Nissen after 6 years

I had the Nissen done 6 years ago and have had great results ever since.  Recently, I have been experiencing small amoounts of heartburn, nausea, the feeling that my food is sitting in my throat.  Has anyone had these symptoms 6 years after the surgery?

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.

 

Burping after surgery is a temporary thing.  It takes a while to be able to pass gas.

Chefka, Thanks for that bit of information. Makes me feel a bit better.

Ebonyrae,

Chefka - What were your symptoms before it was discovered that your LES had stopped working completley?  I suffer from LPR and up until a week ago I could eat anything I wanted while on Nexium - now I get acid even while on nexium.  A bit worried.

Ebony, I suspect that many posters on this site have a vested interest in Astra Zeneca. These are some facts: (1) 19 out of 20 patients who have surgery are happy and would have it again when asked 5 years after the surgery; (2) there are no similar long term studies on the desirability of taking PPIs. It has, however, been linked with precancerous cell changes: (3) PPIs do not stop reflux, they only change the character of what you reflux. Only surgery gets to the cause of Gerd; PPIs tamper with gerd symptoms.

The main factor which diminishes the success of surgery is a large hiatus hernia. Your endoscopy should have ruled this out. Manometry, likewise, should rule out (a) motility disorders and (2) connective tissue involvement in your reflux.

IMO, the question is not whether to go ahead with surgery, but rather whether you can afford not to have it. Ignore the scaremongers: the purple pill (that is far from miraculous) is a billion dollar earner and the drug companies are happy to see you and the multitude of Gerd sufferers continue to suffer.

Hi Everyone,

i also just had the lap nissen done as well as a large hiatal hernia replaced.  is it possible that the hernia might stop popping back out? i had the surgery las friday then tonight i started feeling a little bubble just below my uppper incision and it hurts and gets bigger when i drink. it wasn't there yesterday or any days before that so i was just wondering if anyone knew if that could happen. thanks

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 had my surgury this thursday 7-5-07 at 9:30 am. The surgeon said the procedure went very well with no complications. By Friday I was able to eat scrambled eggs and the Dr. said if I wanted to I could go home later that day. I am now home and have pain near my small incisions but pain meds make it tollerable. I talked to several people who have had it done and all but said they would do it again. The one person who wouldn't do it again tried to talk me out of it but I suffered with this for 13 years. Nexium was the only drug that seemed to help the most but my insurance quit covering it so I opted for the nissen. I also had a 5cm hietal hernia repaired during the surgury. So far I was expecting more pain and I am relieved it is going this good. I was sick of sleeping on the recliner until all my food was digested and would occasionally have acid get in my lungs. If you ever had this happen you know how painful it is. The person who tried talking me out of it sounds like he had to tight of a wrap and has horrible bloating and back pain. He works with my brother and he called me to try and sway me. I did talk to my surgeon about this person and he said it may have been wrapped too tight and he may have poor eating habits causing excessive air to be swallowed. I occasionally do burp when drinking broth, I did mention this to my surgeon and he said heartburn could still be possible but not likely. I hope he wrapped it tight enough. I notice I get full very fast which I was told would happen. I'm hoping I did the right thing by going with the nissen but so far so good.