Question:
How long does it take food after swallowing to get to your stomach?

It feels like food is just sitting there in the middle after swallowing even though I'm chewing and eating slow. I either get chest pain or end up vomiting for relief. I know it takes approx. 30 minutes for food to clear the stomach, but was wondering if food from another meal could still be sitting there. 5/28/03 - Open RNY    — Starrlina (posted on June 26, 2003)

June 26, 2003
Hi Selena, I'm 4 months post-op,and i still get that feeling right in my chest, it seems, that the food is still there, im not sure why it happens, but just remember to continue to eat slow and chew up food like it is almost water. It does hurt when it doesn't go down all the way, but it will get better.
   — sexysag37

June 26, 2003
Hi... I know exactly how you feel and I have discovered what causes all this in me. It may or may not be the same for you. When you swallow, your food is in your tummy in about a half a second. You swallow, it's there! You may be chewing slow, but you may not be chewing it small enough. I know that even though I think I am chewing something up really good, if I get that pain, I haven't chewed it good enough! Some things just take a BUNCH of chewing! LOL!! Also, if you are throwing it up, you aren't chewing it enough. AND... if you feel that heavy weight in your tummy and four hours later, and you try to eat and it gets worse, and you throw up... you didn't chew good enough. I've ended up throwing up food I ate six hours (YES, SIX!) earlier. I may have drank tons of stuff in between, but if I didn't chew something up good enough, it isn't going to go down... it will come back up. During those six hours, I felt really sick, too. Sometimes, it takes about an hour to clear my stomach if I have chewed well. Hope this helps!
   — Sharon M. B.

June 26, 2003
Hi, for me, it happens when I start out eating too fast. If I can get the first few bites down very slowly then the rest of the meal doesn't bother me. You would think that I would have learned by now,(2 months post-op)but it happens almost every day. Sometimes when it happens I just go let out some of that thick mucus stuff and then I can go back to eating. "go figure"! Anyway, good luck to you and remeber, eat slow and chew well!!!
   — Kim J.

June 26, 2003
It takes 4-8 seconds for swallowed food to travel through the esophagus to the pouch. Your esophagus is 8-10 inches long, so it's not instantaneous as the previous poster stated. If you're eating quickly, you could actually still have food in your esophagus from the previous swallow...and as a new postie, your pouch can only hold a few bites at a time. Sounds like you're eating too fast and/or too much at one meal.
   — [Deactivated Member]

June 26, 2003
One suggestion I didn't see from a previous poster is the length of time in between meals. I have had the same problem as you, but it was a combination of eating too fast and waiting too long to eat. There is a LOT of trial & error post-op but it really does get better. Best wishes!!
   — Diane S.

June 27, 2003
Selina, please let your doctor know about this. I am 2 month's post-op and when I started on my soft solids after my 3 weeks, I developed scar tissue that was called Schatzki Ring. This is sometimes developed when the bypass is being done and detected when you start on soft solids. I would throw up constantly and the pain in my chest was unbearable sometimes to the point of tears. There is a procedure done as an out-patient surgery by a gastroentrologist called a dilation and upon doing this your esphogus is opened by different instruments. After 24 hours you are able to eat soft solids and it feels so good to eat pain free and vomit free.
   — Twin R.

June 27, 2003
I get the throwing up now and then and I told my surgeon. He said I am just not ready for the chunkier foods yet. I probably eat too fast. I cut back on the chunkier foods and will wait awhile longer.
   — Julie B.