Nissen Fundoplication Success
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My  New Stomach, Part 1: Living Burp-Free

12/26/2012

18 Comments

 
Four months post-surgery I’m enjoying my new stomach. Since the holiday eating season began, I’ve indulged in Mexican food and margaritas three times, Middle Eastern food, pizza, cake, cookies, and wine—and my stomach feels great. 

But it definitely is a new stomach. The GERD and its complications are gone, and the delayed gastric emptying remains. What’s brand new is that I can’t burp, I have occasional hiccups, and I have mild gas/bloat.

So, what’s it like to not be able to burp? Before surgery, I belched almost every
time I ate or drank anything. It helped to relieve the constant trapped gas in
my stomach (I now know that with each belch came acid reflux). I was very
worried that I would be one of the people who couldn’t burp after surgery. 
 
The first month or so after surgery, not burping was a very strange experience. When gas was trapped in my stomach, I could feel it expanding uncomfortably, but the only thing I could do to relieve the pressure was walk immediately after eating or drinking. 

By about two months after surgery, though, I had much less trapped gas, and the
disturbing sensation diminished significantly. On those rare occasions now when
I feel like I really need to burp, I swallow a few times, and the feeling passes. That’s it!
 
I do take precautions to avoid swallowing air: I don’t drink from straws, I 
avoid slurping soup or hot drinks, and I don't have carbonated drinks. I eat
small amounts of gassy foods, such as beans, every few days, rather than
consuming large amounts daily (some people swear by Beano, but I can’t tell if
it works). I eat small meals, stopping when mildly full, and I eat slowly (I’ve
been doing this for years, anyway). Taking simethicone as needed with meals
helps a lot.

Many people can burp after a Nissen fundoplication, but some can’t, and you won’t
know until you have the surgery. But, don’t let it stop you, because there is a real benefit to not burping: I know for sure that I’m not having GERD!

In my next two blogs I’ll talk about my hiccups and gas/bloat. 


18 Comments
antonio
12/29/2012 03:41:50 am

It would not have occurred to me that one would not be able to burp... Interesting. Still, it sounds like it's been worth it for you-- I know how happy you are since the procedure. And burping isn't exactly one of life's greatest pleasures...

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Jim
6/14/2013 07:57:10 am

Please keep the Blogs coming. As you said 95% of the blogs are the horror stories. I have started the pre testing to prep for surgery. Considering I stopped drinking carbonated drinks two years ago and really would never miss burping since it always includes acid coming up I am now looking forward to it.

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tammy
1/15/2016 01:24:10 pm

i am 5 weeks out of surgery and eatting everything except for bread that kills me,but my main thing is not being able to burp and the gas just sitting in my stomach making me so bloated.no horror stories the surgery helped 100% with acid just want to burp.

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Jim
1/16/2016 08:20:23 am

Get some gasX. It helped a lot the first few months. Also I know there is great debate about this but NO STRAWS. I drank an Ice tea a couple of weeks after surgery and used a straw without thinking about it. Let's just say my kids now make sure I don't touch a straw. The poor dog ran out of the room when the release of gas started!

Terry
11/20/2014 02:08:21 am

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Elaine link
2/21/2015 12:23:07 pm

Thanks for keeping this blog up years after your surgery. I'm preparing for my own Fundoplication and appreciate your experience.

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Robin link
3/11/2015 02:19:06 am

Just received surgery less than a week ago too soon to tell how this will all come to pass on my way home from the hospital after a three night stay we hit a massive pothole that jarred my insides to hell and back. A bit concerned if I had caused any signs of damage to the procedure. I am belching and it is uncomfortable and I do have hiccups from time to time. Any suggestions or recommendations from anyone please feel free to let me know. I'm hoping this surgery was or will benefit me in the near future.

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Jim McMullen
3/15/2015 10:17:06 am

I still have the "fake burps " if I drink to much to fast. My doctor said it is like it is because it is like fluid going in a funnel the air escapes out as the food/liquid is going down.

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Cheryl link
4/26/2015 07:39:15 am

just had my surgery 4 days ago ,doing ok so far ,but having terrible trouble from the co2 gas used in the procedure .not much pain from my incisions ,but horrible more so from the co2 gas .Been doing everything they said to do to get rid of it with no luck .Was released from hospital on a full liquid diet ,but back slid yesterday ,back to the clear liquid diet .As I had troubling keeping down the small amounts I had swallowed ,found it to be making a u turn and my having to go split up what I had just swallowed .frustration ,disheartening as can not afford to be away from work long .

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Danny c hughes
10/25/2015 03:55:20 pm

I had my operation less than two weeks ago. No reflux symptoms. But I still burp alot tho. Is this normal????

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Nina
12/15/2015 06:41:50 pm

I had my surgery about a week ago. I'm belching alot and sometimes hiccup and belch that comes from the stomach. Is it normal? I'm getting really worried that the surgery wasn't performed correctly.

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heber
12/19/2015 04:00:20 pm

It s normal, your wrap is not healed yet it takes about six months for every thing to settle down but you will be ok I had a fundo 4 years ago and it was fine until I got food poisoning and vomited now I m back where I started but I really enjoyed it for 4 years best of luck

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Stacy
5/20/2017 06:02:22 pm

I had a fundoplication done just 4 days ago. The doctor only did 2 stitches as I am very prone to muscle spasms and he was worried it would cause problems with my throat. I have not had any problems with gerd,gastritis,or acid reflux after the procedure. I do get these small burps that feels like its coming from my chest and those hurt with striking pains. Ive also have bad pain in my left shoulder while breathing and have coughed some mucus up. I contacted my surgeon and he thinks its from the breathing tube, but ive had breathing tubes for other surgery and never felt like this. Has anyone else experienced pain while inhailing or random chest pain after the surgery. I know itsstill early and im far away from completely being healed but its very frustrating. Also I got a nausea patch behind my ear before surgery and my eyes have been dialted since! With blurry vision anyone else have this?

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Rachael
9/3/2017 10:58:30 am

Hi Stacy. I had excruciating pain in my left shoulder also. Had my op on the 4th August this year. Spoke to my doctor as the pain was unbearable and I thought it was a trapped nerve. It's actually just trapped gas from when they pump air into your stomach from surgery. I still get it coming and going now but it's not a constant pain like it was the first two weeks after surgery. My only advice for this is to let out all your gas. No matter what end it is from haha. Hope you recover quickly!

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Dion
11/8/2017 11:17:21 am

Hi all, I had a fundoplication done about 4 months ago, and it's been going great, I finaly stopped my ppis as I had bad rebound indigestion and it just burnt my stomach, now this week I have had very stressful time with travelling for work and my visa card declining and just been stressed, and normally when I eat anything with bread it gets 'stuck' but tonight I had a huge burger and I ate it quickly cos I was hungry and no pain from getting stuck at all, and this week I have been burping alot and feeling spaced out again like I used to, just need advice if the wrap can come undone? Or if it's in my head or if it's stress or what? Starting to loose my mind

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Kyle
12/6/2017 06:04:03 pm

I am now 5 days post op. I feel pretty good. Got off my pain meds 2 days ago. I must say the no belching sucks. I am optimistic about the future and understand it can take a while to heal. Gas bloat isn't fun. I haven't had any reflux so that's great. I sure do miss food and am starving. I am glad to hear of good outcomes for people. I just need to stay positive.

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Stacy
12/6/2017 06:49:09 pm

Update. I had my surgery on May 16,2017. Just over 6 months and I have to say the no acid reflux,burning and gnawing in my stomach has been great! But im still unable to burp! Still get bloated with gas. I also developed a small know right under my rib just above the incision but my doctor refuses to look at it. My appetite really hasnt returned to normal and I have lost about 25 pounds. I was only 130 before surgery. Getting food stuck such as bread,noodles,and meats are still happening and Im losing my mind with all this plus the weight loss.Im glad to see most surgeries went well but ive had so many complications. Ive also had a throat stretching surgery after as they think they did the wrap to tight.

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Judd
12/11/2017 02:31:26 pm

I distinctly remember after my first Nissen, they told me to go out of my way TO drink through straws in order to avoid swallowing air.

After Nissen #2 (20 years later) I find I have to belch all the time, even when I'm not eating or drinking. Air just gets trapped down there and enough of it causes problems with my Vagus nerve. I'd love to hear tips on keeping air out even in the absence of swallowing food or water.

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    Debra, former GERD sufferer, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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