Nissen fundoplication
Posted , 3 users are following.
I am a 17 year old female and and still have so much of life ahead of me! I have been suffering from severe gerd since I was 2 years old. I have permanent damage to my esophagus and a small stomach ulcer that is being treated with sulcarafate. I take 60mg-80mg of Nexium everyday. The nexium has been helping slightly. Instead of expiriencing gerd after every meal it has narrowed down to only about 4 or 5 times a week. I have always had regurgitation and chest pain but I have just recently started suffering from shortness of breath and throbbing throughout my entire chest. I was wondering if anyone would suggest a Nissen Fundoplication? Also what would the pros and cos of this surgery be?
1 like, 9 replies
dominique64820 mbray0918
Posted
Omg you poor soul. This is a terrible affliction. I've only had gerd for 3 years, I can't imagine how u feel being so young and suffering so long.
60-80mg is a very high dose of nexium. How long have u been on this dose? Have u read into the risks of taking ppis? (Proton pump inhibitors). Our stomach acid is very important. Without it we don't digest our food and we are risk of bacterias harming us.
Have you been tested for helicobactor pylori? Celiac disease? Food allergies and intolerances? Parasites? Hiatus hernia? SIBO?
Do you sleep with your bed raised 6-8 inches?
Tried licorice? Tea and dgl licorice tablet.
Have u tried probiotics? Sauerkraut? (Live from fridge).
I assume you have adapted your diet? And avoid all trigger foods.
Did you have antibiotics as a baby?
Babies often get reflux due to their LES muscle being undeveloped but they normally grow out of it as the LES matures. I wonder if yours didn't develop properly?
Have you had a mamontry test ( may have misspelt that sorry) and 24 hr ph study. These test how your oesophagus is working and the LES muscle. It's where they put tube up ur nose.
Where do you live? In U.K. In Guildford they have state of the arc hospital for these tests. I know as my mum goes there. She has alchlasia. The oesophagus doesn't push the food down and it gets stuck. Do u have this problem?
If you have faulty LES muscle you could consider the Linx surgery before the Nissan. The Nissan seems the very last resort for me but saying that I wouldn't rule it out.
Manuka honey is very good for stomach ulcers. Get the one with the highest numbers. Ie 15 +.
Well my Hun I hope some of this helps. I will pray for you. Try to to stay calm and manage your stress. Do you do yoga or meditation. This helps me.
Let us know how you get on.
God bless
Dom
mbray0918 dominique64820
Posted
dominique64820 mbray0918
Posted
The risk of taking ppis long term may be that you develop osteoporosis (brittle bones) and that you end up suffering with malnutrition, as without stomach acid you don't absorb the goodness from your food. I was terribly constipated when I was on them. Do you suffer with this? Because if you do then your chances of bowel cancers will increase. If you think all your waste is sitting there fermenting and releasing toxins back into your system. I'm not trying to scare you Hun but you should be aware of the possible risks.
If u have a bottle of water with no lid on and you tip it up water is going to leak out, no matter if there is lots of water in the bottle or a little bit of water. Now think of this as your stomach and the water is the acid. Whether you have a lot of acid or a little bit it will still leak into your oesophagus if your LES muscle is faulty and not closing properly. This is why you are not 100% better when on ppis. There is still a small amount of acid escaping.
The ppis also gave me chest pains and bad anxiety? Do you get these symptoms?
Don't ever just stop ppis cold turkey though. Read up on acid rebound. You need to wean off these meds slowly. If you do decide to come off them get in touch with me I can tell you how I come off them.
My gp said if the meds don't work then the only real alternative is the op!!! Where do you live? In the U.K. They do the Nissan F laparoscopically. This is how I would have it done. I don't like the sound of the 5 incisions. I know a guy who had it done like that 10 yrs ago and he is great. He just has trouble with eating bread. I could live with that!
But remember there is the linx device to consider too. This is a lot less invasive than Nissan.
All the best Hun.
Dom x
mbray0918 dominique64820
Posted
dominique64820 mbray0918
Posted
Well the linx device comes from the states and the doc ( not sure what state?) will have performed many procedures unlike docs in other countries.
Look into both Hun and then make your decision. Yes, talk to about coming off ppis when time arises.
Forgot to mention tight clothes but I see 6barrets did. Some bras give me reflux😣
Barretts mbray0918
Posted
I can sympathise. I suffered from reflux all my life (and I'm now 50 years older than you
.
Nexium will reduce the acid (a chemical action) but not the reflux (a mechanical action) which I suspect is your greatest problem.
I assume you are following the lifestyle advice: lose weight if necessary, avoid tight clothes, do not overfill your stomach (eat little and often), avoid exercise after meals that will compress, tilt or shake your stomach, leave at least 3 hours after your evening meal before going to bed ... If that doesn't work, a Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication could be the answer. It certainly worked for me.
However, you may find surgeons reluctant to give you a fundo because of your age. There is a chance of them coming undone. Mine lasted 5 years until 5 hours of violent retching from contracting norovirus caused it to loosen and I had to have it repaired.
There is a lot of nonsense propagated about fundoplications. You will hear people say you cannot burp or vomit after the operation. (Which may be true in some cases just whilst the internal scar tissue heals. ) They say it cannot be undone. (If it were needed, it could be undone. ) A follow up study of patients who had laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication 20 years ago concluded: "Long-term results from the early experience with LF are excellent with 94 % of patients reporting only occasional or fewer reflux symptoms at 20-year follow-up. However, 18 % required surgical revision surgery to maintain their results." and 90% were glad they had had it.
There are alternatives you may consider, like LINX. Go to the free book / website www DownWithACid org uk and check out the chapters on Reflus reduction in the Reflux section of the book.
Frequent occurrence of acid reflux has to be taken seriously.
mbray0918 Barretts
Posted
I really appreciate all the info in the fundoplication and am defineltly going to talk to my dr about getting a surgical consultation to see what a surgeon thinks!
Have a great day,
MC
dominique64820 Barretts
Posted
Hi number 6! Lol
Do you mind me asking where you had your NF op done? I'm based in Perth WA.
Thanks very much
Dom
dominique64820 mbray0918
Posted
What do you think the future holds for erosive GERD treatments?
The use of baclofen and its similar is perhaps an alternative for refractory to PPIs GERD patients. Baclofen is a GABA-b agonist and has been demonstrated to be effective in GERD by its ability to reduce the transient lower oesophageal sphincter relaxations and the reflux episodes.
I just read this off news medical site. I'm trying the neurotransmitter GABA at the moment which a natropath has put me on. Only been on it a week so early days still. He did this neurotransmitter test on me (not cheap) and I don't fully understand it. But he thinks it's the lack of GABA in my body that is causing my digestive problems. I'm also low on serontonin which is made in the stomach.
Dom x
However the usage of such kind of drugs is limited by side effects of somnolence, dizziness and intestinal constipation. Further, there has not been long-term data published regarding efficacy of Baclofen in GERD. Other products are also in preliminary analysis.