Bump In the Road

 My hiatal hernia surgery went well. There had been the possibility of using biodegradable mesh to fix the hernia, but the doctor decided that was not necessary. I won't hear the surgeon's report until February 14th at my follow-up appointment. My husband used his phone to record the oral report given to him at the hospital which is how I know about no mesh. 

However, I saw the surgeon yesterday for a "rescue" procedure done in the hospital. 

I am still in the honeymoon phase (about 7-10 days post-op) before dysphagia (trouble swallowing) develops in most people. My problem started about 12:30 p.m. Monday mid-way through lunch.

 Some of the stuff that you need to avoid eating is counter-intuitive to how you would take care of yourself in other illnesses or post-surgery. Noodles do not go down well so chicken noodle soup not a good idea. Actually, though cream soups are acceptable, the idea is to eat something that exercises the LINX device, makes it open and close frequently, sort of like "physical therapy". Thin substances like soup don't make that happen. I have an hourly swallow to exercise the ring which normally is something like a tablespoon of yogurt, pudding, applesauce, crackers BUT not bread. Bread gets gummy and causes problems.

Things were going well until I decided to make a cheese omelet for lunch Monday. I should not have used the asiago cheese but stuck to some shredded Colby-Jack I had in the refrigerator. The cheese became kind of rubbery between the two layers of the omelet. I ate about half of the omelet, and stopped because I could tell it felt like the bites were not moving through the way they should even though I was pausing for 30-60 seconds between bites.

All day after that everything I swallowed regurgitated. I phoned the doctor's office Tuesday morning. They suggested I try peppermint altoids as peppermint relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter muscle. They suggested I stop eating for 2-3 hours. However, after 3 bites of mashed potatoes at lunch, back up it came. At 1:10 p.m. they called to check on me, and upon hearing of no progress, they told me to head for the hospital. When the doctor was done with office visits around 4:15 he would come and do a scope.

Since I had eaten recently (or tried to anyway), I had to have general anesthesia to prevent aspiration into the lungs; that lengthened the post-op recovery. We got home around 8 p.m. totally exhausted.

The doctor was able to push the bolus (the food clog) at the lower esophagus into the stomach and unblock the opening to the stomach. Some other stuff higher up in the esophagus he pulled out. I ate mashed potatoes last night and oatmeal this morning fine. Things appear to be working again. I have to take a course of steroid pills because besides the inflammation from the original surgery I now have some swelling and inflammation from his poking around. I will be on a mostly mushy diet for about 5 days. I do have a sore throat, but still no trouble swallowing. 

People handle different foods in their own way. Obviously, asiago cheese is not for me. He also suggested keeping away from scrambled eggs and omelets for now. Eggs are such a good source of protein I don't really want to eliminate them. Fried eggs are on the avoidance list, too. I think Sunday I will try some poached eggs with a soft yolk.

The journey continues and eating will be different for a few more months. Pray that I don't have any more blockage problems. One major bump in the road is enough.

Prepping

 

Tomorrow is laparoscopic surgery to implant the above device (LINX) as well as do some repair on my hiatal hernia. The circle of magnetic beads covered by titanium is about the size of a quarter. The beads are on wires so they will stretch when food reaches them so the food can get into the stomach. The magnetic attraction then draws the beads back together so stomach acid does not enter the esophagus.

I have been stocking up on the kinds of things I can eat and will need to eat once an hour while awake. The yogurt and pudding and more applesauce are in the refrigerator.

For my "last meal" we dined at the Boathouse in Winona Lake tonight. The grilled chicken breast over linguini with cream sauce and mushrooms was delicious. The major problem is that the serving is always more than I can eat. The leftovers will have to be eaten by my husband. Linguini is soft, but apparently noodles do not travel down the esophagus too well at the beginning of the recovery.

The Miller Pavilion across from the restaurant was all lit up. According to InkfreeNews, Wednesday night is Skates and a Stick night. We saw some guys hitting a hockey puck around. I had not realized until I read the news article that the ice rink is open for public use several weekday nights, though the hockey stuff is only one night (Wednesday).

My wristwatch has a second hand so I thought I could use it to mark the time between bites. The battery died a week ago. Usually, I can get the battery replaced at Walmart for a reasonable price. Alas, today the clerk told me that as of 2 weeks ago they are no longer doing that because somebody accused them of damaging their watch. They will sell you the battery if you know the size, but no handling of the watch. She looked at the back of my watch to see if it had a battery size. No such luck. My husband has been changing out batteries for Grace Village residents as a "service". He has the equipment to remove the watch back; but it turns out he has no battery the right size. Maybe in a few weeks he can take the battery to Walmart and buy a replacement.

I went to plan B. I bought a little clock with a second hand for around $5 at Walmart. I will keep it at the table where I eat.

I will keep an eye on the clock so I can space the bites out at least 30 seconds apart. 

They had a cancellation in the surgery schedule, so instead of noon surgery I will have it at 10 a.m. I need to go watch Jeopardy and eat my last See's Toffee-ettes as nuts are a no-no beginning tomorrow. In a few months, I can start returning to my normal diet.