Is there anyone who can share whats its like having your complete stomach out .I know its a big operation with lots of risks but please tell me more if you can.
Welcome to the community where you’ll get lots of support and advice from the caring people here, as well as meet people in similar circumstances to yourself.
I had an oesophagectomy which involved the removal of the oesophagus and then the removal of the stomach so that it could be stretched into a tube to replace the oesophagus. So a complete gastrectomy (stomach removal) generally has similar side effects to the oesophagectomy with regards to eating. I expect the consultant surgeon has given you details about the surgery, and naturally you need to know how your diet will be affected. After the initial feeding through a tube you’ll then be able to eat soft foods, gradually building up to a normal diet. However, you’ll no longer be able to eat regular sized meals for many months, so you will be eating little but often, probably six small meals a day. I couldn’t even manage that so I got by with continuous snacking. It’s important to try to maintain weight and preferably gain weight, but this is difficult at first because of the small amounts you can eat. Also, other side effects such as nausea, diaorrhea and dumping syndrome can hinder the recovery and desired weight gain. Having said this, eventually you will more or less be able to eat what you like whilst having larger portions, although some foods do tend to give problems which you will discover by trial and error. This link gives general guidance on the gastrectomy and subsequent recovery and dietary issues: www.cancerhelp.org.uk/.../diet-after-stomach-surgery
Finally, if you join the Stomach Cancer Group here you will probably meet people who’ve had this type of surgery and will be better placed to help you than me. I wish you all the very best and lots of luck.
This is not my cancer but my father in law had this operation a 2 1/2 years ago and made a great recovery, he had to eat small meals and often to start with but within no time at all he was eating pretty much normally, he managed more than me last christmas for lunch if thats any indication. He has not had any complications and the only thing he cant do is drink pints of beer he has to stick to a few halfs which aint bad really in the grand scheme of things.
Hope this helps in some way as I know he was really worried and we did a lot of research o google for him prior to his op.
