A repost on "The Foamies"...
This was written years ago...
When you get a piece of food stuck in your pouch and it won't proceed into the small intestine (or won't come up) you will start to get a white foam appearing in your mouth. Not fun. Usually it effects those RNYers early on. You stand or sit there and spit and spit up this white foam!! Below is a copy and paste from DX...A very knowledgeable guy. He doesn't post much anymore here on OH (had several disputes with the owners and is very busy). I try and grab some of his best posts and repost them over time here...Brian
"FOAMIESÂÂ"- The Slang Term for a condition caused when you plug your stoma with something
And the saliva, and mucus produced in the esophagus linings
And upper most portion of Stomach (the part used to make a pouch)
No longer has an exit below so it comes out the one above.
Can be caused by-
Eating too fast,
Not chewing well enough and
Swallowing something to big
To go through the little hole (stoma) out of your pouch into your intestines.
Bread is a bad one.
Particularly soft bread.
Even when you chew it well, bread can "gum-upÂÂ" and plug your stoma.
Take a pinch of white bread and try to mush *t up in your fingers. Since your pouch isn't adding stomach juices to the mix, this is the same thing pretty much that happens to bread in your pouch. Little Ball of tough dough.
(this is why often Docs recommend Toast rather than Bread early on)
Swallowing a large pill can do it too for a few folks.
This tends to not be a problem further out Post-op.
Meat (Dry Chicken or pork get a lot of folks) That is not chewed thoroughly can plug in for quite a while.
Many folks claim that sipping hot H2O with some meat tenderizer in it will speed its passing.
The "Contradiction for Meat TenderizerÂÂ" is the fact that one Could aspirate this into their lungs if they threw up and breathed in at the same time.
Some reassurance can be taken from-
The most popular meat tenderizer, called bromelain, is composed of a number of protease enzymes and harvested commercially from pineapples, in about the same concentration as found in the juice one could buy in the grocery store. Besides being a meat tenderizer, bromelain is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent, blocking metabolites that cause swelling. It is used to treat sports injuries and sometimes swelling caused by arthritis.
Papain, extracted from the papaya, is another popular meat tenderizer. It is also found in the same concentration levels as papaya juice.
If fear of aspirating such enzymes would contradict using them to unblock stuck food, then they would be dangerous to drink as well.
Yes? One other bit of info- Bromelian and Papain Will Not "Eat or DissolveÂÂ" Living tissue, it's a different protein structure of dead/cooked flesh, and flesh with not only a living blood supply of oxygen, but a lining that is used to the highly destructive and corrosive properties of Stomach Acid. This accounts for the LACK of Thousands of Law suits against the McCormick Spice people over the last 70+years they have had "Meat TenderizerÂÂ" on the market.
If not willing to use "Meat TenderizerÂÂ" then Papaya Enzyme sold as a digestive aid for a higher price (buy at health food store) will certainly work.
Now the Papaya or Pineapple enzymes ARE good stuff,
And work.
However, They Only work on MEAT that's stuck.
They don't break down carbs of any kind.
They work by breaking down breaking the peptide bonds between amino acids in the collagen of in complex muscle tissues.
So, lets say you get a hunk of bread or cheese stuck -
It doesn't do Squat!
Carbs require a special set of enzymes to break down.
If you have a Vitamin Shoppe near you,
You can pick up a bottle of Nature's Plus Nutri-Zyme.
It has enzymes specifically designed to help in the breakdown of carbohydrates
(Amylase & Lipase )
(Works on proteins too with Papain ) and comes in a chewable wafer.
It does have 3 grams of sugar - so if your SUPER sensitive to sugar, :toilet:
Not such a good trade of one problem for another.
If you can't find it locally,
The Vitamin Shoppe online carries it priced too.
The "Best Thing?ÂÂ" Chew the food more carefully if one is prone to getting food stuck.
An Ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure.
And one final bit of reassurance...
This foamy business is something that is likely to be an issue
during a RNYer's fist 5 months.
Rarely an issue beyond 9 months out.
I dispute the statement that it rarely happens 9 mos out. I'm 14 years out and I still get them. It tells me my tool is intact and I will take the foamies any day. Just to be clear, I am not saying if you don't have the foamies your tool is not intact. This is just how I know mine is still viable. :)
i know a few other long terms post ops who have it as well.
