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Rolling hiatus hernia and gastric volvulus

Posted , 14 users are following.

Taura
Taura

First of all, thanks to others for sharing your experiences on this forum, now it's my turn!

I've been having problems eating a normal size meal for about 18 months now (gastric pain / reflux/vomiting after eating). I first went to my GP after about 3 months and was given Omeprazole first, then Lansoprazole, neither of which worked. I had an ultrasound to check for gallstones (negative) and about a year ago went on the waiting list for an endoscopy. After about 4 months of waiting my GP managed to get me bumped up the waiting list as \"urgent\" because the medication wasn't working. (At the time we were going on the guess that it might be an ulcer). I eventually had an endoscopy in late January (without sedation, just throat spray - bad decision, it was really miserable and I retched solidly for about 20 minutes during the procedure), and they decided that I had an intrathoracic pylorus (basically my stomach was all twisted and partly in my chest cavity) so sent me for a barium swallow a few weeks later which showed a large hiatus hernia.

Fast forward to July when I eventually had an appointment with the consultant endoscopist to tell me all this officially, and refer me on to the surgical team. After the hernia diagnosis my GP had put me onto Metoclopramide but it hasn't honestly made much of a difference.

I saw the surgeon in mid August and they described the condition as gastric volvulus with hiatus hernia and that they will do a laparoscopic fundoplication with an anterior wrap (hopefully has fewer side-effects than a full wrap) and put me on the urgent list as the symptoms aren't managed by drugs.

So I had a phone call last Thursday evening saying that they'd had a cancellation and would I like to come in for my operation on Tuesday (tomorrow!) so after a quick (15 mins) pre-op assessment on Friday, I'm now in the final stages of waiting for the big day. I have a bit of a cold unfortunately so there is the chance that tomorrow they'll decide I'm not fit. Hopefully not, as I've spent the last 4 days doing a massive handover of all my projects to my colleagues - it would be a bit of a let down to walk back into the office on Wednesday saying \"I'm back!\" but ultimately it's about what's safe and best for my recovery.

I'm rather apprehensive about the general anaesthetic (never had one before), the post-op pain/discomfort and the whole \"soft diet\" challenge coming up over the coming weeks, but if it puts an end (eventually) to the misery of not being able to eat a normal meal without cramping and vomiting, it'll be worth it in the end.

Wish me luck!

3 likes, 37 replies

37 Replies

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  • mary040367
    mary040367 Taura

    Posted

    I am so glad to see that I'm not crazy for one the problems I have had ate exactly the same and have had two endoscopy a colonos opt motility test barium tests too many nets claiming I have had sinus infections I am not sure how one day it started as heartburn and regurgitating to can't swallow right way anything at all with out so much pain in chest and throat, vomiting, and the feeling of so much being in my stomache that it feels as if some one is in t th ere pushing up in my ribs that I can't btrayhe right. I have had times at night where I woke up trying to breathe and racing heart. Thought I was having a heart problem. I have went thru every medicine from omeprazole to nortryptiline, I am finally getting to see a surgeon I'm praying they fix my hernia now I have had it for over a year and a half and can't eat at all now. I don't see why it Iis such a mystery to Drs when I have read so many living this way and for over a year they have been like they don't know what's wrong. I have learned more from otg ers than a Dr. So thanks to all that post it made me feel better to see hope on here. ☺
  • joyce06855
    joyce06855 Taura

    Posted

    Good luck

    Read your story on my umpteenth visit to hospital

    Now they r doing nothing so i made an appointment with a colorectal surgeon to fix my volvulus.

    So tired of not living normally!!!!

    Wish begged for surgery while i am here

    Never heard back

    So i made my own appointment

    Good luck to both of us i would love to hear howyou are now

    • mary040367
      mary040367 joyce06855

      Posted

      I wish I could say I am better my surgeon flipped on me a galbladder surgery instead of the hernia after some testing I don't feel it did anything at all. still have all the same problems I read everyone has my symptoms that got as hernia surgery are better now, but my surgeon says that he thinks if he does it it will make me worse but other people say different and reffered me to a different gastro doctor and said some symptoms should get better after a month. I don't think these problems are from my galbladder at all. My hernia is get to g worse and Iin just at my wits end with all of this I just don't get it ast all..But I am about to get another opinion since I have read so much about every symptom being caused by the hernia so why do drs act like its not so confused.

  • needarolly
    needarolly Taura

    Posted

    Hi Taura, you must be one of the luckiest hernia sufferers I’ve seen...I’ve had my rolling hiatus hernia since 2010...I also suffer with depression and this hernia conflicts with the depression..i have tried numerous times at my doctors in Bridgwater Somerset Taunton Road medical centre and they will not budge they will only operate if my hernia is critical????....I get lumps of air every time I eat or drink, so this is very depressing indeed and very painful. I get stomach cramps also and the hernia spasms depending on what I eat. My diet is relatively healthy, I don’t eat fried food and haven’t since hernia was diagnosed or red meat because it’s too much for my 2/3 the size of a normal stomach to digest, its instant acid reflux. I’m a chef by trade so you can imagine how depressing this is because I can’t cook the food I like because of the hernia, very depressing indeed when I try to cycle i get very short on breath as I can feel the hernia pushing up more into my lung. Yet I tell the docs this....and it’s still a flat outright No! I’ve even been into the docs and showed the cuts on my leg (I’m a self-harmer and have been since age 11 and I’m now 40) even after showing the doctor how distressed and depressed I am because of this hernia and still nothing, all he did was give me the phone number for bloody Nuffield which cost £5500 to operate...this is ridiculous. How on earth did you manage to get surgery because this is most certainly not fair. I am close to committing suicide because I can’t run and kick a ball with my son I am a footballer and, sorry was, a 100 meter and 200-meter runner. I can’t do anything physical because of hernia which I am sure you are well aware of. Even my fiancés parents who live in Australia are thinking of flying me to Australia to pay for surgery. which I cannot morally accept. my dead mum would not be impressed. Because $8000 AUD is way too much for me to even think about paying back. I can’t get any work because of this bloody hernia...not even as a cleaner...yet ESA are getting on my back about finding work, which btw i haven’t worked since 1998 I was originally signed of sick permanently with clinical depression. (Bi-polar disorder runs in my mum’s side of the family and at the moment I haven’t fallen victim to yet, which they decided not to tell me until I was 31). yet Esa seem to think I’m capable of working which is a bloody joke. So again? how did you get surgery? when I’ve gone through all of this and still I get refused. Is there any advice you could give because I am slowly losing the will to live because of this wretched hernia!!!

  • jimnjulie
    jimnjulie Taura

    Posted

    Hi Taura, these are old posts but I'm hoping you get an alert.  My wife has the same thing going on and the chiropractor found it, and he showed me how to pull it out of her diaphragm, so we do that often.  When I asked him about surgery he didn't recommend it because the diaphragm is cut and it changes your voice making it rough sounding.  have you experienced any change in your voice after surgery?

    • mary040367
      mary040367 jimnjulie

      Posted

      How do you pull ot out of the diaphram i have had this problem for two years just had a second dilation that has done nothibg they wont do anything about the hernia so if i could learn how you do that pulling it out can you tell me how. And i can teach my hisband if i can not do it myself thank you

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