Question:
Been vomiting mucus the last couple of days on and off
I eat, and the food stays but I vomit mucus. Sorry no easy way to say that. I am 24 days post op. Anyone else had this? Thanks for any reply! — Claudia S. (posted on August 12, 2004)
August 12, 2004
Please ask to be scoped. If you have a narrowing of the outlet from the
pouch, it can be easily fixed. They use light sedation, so you miss the
whole thing!
— vitalady
August 12, 2004
Claudia, sounds like you might have Acid-Reflux, thats how it started for
me never had it till I had this surgery, But your best bet is to go get
checked by your Doctor, I now take Previcid everyday and it does work,
well good luck.
— blainejrjeni
August 12, 2004
The best response to your question is always going to be "call your
doctor" :-) Now, that being said, I will add that RNY patients
frequently report the issue of occasionally regurgitating thick clear/tan
mucus after eating a meal, but without regurgitating the actual
meal.....the feeling of "too-full", too-uncomfortable, and that
you won't be able to get comfortable until whatever this is comes up and
out. The key word is "occasionally". Vomiting or regurgitating
after every meal is NOT normal or expected, and needs to be addressed
immediately by your surgeon. Five of us in my family have had RNY surgery,
and our surgeon sponsors a regional support group in our state. Every
family member and almost every support group member post-RNY surgery have
reported this OCCASIONAL mucus problem. This "mucus event" seems
to happen more frequently in the first post-op months, and occurs less
frequently over time. Although I don't have a "clinical"
explanation, we have all been able to relate the event to times when we
have eaten too fast, not chewed thoroughly enough, or have eaten foods with
higher fat content than usual. One person said that it's almost like the
pouch senses something it doesn't "like", and forms the thick
mucus to "protect itself". It seems to be true for most of us
who have experienced this, that there is really no nausea connected with
this at all...just the sudden urge to regurgitate...once the mucus is out,
the food generally stays in, and life is better. At 24 days post-op, you
are still in the early stages of introducing new and "normal"
foods to your diet.....remember the cardinal "Rules" for new
post-ops...eat very slowly, chew very well, take very small bites, and
markedly limit sugars/fats. In the coming years, you will unfortunately
slip away from maintaining all of those rules all the time....you will be
able to eat a little faster, take bigger bites, not always chew thoroughly
enough, and re-introduce some sugars and fats into your diet without
"dumping" and making you temporarily feel as if you are sure you
are dying. However, your body is simply not going to allow you to get away
with that for the first year or so, and I feel like this mucus issue is one
of those helpful behavior modifiers that simply tells us to watch what and
how we are eating. I am 4 1/2 years post-op, and this happened to me a few
nights ago after eating a piece of fried chicken. It had been such a long
time since this had happened, I had almost forgotten about the
"problem"....it was a nice reminder that FRIED chicken was one of
the addictions that helped me on my road to obesity in the first place :-)
Call your surgeon and let him/her know what's going on....mind the
Rules....and enjoy the rest of this wonderful journey into better health
and much happiness. Best wishes!
— Diana T.
August 12, 2004
Hi, Claudia. I had the same problem when I was early on in my weight loss
adventure. My doctor told me that it might happen, and the remedy was
rediculously simple. Just drink a hot liquid (tea, or even just warmed-up
water) before you eat. It washes the mucus out of the tummy, and it should
end the bouts of vomiting. It worked perfectly for me... I hope that this
helps you out! Good luck, and congratulations on your new journey!
— lollie26
August 13, 2004
Hi Claudia,
The mucus is most likely because you are not chewing your food enough. I
had that problem too. I found that if I was aggravated food did not want to
stay down and the mucus would start. I would make myself throw up to feel
better and then try eating again a little while later when I was calm. Take
your time eating, do not drink with your meal and chew well, this should
really help. I hope this helps. Shana
— shana1569
August 13, 2004
Claudia...don't know if this helps or not but I'll tell you my experience.
About 8 weeks post op, I started feeling uncomfortably full after only
eating a couple of bites of food. If I tried more, I had a lot of pain and
nausea. When I finally vomited (I stopped eating as soon as I started
feeling sick or uncomfortable), it would be white frothy liquid, sort of
thick. I thought maybe I was eating too fast or not chewing well enough
and always tried to be very aware of how I ate. Anyway, I finally called
my doctor a week or so later and they did an EGD (they go down with a light
and look at the pouch and stoma). My stoma had some scar tissue which made
it so tight the food had trouble exiting my pouch. While he was in there,
he dilated the stoma with a balloon type catheter and I've done well since
then. There is a possibility I may have to have it done again since I've
had a little trouble lately. I'm currently 7.5 months post op and have
lost 99 pounds. Hope this helps...good luck and God bless...Kathy
— Katherine F.
August 13, 2004
Claudia...also thought of one other thing in my circumstances...I thought
my sense of being full after only a couple of bites was that my pouch was
full of sinus drainage each morning. I know that's kind of gross, but they
asked me while I was still in the hospital if I had much trouble with
drainage. I told them it's a constant battle with me as I have extreme
allergies and live in the Ohio River Valley where there are so many
different kinds of allergens. I would try to drink some sugar free Swiss
Miss hot chocolate or drink some hot chicken broth in the morning (I did it
as soon as I got out of bed) because I really didn't feel hungry. This
warm liquid helped to wash the pouch out and get the mucous on it's way.
Maybe this too will help you...I hope so...Kathy
— Katherine F.
August 13, 2004
I second what the previous poster said. If you have allergies, consider
the possibility that it's sinus drainage. I found that my morning allegra
wasn't quite doing the job when I became a post-op. They had me take a
benedryl right before bed and I was building up a lot of drainage in my
pouch. Worked like a champ!
— Cathy S.
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