Question:
I am having difficulty keeping foods down

I am 3 weeks 2 days post-op and for the past day or so I have been having trouble keeping foods down. I am hungry, eat what I am supposed to be eating, and then it comes back up. Then I am not hungry for a couple of hours, and then it starts over again. I read on the posts about people 2 and 3 months post-op who are eating all these fabulous things. Will I ever get there? Do I need to be drinking protein shakes for protein?    — Dianne K. (posted on December 2, 2001)

December 2, 2001
Hi Dianne, I am 3.5 months post op and had the same trouble as you are. I must admit tho, that my vomiting episodes have become far fewer as the months go by and I "know" almost immediately now if something agrees with me or not. I'm not sure why this happens, but it happened to me. Even now, I vomit maybe once a week. It gets better... keep on keeping on doing what you have done. Be sure to chew well and not eat too fast (eating too fast for me is a sure vomiting trigger). If it continues, talk to your surgeon.
   — Pamela F.

December 2, 2001
Dear Diane, Sounds to me like you have a stricture. Your should contact your surgeons office and let them know what the problem is. They will probably have you contact your gastroenterologist for an endoscopy with possible dialation. FYI--it does get better. I'm 2.5 months post-op and I've had 2 strictures...I just had steak for dinner. Good Luck
   — Kristin R.

December 2, 2001
Hi, I'm about a week ahead of you at 4.5 weeks post op. I started vomiting every other meal. I was eating very little but continued to have problems. I thought I was eating slow. I tried really hard to slow it down even more. Sometimes I now take a break during a meal for 5-10 minutes then start up again. No one told me to eat very very very slowly!!! I haven't had a problem for the last 4 days. I know that it will happen again, but I hope not as often. I hope this may help.
   — Jane C.

December 2, 2001
I would go back to liquids only until you can speak to your surgeon and make that be ASAP. I had trouble at around 5 weeks out with keeping down what I used to be able to eat easily. Your stoma could be constricted with scar tissue and trying to eat regular food just bothers it more. The surgeons know just the right questions to ask to see if you would need to have an endoscopy (I had it done at 5 weeks out.. its NOTHING totally painless). Most of the time its just a case of eating too fast or not chewing well or eating too much, but monitor yourself very carefully and give your doc a call! :)
   — Tee G.