Almost went to ER!

I have been allowed new foods this week, so I was trying one of them this week:  salmon!  I sprayed Pam in the pan and 'fried' it.  Maybe ONE- two ounces. Well, I knew it was too dry,but added a bit of liquid and enjoyed it.  I chewed a whole lot.  That was at 5 PM.  By 9 PM my stomach was hurting so bad.  Cramping.  Horrible pains.  Nothing I could do helped!   By midnight it was excruciating.  I seriously considered I might be dying.  I figure that the food was stuck and I am sure it was!  At 3:00 AM I phoned the emergency number for my surgeon.  He phoned me back and told me if it did not get better within two hours to go to the ER! He did not act like it was life or death, so that calmed me a bit.  I also had violent dry heaves, but then it seemed to help dislodge the salmon. (I am guessing) By 4:30 AM, I was dozing and my stomach finally was calming down!  Thank you, God!!

Today, I have had liquids ONLY and am afraid to try anything new.  Please be careful everyone.  It was a horrendous night that I would not wish on my worst enemy.

Any ideas on how to avoid this in the future??

Sorry you had such a terrible time trying a new food. I'm glad to hear that is was nothing serious. Ideas that's a good question, you should post that in another topic on here and the main board.

~ Marcy ~

Hi Linda, I was 3 weeks out the first time I tried salmon. Basically the same thing happened to me. It wasn't until the following day that I was actually able to vomit it up (sorry for being so graphic). I was told that it may have been because salmon is such a heavy, dense fish. I am 8.5 months out from surgery and I haven't had salmon again. Try a lighter fish and see what happens. I've had shrimp, scallops, halibut and tuna with no problems. Good luck. =)

Hi Linda

I am sorry that you had a tough time with the salmon but I am glad that everything turned out OK. I had my first Post Op with Dr Suh today and was put on soft foods. So I tried tuna and it worked great for me. I made sure it was very moist like everyone has said here and it tasted wonderful (guess that is because of the liquid diet LOL)

Going to try baked fish tonight and pray that works

Have a good night..........Rick

Let me know how it goes, Rick!  What kind of baked fish?   Make sure it is super moist!!!!!

Wow, I remember the doc telling me to start food but things like cottage cheese and things like that, not fish or chicken at 3 weeks out.  I try not to eat anything like fish, maybe tuna, it's nice and moist, chicken has to be dark meat only and forget meats just not moist enough for me.  I eat alot of soy products and still take in protein drinks every so often.  As far as anything being stuck, I am not real sure that is what happened.  When things got stuck on me, I was in the bathroom almost immediately vomiting.  Never had it wait a long time and then had stomach pains.  Worst case I had was vomiting for 3 hours, when it all came up, that was the end of that.  When something was stuck on me, I was unable to even drink water, it was stuck and never got to the tummy.  Hope things get better.  Make sure they are soft foods still or blend up the salmon next time and mu**** up.
Good Luck, Diane

I've learned that if food is too dry that I'm better off not eating it. But I'm further out than you are so I've had time to figure that one out (the hard way --ack!)

You might want to look into papaya enzymes. It can help break down proteins that feel stuck. I have some, but I've never actually had to use it.  I have heard other people on OH mention that they've had success with it.

I ordered some chewable calcium citrate AND payapa enzymes today!  Thanks for confirming!

I had great success with the payapa.  It does work well.

Linda,

I don't eat fish but when I have made ground beef or turkey, I now make sure there is lots of marinara sauce or some gravy or sauce to make it moist.  Thank goodness I have not had anything stuck, I am sure I would freak out. 

So sorry you had to have the pains and the dry heaves, no fun.  I hope you're feeling much better today.  Start slow again and things will come along just fine.  I am now able to do chicken, although I do chew it up a lot.  So far so good.

Hugs,
Barb