Heartburn Support - Getting Food "Unstuck" Post Nissan

Author

Getting Food "Unstuck" Post Nissan

sherri428

2005-07-09, 10:50 pm

Before I get started I would like to thank you for sharing your
wisdom...Anyway I had a horrible experience today with food becoming
stuck...It took about 2 hrs for it to either all come up or go down...I
experienced some of the most excruciating pain...It has almost been 3
weeks since my surgery....I know my Dr. said that the diaphram would be at
its smallest in about 3 wks...So I guess thats where I'm at...My question
is how do you recommend getting food "unstuck"...I tried drinking water
and it would all come back up..Also is there a point where you need
medical help getting the food unstuck....Hopefully I learned from my
experience today and it won't happen again..I was eating pork which I was
told to avoid.....

How long is pneumonia a threat post op...I was under anesthesia for
4hrs....

Sherri

Richard Kaszeta

2005-07-10, 11:48 am

"sherri428" <just4today@nc.rr.com> writes:
> Before I get started I would like to thank you for sharing your
> wisdom...Anyway I had a horrible experience today with food becoming
> stuck...It took about 2 hrs for it to either all come up or go down...I
> experienced some of the most excruciating pain...It has almost been 3
> weeks since my surgery....I know my Dr. said that the diaphram would be at
> its smallest in about 3 wks...So I guess thats where I'm at...My question
> is how do you recommend getting food "unstuck"...I tried drinking water
> and it would all come back up..Also is there a point where you need
> medical help getting the food unstuck....Hopefully I learned from my
> experience today and it won't happen again..I was eating pork which I was
> told to avoid.....

From my own experiences:

1. There is no substitute for fully chewing your food. Be
meticulous about this for the first 6 weeks or so, and try to make it
a lifetime habit.

2. Eventually your esophageal muscles seem to get used to having to
work harder.

3. Don't drink water if food gets "stuck". At least in my experience,
it *never* helped, and usually made it that much worse..

I had trouble swallowing for about 6 weeks, and still to this day have
problems with some items (usually large chunks of dry bread).

--
Richard W Kaszeta
rich@kaszeta.org
http://www.kaszeta.org/rich

Tim J.

2005-07-11, 8:53 am

On Sat, 09 Jul 2005 23:34:09 -0400, "sherri428" <just4today@nc.rr.com>
wrote:

>Before I get started I would like to thank you for sharing your
>wisdom...Anyway I had a horrible experience today with food becoming
>stuck...It took about 2 hrs for it to either all come up or go down...I
>experienced some of the most excruciating pain...It has almost been 3
>weeks since my surgery....I know my Dr. said that the diaphram would be at
>its smallest in about 3 wks...So I guess thats where I'm at...My question
>is how do you recommend getting food "unstuck"...I tried drinking water
>and it would all come back up..Also is there a point where you need
>medical help getting the food unstuck....Hopefully I learned from my
>experience today and it won't happen again..I was eating pork which I was
>told to avoid.....
>

First, I think your doctor might have been a bit overly hopeful with
the 3 week notion. I'd say more like 3 months, for everything to
settle down and for you to get adjusted to it.

That said, I'm over 6 years post-op, and still occasionally have food
that gets stuck. It invariably results from me literally "biting off
more than I can chew," so I have no one to blame but myself.

I've found the *only* solution for me is to sit perfectly still, close
my eyes, and concentrate on taking slow, "comfortable" deep breaths.
Adding additional bulk, be it solid or liquid, only makes the problem
worse. So as soon as you feel food getting stuck, politely expel any
remaining food in your mouth into a napkin, etc., chill out, and wait
for it to resolve on its own. Stress can be a *major* aggravator, so
worrying about it or frustratingly trying to "force" it down only
delays relief.

If the problem persists, they can (under sedation) do a dilatation of
the esophagus, which would help expand the wrap a bit. But
personally, I wouldn't even consider it until 6+ months out, or unless
the food getting stuck was pretty much an every other mouthful
experience.

>How long is pneumonia a threat post op...I was under anesthesia for
>4hrs....

I don't know, but my guess is the highest risk of catching it is while
you are in the hospital. Add whatever incubation period, and I'd
think after 3 weeks, it wouldn't be a serious concern. Are you having
symptoms that suggest pneumonia?

Howard McCollister

2005-07-11, 5:51 pm

"sherri428" <just4today@nc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:c0d6e0e367ad0ee646fde3aa259cad60@localhost.talkaboutsupport.com...
> Before I get started I would like to thank you for sharing your
> wisdom...Anyway I had a horrible experience today with food becoming
> stuck...It took about 2 hrs for it to either all come up or go down...I
> experienced some of the most excruciating pain...It has almost been 3
> weeks since my surgery....I know my Dr. said that the diaphram would be at
> its smallest in about 3 wks...So I guess thats where I'm at...My question
> is how do you recommend getting food "unstuck"...I tried drinking water
> and it would all come back up..Also is there a point where you need
> medical help getting the food unstuck....Hopefully I learned from my
> experience today and it won't happen again..I was eating pork which I was
> told to avoid.....
>
> How long is pneumonia a threat post op...I was under anesthesia for
> 4hrs....
>

Ack! Solid meats like port are a definite no-no for several weeks. You were
lucky.

There is no way to get it unstuck. If you get to the point where you can't
even swallow saliva or keep water down after a couple of hours, go see the
doctor - it will most likely take an EGD to clear the obstruction as the
food bolus swells.

Pneumonia is a threat for about two days after this operation, if that.

HMc