I had fundoplication procedure in Jan. 2015. Shortly afterwards I developed severe nausea. I could not vomit because of fundoplication, although my body went through the horrid process of trying to. Eventually my gastroenterologist ran tests that proved my stomach was immotile and was not emptying. The nausea continues with relief only by prescription Reglan. Tomorrow I see my primary care physician and plan to discuss what my options are for the future
I had the surgery on September 19, 1999. I remember the day because that was the last day I had heart burn or GERD, ever. I know there are risks and complications with every surgery, but I would not go back for a million times what the procedure cost me. My surgeon was Dr. Steven Rowe in Chattanooga, TN. He teaches this procedure all over the world, and when I had mine, had already performed thousands of these procedures, with few complications. Everyone may not be a candidate, but, thankfully I was.
May I also add, he says that he just wants the terrible burning sensation from his mouth and throat to go away. Have you ever eaten a red, hot, chillipepper before? That is the terrible sendation he has 24/7.
He will tolerate the food coming into his mouth. He will drink liquids the rest of his life. He will tolerate his teeth rotting away. If there is a way to get rid of the burning sensation from his mouth and throat that is cause by this acid reflux? If there is, then we can avoid this surgery. Otherwise, he is begging me to find the best surgeon for this surgery, who will answer his questions and discuss the risks and side-effects up-front rather than get a nasty surprise the rest of his life.
By the way, where can I find list of side-effects for this surgery? Better to know about this in the comfort of our home, rather than when they wheel and exhausted patient into surgery and shove a piece of paper in their face to sign, without giving them the chance to carefully read it over.
Few minutes ago I spoke to my dad about this thread and all your experiences and I am telling him better burn his money than pay some surgeon to perform this surgery and have a situation much worse. His reply was that he is suffering so much he still wants to have surgery, because "how much worse can my suffering be?"
I am really sad and frightened to hear about your horrible experiences. My father has GERD that is not controllable by these recommended lifestyle changes, diet, etc, etc. His doctor recommended this drastic surgery and I have been unable to perform adequate research on this. As it is, my father says he feels half-dead with the terrible burning, rust taste in his mouth and throat, plus food coming out of his mouth.
It seems this surgery may not even be worth it. Just now I've spent an hour with American Medical Association's voice menu and cannot get a human being to ask which surgeons perform this surgery. When I go to their website to perform a doctor search, you must know the name of the doctor. If I knew the name of the doctor, why would I perform the search?
I really don't know what to say that will make you all feel better. For your reference, I have created a blog to keep track of my dad's medical history so I can try to help him best I can, and so that others may find valueable information pertaining to their conditions.
http://researchmedsurg.blogspot.com/
my husband is experiancing the same thing. showers or a heating pad provide some relief but otherwise our life is hell.
I had a lap nissen 11 years ago. I am an RN. I had been pleased with the result in that I have had no reflux since. However, I have had three small bowel obstructions and numerous ileus beginning about six months after sugery. I also have explosive diarrhea daily, unless I'm obstructed, along with bloating and the inability to belch or vomitting. I could not vomit with the first obstruction until fecal matter was in my stomach, I thought I had a really bad virus until that point. I had always followed up with my surgeon until this week when I went to a gastroenterologist who said it sounded like I have vagal nerve damage. I wish I had gotten a second opinion years ago, although he said there is nothing I can do about it except manage the symptoms.
My good friend had the fundoplication procedure on 9/1/09. Her life has been hell since. She can only tolerate several ounces of fluid at a time. Sometimes all stays down and other times not. Her MD plans to do a"gentle" dilatation in 3 weeks. If no improvement another in 3 weeks. If still no better redo surgery. She had a laproscopic procedure. I am an RN so she looks to me for advice but I have had no experience with this procedure. I am beginning to think she needs another opinion. Any comments would certainly be appreciated.
Fundoplication surgery can damage the vagus nerve of the stomach. But one of the side-effects that is noted in the papers that are signed before the surgery probably states that changes in stomach emptying can be a side-effect of the surgery. If you google 'gastroparesis following nissen fundopliation' you'll find listings for the issue and publications starting around 1996. They say it's an uncommon problem, but also state that with the increasing numbers of fundoplications being done, increasing numbers may be expected.