My hubby had his Ivor Lewis op 4 years ago and this cough is really getting him down...
He was rushed into hostpital last wednessday night after vomiting & coughing a lot of blood up
they found he had a tear in his stomach and i think it could be the cough causing it...
I myself have had violent vomiting that caused Mallory-Weiss tears in my stomach (but I have never had an oesophagectomy). It is frightening when it occurs, and we automatically think that vomiting up black blood means something dreadful is occurring. It does feel awful, and the pain can be quite intense. In my case, and indeed quite a lot of other cases, the tears heal themselves quite rapidly without medical intervention. It makes you feel very weak, and it takes a lot out of you.
I dare say that the hospital will want to keep an eye on things for a while, but do not think that because they are not rushing him in for some kind of operation they are not acting for the best.
The reasons for the coughing itself would have to be investigated properly, but if it is linked to things 'going down the wrong way' it does take quite a while for things to clear if his lungs have been affected.
Is he in a specialist ward? Not all nurses will necessarily understand the difficulties that might be caused in lying somebody flat when they have had an oesophagectomy. If he is in a general ward / hospital, it might be worth diplomatically asking the doctors if they have consulted the specialists who did the original surgery for their opinion.
...The doctors say now this was a burst blood vessel .......He was'nt in any pain just a lot of blood...
Hi Callyanne
I am two and a half year post op and am in the process of having investigations into why I cough when I eat, but it all seems to be taking an age, I had my first barium swallow in July which was inconclusive and had another two weeks ago with a speech therapist present to see where food was going when I eat. I am still awaiting the results of this.
I can really sympathise with your husband as I find every mouthful a chore, I often cough until I am sick, which is unpleasant in itself. I have just been away for a couple of days in York and find eating out diffiucult as people do tend to stare when you begin to cough. I have had 3 courses of antibiotics now as my GP says she can hear fluid in my lungs, but until the problem with my cough is sorted out I fear the fluid will stay. I almost feel as if they are hoping it will resolve itself. I hope your husband gets it sorted out soon
Best wishes to you both
Edwina xx
Hi Edwina
Yes the same happens with George if we go out people stare so we dont go out anymore..
He hates meal times ...The doctors say now this was a burst blood vessel ..
So we'll have to wait a see what happens...
If you ring, or leave a message on our helpline 0121 704 9860 they will send you restaurant cards asking for a child's portion. Sometimes this helps with the quantity. But that is not the main issue is it!
Hating the thought of eating is really difficult. It should be something that adds to the quality of life. It also affects you too, because meals are normally times that you share together, and providing food is all part of your relationship.
Coughing can sometimes be due to reflux, and sometimes perhaps due to nerves being triggered. Or perhaps, it might be some kind of adverse reaction that specialist medication might be able to help with?
Is he still in hospital? I would feel inclined to ask to see a gastroenterologist to investigate whether anything can be done. Four years ago your husband was treated, but if his quality of life is still affected this way, the treatment has not fully achieved the desired effect, has it! I cannot help thinking that something can be done by the right person in the medical system
I have just run this past a surgeon who says that coughing of this type after oesophagectomy can be quite complex, and that it should merit being seen and assessed, either direct to where the oesophagectomy was done, or through a GP.
I hope this helps.
Thank you every one...He is doing ok at the moment and has to go back for tests to see what is causing it...
Sorry i hav,nt been in for a while
George was rushed in over xmas and on New Years Eve...
He had the camera down in Febuary they found some ulcers and if they touched the wall of his stomache it bled so they did,nt cortarise it ..so they left it till he has the camera down in the next couple of weeks...
Well at last Georges stomach has stopped bleeding and the ulcers have healed..
They say his blood count is low (108) but we don't know what a normal blood count is...
Well at last we know why George had had this awful cough every time he eats and drinks after they removed his esophagus5 years ago they found a fistula from his stomach to his lungs the hole in his stomach is a biggish and a very rare one and food a drink are going in to his lungs so his specialist has been in touch with a doctor in Germany and now he has sent pictures of the xrays to Germany and he is hoping he will come over here to do the procedure with him...this problem is what has caused George to cough and choke when he eats and drinks
And also caused the bleeding and chest infections
So hopefully he wont have to wait to long now for it to be done ...fingers crossed...
They could,nt do Georges fistula today
The German professor and an American professor came to our hospital today but no luck the hole is to large to close because it is to near his lung so the professor is meeting some doctors in 2 weeks to discuss it with them and try and think of another way to deal with it. They asked also if they could put him in the medical journal because its so rare ..so it was very upsetting that he.s still in the same situation....
8 October 2014
George saw specialist yesterday The hole is getting bigger was 20m now 50m so they are getting in touch with a cardiothoracic surgeon at New Cross hospital to see if he will operate on him by trying to put a flap over the hole...
They also said this operation is much the same as the Ivor Lewis one
George had his op on Xmas eve it was the same as an Ivor Lewis op. They unstuck the long and stomach but 4 days later they had to open him up again there was a lot of fluid and blood pressing on his lungs they removed a lot of scar tissue from his old Ivor Lewis op which they found out a few days later that the stomach had come away from the bit of oesophagus he had got leftSo another op to try and find his stomach and attaché it back to oesophagus they managed that by using stents he had 4 stents in and could,nt eat or drink for 6 months had a feeding tube put in to his bowels to give time for his stomach to heal they also took half his lung away more bowel and stomach
Its been a terrible 12months and at the moment he's doing ok 😊
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