Question:
Is there a reason why I would be so prone to throwing up at dinner versus other times

I am having vomitting lately, but only at dinnertime. I have read some folks talking about vomitting and needing your stoma stretched, but for instance yesterday I had peanut butter crackers and milk in the morning, an orange in the mid morning (just the juicy middle), a 1/2 of a tuna melt for lunch, but then at dinnertime I couldn't keep the spaghetti down. If my stoma needed stretched, then wouldn't I have trouble with breakfast and lunch too? I can eat the identical thing (i.e. shredded chicken salad) for lunch and have it go fine, and then eat it at dinnertime and get sick. Also, later in the evening (like 8 p.m.) - then I can eat something fine. Within 2 bites of dinner, I know I'm gonna be hurting...my chest is tight, my stomach is doing flip flops. What could this be from? I'm about 7 weeks out - open RNY...down 31 pounds as of a week ago.    — Tracy M. (posted on February 4, 2002)

February 4, 2002
That has happened to me also. At a support group meeting someone mentioned that if there is any stress or tension, not to eat because your pouch can tense up and make it difficult to eat. I thought that maybe dinner time might be stressful for me. There are a couple of things I am trying to rule out as the culprit. No. 1..I stress in the kitchen(when I'm cooking). So I thought that might be the problem. And No. 2.. It seems that when I sit down with the family in the evening, I just tend to eat faster. I don't know why. Maybe a tendancy to eat faster when everyone else sitting at the table is 'woofing' down their food. I still feel like I'm eating slow, but maybe its just not slow enough. A stricture doesn't seem likely but you never know. They usually occur in the beginning, more often around week 3. Good luck in figuring it out. Enjoy your journey!!
   — Cheri M.

February 4, 2002
I took a peek at your profile.. married with a young child.. yep.. my bet is that you have stress at the supper table!! It's almost impossible to NOT have stress when trying to feed your family. I'd consider perhaps not EATING with your family, but instead, drinking a protein shake and catching up with them on their day, etc. Then, later in the evening, when you're ready make yourself a snack of dinner leftovers and find a few minutes for yourself!
   — BethVBG

February 4, 2002
I had the same exact problem...and I too have young children who are not always the best behaved at dinner time. Someone is always doing something. I either will feed them first and DH and I can have a nice quiet dinner after when they go to bed...though that can be too late to eat. I ty to make lunch my main meal of the day---almost entirely protein so that dinner I can kinda fill with soft carbs---that way if I am stressed, I'll eat less...but also since they are "soft",they tend to go down easier..mashed potatoes...very well cooked pasta, etc. Good luck.
   — Mustang

February 5, 2002
Just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth...I think the other posters are right about stress at dinnertime. I have a 20 month old and a one who just turned 4 and dinnertime is the WORST time of day for me. It was pre-op too! I do not eat when the kids eat, because I cannot pay attention to what I am doing well enough. Just one bite of spaghetti or chicken not chewed well enough or eaten too fast can make you sick. Especially if you are a fairly new post-op, you need to take quiet time for your meals.
   — Karen B.

February 5, 2002
I too get sick more often than at other meals. I do not have any Children, so I think the stress from family is not my cause. At Dinnertime I feel as if my pouch is full. When I do eat something it feels like a marble getting stuck, and then up it comes. It also is in a Mucous type liquid. I think that this Mucousy liquid is causing my stomach to feel full which in turn makes the food I eat get rejected. After I throw up I let my stomach settle down for an hour, or so, and then am finally able to eat. This only happens at Dinnertime. Weird!
   — sbinkerd1

February 10, 2002
Same exact thing happens with me... weird, but true. I can eat during the day, but from about 5-9 pm I can't even try or I will feel horrible and puke a bunch of times, again, this mucuosy thing that I have read from other posters. I pretty much steer clear of food from that time!
   — Angel V.

August 13, 2004
I have the exact same thing happening with the evening meal these past 2 nights. I am pretty sure I ate to fast the first night, and the second night did not chew well. The mucus is formed in the upper stomach to try to force the food down, from what I have read. I have no stress, and do not cook for family yet, I am 24 days post op. It is an awful feeling, tomorrow night liquids only.
   — Claudia S.