What to do about blockages?

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Hi everyone
Well, my first experience with a blockage was in the hospital with their soup, and the second at home last night with scrambled egg. Both times I only ate a tiny amount, and ate it slowly - well I thought it was slowly, but maybe it needs to be slower still?
Anyhow, I was hoping to gain some wisdom from the you all about how to prevent blockages, and also about how to deal with them when they occur.
I know to eat small amounts, make sure the puree is really smooth (that's the stage I'm at now), chew everything well (when I get to it), and eat slowly. Am I missing something else?
But when it happens - all I know to do is walk. And that was helping, but not much, and not for long. I tried the de-gas tablets, which released some air and a little of the pressure. And I thought I was going to throw up (and would have welcomed it, really - and I hate throwing up, normally!), but I didn't. After a while I had a drink, and that made it worse for a while and then eased again.
I probably did everything wrong, so I'm hoping for some advice.
Thanks
Chris

Oh Nicole, that's great. I looked at some quiche the other day, but wasn't game enough to try it - I'm still pureeing my scrambled egg!
:afro:

im sorry you guys are having problems, so far so good for me, i'll keep my fingers crossed.
I went out fr lunch yesterday and was only going to have a latte or some sort of drink but i saw they had small pieces of zucchini slice, my son was with me so i thought i would try it and if i was not so good he could eat it instead, but it went down really well.
I sort of feel guilty that you guys are having problems :(

Nicole

Hi guys
Well, it does seem to happen to others too, Bee, so it's a common enough experience.
It seems to happen most to me when I eat something that's too thick or if I eat too quickly.
Steph, I'm sorry you've been having trouble - but if you're like me, it started to feel better soon after throwing up? That's been the hardest thing for me - I hate throwing up, but have tried to when it's been like that and it hasn't happened easily. I thought it would come right back out again, but it hasn't. Anyway, I hope you're feeling back to normal now.
Chris :afro:

Hi Chris,

I know exactly what you mean and meant :lol!:

This is what happened to me when I got the tablet caught and then today I haven't been able to eat or drink. I had my Sustagen for brekky and only got through about 100ml and have been full since then. Water has been a little hard to swallow and this arvo I met up with Kat at Gloria Jeans and ordered a mango fruit (dairy free) smoothie thing and was only able to manage a few sips and about an hour after started to feel this awful pain in my chest and didn't want to let on how I was feeling (as she hasn't had her op yet). All the way home I could feel it rising and thought I was going to be sick in my car. Lucky it's only a 10 minute trip home and soon as I pulled in the drive way I just ran inside and only just made it to the toilet and up it all came. Still not feeling great.

steph

chrisbychic wrote:

Oh, Hayley, I don't know if the term 'blockage' is accurate, but it's what it felt like to me, anyway.
Everything just got stuck and caused pain which didn't go away until it went down.
Chris

I get this feeling to. Like it's stuck, but it eventually works it's way down. Is it normal?

Oh, dear, i think some of us have got the tummy blockages here mixed up with the bowel blockages on the constipation thread! LOL Makes an interesting read, though. :?:
Fadding, I'm usually a much better cook than that - not brilliant, but okay - but that pork chop was just so fatty that all the fat caught fire and just wouldn't stop!
Chris

oh Chris you are so funny , just tell hubby next time ( sounds like ya cook like me) that the charcol is good for his teeth.My mother in law feels sorry for my hubby and continues to send home meals for him , which is great cause there is enough for me too :lol!: :lol!:
Fadding Away

Wat i use for blockage is a pill caused Soflax ive had a bit of blockage i took 2pills at 6pm


and was clear and feeling great by 7pm needed to run to the loo by then but now im relaxed and feeling good


cheers sue

The best remedy for my 'blockages' has always been Prune Juice. I highly recommend you drink only about 150 ml at a time - be sure not to be more than 8 metres from the loo - it acts pretty quick on me usually.

Thanks, Fadding. I'm trying to do just that.
I took pity on my hubby last night, who lived on take away while I was in hospital (he was in a motel) and has been having frozen dinners while I was on Opti, and since coming home as well.
I bought a really yummy pork chop and cooked up some veggies. I put on the meat to cook in our griller which is in the oven, and it cooked quicker than I thought - in 5 minutes it was burning on the edges. So I turned it over, set the timer for 3 minutes so I wouldn't have the same problem, but before then I noticed the smoke coming out of the oven.
Yes, that's right - the bloody pork chop had caught fire! LOL So much for poor hubby's dinner. I quickly closed up the door, but having such a wonderful seal (NOT), it wasn't enough, and the flames were getting rather large. So I got down our fire blanket - good idea, that! - and took out the griller and threw the blanket over it.
The fire went out, but not slowly. The fire alarm kept going off again and again, and drove me mad. Needless to say, I opened all the doors and windows, but it still took ages to clear.
Hubby was 5 minutes later than usual getting home - and I told him it was a pity he wasn't 5 minutes earlier.
The veggies were okay, because I did them in the microwave. And despite having been on fire, the chop was pretty much intact too - Alan just cut the burnt edges off and said the meat was good.
So much for fussing over him because I thought he'd missed out! Roll on frozen dinners, I say! :oops:

Hi Chris
eat stuff but have it that runny you could suck it up a straw..no lumps , get the wizzer to work and lots of sauces/gravy etc .. sloppy sloppy
your stomach can take 2months to heal on the inside ,sometimes longer
Fadding away

Oh well, looks like the dietitians as well as the doctors tell everyone something different. I guess we'll just have to muddle through - and to be honest, I think the people who have gone through it are the best guides here.
Nicole, I haven't been measuring my fluid intake. I just try to keep it up, and have only decaf tea at the moment, which can be counted in the fluids where coffee and normal tea can't. I try to remember to have a drink before I eat, because I've been told to wait half an hour after I eat to have a drink, and then as often as I can remember.
At least I can have a whole cup of tea now, which is a wonderful thing.
I haven't been measuring my food either, at least until lunch time today. I've just been having a little because that's all I could fit in. I did measure the baby food for lunch, though, and it was only 1/4 of a cup. And about 1/2 an hour later I was hungry. Yes, really hungry. So I had a small tub of custard, and then I felt full. Hope I don't regret it! :?:
I'm feeling tired, but not exhausted. I haven't been doing much though. I don't have little kids and my hubby is gone from 6am to 8pm, so can pretty much rest whenever I need. I'm a little jealous of your naps, though, OnThe Way - I'd love to sleep more!
Chris

Hi Nicole,

I also felt really weak in the first few days/weeks - constantly fighting off the need to have naps all day LOL!! Today I am 2.5 weeks post-op and I still want to have a nap :sleep: but that is because (I think) I am still off work and possibly too bored. Hoping that will change next week when I go back to work!!!

My only advice is keep up the water intake so you don't get dehydrated!!

You'll start to feel better and better each day especially once the tenderness around you belly goes.

Good Luck!!

hi guys,
My dietician told me 24hours on clear fluid, 2 weeks on full fluid which can include very runny purreed food thick enough to go through a straw is a good thing to go by. then 4 weeks on mushies then leading up to normal food.

The only problem i have had is with very runny custard it just doent agree at the moment, opti is my best friend at the moment.

I feel quite weak at the moment is that normal????

I was wondering if i was eating enough, trying to build up to 100mls of full fluid 6-8 times a day with clear fluids in between. I have been on 50ml but have to now buid up to 125mls.

Nicole

Oh, Hayley, I don't know if the term 'blockage' is accurate, but it's what it felt like to me, anyway.
Everything just got stuck and caused pain which didn't go away until it went down.
Chris

Yeah, I had "lamb shepherds pie". Can't say it tasted like that, but it was a good change from dairy foods and soup. I thought I'd bought pureed, but when I went to the cupboard, I had mashed - so I had to puree the baby food! LOL
Bye for now
Chris

good, I found those baby foods very bland even with those exotic names *LOL* but they where so runny when heated they where like soup. I even found tony ferguson soup to thick to start with.

applesauce

Thanks applesauce
I'm eating pumpkin soup right now, but the baby food went down well this morning. Not up to 100ml yet, though - only about 75.
Chris

honestly I would be sticking to purred baby food at this stage super runny no lumps and no more than 100ml. If that feels fine after a few days make it a 120ml again for a few days before moving on. I would not go above 150ml before 6 or 8 weeks. Or at least if you did test the water very very carefully.

applesauce

Oh, that's interesting, Hayley. You were on liquids for 4 weeks. And I was told 2-3 days on clear fluids, 2-3 days on full fluids, then 2-3 weeks on purees, then on to mushies for a few weeks, then finely chopped, and finally normal food. The whole process to take about 2 months (or 3 for me!).
But eggs is definitely on the dietitian's list for pureed, so there you go. Needless to say, I won't be pushing it! LOL
Chris

Hi everyone
Well, my first experience with a blockage was in the hospital with their soup, and the second at home last night with scrambled egg. Both times I only ate a tiny amount, and ate it slowly - well I thought it was slowly, but maybe it needs to be slower still?
Anyhow, I was hoping to gain some wisdom from the you all about how to prevent blockages, and also about how to deal with them when they occur.
I know to eat small amounts, make sure the puree is really smooth (that's the stage I'm at now), chew everything well (when I get to it), and eat slowly. Am I missing something else?
But when it happens - all I know to do is walk. And that was helping, but not much, and not for long. I tried the de-gas tablets, which released some air and a little of the pressure. And I thought I was going to throw up (and would have welcomed it, really - and I hate throwing up, normally!), but I didn't. After a while I had a drink, and that made it worse for a while and then eased again.
I probably did everything wrong, so I'm hoping for some advice.
Thanks
Chris