Going To Bury My Head In The Sand....Holy Craziness!

Okay--so a few days ago I answered Sonya's post about what surgery was really like & mentioned that my only "issue" right now is that food is getting stuck.  I wasn't too concerned since I just saw Dr. Houston & he said it would get better.  Also, he said that I shouldn't worry about a stricture if I can keep food/fluids down & am not vomiting (which I am not); apparently my problem is just a matter of food getting stuck at the opening.  I do have a history of eating fast, so, I try to slow down (which, when you have three little kiddos wanting bites of what you are eating & 1,000 things to do, is difficult...lol). 

Lately, though, I notice that the pain in my chest/back is getting worse when food gets "stuck". Today my eyes were watering with the very last bite of shrimp, I couldn't answer the kids when they were talking to me & just kinda grunted until I could talk & held my chest hoping it would go away.  Oh--and had to spit in the sink (I can't tell you how much I hate to spit---I am a failure at it---can't seem to get the grasp of it & I end up essentially drooling on myself..not a pretty sight).  I am sure witnessing all of this will result in years of required therapy for my kids...lol.

Anyway, tonight (because I am having the stuck-thing happen at least one time per day) I decided to go on the surgery complications board that someone mentioned. I had no idea that board existed and, actually, I am glad I didn't..........OH MY GOSH!! BAD IDEA!!! Talk about a pain in my chest & the inability to speak!!!!  I had NO IDEA how many problems post-opers can have & I really, really wish I never would have looked on that board....for instance (and this is just one sample....here is a post-oper's history post RNY:

RNY 11/03/04; GB 12/04/04; PS 06/14/05; Internal Hernia/Adhesions 06/06/06; PS 07/15/06; Partial Obstruction 11/12/06; Kink 11/14/06; ICU with blood transfusions 11/18/06; Obstruction 100% Shut down/ Adhesions/Vertical Open 9 in. 07/19/07; Infection ER Admit/Unstable/Erratic HR & BP/Ambulatory transfer 07/30/07; SBBO 08/27/07; Hernia Repair (3) Lysis Adhesions 04/01/08; Wound infection 04/22/08; Hernia Repair with Mesh 09/19/2008, Infection & Internal Bleeding/ICU with transfusion 09/30/2008; Peripheal Neuropathy; Reactive Hypoglycemia; Severe Pernicious Anemia; to be continued.....

This blew my hair back...talk about shock-n-awe!!  Okay....I know that I am new to this and, honestly, I have so much faith in my surgeon & Centennial that I just am sure that this person must have had some wack-job for their doctor, but I was a little startled.  And, of course, it made me think that maybe I shouldn't ignore the food getting stuck as much as I have been.

So, do I need to call Dr. H's office on Monday?  I mean, I just talked to him about this a week ago....it is a little worse & more frequent, but sometimes it doesn't happen at all & it never happens w/fluid.  I really just want this to go away....I am convinced I will have no complications--I heal really well, feel great & am a great-big rule follower, so....eeeks...stricture?

Advice please...xo, Micheala.

 

What you described... that is food getting stuck.  It feels like a heart attack sometimes.  Let it pass.  Do not drink water.  It makes it much worse...  Water for us does not cause food to go down when food is stuck...  it actually makes it feel like cement.  You can call Dr. H's office if you feel you need to, but honest, the truth is that you need to SLOW it down when eating.

Slow.  As in, 25 chews per bite.  Only put the food in your mouth that is a size of a pencil eraser.  You must remember that your stomach opening is very small....  food has to be ground up very tiny almost like mush in order to pass through and you are still a new postop.  One reason it took you so long to really feel it is that your stomach pouch has been numb from being cut and now you are feeling the full impact....

Take your time... slow it down...  chew, chew, chew, no liquids with your food...  and I think you will find the problem happening fewer and farther between.  And also, shrimp is one of those things that a LOT of postops get stuck.  Most food has to be VERY moist or else it will lodge and it ain't going nowhere any time soon!!  It will sit like a rock in your chest.  If you notice a certain food doing this to you, unfortunately it would serve you best to stay clear of it for some time.  But you can try it again at a later date. the saliva that you are spitting up is where you are salivating but there is NO room in your esophagus for it to go down or get through.  So, it backs up and you are forced to spit it out.

As the compications...  Let me go down the list of ones I've had:

One hospitalization for dehydration one month after surgery, one hospitalization for stricture two and a half months postop, one hospitalization for a gallbladder removal (which came from such rapid weight loss) resulting in THREE procedures the same week during the same hospital stay (one was to remove the gallbladder, one was an ERCP to remove a fallen stone, one was to remove scar tissue that he found while down there which was a result of the gastric bypass), reactive hypoglycemia, low blood sugar when I do not eat often enough (similiar symptoms but separate causes than reactive hypoglycemia)  and yes some neuropathy in my hands & feet which have tingling and numbness, Vitamin D deficiency which causes a lot of exhaustion and I've had to take Vit D prescription strength twice now, on top of my gastric bypass vit D pills.

The best advice I can give a person is this:  worrying about what can happen will not stop it from happening.  You will endure and deal with each thing as it occurs...  my former roommate has not had one single complication.  I've had several. The concensus is:  WE WOULD BOTH DO THIS ALL OVER AGAIN. 

don't worry...  Just be aware of your body and ask questions...  its a new life...and remember, it didn't take overnight to create our eating tendencies... its taken a lifetime of habits that we have learned from our families, society, etc.  Now we are forced to change the way we think and do things...  Click here to read my article recently called "A Lifetime of Habits"

 Mel is exactly right, we even talked about this today at the lunch bunch. My wife, Missy, has had alot more problems with food like you are describing and I have not, except for the one time I swallowed a bit of food too soon. The one big difference between me and my wife is that I chew things very thoroughly before swallowing, at least 25 times like Mel mentioned, and my wife admits she probably doesn't. When I swallow my food it is not chunky, it is mushy and easy to swallow. Small bites help as well, it's hard to chew a huge bite of food to the consistence it needs to be for our stomachs to pass it through. And if you chew something long enough and it still is too chunky to swallow, then spit it out, don't swallow it, chances are it will get stuck.

Take time for your meals and it will become habit and get easier.

Good Luck!

Thanks, Mel & Kenny.....great info.  I agree that it is prolly food getting stuck.  I ate my Mommy's Day Breakfast in Bed (2 eggs...:)...) very, very slow this a.m. & chewed them down to nothing & they went down fine.  And, of course, knowing that I don't actually have a "pouch" (in light of the surgery that Dr. Houston does) it makes me more aware that I need to really, really slow down.  Old habits do die hard.

Oh, and don't get me wrong....NO REGRETS....just a little shock w/some of the complications.....xo, Micheala.

Micheala. I don't think you should panic.I went through a stage where things got stuck often. I realized I just wasn't chewing well enough. I was worried about a stricture too but everything worked out fine when I put more focus into my eating. Are you using a baby spoon to make sure the bites are small enough? Are you counting your chews and making sure the food is completely mush before you swallow? I find that I am easily distracted while Im eating and at least one time I got stuck was because a waitress interupted me while I was chewing and I swallowed too soon. Also, for getting things stuck, have you tried some Papaya Enzymes? You can get these for about $4 at Walgreens in the supplement section. When something is stuck you can chew about 4 of these and it will help the food go on down. It works only on protein though. Some people use meat tenderizer but I don't think I could get that down. Try to remember that severe complications like the ones you posted are fairly rare. There is no reason to believe that those things will happen to you. Just do your best to be compliant with your plan. Let God worry about the rest.
Hang in there.
Karen

Thanks, Karen...the baby spoon idea is fantastic....I definitely have some of those around here!! :)....and, the kids will think it's hilarious to watch mommy eat from a baby spoon (now I am sure my kids will require therapy from all of this...lol).......great idea.  I hadn't heard of the Papaya Enzymes either. 

I'm not typically a worrier, but I thought I was being naive & wasn't as informed as I should have been.....I don't usually worry much about things, especially until they happen &, even then, I usually feel that e'thing is going to be fine....

Have a great day! xo, Micheala.

I think Mel is right. Sounds like you're eating too fast, too big a bite, and not chewing enough before you swallow.  That's just my unprofessional yet experienced opinion.

LOL...I think you are right...I am learning...tonight I had shrimp again (because I am such a fan of fish & chicken was the first thing to get stuck so I am adverse to it)....and ate it w/a baby spoon & chewed the heck out of it....it went down just fine.

So...slow down I will do....thanks!