Hi, My name is Linda Lee and this is my story. I had a problem with heart burn all of my life, I really didn't know what it was like to live without it. As far back as I can remember I dealt with it regularly every day. I had a real bad cough and went to see my Doctor back in 1996 as we talked he seemed stunned because during the course of my visit I had popped 11 tums. He asked if this was a problem today or has this been going on, when I told him he laughed and said "well at least we know you are not lacking calcium". He sent me to a specialist the very next day at Shands hospital in Gainesville, Fl.
I was given orders to be back again the next morning but not to drink or eat anything..The next day (upper G.I.day) I was given what appeared to be alkaseltzer followed with a mud like substance and told not to burp! yuk! The technician seemed baffled, he called for another tech who then paged a doc. The whole time leaving me standing there in a paper gown. The doctor then began to spurt out commands "lay down, sit up, roll over. I wondered if the alka seltzer and mud had turned me into a canine. O.K. all joking aside, they could not see a reflux at all, the so called reflux valve was notta!
That day I was given a medication called prilosec, woke up 3 a.m. gagging, headache, muscle spasms, an allergic reaction they said in E.R. My Dr suggested the surgery weeks later after looking at my esophagus, he said I had barretts and it could lead to cancer if we didn't stop the reflux. (A note to gene, my surgery was in Nov of 96 not 97, typo sorry) 4 days before Thanksgiving I went to Shands for my surgery laproscopic nissen fundoplication, I would be released the next day.(ha ha) I would have five small incisions and be back to my old self in a week.
Oh I must note that I was given one other test before the surgery I can't remember what it was called but it was really uncomfortable. A tube about as wide as a writing pen shoved through my nostril and then told "don't swallow yet" this test seemed to take for ever, nothing for pain. If anyone goes to have this test you will be told that it is a little uncomfortable , not true, it hurts! I believe it was called minometry?
Anyway away to surgery I went, my family waiting. When I woke up I must have just come out of surgery, because we passed my family in the hall way by recovery. Though still very groggy I noticed my father was looking at me in a strange way. Once in recovery I fell back asleep. When I woke up again I remembered my Dads face and I was afraid to look , after taking a deep breath I did and sure enough I was bandaged from my navel to my chest. Still not sure I untaped the top of the bandage and saw where the stables began. My Dr told me that having to open a person up was rare and the biggest cause of that is obesity..so I wasn't worried about it. I was later told that my spleen ruptured and they had to remove it. The pain was not bad the first day probably because I had a little button to push every time I started to feel it. But the next day it was horrible pain to me. And the days following were not much better, At one point I told my Dr Id rather have heartburn! But the pain did get better. I went home five days after surgery (they won't let you leave until you have a bowel movement) I lied!
I no longer live with heartburn at all but I do have a lot of other problems that I did not have before surgery. Gas is the biggest problem with this surgery and if you never had gas problems before, you find out that it can be quite painful. I can't burp so Gas just builds and builds until pushed out, unexpectedly I must add. Also after this surgery you can not throw-up! so if you catch a virus or the flu its dry heaves! I have problems with constipation now and I never did before. I also have pain at night waking up stiff in the back. I don't know about everyone else, but I also still feel a pulling feeling in my abdomen when lifting something (this scares me). Would I do it all over again ya you bet, Its better than cancer.
Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.
Linda lee