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Trouble eating again
Hello, my husband had Ivor Lewis operation here in nz 10 months ago…lately he has been struggling to eat and drink due to feeling full after a few bites. Hes now eating 50% less food in a day than he was 2 weeks ago. His weight is dropping quickly. Even water he is struggling to get down. Has just spent 3 days in hospital due to dehydration and anemia. Feeling better in himself, we have appointment in roughly 10 days to see GI specialist. Has anyone here had these symptoms due to a stricture ? If so, are these symptoms usually what happens when a “dialation is required ? Hes extremely thin.
Thanks
Deb
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I have required a dialation approximately every six months since my surgery in April 2023. My appetite has improved since the surgery although never to presurgical levels but I do gradually develop difficulty swallowing food, usually bread or pastry first, then other foods, then liquids. The EGD, as you are probably more than familiar, is a much simpler and lower risk procedure and usually my swallowing improves a few days post when the irritation to the tissue subsides.
Excellent... a look-see via endoscopy will reveal all. Biopsies taken if necessary, dilation done if needed. Be sure you get actual dimensions of anastomis opening, both before and after dilation (if this occurs)... and be sure endoscopy goes down thru total stomaphagus and thru pylorus into duodenum to get those dimensions as well.
Gary
I had similar symptoms about 4 months post Ivor-Lewis surgery. I lost 15 lbs in 10 days before going to the hospital for 5 days. I was referred to a GI specialist who diagnosed it as gastroparesis, or paralysis of the muscles that push food through the GI tract. I was put on gabapentin, steroids, raglan and mirtzapine. A few weeks later, the condition resolved and I could eat again. I've regained my lost weight. Hope this helps. Best to you both.
Geoff
I'm surprised he has not had a J or G tube installed. I had chemoradiation only at MD Anderson, but was left with strictures almost as bad as the ones I had from the stage III tumor before. I'm maintaining weight by getting about half of my calories from the gastric tube and half from carefully-chosen foods. I still have esophageal spasms. I'm scheduled to go back in October for PET/CT and an EUS with dilation, myotomy, if necessary. I resisted the installation of the tube, but I was unable to maintain weight with soft foods. I dropped about 30 lb and I'm not a large person. I've gained about ten back and I'm now at my desired weight...
Hi Deb, my husband had an esophagectomy 9 months ago. He was in the hospital for 6 months on j-tube feedings due to anastomonic leak. He is finally home but not eating enough to maintain his weight. He is coughing and bringing up mucus constantly. Eating is difficult finding the foods that agree with him. We are following the soft mechanical diet. One of the meals he tolerates is sautéed zucchini with an egg scrambled in with it. It provides a vegetable and a protein. Everyday I try to make a soft diet and hope it works. However, we are now supplementing his food with 2-3 cartons of tube feedings a day just to be sure he is getting the nutrition and calories to at least maintain his weight. Good luck, l know how challenging it can be!