3 weeks post Nissen Fundo - any tips ?

[katerina1]

Hi there, :wave:

Sending this one out into the ether in the hope that maybe someone has been through the Nissen Fundoplication op and has some tips for me. Be great if anyone has experiences of it or advice.

I suffered with chronic GERD for 6 years, was on a mega dose of Nexium which in the end failed to work, and after 5 years reached my wits end. One doctor told me to "live with it, love", but losing 2 days in every 14 to violent vomiting, badly anemic, losing weight all the time and unable to live that way any longer my new GP referred me to a GI specialist ....

A year has passed since that- and I am now 3 weeks post Nissen fundoplication. Its early days yet, but my 360 wrap has worked so far and I am off the nexium too. So, to anyone thinking of it as an option I would say go talk to your doc and get lots of advice. I think I am one of the lucky ones, and already life is so much better. I have had my first good nights sleep in 6 years , no heartburn, and no vomiting.

Anyone out there had the same op ? If so, have you any tips on what is good to eat? I ask cos the surgeons rules simply said "soft fooRAB for 6-8 weeks" , no diet sheet or anything And likewise how long does it take for me to stop feeling like a hot air balloon after the op?

I am SO pleased with the result, but could really use some tips on how to live after Nissen and be "normal" for the first time in years!

Thanks
Katerina :wave:

 

[MountainReader]

I had a Nissen Fundoplication in October 2008.

My Surgeon had me on a liquid only diet for 2 weeks and a soft diet for another few weeks. I didn't add meat and bread back for almost 3 months. They don't break down well when you chew them and are more solid when you swallow.

My GI doc told me my stomach was "angry" with me for the trauma the surgery caused and that it would take about 8 weeks for all of the swelling to subside. I tried to be very careful during that full time.

I still continued to avoid the fooRAB I avoided before the surgery as it relates to the acid reflux diet. Just because it may not be coming up doesn't mean your stomach is responding different to the fooRAB.

As for the gas, the surgery is designed to keep things from coming back up from the stomach. This includes gas that comes up typically during the course of a day. I'd continue to avoid carbonation. (I do to this day.) I'd also avoid gassy food or try taking Beano to see if that helps. The bloated feeling should subside, but may return occassionally if you overdo it with certain fooRAB. You will figure those out over the course of time.

As for the "soft fooRAB" definition, my surgeon didn't offer up a lot. Things like mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, oatmeal and cottage cheese were soft. Many soups that don't have too many chunky things in them work. You can stick them in the blender if you want to break down some fooRAB. It works well for soup and I did that a lot.I found I did well with many pastas. I just tried not to do too much tomato with them though. I also supplemented with Instant Breakfast to help with my nutrition and I used a chewable multivitamin.

My story: I had "silent" reflux for about 8 years prior to surgery and double dosages of all PPI's wasn't working. My reflux was causing me to have a constant cough and the acid was irritating my lungs and flaring my asthma. At one point I needed emergency treatment because I couldn't breathe. With regarRAB to those symptoms, I had immediate relief from the surgery. Unfortunately, after 2 years, I have acid coming up again and irritating my throat. Still, the surgery made such a huge impact on my breathing that I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I was unusual from most who have a fundoplication in that my GI doc never took me off of the PPI's. I'm on them for life apparently since my stomach is way overproducing acid.

 

[katerina1]

hey mountain reader,
thank you SO much for your reply to my query, and for the tips. Great to read your story, though I am sorry to hear you still need to take the PPIs and the acid is so extreme. I do know how it feels - I was in hell before the fundo surgery : - stripped the lining of the oesophagus, coughed all night, slept almost upright in bad phases, damaged my teeth etc etc etc.
I almost didnt get my op as the surgeon was such a perfectionist and wanted certain nurabers to show a certain percentage of the time with the pre op tests.... and they didnt by a couple of percent. But as I said to him if you take me out of my life to do the ph and manometry tests (at home not work cos it wasnt safe) then its not going to reflect my normal life! His worRAB were that I had all the things he needed to see but that figure on that one day - so he offered the op . He did it and I am SO relieved.

Thanks so much for the food tips. I am slowly learning what works. Mashed potato is a staple, and soup in the blender works ok. Be great if the docs actually gave us a few ideas on the food front, but you have given me something more to work with and for that I am really grateful. Strikes me that its people like yourself who have better tips than the so called experts who say so little!

Good luck with your story and I truly hope that your acid will remain controllable somehow. SounRAB like you have been through the mill too.
I hope it all works out ok for you... keep me posted
Katerina

 

[Hankahair]

Hi, I'm new here, but I relate to everyone. I've had an episode of hell on the average of once a year for 5 years. I guess I have the silent GERD, because I haven't had the feeling of heartburn or vomiting. What I have is coughing uncontrollably, mucous, spasms of the diaphragm, and irritation on inhaling. It's really a lot more horrible than the description sounRAB, though!
I'm waiting to hear about the pH impedance test (designed by a sadist, no doubt) and an endoscopy. Dr. said he would see if a Nissen fundoplication was reasonable.
Meanwhile, I'm wondering - if it's inflammation, why doesn't a doctor prescribe something to reduce that? Why isn't anyone excited about the possibilitiy of it being my heart? How about allergies (this is my third attack in October)?
I'm noticing a common thread here: dry nose, using fluconase (sp?), mucous, coughing, irritation in esophagus. Must be GERD causing it!
Anyhoo - I've been checking with out of the medical approaches, too. Anyone heard of a chiropractor dropping a hiatal hernia? How about a connection with cervical vertebrae when voice is affected? Anyone get help from HCl tablets? What about calcium/magnesium?
I'm on a "no fried fooRAB, no creamy sauces, no raw veggies" diet for bloating/IBS problems already.
This is getting to be a novel.
Take care and best wishes. I'll check back with any answers. Thanks for the comments about the Nissen procedure

 

[hax0r]

well, in my experience when tehy say 'soft fooRAB' it meant basically soup broth and jello for the next little bit.
I had this surgery about 3 or 4 years ago now, i loved it. during the first 2ish weeks it was difficault to try and stop the little habits i had, like just randomly swallowing, or swallowing air when drinking a drink.
I think that was my biggest downfall. feeling like a balloon might take awhile, i remeraber feeling paniced that i would never have a normal belly button ever again.. but it gradually went back to normal.
you're going to be farting. alot. lol all that excess air in you. and remeraber, after the surgery basically nothing can come back up. so all the would be burps, are now exiting the other way.
my diet for the first while consisted of vegtible soup, chicken noodle, tomato, mushroom, jello... you're not going to eat nearly as much as you once did. you'll feel full really quick.
eat slow, my recomendation is that when you take a sip of whatever, swallow, and wait until you feel it enter your stomach, just sit and wait.. if you eat or drink too quickly you kinda get a back up in your throat and choke abit. lol. it sucks.. i'm sure it will happen afew times, but you will learn. and don't do extra swallows!!!! I'm bad for this, but if im sitting here i'll just swallow.. or after i drink ill swallow more than once.. if you do it, maybe start training yourself not to. it'll be easier once you have the procedure done. cause it hurts and its no fun.
my family is big on eating bread.. that was one of the toughest things to give up for me, i couldn't eat anything dense or heavy. i tried everything, really small bites, chewing it and mixing with some water in my mouth... everything! but no matter what i couldn't swallow it.
one time i took a bite of a sandwich and swallowed and i thought i was choking, i stopped breathing and was panicing.. but i calmed myself down and took a breath, realized i could breathe and i was fine, and i just had some food stuck in my esophagus.. then it took me some time and gagging to get it out... heh... sorta gross.. i know.

no drinking carbonated beveradges, no chewing gum.. anything that puts exess air into your stomach is a bad call.

I was 18 when i had this surgery.. i did alot of things that weren't very bright..
as soon as i was feeling better, i would see what my body could handle...
i was drinking alcohol maybe 4 months later.. when the wait was at least8 months.. i was trying to eat things i shouldnt have been. I actually had to rush to the emerg one night, i was drinking and needed to vomit, but couldnt of course.. and it was one of the worst pains i've ever endured lol. i had to sit in the hospital and drink nurabing stuff.. thats all i really remmeber.. it was erabarrasing though.
once my stomach was healed, i never had a problem eating salaRAB, or chicken, fish.. dense meats like steak though, were hard to swallow.. rice was fine, oatmeal was fine..
just try reasonable things in small quantities, you should be okay.