Hiatal Hernia Repair with Gastric Sleeve

[AmyInOrlando 348]

I think those of us that have had to have both surgeries need our own recovery support group. Our symptoms are different, our recovery seems slower and watching others soar through recovery without "issues" is discouraging for me. Agree ?????? Right now I'm 8 days out and I feel like I'm recovering from heart surgery rather then gastric surgery. My left shoulder still hurts, I have shortness of breath, I feel like I've swallowed a golf ball, I have hiccups, chest discomfort, gastric reflux, night sweats and the worst part is.... I had none of these issues before surgery. I never had any symptoms of a hiatal hernia, so I was never diagnosed. I'm scheduled to return to work on August 19th. I just hope I'll be strong enough to do that. Just a short walk around the block and I feel like I've run a marathon. I would have thought that by now I would be able to walk a mile effortlessly. I am 60 years old and no history of major surgery before this. The only surgeries I've had are a knee arthroscopy, rhinoplasty and tonsillectomy when I was 5. Is anyone else having a hard time feeling better? How long will these symptoms last?

[Museum-Mama 196]

Yup. That's about normal. I had a hiatal hernia fixed, and gallbladder removed when I was sleeved. I felt like poop for quite a while. Maybe a month at most. It does get better each day. I still have to take Prilosec to control the acid. I still gurgle when I drink certain liquids, but for the most part am much better. Even the pain in the shoulder should go away. Take GasX chewables. They will help with some discomfort and gurgling too.

HANG IN THERE!! The first two months were the hardest for me, and I made it through just fine. You can too.

[NoneYa 380]

I had a known hiatal hernia repaired in surgery. I was miserable and. Ery often sick with it. To be quite honest I have no sign of the removal and wouldn't know if I hadn't been told. My reflux from before surgery is gone. All of the bad things that came along with it are gone. The feeling of having a baseball stuck in my chest after eating has not happened again. When it was bad it felt like a heart attack. I am very hopeful that when your healing is complete you will feel the relief I have. I hope so.

[adargie 159]

I had a hiatal hernia reapir as well, I never knew I had one. I did get some reflux periodically but figured it was from bad food choices only. I also would get heart palpataions after eating a big meal, and I learned this was from my stomach pressing on one of the major nerves. But it always freaked me out. I hope this will be gone as well since I won't be eating real food for awhile yet. I am sorry your recovery is hard. Make sure to take any meds they prescribed and don't hesitate to ask for more if you need them, no reason to be in pain. that alone is hard on your body and mind. I have never been someone for pills but I am sooo thankful for having them the first couple days. And I still take them at night for a complete nights rest.

[Kaj 88]

I am also 60 and ummmm..4 days out from surgery. I also had a hiatal hernia repaired however was fairly sure he would find one when he got in there so it wasn't much of a shock to me. I have had gastric acid issues since I was about 18. I had learned to live with it and used a variety of acid reducers/blockers over the years - most recently I have used Omeprazole for a 14 day course every few months or so to keep it under control. I'm not exactly doing an irish jog but I feel pretty good, got 67 oz of liquids in yesterday and about 40 gms of carbs. Use your meds. as the other folks said - gas-x, prilosec, and tums or mylanta are priceless. If you kill the acid so many of the symptoms you are experiencing will go away. Stomach acid id a bear! Feel better soon and feel free to message me if you need an ear....

[marfar7 1,533]

While I didn't have a hernia, my dr spent an extra 30 mins digging my lapband out of my stomach, so he informed me that I'd be in a little more than normal pain. Was I. Most painful post op recovery I've ever had (about 5 surgeries in the past). Lapband was easy peasy 4 yrs ago compared.

And I too got sick of people saying "I just had surgery yesterday and ran 22 miles this morning". Felt like i was being a big baby. Now that I'm 3 1/2 weeks out, I'm feeling much better. it took like 10 days tho to not feel like a truck ran me over when I woke up in the am.

Be patient. Everyday will get a little better and before you know it you'll be bouncing out of bed like nothing had ever happened. Good luck!

[takingbackcontrol 137]

I too had hernia repair and no symptoms. I had terrible pain across my shoulders, back, and in my chest post op for almost a month. The incision pain for the sleeve was nothing. I'm at 7weeks now and starting to feel like my old self with the exception of ongoing diarrhea issues. It takes a while. I too am tired of hearing about miraculous recoveries, mine certainly wasn't. Just now starting to feel good and have some energy.

[Jen35 283]

I had bad reflux for years and was on protonix. I didn't realize it was due to hiatial hernia until they did an endoscopy before sleeve surgery. My reflux was immediately gone after surgery. I'm 3 months out and I occasionally get some heartburn if I eat something spicy. Recovery was hard but managable, mostly had issues eating. Couldn't eat much and the Protein Shakes made me gag. Then I had gallbladder issues and it removed 3 weeks out. So I then was recovering from 2 surgeries back to back. Doing great now! It will get better. I think the first 1 - 3 weeks just suck in general for many reasons.