Hi everyone! I'm new to the board and I hope I'm doing this right! I promised myself after I had this surgery I would post my outcome to help add to the very few success stories out there.While I was so grateful for all of your information as to how to care for myself after this procedure I was somewhat scared to death that I would regret doing it from all the horror stories . I had my procedure done on dec 29 2011. I had a small hiatal hernia and that was fixed at the same time. I have not had one minute worth of trouble with this. I keep thinking one day it will hit and hope and pray that it only continues to get better. I can still burp and my doctor told me I would. All I can figure is like some of you said is the right doctor makes all the difference. So if any of you that need this procedure done can make it to Houston his name is Dr. Clifton Thomas. I'm telling you unless there is something I haven't had to deal with yet it was a breeze. I only stayed on liquid 3 days then soft foods 3 days and now I'm eating anything I want and no PPI's
The following user gives a hug of support to Easttex: someoneSpecial1 (02-04-2012)
I just had the NF on 1/18/12 and I am having an awesome recovery. I was on oatmeal by day 2 and had 2 soft eggs today, as well as mashed potatoes and gravy and refried beans. No paid, no reflux, and most importantly for me, no coughing. My primary complaint was severe respiratory issues, including the development of asthma. Seems my lungs have taken a beating, but it is my hope that they can now heal up. Sinus issues are also gone. Only problem is a bit of gassiness, but that was expected. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever, and other than the limited diet, the surgery and recovery thus far have been far better than I anticipated.
Thank you both for posting some positive stories. I'm having my surgery in about a week, and I'm scared to death. I have a great surgeon, but after reading the ordeal that OP have posted, I was thinking this might be the worst thing I've ever done.
My asthma was significantly better from the moment I woke up after my NF surgery. My surgeon was more cautious about the time frames for moving from liquids to soft foods to general solids though.
Based upon my experiences since my surgery in 2008, I would repeat the process in a heartbeat.
Hi. Ask away. From my point of view, that is what we are all here for. To ask questions and share what we've learned from our own experiences.
I stayed on liquids only for 2 weeks. The first week they were mostly clear. My surgeon said I couldn't even do things such as add strawberries to my smoothies because of the strawberry seeds. He really wanted me to stay on liquids only.
I then added soft solids which I stayed with for a week or 2. I didn't add solid meat and bread back until almost 3 months.
You can read some of my older posts to see some of my experiences. I had my surgery on October 8, 2008.
Hi. Ask away. From my point of view, that is what we are all here for. To ask questions and share what we've learned from our own experiences.
I stayed on liquids only for 2 weeks. The first week they were mostly clear. My surgeon said I couldn't even do things such as add strawberries to my smoothies because of the strawberry seeds. He really wanted me to stay on liquids only.
I then added soft solids which I stayed with for a week or 2. I didn't add solid meat and bread back until almost 3 months.
You can read some of my older posts to see some of my experiences. I had my surgery on October 8, 2008.
How do I find your older posts? I'm afraid I am lost on here! Thanks.
Hi. I have a lot of posts on here from my years of visiting this site so there is a bit to go through. If you click on my name on the post, you will come to a screen with information about me (profile). There is a tab there called statistics. Click on that. In the first box, you will see a line that has threads I've posted to. If you click on that line, it will come to the information I've posted over the years. It looks like much of my information starts around page 38 and newer. I did have some other digestive issues (IBS) around that time as well after I had some long term side effects from when I took Nexium. Please disregard those posts as being indicative of the Nissen Fundoplication.
You can also do a general search on this board as well. There is a search bar at the top of this board. Just type in Nissen Fundoplication and you will find lots of threads where the NF is mentioned.
Hi everyone! I'm new to the board and I hope I'm doing this right! I promised myself after I had this surgery I would post my outcome to help add to the very few success stories out there.While I was so grateful for all of your information as to how to care for myself after this procedure I was somewhat scared to death that I would regret doing it from all the horror stories . I had my procedure done on dec 29 2011. I had a small hiatal hernia and that was fixed at the same time. I have not had one minute worth of trouble with this. I keep thinking one day it will hit and hope and pray that it only continues to get better. I can still burp and my doctor told me I would. All I can figure is like some of you said is the right doctor makes all the difference. So if any of you that need this procedure done can make it to Houston his name is Dr. Clifton Thomas. I'm telling you unless there is something I haven't had to deal with yet it was a breeze. I only stayed on liquid 3 days then soft foods 3 days and now I'm eating anything I want and no PPI's
Well done to you
My son had this done when he was only 4 years old as he had severe reflux. It wasn't until I rushed him to A&E as he had been very sick whilst asleep, that he was refered to an amazing consultant at great ormand street hospital in London who suggested the operation. He can't no longer be sick as a result of the operation and he is now 10 years of age and his quality of life for my little prince as improved so much, he is now a healthy child who, if hadn't of had the operation would not be here today.
I think that in general most people who have a Nissen Fundoplication have the laproscopic version. It really depends on your specific health problem though. The laproscopic version does have a quicker healing time.
I just had the procedure but they were not able to do laproscopic so I was cut open. My doctor told me when we first talked about the surgery that because of a gall bladder scar (had to be cut open then also) that he would probably have to do the open surgery. He did try twice to do it laproscopic but just could not. I had the surgery Wednesday morning, June 6, and got to go home this past Monday, June, 11. I went from a clear liquid diet (started on Thursday, June 7,) to full liquid on Saturday, June 11. I have been told to stay on liquid diet until I see my doctor on July 3 at which time they will do upper GI tests. I'm not hungry, but have tried some jello and a few other things on the liquid diet and they seem to upset my stomach, so i'm sticking with the things that don't bother me--sweet tea. Am going to try Slimfast and Ensure to see if I can handle them.
Can anyone who has had this done like I had give me some information? Like how long on the different diets and what was your recovery time. He told me not to pick up anything heavier than 10 pounds for 6 weeks at least.
It's hot out. Try some popcicles. My doc recommended them and I really enjoyed treating myself.
I also used Instant Breakfast. I could use it with soy milk which I appreciated. I did lots of flavored broths. I actually cooked up a chicken so I could have "real" chicken broth. My family ate the chicken.
Are you having nausea issues? I took Zofran for nausea fairly regularly for a few weeks. I think that it really helped me all around.
The weight restriction is pretty standard. I was told 8-10 weeks on the weight.
I think the longer liquid diets give your stomach more time to heal up and have the inflammation go down more.
I was on liquids for 2 weeks, then purees for 2 weeks, then "soft foods for another 2 weeks, with no bread for 2 full months. At 2 months, my stomach felt pretty good and I could eat basically anything I could pre-surgery, but things continued to improve slowly after that. I'm now 6 months out.
Because you had open, you'll have lifting restrictions for longer than someone who had laparoscopic, but the recovery of your actual digestive tract should be similar.
MountainReader's right about fresh broth, it's way better than canned. My husband would make a soup for dinner, then he'd strain it, and he'd eat the solids and I'd have the liquid. I also got some popsicle molds and froze my favorite beverages in them.
Soy milk is a great option. So is regular milk, if you can tolerate it. Whole has lots more calories than skim, and at one point I switched to goat's milk, just for variety.
