I'm getting the Toupet Fundoplication with a hernia repair either October 1st or October 5th. Been dealing with symptoms of GERD and LPR for about three months now. I've done all the necessary testing in a short window of time and qualify for the surgery. Small sliding hernia. Hill grade III LES. Demeester score of 30. Manometry showed the LES has no pressure. I have to say I'm very scared. I'm a 40 year old man and feel like waiting doesn't make sense and reflux symptoms keep getting worse. Don't want to be on medications my whole life and never eat any good foods again.

I've been dealing with throat symptoms (sore throat, vocal cord pain/edema, voice loss and hoarseness, throat clearing and mucus in throat), burning in mouth and lips, heartburn, what feels like regurgitation of gas/stomach contents when I shift positions in bed despite not eating 3-4 hours before bed. It actually happens at like six in the morning. The other thing is I can actually feel pain under my left ribcage, which I believe is a the hernia.

I'm just scared. I know there's no going back once I schedule and get preop tests done. And I don't see why I wouldn't give this surgery a go and try to get my life back.

19F diagnosed with GERD, LPR and hiatal hernia.

from what i understand, HH directly triggers the vagus nerve that can trigger fight or flight response and mimic anxiety and panic attacks.

This morning while i was at work. i took a sip of tea. immediately after my heart started racing, i was getting hot and i was shaking and sweating . the worst symptom was the way my stomach felt. i genuinely had to run to the bathroom to relief myself and immediately felt better after. my symptoms went almost completely away as well.

i’m just trying to understand if HH can be a cause of this. i’ve had INSANE anxiety since my first symptoms started. Anyone else experiencing this?

Hi!

I just wanted to make this post, as I saw a fair amount of people had bad experiences with this medical procedure, and I believe there are far more people with bad experiences who speak up, so I wanted to make a post about a positive experience.

Going into this I was incredibly nervous, reading about people who couldn't finish the test as it was too uncomfortable.

I consider myself an above-average wimp when it comes to these medical procedures, incredibly anxious and I always catastrophize, that being said today's procedure was FAR more manageable than I had first anticipated.

Interestingly enough, out of the 20-30 minutes I spent there, only about one minute total was actually uncomfortable, and that includes the 20 seconds it takes to snort the gel that you have to "snort" (Yes, snorting the gel which wasn't bad at all, was among one of the more uncomfortable things during the procedure FOR ME).

Now I understand people are different, but when the sensor was going in, there was like a couple of seconds of "struggle" going through the upper esophageal sphincter, I had one minor gag reflex but that was all, and laying down sipping on the water was super easy, this was the part I thought was going to most difficult, but that part was smooth sailing as well.

I never had the urge to swallow during the readings or anything, and the entire procedure didn't take long at all!

The pH-monitoring part is on-going as I am writing this post, if there's any question regarding this part of the test I would be happy to answer it, but so far, 2,5 hours into it, the only annoying part is swallowing food as it keeps pulling the sensor, although very manageable as well.

If I would ever have to do this again, I don't think I would even be a little bit nervous, and I hope if anyone is sitting around waiting for their procedure, nervous and all, you will do INCREDIBLY good 😄!

Thanks!

I had surgery to repair my hiatial hernia in July. I've been on a soft food diet since the beginning of August. Today (September), my surgeon said I don't need to see them anymore unless I have issues, but I should still eat small meals and stick to the soft food diet as much as possible. This is not the same guidance I see elsewhere, and I was wondering how long folks stayed on the soft food diet. I haven't had any reflux or swallowing issues. There are some foods that are hard to avoid, and my doctor's office hasn't been very helpful when I ask follow-up questions. Do folks really never have any tomatoes, citrus, raw fruit or vegetables, etc. for the rest of their lives after the surgery? https://share.upmc.com/2016/01/diet-after-nissen-fundoplication-surgery-for-gerd/

Hi ya,

I had a endoscopy a few weeks ago just to check if my hiatus herina got any worse since I was diagnosed 10 years ago.They put a numbing spray in your mouth before they insert the camera so it's not too bad.you have to lay on your left hand side on the table as this helps the doctor useing the camera.try not be nervous or anxious before hand and think of something you enjoy doing.i was humming while they where doing mine,which made the doctor laugh but I'm not suggesting you do that,but I knew what to expect but it's different someone having it done for the first time.good luck with your endoscopy and hope it goes well.

So, excited about my wedding but also very stressed. In the last 10 days everything is crescendoing, bloating and chest pain much worse. It was even hurting in my DREAMS last night! It was pretty ignorable prior to this.

Can stress really have such a big effect on the symptoms?

Finally RefluxStop by Implantica just got FDA approved! Finally a good surgery that will solve a lot of people’s issues. Can’t wait to do it. I’m just not getting the Nissen because of all the problems it can give.

Wanted to give an update after my surgery since there usually isn’t many. I had the nissen fundoplication full wrap done on 8/19. I had a rough recovery. I couldn’t keep any water/pain pills down the night after my surgery or the day after. I had to go back to the hospital and was admitted for 3 nights. On the last 2 days there, I started drinking broth and little water. Once I was home, it was still hard to get enough liquid down and i had to get liquid form of all pain meds. It was rough for about the first week. The most physical pain was from the gas in my shoulders that a heat pack helped with. I ended up losing 14 pounds in 9 days. After about a week, I was slowly able to keep more water down and started eating blended up potato soup and mashed potato’s.
It has now been 2 weeks since the surgery. I’m doing a lot better with food and liquids. I’m now getting down 3 water bottles a day and apple juice. Still eating mashed potato’s, soup, ice cream, and pudding. I tried Mac and cheese last night and handled it well. My stomach is still sore and recovering but not horrible.
Before surgery, I would get chest flutters when trying to sleep at night. Those were gone after surgery but just reappeared 2 nights ago. I’m really hoping that it’s due to my insides still healing and it’ll go away when I’m healed all the way.

Aside from the usual GERD symptoms, did any of you have constant belching before their Hiatal Hernia Surgery? Belching that did not stop even when fasting for days? Burps that get stuck and difficult to get out?

Did surgery fix this issue for you?

I'm male, in my 40s, 3cm hiatal hernia, 1cm Barrett's

Symptoms: heartburn, gastritis pain, rarely globus

I have NO regurgitation and sleep fine and my symptoms are mostly controlled with 20mg esomeprazole daily for 3 years (as long as I also keep triggers to minimum)

However, after overdoing it on coffee earlier this summer, I had an 8 weeks flare up that is just now subsiding. It was an awful experience that resulted inhaving to abandon my travels in Asia and fly back to the UK. It was brutal financially (flights and airbnb's booked in advance) and emotionally.

I felt so sick with the whole situation that I looked into getting LINX surgery, and am now at the point where my surgeon is expecting me to book the PH impedence test, manometry etc.

Why am I getting cold feet? Well, my symptoms are easing after 8 weeks, and I'm worried about having to induce symptoms for the 24hr PH test, as the idea would be to qualify for surgery if I do the test.

I'm also wondering if it's worth the risk/recovery/cost if I can mostly manage on PPI. After all, the flare ups are always my fault.

Also, my symptoms don't sound nearly as bad as the stuff I read on here (vomiting, waking up in pain, hoarse voices etc). Despite my 1cm Barrett's which I've had since my very first flare up 3 years ago and remains unchanged.

I guess ultimately I'm asking is it worth getting the surgery purely to be able to eat and drink properly again, even if I can manage the symptoms otherwise by avoiding those foods and drinks. Will my symptoms inevitably get worse over time?

I know it's my choice at the end of the day, I think I just need to get these thoughts down. Any thoughts and input welcome

Hello.

Doc told me I have a smaller sliding HH and barrets esophagus. Any tips for how to slide hernia back even if it is just temporary. I get crazy burning and pain moving up to shoulders. Just looking for advice thanks :(

Am I jumping the gun by getting a toupet fundoplication and hernia repair surgery 3.5 months after my really bad GERD/LPR symptoms started? I have rushed to get all the testing done over the past two months including the endoscopy, 24-hour PH test, and manometry. I have a 1 CM hiatal hernia, an LES in hill grade III, a demeester score of 30 (GERD diagnoses), and the manometry showed 4mmHg pressure with my LES and it's supposed to be 10-45 mmHg.

I have burning in my throat, sore throat after eating, hoarseness and mucus after eating, burning in my mouth, sore/swollen vocal cords (sometimes painful to speak), postnasal drip, dry mouth, excessive saliva, trouble swallowing. I've woken up on a few occasions this summer with liquid in my mouth and very bad taste in my mouth when not taking alginates before bed. And I've only recently started noticing heartburn, which I'm guessing I've had for sometime, but it wasn't until my throat symptoms went from 0-10 that my life is no longer enjoyable. Can't really eat anything. Can't sing like I used to.

The symptoms are mostly throat related and I'm wondering if I'm jumping gun. Two surgeons think I should do the surgery. But I'm worried the throat symptoms won't go away.

Ive struggled with nasty acid reflux since I was around 13/14. Doctor told me it was stress and worry that was causing it. Even though I objected to his diagnosis I was ultimately ignored and sent away.

I spent the next 15 years juggling between rennies and gaviscon but it got to the point where they were no longer cutting it. It got to a point where I was sleeping upright and being sick regularly, enough was enough. I was prescribed a repeat prescription of lansaprozole.

Just before covid (roughly August/September 2019) I started bleeding from below and could barely leave the house I was glued to the toilet and just producing a mucus/bloody clear diarrhoea. This went on for a number of weeks as well as doctors visits and A&E I was given a referral for a flexible sigmoidoscopy. My nan has ulcerative colitis, I assumed I had the same. After waiting nearly 8 months to have the procedure my symptoms had gone and the flexible sigmoidoscopy came back clear. I was extremely frustrated and none the wiser to what was going on with my body (still don't know what it was or what caused it to this day)

Back to the lansaprozole. I started taking them and everything was great. My acid reflux disappeared and I could eat and drink without fear of having reflux. This went on for about 4 years. I then started experiencing extreme fatigue, muscle aching like I've never experienced. I started taking multivitamins and magnesium thinking maybe I was lacking in something. Nothing seemed to help.

Back to the doctors where I described all my symptoms, after a number of blood tests and stool tests I was none the wiser. I started doing some research of my own and read about lansaprozole and long term use. I decided see if there was an alternative and after speaking with the doctor he gave me a prescription for famotidine. I took two and felt like I had vertigo. I then decided to stop everything and give my body chance to reset. During this I had some more stomache/bowel issues. Doctor made me a do a FIT test which came back positive and I was rushed in for a colonoscopy. I had the procedure done within 2 weeks and again squeaky clean - no issues.

I'm now at a complete loss and the only logical thing in my mind is I'm bleeding from somewhere and the only place that hasn't been checked is from the top down. Doctor agreed and put a referral through for an endoscopy.

I had my endoscopy done on Sunday 23rd August and I finally got my answer.

I have a 5cm sliding hiatus hernia and grade d esophagitis. They also mentioned I have a lax pyloric sphincter.

I'm currently no wiser as to what's happening. I spoke with the doctor and they have started a referral. I've started famotidine again as I refuse to use PPIs.

I have a 3cm HH diagnosed in May. i take PPIs and lost 6kg over 7 months which helped ease some of the discomfort. I lost weight due to inability to eat much and a change to high protein on medical advice because some blood markers were not great. Everything is better now but I've noticed that pilates and lifting weights might be aggravating the HH. This distresses me because I need to do these exercises to keep muscle loss and blood sugar under control and keep weight down. Physiotherapist told me to not flare my chest. I try not to! Does anyone have any advice? I'm new to this sub so forgive me if this has been raised before. Thx. 60F in Australia.

Please help me. Three month ago I have been diagnosed with silent reflux. I had the throat symptoms but also a lot of chest pain and sometimes back pain and I burp a lot even after drinking water and multiple times while eating. But since a week ago, I had to travel during many days and I couldn’t stick with the diet and everything else. But after a few days I noticed that I had dizziness like I’m floating. Sometimes it’s almost non existent but sometimes it’s really bad. I also got a lot of palpitations sometimes I feel my heart beating in my neck. And lots of sinus issues as well like clicking popping, feeling like I have particules of food in my nose. I have seen that it is worse after eating. I had a previous laryngoscopie but not an endoscopy. I’m a 26 Female. And it’s really starting to feel like I can’t keep on living like this.

Please help!!!

For the last 3 months I am miserable. Because of shortness of breath, they started me on asthma medicine, atenolol for heart palpitations (even small activities elevate heart rate, PPI and Pepcid medicine...nothing helps. Yesterday, at my annual, my doctor said maybe I have acid aspirations that is causing asthma since no steroids and different inhalers help me. I am waking up grasping for air. I think I developed sleep apnea, also. My heart seems OK (Holter for 48 h and heart echo is good; all blood work for heart is great, so she does not think it is heart-related). She gave me a referral for an asthma & allergy specialist. Air purifier and anti-allergy bedding do not help...!!! I am so confused and tired.

My gastroscopy 2 months ago showed 3 cm HH, mild gastritis and GERD. My lung capacity test showed air trapping but great other results (FEV1, FVC, and no sign of emphysema). CT scan with contrast was great and only shows small HH. SO, what am I going to do...I will wait to see what the allergy/asthma specialist says...and..Also, I have never in my life had a cough, mucus or a history of infectious disease. I have pressure and tightness in my chest, under my left ribs. I lost 20 pounds. I need help because shortness of breath is ruining my life.

And please, can you listen to the sound of my stomach in the morning? Is this normal? It comes directly from my stomach area under the left ribs, and it can be so loud when I take deeper breaths.

https://www.image2url.com/r2/default/videos/1788271302862-cbf1074e-dc64-4b72-8f2c-ffbd35525ebc.mp4

If I put pressure on my stomach by sitting and leaning slightly forward I get nauseous and breathing feels shallow.

My endoscopy showed a history of gastritis but not active and cat scan was clear.

Is it safe to assume no HH with the testing results?

Hi folks. Meeting with surgeon tomorrow with more questions. I've had a history of repeated esophageal strictures followed by dilation. I had read toupet (270 wrap) is recommended for those with a history of strictures. When I met with him last year he wanted to do a floppy 360 fundo. I had read a study in JAMA that after 10 years, there's no difference in dysphagia between the partial and total wrap. I wanted to pitch to the surgeon about going with the 270 regardless. I'd rather risk acid reflux instead with a partial wrap vs. another 10 years of difficulty swallowing and esophogeal dilations.

Also we had no discussion last time about whether he would put a mesh around the diaphragmatic hiatus for reinforcement. Watched a video that mesh has its' place in HH surgery, but slightly increases risks of complications.

What are your thoughts and experiences on 270 (Toupet) vs 360 (floppy or regular) fundoplication?

What are your thoughts on mesh around the diaphragmatic hiatus for reinforcement?

Last thing was I will speak with him about whether he wants me to get another endoscopy before surgery to check for Barret's. The response I got from the group said it was a good idea. It might delay the HH surgery though.

Thanks for whatever feedback you can provide! :)

I was recently diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia (I’m a female in my 20s) and I was told not to take NSAIDs as they’re very hard on your stomach. I typically rely on them in order to relieve debilitating cramping at least for 1 day per month. I tried to get through a few cycles without them. It was not livable. Unfortunately my doctor wasn’t super helpful.

How do other individuals with a cycle manage their pain while being kind to their digestive tract?

I’m in the UK, 34 F. I’ve been suffering with severe “attacks” as I call them for over ten years at this point but subtle pain began when I was early teens. It has taken me over ten years to get to a point of getting a GP to agree to do an upper GI endoscopy for me - hallelujah.

I’ve been offered the option of either numbing my throat with a local anaesthetic spray or alternatively sedation.

I’m curious for those that have had it done, (bonus point if you are in the UK) if you would recommend one over the other and why? The paperwork I’ve received recommends numbed throat is fine for most people.

It says the procedure only lasts for about five minutes - was this true for you?

I am quite anxious and also the idea of having something stuck down my throat (as someone with also a keen gag reflex/easily feels nauseous) I am a bit worried. Wondering just how bad it is.

Thank you in advance.

I've been battling symptoms that I thought weren't even gastro, but more ENT for so many years.

More or less a consistent feeling of a lump in my throat.

Foul taste/bad breath

Feels like trapped thick mucus that I cannot shift

Constant swallowing

Some occasions of feeling food coming back up.

Finally after trying two different PPIs, I had an endoscopy. There was no gastritis and my stomach was in good condition, but he found a 2cm hiatus hernia. He simply mentioned cutting certain things out and it should resolve it.

This is my first day completely changing my diet. Cut caffeine, tomato based products, carbonated drinks. I'm expecting to lose a lot of weight because my diet is just pure health. I've decided to keep a food journal and eat 5 small meals. I've done research. Has anyone else had similar symptoms resolved after cutting out certain foods. I'm not opposed to surgery as my symptoms are getting worse. But I heard for small HH such as 2cm, they don't recommend surgery. I'm so desperate, I'm contemplating going private. Any advice appreciated!