Hiatal Hernia Club...

[amaltha 2]

In reading a lot of these it seems many of had hiatal hernias that were repaired during our surgery. I know I had one so I thought I would make a thread to get all of us together and get all of our questions together.

Me, personally, I never even knew I had the hernia until I woke up from surgery. They kept asking if I had acid reflux and I said no...because I don't. And now I am thinking about it and I did have an issue when I would do Bikram Yoga. I would alway throw up on my mat or in class...now I am wondering if the hernia had something to do with it? I won't know until I start going again. But the question lingers...:biggrin:

[Ineedalapband 0]

I had one too and never had a clue until my Dr. told me he repaired it. I've never had any problems with reflux. The only time I even had indigestion was when I was pregnant.

[amaltha 2]

I had one too and never had a clue until my Dr. told me he repaired it. I've never had any problems with reflux. The only time I even had indigestion was when I was pregnant.

I am glad that he fixed it...it just seems weird to me.

[innotu 0]

I too had one repaired - I only found out when he told me after the operation. During my post-op check-up he also showed me pictures of my operation which showed a before and after picture of the hernia - not pretty but interesting nonetheless.

[thetvgeneral 0]

yep i had no clue! got to see the pictures. but i was on medicine for my acid reflux. and had no trouble as long as i took it. guess the old family doc should have done some tests instead of just writing a prescription. the doc that did my surgery said that he's had a few that were too big and he couldn't do the banding at the time and could only take care of the hernia. so i'm glad mine wasn't that big.

so i have to ask...did it seem to make your recovery time a bit longer? i know i took pain pills until that saturday (i was banded on a tuesday). and even after i went back to work...i had problems bending at the waist and even just moving from one side to the other when i did simple things like answering the phone at my desk. happy to say...it's all good now!!

[kristenmh 68]

i had a hernia as well. none of my pre-op tests (esophogram and chest xray) showed it nor had I ever had any problem with reflux.

i defn. had a longer than expected recovery. the challenge for me was taking deep breaths -- it just hurt so much. my surgeon told me it was b/c of the extra swelling due to the hernia repair.

i also find i can't eat as much/drink as much as some other folks seem to be able to at the same point in their recovery. (i'm two weeks out).

[lsm519 0]

I also had a hiatal hernia fixed which I never knew I had until I picked up my medical clearance paperwork, anyway they fixed it the day of surgery 8/18 and now I am experiencing alot of gas and reflux pain. I know that gas is common but I already went through that stage the first week and a half I had it in my shoulders, my concern now is the reflux do you think it is possible that it wasn't corrected and now I am suffering from reflux or do you think it's still gas that just moved to a different area.

[ShrinkyDink 0]

Same story, I had no idea I had a hiatal hernia until he told me he fixed it when I woke up. It did make my recovery rougher, I had more pain than I expected.

Makes me wonder how many people are walking around with them and have no idea!

[thetvgeneral 0]

i've been thinking the exact same thing!

[Shamrockgirl60 1]

Hey me too, me too, just saw my doctor last week (he had been on vacation for the two weeks after surgery, but I had seen the NP) He told me he repaired my Hiatal Hernia also. Never knew I had one. Didn't see any photos thought darn it. Seems like a lot of bandsters have them.

[vegasgirl44 0]

I had one too and never had a clue until my Dr. told me he repaired it. I've never had any problems with reflux. The only time I even had indigestion was when I was pregnant.

OMG! I could have written this post. DITTO exactamundo!

[aprilapple 1]

I got one too! I actually have problems with reflux and mentioned it to the surgeon at my nitial consultation. He sent me for a GI and it was confirmed. So I will have it fixed at surgery. I also wonder if it will make recovery harder.

[thetvgeneral 0]

i wouldn't say that recovery was harder...it was just a little more painful. but you can do it!!

[Ange05 0]

I definetely think my recovery was harder due to the Hernia repair.

There was another girl opposite me in my ward who had the same procedure done. She was up and about and feeling right as rain, and I had problems breathing, chest tightness & was generally in alot of pain. She had none of the above. The funny thing is I didn't find out that I had a hernia repaired until I saw my doctor 2 weeks later.

[vegasgirl44 0]

I definetely think my recovery was harder due to the Hernia repair.

There was another girl opposite me in my ward who had the same procedure done. She was up and about and feeling right as rain, and I had problems breathing, chest tightness & was generally in alot of pain. She had none of the above. The funny thing is I didn't find out that I had a hernia repaired until I saw my doctor 2 weeks later.

OMG! Ditto again!

If I would have known the day of surgery that I had hernia repair, it would have explained to me for the next week why it was so hard to breathe in and was so tight. I can't say my recovery was even hard. It was uncomfortable, but it sure does explain WHY it was so uncomfortable in certain areas.