Band-to-RNY question...NSWE (not safe while eating)

I was going to say NSWEUYHASS (Not Safe While Eating Unless You Have A Strong Stomach) but that seemed a bit wordy



Upchuck....that's right, I want to ask about puking after you move to an RNY.   I just got over a lovely bout of stomach virus that came from the seventh level of you don't even want to know.  I'd forgotten how much it sucked to puke with a band....I mean truly puke.  Not PB (productive burp) when you have food stuck, but the actual horrid heaving that pretty much results in foam and nothing else despite your body being convinced it needs to GET OUT NOW.  My rib-cage is sore from it because my body said DO IT and my band was like....**gurgle gurgle gurgle splat**

Anyways....I'm a few weeks out from my bypass and I'm curious....for those who are band-to-bypassers, and have experience in the area of "regurgitation science" (that sounds so much swankier than saying barfing right?).....is it different?  Better?  Worse? The Same?

Inquiring gastronomic minds need to know!  

I am not a Band to RNY, but I am a Sleeve to RNY.  With the sleeve I never puked.  I went to support meetings where everyone; sleeve, band and RNY had upchucked many times.  I was hoping I would be the same with RNY. Nope, not that lucky! 

Since I have been on regular diet for the last week and I have puked, steak, ground meat and chicken.  Each time I go back to soft pureed for a day or so and try again.  Sometimes it stays down, sometimes, not so much! I have noticed that the yak is not violent...just a bloop, the offending meal comes up and you're on your merry way.  No wrenching or dry heaving!

I hope this helps.

Hey Kelsey,

Well I never had the band but I can tell you my experience with "puking" post RNY. I can't puke. Its great and it sucks at the same time. So I am 3 yrs post RNY and I have only had food stuck once, a baby carrot I never chewed well enough or ate too fast or both. I honestly can't even remember how far out I was, 7 months maybe, sorry I don't actually remember!

But what happened to me was the "foamies", search OH for "foamies" you will get a ton of posts! It started with pain in my chest, like behind my heart area, thought I was having a heart attack, and I mean PAIN!  Then I got really nauseous like I was going to puke.  But no, I just was retching for HOURS and bringing up bile and spit (my poor husband has never heard me retch, I thought he was going to die of worry!! And my dogs were not too happy with the noise either! UGH!!).  So I paced my house for hours, and retched and spit and paced, retched, spit.  You get the picture. I ended up lying down and then would get up and pace and then fell asleep and it was hours later that I woke up in bed, my chest hurt, my mouth was dry and I thought "well I AM NEVER doing that again!!!!!"  Lesson learned, chew the hell out of my food and eat slow!  But in all the hours that I retched, nothing ever came up, I actually wish I could have "puked" and got it over and done with.  I don't plan on finding out now at 3 years out if I can actually puke, just sayin!

I think everyone is different but that's how it happened for me!

Ugh...the foamies, the foamies....that's exactly what this was!  I scared my poor husband out of a sound sleep with the sounds of my retching TWO ROOMS AWAY.  It probably sounded like an epic battle was taking place in the bathroom but nope...just lil' ole me clinging to the wastebasket in desperation...hoping something, anything, would come up.

I used to be a champion puker....my mother jokes that it's hereditary.  I never thought I'd reach the day where I'd wish I could actually do it...sheesh.

Thanks for the tip on the search term....I'm going to check it out now!

I have not thrown up since having my RNY.  Like Daisy -- I have experienced the "foamies" -- each time caused by my eating too much or too fast (not chewing adequately) -- and they are miserable.  Daisy described it pretty accurately ... except, I can relieve it by using a toothbrush to make the offending part come up.  It's NOTHING like how I knew vomiting to be.  It's not acidic and once it's out (whatever is blocking) it is totally gone.  That's been all of perhaps 5 times in 3 years.

It sounds remarkably like what happens with the band when things get stuck....except if it's not really heaving-type-puking then there's no foamies.  Instead it's like a big uncomfortable pressure on your diaphragm, and your body reacts by saying...oh, lets make things more slippery by adding in more saliva so stuff can move, except that does nothing except make a big damn mess of crap behind a log jam of whatever-it-is-I-ate-and-should-have-chewed-better-because-derp, plus air that's gotten caught in the mix....and I have to make haste to the restroom before it becomes unbearable.  Usually it will come up on it's own given enough time.


Worst experience I ever had with this was driving down the highway...yup.  I stopped eating toast after that 

I had a few "stomach virus" , or norovirus, or simply severe nausea postop RNY.

unless there is something stuck in there -  no puking - but I would dry heave.. sometimes for along time... 

and often - nothing helps... it was horrible at times... it felt as my guts were trying to come up ... very violently. 

Until i learned a trick - get warm - slight salted water (a small pinch of salt). Drink that and allow that to  comeback... then drink again... once things are calming down  a bit - I would use some charcoal capsules to absorb some acid - some mucus from the pouch...and some toxins - viruses...  

that way - my pouch got clean - and allow the muscles to relax much faster than if I were just dry heaving and feel as if i am breaking my ribs in the process... 

I only had to do that a couple of times...  

I've vomited twice since my RNY in 2013.  Once because I was stupid and ate too much and once because of medication.  I didn't notice it so much the first time because I was in a lot of discomfort, but the second time I realized that puking after RNY wasn't so bad.  Since you take in so much less, a lot less comes back up and there isn't nearly as much acid.  I still hate puking, but all in all, it's not so bad.

Jen

Yeah so far everything I've heard indicates that since there's so little in your tummy...and stuff moves on....there really isn't much there to come up!   Probably means the dry-heaves suck, but then they always do.  I'm still tender around the ribcage from sunday's tummy twister virus. 

I got super nauseated on Sat that led to puking.  Like others said, there was nothing to come up so it was this horrible dry heaving where I felt like my guts were going to come loose.  Ugh.  (and at 10 days post-op, too, double ugh)