Hi I had my operation jan 11th 2012, my tumour was in my oesophagist so now my stomach has been pulled up higher.

[hunsdon]

I am doing quiet well but I would just like to ask if people suffer from burpping very loudly and also if you bend down to do things like gardening or cleaning your oven do you get that horrible feeling come up into your mouth!!!! if so how long do these things last for or are they with us for ever.

[Hidden]

Yes it is a common thing.It gets a bit better after time.I am 16 mths post op and still get it but use to it now and you will learn to adapt.Most who have op have stomach higher and of course smaller.I believe small price to pay as am still here and doing great!!

[hunsdon in reply to Hidden]

Hi Griff, thank you so much for your swift reply, this is why we love to ask questions on this site as the response is brillaint so much quicker than waiting for a call back from the support team at the hospitals who are very busy all day long, yes a small price to pay, once again thank you and I am glad your doing well.

Tina.x

[Hidden in reply to hunsdon]

Absolutely right x

[Hidden]

Do not forget that when you bend down, you are often putting upward pressure on your chest because your lower trunk area is being squeezed. Now that your system has been shortened, that pressure results in your newly-fashioned stomach being squeezed towards your throat/mouth. You need to be extra careful about this after you have eaten, and I think it is something that you will probably always have to be wary about. It might also vary according to what size you are around your middle.

If you had not had this surgery, the same process might have been pushing stomach acid / contents up into your oesophagus but because the tubes are longer, you would not have felt it in your mouth / throat.

It is an anatomy issue that we cannot avoid I suspect!

The burping is probably to do with extra air that is taken down into your system with food, and, perhaps, your system not having so long to process/digest food before it continues its journey down towards your intestines. You might want to monitor things with a food diary to see if particular foods are worse than others.

[hunsdon in reply to Hidden]

Hi AlanM,

So I now I have a better understanding of what is happening within my body and maybe stop and think about how I can do things diffferently instead of just bending forward.

I will also be looking at my food intake and see which food makes things worse with the purping side affect if you get my drift.

Thank you very much for all your help.

Tina x

[medway]

I too suffer from burping and lots of them. I'm told that there is not a lot you can do for wind. I've had a different sort of op to most people on here, so my comments may be different. I dont think that my problem is swallowing air as even when I do not eat for any reason I still get lots. I'm taking 2 omeprozole a day, so I doubt my remaining stomach is breaking the food down. Its probably being digested further down in the intestines and in my case with a normal closed bit of jejunum between my remaining stomach and oesophagus its difficult for the wind to get out. Next time I see my surgeon I'll ask him if dropping to one omeprazole is ok as I'm 11 months after the op and should be well healed and hopefully the stomach will start to break down the food.

Better out than in!

[hunsdon in reply to medway]

Hi Medway, thank you for taking the time to give some advise and some clarity on whats going on inside our bodys now we have a new lease of life after having such a big operation, I am not taking anything for burping as yet but I will see futher down the line if that changes or that I might need to take something just to ease things inside my body.Once again thank you.

Tina.

[SuzyJ in reply to medway]

I too have had a lot of problems with trapped wind, no matter how slowly I eat and drink. I had tried many remedies to no avail. Recently I have started taking charcoal tablets and they have certainly helped me. I find if I chew 4 after eating or drinking, the wind breaks down very quickly. They're not expensive so may be worth a try?

[Hidden]

Actimel and bio yoghurts can help to combat flatulence and wind. More air may be swallowed, the oxygen is then absorbed from water, leaving more nitrogen left in the system. Trial and error for changes of diet may also help.

[hunsdon in reply to Hidden]

Hi Alan,I will give the actimel and the bio yoghurts a try," thank you " so are you saying that the amount of water we drink also can play a part in burping? as I do drink water especially during the night as my mouth gets very dry,should I ease up on the water bit??? I'll wait your reply.

Tina.

[Hidden in reply to hunsdon]

No, I do not think drinking water itself will change anything, and I would carry on if you feel thirsty because you do need to drink. It is, as I understand it, the way that the digestion system works and the effect that the processes have in your body during digestion a number of hours after eating. The digested food naturally has quite a lot of fluid in it (otherwise we would get completely constipated for one thing). I do not completely understand it, to be honest, and I am repeating what I remember from what one of the surgeons was saying to explain how the smells get created.

[Magdav]

Hi there,

the symptoms you have described sound pretty 'normal' following an oesophagectomy. I'm 5 years post op and still get an awful taste (I think it may be bile) in my mouth rising up from my throat if I slide off my pillow at night or if I lean over too far. You will find over time you have to find new ways of approaching tasks such as squatting down rather than leaning over, although it takes time to remember these things, even after 5 years!

Take one day at a time.

Best wishes, Maggie

[hunsdon in reply to Magdav]

Hi Maggie, thank you for the reply and I did guess that this would be normal and your right about slipping off the pillow when that horrible taste come's up into your mouth (yuck).one day at a time is good.

Take care, Tina

[Bernadette]

Tina, I am just amazed that you are cleaning the oven after 9 months, I dont think I was still that good after 9 months..did you have the shark opening?

[hunsdon in reply to Bernadette]

Hi Bernadette,I only did little bit of oven cleaning as like most things !! but a little is g???ood well thats my excuse !!! and what is shark opening ?????

Tina

[Mick]

Hi Tina, I had my op a month after you, but good on you for doing a bit. Like you I`m finding out the hard way with most things. The other day I decided to defrost the chest freezer for the 1st time since my op.Bending over did put pressure on my chest and after finishing I had to sit down, have a drink and something to eat then slowly I got back to feeling normal!!!.

My whole attitude from day 1 was that I will not let it get me down, so far I have returned to running a cub pack (even went on cub camp in June), doing some gardening, diy, I haven`t returned to work full time (retired @ 55, 3 years ago so only do a few jobs when I feel like it... being self employed locksmith) had a great holiday away on a cruise a couple of weeks ago. So keep going little at a time and take each day as it comes.

I think Bernadette is refering to the scar.....i believe most people refer to it as a shark opening.

All the best to you, take each day as it comes and do what you feel you can do.

[hunsdon in reply to Mick]

Hi mike, Thank you so much for taking the time to contact me, and yes your right one day at time is good and little by little we find other ways of doing thing that we took for granted.So glad you and your wife enjoyed your cruise, well done.

Take care

Tina.