Question:
Phlegm wont go away. I have the awful phlegm collecting in my stomach and my food sits on it

I have this awful phlegm that collects in my stomach all day long and my food and liquids collect on top until I vomit the phlegm the food stays but its awful I spit all day long , where is it coming from ? How can I get it out of my stomach , please help me    — Charlotte L. (posted on October 1, 2000)

October 1, 2000
Chances are, that is not in your stomach - but in your lungs or drainage from your sinusus.... Were it from your stomach, your food would be coming up with it.
   — Jennifer K.

October 1, 2000
The phlegm is definitely coming from my stomach it will be colored from my food or juice , where is it coming from , how can i get rid of it
   — Charlotte L.

October 1, 2000
Hi. I have this problem too. It's not phlegm. I call it "foamies", but here's what I think. I think that when we eat and it sits in our small pouches and takes a while to move through to the intestine that just swallowing our own slavia will make us throw up. I am 6 weeks post op and did this a lot at first, it had slowed down to almost never, but today I did it twice. This is just my thought. I don't have any sinus problems and there is no way that lung secreations can come up and be flavored with your food. I do know that for a fact, I am a critical care RN. The other is just my speculation. I think this will eventually get better and better over time. It does happen less frequently now. Good luck.
   — Mary G.

October 1, 2000
I have not yet had surgery yet,that's tomorrow. But in the group consultation my Dr. stated that the upper portion of the stomach does produce a mucous and that to aleviate it you should drink something hot,like tea.
   — Dennis J. B.

October 1, 2000
Calm down honey , I had this same problem post op. Eat slower , don't have liquids with your solids . I would stop eating when this happened to me and start eating soups and other liquids until it stopped. This still happens to me once in a while , if I eat too fast or something too heavy. You would think the food would come back up too but it stays down just that phlemmy looking fluid ( try saying that 5 times fast!!) comes up.
   — Rose A.

October 1, 2000
I had the exact symptoms you described. My stoma, the outlet from the pouch to the intestine, was narrowed. Call your surgeon ASAP. An endoscopic dilation will fix you right up. Best wishes!
   — [Deactivated Member]

October 1, 2000
I went thru a period about at months 2.5 and 3 where sometimes I would eat too fast or the wrong thing and the food would lodge in my tummy and then the saliva would pile up on it, and I would end up throwing up saliva plugs, over and over. To remedy this, I started eating less, slower, and easier to digest foods. It eventually stopped -- I am now 5 months post op and can't even remember the last time this happened to me. Good luck!
   — Beth B.

October 1, 2000
I had this within the first month post-op. When I spoke to my clinic about it they gave me this explanation. It takes a long time for food to leave the new pouch. The body will produce mucus to try and help moisten the food to move it through. I would be OK for one meal and then have problems with the next one. It does get better with time.
   — Jilda H.