28th December 2007
yesterday my doctor asked me if i'm interested in surgery to help fix my bile/acid reflux. i said yes, so she told me briefly about nissen fundoplication surgery and now i'm to be scheduled for a bravo ph probe and manometry (yuk) to see if i'm a fit candidate.
i know there are tons of threads on the fundoplication surgery, but i guess what i'm concerned about is: well, i'm only 20 years old and have had reflux for just 13 months, my problem is primarily bile reflux, and i'm worried that surgery is being pushed on me. true, the medications aren't stopping the symptoms, (i'm on reglan and protonix which does nothing, and neither has 80mg of nexium or prilosec otc) but it's not like i'm in agonizing pain...
basically, what i'm feeling is fluids chugging up my esophagus constantly, and relentless gurgling/croaking and other sensations in my chest and throat because of the reflux. sometimes i get congested after i eat a fattening meal, and i also sometimes get diaphragm/chest pains & soreness. i constantly have the hiccups and odd burping that comes up and a nasty taste in the back of my mouth. an endoscopy in may showed everything was fine, except for the presence of bile in my stomach, and that's how i was diagnosed with bile reflux.
she only JUST prescribed me carafate the day of getting the surgery wagon going, and i've read that that's a primary medicaton for bile reflux. however, she and other doctors have been treating bile reflux as coinciding with acid reflux, as i guess they go hand in hand?
my question is: how serious was your condition before you turned to surgery? some sites on the internet make it out to be an easy-to-make decision for people who don't want to deal with medication forever. but then i come across stories and sites that say people only had the surgery when there was nowhere else to turn and they were really hurting. is it true you can't even vomit anymore after you get it? what happens if you have food poisoning? she didn't tell me about that, only that i couldn't burp anymore.
any experiences about making the decision about the surgery, the bravo ph probe & manometry, the surgery itself, post-op, temporary and permanent side effects, ANYTHING would be really appreciated. i still don't know if i'll be qualified to have it but i'd like to gather as much info as possible.
i know there are tons of threads on the fundoplication surgery, but i guess what i'm concerned about is: well, i'm only 20 years old and have had reflux for just 13 months, my problem is primarily bile reflux, and i'm worried that surgery is being pushed on me. true, the medications aren't stopping the symptoms, (i'm on reglan and protonix which does nothing, and neither has 80mg of nexium or prilosec otc) but it's not like i'm in agonizing pain...
basically, what i'm feeling is fluids chugging up my esophagus constantly, and relentless gurgling/croaking and other sensations in my chest and throat because of the reflux. sometimes i get congested after i eat a fattening meal, and i also sometimes get diaphragm/chest pains & soreness. i constantly have the hiccups and odd burping that comes up and a nasty taste in the back of my mouth. an endoscopy in may showed everything was fine, except for the presence of bile in my stomach, and that's how i was diagnosed with bile reflux.
she only JUST prescribed me carafate the day of getting the surgery wagon going, and i've read that that's a primary medicaton for bile reflux. however, she and other doctors have been treating bile reflux as coinciding with acid reflux, as i guess they go hand in hand?
my question is: how serious was your condition before you turned to surgery? some sites on the internet make it out to be an easy-to-make decision for people who don't want to deal with medication forever. but then i come across stories and sites that say people only had the surgery when there was nowhere else to turn and they were really hurting. is it true you can't even vomit anymore after you get it? what happens if you have food poisoning? she didn't tell me about that, only that i couldn't burp anymore.
any experiences about making the decision about the surgery, the bravo ph probe & manometry, the surgery itself, post-op, temporary and permanent side effects, ANYTHING would be really appreciated. i still don't know if i'll be qualified to have it but i'd like to gather as much info as possible.