Eating problems after Oesophago-Gastrectomy

Hi Steady Freddy

It sounds as if you have done the hard bit, now the recovery!

Chopping the gut about can upset the hormones secreted by different parts of the GI tract. There are so many more gut hormones now than when I was at school! They control among other things hunger and satiation- the feelings of needing to eat and feeling full. 

Also the gut biome, the bacteria which live mainly in the large intestine, but this kind of surgery often results in small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The different types of bacteria can affect the hormones and the absorption of food. 

The two things that helped me put on weight were

1. To forget eating healthily, rather eat to get healthy. Eat high fat foods like sausage rolls, pies, pastries and cream cakes. The ability to absorb fat is compromised so anything high carb added to the high fat would help, full cream rice pudding/mac&cheese? NB you will need multivitamins and minerals because these won’t be absorbed very well.
2. To get some good bacteria in the gut. Probiotics are available in capsules eg Acidophilus and/or probiotic drinks eg kefir (which I prefer to yoghurt drinks).

The thinking these days is to keep the feeding tube in for some time after surgery to help with the calorie intake - I didn’t use one once I was discharged from hospital, but things have changed during the last six years.

My guts didn’t really settle down for a year. But I was lucky to have a good appetite and didn’t lose weight post surgery. 

It seems as if you are not taking this weight loss lying down and are determined to beat it, which is half the battle. Take advice from the upper GI dieticians who can prescribe high calorie drinks and offer specific advice. You are probably doing lots of exercise and this should speed recovery as well as help stimulate appetite.

I hope you find something that works for you, we are all different and it is amazing how different our recovery experiences can be.

Hi steddy freddy, a lot of good information from Brent and as he said we are all different. I had to avoid sugary foods and drinks and simple carbohydrates like potatoes, they gave me food dumping. If you are ok with dairy products, I fortified full fat milk by adding marvel powdered milk to it. You just follow the instructions but use full fat milk instead of water. You should have been told to eat small amounts often, about 6 snacks a day as opposed to regular meals. I tended to eat more protein and fatty foods and In-between snacks I had coffee made with hot milk. I never felt hungry but I knew I had to eat and since I could barely swallow anything prior to surgery it was a pleasure to eat anything. I didn't have chemotherapy either, I had lost about 5 stones prior to surgery and was 57kg when discharged from hospital. That was in October 2016, I am now 100kg and I am going to start dieting!. Please feel free to ask anything else and if I can help you I and others will. Good luck and kind regards Frank

First off thanks for replying I am still not sure if it's sugar or milk that's the problem I can manage the fortijuce but not the fortisip drinks I found all rich full fat yogurts and puddings to much after a diat on skimmed milk for year's as my wife has type 2 diabetes I eat lots off chicken casseroles with all sorts of vegetables and potatoes thrown in for lunch and dinner dose not cause me to much of a problem breakfast seems to be the worst time 1 Weetabix and half a banana cold skimmed milk I try to have 5 or 6 meals a day but not always easy to do. Once again thanks Steddy Freddy

Again thanks for replying my feeding tube stopped working the day I left high care onto the wards so like you it was never used it had a kink in it. I am on high energy drinks and multivitamins I couldn't stand the fortisip compact protein one's, I don't eat pie's and not a fast food restaurant user I was more a cheese and crackers rather than sweet puddings and lots of fish meals and skimmed milk as my wife has type 2 diabetes ,I have lots of chicken casseroles with potatoes and different vegetables in them dose not seem to be a problem still have fish and pasta meals maby I am eating to much at main meals and not enough at snack time hard to judge, I walk my dogs every day for at least one hour by this time my ribs start to ache  I do sit down a few times on the walk, I do eat ice cream and yogurts most days, I like ryvita and soft mature or garlic cheese and hot milk at bedtime , the thought of being like this for up to a year is a bit daunting as there is so much I still want to do, Thanks again I will try some of your tips as it can't do any harm , I will let you know how I get on . Stedddy Freddy.