I am 3 weeks out from my surgery and am in the soft foods stage. Everything is going well and dropping weight like crazy. So far since surgery date I have lost 29lbs. My question or problem is as I am eating my tiny bit of food when I get to the point of being full that next bite becomes very painful. It is a sharp pain and I try to belch but really can't. They are more like baby belches and usually takes a minute or so for the pain to subside. Then every bite after that is the same pain. Of course when I hit that point I stop eating but was just wondering is this normal? I mean this is a sharp pain, not just a feel full pain. Went to doctor last week and everything checks out great. He mentioned that it may be a while for the new "esophagus" part to stretch a little and that was probably causing the pain. Just wanted to know if I was alone on this one.

I am just over three months out and have experienced some unusual pain sensations myself. Laying on my left side feels very wierd since surgery that is the side that my drain was in. Someone suggested that it is possibly connective tissue healing. The hard to swallow and feeling of food getting stuck was normal for me when I started on soft foods, and it continues for me. I have come to know this as a sign for me to stop eating. I find that doing smaller portions a little more often works better for me. Drier foods or eating to fast will also trigger this feeling for me. I also am getting sharp pains on either side just below my rib cage. Almost feels like a stitch in the side, I have sent an email off to my Doc in hopes to get this question possibly answered, as to why this is happening. If you find out any more info lets us know, and if anyone else has had any experience with these pains and sensations let us know please.

K'Bear

It honestly sounds like you're eating too much or too fast. I never really ate to the point of hurting or even being full that early out. I did have a couple of episodes of "one last bite", and it made me puke a couple of months out when I thought I would be able to eat a little more. You might want to try slowing down even more as your body may not be just ready for mushies. I avoided eating to the point of being full early out because your nerves are still healing, and if it hurts then something just isn't "right".

You may still have some residual swelling/inflammation, but putting food in there to the point of causing a sharp pain isn't going to help it heal any faster.

The problem is that it is all of a sudden. I don't think I'm fast as usually the food is getting a little cold by the time I hit that point. But I can have a bite of food and all is fine, then the next bite, BOOM, pain! Had this since the liquid stage. Difference being that back then once I could belch it was like the trapped gases were relieved and the pain went away. But now I can't belch so the pain stays. Will pace my bites in between but maybe I just did push a little too hard.

I have also notice that I am hitting a wall these last 2 days. Course I haven't gotten all my Protein in either. Nutritionist says I have to have 100+ grams of protein a day. That is hard. Only way I can be sure of that is 2 or 3 Isopures and/or a Gladiator from smoothie King. But I know I will get over this hump, especially with everyones help and experience here.

I agree with Tiff -- I find if I'm hungry (too many hours without eating) and I'm eating faster and taking bigger bites than normal, I will definitely get pain and want to throw up. It's pretty horrible. Now, it may be also, that this is your "signal" that you're full -- but you might want to slow it down a little so that you can identify your "signal" before it becomes painful. My signal is nausea. Before I consciously slowed down, I would get nauseated every meal -- now, I wait with each bite and kind of "test" my stomach -- no nausea sensation, I'm good to continue, but as soon as a slight bit of nausea hits me, I'm DONE!

Hope this helps!

The laying on my left side feeling very wierd. This has been ever since I have been able to lay on it, after having my drain out. It feels hard yet hollow. The sharp pains (stitch like) on either side just below my rib cage have only started in the last couple of weeks. Could this just be gas pain any one else experiencing this? It seems ok if I am still but if I move or stretch it gives me a zing. Some days it is better then others. I have had reflux for over 15+ years and the tests that I have gone through have shown that I have a very lazy esophagus. The surgeon told me that having the surgery to fix the reflux would not be sucessful for me as the constriction of the esophagus would cause more issues with the food going down. I am thinking that the "bougie" size (the top part of the bannana shaped stomach) may be narrow enough to cause the food getting stuck and feeling hard and painful in the throat area, because my lazy esophagus can't keep up. People may have lazy (in other words the spasms that send the food down are weak) esophagus's and may not even know it unless they went through testing.

K'Bear