diet problems after surgergy

ham6789
ham6789 Member Posts: 29
in Esophageal Cancer #1
I had my surgergy 7/15/11. Was cleared to go home 10 days later. All cancer is gone . No after surgery chemo was recommended. However, I have gone from 151# at discharge from hospital to 138#. I am having differculty finding things that I can eat that don't bother me. I can't drink ENSURE or nutrition drinks.
Has anyone experienced these differculties? I would appreciate any help on this matter...

Comments

  • BMGky
    BMGky Member Posts: 621
    #2
    We had lots of eating
    We had lots of eating problems after surgery. My husband had the Ivor Lewis form of surgery and was in the hospital 30 days. There are some websites that have literature on what to eat. Paul oftentimes posts here and has excellent eating suggestions.

    Bill could not use Ensure or Carnation Instant Milk. Had to stay away from sweets, pancakes, and the like. He could eat yogurt, cottage cheese, boiled eggs and the like. Of interest, he has been able to eat steak very well. We had a rough time with pain throughout the body, and other issues. We kept a log of weight, BP, foods. It took a couple of months to slow down weight loss. He needed carafate to coat his stomach. He took appetite enhancers that didn't help. Just time for healing seemed to be the best medicine.

    Don't get discouraged. It gets better with each passing day. It took us about 7 months for weight to stabilize and eating to become normalized.
  • paul61
    paul61 Member Posts: 1,392 Member
    #3
    Some suggestions that worked for me
    The issues you are experiencing are very common for those of us who have had a “re-arranged” digestive system. It takes time to get used to our new plumbing.

    Two things I can tell you from experience. First, it does get better and you will eventually be back to eating most of the same foods you enjoyed in the past. Second, it does take time and during that time you will lose some weight before your diet stabilizes and you regain some of the weight you lost.

    I will include some references to web sites that contain helpful information. You may have already gotten these from the nutritionist at the hospital where you had your surgery but just in case:

    --A diet guide for people who have had an esophagectomy:

    http://www.upmc.com/healthatoz/patienteducation/g/pages/dietafteranesophagectomy.aspx

    --A diet guide to avoid “dumping syndrome”

    http://www.upmc.com/healthatoz/patienteducation/n/pages/dumpingsyndromediet.aspx

    --A High protein / High calorie diet for recovering cancer survivors

    http://www.rush.edu/rumc/page-P07231.html


    These are some “rules of eating” that helped me when I was recovering.

    1. Avoid foods that have high concentrations or sugar or simple carbohydrates
    2. Eat seven to eight small meals a day
    3. Eat slowly and chew all food very thoroughly
    4. Rest for approximately 30 minutes after eating (in an upright position)
    5. Drink minimal liquid during meals ( drink liquids approximately an hour after eating)
    6. High calorie supplement drinks (like Ensure) must be sipped slowly over a long period of time.


    I have found that food supplements like BeneCalorie can be mixed in many foods and add calories without the “over full” feeling.

    http://www.nestlenutritionstore.com/general-itemdetail.asp?T1=BENECAL+24CU&SRCCODE=PDSS10&gclid=COms4YjTgasCFY8DQAod3Drh1Q

    I hope these suggestions are helpful. It does take time for your body to adjust to the changes from surgery.


    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams
    McCormick, South Carolina

    DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
    12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
    2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
    6/21/2010 CT Scan NED
    3/14/2011 CT Scan NED

    Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

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