Coughing when eating

[margie1]

I had my op in August and now find I can't stop coughing when I'm eating and sometimes the coughing gets so bad what food I have eaten comes back. I find some foods stick and are harder to swallow.

[SteveJ]

Hi Margie

Yes I too had this cough for quite a while after i had surgery, my surgeon said it was caused by reflux and I think most of us had this cough to start with. As for food sticking, yes you are quite right some foods are harder to swallow than others. I always used to find that toast was easier to swallow than bread, especialy the uncut type. I'm afraid a lot of it is trial and error, if you find something gives you a problem avoid it and try something else,also the OPA do a good diet sheet you can send for. I hope this was of some help.

Kind Regards

Steve

[yorkshirerose]

Hi Margie

Steves right it is trial and error, I give certain foods a wide birth as they stick, also the little and often diet is so much better.

I am nearly 3 years post op and I still cough when I eat, I have had two barium swallows which do show some abnormality in my throat I am going to see my surgeon next month to see what can be done, but in a conversation I had with him he thinks it could be a muscle that got a bit confused after the surgery and is pushing food back instead of down to my stomach, but then a radiologist said it was caused by anaesthetic gases, so I guess they are still not sure why we have this cough. I think they are still learning a lot post op OC surgery, so we just have to keep on keeping on learning as we go.

Best of luck

Edwina x

[grayj]

Hi,

i,m 9 months post op,had this all the time in first few months.gradualy eased off on its own.Some times still occurs when i eat too much,i have to have a small bowl to eat out of to disapline myself to portion size.As others say it takes a long time for things to settle down.

hope this helps good luck.

gray.

[Kiks]

It might be that you need a stretch (dilation). If you are having trouble swallowing then it could be that the scar tissue is pulling tight and so needs dilating. I find that I cough a lot more when the scartissue tightens. If it continues then you should check with your surgical team as to whether you need a stretch. I was having them every 2 months in the first 2 years but most people only need 1 ( if that) so I was a bit unlucky. They are not a big deal, usually in and out in 1 day. It is better to let them know if you are having problems with swallowing because it is easier for the surgeon to do the dilation at an earlier stage. Once the scar tissue tightens too much it is more of a problem for them. I might be wrong though but best to be on the safe side and let them know if you are coughing and having problems swallowing.

Good luck

Krysia

[Hidden]

Some foods do indeed stick. Some people feel that is helpful to think about the way that different foods go down the plughole easily after the washing up - and others don't. It is probably similar for us. So you need to consult your specialist nurse / surgeon.

I think there may be different things potentially happening. Persistent coughing can effectively make you sick, as you will appreciate only too well. Coughing after this surgery is sometimes caused by reflux irritating the back of the throat, so managing the reflux MAY be one cause. The usual answer is medication like omeprazole. It is quite likely that your surgery will have removed the sphincter valve between your oesophagus and your stomach, and one of the prime benefits of this to keep stomach acid in its proper place.

It can sometimes be connected to saliva and how that drains (or does not drain properly) down your throat. Keeping it lubricated can help. Some people have found gelatine sweets like jelly babies helpful. Or honey. So that is one of the easiest things to try!

Most people have foods that they have to avoid. Unfortunately these are lessons that are learnt through difficult experience because it does take time to find out what your new system can or cannot cope with. It may sound like a broken record, but 'little and often' would be the best way to eat; and keeping a food diary does help with this very complex problem of understanding what causes problems.

If it is nausea because of your stomach simply not emptying, then seeing your medical team about a 'stretch' may be a good idea, but if your food is otherwise going through your system OK after you have managed to swallow things, then it seems a bit less likely that this is the problem.

Another reason for seeing the medical team is that occasionally there may be some kind of bacterial infection that might give a problem.

We cannot say what the answer is - but your specialist team will be able to work it out because it is not unusual after the surgery!

I hope it improves soon.

[Kiks]

In my case the join is very high up - all my oesaphagus was removed and my stomach was reattached at a very high point. So I find food getting stuck high up,

but if I can manage to shift it past this point it goes through my system no problem.

When I need a stretch the scar tissue has tightened making it more likely that food/saliva etc goes the wrong way and goes into my lungs making me cough. One of my vocal chords does not work anymore because the nerve to it was cut during the op so my wind pipe is not closed off as efectively as it should be. I realise this is probably a different situation to when people have a join further down but it might be useful to consider if you have a high up join.

[margie1]

Thanks everyone I am waiting to see my surgeon hopefully can be sorted x