Obstructed by a "bezoar", has anyone else heard of this?

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I eat celery in tuna and chicken salad all the time. I cut it up very tiny. I think it's fine if it's cut up small and chew it up very well.

Anyone who still sees their doctor can ask them. Since I went to Mexico, I can't talk to Dr. Aceves. I'd be curious to hear what other doctors say.

[sue4491 3]

A quick way to get rid of a bezoar is to get endoscopy. I have a friend with a VGB (vertical banded gastroplasty) of 22 years duration. She would get them all the time - the gastro doc removed them from her pouch.

It is the lack of stomach acid but mostly the size of the stomach why bezoars form in weight loss surgery patients. Gastric bypass patients get them also. If you eat foods that are fibrous, you might want to use something like the "Magic Bullet" - in the weight loss surgery community (and the GERD community - I have the latter) the Magic Bullet is our best friend!

[sychadelic 10]

I remember a while ago there was an episode of House MD on TV about a guy that was making money hiring himself out as a guinea pig and taking all kinds of medications, one antacid he was taking allowed the bezoar to form and some other drugs got caught in the thing and failed to dissolve - hence his problem he was hallucinating because of the undissolved medication was breaking loose and finally hitting his system at a much higher dose then originally planned. That's how *I* know what a bezoar is.

Who says sitting around and watching TV isn't good for something

Haha, that's where I hear of bezoars as well. Also heard it later on Strange Addictions with a girl who pulled her hair and ate the follicles.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

What is VGB (vertical banded gastroplasty)? How is it different from the sleeve?

I wish the OP would have come back and told us if they had to go in and get it out or if she was able to dissolve it.

I'll have to remember this post if I try to eat an Almond Joy!

[cajun 46]

I put about 1/2 cup of fresh papaya in my Protein shake each morning. Papaya acts like an enzyme, in fact I think it is the main ingredient in meat tenderizer...try it. Might work.

Lots of Vitamins too!

I don't like the way it tastes by itself, but in a shake, it just adds sweetness.

HI everyone!

After 6 months trouble-free since being sleeved, maybe I was getting a little too cocky? 5 days ago, feeling fine, I ate half of a fresh coconut. I ate slowly, chewed well, and stopped long before I had any discomfort & went about my business. I have not been able to hold anything down since then!

For the first 2 days, I was in agonizing stomach pain & vomiting everything I tried to eat or drink. I felt like I had a rock in my stomach. The following day I felt better but kept to liquids just to be safe & everything was fine other than still feeling like there was a lump in my stomach. The day after that (yesterday) I tried to have some chili & got about 3 spoons into my stomach before I felt nauseous again. The vomiting resumed with a vengeance.

So last night I elected to do a barium study on myself (lucky to have access to radiology at work!) and after 5 hours there was still a perfectly round mass in my stomach that the barium was stuck to. Showed this to my doctor this AM & he sent me for endoscopy. He said I had a bezoar, which is a concretion of undigestible material in my stomach, basically from the cellulose Fiber of the coconut.

The endoscopist is telling me that this is a common finding in people who have had gastric surgery. This is the first time I've heard anything about it!!! Has anyone else had this experience? Can anyone provide me with a list of foods I should avoid, so I don't have to go through this again? I asked my doc, but he basically just said coconut, pumpkin seeds, and celery. There has got to be more to it than that!

Any advice or input is appreciated! Thanks, y'all!

Natalie

:001_wub:

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Cajun! Good to see you. I don't think I have seen you posting in awhile.

[suzylou 1]

That sucks!

My doctor told me coconut was a no no forever because it can ball in the stomach. This must be what he was talking about.

My post op instructions were similar NO Coconut meat ever again in any form shredded like in coconut cream pie or any other form I think the Water is ok it is the meat that is restricted.

[Vampyrvet 1]

Hi everyone.

I'm not sure if anyone is still monitoring this discussion (forgot about it myself for a while), but just in case anyone else has issues with bezoars I would like to report that I successfully dissolved mine by sipping Coca Cola, all day & all night, for about 10 days. Dissolved my bezoar and made me so sick of Coca Cola that I'll probably never drink it again. So, double success!

About a year later, I thought I would try eating a smaller amount of coconut just because when I had my original bezoar, I felt like I had a rock in my stomach and was not hungry for a week. I thought if I just ate a smaller amount of coconut maybe I could kill part of my appetite without getting obstructed.

Sadly, the attempt was a failure. I successfully re-formed my bezoar but also successfully re-obstructed myself. I was too embarrassed to go back to my doctor, so I started back on the Coca Cola and was normal again a week later.

So my advice is... don't eat coconut. But if you do, keep a case of Coca Cola handy.

Cheers!

Natalie

[Roberto 0]

Natalie,

I'm relieved to know that you finally dissolved the bezoar with Coca-Cola. I like coconut, but, after reading your story, I'm willing to live without it. I wish you the best and wonder if drinking coconut milk would satisfy your taste for it.

Thank you for sharing this story.

Roberto

[~winecountrygirl~ 3]

Coconut is a BIG no-no on our post op for life list!!

[Sassygirl06 962]

yup..one of the first things on the pre op paper work was not to eat fibrous foods like coconut, and celery! no more of that stuff for anyone. if you need to have your fix on coconut flavor, there are extracts that you can use. dont have to worry about that because it is in liquid form.

hope it disolved for you. great that you shared your story so other avoid this problem!

[treequeen 13]

Where the heck do I get one of these No No lists? My doc didn't give me anything and I'd really like to aviod having any problems.

[kellyw74 258]

YUP! I was also told no raw celery or coconut EVER!!! But, not pumpkin seeds. I eat them all of the time.

I was not supposed to have seeds/nuts for 3 months tho. Maybe that is why.

Kelly

[FloraBama Girl 116]

pineapple, asparugus, Rhubarb.

HI everyone!

After 6 months trouble-free since being sleeved, maybe I was getting a little too cocky? 5 days ago, feeling fine, I ate half of a fresh coconut. I ate slowly, chewed well, and stopped long before I had any discomfort & went about my business. I have not been able to hold anything down since then!

For the first 2 days, I was in agonizing stomach pain & vomiting everything I tried to eat or drink. I felt like I had a rock in my stomach. The following day I felt better but kept to liquids just to be safe & everything was fine other than still feeling like there was a lump in my stomach. The day after that (yesterday) I tried to have some chili & got about 3 spoons into my stomach before I felt nauseous again. The vomiting resumed with a vengeance.

So last night I elected to do a barium study on myself (lucky to have access to radiology at work!) and after 5 hours there was still a perfectly round mass in my stomach that the barium was stuck to. Showed this to my doctor this AM & he sent me for endoscopy. He said I had a bezoar, which is a concretion of undigestible material in my stomach, basically from the cellulose Fiber of the coconut.

The endoscopist is telling me that this is a common finding in people who have had gastric surgery. This is the first time I've heard anything about it!!! Has anyone else had this experience? Can anyone provide me with a list of foods I should avoid, so I don't have to go through this again? I asked my doc, but he basically just said coconut, pumpkin seeds, and celery. There has got to be more to it than that!

Any advice or input is appreciated! Thanks, y'all!

Natalie

:001_wub:

[GetInMyBelly 80]

What other things have people had stuck?? I need to know things to eliminate. Thanks