Question:
I AM 4 WEEKS POST OP. WHEN I EAT IT FEELS LIKE ITS STUCK

FEELS LIKE STUCK IN MY CHEST. IT ALSO FEELS LIKE I HAVE TO BURP BUT CAN'T. I USUALLY VOMIT AND THEN FEEL BETTER. I AM AFFRAID IT WILL ALWAYS BE THIS WAY. CAN ANY ONE HELP ME?    — Holly W. (posted on August 28, 2003)

August 28, 2003
No it won't always be that way, however, you may have a stricture..do not panic..I have had 4 in the last 2 months. Call you surgeon and tell them the problem. They may not want you to eat or drink until the feeling passes. But, check with them. If you have a stricture and something is stuck...something can be done, it's going to be ok. I'm a big chicken..so coming from experience call your doc.
   — Karen Renee

August 28, 2003
Hi, I went through the same feelings. I could trace the food, and water for that matter, all the way into the pouch. It just felt like a rock stuck in my pouch. Needing to burp probably means you are swallowing too much air while eating and drinking or you are eating that ONE bite too much.THIS TOO SHALL PASS! Everything gets better with time. I am now 10 months out, down 127 lbs, and life is NORMAL. Eating will feel normal too but normal isn't necessarily the same as it was post op. You will learn all new feelings about being full and testig new waters. Hang in there. It really is soooo worth it. It was about the 10th week when I realized things were GOOD! Denise
   — Denise J.

August 28, 2003
Once you know there is no stricture then SLOW DOWN and eat smaller bites. Only eat a few bites of the heavier denser things and finish the rest of the meal with softer things and slowly switch the ratio till you can keep down your whole meal of the heavier denser things. <p>I kept down everything for 6 weeks then started in with having to throw up about 1 meal a day. Eventually I was checked for a stricture and while I did not have one the surgeon decided to dilate my stoma just a little to help. It did help but I eventually figured out I was just eating the thicker, heavier denser things too fast. I was chewing plenty but pushing it in too fast. I finally learned to listen to the first bite or two also. If it seems iffy stop and get something else to eat instead of pushing it. <p>I still have a tendency to eat 2-3 bites quickly and sometimes I'm not sure if it will stay. But fortunately I have learned when that happens, that I just put the fork down and sit for 5+ minutes until things start to feel a little better. Then the burps come on for a few minutes and then I am fine to finish my meal. I haven't thrown up in almost 2 months using this practice. Idealy I should not eat the 2-3 bites fast and I don't at every meal, but it still does occassionally happen. I work very hard at trying to find a way to keep it down now as I do not want to use throwing up as my way to fix what I caused. However, I am almost 7 months out, so I am in a totally different place than you. At 4 weeks you do whatever you have to, to feel better. <p>Step back a little and go for softer foods like cottage cheese, refried beans with cheese, manwhich, etc. Things that are already chopped and ground. When that is going good then slowly add back in the things that need more chewing. This what worked best for me. I had steak the other night and it tasted awesome and stayed down very well so there is definite hope for you. At 3 months a thin sliced piece of tendloin would not stay down, so I have definitely crossed a new line with the steak. The only things I cannot keep down are thick dense fish like haibut, haddock, salmon. I have tried numerous times and I just get sick and force myself to throw up. Maybe in a few months I will try it again. I do fine with fish like orange roughy and shrimp and crab, but not the others. <p>Take it slow and easy.
   — zoedogcbr

August 28, 2003
When this happens to me, I go back on soft food for a day or two. You know the pudding, popsicles, protein drinks. It could be pouch irritation. But, if it persists I would call my surgeon. Take care, Barbara Brewer WLS 5/20/03 Weight 278.50 Dr McCarty. Weight 8/28/03 228.50
   — babrewer

August 28, 2003
I've had 4 strictures in the last 10 weeks since surgery too and I had every symptom you mentioned...However it could be that your tummy is still swollen or you are eating to fast or taking too big of a bite.If it continues I would call your surgeon.
   — jennifer A.

August 31, 2003
i felt the same way at four weeks , but started feeling better around eight weeks.
   — Shirlene M.