Has anyone had this happen to them during recovery?

Carmen Pulley
Carmen Pulley Member Posts: 3
in Esophageal Cancer #1
Hi my husband is 42 years old and had EC. On March, 16th he had his entire esophagus removed and was in the hospital for 7 days. Since Saturday the 24th he can not stop throwing up. It is not that he has nausea it just comes out without warning. We ended up in the ER, and were told that everything inside looks good and the issue would resolve itself. Just wondering if anyone has experienced the same. NEGU!

Carmen
Cancer Survivor!

Comments

  • BMGky
    BMGky Member Posts: 621
    #2
    Sorry to year of his bouts
    Sorry to year of his bouts of throwing up. My husband can't throw up. He can retch violently but has not thrown up since his Ivor Lewis surgery two years ago.

    So, in a way, he did experience "throwing up." He oftentimes said if I could only throw up.

    His was oftentimes triggered by eating something too fast, too much, too whatever. We never did really know.

    If it were me, since he has just had the surgery, I would call his oncologist and find out what can be done to control his nausea. They prescribed a phenegran compound that he applied to his wrist that stopped his retching immediately.

    Watch for dehydration. Please let us know how he is doing.

    BMGky

    Husband Dx Dec2009 Thought Stage IIB--III
    Ivor Lewis Apr 2010 Staged IIA
    Last Pet Scan Feb 2012 NED :)
  • bingbing2009
    bingbing2009 Member Posts: 177
    #3
    Barf Queen
    Hi Carmen!
    I had my Ivor Lewis EC surgery in Feb., 2010, and I had lots of problems with vomiting. I probably vomited anywhere from 4-7 times a day. I would eat some cheese, it would come back up. I would eat almost anything and it would come right back up. Also, when I brushed my teeth, I would vomit bile. I truly got worried and questioned the doctors. All said that it was fine and that my system was adjusting to my new stomach--give it time. Well, after almost 3 months of vomiting and a loss of over 50 pounds, I again questioned the docs. I just knew something was wrong with me. I even bought morning sickness bags and carried them with me everywhere I went--that's how bad it was. Guess what. The doctors were correct. Eventually, the vomiting began to ease and I did it less and less. After a loss of 70 pounds and several months of sickness, finally things did gradually improve. After 6 months, usually the only time I vomited was when I brushed my teeth. Now I don't vomit at all.
    Believe it or not, now I WISH I could vomit at times, like when I overeat and make myself sick. But vomiting no longer comes easily, so usually I just suffer for an hour or two when I eat the wrong food or overeat.
    Anyway, just wanted to let you know about my experience.

    Melinda
  • Carmen Pulley
    Carmen Pulley Member Posts: 3
    #4
    bingbing2009 said:

    Barf Queen
    Hi Carmen!
    I had my Ivor Lewis EC surgery in Feb., 2010, and I had lots of problems with vomiting. I probably vomited anywhere from 4-7 times a day. I would eat some cheese, it would come back up. I would eat almost anything and it would come right back up. Also, when I brushed my teeth, I would vomit bile. I truly got worried and questioned the doctors. All said that it was fine and that my system was adjusting to my new stomach--give it time. Well, after almost 3 months of vomiting and a loss of over 50 pounds, I again questioned the docs. I just knew something was wrong with me. I even bought morning sickness bags and carried them with me everywhere I went--that's how bad it was. Guess what. The doctors were correct. Eventually, the vomiting began to ease and I did it less and less. After a loss of 70 pounds and several months of sickness, finally things did gradually improve. After 6 months, usually the only time I vomited was when I brushed my teeth. Now I don't vomit at all.
    Believe it or not, now I WISH I could vomit at times, like when I overeat and make myself sick. But vomiting no longer comes easily, so usually I just suffer for an hour or two when I eat the wrong food or overeat.
    Anyway, just wanted to let you know about my experience.

    Melinda

    Hi Melinda,

    Thank you so much for sharing. You don't know how much it means to me because I have been so worried about my husband with all his vomiting. The whole thing is that it's all clear liquids coming up because he is still on the feeding tube plus he is not taking much by mouth yet. The doctor's told him the same thing ("Things will get better") but how do you till someone that feels like him something like that. I read him your story and for the first time in a couple of days he gave me a smile. Thank you again for the information at least your story has given him a ray of hope.

    Carmen
    Cancer Survivor! NEGU
  • Carmen Pulley
    Carmen Pulley Member Posts: 3
    #5
    bingbing2009 said:

    Barf Queen
    Hi Carmen!
    I had my Ivor Lewis EC surgery in Feb., 2010, and I had lots of problems with vomiting. I probably vomited anywhere from 4-7 times a day. I would eat some cheese, it would come back up. I would eat almost anything and it would come right back up. Also, when I brushed my teeth, I would vomit bile. I truly got worried and questioned the doctors. All said that it was fine and that my system was adjusting to my new stomach--give it time. Well, after almost 3 months of vomiting and a loss of over 50 pounds, I again questioned the docs. I just knew something was wrong with me. I even bought morning sickness bags and carried them with me everywhere I went--that's how bad it was. Guess what. The doctors were correct. Eventually, the vomiting began to ease and I did it less and less. After a loss of 70 pounds and several months of sickness, finally things did gradually improve. After 6 months, usually the only time I vomited was when I brushed my teeth. Now I don't vomit at all.
    Believe it or not, now I WISH I could vomit at times, like when I overeat and make myself sick. But vomiting no longer comes easily, so usually I just suffer for an hour or two when I eat the wrong food or overeat.
    Anyway, just wanted to let you know about my experience.

    Melinda

    Hi Melinda,

    Thank you so much for sharing. You don't know how much it means to me because I have been so worried about my husband with all his vomiting. The whole thing is that it's all clear liquids coming up because he is still on the feeding tube plus he is not taking much by mouth yet. The doctor's told him the same thing ("Things will get better") but how do you till someone that feels like him something like that. I read him your story and for the first time in a couple of days he gave me a smile. Thank you again for the information at least your story has given him a ray of hope.

    Carmen
    Cancer Survivor! NEGU
  • Cora11
    Cora11 Member Posts: 173
    #6
    Carmen Pulley said:

    Hi Melinda,

    Thank you so much for sharing. You don't know how much it means to me because I have been so worried about my husband with all his vomiting. The whole thing is that it's all clear liquids coming up because he is still on the feeding tube plus he is not taking much by mouth yet. The doctor's told him the same thing ("Things will get better") but how do you till someone that feels like him something like that. I read him your story and for the first time in a couple of days he gave me a smile. Thank you again for the information at least your story has given him a ray of hope.

    Carmen
    Cancer Survivor! NEGU

    This sounds like
    This sounds like regurgitation as opposed to true vomiting and given how he is so recently post-op, it may take time. Liquids are more likely to regurgitate than food so when you start advancing his diet, be mindful that you separate food and liquids and of course keep the meals really really small. I hope you got thorough instructions from the hospital as when to call the dr. with concerns and how to systematically introduce foods. This is a tricky phase-
    All my best,
    Cora
  • sajanson hotmail.com
    sajanson hotmail.com Member Posts: 4
    #7
    Carmen Pulley said:

    Hi Melinda,

    Thank you so much for sharing. You don't know how much it means to me because I have been so worried about my husband with all his vomiting. The whole thing is that it's all clear liquids coming up because he is still on the feeding tube plus he is not taking much by mouth yet. The doctor's told him the same thing ("Things will get better") but how do you till someone that feels like him something like that. I read him your story and for the first time in a couple of days he gave me a smile. Thank you again for the information at least your story has given him a ray of hope.

    Carmen
    Cancer Survivor! NEGU

    Mike
    Carmen, My name is Sara, my husband Mike is having surgery Wednesday and we are scared. Do not even know what questions to ask. Just connecting to someone who has been there!
  • TerryV
    TerryV Member Posts: 887
    #8
    sajanson hotmail.com said:

    Mike
    Carmen, My name is Sara, my husband Mike is having surgery Wednesday and we are scared. Do not even know what questions to ask. Just connecting to someone who has been there!

    Welcome Sara!
    Welcome... Isn't it an odd word to use to say hello to someone new at a cancer forum? I wish you didn't have to be here, didn't have to find us. But at least you have found, what in my opinion, is the most informed, most compassionate, most knowledgable EC forums on the net.

    It would be wonderful if you might start a new thread with information about you and your husband, Mike. There are so many things to share - where are you located? Where is surgery being done? Who are his doctors? Which of the "big three" surgeries is Mike having? The MIE, the THE, or the IL? What presurgery treatments did Mike have? What stage EC is Mike? and how are you doing?

    We ask so many questions because we care, not because we are nosy. It would be very helpful to have this information. We can guide you - many of us have walked this path before you. There are some that are "walking beside" you now even.

    Prayers and hugs to you both!

    Terry
    Wife to Nick, age 48
    dx 05/19/11, T3N1M0
    28 rads, 2 weeks inpatient Cisplatin / 5FU
    THE 09/08/11
    Clean Path 09/13/11
    Lung node on CT 12/13/11
    Clean CT 03/21/11
  • anderson5
    anderson5 Member Posts: 13
    #9
    Hi Carmen,
    I was so pleased
    Hi Carmen,
    I was so pleased to come across your story as much as it's very sad that your husband had EC. I am only new to this web site and my Dad just had a tumour removed a couple of months ago, he too tends to regurgitate and vomit frequently and was in hospital for a month before he could go home. If he can keep a meal down he is really happy, he lives 6 hours away and is supposed to be coming to visit after easter for a little while, family keep telling me he is looking very thin and has lost over 20 kilos, i suppose from all the vomiting. It is all a learning curve and the doctors told him that the operation went well, so we can only hope it's all part of the process.
    Thanks,
    Karen

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