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Hernia hiatus

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nezra
nezra

Well today I had my surgeon appointment! I was half expecting him to try and put me off the operation but I was very surprised! He basically gave me my choices of continuing for the rest of my life on the medication or have it repaired. He drew me a diagram of what happens during the op so was quite helpful. He explained it would either be keyhole surgery or an incision but they would not be able to tell until I'm on the table so to speak on whether they would be able to do the keyhole surgery. I asked what the statistics were on it being successful and he said 90% in the first ten years do not have a return of symptoms. He explained that I will probably not be able to eat as normal for several months and that's I'm likely to have trouble swallowing initially but I should return to normal within weeks. He did mention with the hiatus hernia op I will never be able to be sick again. Which is slightly worrying but it apparently will come out the other end! So now I'm just waiting for a date, he said probably not this side of Xmas which to me is good as I can enjoy all that yummy Xmas food before my not so yummy liquid diet after the op! 

1 like, 24 replies

24 Replies

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  • Braker87
    Braker87 nezra

    Posted

    Hi nezra

    I had the operation three weeks ago I to was told that they would try keyhole but maybe would have to cut me open but lucky I just have 5 keyhole cuts! After surgery I was starved for a day and fed with fluids! After this I was on a diet of soups jellyor-yogurts   and only water I have been on this phase of the diet for three weeks then the next phase which I start on Thursday is mash mince pasta or rice in very small portions! The diet is very limited and hard some days I really did struggle! Pain was n

    • nezra
      nezra Braker87

      Posted

      Yes he mentioned the one and four smalls holes for the keyhole. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will just be that! The only thing I'm not looking forward to the limited food intake because I love my food! Do you think it's worth it? Did you find you had trouble swallowing or is it that you become so full you just can't eat? 
    • Braker87
      Braker87 nezra

      Posted

      I was so pleased when I woke up and had the 5 cuts! The only thing is you can't rest a bra for the first two weeks that's what my doctor advised me! 

      I think it was so worth it I haven't had any difficulty swallowing however I have had to eat smaller portions And really chew my food lots as once I ate something and didn't chew it properly and it got stuck then I got hiccups until it was dislodged it was a weird experience!

      I get full really quickly and I hardly eat anything these days and I've lost over a stone in weight x

    • nezra
      nezra Braker87

      Posted

      That sounds good to me as I am over a stone overweight. Oh lord, not sure I'm willing to go outside without a bra on lol. I'm slightly worried about returning to work also, he said I will probably get a lot of wind etc, and I should be able to return after two weeks. I know it depends on the person, I'm generally fit with no other health issues so I'm hoping I can return fairly quickly without suffering with wind as that could be embarrassing 
    • Braker87
      Braker87 nezra

      Posted

      I brought one of those belvia bras there very soft and they don't offer much support but they are better then hanging loose!! 

      I was a bit windy at first and first in the morning but that seems to pass I get hiccups a lot but also they pass!

      Hopefully your recovery will be smooth I was so scared and had read some real horror stories but mine was all fine and am so glad I had it done 

  • Braker87
    Braker87 nezra

    Posted

    Not really a problem you do have shoulder pain the first week which is very uncomfortable but apart from that I could manage my pain quite well! I had a three night stay in hospital! 

    I think you have made the right choice and hope this has helped x

    • nezra
      nezra Braker87

      Posted

      Many have mentioned the shoulder pain so if I expect the worse I'm sure it won't be as bad as I imagine lol. Thanks for your input I find many on here I'm always unsure whether to go ahead with it 
    • Braker87
      Braker87 nezra

      Posted

      I was the same before my op and I was expecting the recovery to be so much worse then it was! I found hot water bottles and volterol helped with the shoulder pain Nd also laying as flat as you can x
  • judy54212
    judy54212 nezra

    Posted

    Hello Nezra,

    I have just been through a hiatus hernia operation. I think about 99 percent of the time the operation is laproscopic( keyhole) . I have five incisions on my abdomen nd they have healed very well. Only if they have a major problem do they have to do an open operation. It has been two weeks since my operation. I had a tough time right after surgery because I don't do well with general anesthetic but the next day was great. I never took any strong pain killers just Tylenol. I was on a liquid diet for one day and have been on a soft food diet for two weeks now. I see my surgeon tomorrow for follow up. I can swallow okay but I eat about six times  a day and small amounts. I can eat canned peaches, pears, applesauce, bananas, oatmeal , noodles, graham crackers, cooked carrots, peas, beets, mashed potatoes, mashed set potatoes, ice cream, and baked fish or hamburger meat that is well chopped up. And chicken well chopped up. I am feeling a whole lot better than before the operation. Good luck when your time does come. 

    Judy

    • nezra
      nezra judy54212

      Posted

      Thankyou Judy! I doubt it will be anytime soon with our national health service (I'm in the uk) have you found you have lost much weight eating the limited diet? 
  • judy54212
    judy54212 nezra

    Posted

    Nezra,

    i lost about 15 pounds before the operation and only about four pounds after the operation. I think i is very beneficial to keeping healthy and not having this problem reoccur to keep yourself trim. I live in Canada. How much is a stone? I had so many symptoms before the operation that I was really glad to get it done. The shoulder pain for me only lasted one day but they put ice chip bags on my shoulders in post op. It really helped. I was never told I couldn't vomit again. 

    Judy

     

    • nezra
      nezra judy54212

      Posted

      My gastro and the surgeon again confirmed I would never be able to be sick again. A stone is 14 pounds. Did you lose weight prior to the surgery on their advise? 
    • judy54212
      judy54212 nezra

      Posted

      No , Nezra, I had a paraesophageal hernia . That is a type of hiatus hernia where the stomach pushes up through the diaphragm and doesn't slide back down. I didn't have heartburn but I didn't want to eat very much . I just felt full very quickly as my stomach was always up against my esophagus. The weight loss came from not feeling hungry and the way food made me fill up with gas and burping all the time. I then started to get really bad headaches where I couldn't move my head or open my eyes for about four hours. The stomach was pushing on a nerve up to my head. I had trouble going any distance in  the car as the burping got worse. I didn't like to sit as that upset my stomach and was uncomfortable. My life was pretty uncomfortable and I was getting crabby. 

      Judy

    • nezra
      nezra judy54212

      Posted

      That sounds pretty awful Judy I'm not surprised, I understand the crabbiness, I have a high threshold for pain etc and I'm quite a chilled out person I think but some days it really just gets you down! I remember once I was in the waiting room waiting to go in for my gastro appointment and I was having a bad bout of nausea and thought I was on the verge on being sick in front of all the other patients and when I finally went in I just burst into tears, She asked me if I was stressed at home etc as I don't think she was believing I could get upset over just that, but sometimes it really did get me down. I'm glad it's worked out for you, it's good to hear the positives 
  • Merryl
    Merryl nezra

    Posted

    Hi could you tell me what symptoms  you are having and how did the surgeon decide that you need an operation. I have read that they only operate on large hernias not small one's.

    I am waiting for an appointment to see the Gastroenterologist. I have had my hernia for over 20 years and was told mine is mild so probably won't be offered the operation.

    Good luck!

    • nezra
      nezra Merryl

      Posted

      Hi Meryl I was told too that mine is only small but because I have a lot of symptoms my gastroenterologist said she would refer me to surgery. I'm told some people don't get too many symptoms with the hiatus hernia. I have suffered with heartburn for many years, I'm only 37 but it wasn't until around 3 years my symptoms got worse. I have nausea everyday sometimes waking me up at night, heartburn became so bad it wasn't and still isn't controlled with medication. I also have reflux, which brings my food back up into my throat  when I hae eaten although this isn't all the time. I'm on the maximum amount of lansoprazole, 4 times a day ranitidine 3 times a day and donperidone which helped a lot but I had to stop due to side effects. I had many investigative procedures, scans, colonoscopy, endoscopy which finally showed my hernia. Since then I was given a ph manometry which measures the amount of acid over 24 hour period that was being produced. I think the fact I stated I no longer wanted to be on so much medication that the gastro said my next step would be surgery which I had my appt for today. I was expecting the surgeon to say no and continue on medication but he never luckily. Do you not have many symptoms? 
    • Merryl
      Merryl nezra

      Posted

      Hi Nezra, I had an endoscopy last year and was told the hernia was small. I then had a barium swallow 4 months ago and my hernia was not even mentioned, so don't know if it showed up on the barium swallow, but I was diagnosed with a dismotility problem. Food sticks in my oesophagus and it comes back up in my throat, similar to what you are getting. I was told the dismotility problem is not too bad. I have 2 things going on so don't know which one is causing the problem..

      I also get chest pain which is playing up more than ever. I am on lansoprazole so don't have any acid unless I forget to take it. I also get a lot of burping which makes my chest pain worse. I had the tests  but have'nt seen a gastroenterologist yet. Don't know how long I have to wait. What was the manometry test like? I heard it is not very nice.    

       

    • nezra
      nezra Merryl

      Posted

      Awful lol, but I found the endoscopy worse, I just didn't like the feeling of the tube going down my throat, the ph test tube is a lot slimmer so you cannot feel it as much, the fact I couldn't have my lansoprazole it made things worse so I just didn't  eat just had soup and milk for 24 hours as the acid I get is unbearable. I also get the chest pain and I have a cough at night time which I didn't realise until a few months ago is a symptom of the hernia. Luckily you now have an appt if you tell them your not happy to continue any longer on medication also it may help to write down your symptoms as it always the way you sometimes forget when they ask you and suddenly remember when you have left! Little things that you think might not be connected are actually a symptom like I found out with the cough at night time I thought it was just a dry throat never did I think it was connected. It's shame really that they don't push for surgery as long as you are fit and they feel there would be any drastic complications I'm sure in te long run it would work out cheaper to resolve the issue than have continual hospital appts, procedures, medication costs etc. but I'm sure there is method in they're madness but it baffles me! 
    • nezra
      nezra

      Posted

      Also, I asked the surgeon as I was surprised how quickly he agreed to surgery why it was so quick and he said technically speaking my gastroenterologist had done all the hard work so to speak medication, procedures etc so with seeing him today it was literally a 'do you want the operation or not'. I have been seeing my gastro on and off for the last 3 years almost tho, each time my medication was increased etc until finally there was nothing more she could so for me. 
    • Merryl
      Merryl nezra

      Posted

      I cough quite often too, It is a dry cough. I have not seen a gastro Dr for years. The last time I saw one was when I was diagnosed over 20 years ago. Did you have to  wait long to get an appointment with the Gastro Dr..I suppose hospital waiting times are all different though.

      I paid private for an endoscopy and was out for 40 minutes. I did'nt feel a thing. I was put out before the tube was inserted. I could'nt go through that without being heavily sedated. 

    • nezra
      nezra Merryl

      Posted

      I was told you are only normally sedated, so your awake but very drowsy but as soon as they attempted to get it down my throat I pulled it back out, I did this several times before they knocked me out completely, I was out for about an hour by all accounts. I only waited about 3 months for my initial appt through my gp. Then I saw my consultant every 3 months, each time after trying new medication or a new procedure for follow up on how I was doing. I think I have figured it doesn't pay to just take it in your stride as such, it's your body and you know how your symptoms effect you they should listen. Although for a long time I felt like as if I must be imagining my symptoms as I seemed to be getting nowhere until the endoscopy was done. With any luck you will get a sympathetic consultant! The surgeon told me also today he has patients referred to him that have had hernias for many many years who then decide to have the surgery as they worry about the possible long term side effects etc and he said he's happy to do it! Maybe I was lucky with my surgeon today, he was very helpful 
    • Merryl
      Merryl nezra

      Posted

      I think it is the worse procedure you can have. I hope they don't want me to do another one or the manometry either. I hope I don't have to wait too long to see a consultant.

      I have been told by someone on this site that they can do an operation on the hernia and the dismotility problem both together at the same time. So I will have to wait and see what the cosultant says. I think the waiting time is about 4 months.

      I have lost a lot of weight since I had the dismotility, I can only eat soft foods so not getting enough nutrition.

      I would like to know how you get on with the operation.  

    • nezra
      nezra Merryl

      Posted

      Keep us updated merryl, and I will do the same. Fingers crossed for you. 
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