Poor Oesophageal Motility

[Parousia]

I have had poor oesophageal motility for many years, although the last time I was tested they said it had improved (I had a lapband at the time, and had to chew the piece of bread they gave me until it was absolute mush to get it down, but still...). Now I'm wondering whether it might have got worse again, and if that is the reason why, at 6 weeks out, I'm still very limited in what I can eat.

I'm just wondering whether anyone else has/has had a motility problem, and if/how it affected you post-op, and for how long.

And yes, that is how we spell oesophageal/oesophagus in the colonies!

 

[brooklyngirl]

What's goin on that makes you think this might be a possibility? And what kinds of things are you eating and not able to eat? It might be normal, but I'd need to see some examples.

 

[Parousia]

The main thing is that my food seems to sit in my oesophagus for ages, so I feel uncomfortable pretty quickly, and it takes a long time before that discomfort dissipates. Last night I tried to eat some bolognaise sauce, and could only get in a couple of mouthfuls. I put it in my blender to try to get it finer, but I still found it hard to tolerate. This evening I added stock to it to make it into a soup, and forced it down. I tried to eat some chicken a couple of nights ago, doused in mayonnaise, but also struggled to get more than a couple of very well-chewed bites in, and then felt it just sitting, high in my chest. Today, I struggled with a protein drink. I made it with a double-dose of protein powder, although that shouldn't matter. Maybe I drank too quickly, but after 2/3 I couldn't drink anymore (which is fair enough - the volume was larger than my stomach capacity!) But, that was at about 10 AM, but by 4 PM I still couldn't fit in anything more. It felt like the drink hadn't all gone down into my stomach.

 

[huneypie]

Sounds like it could be mega esophagus. Sorry I don't know too much more about it. From Googling it looks like surgery can be an option.

BTW I'm on a BlackBerry that insists on spelling esophagus the American way.

 

[Parousia]

I've never hear of that before, @huneypie. I'll have a look into it. Thank you .

 

[newanatomy]

I only have trouble like this if I eat too fast, especially if it is a dense food like steak or chicken. It does take a long time to go down or come back up though. It has only happened to me a few times.

I would definitely give the Doctor a call. I hope you get some help quickly.

 

[brooklyngirl]

My opinion is that it couldn't hurt to investigate what's going on, but, that being said, I could not eat chicken at 6 weeks either and tomato sauce based things sit very heavily and usually give me almost immediate burping and reflux. Some days I feel gross and don't want to eat, one bite of something makes me feel full (although that doesn't happen very often anymore). At about a month or so out I tried corned beef, cooked til falling apart in the crock pot, and I quickly learned how stupid that was when it stuck in my stomach for 4 days and I could hardly eat or drink anything during that time. It's possible that your insides are still adjusting.

 

[southernlady]

Chicken is hard on a newbie sleeve...

Tuna & shrimp are early on favorites to try.

 

[Taterweight]

Shrimp always goes down great for me...and I'm not a big seafood fan. Chicken is hit or miss...depends upon the day. I had my first steak - and it was awesome! Yesterday I made a crockpot roast and it sat like lead after one bite. A sunny side up egg took 3 minutes before it came back up to see the sun. Pork loin sits perfectly fine, as does beef jerky.

I can hardly figure out what the hell I can eat from moment to moment.

 

[newanatomy]

It figures that lobster and shrimp sit like a dream, doesn't it? I do well with steak but not if I reheat it, must cook too much moisture out. It is so strange what we can eat and then not eat then eat again!

 

[Parousia]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, ladies. It does seem like this whole eating thing is going to take awhile to figure out/adjust to.

@huneypie From all my googling, I could only come up with the term megaesophagus being used in relation to animals, although achalasia may be the equivalent for people. Even the wiki article that says it affects people and animals then goes on to talk only about dogs. I'm guessing it was written by a vet! Anyway, I have an appointment with my gastroenterologist on the 10th, so I will discuss it with him at that time.

 

[Terri]

I believe then I should only eat shrimp, lobster and scallops, oh and crab meat. Hope my DH doesn't mind that there is no money for him to eat my first months of recovery.

 

[Taterweight]

No worries, Terri! A pound of crab legs would last you a week!

 

[brooklyngirl]

I believe then I should only eat shrimp, lobster and scallops, oh and crab meat. Hope my DH doesn't mind that there is no money for him to eat my first months of recovery.

Terri- it's not like that forever, and it's such small amounts at a time in the beginning that it won't add up to as much as it seems. Stock up on cans of tuna when they're on sale to balance it out But seriously, I eat chicken all the time now, and cheap cuts of beef and pork cooked low and slow until falling apart, it's not bad!

 

[huneypie]

@Parousia I forgot you're so early out, it could just he a question of allowing more time to heal and sticking to softer foods for now.