Eating and drinking after Oesophageal Surgery

Hi Mike 

I also had my surgery in Guildford. The dieticians were very helpful. They will give you a leaflet in due course and explain it to you. I know I had to move a bit slower than most as that's just how my body responded - some pureed food started to gather in the join of the stomach and oesophagus.  They monitored it so well and picked that up very quickly and I went back fluids for a bit which was fine because really as the feeding tube gives you most of your nutrition. From memory they do it in stages - clear fluids then yoghurt and after a bit pureed food. At the pureed food stage I think you have no more than the palm of your hand and you're at that stage for a few weeks - if memory serves me well but like I said they explain snd give it yo you in writing. They didn't appreciate my sense of humour when I said it was like stage 2 weaning in babies :-). 

When I got home neither myself or OH felt confident around making my food so I decided to just buy baby food and added salt/pepper.  Yes, I know it was probably unconventional but it worked for me. I also had a lot of Wotsits and skips. They'll encourage you to go full fat on everything- I loved that and I've had to stop that now 18months on as my cholesterol was up a few months ago which is the first time I've ever had high cholesterol- so annoying :-). 

I didn't experience dumping syndrome for several months and thought I wouldn't so probably got a bit too over confident. Having protein with each small meal helps. When it happened I just had something sweet as it started (I experienced sweating and increased heart rate at the start of it) and that helped to make the epidode much shorter. I had a gift voucher for a very expensive restaurant and that meal ended up in dumping syndrome there was something about the food being way too rich. I've experienced dumping syndrome only a handful of times so far though.

In some ways you have to learn how to have small meals as you've spent many years eating a particular size meal. I don't make many adjustments now.  I have smaller meals but I'm so used to that I don't really notice.  18 months on I've also adjusted to balancing food and drinking something like water at the same time. I especially have a smaller meal if I want to walk a lot afterwards.

All of this comes with time so please be patient with yourself. 

Wishing you all the best for your recovery.

Thank you Suzie for taking the time to reply. It’s so helpful to get a first hand experience. 
I actually saw a dietician just after I posted and she gave me a leaflet. So I now have lots of information to go on!

thanks again for sharing your experience. That is so helpful 

Mike

Hi Mike. Good to hear you have been given advice from the dieticians. The one thing about all of this does mean you can call on help should you need it; I was given a number to phone should I need specialist advise from the wonderful Nurses (who have a direct link to the Consultant who carried out the operation) or the Dietician, which means you always feel you are speaking to the right person, and even better, they know who you are. I am nine months on from my operation and I was expecting the worse regarding ‘dumping’. I have experienced three episodes of it. Once was when I went for a brisk, rather long walk, stopped and had a coffee and some sweet sticky banana bread, continued with my walk which brought on awful cramps, finally getting home and needing the loo very urgently, after which I laid on the settee and flaked out.  The other two times were not so nearly as bad, but needed the loo and then slept for about half an hour. My point being, that it hasn’t been as nearly as bad or as regular as I feared. I think eating very small amounts of sweet stuff (testing the waters) to begin with is a good idea, and also taking smaller meals, more regularly helps. I went out for my first meal (ate about half a main course) about a month after the operation just to feel a bit more normal. Everyone is different though, and I wish you well in your recovery. Best wishes, Julie 

Hi Mike

I am 10 months post Ivor Lewis Oesophegtomy, and pleased to report eating is going really well.

My weight stabilised well after my post op FLOT, and I can literally eat anything I like now... in moderation! Sweet stuff is the thing I have to be most careful with, and I did have one very bad dumping episode where I fainted. I had strawberries with sugar and cream on, and ate too much of it, so totally my own fault. It's rather like a diabetic hypo, your blood sugars can go a bit haywire.

I've been out for meals and can eat a small main course (if child portions or small appetite meals are available I'll have that). I can also eat spicy food with no issues. I also have to be careful with milk, so my cups of tea are down from 4 a day to just one. I don't get dumping with them, but milk does make me feel a bit nauseous sometimes.

On the whole though, life is good, food hasn't been a problem, and the dietitian I saw has been fantastic. It really hasn't been half as  bad as I'd feared or read about, you just have to follow their advice I paid the price when I overdid it

Hi Nicky. I have just read that you and I are at very similar stages of post op recovery. This led me to read your blog. So fantastic to hear you are doing so well. I also wrote a blog (when it was all over). Couldn’t agree more about enjoying and finding the best in every day. Take care.

Hi Mike,

Glad your surgery has gone well and you’re now looking towards the future. I am now 21 weeks post surgery and still achieving new milestones. This week it was my first meal out with my wife. We took a drive out and went to a nice waterfront restaurant for lunch. I had checked out their menu beforehand and seen that they had a lite bites  section. I had goats cheese bonbons with a very nice salad and a lovely glass of Sauvignon blanc and then we shared a dessert afterwards. I can pretty much eat anything I want now and have managed to avoid any dumping syndrome. I think it probably helps that I was never a big portion eater beforehand so my portion sizes aren’t much smaller than what I used to eat. The only thing that I’ve found I need to moderate is my consumption of chocolate. I also find that a lie down and stretch out after meals seems to aid my digestion. Apart from that and the fact that I still tire easily (although I am up to a daily 2 mile walk, a cycle ride most days and a bit of pottering about in the garden) I think my recovery is going well and I am now only 1st down on my pre-diagnosis weight. Looking forward to the holidays we have planned for November and February. I wish you well for your recovery. This isn’t a bad time of the year for it. CB

Thanks Julie that’s great advice thank you for taking the time to share. I will definitely avoid banana bread!! 

Hi CB thanks for taking the time to share your experiences after your surgery.

it sounds like you have things well planned out and it’s clear I will need to be more organised with food into the future.

Your exercise regime is very impressive and I used to love being in the gym and particularly spin biking so it’s a real target to get back to! 
thanks again

Mike 

Thanks Nicky for taking the time to reply and share your experiences after surgery.

It’s really encouraging that you and others report on how life with food after treatment can be positive. Although I think I would have been similarly tempted by the Strawberries and Cream!!

I can see I will be a lot more organised with how I plan meals and that if you are more organised food doesn’t have to be a problem 

thank you 

Mike