Op day plus (nearly) 10 weeks

Well, I think I can do a summary now.  Firstly, in short the results of my operation have been fantastic.   Here are some bullet points.

As I've said, I can go the night without worrying at all about reflux.  If I've had a few drinks, I can once more drink a glass of water without any problems later - so I'm not getting hangovers any more.

I can eat all the things that I couldn't before:  onion, any spicy food (e.g. curry), orange juice, any sort of alcoholic drink, oily/fatty food (bacon, sausages)... the list of stuff I can eat again is huge.

I never have to take antacids - e.g. Rennie, Gaviscon or my prescribed Pantolprazole (or its predecessor, Pariet). Not once in 10 weeks.

I can bend over, stretch and so on without worrying about reflux.

I've lost a bit of weight - I need a new hole in my belt - but I don't expect it to stay that way.

My stomach capacity is smaller - I went out for a meal last week and couldn't manage all of a burger, although to be fair it was a big one.  However, I would not have had a problem before.

My scars are no longer sore, but occasionally I get a twinge from them.  I guess there's still underlying scar tissue which I'm sure the doctor said will heal after about a year.

I can burp happily, though not as easily as before - you can no longer call them a belch.  But as an added advantage, I've got a cast iron excuse to burp loudly whenever necessary!

All in all:  a success.  On the Internet, I've read a few disaster stories of Nissen Fundoplication results.  Mine are just about perfect.  My life has changed.  OK, I wasn't crippled by my problems, but they had severely cramped my lifestyle, and now I'm normal and average for my age.  And my relationship with my partner T has to have been improved - no more worrying about what I eat and what we can do.  And I'm saving loads of money of antacids and prescription medicine (anyone want a nearly full bottle of Gaviscon?)

If you are suffering my symptoms - acid reflux, interrupted sleep, restricted diets, permanent upset stomach - find yourself a surgeon, preferably one experienced in this op, like mine is, and talk to him/her.  Consider having this op.  I hope - I think - you'll revolutionise your lifestyle.

Good luck.

Op day plus 5 weeks

Everything is coming together nicely now. I'm feeling almost normal.  My stomach is still feeling full easily, but not as much as it was.

I've been eating sandwiches for a while now, and have graduated into eating the crusts too (well chewed!).  On Monday this week (op plus 26 days) I had my first beer.  Beer here (South Africa) is almost all lager, so quite fizzy.  I poured it into a glass and let it settle, and took plenty of time to drink it.  I'd been having the odd sip from T's beer for nearly a week, so I thought a full bottle should be OK, and it was.  There was some burping, but no more than usual and quite painless.

The gas from the other end has diminished, too.  Even last week, after my "supper" (about 5.30 p.m.), I was getting quite uncomfortable (and so was T!), but now I would say I'm almost back to normal, and I'm happily having a small snack (generally milk and biscuits) quite close to bedtime, with no ill effects.  I'm having food with onion in, with no ill effects - it used to give me loads of trouble before.  I'm hoping to try garlic and chili soon.

I'm sleeping without pain, although I'm still tossing and turning and waking up quite a bit, but I think I'm back to the natural sleeping pattern of a man my age (54), more or less.

I have absolutely no acid reflux now.  I occasionally have sore throats which I always assumed were related to reflux, but it would seem they weren't.  I gargle as often as I can, even if it's with plain cold water, and that seems to be doing the trick as I've not had a sore throat for a few days now.

The scars are fading, but I imagine when I sunbathe come summer, they'll be very noticeable.  A small price to pay.

I still get tired quite easily, but I think that will get better soon enough.  It's a good excuse not to do too much work around the house!

Nurse T is pretty much relieved of her duties.  No more fussing with blankets or fetching my food and drink!

The bills are all paid.  I had medical insurance which paid pretty much all of the fees (about 41,000 Rand if you're interested. At today's rates, 3,800 GB pounds or 6,000 US dollars).  This was in a pretty good hospital, with excellent staff and aftercare for 2 days, although I'm not really that experienced in comparing hospitals.

All in all, I'm very happy with the way things have gone so far.  Next Thursday will be my six weeks, which seems like an excuse to go out and have a meal to celebrate, with my doctor's permission to eat anything I want - although it will be a long time before I relax and forget to chew everything dozens of times!

Thursday 9th June - 2 weeks

Can't believe it's two weeks since my op now. I've been taking it easy since Tuesday's setback and feel like I'm beginning to recover properly now. My eating has improved - although I find it very hard to match my appetite with my stomach capacity, and I usually end up hungry between meals.  This week I've been eating snacks that are a bit more solid in between meals, rather than yoghurts etc., such as small cakes.  And when I do eat a proper meal, I'm starting to put away quite a lot (but only in comparison with the last two weeks). I've lost quite a bit of weight: I'm down to 72.7 kg as compared with 74 kg the day before the op.  It means my trousers are hanging a bit loose.  Just before my op I went out and bought some "loungewear" - basically track suit bottoms in a moderately heavy cotton that I can slob around in all day.  They have a tie at the waist which I can adjust to my own comfort and they're nice and warm (it's winter here).  The only problem is that I could only justify buying one pair, which means when they have to go in the wash, I have to wear jeans - wearing a belt is a bit uncomfortable (it puts pressure on my abdomen), so I end up hitching them up all the time, presumably because some of the lost weight is from my waist (though not enough if you ask me).

After my early evening meal I feel over-full - it's a bit unpleasant for a while.  Plus it generates a LOT of wind.  I guess I'm not the best person to be around at the moment.


The scabs around the scars (where the stitches were) have pretty much cleared up now.  The scars themselves are all about 2 cm long.  If you feel them you can feel lumpy tissue underneath, I guess where the skin & muscle is healing.  But bending and stretching is a lot easier now.

Op day plus 12 - a small setback

This morning I felt like trying to start being normal again. So once breakfast was over (such as it was - still quite small), I went and did a bit of light work in the garden, then came in and tackled the washing up.  It left me feeling a bit tired so I had a sit down. Later when I got up again I almost fainted! I was completely exhausted and had to lie down for a couple of hours.  In the afternoon I had a sleep. So - I'm under instructions from T not do do anything even remotely like manual labour for a couple of days.

Op day plus 11 - stitches out!

Just got home from the scheduled visit to the surgeon's rooms - the stitches are out.  Tickled a bit, not painful, somewhere between a scratch and an injection (but not as bad as injection). Doctor is happy everything is OK.  Carry on, basically. I can drive (a manual gearshift saloon car in my case) as soon as I'm happy I can cope with an emergency stop (the seat belt I suppose) - I reckon late this week or early next.

The plasters are off as well and my abdomen is a bit of a mess - see photograph.  He says the incisions will have healed as much as they ever will in about 10 (?) weeks total.  So, no heavy lifting or moving, and no stretching for a while.

Op day plus 6 - 9 (Thursday to Sunday)

Mostly just getting better now. Still a bit uncomfortable moving, especially bending and stretching, so I try not to do it.  Still taking a couple of pain pills at bedtime, but don't need the laxatives any more, I've moved from not often enough to too often!  Finding a poition that's comfortable at night can be difficult, but I always get there in the end.

I've moved onto proper food, as long as it's got mince in it.  My stomach feels full even with just a small meal.  I added a yoghurt after lunch today and felt like I was going to burst.

The stitches come out tomorrow morning, first thing.

Op day plus five (Wednesday)

Took ages to get to sleep last night, even though I took painkillers.  But I slept well after that and that's two nights in a row I haven't had to take extra painkillers in the night.

And the good news is: finally, a bowel movement. I'd taken a third sachet of laxative last night and I it was all very comfortable.  They will probably be more to come though, so I've had another sachet and I hope that will prove to be back to normal.

I feel very much brighter today.  To sum up so far, apart from what is probably post-operative pain, there are none of the problems I had before, such as acid reflux.  For the first time in years, I'm not taking any medicine for stomach problems.