Anyone ever been diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia?

My wife had a hiatal hernia.

She's about 110 pounds and suffered from awful heartburn/GERD and was short of breath whenever she exercised for her whole adult life. Her dad told her that the heartburn was genetic and it was just a family thing. I thought she should see a GI doctor.

She finally went to the GI doctor and they were very concerned about her heartburn, because she was a perfectly healthy 28 year old female. They said there was no reason she should be on prescription strength omeprazole. They decided to do an upper endoscopy and they found the hernia.

The treatment was pretty simple, just surgery called a Nissen Fundoplication. They told her it wasn't fatal, so it was elective and she could decide if she wanted to do the surgery or just live with it. This was late 2020, so COVID was in full swing. Took her a while to get into the doctor, but got the surgery around early December. Cost about $1600 after insurance. It was a day surgery, one night stay in a local elective surgery hospital, and then home the next day. Hardest part for me was not being able to be there because of COVID. But she made the decision to do it anyway.

Her main symptoms were really awful GERD to the point she hesitated to eat anything that was the least bit acidic. Also we would go on hikes and she would get winded within the first 10 minutes, because her hernia was pushing into her lungs. Both went away after surgery.

Have someone you can trust after surgery. Recovery is not awful, but there is a system and your person needs to be on top of it. My wife was drugged up pretty good for a couple of weeks, and we had to keep a log book to stay on top of meds.

My wife said the worst part was being hungry after the surgery. Your stomach can't handle real food for weeks/months afterward, so all she could eat was really ground up smoothies, jello, tea, liquids, etc. It was a couple of months before she could eat a hamburger. Also gas is really bad because the hole due to the surgery is so tight that you can't burp for at least a few months after, depending on your surgeon. Throwing up is gone forever. My wife will likely never vomit again in her life unless the fundoplication comes undone.

If it is a hiatal hernia let me know. We went through it once, and it was a bear. I can maybe share some tips.

Ah, hopefully it's something more minor. A hiatal hernia is definitely not fatal, but it gave my wife a lot of unnecessary pain for years.

If it turns out to be that and you opt for surgery don't hesitate to ask questions. It was an experience I won't forget, and I was only the caretaker. I can ask my wife some questions about how she felt as well.

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He mentioned if surgery is needed it's laparoscopic and the recovery is quicker. We'll see.

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Yeah, my wife's was laparoscopic, she was in and out of the OR quick. Hope all goes well.