Nissen after 6 years

I have not had the surgery.  I did talk to a doc at Shands teaching hospital in Gainsville FL.  He told me that if I was lucky, Nissen surgery would last 5 years.  After that, they usualy fail and either be redone or not.  He discouraged me to have the surgery.  He said that I would have to take Nexium or some other drug for life.  He said that I may be able to stop Nexium for short periods of time (some for longer periods), but would eventually start taking it again.  He has been in the business for 22 years and no one has found a cure for GERD.  I have gone to 2 doctors so far, one in my home town and one at a teaching (prestigeous) hospital.  I am sorry that you are having problems.  But I have resigned myself to a life with GERD, most of it with PPI drugs.

BTW, not all GERD is the same.  Different people have different symptoms.  Some can cure their problem with "natural" products, some never find a cure.

My surgery was mandatory since the my sphincter muscle had completely stopped working and medication did not help anymore.  I had GERD since I was 15 years old and at the time of the surgery, I was 30.  I had complete reilef for the past 6 years and it was great.

Ebony, You will eventually be able to burp again, it just takes a while.  I assume they have put you through a lot of tests to come to the conclusion that you need this surgery.  It's not one they usually do otherwise.  I had the lap Nissen in 2005 only because they thought it was triggering some of my asthma attacks. I will tell you, after surgery your esophagus is going to be very tight for a while.  When you first try to start eating, even soft foods, you will have a hard time with things going down and it will be very painful and for a few seconds you may think you are going to die.  You're not; try not to panic, it's just going to be painful.  Don't try to throw it back up, that's not going to happen either.  My reflux is better after surgery, but I still have to take Nexium. It did help the asthma attacks a little. The surgery wasn't bad, but the recovery was terrible. If it hadn't been for the severity of my asthma, I would not have considered having it done.  I am not trying to scare you or talk you out of it, I just want you to know what you are getting into.

Carla

Ebony,

I wish you luck with your lap Nissen.  You will be fine.  Just know that your esophagus will be a little tight for a while after surgery, which I am sure your surgeon explained to you.  They don't usually explain just how it will feel, they haven't had it done themselves.  That is why I wanted to prepare you for when you go home and started eating.  You may be frightened at first, but just don't panic when and if it feels like food has gotten stuck going down.  I also had a hiatal hernia repaired at the same time.

Regardless of  what Christo says, I don't have any vested interest in Astra Zeneca.  I just wanted to make sure you explored all your options.  Knowing that you have the hiatal hernia also, it sounds like you are making the right decision and after all, it is your body.  I do still have to take Nexium, but I don't think that is uncommon.

Take care!

Carla

Lusk, That can happen.  Is it actually popping out on the outside?  I think you need to give your surgeon a call just to be on the safe side.  It can be extremely painful when you first start eating and drinking after surgery.  Your esophagus is very tight for a while.  Even though they tell you that, it's hard to imagine how tight they actually mean until after you have the surgery. The surgeons usually make it sound so matter of fact. It can be frightening when you think something is stuck and you think it's not going to go down.  It will; just try not to panic if that happens to you.

I had the lap Nissen and a hiatal hernia repair in 2005 and probably in less than a year I had a sliding hiatal hernia and I'm just keeping it, no more surgery.  I have severe asthma and get bronchitis often and I assume it happened when I was coughing a lot.

Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions.

Carla

It's good to hear from you ebony!  That morphine can sure take away the pain, can't it?  I'm glad to hear you're doing well.  Take it slow and easy on those blended foods.  You will be so hungry you may want to gulp it down. I did.  That will get you in trouble, temporarily.  Just remember that esophagus is a lot tighter than it was before surgery.  Keep us posted.

Take care!

Carla

I can't believe you are eating scrambled eggs.  That's amazing!  You recovery is definitely going much better than mine did, but then we don't all heal the same.  I am tickled to death for you.

Take care!

Carla