When do things get better after an esophagectomy? Timeline?

I had an esophogectomy on 11/1/24. You don't mention if he's still on certain meds still, but that can contribute to his fatigue. Everyone is different, but I recall it taking 30 days or so for me to get back a decent amount of energy. I was also on a feeding tube, but didn't have a drainage bag. Possibly, you could speak to the medical nutritionist and see if a dietary change on his feeding might help. The fact he's taking walks around the house is good. Encourage him to progress a little further each day to get stronger. It takes time to heal and rest is important. It's also not a linear recovery so expect a two step forward, one back recovery cha cha over time. Best to you and your husband. Lastly, make time for yourself; caretaking is taxing on you as well.

I am 8 years post-esophagectomy. Had the drainage tube for about 2 weeks. you didn't mention if there is a visiting nurse who comes weekly to clean it out and check on it.
Also as far as being tired, this is a major surgery as you know and it really takes a while to recover. Especially since your husband is still on feeding tube. As lionsfan said, it's not at all a linear recovery so patience really helps.
One suggestion: as he gets stronger and goes on solid food do talk to your doctor about having his iron and b12 monitored. I learned the hard way that because we have altered digestion it is very common to have malabsorption issues and this is not something that doctors pay much attention to unfortunately.

Dear Eve, my husband is 5 years post surgery and due to many things he still is very tired, exhausted, cannot eat proper and healthy food, he only eats potato chips for dinner most of the days, doesn't have any appetite, no hunger and no thirst at all. The first 2 years were horrible since he did not eat much, his mood was aweful and his spirits were down. He slept a lot during the day, could not concentrate, could not do any physical work or work out, he did not want to go out, he was exhausted, too exhausted to get through the day sometimes. Then he started to take supplements after he finally was willing to do a big blood test and all the other tests to find out what he lacks and what kind of supplements he needs. He got better, but not good, living was sheer torture for him, he felt sick all the time, had dumps and diarrhea every day for weeks, which exhausted his body and his spirit even more. To cut a long and not very nice story short, he now added butyric acid to all the other supplements (for some he had to try several brands until one was finally doing him good and did not make the whole situation worse), and since then he feels much better, he had weeks in which he felt better than ever in his life, no diarrhea for weeks, no dumps, at some point he even graved for some dishes he hasn't thought about for years, since he did not like food at all any more, because it made him sick. Now, when the weather is changing, he still has his difficulties with his mood, his spirit and appetite, but at least he does not feel sick anymore, he does not have any diarrhea and no dumps. He forces himself to drink more and found a mineral water with not much gas which he likes and which helps him to drink more. He still is very exhausted and tired, he cannot sleep in some nights, but everything is much better than before. After 5 years he is still has not started to do any workout, but he at least started to work in the garden for some hours at some days. I am sure he will get better, but I wanted to tell you that being tired, being exhausted and doing not much more but sleeping is absolutely normal, at least for the first 6 months to 2 years. That's my experience with my husband. I hope this helps. Keep your spirit and health up, take care of yourself, only then can you be what you want to be for him, an anchor and sanity in all this crazy situation that you are in. Happy to be alive, but frustrated since your body has to undergo all this and it takes time. Be patient, it will get better, but it can take a really long time. Hope this helps! All the best!

Hi Eve,
I’m 5 years post esophajectomy. Your husband’s recovery sounds similar to mine. I’ve been working on my recovery for the past five years. After my surgery I went through 10 months of immunotherapy (my body could only tolerate the damaging effects for 10 of 12 scheduled months.). Eventually my organs repaired themselves. One that didn’t was my thyroid gland.
I had the same symptoms as your husband until I found the correct thyroid medication (Armour thyroid).
Your thyroid regulates almost everything in your body including digestion.
Just passing this along if he happened to have lost his thyroid.
For me getting my thyroid hormones working correctly and finally giving into smaller meals has helped tremendously.

Hi Eve. I am about 13 weeks post esophagectomy. I did not have cancer, but dysplasia was causing a stricture that couldn’t be treated any other way. I say this because I don’t know how cancer treatment affects recovery from surgery. That said, two weeks is a very short time to expect major progress after such a long and complex surgery. But the one thing I would say is that your husband needs to try to resist the temptation to constantly going back to bed during the day. It’s really important to get a little exercise every day. I started by walking around the house for fifteen minutes three times a day. After about a week I started getting back to walks with my husband around our neighborhood for twenty minutes at least five times a week. I still had my J-tube and was eating nothing by mouth. But I started to regain strength. I’ll be honest, it isn’t an easy recovery. Some days are better than others, and your husband has to be the ultimate judge of how he feels. But exercise and not sleeping a lot throughout the day should help him regain strength and energy, as well as allow him to sleep better at night.

As far as the neck tube with the little suction bulb at the end, I had that for the nine days I was in the hospital, and went home with it. I think I had it for about two weeks at home before my surgeon removed it in her office. Before I was released they showed me how to empty and clean the bulb. If you have a home nurse, he or she can do that as well.

Sending positive thoughts for your husband’s recovery.

I am having trouble trying to pm u

my husband will be over surgery 1 month on Friday should things be getting a little better. His breathing is still off and has a cough sometimes even when just sitting. I am worried he is getting up and walking much the doctor said it was important to walk. He see his doctor on Thursday hope he can start on a liquid diet. And hope his new esophagus works and no problems. Also is there online caregiver support groups

Will you be accompanying him to the doctors visit?

Esophagectomy surgery is a crazy surgery with a loooong recovery period (in terms of seeing somewhat normal digestion, pooping, sleeping, etc.) Even 3 to 6 months post-op is very early on. Changes come for about two years.
Gary

@gravity3 yes I will