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:

Hi Jane,

Nice thought, but I am not taking PPI's nor any other kind of acid-blocker. I guess just having so much of my stomach removed is enough to reduce the acid production. I wonder why these things don't form in people who take antacids chronically but have not had stomach surgery??

Natalie

Coconut is a VERY fibrous food and it may be that it is just really hard to digest for that reason. A couple sticks of celery could probably do the same thing. It may be if you had eaten a much smaller portion of coconut, or chewed it for a much longer time, it might have gone on through, but, alas...

Now what does the doctor say about getting it out of there?

So, this means I need to quit eating hairballs and ziplock baggies? Darn, now I have to come up with a new favorite snack item! :scared0:

HAHAHAHA. . . .LMAO:w00t:

Try some papaya pills - they're chewable and tasty - and they are an enzyme that helps in digestion ... so maybe it will help with your bezoar? Certainly worth a try - and it won't hurt anything to give them a try. I got mine at GNC.

Try some papaya pills - they're chewable and tasty - and they are an enzyme that helps in digestion ... so maybe it will help with your bezoar? Certainly worth a try - and it won't hurt anything to give them a try. I got mine at GNC.

Hi, they contain papain but that is for tenderizing meat, so the enzyme breaks down Protein.

To break down cellulose you would need cellulase which is produced by bacteria in a ruminents stomach or more easily for the OP is produced by fruit when they ripen. Drinking ripe raspberry/blackberry smoothys or ripe advocado mush should break it down over time, but you would have to neutralise the acid in the stomach to an acceptable ph between 5 and 7 which should be possible with a PPI.

Basically it might be easier to hoik it out under sedation.

I wonder if pro-biotics would help- if so, this website has very high grade products:

http://www.nutrimedical.com/products.jhtml?method=view&product.id=3687

I think someone is going to have to go fishing in there.....

I don't think I'll ever look at a coconut the same way again -- and I definitely won't be eating one!

I am anxious to hear the outcome. Didn't the doctor have any advice for her?

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.

That would be the actual meat of the coconut rather than the "milk" or the water?

Right, the meat.

boy am I glad I dont like coconut!

Hi Jane,

Nice thought, but I am not taking PPI's nor any other kind of acid-blocker. I guess just having so much of my stomach removed is enough to reduce the acid production. I wonder why these things don't form in people who take antacids chronically but have not had stomach surgery??

Natalie

So what is the plan Vampy? I am just wondering what your doctor is going to do. I would not want that thing trying to move out of my pyloris valve. That will be painful.

What a mess. Please keep us updated. I am worried about how you/your doctor are going to get it out.

boy am I glad I dont like coconut!

Me too! :thumbup:

I just had a bezoar removed that formed after gastric sleeve surgery. I had nausea and vomiting for some time but did not seek medical assistance until after I was completely obstructed and did not keep any thing down, even liquids. After the bezoar was removed one of the stitches let go and I had a leak. It was and is a long recovery, but I think it will be a full recovery. Mentally I am afraid every day. It will take me some time to mentally recover.

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: