Question:
What Damage can be done to the Pouch by Vomitting?

My doctor told me to be careful about getting sick and not to induce it. I am only 5 weeks post op. I have not yet been put on soft foods, I am in the pureed stage. I have been bad and experienced with soft and not pureed my food for about two weeks. I do however chew until its mush. I do measure my foods. I only eat about two or three 2 oz meals a day but take a protein drink, eat vits. I tried some shrimp yesterday. For some reason I got sick. I think I did not chew enough. I have no sense of full until it is to late. I hurt and get sick. I have only done this about 4 times since surgery. This am I had 3 pecans and one cashew. I had gas so bad. I had to take medicine. It did not work. So I gagged and I feel much better now that I got the nuts out of my tummy. What kind of damage am I doing to my stomach. Another post said they are not stretching it. And why do I through more than 2 oz. ? It was like a fountain. Where did all that liquid come from? I think I stretched my pouch along time ago with fluids. I don't eat enough to stretch it by foods. I eat out of those med cups and I never finish. I used to at 2 weeks with potatoes though. Any suggestions.    — cookiedough (posted on December 31, 2003)

December 31, 2003
Regina- I don't want to come down on you here. I do want to tell you honestly that your post concerned me. I don't want to make you feel bad. But, honestly, why do you find it impossible to be compliant with your doctor's orders at only 5 weeks out from your surgery? They do have their own individual programs and rules for a reason. Shrimp and nuts at 5 weeks out when you are supposed to be eating pureed food is a very bad choice. You say you have only thrown up about 4 times in 5 weeks- I'm not so sure that's a great statistic. Ideally, you shouldn't be throwing up at all. Most vomiting occurs when you experiment with something that your stomach is not ready for or if you over eat. You have a few too many issues that you mention for me to address each one. So, my basic adivce to you is to go back and stick strictly with your doctors orders. Then, you wont have to worry about hurting your pouch by throwing up. Also, please make an appointment to see your nutritionist and make sure you understand the program you are supposed to be on. Again, I'm not trying to be harsh with you, I'm just concerned with your long term success and health. Good luck to you.
   — LMCLILLY

December 31, 2003
Oh- sorry to be a pest- the one other thing I meant to mention... You said you had a bad expereince with soft food, though you're in the pureed stage. So, the normal course of action here would be to go back to the first (liquid) stage and start over again. Often, when you irritate your pouch by vomiting, it is best to back to liquids and proceed to where you left off slowly, say two days per stage. Most surgeons will recommend this. Even at 1 year out, I find that if something bad happens to my pouch- I go back to liquids and re introduce food slowly.
   — LMCLILLY

December 31, 2003
You cannot stretch your pouch with liquids. There is a hole at either end and liquids flow thru. Stretching of the pouch will occur naturally over time, from the 2 oz start to 6-10 oz size after a year or more. Abnormal stretching of the pouch is thru constant overeating, not throwing up, though vomiting often results from overeating. I can understand that at 5 weeks post-op pureed food can get old fast. By 5 weeks I was eating salads and other solids. Discuss this with your doctor, as often times, they allow their patients to move thru the stages more quickly when discussed first. While soft foods may be OK, nuts are definitely not considered a soft food! Keep in mind that with each new food you introduce, its an adventure. Some sail thru smoothly and others have rough starts, no rhyme or reason to it. What doesn't stay down one time may settle very well a month later.
   — Cindy R.