Hiatal hernia after already having the sleeve?

[leebick 448]

4 hours ago, KateinMichigan said:

Hi Lee,

I thought after a month it was supposed to get a lot better. The weight loss is a bonus, but the pain when eating sucks! Has the pain stayed constant - or is it slowly getting better? Is it really tight when you eat meats? Does it feel like it’ll get stuck? When does your surgeon say it’ll get better? What are some of your favorite foods/go to’s during this time? I’m guessing a lot of shakes - but do mash potatoes hurt too?

Thanks!

HI!

My surgeon is a GREAT bariatric surgeon, as far as doing the surgery, but she isn't on top of much regarding the nutritional aspects of the program. I finally called one of the nutritionists associated with the bariatric program. She said it's not uncommon for people to have more issues eating after the HH surgery than after the initial VGS surgery. She said that she thinks it's because when having VGS, there is that long internal suture line from forming the sleeve, but it's not connected or stitched to anything. With the HH repair, I've had my sleeve "tacked" to something internally, as well as mesh stitched into my diaphragm. Every time I breathe or swallow something, that all gets "pulled on" and that's what she thinks the pain is from, and also that the mesh repair narrows the opening in the diaphragm through which the esophagus passes. I don't know... I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, hahaha, but it seems kind-of a reasonable explanation!

It's still a guessing game regarding eating. I eat Soup for dinner at least half the time; not so much fun in the middle of summer, but it's food. I make sure the veggies in it are really soft and I can mash them up. Sometimes I can tolerate crackers in the soup, also. No Pasta unless it's well mashed in sauce, but even then it's questionable. I mash up the macaroni in macaroni and cheese and it's OK, but when we had stuffed shells I only ate the filling and the cheese from the topping. No rice, no breads, even with a lot of butter. I had Cereal recently (Lucky Charms) but had to wait for it to get soft in the milk. eggs are OK, as is tuna salad and egg salad, but chicken salad today was disastrous. It's a different kind of pain than from the HH, more like a line of pain across the top of my chest. Salad is a no-no, has been all along, but right now I still struggle with ground meats (burger, turkey burger, etc). I do OK with corn on the cob, though, which is a gift as it's one of my favorite summer treats! I honestly never know what's going to sit well, although anything that is smooshed up in a gravy or sauce is usually OK, or meat that is fatty. I still have to take small bites and chew, chew, chew, but once it goes down, it STAYS down, which is a plus, and still NO GERD! Also no PPI, no tums, etc. I'm still not sure how any of this is supposed to go, but I am glad I had the HH repaired. I was tired of drowning in acid every evening and of vomiting up food daily.

[KateinMichigan 24]

On 7/20/2021 at 5:35 PM, leebick said:

[KateinMichigan 24]

Hi Lee - just doing my weekly check in - how’d it go this week? Is the pain better? Is it easier to eat?

[leebick 448]

Just now, KateinMichigan said:

Hi Lee - just doing my weekly check in - how’d it go this week? Is the pain better? Is it easier to eat?

Hi, thanks for checking in. Yes, it is getting easier, better. I just have to be mindful when eating- chew a lot, eat slowly, pay attention. Yesterday we went with friends to Celebrate my birthday (I'm 65 today) and I was able to slowly sip a beer and carefully eat some nachos- it was GREAT, and makes me feel like finally I am going to get back to life! (5 weeks post-surgery, if anyone's keeping score!)

[KateinMichigan 24]

Happy Birthday!!! Nachos and a beer without a side of Acid - lol. Sounds glorious.

Edited July 26, 2021 by KateinMichigan

[SleevedK 25]

Just wanted to bump this thread to check on how both of you are doing. Kate, any update about getting your surgery date? Lee, are you still doing okay with your recovery?
My own plans for surgery were put on the back burner for a few reasons (some other family members with health issues that took priority, plus I felt like my symptoms had calmed down enough to be tolerable) but tonight I am having some terrible burning sensations that are making me think I need to do something sooner rather than later. It helps a lot to hear the experiences of others!

Edited August 31, 2021 by SleevedK

[leebick 448]

7 hours ago, SleevedK said:

Just wanted to bump this thread to check on how both of you are doing. Kate, any update about getting your surgery date? Lee, are you still doing okay with your recovery?
My own plans for surgery were put on the back burner for a few reasons (some other family members with health issues that took priority, plus I felt like my symptoms had calmed down enough to be tolerable) but tonight I am having some terrible burning sensations that are making me think I need to do something sooner rather than later. It helps a lot to hear the experiences of others!

Hi! I just thought about checking this thread yesterday, to see how everyone's doing. I am doing GREAT! It is SO NICE to be able to eat without vomiting, lie down/sleep without being awash in stomach acid, and to basically live like a normal person again. My daughter (she's almost 28) and I took a quick trip to Disney before she started grad school and it was wonderful! I could eat and drink in all our favorite places and not be sick! I'm eating less than I had been and slowly losing weight, too. I guess the surgery was enough of a change to my insides that it was like a "reset" or something- but I have that obvious "full" feeling again and am doing better with my weight management. NOW I have to get back into the gym regularly, something that ended when Covid hit and I just haven't re-established the habit yet. Hope you all are doing well!

[Dee5656 5]

Hi Leebick. You still doing ok? My brother needs this surgery after his sleeve surgery as well. He is totally against being the bypass so hopefully his doc can do the HH repair with mesh as well.

[leebick 448]

Still doing OK, in fact, better than OK. No more vomiting, and as long as I follow mindful eating, no more pain. Having the HH repair, instead of revision, has been amazing! I lost the 7 pounds I gained (and a few more) due to covid and am right back where I was, weight-wise, following my original surgery (FIVE years ago). I cannot imagine having had revision surgery, with the loss of the pyloric valve and risk of dumping. I am good.

[Violette 0]

Hello all,

Has anyone here had a hiatal hernia repair after already having the sleeve?

I was sleeved in 2014 and all was going well ( uneventful recovery, Good weight loss and maintenance) until I got pregnant with my second child last year. I started to have some bad acid reflux in my third trimester ( burning pain, shortness of breath) and found out during a barium swallow and endoscopy that I have a ‘small sliding hiatal hernia’ but have not been told how exactly how big/ small the defect is.

I have dysphagia which is better some days but the most persistent symptom is shortness of breathe/ a ‘tickle’ in my chest that does not want to go away.

I stopped my PPI a few weeks ago for the manometry test after weaning for a little while and the rebound hyperacidity has been awful ( thank heavens for gaviscon)

In any case, i’m supposed to be meeting with my surgeon later this month to discuss results and like some of you, I would prefer not to convert to rny if I can have this addressed some other way.

I would love to hear your stories!