Hi all. I just got my sleeve surgery 5 weeks ago and I'm in a mental rut at the moment. I have a question and all honest answers are appreciated. I'm a little depressed because everytime I eat the food gets stuck in my esophagus and takes forever to go down. I try to take small bites and chew throughly but it always happens regardless. My boyfriend, who is trying to be supportive, says that that's my new reality for the rest of my life. Tell me that can't be true. Tell me that I can eat without discomfort again.

I am a little over 3 months out and 90% of the time I feel how you feel. 1 meal every now and then I feel very little restriction.. (love those!)

The only things I can eat where I don't feel restriction is club crackers, Jello and frozen yogurt. 2 out of 3 I probably shouldn't be eating!! I've lost 39 pounds in 8 weeks. I've got to find other things I can eat (chew and swallow) that go down without feeling stuck.

The only things I can eat where I don't feel restriction is club crackers, Jello and frozen yogurt. 2 out of 3 I probably shouldn't be eating!! I've lost 39 pounds in 8 weeks. I've got to find other things I can eat (chew and swallow) that go down without feeling stuck.

Wow I'm so glad I'm not alone. My daughter and I had our sleeve 6 weeks ago. She has no problem with food going down , me one the hand, everything gets stuck. I really try to eat slow and count 30 times but still gets stuck.. Good to know it eventually will get better

What happens when it gets stuck? I had the band and if food got stuck I would have to slime or vomit. Every time.

Edited January 7, 201610 yr by IrishGermanRN

I'm just super uncomfortable and it feels like I wanna puke. Not slimy or anything.

It is just very uncomfortable, high up in your chest, like you've swallowed a brick. It takes about 2 hours or longer for it to subside. Plus, I have to take Zantac to stop the acid and sometimes Tums on top of that. I usually just get frustrated and go to bed so I don't have to deal with the pain. When I wake up the next day, I just start all over again.

I would have to say that it probably took me 6-8 months to fully recover from my surgery. I still take antacids daily and can go 2 or three days without but then start to have symptoms return and need to go back to the daily antacids. I never had to take these prior to the surgery. I am extremely tight and can only eat about 1/3 cup of food at a time. I usually get one warning bite and if I go beyond that then I have those feelings as well. It takes a while to learn how to use your sleeve effectively and I may have been a quicker learner than most because I had the lapband for 7 years prior to having the gastric sleeve! I am significantly tighter now than I was with my band, but I no longer get stuck or have intolerable foods like I did with the band.

I hope that there is nothing seriously wrong with you and that you just need to learn how to live with your sleeve! best wishes.

i had my surgery more than 2 years ago...that used to happen to me a lot at the begining ....its probably what you are eating, try different

foods until you find something that does not make you feel that way...after a while that discomfort will go away...just keep chewing your food a lot and eat small bites....hope i this information helps you.

This has been very helpful for me at least. I have been consciously trying to slow down my eating as well as trying to really pay attention to what foods seem to make it worse. I have gone back to a little more of a softer diet and although I am still having issues it seems to be better.

Thank you for sharing your advice.

Helpful info everyone. I wonder if fluid intake may be a factor. Do I get this feeling because I am not drinking 64 oz per day?

Edited January 8, 201610 yr by MnDave

But I feel like a lot of the time when you bring an issue to the doctor, it's something you're doing wrong right away.

I'm sorry to hear your surgeon is not a good partner in your success. Mine asks me to call his office and if after hours, he is paged. I have had to call him 2x since surgery and each time he called me back within 5 minutes.

I too had that feeling but only with some foods, specifically tuna or chicken. Moist is easier but no matter what I did, it felt stuck, like I swallowed a rock. It resolved after a few weeks for me. My surgeon's instructions were to go back to liquids for another week. Obviously if you are having this issue with Soup, that may not work for you.

I have been blessed with no swallowing problems. Even with double hernia surgery I have been fortunate about not much issues. Only had one issue with throwing up after I tried to chew some pecans up and body showed me who was boss.I was on Prilosec for about ten days and have quit taking it with excellent results. Good luck to each of you fighting your battles. I feel so much better losing the 27 pounds and would do the surgery again for sure.

A few things.

My surgeon said take ONE bite and wait 10 minutes. Otherwise, we get a logjam, so to speak, up our esophagus, and it hurts! That one bite allows our tummy to slowly open up to food, it 'primes' it.

More moist food. Otherwise, it's like going down a Water slide with no water!

Finally, for me I've learned my tummy/esophagus has a timer. They do not like me trying to eat heavier food earlier in the day - they just do not go down. It's like it has to wake up. I think of it as it has been unused all night, so I have to gently get it use to food all over again every day.

rachelr28,

Sorry to hear of your discomfort. I wouldn’t give up hope yet, though! I know five weeks seems like a really long time, but it’s not long in the scheme of things. Some patients don’t even try to start pureed foods until 4 or 5 weeks post-op.

You got some great tips from the other members on eating slowly. I’d also see if you can find out what your nutritionist or surgeon has to say.

I really don’t think it’s permanent, though! It just unfortunately seems like a long time.