I had an Ivor Lewis operation in January 2011. After a few hic-cups at the beginning I have been progressing well & even put on weight.

[JanA]

Lately I have noticed that I am getting short of breath & coughing. Has anyone else experienced this & is it normal?

[yorkshirerose]

Hi JanA

I am coming up to three years post op and my cough is just beginning to subside. I think it is something we all suffer from, I assume from having the lung deflated during surgery. I am also coughing a lot when I eat, but my surgeon thinks this could be due to the area of the scar being rather sensitive, but again does seem to be improving. I find I still get breathless when I go for my daily walk, but as my husband says I am like a wind up toy I go off at a great rate of knots and slow down as I get to the end of my walk, so I guess if I paced myself better I might not get quite so breathless.

But you sound as if you are doing great so keep on, little steps and you will reach your goal.

Best wishes

Edwina

[JanA in reply to yorkshirerose]

Hi Edwina,

Many thanks for your reply, I am sure now I was getting concerned for no reason. I have my 6 monthly check up next week so will mention it to my Consultant to be on the safe side.

Cheers

Jan

[racy]

Hi JanA,

Your symptons are normal for the op you had. We all had the same post op and they can last

for years. Keep progressing well. Cheers.

[JanA in reply to racy]

Many thanks for your reply & glad that it appears to be a normal sympton.

Regards

Jan

[Mick]

Hi JanA,

I had my op in Feb 2012, so I`m a year behind you. At the moment this shortness of breath and coughing seems common to us all, along with the other odd aches and pains, but with helpful advice and support we all manage to overcome and get used to the odd problems that others dont understand what we have been through.

1 year on and although I`ve put on a little weight, still haven`t managed to put it on `behind` I could still do with more padding, but we have to smile about these things.

Each day, is a new day to take as it comes.

Kind regards and Best wishes.

Mick.

[JanA in reply to Mick]

Thank you for replying. I have managed to put on weight & I am almost the weight I was before the op. I keep saying I should go on a diet but have been told that it's not a good idea! I am terrible for sweets these days & yet before the op I didn't eat them.

I will mention the shortness of breath next week when I go for my 6 monthly check up & also a few other niggles I seem to be getting now.

Regards

Jan.

[callyann]

Hi JanA..

My hubby had his Ivor Lewis in 2008 and his cough is still really bad...and they cant seem to do anything for him...

[SteveJ]

Hi JanA

Yes we have all had " the cough" and it is normal to get it. My surgeon told me it was caused by reflux and mine went after about 6 months but we are all different and everyone takes different amounts of times to get over things. As with everything though it is always best to mention these things to your consultant so your 6 monthly check has come at a good time.

Kind Regards

Steve

[lizthebob]

I had the Ivor Lewis in Feb 2011. I am one of the very rare people who have had no trouble with weight loss. In fact I have had to go back to Weight Watchers and this is despite experiencing dumping severa times a week.

I unfortunately had something simiar to a stroke when I had chemo and was paralysed for a couple of months and although I am so much beter, my mobility is fairly restricted.

The main point I wanted to say is about breatlessness. I get it a lot and saw a respiratory consultant as I had been intubated for many weeks. He said that having had the Ivor Lewis, a lot of my bowel is up where my lung should be and so I have reduced capacity in that side which I guess is the same for everyone else on here. Not surprising then that my breathlessness is worse when I have eaten! Liz

[Thorno]

It seems to be a very common issue - I'm 29 months on now and still get short of breath walking uphill or cycling and still coughing though that does seem to be improving at last.

All the best,

Peter

[Hidden]

I think it might be that as you become more active again, the lungs react a bit. It might be that, like many others who have been recovering and not physically active for quite a long time, the lungs have not been used to their full capacity for quite a while.

I went to my GP several times with a cough and usually got told that my lungs were clear, but on one occasion there was an infection that needed a more focussed antibiotic which sorted it out. So unless it is something like that, it will gradually improve as you undertake more exercise.

For some weeks I was unable to take a deep breath without coughing afterwards.

[gutlesswonder]

I am 22 years post-op and can heartily agree with everything said above.

Some things to bear in mind---

Where did you start from ....age at Op...had you smoked...any other relevant history such as Asthma/Emphazima/COPD ?

Definitely keep a close watch on your cough just in case it is caused by Reflux/Aspiration Inhalation.Try to expel into a tissue and examine the Sputum ;ideally it should be sparkling crystal clear. Blood specks ,grungy green etc are bad news. I had this condition 4 years ago and would have lost a lung but for an heroic physiotherapist.

Sleeping position is critical.

Another major factor can be what happened to your Vagus nerve during the Op.There is no standard answer since every patient is different ,every procedure is a one-off. In the fiddly process of identifying lymph nodes in the Chest/Neck and removing them to assay for Metastasis it is common for the Sub-lingual branch of the Vagus to be damaged --leading to hypersensitivity . I myself suffer from paroxysmal sneezing and copious post-nasal drip.

But it's all so much better than being dead !

[margie1]

i asked my consultant surgeon today about my coughing when i am eating he said it is acid feflux and there's nothing i can do just to keep taking the omoprazole