Question:
how long does it take the pouch to empty?

I was wondering,sometimes when I eat too fast, or too large a bite and throw-up, why no food, only mucous comes up. Has the food already cleared the pouch? or is it only from the esophagus that the throw-up comes? I know this sounds like my previous post about mucous, but this is just a follow up question and my convoluted thought process. thanks a lot, for all your help. Beverly    — Beverly H. (posted on December 26, 2002)

December 26, 2002
Beverly--I've had a lot of issues with throwing up. Especially during the "trial and error" phase to see what foods you can tolerate. Yes the first bit you throw up easily is the white foamy stuff--but if that doesn't alleviate the "food just sitting there" feeling the next thing to come up will be the food. My biggest thing that makes me sick is chicken---if its in soup I am fine....any other way and its a toss up of whether I'll keep it down or not. Hope this helps!
   — Bambi C.

December 26, 2002
Bambi is right, the first thing to come up is the foamy stuff. And although I've only thrown up 3 or 4 times, all due to not chewing well enough, I took the time to make sure everything came up to alleviate the pain. It is not a pleasant experience for me, throwing up, so I try to avoid it at all costs! Chicken is the worst culprit for me as well. I really have to cut it in small pieces and chew, chew, chew. It does help to have marinade or sauce for meats, especially chicken. If you feel the food is stuck and won't go through the pouch and yet you can't "chuck it up" then slowly drink a few sips of water. That will determine which way it wants to go! Take care - Anna LAP RNY 7/3/02 -98lbs.
   — Anna L.

December 29, 2002
The pouch should empty within 30 minutes - that is why we are supposed to wait 30 minutes before drinking - so we don't wash the food out and cause ourselves to be hungry sooner. The foam always comes first and I am like the previous poster, if the food doesn't come up and the pain is bad, I drink something to help it move - sometimes it goes through and other times it comes up. Recently I had an episode of having eaten too much or too fast at a Chinese Restaurant. About three hours later the pain was horrid and I finally ate a sugar free pop sicle and eventually threw up. But I threw up a lot of foam and clear liquid first. I felt so much better when the offending food finally came out. And, guess what? I was over a year post-op when that happened - so it can still happen a long way out.
   — Patty_Butler