Laparoscopic nissen fundoplication

[Shehisa]

Hi people kinda new here,

36 year old male here, getting ready for a laparoscopic nissen fundoplication. I have NEVER had a surgical procedure done before and in this case I have run out of options.

It all started in 2012 when I had a late meal and felt the weirdest feeling in my chest, uncomfortable pain I had never felt before, soon I began feeling nauseated and spent the entire night vomiting and leaning in the toilet. I kept on having the regurgitation reflex even though there was nothing in my stomach. I was taking to the Dr the next morning and he put me on drip as I had lost a lot of water. He diagnosed me with a gastric ulcer and gave me several medications which seemed to subside the symptoms.

I went through several years thinking I had a peptic ulcer and kept getting hospitalized several times and receiving drips due to the same crazy nauseated feeling in my chest, but the condition always surprised me because no matter how much I went out of my way to follow the Dr's orders and stay away from ulcer elevating foods and always tried to eat on time and regularly, this attack seemed to happen randomly. After about three years it finally stopped and I thought I had healed from the ulcer.

Then my teeth started to decay, I smoked at the time so I just thought it was my smoking habit that was weighing in on my teeth so I quit but the teeth problems kept on getting worse and I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then I started getting these weird panic attacks that would give me these crazy heart palpitations which sometimes made me feel like I was going to pass out. Then the dysphasia started, food literally getting stuck in my throat after eating, I was rushed to the hospital on countless occasions, had an x ray done twice but they couldn't find anything. It was at this point I decided to see an ENT dr who put a camera down my nose and diagnosed me with acid reflux. She gave me medicine and lifestyle tips but this didn't seem to help, the palpitations persisted and began turning into this crazy pain in my chest where my heart is,I began developing some what of an asthma.

Was rushed to the hospital after the first attack in fear it might be a heart attack, saw a cardiologist who did several tests on me including putting a hotem thingy to measure my heart beat and an EKG and said my heart was fine. He then referred me to a gastroenterologist who did an endoscopy and diagnosed me with a hiatal hernia. It was small he said, and after giving me meds which didn't work, he recommended a laparoscopic nissen fundoplication. I found diets online which helped stop the hyperacidity that caused my palpitations but the reflux didn't stop, sometimes I reflux twice a day even when I stick to an alkaline diet, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight and for months now I always have this tightness in my throat that hardly goes away. I have tried everything from omerprazole and nexium, but nothing seems to help. I can go through two bottles of Gaviscon in a week and finally he recommended the procedure. I'm going for the clinical investigations on Monday for the procedure and frankly I'm terrified, I have heard stories of people dying from anesthetic reactions and surgery complications. I know I have no choice but to have the procedure because of my situation but this is a whole new ballgame and it's scary.

Just wanted to know if I am overreacting here, and what I can expect. I'm not actually scared of the procedure itself and the recovery, I'm willing to tough it out if it means getting better, my main concern is the complications which may arise during surgery.

As I write this I have the worst sore throat I have ever had and my diaphragm is gurgling like crazy.

[rayw55]

To help put your mind at rest I had a fundoplication done back in 1990, I was diagnosed with Barrett's oesophagus so had regular endoscopes. My symptoms never really went away although they did improve for a long time until 2009 when I had a total oesophagectomy I am sure the fundoplication will help and as it is done with keyhole recovery is quick and relatively painless Your getting treatment so are on the right road but travel it with a positive attitude as this definitely helps

[Shehisa in reply to rayw55]

Thanks

[1960finas]

Hi I've not been on for a while,my daughter had terrible acid reflux and was taking at least 5 amoprizole a day,she also had stage2 oesophagitis had to sit up in bed because acid would come up into her lungs she would be coughing all night and I mean all night.Was on waiting list to have operation .I told Dr I would get this sorted and I have She is not on any medication sleeps with only one pillow no acid reflux and oesophagitis and took off list for op Drs are amazed had endoscopy all clear no inflimation

[Shehisa in reply to 1960finas]

That sounds great, what did you do?

[1960finas in reply to Shehisa]

My cure for acid reflux and oesophagitis. You start with apple cider vinegar unfiltered raw with the mother , ginger turmeric cayenne pepper freshly squeezed lemon and limes,orange and and or grapefruit do enough to make about a pint, and add a half pint of water keep in fridge.use a little glass put one/two table spoons of the vinegar then add ginger,tumeric,and cayenne pepper.All 3 just a tip of a teaspoon cayenne pepper is really hot,then add the juice about one inch in the glass take this twice a day before meals it goes against the grain taking a drink that's so acidic but that's why it works it takes about 2weeks to kick in and it's not very nice to drink ,you may get a bit of upset belly for a couple days while you are doing this just take a a antacid not pp inhibitors please let me know how you get on Fina's

[Shehisa in reply to 1960finas]

Thanks will try it to get some relief but how will this get the hernia? Will it fix the sphincter?

[1960finas in reply to 1960finas]

My daughter also had 2cm hiatus hernia which dr's say can hardly see it with there being no inflammation

[Shehisa in reply to 1960finas]

Should I lay off the PPI's?

[1960finas in reply to Shehisa]

the reason u have this problem is because the acid in your stomach is not strong enough which means the food you eat doesn't get fully absorbed which allows bacteria to grow that then relaxes the sphincter and you get acid reflux,if acid is Of The right ph the sphincter has to stay closed or it would kill you. If u keep taking ppi's u will never get better

[iMissyB in reply to 1960finas]

Ive heard lots of positive things about this remedy so m going to try this using your tips for the mix, thanks

[1960finas in reply to iMissyB]

Glad to hear this,know one seems interested in this, what problems do you have with acid reflux cheers fina's

[iMissyB in reply to 1960finas]

I've researched this remedy and heard lots of good responses to it, so I'm gonna give it a go. My reflux is bad at the moment, burning stomach and bad cough and I must be breathing it in at night despite my extra pillow to raise me up because my chest is awful since the reflux re-appeared. Reflux has been confirmed via the camera down my throat detecting irritated areas in my oesophagus. I'm waiting to see the specialist but scared of undergoing more surgery just for it to not work (it can slacken of a second time too!) it doesn't help that finding a great surgeon is so difficult, even for a research minded woman like me. Will update you on my progress with your recipe, many thanks, Barbara

[1960finas in reply to iMissyB]

Hi Barbara have u seen my posts and replys u need to follow me too see why your having these problems thanks fina's

[Seagull1625]

I had the same operation in March 2017. Totally brilliant! It has transformed my life. I felt great the next day. I only have 5 little scars and they healed quickly. I can eat anything I want. I was scared that I would be worse off but was desperate for the pain to stop. I ate pureed food for 9 months before the op. Do not worry, trust the surgeon. My H Hernia was the largest he had seen but he fixed it. Good luck!

[Shehisa in reply to Seagull1625]

Thanks, I guess being optimistic is all I can do at this point.

[munishaggarwal54]

I would recommend you to go through some reports on long term effects of this surgery.

[iMissyB]

Shehesa. are you still awaiting surgery or post op?

I had a hiatus hernia and reflux, which was mildish except for random bouts of waking up gasping on reflux and I didn't go to the docs about it until I started coughing up blood from my oesophagus (Which took 18 months to diagnose) I also have emphysema and was suffering back to back chest infections which I put down to the COPD, but after the nissensfundoplication surgery I was free from reflux and amazingly free from chest infections too!!

I'm three yrs post surgery now and my story is not the huge success I first though, as the reflux is back with a vengeance and so is the frequent lung infections along with it. I'm on lansoperazole but it has zero benefit and I'm going to try the apple cider vinegar route until I get to see a specialist. Barbara

[NurseryJan]

Hi I had the sugery six months ago. The hospital was great. You will be sore but managed by pain relief. Was pain free after a week. Had no acid. And stick too the diet. Otherwise its painful. Your body will let you know when you eat something too soon. The symptoms you are describing I had all that before the op. Good luck for the future