Active member of paranoia hell.......what does stuck food feel like?

[prolife2014 6]

Hallo everyone......

I am on day 5 post op and I am doing very well I think. Today is day 2 without taking my painkillers :)I have chest and shoulder pains that come and go, I am passing gas a lot and I am not doing so badly but still aware that I just had surgery not so long ago.....with that said here goes........

I am in paranoia hell. I made 'minced meat and vegetable soup' yesterday which I minced to a liquid consistency and had for dinner. I have to admit that as I had the Soup last night, there were some tiny lumps in the soup (slightly smaller than a pea) The soup was really good and I had about 3/4 of a cup. Though I felt some chest pains which I have been feeling since surgery on the 23rd, I did not feel anything stuck and the soup went down well. I had the same soup for lunch today with some creme fraiche. Nothing got stuck but I did feel full and had a few lumps on it which I tried to chew completely to soft smooth paste before swallowing.

3 hours later, I am still full AND I can feel like I want to burp ALL the time with reflux coming up my chest and then going down soon after. I am so scared that I may have had this soup too soon in this liquid phase and I just need advise in regard to your experiences with the band. I have no other symptoms except my usual chest and shoulder pain and the reflux. I just want to know, what is the feeling of being stuck with the food - is it severely uncomfortable and painful and you absolutely feel like vomiting. If this is so, then I am okay because I dont have it. But if the reflux and burping I feel is abnormal then perhaps I should not touch that soup again. I certainly do not want to compromise my fantastic surgery.

Let me know what your take is and if this is just my paranoid self talking.....it usually is...

Thanks for your input.....

[betty_s 476]

Hey there! I'm almost 3 weeks post-op. My surgeon had me on full liquids for 7 days, which consisted of 2 Protein shakes and 1 creamy Soup, mixed with Protein powder. I chose cream of chicken, but that upset my stomach, so i tried campbells golden mushroom. There were a few small mushrooms that i chewed as long as i could, but they never felt like that got stuck.

I was advised to take 30-45 mins to drink my shakes and soup (all 8 oz). I never felt uncomfortably full during this stage, but never felt hunger.

As i've moved to softer foods now, like scramble eggs and chicken salad. I find that if i eat too quick (forgetting i actually have a lap-band) i feel really tight in my esophogus. I then take a few minutes, let the tight sensation go away, and continue eating small bites very slow.

It sounds like you are still just swollen from surgery. I had the urge to burp the first week and couldnt get anything out either. I'd be careful with the chunks, but continue to eat the soup.

Congrats on being banded!

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@prolife2014 there are many different opinions you are going to get here. The best advice you are going to get from anyone is this. Give your Doctor a call and follow his directions.

If the doctor told you to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks then that means just that. Liquids do not have lumps or bumps or anything in them that you need to chew. You have just had a major surgery. Now my Dr. had me on a liquid diet for 2 weeks after my surgery and I followed his directions to the letter. After I moved to mushy foods and this also did not include lumps of any kind, or anything that included chewing of any sort. Everything was put into a blender, and then eaten. After that 2 weeks I moved to soft foods and here came the lumps and the chewing, things like eggs and mashed potatoes with lumps and bits of Soup with lumps etc.

I know it is not easy but you need to give your insides a chance to heal and you are not doing that if they are repeating food on you. You should not have a reflux and while I can't say that is normal or not for you, it would not be for me and I would steer clear of this type of soup. I would stay with the liquids until prescribed to move to the next phase. Your insides though you do not feel it are still swollen and healing and getting used to this new way of being.

If you are still having some discomfort with the reflux, and are unsure about foods give the doctor a call that is what they are there for, and they will advise you the best course of action to take.

Good luck and congrats on your surgery!

[terrydumont46 1,954]

food should digest as normal even in your pouch. as above always notify your doctor because he/she may have a different solution. but if you are still feeling stuck(?) drink some Water and let the water either push the food through or dislodge it so you can bring it up. when drinking water with food in your pouch be ready to be near a toilet. it will come up like a baby spitting up. after a stuck issue it is best to drink broths and tea popsicles Jello etc. yes you are going to be hungry. we all went through it.. for a couple of months until you start getting fills you will be hungry. drink a lot of warm stuff. it really helps. I am sorry you are going through this but put it in your book of learning. your stoma can swell for no reason at all. I always judge my stoma in the morning. my doctor likes the ring on the finger to judge whether the stoma maybe swollen. ring tight so may your band. you will be fine. and yes it is very uncomfortable and painful when something is stuck.

[prolife2014 6]

Thank you all for you absolutely wonderful advise. I have frozen the remaining Soup and I am sticking to liquids only for now...... I am still feeling the burping but I am taking a Protein shake right now and it is going down really. The hunger and need to chew does try really hard to take over during this phase I realize but I have to try to stick it out and let 'RayRay' (my band Rayford) heal.

You are all so precious and thank you for your time.... PROLIFE

[BeachBish 123]

Take is VERY slow and easy. Get you a tiny Condiments dish and sip on Soup, or liquids. Put it down, then wait...

Follow your Dr's instructions. If you are doing soup take it and throw it in blender and blend ALL the lumps out... that way is smoother. Popcycles and Jello is also a good stand by. Semi frozen Powerade - sugar free ofcourse, let it kinda melt in your mouth. Girllll get use to these liquids because they will soon become your best friend...(everytime you get a fill or unfill).

If and when you get stuck you will know it. My first experience was reheating a small piece of chicken! BIG NO-NO!!! It was dried out and I swallowed to large of a piece. I would describe it as swallowing a gum ball or round piece of candy when you were a kid...only afterwards stay near the bathroom. I slimmed ...aka: YES...along with spitting up and burping a FULL RED SOLO cup full of what looked like snot in which took about an hour and a half before it finally stopped.

Disgusting I know...and scary to say the least. They didn't tell me what it would be like when something stuck...so I found out the hard way and needless to say I freaked out. In this little process EVERYTHING in that region became swallon and inflammed...so guess what this ~~~ led to 3 days back on Clear Liquids.

The Dr's office was closed and I didn't want to go to ER unless I had too. AFter posting here I gathered enough information to learn I was not dying. LOL!

Thank goodness for this site as it is my go to!!!

After a few hours of sipping something warm it finally eased up. By no means am I trying to scare you...because awarness is knowledge and the more we learn from others the better we become. NEVER eat to fast...as things will stick. Take small tiny bites!!!! Stand up ... walk around...sip something warm.

Good Luck and I look forward to hearing how you get along.

Welcome to your NEW lifestyle.

~ Beachy

Edited May 28, 2014 by BeachBish

[tiki luv banded 6]

Hey Prolife 2014!!!!!

We were banded the same day. I have no appetite and I'm struggling to even drink enough fluids. My doctor put all of his patients on 5 weeks of Fluid. Week 2 I was told I can now start to add crunched crackers in my Soup. I have been extremely full of air which makes me apprehensive about putting anything in me. I burp constantly to release the air. Good luck to you. Let's continue to share our progress together.