Can't vomit

[Guest]

Contrary to many, I can't vomit. While this may sound nice-it's not. Sometimes I'm dry heaving and sick to my stomach-get a lot of mucus and liquid-but can't fully throw up when I have to or my body is trying to.

Anyone know the logic behind this? Still able to lose weight with this or did they mess up my nerve system?

[Lanie992 168]

I had the sleeve, but I can not vomit either. Even when I've felt I needed to desperately. I dry heave as well.

Prior to surgery - I used to vomit often unfortunately due to having chronic Migraines and headaches... and the Migraine medication I take (Imitrex) makes me EXTREMELY nauseous. And the headaches & migraines make me nauseous enough but the medicine amplifies it.

But ever since surgery - it will not come up.

I googled around a few weeks ago to see if others experienced this and it seems a lot of people have.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Lanie992 said:

I had the sleeve, but I can not vomit either. Even when I've felt I needed to desperately. I dry heave as well.

Prior to surgery - I used to vomit often unfortunately due to having chronic Migraines and headaches... and the Migraine medication I take (Imitrex) makes me EXTREMELY nauseous. And the headaches & Migraines make me nauseous enough but the medicine amplifies it.

But ever since surgery - it will not come up.

I googled around a few weeks ago to see if others experienced this and it seems a lot of people have.

I sort of get it, I assume it has something to do with the muscles and contractions. I do wonder why some get it and some don't-and what if I would need to vomit and can't? Argh!

Also, I vomit from migraines too. Well, I used to-I sort of miss the instant relief.

[ms.sss 14,782]

Ok, this is going to sound weird, but it is what it is:

I have found that I have 2 “types” of vomiting: the regular kind, which involves heaving and seems to originate way down low in the belly. Then there is this “new” kind that developed after surgery: it feels more like “overflow”, as if its just stuff sitting near the esophagus and just slips out. Obviously the former is much more difficult and painful, but the latter is almost like burping and stuff comes out (and it feels like it originates way further up).

Now, i dunno if this even makes sense to anyone else but me, but yeah, i find the “original” way of vomiting way, way, harder and energy-comsuming now (if i even can..)

P.S. I was sleeved, and my vomiting ability/inability did not seem to affect my weight loss.

Edited September 15, 2020 by ms.sss

[sillykitty 10,708]

At only 6 weeks post op, don't assume you're not able to vomit. Like @ms.sss described, if I really need to vomit, my body will do so, from lower down in my stomach.

(And don't worry as much about everything stopping you from losing weight, trust your surgery )

[Foxbins 625]

Hi Keatsy--

Having had both a sleeve and a RNY, I get what you are saying as well as what sillykitty and ms.sss are saying. My experience with the sleeve is that yes, I could vomit everything in my sleeve up. I could also regurgitate stuff if my sleeve was too full (that's the sliding feeling of food coming from the top of the sleeve that comes into your mouth.) With the RNY pouch, I am able to vomit if the food is still in the pouch. If it has gone down the Roux limb, I can't get it to come back up even if it hurts and I want the food up and out. If there's nothing in the pouch, I can still vomit the liquid and mucus you describe, because that's what's in the stomach, but no food. If it's in the limb, drinking Water and walking around seem to help move whatever is there into your intestine and that helps the pain. In my case it was popcorn and it took about 40 minutes to get down.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ms.sss said:

Ok, this is going to sound weird, but it is what it is:

I have found that I have 2 “types” of vomiting: the regular kind, which involves heaving and seems to originate way down low in the belly. Then there is this “new” kind that developed after surgery: it feels more like “overflow”, as if its just stuff sitting near the esophagus and just slips out. Obviously the former is much more difficult and painful, but the latter is almost like burping and stuff comes out (and it feels like it originates way further up).

Now, i dunno if this even makes sense to anyone else but me, but yeah, i find the “original” way of vomiting way, way, harder and energy-comsuming now (if i even can..)

P.S. I was sleeved, and my vomiting ability/inability did not seem to affect my weight loss.

This very much makes sense. I get close to feeling like Im going to and things kind of...slide out of my mouth, as you stated. I've never had that gut-wrenching, full-blown vomit though.

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, Foxbins said:

Hi Keatsy--

Having had both a sleeve and a RNY, I get what you are saying as well as what sillykitty and ms.sss are saying. My experience with the sleeve is that yes, I could vomit everything in my sleeve up. I could also regurgitate stuff if my sleeve was too full (that's the sliding feeling of food coming from the top of the sleeve that comes into your mouth.) With the RNY pouch, I am able to vomit if the food is still in the pouch. If it has gone down the Roux limb, I can't get it to come back up even if it hurts and I want the food up and out. If there's nothing in the pouch, I can still vomit the liquid and mucus you describe, because that's what's in the stomach, but no food. If it's in the limb, drinking Water and walking around seem to help move whatever is there into your intestine and that helps the pain. In my case it was popcorn and it took about 40 minutes to get down.

I like the walking idea. I get kind of gassy (yay!) and need it to all work itself out, especially if I'm feeling nauseous.

[WishMeSmaller 1,270]

2 hours ago, ms.sss said:

Ok, this is going to sound weird, but it is what it is:

I have found that I have 2 “types” of vomiting: the regular kind, which involves heaving and seems to originate way down low in the belly. Then there is this “new” kind that developed after surgery: it feels more like “overflow”, as if its just stuff sitting near the esophagus and just slips out. Obviously the former is much more difficult and painful, but the latter is almost like burping and stuff comes out (and it feels like it originates way further up).

Now, i dunno if this even makes sense to anyone else but me, but yeah, i find the “original” way of vomiting way, way, harder and energy-comsuming now (if i even can..)

P.S. I was sleeved, and my vomiting ability/inability did not seem to affect my weight loss.

This!

[catwoman7 10,922]

14 hours ago, ms.sss said:

Then there is this “new” kind that developed after surgery: it feels more like “overflow”, as if its just stuff sitting near the esophagus and just slips out. Obviously the former is much more difficult and painful, but the latter is almost like burping and stuff comes out (and it feels like it originates way further up).

RNY here - but yes - this is my experience with vomiting. It's more like an infant "spitting up" after eating. It's actual vomiting - not always just mucus (we call that "the foamies" - and it's common). But this new way of vomiting is way better than it was pre-surgery. For one thing, it doesn't have that awful taste to it (probably because there's not much acid in my stomach anymore)

I have heard of people who don't vomit after surgery, though.

[ms.sss 14,782]

1 hour ago, catwoman7 said:

It's more like an infant "spitting up" after eating. It's actual vomiting - not always just mucus

<...>

For one thing, it doesn't have that awful taste to it (probably because there's not much acid in my stomach anymore)

YES! That’s exactly it. (So funny I thought I was weird, nice to know I’m not the only one)

The new kind is effortless AND tasteless.

I find I have the new kind when I eat too much, or too fast, or if I drink too soon after eating. The painful/old kind is when I have too much sugar or dairy.

[MaybeMeow2 52]

MaybeMeow waves hand. I can't vomit and I'm worried about it.

I'm 5.5 months post RNY and had one serious scare where I was so extremely nauseous I nearly lost consciousness on my shower floor. I was doing the full bodied dry heaving that usually results in the stomach emptying, bile and all. But nothing came. It was clear I could not vomit. It was incredibly scary. Since then I've been nauseous many times ie; after sugar intake or during a Migraine but it usually passes without dry heaving or the gagging out Fluid others describe.

But I worry about the stomach flu. What happens then? I've only had the stomach flu maybe 3-4 times in my life. But you know what I'm talking about, right? The kind where you'd push the "death-button" if there was one? It's 24-48 hours of living on the bathroom floor and vomiting frequently. It's misery until you have the relief of spilling your guts. And then it repeats. What happens when you can't actually spill your guts? I live in GREAT fear of that.

So... has anyone has the stomach flu since Bypass?

[GradyCat 3,692]

Now that you mention it, I'm two years post sleeve surgery and have never vomited. But I've never needed to. If I eat something my stomach won't tolerate, like tortillas or steak, I get "the foamies" with mucus but no food coming back up but that's it. Doesn't worry me. I don't really want to vomit anyway.