To Medical Voice Center,
I had my R-CPD treatment on August 24, 2023 at your clinic by Prof. Dr. med. Markus Hess.
I promised him and Dr. med. Susanne Fleischer an update on my recovery. As promised is a description of my progress in the year after the surgery categorized in symptoms.
Swallowing
I already experienced problems with swallowing on the day of the surgery. Otherwise I did not feel any changes within the first 24 hours. After the first 24 hours, the swallowing difficulties kicked in. For the first few days I was unable to eat anything and could barely drink. After a week I started to get some food down and drinking was ok again. I also started experiencing with carbonated drinks. It was a crazy feeling to burp instead of having pain and discomfort.
Fruit, vegetables and eggs were easier at first. I had problems with food such as bread and pasta for a long time. It took about one month before I could consume it again and I still had to flush every bite down with water. For some time I was mentally challenged by the swallowing difficulties. Eating took a very long time (twice as long as others), every bite had to go down with water, I had to focus a lot on not getting food down “the wrong throat” and was unable to hold a conversation while dining.
It affected my social life both because I could not participate in conversations, but also because the micro burps at this time were uncontrollable. After more than 2 months of this, I thought it might never go away and I was really frustrated. Thankfully after around 3 months, everything was back to normal. Almost from one day to next and I have not experienced any difficulties since.
Burping and sounds
Micro burps started about 48 hours after the surgery, and already after 72 hours they started getting a little bit bigger. As mentioned before, the micro burps were uncontrollable at first. It was a strange contrast after not being able to burp at all, but it only took a few days until it was in my control again.
After a week I started to experience burps that were resemblant to normal ones, but I had to turn my head to the side to make them appear. A few days later, the burps came all by themselves and I have not had to provoke them by turning my head ever since.
This also means that the loud sound from my throat when air was trapped is in the past. This has not happened a single time after I started burping. In the beginning the burps were very, very long, but eventually have become completely normal. I am thrilled to say that they are still normal to this day!
Bloating
For the first week, the bloating was gone, but I believe this is because I could not eat anything.
When I started eating again, the bloating was as bad (looking pregnant and feeling painful) as before the surgery. After a month, it finally started getting better.
It has never completely gone away, but I understand that bloating to some extent is normal.
I am so happy that it is not constant and that it no longer gets so bad that I look pregnant. I will especially say that it is a major success that I do not experience painful bloating anymore
Breathing
I sometimes had a bit of a difficulty breathing before the surgery, but was not sure if it was related to R-CPD. However, I have not experienced any issues ever since the surgery.
Flatulans
I have experienced excessive flatulans my whole life. Since I started burping, it hascompletely disappeared. It feels amazing! Like my whole system is working better and mybody feels so much better because all the excess air comes out the way it is supposed to.
A year later
After a year, it is still an amazing feeling to burp, to not have air trapped in my stomach, to not experience excessive flatulans, to not be constantly bloated and feel pain… I just feel incredible!Please reach out to me if you have any questions about my recovery or if any new patients want to ask about my experience.
I want to give Susanne and Markus and everyone else at the clinic a huge thank you. My life has completely changed for the better and my quality of life is at a point I did not even know was possible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
All the best, Katrine, Op. date: 24.08.2023
