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Anorexia & nausea 3 months after esophagectomy
Esophageal Cancer | Last Active: Aug 1, 2023 | Replies (25)Comment receiving replies
And apologies for my confusion of the use of anorexia. I tend to think of anorexia as an eating disorder, where the person has a disturbing vision of their own body, and abhors gaining weight... and simply won't eat. Not that a person cannot be a true anorexic and still have EC... but this is rare... and to be honest... having esophageal cancer might be an anorexic's dream come true... because they are going to lose a ton of weight, without even trying!
But for us EC patients, all along our EC journeys... we lose weight for a variety of reasons... and they can be for completely different reasons too. Stress and depression and hopelessness when being diagnosed. Chemo and radiation treatments can cause much nausea... loss of appetite... loss of taste buds... more reasons to lose weight. And if symptomatic enough... the ability to swallow can be lost completely (I saw this... could not swallow a sip of water for 3 weeks). And then, if esophagectomy is done... post-op is a crazy journey unto itself... more reasons to lose weight as our bodies try to once again figure out digestion (and this can take a year or more!). Much to discuss still... we're just scratching the surface here.
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I believe that "anorexia nervosa" is the accurate medical term for people with the intent and desire to be skinny who starve themselves. Etymology: From the scientific term anorexia nervosa (1957), from the symptom anorexia (“loss of appetite”), from Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-, “without”) + ὄρεξις (órexis, “appetite, desire”), and Latin nervōsa (“nervous”).
It seems to be a subset of anorexia, apparently, which simply means in Latin: without appetite or without desire.
He is now four months post-op. He did not have chemo or radiation. But he did have to have a tracheostomy, and the tube was removed a few weeks ago. He can physically swallow. So his chief complaints are lack of hunger, constant nausea, and if he forces himself to eat or drink even a small amount of food, he feels very sick.
I don't want to go to phone conversations and neither does my friend. These discussion boards are extremely helpful for others to read so I think this is the best way to communicate. But not everyone may want to share in writing. I am VERY appreciative of the helpful comments most have given here. At this point I am going to see if he will get the feeding tube. I spoke to him yesterday and will again today. He was struggling with drinking and keeping down a half bottle of Boost and was feeling extremely nauseated.