The post-op journey is just a bitch. There are many parts and phases to pass thru on our journeys, and while we patients usually see many of the same things... these "things" can vary in intensity, duration, and if we even see them at all. From recovery from our surgical wounds, to J tube feeding and weaning off these feeds, to weaning off our pain meds, to seeing what our ability to swallow is post-op (do we need some stretches?), to tummy aches, intestinal issues, pylorus functioning, to pooping, diarrhea (or constipation), to sleeping (learning to stay on our backs and elevated), to seeing reflux and maybe even aspiration events. And ALL OF THESE THINGS... have zero to do with our cancers... and is it making a return visit any time soon? This is always in the background as we deal with the crazy post-op aftermath.

So... getting ready for bed... and trying to get some half decent sleep... and AVOID REFLUX AND ASPIRATION. But early on post-op... things usually suck! Just too easy to see reflux and even aspiration events... which can lead to a hospital visit and even aspiration pneumonia (not good).

Like many, I don't eat (or even drink) much, two hours before bedtime. And maybe during dinner, if I've had red spaghetti sauce, or some semi spicy food, I'll pop a Tums or Gaviscon. Then at bedtime, I may or may not pop another Tums, or many take some Gaviscon liquid or Pepto or Mylanta, etc. I'll then sit up at 30 to 45 degrees and watch TV until I'm tired and ready to go to sleep. This is usually another hour or so... so now it's been 3 to 4 hours since I last ate something... I know my stomach is empty... far less chance I'll see any reflux.

The problem is... this routine of mine, and the results I now see, and my ability to now sleep flat once again... and the frequency of reflux events... all this has changed dramatically over the first two years post-op. And the reason for this is because the surgical rearrangement of our insides actually changes a bunch as the post-op months roll by. Our new stomaphagus settles in... stretches a bit in place. And our motility changes over time (pylorus changes, whether done with botox, dilation, or endoscopic snip snip)... and this is also a big factor in what we may say when we're lying in bed... whether at 30 degrees on our backs... or now laying flat... maybe rolling over on our left or right sides (which I can now do... my head just on a single pillow!). I could not sleep flat my first 12 to 18 months... otherwise major reflux a couple times a week! But now I sleep normally again. It just took awhile.

So... don't sweat it... changes keep coming... it's hard to say what each of us sees on our post-op journeys. Just don't be afraid to stay the course... keep eating what you want... take note of what you are seeing. Maybe you need an anastomosis stretch... maybe a pylorus stretch... maybe creon to help with digestion... maybe a B12 shot monthly. Many possibilities.