Question:
I've had to throw-up quite a lot lately, and seem not to throw up food, but mucous.

Sorry to be gross, but this has me puzzled. It seems to build up in my esophagus and keeps the food ( or so it seems) from going thru tho my pouch. I get a lot of pain and discomfort, but when I finally throw-up, it seems to be only strings of mucous? Has anyone else been bothered with this?    — Beverly H. (posted on December 24, 2002)

December 24, 2002
Check with your doc (as always) but it sounds like post nasal drip to me. I ave ad that same problem in the past. Our stomachs are so small, that we tolerate very small amount of mucus build up now. Get allergy medication and see if that makes it any better.
   — Vicki L.

December 25, 2002
I'm not certain of this answer, but this is what I understand. I also have this white muscus and I understand it to be normal. A normal size stomach will contain a certain amount of stomach acid to break down food. A "reformed" stomach does not contain this storage of acid and often your food will be mixed with a more of a mucus type substance. It's part of the digestion process that a normal stomach would breakdown and a "reformed" stomach would not as much. Also, if you threw up before surgery it would usually be after the food had been much more digested. However, if your vomitting now it's likely not been contained in the stomach very long. To simplfy, white foamy musus is stomach acid LITE.
   — Scott L.

December 26, 2002
hi :) ive vomited probably 4 times since open rny feb 8 02 and it was this way for me as well, also not to be gross but i noticed that i dont have that awful acid bile gross stuff anymore and the food doesnt seem to be as digested anymore, i think from the sounds of it, you are totally normal. :)
   — carrie M.

December 27, 2002
I've only dumped a few tims since my surgery, always after I apparently ate too fast or too much. But I think it's not the mucous that's blocking the food from passing, but the food stuck in your pouch that creates the mucous. I believe the mucous is mostly swallowed saliva that forms as you're trying to get the food down. It's natural for our mouths to create saliva when we need to wash something down, only for us the "liquid" doesn't help. It's like (pre-op) takiing a drink to wash down a piece of bread caught in the esophagas - it makes it worse instead of better. To echo what some of the others said, I think what you have is perfectly normal.
   — Arlene S.

December 31, 2002
I GO THROUGH THE SAME THING (SURGERY DATE: NOVEMBER 18, 2002). MY DOCTOR TOLD ME IT WAS SINUS DRIP SO HER PRESCRIBED LIQUID ZYRTEC, BUT SOMETIMES MY TUMMY IS UPSET AND I CAN'T TOLERATE THE ZYRTEC SO I BOUGHT THE OVER-THE-COUNTER CLARITIN THAT DISSOLVES ON YOUR TONGUE AND IT WORKS GREAT!!!! GOOD LUCK
   — NANCY W.