Surgery to correct reflux

[CGTMHI]

I would like to hear from patients who underwent surgery to  correct the acid reflux problems. My Dr. informs me that I can eliminate all my reflux problems by having this surgery and that it can be done liposcopically. Comments can be posted in this forum - thank you all for this forum!

Mary from Texas

[Sheila]

I had the surgery,Nissan fundalplication, laproscopy, in Feb of this year.  It was not bad.  I had a 4 day stay in the hosp. and a little trouble with swallowing for a month, so they had to dilate my esophagus. Now I swallow fine. My only advice is to find out why you suffer from reflux before surgery. I did not and found out 4 months later that I have partial paralysis of my stomach, gastroparesis.  I now take meds to controll this. There are many causes of reflux the most common is a hiatal hernia.  Ask your doctor why you have reflux and have test to find out first.  
Sheila

[Erik]

Sheila is right. Find out why you have the reflux. If it is gastroperesis, medication can control this. You will need to have a gastric emptying test to determine if this is what is going on. If it is Hiatal hernia or just reflux without known origin, the Nissen Fundoplication will work fine. I have had two of them and they work fine. From the sound of it, Sheila may have been able to avoid the surgery had she known about the gastroperesis before hand.

[Carol]

Do all the research you can before undergoing such a procedure. I also had the nissen done laproscopically, and I had a terrible outcome also due to the fact that my reflux was being caused by gastroparesis and not a problem with the LES (lower esophageal schincter). I ended up having 5 operations to correct all the problems I had and nowe have gastroparesis even worse then before. Have entensive testing done and definitely a gastric emptying scan too. Had I known all this before hand, I would never had gone through the nissen to begin with.

Also find a good surgeon who doesn't just rush you into surgery. I thought I had a great surgeon, and he just made a poor judgement on doing the nissen on me. Good luck.
Carol

[Gina]

I also would like info on this invasive proceedure.  I am taking Prilosec and have been on it two months now.  The medicine helps me cope, but I still have severe swallowing problems at night.  I am also itching like crazy all over my arms, legs, back and stomache.  I am wondering if the drug is causing this reaction.  My doctor has looked down my throat with a camera, but only found a hatial hernia and some lessions. I do not know if the prilosec will cure this problem or will I have to take this itchy medicine all my life.

[Linda]

Gina,

Prilosec can cause itching and breaking out in some people. I have seen this happen to two very close relatives. If you are already itching and breaking out, I would not use this drug. I have seen what it can do.  You can break out all over your body, constant itching, and it can take almost a year to get it completely out of your system. My two relatives got so bad they were considering suicide because doctors refuse to believe the Prilosec was causing it.  The Cleveland Clinic finally confirmed it after months of vists up there.

[v. liottta]

I have a belching problem after drinking liquids and eating.Only lasts a few minutes. It is strictly air. no acidy taste.no pain. My Dr wants a gall bladder scan to rule out Gall stones. Can the Gall bladder be the cause of this condition. I dont smoke and Im on a low fat diet. take Cholesterol lowering drugs and glucotrol for type II diabetis. control.
Please advise

[Gwen]

I am 27 years old and suffered tremendously from barrets esophagus, gerd and a hiatal hernia. I had nissen fundoplycation in January of 1999. I was in the hospital for one day. I am fine now & feel better than ever. I don't take any more medication and I never had heart burn again. i had a fantastic surgeon and excellent after care. Make sure that your surgeon sends you for a motility test on your esophaus because the surgeon needs to know how tight to make the wrap in your stomach. I almost lost all motility in my esaphagus and was very ill. Now I'm fine. I recommend having the surgery with a great doctor. You'll live a normal life.

[Robert]

I had Nissan-funduplication in May of 1996.  I had complications rsulting in open surgery in May of 1997 (the wrap had slipped up into my chest and an accompanying paraesophegeal hernia resulted.
I am currently having problems again ... but surgeons are unable to diagnose since symptoms and anatomy do not seem to correlate.

The procedure solved my reflux.  I needed it and would make the same choice again, but I am having problems yet unsolved as a result.

[chris]

I to had the procedure this past May, I would say that 85% of the acid is gone.  My question to you all is, do you or did you ever have pain in your esophagus.  I am having very bad pain when I try to get out of bed, or when I press my hands together.

If anyone has a coment please respond.

[roche]

Surgery to combat gastric reflux
how effective is it and what side effects expected
3rd degree

[Sheila]

Chris    I also had the pain in the esophagus. It was worse when I got out of bed and with gas build up.  It was like a spasm. It gradually went away. It took about 6 months.  I get the pain very rarely now. if you have more questions for me you  can e-mail me at ***@****       Sheila

[Darren Reevell]

Mary,

My daughter underwent a Nissen Fundoplication approx. 13 months ago. At the time this probably saved her life as she was only 8 months old and was inhaling vomit in her sleep. However, in the last 2 months she has just started to vomit on a regular basis again (4/5 times per  night)... I have heard that Nissens in general is quite good and has a success rate of around 80%, so all I can say is that my daughter is probably one of the unlucky 20%.... I think, even going through what we are now I would recommend the surgery.

Good Luck
Darren Reevell

[[email protected]]

Please anyone that has had a Laparascopic Nissen Fundoplication, give comments.                        Thank You,                                   Nellie

[patricia]

I  had a partial fundoplication done in april , after three reflux free months, the wrap ruptured and moved up in my chest with an hernia, so i underwent the second laparascopic surgery this time a full nissen wrap. ( surgery took 6 hours and was very hard according to the surgeon) i was reflux free for a month and after i had again reflux. a lot of pain in my chest and throat. I did the ph test which showed reflux, but according to gastro ent. not enough to cause the pain i have. he send me to a cardiologist, i had stress cardiiolite test and yesterday a catheterization because there could be a problem, nothing found my heart was in excellent condition according to cardiologist. so here i am . taking aciphex and prilosec again and with a lot of pain. i had a endoscopie , which showed food in my stomach, eventhough i did not eat for 18 hours before the test, but the gastro ent. did not make a connection with my reflux, did anybody had the same results?? Should i have an open surgery to see what is wrong??

[Maria]

I had a lap nissen fundoplication done in March 99.  The surgery
went well and I no longer take meds.  The first 4 to 6 weeks I was on a soft food diet and lost about 15 pounds but gradually started eating again.  I'm glad I had the surgery since the meds didn't work for me.  I also had a hiatal hernia.  I have alittle trouble belching at times but suffer no heartburn.  I can now sleep better and eat the foods that I like.  I would recommend having all the necessary tests, (24ph, endoscopy,motility tests,etc.) done before the surgery to make sure it's the reflux causing your problems.  I also had a wonderful surgeon and good care at home.  Good luck to you if you decide to have the nissen.

[shirley arbour]

I had the operation 2 yrs ago and it did help some but now I have another problem. I cannot eat everything that he said I would be able to, also I still have to take medication but there is a bright side  I can bend down to pick up anything without the worry or being sick.  What can happen with this operation and is one of the side effects is that you can develop difficulty in swallowing and eating some foods that are hard to digest. Ask your doctor what are your chances in developping this problem.  If he does the operation by liposcopically  you will recover a lot faster  and your stay in the hospital is not as long.  If he has a video on the operation ask if you can see it .  The video will help you do decide what to do.

[Lee]

I had the Nissen surgery 17 moths ago. All was well up until 1 week ago when I started having belching, pain in the center of my chest and shoulder after just about every meal. I had motility studies and gastric ph prior to surgery which were abnormal. I also have asthma, when I feel this way I take my inhaler which helps. This was the same before my surgery.
I am putting off seeing a physician since we have moved and I will not be able to see the surgeon that did my operation. I hate to start all over with this again but I know it is inevitable.
For now I started taking Axid again and being very careful of what I eat. Any advice?

[Jeannine( comment for Patricia)]

Comment to Patricia:

I had a EGD (endoscopy) and also had food in
my stomach. I then went for a Gastric Empty Scan
which showed Gastroparesis (delayed emptying of the stomach)
I had reflux and burning in my stomach and nausea at
the time of diagnosis. If your stomach is not emptying
properly than the food sits and the stomach will continue
to produce acid which can cause pain,pressure and reflux.
Propulsid is a motility drug which helps stimulate the
stomach to empty,it may help? I would try getting a second
opinion with a diff. gastro Dr. Not all Drs look a things
the same and all have different experience. I would try
a teaching or university hospital in your area. Try to
find out who deals with motility disorders of the esophegus(sp?)
and stomach. Surgery is a big deal to your body, Id do some
homework before I try again. There is nothing wrong with
looking for the "best" dr you can find, your worth it, its
you body and your life. I wish you luck and hope you are
feeling better soon!
Jeannine ***@****

[patricia(message for Jeannine)]

Thanks for your message about gastroparesis. I do have an motility disorder in my oesophagus ( due to the Bulimia) and also gatroparesis. I never had a gastric emptying scan befor the surgery. I take propulsid now and see for a while what is happening altough I think the propulsid makes me dizzy , do you have any reactions from the propulsid and how long did you take it?
patricia ( ***@****)

[Deborah LeMoine]

To Patricia for Jeannine:  I have been taking Cisapride, a prepulsid, since my last onset of motility reflux a few weeks ago (20 mg twice a day).  I have experienced dizziness from time to time as well but nothing significant.  When you feel drowsey just lie back for a while and take a nap.  I find if I ignore the drowsiness I feel dizzy. Good luck.

[Joyce Koeppe]

I was given Prilosec for acid reflex and an hiatal hernia.  Everything went well until I came down with Strep Throat, and one month later, the flu.  Now when I try to take the Prilosec I throw it back up, if I eat to much, it comes back up.  I don't have all the discomfort I had before with indigestion because I watch what I eat and when I eat, but I am confused on the vomiting?  I haven't been on the Prilosec since the Strep Throat. What do I do now?

[Pam]

Ive had surgery for a hiatal hernia caused by reflux, and I no longer have any reflux. I will never be able to vomit the  of my life. So if I ever get the flu or anything, it has to run its course thru. This is what my Dr. told me.  I had the surgery two yrs ago, and have no reflux since.

[Barb to Pam]

If your Dr told you you can not vomit ever again he must have done a terrible job on the surgery. This is not a normal result after having this type of surgery unless you had oher complications. I was told that if this were to happen after surgery it means they made the valve too small and it should be corrected by stretching it with a hose type appliance. I would see another Dr for a second opinion.

[Frank Green]

I am waiting to have a fundiplication, after suffering for 10 years with acid reflux PH test Demesster 66 and 127 (dubious result) My pain is maily in the middle of the back (very localised) and I now suffer severe periods of belching.

Motibility test OK, Endoscope clear.

Any similar experiences.

Best Wishes Frank