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Help eating after gastrectomy

tabbyc
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Hi, 

My mum has had a total gastrectomy following the discovery of Stage 1 gastric cancer. We're very lucky that it was discovered early, and the oncologist believes it is curable. She had 4 rounds of FLOT chemo pre-op, had the gastrectomy with no complications, and is now supposed to have a further 4 rounds of FLOT as 'belt and braces' treatment. 

She's understandably miserable. She's finding eating extremely difficult, and is nowhere near anything resembling making good progress through no fault of her own. Every time she eats anything, she can only manage a couple of small bites before she feels it gets stuck or she has to be sick. She's had 1 round of chemo post-op, but she felt so terrible for 2 weeks afterwards with constant discomfort and vomiting/nausea that they've had to postpone her next one. She's lost a LOT of weight, and is very thin - she was slender to begin with before having the gastrectomy. She can't handle the Fortisip protein drinks either, they just make her feel sick. 

She's had a major issue with everything tasting extremely salty, a possible by-product of her pain medication. 

I'm getting very worried as she's losing weight at a rate of knots and just isn't improving with her eating, so she's not rec overing like she should be - she's trying her best, but it's just not happening. She was supposed to have a review with her oncologist a couple of weeks ago, but it was cancelled and she hasn't yet had another appointment sent through. She had an appointment with a dietitian today who is going to look into starting pancreatic enzyme therapy. 

I don't live in the same area. Every time I speak to her on the phone she just sounds fed up, and I can't do anything practical to make things better. 

Has anyone got any advice that might help, or has anyone been through this before? 

Thank you 

  • I do not know if this might help but it is worth a try.

    My husband had a partial gastrectomy in 2019 and has only one third of his stomach left. Eating has always been a nightmare with constant nausea. He accepts this but finds lying down on the settee for about forty minutes after very small amounts of food helps it to go through and down into the intestine. He keeps his head propped up on the arm of the settee but stretches out in a lying positon and remains there until the sickness passes. He eats very small amounts about six times a day. If he sits up in a normal upright position the sickness returns. Trips to the toilet also cause problems because of sitting upright so again it necessitates a lie down. When I take him for a drive in the car the seat is set back and the angle is sloped back to reduce the nausea. He has lost a lot of weight but I think this is inevitable with such a condition. We monitor his weight every week and if it dips we try to introduce more calories in to a limited diet.

    The good news is that he is still here after five and a half years but we have had to adapt to his eating regime. It usually takes a few hours in the morning before he can go out so life is at a snail's pace! I imagine that having no stomach at all is dreadful and I can imagine your worry. I have been there too but try to give her the confidence that she will find a way to alleviate the discomfort. It just takes time. By the way my husband could not stomach Fortisip which is always given after this type of operation. I had to pour forty bottles of the stuff down the sink after happily ordering extra online!

    Hoping your mother feels better soon.

    Best wishes,

    Anne

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