I'm one week post op and have been having the oddest stomach spasms when I try to consume anything other than water (and it happens with water sometimes too). It feels like my stomach bunches up into a fist and tries to somersault within my belly. It provokes a wave of sharp pain and nausea and is very unpleasant. I mentioned this to the doc when I was in the hospital and he gave me a med that worked some for the smaller ones, but it has stopped working (he warned it might). I can usually drink water but anything heavier like a protein drink, a strained soup, a protein broth, or even jello provokes this odd cramping sensation. Sometimes it even happens when I'm not eating or drinking at all (in the middle of the night).

Has anyone else had this happen early post op? I'm still on liquids and my surgeon said it is okay for me to focus on hydration right now instead of protein so I've been hitting my hydration goals everyday, but getting very little protein beyond what is in lactose free milk. I'm starting to wonder if my stomach will ever let me progress my diet beyond water. LOL

You have a very raw surgery cut line in your tiny stomach. When we can not see it, we kind of forget the inside of us. All your nerves have been cut as well as the skin. It will take at least a month for you to be healed.

When you do not eat real food the acid in our stomachs has nothing to work on and makes us feel nauseous. The liquids we drink do not make things any better as they swish about. It feels like a storm at sea. In time it gets better as you progress to better foods.

If you haven't already done so, try warm, hot and frozen drinks. Warm worked for me. Try a little yogurt in your milk to thicken it a little if its on your plan. these will help with the spasms. I still take anti nausea meds 2 x a day. I have acid problems if I miss a dose

Thanks @summerseeker! I'm fairly sure it is from my stomach being so new. I had this issue with my bladder after a hysterectomy, it was spastic for a while like it forgot how to work from all the nerves cut in the area and its position being moved. That's how my stomach feels right now.

Thankfully I'm on Dexilant which is a very good PPI and ensures I have no acid issues. I metabolize omeprazole too quickly for it to work, which I thankfully found out BEFORE surgery!

Anything thickened like a cream soup or yogurt with milk provokes the spasms really bad, so I think that will have to wait until I'm at the pureed stage, maybe by then the spasms will have stopped!

I did try different temps because I was drinking everything room temp from the hospital. Turns out my stomach prefers either really icy drinks or hot ones, no in between. LOL I remember you saying you had prolonged nausea issues from the surgery. Did it come with spasms like this or was it just nausea and acidity?

@summerseeker is on the money. You’ve just had pretty major surgery & have lots of sutures & stables holding your new digestive system together. It is easy to forget when we can’t actually see the wound. You’ll probably experience cramps, spasms, discomfort for a while until you’re more fully healed. Though it will happen less frequently & less intensively as you recover. Don’t forget too your tummy can be pretty fussy/sensitive about certain foods & liquids for a while which can make finding what you can tolerate eating & drinking challenging at times. Lots of trial & error to begin but it really does get better & easier.

I found warm drinks more soothing too (I even warmed some of my shakes) but yes some say the colder the better. I also used to dilute my shakes & soups at first to make them both thinner & make the flavour less intense.

All the best.

22 hours ago, ChunkCat said:

Thanks @summerseeker! I'm fairly sure it is from my stomach being so new. I had this issue with my bladder after a hysterectomy, it was spastic for a while like it forgot how to work from all the nerves cut in the area and its position being moved. That's how my stomach feels right now.

Thankfully I'm on Dexilant which is a very good PPI and ensures I have no acid issues. I metabolize omeprazole too quickly for it to work, which I thankfully found out BEFORE surgery!

Anything thickened like a cream Soup or yogurt with milk provokes the spasms really bad, so I think that will have to wait until I'm at the pureed stage, maybe by then the spasms will have stopped!

I did try different temps because I was drinking everything room temp from the hospital. Turns out my stomach prefers either really icy drinks or hot ones, no in between. LOL I remember you saying you had prolonged nausea issues from the surgery. Did it come with spasms like this or was it just nausea and acidity?

Just nausea and vomiting. I never had any pain.

I'm not bad early in the day but by early evening I feel like everything is getting stuck and doesn't want to funnel on through. I'm 3 days post op so just added a protein drink today

1 hour ago, tohaveserenity@msn.com said:

I'm not bad early in the day but by early evening I feel like everything is getting stuck and doesn't want to funnel on through. I'm 3 days post op so just added a Protein Drink today

Things are still very swollen inside at the moment, so sometimes it can feel like fluid backs up. I'm two weeks out and still get a bloated feeling from drinking fluids sometimes! But the awful twisting pains have eased a lot, now I'm more likely to just get this dull ache. Good luck with the protein drinks, I can get them down now!!