Gastrectomy and issues afterward

Go to facebook. CDH1 gene mutation group and other cdh1
Groups. Do you have a mutation or just other issues?

First, what isTG? I am more knowledgeable about esophagectomy problems, reflux, etc. Seldom do we have bile reflux, however.

hi, thank you for your alerts. we appreciate a great deal to have such a support group.

I had my stomach removed because of a bad bleed and ulcer. I don’t have trouble with any food as long I eat very slowly and chew my foods very well. I don’t have an appetite ever and your food goes cold.
You have to have lots of small meals or snacks.

@rm51 What a great idea, a food log of what and how much your friend eats. Hopefully, this will identify why he is feeling ill after eating.

I am tagging @pain3relief and @dusty73 who have experienced Total Gastrectomies (TG) and may have thoughts from their experience.

Also, here is another Connect discussion you may find helpful since your friend had his entire stomach removed because of cancer:
- Total Gastrectomy for stomach cancer: What can I expect?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/total-gastrectomy/

I honestly don’t know if I have been tested for that. I don’t have stomach cancer and they sent my DNA to be analysed. I will definitely ask at my next doctor’s appointment.
Thank you!

So do I on bad days. Power through and you will amaze yourself what you can live through. Message me anytime. I would like to chat with you. I have some really bad days too.
Current weight 81 lbs. Pre surgery 140 lbs. Funny thing is that I tried every fad diet for years. They say ‘Be careful what you wish for”.

Negative for H Pylori, but am on a PPI. I believe they said I will be on that medication for life.
Thank-you for replying.

Would appreciate any articles or persons with any post gastrectomy tips.
Desperately seeking nutritional meals/meal plans. Tips for gastrectomy eating by patients like me would be more than welcome.
I’m desperately trying to outrun a feeling tube in Feb.
Apologies for the typos - wrote this at the dr’s office without my glasses.

Sorry to hear about your challenges. In a quick response to the issue of "wind", I did get a simple resolution-BUT, please be sure to ask your physician first to determine if this is all right. I use an over the counter chewable pill called Devrom. It is bismuth subgallate. I was told this was the same as Pepto Bismol- not so much. I found immediate relief of the smelly part; it does not control gas- that is some other digestive function. I get it online via amazon and it is very affordable. There are several variants of the bismuth subgallate, but I find that Devrom works best for me and choose to leave well enough alone!!
I also get the chewable version as it seems to work with all the other digestive complexities from my gastrectomy.
I have a sub-total gastrectomy, which means almost the entire stomach was removed as a result of two failed surgeries to correct acid reflux- I can give more detail about this but my surgery was not for weight loss, however it did certainly result in weight loss.
The gurgling I found to occur was very prominent early after my surgery-- was not the old "stomach growling" (no stomach!) but longer in duration, and certainly louder. I had to share with friends, colleagues, supervisors etc that it was an artifact of the surgery and not a call for food. I do need to exercise care about "slippage" and choose to excuse myself from an area just in case. I learned that since the stomach completes a major part of digestion as a result I do have some amount of undigested food getting through. Just needing to slow down, way down, the eating/chewing processes.

In terms of Devrom usage, I take three per day, one in the morning before breakfast, one around lunch time and one usually after dinner. That's the good part-staying on this routine has all but cleared up the smell. However, if I miss one, game over. I do not double dose- just get back to the schedule ASAP. To that end, I always carry pills with me- and I usually carry 3 or 4- why? Because I cannot afford to lose one or drop one is a bad place- redundancy x 2!
And the last place I want to be unpopular is in an airplane as I travel quite a bit.

I have been so pleased with the results of Devrom I am glad I found it- I always order 2 bottles at a time so I am never without.
What long answer to your question- I hope this helps.
My only other caution: I had some dental work done and the dentists gave me an antibiotic that I later found our I did not need (no aspersions on the dentist). The antibiotic pretty much destroyed the little gut bacteria I had and the odor was magnified beyond belief- needed to get some serious doses of probiotics and these corrected everything- these were very short term. I no longer take those.

Best to you- wish I had known some this before my gastrectomy, however can't rewrite history- I am happy to share my experiences with others so they may not have the same challenges--no stomach is challenge enough! As aways, keep a sense of humor- it does help in some odd way.