I wondered if anyone is considering the linx surgery. I'm am in constant pain with LPR, ppi are really not helping, I've lost weight I didn't need to lose and I now have severe throat inflammation and an infection which is not clearing with antibiotics. I spoke to a dr ashton on Sunday at the reflux centre who gave me 3 options: linx, Nissan or ppi for the rest of my life. I'm completely depressed by the whole thing and am struggling to see the wood for the trees. I wondered if anyone else is considering this surgery. It does scare me as I only thought meds for a few months then I would be healed but apparently not..
Hi Kate,
Nissan is very good! Linx as well, they both work and I am considering it very seriously, indeed! No need to get depressed as it will not help you, get informed, do a lot of reasearch and find a surgeon to do it, research his background, experience and how many such operations has under his belt, also find a good hospital( clean!!!). I have no intention on staying on medication for long periods of time, as there are very problematic for your health.
Take care,
I had Linx surgery in March 2016. My condition that required the linx was constant coughing due to acid reflux. After the surgery I still had the cough and had trouble swallowing. My doctor put me back in the hospital to dilate my esphogas so I could get the food down. It's only been 1 week since I had the dilation and I'm swallowing better but I still feel the food moving through the linx.
I am in the exact same spot, with the exact same realization. Three years ago I'd thought I would be healed after a a round of treatment.
All 3 options (1 surgery 2 lifetime PPI 3 natural approaches on a defect LES) seem unacceptable to me.
The surgery options are hardly options as they all sound sinister, once you start reading about it.
This morning I THOUGHT the LINX might be an option after reading that recent models are designed so that patients now CAN have an MRI with them.
But then I read about fears of erosion or migration of the magnetic ring and now this is out the window again.
The reality is they don't have options. It's just "pick your devil".
I am trying not to let the anger come out but my mind know what it knows.
The only option would have been preventive medicine and clear communication from drs., public health officials, etc. For example, patients would be told very specific things they should know NOT TO DO in order to prevent a very particular (and scary) X event.
Just like they did with the smoking campaign. As in "what part of smoking will give you lung cancer" you don't understand? They did a pretty good job of this, with terrifying pictures and all. Fear works.
Why not other diseases? Instead they tell you they will give you "treatment" options treat - which are not really options.
What they do is just throw incredibly generic and non-specific advice at the public such as "just eat healthy and exercise". It is very commonplace, cliche and what's worse, non-specific. People don't understand specific consequences of doing certain things or NOT doing certain things.
They are not told by their GP about what specific diseases could result from their behavior and how hard those would be to fix once you get them.
I caused mine through overeating due to an eating disorder.
The dr. said "no, overeating doesn't cause it, it could have been your pregnancies".
But I know. Of course it was overeating. For years, I remember getting my stomach so full of comfort foods that I would literally have to lie down just to be able to breathe.
I had no control over it as it was highly psychological. I knew it is not considered "healthy" to eat so much but this was so generic and non-specifci that it had no effect over my strong psychological urge to eat my heart out. Only fear/terror of a specific bad disease would have done the trick.
Had I been scared into understanding what stomach distention can do, how your stomach and move into chest and splash acid into your esophagus which in turn can give you C - THIS would have had an effect on me.
They say losing weight is so hard. Actyually it isn't at all - if you are scared enough.
Today I am no longer eating my heart out, no longer slightly overweight (just the perfect weight), weight has come down more than easily even being in my 40's, perhaps too quickly.
But so what? Too late.
I know I have not been helpful - but the answer depends on your risk-taking behavior, your personality, your level of discomfort and your fear of the bad disease that GERD could cause.
If you are OK with the odds of surgery going wrong, then Nissen sounds like a possible long-term fix.
The LINX is so new and the truth is no one knows what that ring will do in there 10-15-20+ years from now.
Based on common sense, it doesn't sound good. If our own stomachs managed to migrate through the hernia wall, how in the world will a man-made ring stay put?