Thursday, January 6, 2011

Problems with Nissen Fundoplication



I have blogged about my 2008 Nissen Fundoplication on December 4 and 5, 2009, if you want to read it. It stopped acid reflux from going into my lungs. The problem, we later discovered, is that the surgeon tied my upper stomach a bit too tightly around my esophagus. I have to be very careful about eating only small pieces of food, eating very slowly and chewing everything well.

It has worked, for the most part.

With my new diet, I was eating a wonderful raw kale salad I found at our cool and very expensive local organic market. There must have been something about the texture that just didn’t allow it to go down properly. It felt very uncomfortable and like something was stuck in my throat. Terrifying, actually.

I felt nauseous Do you know how you get that kick in of phlegm in your throat just before you get sick? Well, it was there. As part of the Nissen, I was told that I would never be able to vomit again. Surprise! It happened. It came up. I felt so much better. I will never eat raw kale again!

After recovering a bit, I tried to continue having some lunch. I tried a small piece of chicken. It also did not want to go down. It also came back up. I gave up. No lunch for me! 

Oh no! Am I going to have a problem keeping food down?

For dinner, I made small logs of ground lamb mixed into a bit of ground chuck with garlic, parsley, eggs and spices for gyros. Michael had his with scallions, black olives and tzatkeki sauce on flatbread. I had mine with some black olives. Period. I ate it tentatively. It stayed down. It tasted so good. I was so hungry.

So, I am learning. With all the vegetables in my new diet, I still have to be careful about working them through the Nissen.

Just something else to deal with. Adjust to. Move on.

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