Linx Procedure 2017 My Experience

Thank you to everyone for posting your stories. I am scheduled for my Linx and small hernia repair on April 20, 2018. I had no idea the recovery process is that long and had no idea of the complications involved with the Linx. It's kind of a scary thing now, it's starting to get real. My daughter went thru the lap band surgery many years ago so I'm well aware of the changes she had to make of her eating and swallowing. I only hope that my recovery goes better than some that I've read, no offensive, but I don't want to suffer like some of you have. After reading some of the horror stories, I just wonder if it is the best thing to do. Worried....

Sue,

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I have a call into the doctors office now to discuss some of my concerns. It sounds like the more you cater to your Linx (eating by the rules), the better. I will now understand how my daughters life has been for the last 12 years. I know in the long run, this will definitely improve my life. If I can't eat bread and pasta, that's ok, I would rather be healthier and safe from esophageal cancer from the GERD.

Way to go Sue!!! I'm sorry it took so long to post my own report.

Peggy

thank you for sharing sue. keep us updated on your progress. what you report helps many people weigh their options on linx. if i can help let me know

Hello All!
I'm a 47-year-old that has been dealing with GERD for about 20 years, with an ever increasing amount of medication to attempt to control it. Over the past 2-3 years, I've dealt with the occasional regurgitation of food during sleep, which I was able to identify and avoid my triggers. Unfortunately, that simply meant eventually being ripped from sleep to find myself choking on food anyway, that simply didn't make it feel like I had become a fire breathing dragon! In January of 2017, I had an upper GI performed to check for damage to my esophagus, from the years of acid reflux activity. Thankfully, there wasn't any. However, it was during that scoping that we discovered that I had a rather large hiatal hernia of about 8 cm, complicating my ability to continue without surgical intervention.

What had started out as sleeping more upright in a recliner, a few times a month, became at least 5 nights of sleeping upright in a recliner, with increasing amounts of exhaustion. This, of course, negatively impacted my work and attendance with my employer. Work quality suffered, and I was suffering, often making me reclusive and depressed.

I discovered the LINX procedure on my own and talked with my GI about it. We went through the testing required and all results were provided to my surgeon and signaled we were clear to proceed. My surgeon has been implanting the LINX device successfully for a couple of years. He was not at all swayed to not perform the LINX procedure, due to my 8 cm hiatal hernia, where I've read others were told they weren't candidates at 3 cm hiatal hernia. I'm guessing my surgeon's extensive list of bariatric procedures caused him to believe otherwise. I had also worried it might disqualify me.

My surgery took place on February 5th, 2018, which puts me at 2 months post-op now. I was kept overnight in the hospital, as my surgeon prefers, and was thankful for the morphine pump and Tylenol drip that was added to my IV fluids. The liquid Tylenol allowed me to rest and be comfortable for the 34 hour stay. I only hit the morphine pump 9 times, knowing that I didn't want to create a constipation nightmare for myself for the following recovery days. Immediately following surgery, I was hungry and thirsty, and was eating and taking in fluids like a champion. The hospital served me a grilled chicken breast with veggies the first night, and for lunch the following day, along with applesauce and pudding. I didn't have a single issue eating or drinking in the first few days, except a strong lack of hunger that was building due to bloat from the air used in surgery and from the constipation that did set in.

about day 3 I experienced the extreme gas pains I had from the trapped air in my body. I had been up moving around quite a bit, out walking with my dogs and tending to my house and yard. Eventually, I laid down where I had still been upright, and the gas began to release. The first 2 nights at home I still slept in the recliner, feeling the gas pressure and thinking it best not to lie down. I was wrong, and as soon as it began releasing, I was no longer in the extreme pain, which had been pushing against the hiatal hernia repair.

I was healing nicely, staying hydrated and slowly building back my normal daily routines. I couldn't believe how well everything was going, and I was down about 5 pounds, which made me feel great! I did my follow-up with my surgeon about 2 weeks after the surgery. I remember bragging to him about how well it was going, and especially how I had eaten Mexican food the night before, even enjoying a margarita, without a single issue and sleeping in my bed like a baby. Never before would I have done that before surgery, as it would have been a fire breathing reflux night with very little sleep. All was great.

That same day, while traveling home from the surgeon's office, I decided to stop and pick up a couple of steamed bun Krystal cheeseburgers. If you're from up north, they are like White Castle burgers...little sliders that are easy to hold and eat in the car. I thought it would be a treat, having avoided them for so long. Besides, I'd been avoiding the bread, pasta and rice for 2 weeks and decided I'd enjoy a little. That's when my Dysphagia began, as I got the bun stuck in my esophagus, above the LES and LINX device. From that moment on, I began making more modifications to my diet to push through the swallowing issues.

1. I learned that attempting to swallow food with anything carbonated won't end well. Wretching is bad enough without also foaming due to a carbonated beverage.

2. Warm tea and coffee are very helpful in relaxing the muscles in the esophagus, making it easier to swallow...especially the first swallows of food on any given day.

3. Slow down and take smaller bites...and CHEW...CHEW...CHEW...CHEW!!! This was the hardest to learn, as like many with food service pasts remember eating as quickly as we could to get back to work.

4. Continue avoiding bread and breaded food items, along with veggies not steamed enough (i.e. broccoli, asparagus, etc.)

5. Enjoy the ice cream and sorbet, along with diced fruits and lots of potatoes!

While I continue experiencing dysphagia at times, pushing through it with plenty of fluids to drink and swallow, along with avoiding certain foods that I'm just not ready to tackle yet, have made it an easier process. My surgeon told me that the tightness I was experiencing would be the worst of it, that it would improve each day, over time. From reading through these posts, and after about 9 weeks post-op experience, I agree with him. I find that dysphagia often occurs when I first start eating, and often find I've taken a bite too big to swallow, and didn't chew it enough. If I relax and sip and swallow water or tea, I can get through it and I'm fine. Only a few times have I completely seized up and wretched it out.

I agree with the comments about getting back to normal. I am still not there. My energy levels are about 75% of what they were before surgery, but remaining active in my yard and home, with plenty of DIY projects to tackle and chasing after my dogs has helped me on recovery. On a positive note, I've dropped about 30 pounds so far on this journey, I believe due to what I am not eating AND eating slower, while feeling full faster. I welcome this as my BMI has dropped from about 35 to 31, and improvements will only continue making life better.

I have had to eat Tums and take a Zantac quite often to fight off what I'd also refer to as normal heartburn issues. However, I'm not too certain it is normal. While I received the information on increased bloating, belching and flatulence, I'm experiencing it so badly at times that I'm too embarrassed to leave the house and often find myself waking from sleep about 3 AM, with gas pains and such, until I can pass it. I'm avoiding the foods, carbonated beverages and candy/gum that I'm told to avoid, with no improvement. Sometimes I feel like acid is about to break through the LINX and into my esophagus, however, after a few champion deep-gut belching sessions, this subsides, along with the bloat...for a while. It's always worse in the overnight and morning, which makes me believe it's tied to my food. I'm considering going back to the GI Doc to inquire about other issues, such as SIBO, gallbladder issues or other.

Has anyone else had these issues to such an extent? My papers say it's normal to be flatulent 10-18 times a day, from regular bacterial action in the gut. However, that might be 1/3rd of the experience on any given day, and the belching is just as bad....like a champion beer drinker, times 12!

So glad I found this forum for note comparison and expectations adjustment.

Thanks.

Could anyone share with me the foods you ate the day after surgery and the following week, did you eat meats of any kind, drink carbonated drinks or stay away from certain vegies? My surgery is the 20th of April and I'm just trying to be prepared.

Thanks,

Kim

Thanks Sue, it does help a lot.

It sounds like you must remember to take small bites and chew chew chew.

Kim I had my surgery the 6th of this month, which is still early but I couldn’t really digest meat, I threw up every time i would take a bite and for soda .. I tried to take a drink or 2 and I would do the same but soft foods have no trouble with the first week but my doctor wanted me to eat a bite of something solid every 2 hours .. I saw a post back of Coleens and she ate grapes the first days and started on carrots .. that was something solid and she’s doing really good with her surgery .. just wish I had saw her story earlier on .. I’m doing okay with mine as of right now but it’s only been 13 days so far.

Hi, all,

I had my LINX surgery and hiatal hernia repair on April 12, so I'm only two weeks out. Prior to the surgery, I dealt with acid reflux for years, then 15(?) years ago started treating it with Aciphex. After 8 years of taking Aciphex, I ended up with an osteoporosis diagnosis at a fairly early age (the PPIs suppress vitamin D). I stopped the Aciphex and have been on famotidine since then, although the max dose only does a half-*** job of quelling my heartburn. I was still going through bottles of Tums as if they were candy.

On top of the reflux, I developed globus about 14 years ago. As uncomfortable as reflux is, the globus sensation (like someone has their hands around my throat and pressing their thumbs into my windpipe) is worse.

The LINX is certainly taking care of the heartburn; it's pretty much vanished despite stopping all meds. I had Maalox once in the first week and nothing since. However, I'm sad to say that I'm still dealing with the globus. My gastro guy thought it would clear up with the LINX, but it hasn't yet. :-P Maybe my throat will heal up eventually so that goes away.

As for recovery, I agree with a number of others that the shoulder pain from the gas was excruciating. I could barely breathe right after surgery. It still hurt four days after surgery, so I ended up going to my acupuncturist. The needles eased the pain during the session, then it came back as I drove home. But the acupuncture must have done something because by the next day the pain was gone.

For me, the naso-gastric tube was horrid. Did anyone else who spent the night have that? I also had a catheter, but that was painless. But the NG tube made my throat feel like it was being lacerated. I was so grateful to get the tube out until the next morning. I finally got a chance to eat then. But it took a few days for my throat to heal and stop hurting.

The constipation has also been an issue. I've always had "reluctant bowels" and they're certainly taking their own sweet time getting back to normal. :-(

I've been careful what I eat, chewing like crazy and taking my time. Managing to eat every 1-2 hours which was what my surgeon directed me to do. My only problem with swallowing (so far at least) has been with cold. I treated myself to a chocolate shake, but unlike ice cream that I roll around in my mouth until it melts (and warms), I drank the shake too fast. A few of the swallows sat there for maybe 30 seconds or so until finally things opened up. I had a similar problem drinking cold water, particularly when taking my vitamins. Which makes me sad, cuz I like drinking water loaded with ice. Instead, I'm drinking lukewarm water.

But food has gone down well. I started with strictly soft, then went on to stuff that I genuinely have to chew. We put cooked ground turkey into the food processor to break into small morsels, then mixed it with gravy to have over mashed potatoes. Pretty yummy. I moved on to poached fish (softer) and later smoked salmon (my wonderful hubby has two smokers and knows how to use them). Meatloaf (cut into tiny bites) has worked well too. I haven't tried chicken yet, but I'm thinking the canned stuff made up into chicken salad would work. No bread yet other than crackers.

So, no real problems with swallowing (yes, that could still be ahead of me), although lots of gas and urping (I've always been burpy and farty), and still dealing with that darn globus. Two weeks out I'm back to riding my horse and plan to start back at the gym with slightly lower weights. I use machines; I'm not going to deadlift 100 pounds.

High point of all this was at the followup meeting with my surgeon. He said "Everyone (doctors, etc) was really impressed with how fit you are." Pretty good for a 63-year-old grandma.

This is a great forum. I'm glad I found it.

Yeah, you should probably "cool your jets" for at least a few days after surgery. Besides recovering from the anesthesia, your body takes a beating, so to speak, just having all those holes punched into it and with surgeons rummaging around inside. I slept a ton the first 3-4 days and just didn't feel like myself.

If I were you, I'd wait until the next Monday after surgery at least before returning to work. And be prepared to bring snacks everywhere you go, lol.

Hello everyone -

I am scheduled to have hiatal hernia repair and LINX surgery May 10, 2018. I will be having the Manotremy & PH tests on May 2, 2018. Have been dealing with GERD for over 20 years..
I cannot express how THANKFUL I am to have come across this forum!! I did no research before saying yes to the surgery two weeks ago based on what the doctor told me which was all too good. I never knew there was the Nissen Fundoplication or the Linx till that day.

In any case, I have brought myself up to speed and this forum has just been very helpful & informative to say the least. I will keep posting once I have the surgery and would love to continue hearing from everyone else's experiences as well.

Hi, Kim,

How cold is the water? I love water jam-packed with ice, but when I tried to drink it that way immediately after surgery, my esophagus spasmed and said, "No way."

Try drinking room temperature water, or even slightly warmer. The fact that you're not having problems with coffee makes me think it's temperature related.

Also, my stomach is a bit iffy too. My bloating isn't quite as bad as it was initially, but it's definitely taking some time to get back to normal. It keeps improving though.

Karen

Kim,

I do burp a lot drinking water. But since I've always been a burpy/farty kinda gal, it doesn't seem all that much different than the usual.

My surgeon told me that at this point (3.5 weeks out) I can pretty much eat anything (or try anything), as long as I follow the "small bites, chew thoroughly" edict. I went to a Mexican restaurant last night and had arroz con pollo. First time eating rice since the surgery, but it was very saucy, which made it easy to eat.

Chew, chew, chew. I might need to get that tattooed on my arm.

Karen