don't feel good at all.

Hi guys. I'm two weeks and 2 days post-op. Everytime I try to eat my soft foods I get a tightening in my chest/esophagus and it hurts. I'm constipated and and I feel like everything I eat /drink in sitting in my throat. It is going down and I haven't thrown up. Is this normal?? Please tell me it gets better. I'm having a hard time right now getting my fluids and protein. Any encouragement/help appreciated. Is there light at the end of this tunnel? Thanks, Melissa

Melissa, I assume you're doing the sip, sip, sip and tiny bites thing so I don't know what it could be. The constipation is just part of this surgery as far as I can figure out. I take lots of stuff daily to keep everything moving!!! I believe you should call Dr. De La Torre's office. You may have read that Sugar was having eating problems and it turned out she had an internal abcess so this is not something to fool around with. Give them a call right now, before they close for the day. Love and hugs, Lana

You can probably take some flax oil and/or stool softeners for the constipation. ALso, at this time frame I was eating alot of sugar-free popsicles, if you can tolerate the sugar-alcohol(from artificial sweetner) in them, they'll help soften the stool as well. If it IS going down and staying down then it may NOT be a stricture but that's another possibility. Like Lana said, be sure your bites are TINY and chew as long as it takes to sing "it's a small world" That was my surgeon's advice. It worked for me. And my bites were about pencil eraser size. At 2 1/2 wks I was just changing off my fill liquid diet to solids. I hope you've called the Dr! : ) Keep us posted. Tami

Hi Melissa, I hope you are feeling better. Sounds like the girls have given you good advice. I feel so much better know that when I have surgery, all I need to do is log on and I'm surrounded by friends...friends with benefits -- they know how we feel - LOL!! Trudy

Dear Melissa, I had a really hard time at first, it hurt AND it seemed like it didnt matter if it was a tiny bite or just a tiny sip-nothing agreed with me for almost a month-now, that being said-this happened with our friend, Sugar-and it IS something you need to talk to the doctor about! I hope you will at least give them a call and see what they say! Depending on whats going on-it could just be that maybe your swallowing too hard? That was one thing that the NUT asked me when I tt her about my problem with this. I ended up staying pretty much on the liquid diet for a month or so-just trying a couple of things here and there-but for the most part-broth and crystal light and water, some popsicles and jello-that was the extent of that for my first month. I couldnt get all my protein in either. Got sick if I tried. IT will get better!!! Promise!! Just make sure that you check in with the professionals-Im pretty geeked out with what happened to Sugar to tell you not to worry-ok? Keep us posted and take Tamis advice about the stool softener-that will make you feel better too! Love to you, Janet