Sickness

[Cal-1991]

Hi all my mum had the Ivor Lewis 2 years ago .... ever since about every 3 months she seems to be sick for about a week and doesn’t want to eat .... any k e els had this trouble

[Mauser1905]

Good afternoon,

Can you be more specific as to her symptoms. If she lost/losing her weight faster in those episodes and also not able to regain the lost weight then definitely its concerning. And believe she may have contacted her primary care in the first instance.

[Cal-1991 in reply to Mauser1905]

She has this every 3 months or so... she regains the weight easy after a week of not eating from being sick...

Spoke earlier and she told me she thinks the ice cream she had the other night didn’t taste right so we putting it down to that ... I guess her stomach is really sensitive now

[Cal-1991 in reply to Mauser1905]

She went to hospital last time done some tests but all seemed ok

[Mauser1905]

opa.org.uk/factsheets.html

Please have a look into the factsheets provided in the OPA website above. Dumping syndrome to be specific.

Most if not all oesophagectomy survivors undergo a variety of dumping syndrome which involves a range of symptoms including diarrhoea triggered with particular foods/drinks and combination of physical strain etc. Its a collated symptoms group and not necessarily everybody experiences same as to other patients' symptoms.

Having said that her hospital tests are satisfactory and no concerns there from medicine side. Thats a good relief. And most importantly she regains her weight after the bout of these "sickness" episodes. I am suspecting this she being sick is dumping she is experiencing.

Its pretty normal for all of us to have dumping every now and then and it's very very normal. Its actually part of New Normal life.

If she can find the trigger foods/liquids and physical activities, timing of the episodes triggering very first time like immediately after food etc, then that can give a more clear indication.

Most GP practices do not appreciate the comprehensiveness of the dumping syndrome and most patients figure out by themselves what is trigger for them and to avoid those diligently. No easy way out. This forum search is a blessing and you can find to loads of past thread with helpful information which you can use yourself.

Let us know how she gets along. Good luck.

[Cal-1991 in reply to Mauser1905]

Thank you so much for your reply great help

[Tanktank]

Sorry to hear this. I am also two years post Ivor Lewis and although putting on weight had far too many instances of dumping and constipation. Consequently I kept a detailed food and drink log of everything consumed for a month and sent it to my dietician. I was consuming too much caffeine and mixed fruit and nuts for breakfast. I have stopped caffeine completely and adjusted my fibre intake and dumping significantly reduced though not stopped.

Hope this helps

Regards

Tanktank

[Cal-1991 in reply to Tanktank]

Thank you for letting me know ... apart from that how are you feeling

[Tanktank in reply to Cal-1991]

I am pretty good thank you. It takes time for the new plumbing to settle down and more importantly to create new appropriate habits that work. Use your GI specialist team. They have seen it all before. Sleeping is my biggest drawback but even that is now settling down a bit. I am a work in progress with emphasis on progress which is of course good.

Best wishes Tanktank

[Cal-1991 in reply to Tanktank]

Good I’m glad ur keeping well x

[AlanWare]

Yes I do. It is probably due to the stomach not emptying correctly. Or it could be due to bile back flowing into the stomach. Bile causes sickness. Is she suffering from silent reflux?

[Cal-1991 in reply to AlanWare]

Hi Alan my mum was taken into hospital back in feb as she was constantly being sick ... it turned out she wasn’t going toilet good enough but she thought she was ... she does now and again but the reflux has got better a little

[AlanWare in reply to Cal-1991]

When she was sick did it have a vile bitter taste? If so she was getting bile reflux. My doctor tried me on metoclopramide. It worked instantly.. It helped with the delayed emptying.

Good luck and God bless you both.

[Cal-1991 in reply to AlanWare]

I will have to ask her thank you for letting me know take care of your self

[tlc1976]

Sounds like what I went through for years as a kid. I had bowel blockages that would flare up.

[Cal-1991 in reply to tlc1976]

Did u resolve it in the end