Question:
Pain behind Breastbone
I am 4 weeks post-op and have recently been getting this pain behind my breastbone which is generally followed by throwing up. This happened 2 days in a row. I was having deli sliced turkey and I got this incredibly pain behind by breastbone that wouldn't go away. It hurt for about an hour and after I threw it up felt fine. I happened again while eating a couple bites of shrimp. I didn't drink to soon before and I ate it very slowly. I had eaten lunch about 3 hours beforehand so I can't imagine that the pouch was full. I had Lap RNY. Anyone else experience this? — [Anonymous] (posted on June 6, 2000)
June 6, 2000
I sometimes have what sounds like the same kind of pain. I have
discovered that it happens when I try to swallow too big of
a bite, even when I have chewed the dickens out of it. I now
make a conscious effort to make 4 swallows out of a half of
a spoonful. When I do this, there is no pain.
— Tina H.
June 6, 2000
Yup, happens to me also when I eat too fast or too soon after drinking
water.
— Alicia B.
June 6, 2000
I have had this happen to me and usually it's when I eat too fast or eat
too much. More often it happens when I eat too much. Before I had
surgery, at my support group meeting, a post op told a group of us pre-op's
that you will know when you have "overstuffed" yourself, because
you will have a pain in your chest that feels almost as if you are having a
heart attack. Becareful and make sure you are chewing your food, taking
small bites and not eating too much. Good Luck... =)
— Marni
June 6, 2000
I am 8 weeks post op & am very familiar with the symptoms you
mentioned. I actually heard it described as the "alien syndrome"
as it feels like an alien is trying to burst thru your chest. I have this
problem fairly often. Usually, it happens to me within the first two or
three bites of food. I think what causes it for me is that when I first
start eating, I am hungry & either eat the first bites too quickly or
don't chew them well enough or both. I usually have two choices: go thow up
& start over in a few minutes or wait til the pain goes away in about
30 minutes or so & then start again. Surprisingly, after one of those
two options, I can usually go ahead & eat my regular amount, which is
probably 2 to 4 ounces.
— Kathy W.
June 6, 2000
I had this problem when I had a stricture in the opening out of my stomach.
If you are eating slowly and chewing thoroughly, you might want to check
with your Dr. and see what he thinks. It was very easy to fix my problem,
it required an endoscopy with dilitation, an outpatient procedure that was
painless.
— Lynn K.
June 7, 2000
This is the symptom I get when I have "dumping syndrome." It
simply means your system has rejected this particular food for some reason.
I get this with chicken, sweets, and eating or drinking too fast.
— Louise H.
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