Does anyone have a suggestion for post - fundoplication IBS symptoms?

Posted by ppenoyar @ppenoyar, Oct 31 11:20am

My wife had a fundoplication about 5 years ago. Gratefully this procedure immediately eliminated her long standing acid reflux issue. After the procedure she experienced diarrhea, which she was told would eventually go away. The diarrhea mostly came after she woke up and lasted until she got everything out of her (about 3 hours). Her GI Doctor could not explain why her diarrhea problem was lasting so long. After 4 years of this, the diarrhea eventually went away. However it turned into a constipation problem. The whole time of experiencing either diarrhea or constipation she also experienced very painful bloating / gas. Based on what I have read on the Mayo Clinic connect forums and online, it seems that diet may be the best option. I have also read that some folks have tried medication to control the bloating.
Does anyone have any suggestions or some more specific advice regarding diet and medications? thank you in advance.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

Janell, Volunteer Mentor | @jlharsh | 3 days ago

@ppenoyar, it sounds like your wife has been struggling for a long time. You mention reading discussions on Mayo Clinic Connect about diet and medication that may provide relief for her. I imagine it is also difficult to sort through the varying approaches that seem to be as numerous as the number of people you talk to. Kudos to you for pursuing options!

I have had systemic symptoms, GI a part of them. I tried dietary solutions and eventually went to a GI who tried medication to help. It wasn’t until I ended up at Mayo Clinic where they looked beyond an isolated GI system, with an intentional diet/activity and medication combination approach has been helping. I am not a medical person so really cannot speak to medical conditions to fix, more to finding an approach of finding and following through with care that looks at it differently, more integrative.

An excellent place to learn how others are dealing with how they eat after having digestive tract surgery is a discussion created by @hopeful33250 here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-do-i-eat-after-digestive-tract-surgery/

Your wife may benefit from going to an academic medical system where more advanced care available.

I absolutely would recommend Mayo Clinic in Rochester as a good option. You can use this link to contact them to discuss options for an appointment http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.

Is your wife currently being seen by a GI or other type of specialist? What does her exercise and diet currently look like?