Question:
I am preop and would like to know if you have to continue chewing and chewing food

very well even after a year postop. Thanks. Khadija Conteh- Dade.    — liverpool508 (posted on February 19, 2002)

February 18, 2002
I have never had any problems with having to chew food up really well. I think it depends on your system and the size of your stoma. I have accidentally swallowed stuff that I thought might give me blockage but didn't (like a piece of pineapple that slipped down my throat) and I take pills of any size just fine. It just depends on you and how you react to the surgery.
   — ctyst

February 18, 2002
I am almost 1 yr. post-op and don't obsess about chewing as much as I used to. I still can't swallow large pieces of meat, etc. without chewing them up really well, but things are a lot better than the first few months. Don't worry: after a year or so, things get pretty much back to normal, except you're a heck of a lot skinnier, and you also are eating much smaller portions than you did pre-op.
   — Terissa R.