Afy Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 I have Barretts Esophagus, and the first thing the doc wants to do is operate. He is convinced that this is because of a herniated stomach, even though the rest of the medical comunity in the whole wide world is preplexed by the cause of Barretts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumGirl Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Afy, he might mean a Hiatal hernia, which is not actually a hernia of the stomach, but a small opening in the diaphragm that allows the stomach to move upwards into the chest and is a major cause of gastric reflux. It is believed that long term gastric reflux is responsible for Barrett's esophagus. A lot of evidence points to Barrett's esohagus as eventually leading to esophageal cancer for many people, so it's not a bad thing to get it treated.I had surgery to repair a hiatal hernia about 6 years ago and have never regretted it. I had reached a point where even water caused me to have heartburn and it was very, very unpleasant!Good luck.PG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afy Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 Yup but I was already tested for Hiatial Hernia years ago... when the bleeding first surfaced. However I dont know why this one keeps insisting on operating even without looking at an endoscopy. Also what was your recovery period after the operation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony F Dordogne Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Why not ask the doctor for an endoscopy which may then set your mind at rest?If the results confirm what the doctor is saying, it seems that will put your mind at rest.If your current treratment isn't working, is an operation the best way of resolving the problem for once and for all, which may well be the way the doctor is looking at things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumGirl Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 [quote user="Afy"]Yup but I was already tested for Hiatial Hernia years ago... when the bleeding first surfaced. However I dont know why this one keeps insisting on operating even without looking at an endoscopy. Also what was your recovery period after the operation?[/quote]I would definitely insist on an endoscopy! I find it hard to imagine that he has decided you need surgery without one; that's very odd, Afy.I had two types of surgery performed at the same time, so clearly, my experience was a bit different than what yours will be; however, saying that, I did recover very quickly. I didn't have a great deal of pain and was able to eat very small quantities of soft food about three days after surgery. The biggest problem (and it's one I have after any kind of procedure) was that I felt pretty darned good quickly and tended to over do my activity. That usually meant a couple of days set back in recovery because I would get so exhausted.I'm really a big believer in taking charge of one's own health care and not letting doctors push you into doing something that doesn't seem right to you. If you are uncomfortable at the idea of this surgery, maybe you need to get a second opinion. I assume the surgeon was a referral from your GP? Why don't you ask him to send you to someone else?After all, I KNOW if you were unhappy with something your Vet wanted to do to your dog, you would go see someone else, right? Shouldn't you treat yourself at least as well as you do your pet?PG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I agree with all the above, however, the keeness to operate or sort a problem out, our french doctor tells us, is because they see it as a waste of money to just administer tablets or other forms of medication forever and a day when they can wiz you in hospital and have you sorted in no time. They see it as a way of saving money in the long term and not putting a strain on their time and other valuable resources. Makes sense to me. But yes ask for and endoscopy to set your mind at reast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afy Posted July 22, 2006 Author Share Posted July 22, 2006 I am having an endoscopy on Friday the 28th, and a colonoscopy, since the Doc thinks I have Chrons as well. The suregery he would like to perform is not one for a Hernia, but somethin akin to a Gastric Bypass. Where he would like to remove the bottom 1/5th of the esophagus and the top 1/3rd of the stomach. Which is what worries me... considering the mrotality rates for this type of operation is fairly high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumGirl Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 Afy, I PMed you.PG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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