Question:
Been vomiting mucus the last couple of days on and off

I eat, and the food stays but I vomit mucus. Sorry no easy way to say that. I am 24 days post op. Anyone else had this? Thanks for any reply!    — Claudia S. (posted on August 12, 2004)

August 12, 2004
Please ask to be scoped. If you have a narrowing of the outlet from the pouch, it can be easily fixed. They use light sedation, so you miss the whole thing!
   — vitalady

August 12, 2004
Claudia, sounds like you might have Acid-Reflux, thats how it started for me never had it till I had this surgery, But your best bet is to go get checked by your Doctor, I now take Previcid everyday and it does work, well good luck.
   — blainejrjeni

August 12, 2004
The best response to your question is always going to be "call your doctor" :-) Now, that being said, I will add that RNY patients frequently report the issue of occasionally regurgitating thick clear/tan mucus after eating a meal, but without regurgitating the actual meal.....the feeling of "too-full", too-uncomfortable, and that you won't be able to get comfortable until whatever this is comes up and out. The key word is "occasionally". Vomiting or regurgitating after every meal is NOT normal or expected, and needs to be addressed immediately by your surgeon. Five of us in my family have had RNY surgery, and our surgeon sponsors a regional support group in our state. Every family member and almost every support group member post-RNY surgery have reported this OCCASIONAL mucus problem. This "mucus event" seems to happen more frequently in the first post-op months, and occurs less frequently over time. Although I don't have a "clinical" explanation, we have all been able to relate the event to times when we have eaten too fast, not chewed thoroughly enough, or have eaten foods with higher fat content than usual. One person said that it's almost like the pouch senses something it doesn't "like", and forms the thick mucus to "protect itself". It seems to be true for most of us who have experienced this, that there is really no nausea connected with this at all...just the sudden urge to regurgitate...once the mucus is out, the food generally stays in, and life is better. At 24 days post-op, you are still in the early stages of introducing new and "normal" foods to your diet.....remember the cardinal "Rules" for new post-ops...eat very slowly, chew very well, take very small bites, and markedly limit sugars/fats. In the coming years, you will unfortunately slip away from maintaining all of those rules all the time....you will be able to eat a little faster, take bigger bites, not always chew thoroughly enough, and re-introduce some sugars and fats into your diet without "dumping" and making you temporarily feel as if you are sure you are dying. However, your body is simply not going to allow you to get away with that for the first year or so, and I feel like this mucus issue is one of those helpful behavior modifiers that simply tells us to watch what and how we are eating. I am 4 1/2 years post-op, and this happened to me a few nights ago after eating a piece of fried chicken. It had been such a long time since this had happened, I had almost forgotten about the "problem"....it was a nice reminder that FRIED chicken was one of the addictions that helped me on my road to obesity in the first place :-) Call your surgeon and let him/her know what's going on....mind the Rules....and enjoy the rest of this wonderful journey into better health and much happiness. Best wishes!
   — Diana T.

August 12, 2004
Hi, Claudia. I had the same problem when I was early on in my weight loss adventure. My doctor told me that it might happen, and the remedy was rediculously simple. Just drink a hot liquid (tea, or even just warmed-up water) before you eat. It washes the mucus out of the tummy, and it should end the bouts of vomiting. It worked perfectly for me... I hope that this helps you out! Good luck, and congratulations on your new journey!
   — lollie26

August 13, 2004
Hi Claudia, The mucus is most likely because you are not chewing your food enough. I had that problem too. I found that if I was aggravated food did not want to stay down and the mucus would start. I would make myself throw up to feel better and then try eating again a little while later when I was calm. Take your time eating, do not drink with your meal and chew well, this should really help. I hope this helps. Shana
   — shana1569

August 13, 2004
Claudia...don't know if this helps or not but I'll tell you my experience. About 8 weeks post op, I started feeling uncomfortably full after only eating a couple of bites of food. If I tried more, I had a lot of pain and nausea. When I finally vomited (I stopped eating as soon as I started feeling sick or uncomfortable), it would be white frothy liquid, sort of thick. I thought maybe I was eating too fast or not chewing well enough and always tried to be very aware of how I ate. Anyway, I finally called my doctor a week or so later and they did an EGD (they go down with a light and look at the pouch and stoma). My stoma had some scar tissue which made it so tight the food had trouble exiting my pouch. While he was in there, he dilated the stoma with a balloon type catheter and I've done well since then. There is a possibility I may have to have it done again since I've had a little trouble lately. I'm currently 7.5 months post op and have lost 99 pounds. Hope this helps...good luck and God bless...Kathy
   — Katherine F.

August 13, 2004
Claudia...also thought of one other thing in my circumstances...I thought my sense of being full after only a couple of bites was that my pouch was full of sinus drainage each morning. I know that's kind of gross, but they asked me while I was still in the hospital if I had much trouble with drainage. I told them it's a constant battle with me as I have extreme allergies and live in the Ohio River Valley where there are so many different kinds of allergens. I would try to drink some sugar free Swiss Miss hot chocolate or drink some hot chicken broth in the morning (I did it as soon as I got out of bed) because I really didn't feel hungry. This warm liquid helped to wash the pouch out and get the mucous on it's way. Maybe this too will help you...I hope so...Kathy
   — Katherine F.

August 13, 2004
I second what the previous poster said. If you have allergies, consider the possibility that it's sinus drainage. I found that my morning allegra wasn't quite doing the job when I became a post-op. They had me take a benedryl right before bed and I was building up a lot of drainage in my pouch. Worked like a champ!
   — Cathy S.