it is 16 months ago since I had my Ivor Lewis op, but I am still experiencing pain & discomfort on the side of the op.

[JanA]

I still cannot sleep on my right side.

Also I am experiencing sweating & I feeling faint, which I have been told is down to a sugar problem, when I have to have something sweet & a cup of tea with sugar, & is usually in the middle of the night. I am booked in next week at my GP surgery for a GTT test.

Has anyone else had these problems?

[Hidden]

Yes indeed.Firstly I am 14 months since Ivor Lewis and have discomfort.My surgeon,G.I. nurse say it can be up to 18mths to 24mths before tat subsides as its the nerves still repairing and feeling faint etc is due to digestive system eg it is similar to what happens with diabetics.It is a hypo where once sugar hits stomach excessive fluid is released as digestive system deals with it.Doesnt mean your diabectic though.Try compensating with glucose tablet it may help? A lot of fellow sufferers including myself recommend it.Should get better soon but slowly its nothing to worry about but its a bind eh? At least we are still going strong!!

Hope this is of some help

[JanA in reply to Hidden]

Many thanks Griff for your reply, yes it does help , pleased to hear that I am not alone with the discomfort from the op. Yes I already take glucose tablets when I get the sweating & fainting feeling, lately it seems to be worse at night.

Like you say though, small price to pay we are still going strong!

[Hidden]

Sleeping on one side may be uncomfortable because of the effect of gravity on your re-arranged insides. Nerve damage takes the longest to heal properly, and I think that ribs can be painful for quite along time. But it is worth checking with the surgeon / specialist nurse.

Have a look at the 'tags' on dumping to see that this is a common theme around here!

There is an information sheet here: corecharity.org.uk/Dumping-...

And a bit more on dumping etc here:

sosg.info/information/post-...

I would also have a serious think about low glycemic index food to see whether that helps. As Griff says, it is probably an imbalance between insulin:sugar levels and the glucose tolerance test reult will be interesting. Do let us know whether this has helped to pinpoint anything.

sosg.info/diet.aspx

Your system will probably not be able to absorb medication (and nutrition) at the same rate any more because your digestion system is shorter.

It does not seem fair still to be having problems 16 months afterwards does it! But these things do need sorting out at this stage all too often!

Alan

[JanA in reply to Hidden]

Just read one of the "dumping" web sites, will defininately stop buying sweets after reading this!!

[JanA]

Many thanks for your info, yes I think I will try low glycemic index food to see if it helps. I will let you know if the GTT test shows up anything.

I am sure I don't help my problem as I have an obsession for eating sweets, which before the op, I never touched! I just find it easy to eat these rather than think of anything else to eat, wrong I know, but cannot get myself to stop buying them!

Thanks for the info on "dumping" as well, will look it up.

Jan

[Hidden in reply to JanA]

If your addicted to sweets like me try lions fruit salad gums,tropical salad gums and sports mixture as they seem to give me less bother.Yes dumping is a problem to say the least !!!!!

[OPA_LarryR]

Hi - to your 2 points.

1. the healing process does take a really long time. It varies by patient so there are no hard and fast rules. I'm nearly 6 years since surgery and I still have twinges in my ribs. Especially when I'm tired and at night.

2. The symptoms you describe are commonly associated with dumping syndrome. Again I've suffered with this since surgery and have learnt a few useful things along the way.......

a. you can slow down the transit of food which causes dumping syndrome by using loperimide (brand name immodium). The liquid form is often used as it is easier to control the dosage - however it is only available on prescription.

b. dumping syndrome sufferers experinece much greater sugar spikes than is "normal" which is what accounts for the system over producing insulin to combat which in turn can lead to hypos (low sugar levels). This is fairly easily recognised as you'll feel weak/faint and sweat when in a hypo condition. It is in this state that a glucose tablet can be helpful as you are suffering from low sugar.

c. it is worth looking at your diet as prolonged sugar spiking can sometimes lead to insulin resistance. The glyceimic load diets are in my experience best as they describe the sugar affect based on normal portions olf food.

You can look up MOST food types for their glycemic load here....nutritiondata.self.com/

Finally, do talk to your specialist nurse, surgeon and dietician as they really can help deal with the problems you are describing.

Additionally a referral to a gastroenterologist could be useful. It definitely helped me.

wishing you well Larry

[yorkshirerose]

Hi Jan, I agree with all the above, the guys on this site are amazing at giving the right advice when needed.

I am coming up to two years post op, and still get rib problems, usually when I have done too much, I love walking in the Cumbrian fells but find my ribs begin to ache quite a lot.

I suffered with dumping and realised quite early it was the food I was eating, like you I now eat things I wouldn't have looked at before the surgery, I had been a vegetarian for 30 + years - first thing I craved? A beef casserole!! Thats the B vitamins, so I,listen to my body, sometimes its a bit naughty and whispers chocolate in my ear, not always good lol

My sister bought me Rosemary Connely's new book The G.I hip and Thigh Diet. I had to smile as I have not been this slim since I was 20, but the menus are all low GI, and I have to say I have found it very useful as it saved me having to work it all out.

I wish you all the best Jan, onwards and upwards

Edwina xx

[JanA in reply to yorkshirerose]

Many thanks for your comments which brought a smile to my face re the beef casserole!!

I think I will try the Rosemary Connely's Diet as it makes life much easier if the menus are worked out for you. I have put weight on since my op & I am sure it's through eating too many sweets & biscuits, as I don't seem to eat alot of anything else!

Thank you for your good wishes

Jan

[medway]

I think i get the same problems as you. I have not had the Ivor Lewis op but a Merendino interposition. However, occasionally I feel ill after eating, seem to recover and then suddenly very hot and sweaty with weak legs. A sugar cube stops it within a minute or two.

I have on OPA written about Insulin dumps. Do a search for it. This is just an opinion and you should discuss with your doctor. I think that if you have too much sugar your body dumps too much insulin into you causeing the sweating. However, you have to be careful as if you get it wrong with your impression of a insulin dump and you haven't had one, having a sugar cube could cause one! I only do it if I have wobbly legs as this means I am short of sugar. i find chocolate, apples and anything sweet can give me problems - but not always!

Hope this helps and talk to your doctor.

I'm seeing my surgeon today and see what he says. On a previous visit it was suggested I was getting an alkaline dump which i think is bile. So I'm trying to get a firm diagnosis of this problem.

[medway in reply to medway]

I'm just back from seeing my upper GI surgeon. He informed me that dumping is probably not fully understood but he confirmed my thoughts that insulin shock as the result of sugar foods is a major reason for dumping and the problem I illustrated above is a classic case. There are drugs that slow digestion of the food as described in various comments on OPA but as mine is very infrequent he does not want to proscribe anything unless it becomes a major problem.

Try discussing the relationship between sugar & insulin dumping with your surgeon.

Hope this helps.

[Charlie36]

Yup, still get some pain and discomfort too after nearly 2 years but far far less than say a year ago. Have to sleep on my back always still. You're not alone! The Tesco diet website will allow you to do a personalised low GI eating plan by the way. I think its £10 for the month and you need to then cancel. I just rotate the months meals. You can also adjust to any personal preferences on it too.

Best wishes,

Charlie.