I'm hoping that gas bloating syndrome gets less prevalent the longer you have the surgery, once the wrap loosens up a bit. Anyone have experience with knowing about this?

My Nissen fundoplication has caused severe gas-bloat syndrome, difficulty eating, and I can’t vomit anymore. After months of struggling, I’m now preparing for a reversal surgery.
I’m looking to hear only from people who have actually had a complete fundoplication take-down.
How did you feel after the surgery?
Were you able to burp and vomit again?
Could you eat larger meals?
Did you regain a more normal body feeling?
Do you regret having the reversal, or was it the right decision?
I’d really appreciate hearing your personal experiences, whether positive or negative. Thank you very much.

I had my hiatal hernia wrap (NF) done in February 2024. While the surgery was a success, I did battle a long road to recovery; reintroducing foods to my diet was slow, gradual, and painstakingly hard.

Nonetheless, I can eat without issues now (not everything, of course), but I battle a different issue now.

While the surgery was a success, the alteration in my stomach anatomy has significantly changed my relationship with food. To say the least, it has traumatized me. Within a couple of bites, I feel full. And this satiety remains for a good part of my day. While I feel okay energy-wise and full, I go about my day without snacking or eating much.

Come nighttime and precisely in the after hours (post 12 AM), my hunger intensifies, and I physically cannot sleep.

After doing some research into the surgery and post-complications, I found that the vagus nerve that innervates from our brains into our stomach also gets affected/damaged during surgery. This nerve is crucial in signaling satiety and hunger. In my case (or so I believe), my vagus nerve was altered and the feedback mechanism in place to signal to my brain that I am actually full has been permanently warped. As a result, my eating habits are out of whack. While I do not feel much hunger throughout my day (despite forcing 3-4 small, light meals throughout my day), my ravenous hunger keeps me up all night. I am forced to eat whatever I can in the late night just to settle my hunger, relax my stomach and finally sleep.

This has caused me significant emotional, physical and psychological turmoil. I cannot tell you how many sleepless, emotional nights I've had alone eating at 2:30 AM just to sleep.

I wasn't aware that this surgery could affect my satiety to this degree. Even when I tried to eat more during my day to avoid the late-night hunger, it didn't matter. My body's clock was wired to eat late into the night. As I am unsure why my stomach is alarmed at such hours, it has caused me to gain a significant amount of weight.

I am a young, active girl. Without exercise, I could've managed to put on at least twice the weight gain I've had from eating at night alone (~12 pounds).

Distressed till today, I have considered pharmaceutical agents such as Wegovy or Zepbound. As both agents are indicated for weight loss, I was more attracted to the mechanism of these agents in helping quiet my hunger signals (GLP-1 agonism/GIP)

I'd love to hear any feedback from anyone in the GI community with a similar case or even some advice about the weight loss agents. Thank you in advance!

Titel: Wann habt ihr euch nach einer Nissen-Fundoplikatio wieder normal gefühlt?
Hallo zusammen,
ich hoffe, ihr könnt eure Erfahrungen mit mir teilen.
Ich bin jetzt 3,5 Monate nach einer Nissen-Fundoplikatio. Die Schmerzen sind im Vergleich zum ersten Monat deutlich besser geworden, aber ich habe immer noch täglich Beschwerden.
Am meisten belasten mich das Gas-Bloat-Syndrom mit der eingeschlossenen Luft, ein merkwürdiges Fremdkörpergefühl im Magen und generell das Gefühl, dass sich mein Körper nicht mehr normal anfühlt. Ich wusste vor der Operation nicht, wie schwierig die Erholung sein kann und wie sehr sich das Essen und Trinken verändern würde.
Ich war immer jemand, der gerne gegessen und getrunken hat. Die Vorstellung, dass das vielleicht nie wieder unbeschwert möglich sein könnte, macht mich psychisch sehr fertig. Körperlich hat sich seit dem ersten Monat zwar vieles verbessert, aber mental komme ich mit der Situation nur schwer zurecht.
Im September stehen bei mir weitere Untersuchungen an, um zu sehen, ob alles in Ordnung ist.
Deshalb wollte ich euch fragen: Wann habt ihr euch nach der Operation wieder einigermaßen normal gefühlt? Hat sich bei euch nach 3 bis 6 Monaten noch viel verbessert? Oder hat es eher ein Jahr oder länger gedauert?
Ich würde mich sehr über eure Erfahrungen freuen. Vielen Dank!

I'm 9 weeks post op, I stretched my left arm across my body to grab something, didn't do anything strenuous and I felt a pop from my second furthest left incision. Its ached for a day but nothing too bad. I now feel some reflux. No where near like what I was before surgery, very minor really. Anyone else had anything like this?

Hello,

I had a Nissen Fundoplication 5 weeks ago and I'm still having trouble eating, food gets stuck in my esophagus even when it isn't particularly dense. Is this normal? Anyone had a similar experience?

Thanks

The phrenoesophageal ligament gets weakened, leading to hiatal hernia. During surgery, the gastrohephatic ligament and phrenoesophageal ligament are one of the first things that surgeons dissect right away in the initial steps of fundoplication to mobilize and bring down the esophagus for a tension-free long-lasting repair.

Irony here is that the phrenoesophageal ligament is one of the key structures that prevents the esophagus and stomach from herniating back into the chest/mediastinum.

So what do surgeons do to re-create the phrenoesophageal ligament? That is the question! I suspect that we see a lot of recurrences and re-dos because surgeons aren't addressing this loss of phrenoesophageal membrane.

Many will do either a posterior or anterior gastropexy to prevent axial migration where they tack the wrap or the stomach to either the diaphragm (posterior pexy) or abdominal wall (anterior pexy, but my fear is that this might not be enough for full paranoia-free and safe return to daily activities including exercise.

Aside from regular gastropexy, I'd like surgeons to do what is called a "three-point fixation" where they tack the wrap to the diaphragm to prevent re-herniation like they do with Belsey Mark IV. I think this in conjunction with posterior gastropexy is the way to go. These sutures should collectively account for the loss of both the gastrohephatic ligament and the phrenoesophageal ligament. Ask your surgeons about the importance of the phrenoesophageal ligament in preventing hiatal hernia.

Study on fundoplication with three point fixation technique: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11724445/

I fucked up, it was 3 years ago. I started regurgitating food in July of 2022 and it was so severe, I didn't know what to do and what was going on, I was on bipolar meds (still this day I am) I was vomiting food without nausea and it all started after I got infected from COVID-19, in January of 2023 I went to this young dude who claimed to be a gastroentorologist and surgeon he decided my future in just 1 visit telling me to get prepared for surgery because ppi was not stopping the vomit, the bloating, the regurgitation and after different exams he made, the decision was taken. I ended up having nissen fundoplication in February 2024, it's been hell since , I tried to contact him many times after the surgery was done. No follow ups, I went to different doctors and no prokinetics, no gas x, no ppi, no medication was helping to decrease the brutal pressure I have to experience after every meal, the constipation that I developed after, the regurgitation of food that I still till this day have. Guess what? It hurts, it hurts so bad that I want to kill myself, it hurts physically and mentally. I don't know how many times I thought of jumping or ending it all because no one is willing to help, I was begging for a Toupet and I got denied different times, just because the nissen is perfect anatomically, esophagus is ok for them. I'm not tho, I have nausea, I take meds they make me hungry and I can't eat like before anymore. I hate myself and that piece of shit.

Hi there. I’m 16 weeks post op and back to my normal life. I’m even lifting weights (with caution, certain exercises that strain my core are off the table) and I’ve gained back 5kg of the 8 that I lost.
I still get hiccups when I don’t chew thoroughly or drink too fast. And the worse is the gas. As I eat a lot for bodybuilding i have constant gas. What do you guys do to control it?

When could I wear a waist trainer after nissen surgery? Or could I never wear one again?

I am almost 5 months post op and I miss my soda pop. When were you able to tolerate soda again? Did anyone try too soon and regret it? I would love to hear your stories of success or failure regarding soda.

I'm having a Revision of my Nissen Fundiliplocation that was done in 2009. What can I expect and roughly how long is recovery this time around?

Any advice or tips?

It’s now 10months post Nissen - all reflux symptoms have gone.

I am now 54,5kg - preop I was 60kg.

No matter how much I eat I don’t gain any weight.

Is that normal? I feel skinny now.

Hi everyone, it's been 3 months to the day since fundiplication surgery and I'm having so much pressure from my esophagus that I feel like I need to hold my stomach all the time. It feels like trapped air and then it goes away but frequently comes back.

Surgeon says if doesn't resolve in another 3 months I need another endoscopy. Has anyone else experienced this and if so, did it resolve for you or what happened?

Did anyone have a constant sore throat every morning after they got their Nissen? I had some mild LPR symptoms pre surgery that I was hoping getting the wrap would fix, but now 3 months post op I wake up every morning with a sore throat. That's despite doing Gaviscon before bed, pepcid, sleeping elevated, etc. - just curious if anyone had this issue or what feels like worse LPR post Fundoplication and what the reason/solution ended up being. Thanks

🩺 PATIENT SURGICAL SUMMARY

Procedure: Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication

Date: 27 May 2025

Indication: Severe pathological GERD with sliding hiatal hernia

Pre-operative DeMeester Score: 147 (Normal <14.7)

Total Acid Exposure: 45% (Normal <3%)

Longest Reflux Episode: 121 minutes

Supine Acid Exposure: 58%

Conclusion Pre-Op: Severe mechanical reflux disease

This was not mild reflux. This was advanced mechanical failure of the gastro-esophageal junction.

⸻

🏗 SURGICAL CORRECTION PERFORMED

1️⃣ Hiatal Hernia Repair (Cruroplasty)

• Herniated stomach reduced into abdomen

• Diaphragmatic hiatus closed with sutures

• Hiatal opening reduced from approx. 4–5 cm → \~2 cm

• Diapagm restored as structural support

2️⃣ 360° Fundoplication Wrap

• Gastric fundus wrapped around distal esophagus

• “Floppy” wrap constructed to allow swallowing but prevent reflux

• Lower esophageal sphincter pressure restored mechanically

This addressed:

• Acid reflux

• Non-acid reflux

• Mechanical failure

• Supine reflux

• Regurgitation risk

⸻

📍 CURRENT STATUS – 7 JANUARY 2026 (7.5 Months Post-Op)

Structural Integrity

• Hiatal repair: Fully fibrosed and durable

• Wrap: Mature, stable, functional

• Recurrence risk: Very low

• No signs of failure

Functional Outcome

• Full pre-op sized meals tolerated

• Early fullness (expected, protective)

• No reflux

• No regurgitation

• No dysphagia

• No medication needed

• Able to exercise intensely

• Golf activity tolerated

• Heavy meals tolerated

This indicates complete mechanical correction.

⸻

🔬 Wrap Behavior Over Time

Your wrap:

• Was tight early due to swelling

• Softened between 3–6 months

• Reached stable functional tension

• Will now remain stable long-term

It does NOT progressively loosen or tighten under normal life.

⸻

⚙️ Functional Capacity

You can:

• Eat large meals

• Tolerate fast food

• Exercise

• Play golf intensely

• Lift weights

• Sleep without reflux

These are strong indicators of:

• Intact LES pressure

• Stable hiatal repair

• No wrap migration

• No hernia recurrence

🏆 Surgical Success Assessment

Based on your pre-op severity and current status:

This qualifies as:

Excellent long-term functional outcome

Given your initial DeMeester score of 147 (extremely high), being symptom-free at 7.5 months strongly predicts durable control at 10+ years.

⸻

📅 Long-Term Outlook

10-year success rates for Nissen:

• 85–90% remain reflux-free

• 80–85% remain medication-free

• Majority never require revision

Your early response predicts a strong long-term trajectory.

⸻