to get it to come back up and it just wouldn't happen during the recovery process.  You will be able to throw up again.  I found that out about six months after my surgery when I got a stomach bug.

If you have any more questions, just ask or you can email me.

Carla

Really normal eating, about a month.  I remember my surgeon suggesting if I went out to eat to order something like lasagna, which I did.  I didn't start eating steak or anything like that for about a month.  As long as you have a surgeon that you trust, you should do fine.  I had a good surgeon.  The healing time from the actual surgery I would estimate no more than two weeks.

I can't take any PPI's anyhow. Wish I could and it probably keep me from having to have the surgery should I end up getting it.

B.W.,

I don't know if you're crazy or not, but I don't think you're a hypochondriac if that's what you are thinking.  My gosh, you had the viral thing going on and you have esophageal reflux plus a hiatal hernia.  I know the viral thing is temporary, but the reflux and the hiatal hernia are not and they are real.  What tests did your doctor do to determine the esophageal reflux and the hiatal hernia and what treatment plan does he have for you?  You probably have an understanding of what the reflux is doing to you.  I know from experience that the hiatal hernia can cause you a lot of pain.

So, you're probably not any crazier than the rest of us. 

Carla