7 weeks after Nissen Fundoplication - Acid Reflux / GERD Message Board

andilyn · 03-14-2007, 11:44 AM

And I am doing awesome! I have not had heartburn or acid reflux since! I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want. It took me about 4 weeks before I could eat completely normal, but it was so worth the wait. I am grateful that I did have this surgery since I needed it so badly. So I was just giving some hope to those who may be facing this surgery. The recovery isn't fun, but the results for me were worth it all!!!

wpshooter · 03-14-2007, 02:25 PM

Andilyn:

I am facing the possibility of this surgery.

Can you tell me, in your opinion, if you think that if a person has a physical defect in their upper digestive tract that allows this reflux, that there is any other method (i.e. diet, sleeping positions, prescribed medicines, etc, etc.) that can really give a fairly COMPLETE & fairly permanent relief from the acid reflux problem ?

Thanks.

andilyn · 03-14-2007, 03:25 PM

Well this is the way my dr explained it to me: He said that if it's a fairly mild case of the reflux, then after about 4-5 weeks of a strict diet change, and meds, you should be able to get by with only an occasional attack. However, as was the case with my situation, if there is damage done to the esophagus, then all the medicine and diet changes in the world won't help long term. He said that it would only be a short term fix. And also I have heard that sometimes down the road, your meds can stop working or not work as effectively. But now that I have been sown up down there, nothing can come back up, so he had me take prevacid for 4 weeks after the surgery to give it a shot to heal now that it couldn't get burned again. Like I said though, I feel so good now. I honestly don't remember what it was like to have heartburn and the reflux. I was scared going into the surgery itself, and the first 2 days weren't too fun. I had to have a nasal GI tube in, which basically pumps the acid out of your stomach until you can start eating again. The only problems I ran into were some chest pain afterwards, but I also had a hiatal hernia repair, so it might have just been from that. And for the first 3 weeks, when I would eat, it felt like it would get stuck a little, which is very common, and felt nauseaous on and off for a bit. But it's just one of those things ya gotta get through and know that it's pretty temporary. Good luck if you do end up having to have surgery, and if you have any other questions, I'm here for you!

scott1360 · 03-14-2007, 04:24 PM

Did you have a "normal" manometry test preop? The reason I ask is because medication is no longer effective for me (it helped for 5 years) and the doctor said the muscles in my esophagus arent properly clearing out food/stomach contents/etc. and he said they dont perform surgery for this. I dont know if he meant they dont recommend it or they cant. Ill have to ask when I have my next appointment in two weeks but was just wondering what your experience was

andilyn · 03-14-2007, 07:41 PM

My manometry test was mostly normal. There was some parts of the esophagus that weren't functioning as well as they should have, but my dr said since I had a pretty bad case, that the best thing in the end was surgery. But he did say that if the test wasn't normal, then they couldn't do the surgery at that time. He would have given me meds that help strengthen the esophagus muscle, which I guess is the same meds they give to help stroke patients too. But after trying those, he said he would do a repeat test, and if it helped, then he would go ahead with the surgery. The reason they can't operate if you have that problem is because you need a strong muscle to be able to push the food through the smaller and much tighter opening post-op. I guess the food can just literally sit there and cause a lot of problems. But thankfully I didn't have to deal with anything like that. But hopefully they can help get it strengthened and do the surgery if you need it. Good luck!