Chest pain - but, passed in 15 minutes

Hi all, I'm 3 weeks post-op on Wed, and tonite was the first time I had any pain when eating.   Long story short - I bought a new laptop today, and spent close to 4 hours on the phone with 4 different TECH guys in order to get connected to the internet. Anyway, during that lovely 4 hour saga, I measured out 2 ounces of tuna salad to eat while I was dealing with the computer f*** up.   Anyway, I must have not chewed well enough or something, because after a couple bites, I had horrible chest pains.   No racing heartbeat, sweats etc - just felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest.   I'm thinking I didn't chew the tuna well enough, and it was struggling to get through.   It passed after about 15 minutes, and I decided to eat the rest and it went down fine. Does that sound like food "struggling" to get through my new opening?   It sure shocked me - but, reminded me to CHEW CHEW CHEW!!!!    Oh - and, obviously I got the internet connection working - the 4th guy I talked to walked me through some configuration in Windows Explorer, and I was online in under 5 minutes.........  What a fun evening it's been..... Chuck

It may be too soon for you to be eating tuna salad.   Keep in mind, it takes about 6 weeks for your stomach and everything to heal from an RNY procedure, so you really need to consider what you're putting in it. If the chest pain comes back, SEE YOUR DOCTOR.  Chest pains aren't something to muck about with. Good luck!

Hey Chuck, My doc had me on liquids for 2 weeks, pureed for 2 weeks, then soft foods for 2 weeks. At 3 weeks post-op you shouldn't have any chunks reaching the pouch. Before trying the tuna salad again I would mu**** up to a smooth consistency, blending is best.  It won't taste any different, but it will go down better and won't hurt your healing pouch. Always chew food until it is pureed at this stage. None of us guys want to see you on the "WLS gone wrong" forum.  Highly recommended food at this stage is refried beans. Eat a few ounces of beans and you will feel full for a while.  Glad to hear that internet problem is resolved.  Ronnie

Thanks for the response guys - I've actually been on "soft foods" since day 10.   I've been eating tuna salad, egg salad, refried beans, scrambled eggs since then with zero problems at all.   I've noticed that many other people are on a liquid diet much longer than I was, but I fully trust my surgeon - he has 20 years experience with bariatric surgery, and over 6,000 RNY's under his belt.  He currently does approximately 10 lap RNY's per week. I think I just didn't chew well - and, this pain was in the very middle of my chest, and there was no increased heartrate at all.   I was scared at first, and my first thought was to call the doctor, but then I remember in my information I received prior to discharge from the hospital they said to see if it passed, and if it did then it was probably food struggling to get through. I have been extremely careful and not deviating from the doctor's prescribed diet in the slightest - I'm thinking I was just distracted because I was on the phone while I was eating, and I don't think I chewed very well.  I have an appointment with the surgeon on Thursday, and if I have any other pains, I will definitely call him prior, but otherwise I'll just ask him about it then. Thanks for the replies.... Chuck

this may sound weird chuck but i've learned to really listen to my body lately. you might have been stressed over the connection, eating too fast or not chewing due to the distraction and maybe moving around too much when eating. not like a relaxing sit down and have a meal then finish type dinner.

it can make a difference when you eat on the run or are distracted. we have to remember to chew, relax, do all those weird rituals now so our food goes down without coming back. do you know what i'm trying to say? i notice when i'm on the job and i've got people in my face, work in front of me and i try to eat on top of that, i usually end up throwing up because i didn't concentrate on eating right. just a thought out of left field today. take it for what it's worth.....carbonblob

Yea - i'm sure it was the distraction that did it to me.   Yesterday was my first day back at work, and then I came home excited to hook up my new toy (computer) and get all my software and files transfered over - and, I ended up on the phone with tech support idiots for 4 hours.   It was a good reminder to make mealtime a seperate activity. It's been easy up until this point to take my time eating, because I'm been home recouperating - but, getting back to work, I found that I have to make sure and take the time I needed to eat lunch - then, I paid the price for rushing dinner the way I did. Thanks for the responses, I'm sure I was just eating too quickly due to being distracted - it was the pain right in the middle of my chest (behind the sternum), and it went away quickly.   I checked my blood pressure a few times last night after the pain subsided, and it was normal - and it's normal this morning.   By the way, I haven't needed my Blood Pressure meds since the day of surgery - that's amazing to me!!!!!! Well, I'm off to work.   I have 32 drug addicted teenagers waiting for me to kick them in the a$$, and 3 weeks worth of paperwork to catch up on.   Thanks for the input you guys - it's nice to get info from guys that have been there and know what's going on!!!!    I'll let you all know the new weight after I see the doctor on Thurs. Chuck

Chuck, The answer is yes:  That is exactly what I feel when I block I have been having a few of those in exploring what I can eat or not. It's located about right behind the sternum, is more or less painful , but without a racing heart. It can be accompanied by hiccups. What has been said about listening to your body is the best advice you'll get. I now know it as soon as I take a bite that's going to give me trouble, it "feels" wrong. If I eat or drink anything after that, I'll pay homage to the porcelain God.

Chuck: welcome to the worldd of trail and error... My first 8 Months were the puke accross America Tour.. I could never find a go-to meal that would stay down.. but one day at a time it got better and better Kepp up the good fight Kev-