Yesterday, I had my G-POP surgery which went smoothly and as planned. The whole team did a fantastic job of being mindful of my neck instability during the procedure by having me wear a hard cervical collar. They were also proactive in managing my post-op care with IV Benadryl for MCAS and IV Toradol for migraines. Ironically, the MCAS flare-up from the surgery caused more symptoms and pain than the surgery itself.
One drawback, which I was aware of beforehand, is that they had to remove the J part of my GJ tube to access the pylorus and turn it into a straight G tube. For the past three years, I’ve relied on the J part of my tube for all my nutrition, hydration, and medications to bypass my stomach. To heal properly, I can’t have the J part of my tube put back in for at least two weeks.
For the next two weeks, all of my intake will have to be oral or go to my stomach. This is both exciting and terrifying because if I can’t keep down or tolerate food, water, or meds, I won’t have my J tube to fall back on. Ideally, I won’t need to have a GJ tube placed if I can tolerate enough intake by mouth. Additionally, they had to turn my low-profile Mickey button tube into a dangler, which, if you’ve had a tube, you know is much bulkier, more frustrating, and a pain to manage.
All this to say, I am excited to start eating liquids and maybe progress to soft foods in the next two weeks. I likely won’t know the full extent of how much the G POP helped for 2-6 weeks. My surgical team was excellent and I am so grateful to have had an uneventful surgery. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. I remain very encouraged and hopeful to see how my stomach responds.
