Hi y'all, I've searched and searched in the forum, but I didn't see anything to address this yet:

I am 3 and a half weeks post op, I've been healing great, and sticking very close to the prescribed diet, no fancy "experimentations" or anything. I get all my pills, use Protein drinks and get my fluids. After surgery,I was two days Clear liquids, then on to cream Soups and puddings, which I did very well with. I did my follow up appt, and the doc said I could move to mushies, but the transition to anything with more substance than a cream Soup is challenging! I assumed it would be, I'm just wondering how long it lasted for you all, and if I should pull back and take it easier or challenge myself and just kind of get on with it.

What I am talking about is this: If I eat a very mushy poached egg, or super mushed chicken from the magic bullet, and of course, chew like hell, and strain it through my teeth and all, the first bite goes down, and there is pain. Like getting stuck or filling the stomach or something. Obviously I cant eat very much more. One poached egg or quarter cup of chicken salad (with low fat mayo) is it, but then I just have to sit there any wait for the pain to subside, which takes like 20 minutes.

I try to get up and stretch, swing my arms around, hang upside down, sit, lie, walk, bounce, nothing helps but sitting up and waiting.

I get sick of feeling the pain, going through the process of eating and then dealing with the pain, and it makes me not want to eat at all, or just revert to the soups, which I can eat a whole can of, no problem. I have just gone back to soups for the rest of the day, because I don't want to deal with it.

It's not a burning, and I've never felt a burning, I've never taken any antacids, because I've always had a stomach of Iron, can eat anything, never had heartburn.

This is more of a "just feels like someone's thumb is in there." sort of pain. Instantly upon taking first bite, and thereafter.

Would love to hear your experiences with this, usually I wait an hour, have a cup of tea, and then I'm fine. But wow. Might as well just punch myself in the face every time I think of eating! Am I trying to move to fast? Or is this the process of re-training the stomach?

Thanks!

Hey y'all, I think I figured it out. Combination of swallowing air, and... who knew? FEELING FULL. OOOOOHhhh! So thats the pain of being over full! Duh.

Need to take smaller, and less air-filled, bites. That seems to be working so far!!!

Hey y'all, I think I figured it out. Combination of swallowing air, and... who knew? FEELING FULL. OOOOOHhhh! So thats the pain of being over full! Duh.

Need to take smaller, and less air-filled, bites. That seems to be working so far!!!

Bless your heart, i was just going to tell you to take smaller bites and wait at least 2 minutes between bites. . . I'm 10 1/2 months out and still wait 2 minutes between bites. . . literally I take my baby bowl of food sit down in front of the TV take a bite, chew like a mad woman, swallow, watch the clock thingy on the DVD player 2 minutes are up. . . next bite. . . then I only do this for 20 minutes and if I'm not done my bowl of food, I throw it out and wait for the next meal. . . aaaahhhhhh the life of a sleever good luck!

Ha! Went out to breaksfast with the husband today and tried this.... ordered two poached eggs. Took a bite, chewed, waited a minute or two, ate more.... and that did it! Made it through Breakfast, without pain, even had a piece of toast, and it was fine!

Eating slowly and small bites is going to take some getting used to, for sure. I never realized I was such a quick eater, or that I took such big bites. Sounds silly, but it's a revelation, what can I say.... a minute or two between bites. Yes, that will take getting used to. At least I won't finish before everyone else at the table anymore!

Thanks for the advice and good luck to you!

Sounds like the pain I had when I drank too much on day 2! I am now 5 days post-op and I am still like "WOW, I can't believe how little I can drink and feel "full" off of!!" It really is going to be a HUGH adjustment! I am glad you figured out how to make it work for you now!!

Your reply will also help me, I find that drinking water gives me the stuck feeling too. Some times my swallow reflexes causes me to swallow more than I wanted to and boy does this hurt. I know what you mean.

Also be aware that eggs and meat are 2 of the hardest things to digest, so many people advise waiting til 6 or 8 weeks post-op for that. "Mushies" can encompass thick soups, yoghurts, puddings, etc, not just meat and eggs.

I had problems getting stuck on tuna one month out - couldn't manage it until I was about 8 weeks out.

I also found that talking while I ate was a big no no. Conversation is pretty common around the dinner table, but for the first 2-3 months post-op, I didn't speak while eating.

how do you know if you swallow air? Maybe I do that?

I am experiencing similar issues. Yesterday, I had 1 small grilled chicken tender, chewed well and took at least 10 minutes to eat it. I had the full feeling, got the hiccups (which I have had often), started feeling pain, then it seemed like something was stuck and the painincreased. After about 10 minutes of this, I had the urge to vomit (which is very uncommon for me). I took two sips of Water and instantly felt relief! I guess it was stuck. I am 5 weeks out.

Today for lunch was grilled fish, very moist. After I had eaten about 1/2 of what I would normally get in (maybe 1oz) I started with the same feeling. This time I stopped quickly and after about 30 minutes, it has supsided.