could stretching pyloric sphincter improve swallowing sensation ? And wouldn't pyloric stretch increase dumping ?

[strangetimes]

I've recently had a stretch because I had a sensation of tightening/closing/feeling of need to burp to release throat while eating . This happened when trying to eat evening meal .Rarely during day when to be frank I only graze .

Endoscopy found mild stricture but food in stomach so a pyloric stretch was carried out as well .

Why would the pyloric valve need stretching ? Is it more because of the vagus nerve function than the fact that it's actually become " tight" or constricted ? And wouldn't making it easier for the food to clear the stomach make dumping more likely ?

I found some slight improvement with the swallowing - if the food is building up in the stomach would it have such a rapid effect that after several mouthfuls while eating a meal my throat feels blocked ?

But I am having more dumping now and wondered if this could be connected .

What do people think ?

[jay2908]

I've also had the same issue. I find that I have difficulty swallowing when I have an air block in my gut. Often a warm cup of sweet tea 20 mins before eating helps. Also, I have the same issue if I have not had a bowel movement.

Having said that, I'm going to get a pyloric stretch as I am currently having swallowing issues, even if i am careful I. Eating small meals slowly. Often the stretch will help with air blocks and being able to burp, but will also increase the rate of food flow, therefore an increase chance of dumping. Try to eat slowly even though the stretch allows you to eat quicker/larger bites.

You could also try charcoal tablets/burnt toast to help absorb some of the trapped air.

[Hidden]

The stretching of the pyloric sphincter is to try to ease the passage of food leaving the stomach at its bottom end, and it should help with the food being left in the stomach that was found at the endoscopy. It would also help with any feeling of nausea.

To the extent that dumping syndrome has to do with food reaching the lower parts of the digestion system in a less digested state than normal, and therefore creating insulin spikes, there might feasibly be some kind of effect, but I do not know this; it is only a medical expert who could tell you. My feeling about it is that it would have only a very marginal effect, if at all, because you will have lost those extra inches of your digestive tract and most of the action of the stomach and its acid undertaking the first stage of the digestion process anyway, and it is this loss of the first stage of digestion that drives the dumping syndrome.

The burping is probably to do with the air that you ingest whilst eating. You have, as you know, to eat slowly, chew well, and eat little and often. If you have several full mouthfuls at once it is very likely to back up and cause you problems. This might also contribute to smelly wind / burps. The air might well get trapped in your system from time to time. I suspect that the weight of food backing up might sometimes risk causing a bit of a 'pouch' in the shape of your system that might also contribute to the trapped air.

There are indeed lots of ways in which the vagus nerve system affects things.

I think you might like to try gently finding the optimum rate of eating little and often that suits your new system now that the stretch has been done. You will not be able to return to how you might have ate before in terms of speed and volume. I think I would feel inclined to keep a food diary to try and establish whether some food gives you more 'dumping' problems than others. I would also try the low glycemic index foods and stay away from anything with processed sweeteners and sugars.

[strangetimes]

Thank you guys .

Will try and eat even more slowly . At the moment raging tinnitus is driving me mad so I suspect I'm less relaxed than I should be . And that never helps with eating !

[Hidden in reply to strangetimes]

My sympathies about the tinnitus! You probably hear it more when you are keeping quiet and trying to relax, so it is easier said than done.

[Lucoid]

This may sound a little daft, but it worked for me. Post op I had swallowing issues, burping and hiccups when eating and a friend told me they way to stop the hiccups was to sit upright with both arms upright. Tried it and it worked a treat. I assume it makes all the plumbing vertical and aids release of the air, and also allows food to slide down.

[strangetimes]

Thanks Lucoid ,nothing to loose - except my dignity - in giving this a go .

And I think those of us with this condition long ago lost most of their dignity . Or at least give it low priority !