Food & Drink Questions

My husband had surgery on 8/10 (Stage 1), and came home last Thursday the 20th. He has a feeding tube for one month, and is sipping on juice and chicken broth. Occasionally he gets adventurous and has a popsicle or two!

I know that he will gradually move to soft foods, one by one, before attempting ground meats, etc...... He has not been hungry as of yet, but he is starting to look to the future.

What will that be like, exactly? I know that it is different for everyone. Jim is a lover of food and drink, and though he knows he will not be going back to large portions, he is wondering about getting back to things he has enjoyed.

In your experience, will he be able to eat pizza, steak, corn on the cob, a nice salad? What about alcohol, will he be able to have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, or a little whiskey with his fishing/hunting buddies?

Again, I know that everyone is different. It is a long recovery and we are prepared for that. I think if Jim (and I) can hear what works for others, it would be a big help!

Thanks for any input.... I look forward to the support of this board, and I look forward to maybe being able to provide that support to others in the future.  Jim had prostate cancer 3 1/2 years ago, so this is not our first go round with a serious illness. 

Jennifer

wilsontrees

hi jennifer - i had surgery on 7/7 and discharged on 7/15. took out almost 1/2 stomach and 2/3 esophagus. first few days i was on liquid food ( and that included popsicles ). next 2 weeks on pureed food and then next 3 weeks on fork tender food which in my case was fish which i like anyway. it is now 6 weeks after operation and last week i ate corn on the cob and my wife commented if you are eating corn on the cob you shud be able to eat anything as corn is very hard to digest. so i started eating meat. at this stage i think i can eat almost everything, just have to make sure to chew it well and not have food too late before bed. i am eating 1/2 to 2/3 of pre cancer portion but then i eat a lot more often. i am also able to drink wine and beer although after 5 months of not drinking i dont have an urge for it - a small glass of wine or margarita is good enough. i had a scare this afternoon - first time i eat fried chicken. took 2 bites and started to throw up. dont know what caused it but maybe greasy food is not compatible with my present system. i have gained 4 - 5 lbs in the last 6 weeks ( i am still on liquid feed - ensure ). the dietain said ideal weight gain is 1 - 2 lbs max a week and if we go above that we will reduce the amount of liquid feed with the view to stop that at some point in time. at the hospital their plan was for me to get on solid food ie meat in oct/nov so i have deviated from that plan.

so tell your husband in no time he will be back to his past routine except for the portion size.

ps of the food you listed, the only one i have not tried is pizza and bread.

andy

On 8/24/2009 pokeynflo wrote:

My husband had surgery on 8/10 (Stage 1), and came home last Thursday the 20th. He has a feeding tube for one month, and is sipping on juice and chicken broth. Occasionally he gets adventurous and has a popsicle or two!

I know that he will gradually move to soft foods, one by one, before attempting ground meats, etc...... He has not been hungry as of yet, but he is starting to look to the future.

What will that be like, exactly? I know that it is different for everyone. Jim is a lover of food and drink, and though he knows he will not be going back to large portions, he is wondering about getting back to things he has enjoyed.

In your experience, will he be able to eat pizza, steak, corn on the cob, a nice salad? What about alcohol, will he be able to have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, or a little whiskey with his fishing/hunting buddies?

Again, I know that everyone is different. It is a long recovery and we are prepared for that. I think if Jim (and I) can hear what works for others, it would be a big help!

Thanks for any input.... I look forward to the support of this board, and I look forward to maybe being able to provide that support to others in the future.  Jim had prostate cancer 3 1/2 years ago, so this is not our first go round with a serious illness. 

Jennifer

wilsontrees

 

 

 

Hello Jennifer,

My very strong and healthy 64 year old husband has been scheduled for an esophagectomey for 4th stage High Grade Displysia on 9/11 - I am a nervous wreck here!  I've read it all till I'm sick on what to expect but how can one really know till they have been through it?  My husband loves his food and his daily routine so this "downtime" will not come easy for him. 

He is a heavy duty diesel truck mechanic, we own our own business for 26 years with myself in the office working side by side so this is going to be a toughy for us both.  I realize he will be in the hospital for about 10 days and then home for some time.  Did you need to be home with him?What can I do to prepare?  Are you saying he will have a feeding tube for a month - that we were not told!  How on earth can these guys keep up their calorie intake??  My husband I have always called my "big guy" he is just so statuet, strong and defiant - I am praying that in itself will make him recovery even faster.  Your husband had his surgery on 8/10, how much weight has he lost at this point?  The corn on the cobb sounds promising~M in Ky

Hello Jennifer,

You don't say exactly what surgical approach was used, but here is what I experienced.

I had an esophagectomy (Ivor-Lewis), for stage 1 EC, in July 2005. I was 54 at the time. I never had chemo or radiation. I came home from the hospital with a feeding tube but never had to use it. I was able to eat small portions of anything that tasted good if I ate slowly and chewed well. For about 2-3 weeks things that I loved to eat and drink before surgery tasted really bad. That went away soon enough.

Four years later I can eat small (not tiny) portions of anything. I can cycle many miles and work full time. Things are not back to "normal", but pretty close.

I expect your husband will do the same. Be patient. Don't expect everything to be near-normal for 6 months or more. If you have more specific questions put them out here.

Most importantly, tell him to exercise as much as his doctor will allow. 

Keep us posted.

Good Luck, KEEP MOVING, and Laugh Much,

Steve 

Think we are all very different. Husband is over 3 years post esophagectomy. This is the first summer he has been able to tolerate corn on the cob. He also can drink a full beer but it took him 3 years to be able to tolerate the fizz without an upset stomach and he never liked alcohol beyond beer. He can also handle asparagus, and I'm guessing green beans (they were all too fibrous and were uncomfortable to eat). He eats things like pizza and Mexican and Indian during the day (too much to digest enough before bed). He eats an apple before bed which keeps the reflux away. He's had very few things he couldn't tolerate foodwise...the biggest thing is not overeating.

Read a clip a few days ago about apple polyphenols preventing stomach damage from aspirin in rats. Wonder if it's related to why apples prevent reflux in many post esophagectomy patients?  

for me it was a bit different from most....from what i have read on the board.....

i came home from the hospital with no feeding tube...i was only finely chopped foods by the 5th day after surgery(while in the hospital).  i was not hungry either at first but i ate anyway because i knew i had to.  at the beginning i had a hard time knowing when i was full and i had a fear of overeating.  i went home and was able to eat anything i wanted as long as it agreed with me.  my dr. did tell me to stay away from steak and bagels and those sorts of things...i only listened for so long...it might have been 2 weeks before i had a burger and then little by little other red meats...i proceeded with caution but did well for the first 3 weeks.  after that i experienced extreme nausea which i was told was bile reflux.  i was given meds to help and they did but they did not get rid of the nausea completely...it was a very gradual process.  now, i still get nauseous but it usually because i overeat.  i can't seem to stop myself when i am enjoying something, so i indulge and pay later...one day i will learn my lesson.

i wish your husband lots of luck and as speedy of a recovery as possible.

feel free to ask any questions....

be well and God bless!

-Stacey

Hi Jennifer:

Yes, everyone is different as you can see by the replies. I, like Stacey did not use a feeding tube at all, however, I was on a soft diet for 6-8 weeks and had a hard time for about 5 months as I was constantly throwing up, not much dumping however. I had the Ivor Lewis operation. It is one year later and I now eat anything I want, however, I do tend to overate and that is when I throw up again, so I try hard to not over do but when you love something it is hard at times. I don't drink alchol so I can not help you there, but I now I cannot have carbonated drinks at all, basically all I can drink is water now, don't now why, but everything else upsets my stomach. I did have corn on the cob just the other day and other then I could only eat 1 I had no problems. I eat about 1/3 of what I used to eat at one sitting, but I do eat more often so it all works out in the end. In total I lost 48lbs, but have been able to gain back 12, however, it is a constant up and down with my weight now, but that is okay. Things do get better, it may be slowly at first, but when you look back you will see the progress. Please ask your questions, we are here to help.

Take Care and Be Positive 

Evelyn

On 8/25/2009 hellcats14 wrote:

 

On 8/24/2009 pokeynflo wrote:

My husband had surgery on 8/10 (Stage 1), and came home last Thursday the 20th. He has a feeding tube for one month, and is sipping on juice and chicken broth. Occasionally he gets adventurous and has a popsicle or two!

I know that he will gradually move to soft foods, one by one, before attempting ground meats, etc...... He has not been hungry as of yet, but he is starting to look to the future.

What will that be like, exactly? I know that it is different for everyone. Jim is a lover of food and drink, and though he knows he will not be going back to large portions, he is wondering about getting back to things he has enjoyed.

In your experience, will he be able to eat pizza, steak, corn on the cob, a nice salad? What about alcohol, will he be able to have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, or a little whiskey with his fishing/hunting buddies?

Again, I know that everyone is different. It is a long recovery and we are prepared for that. I think if Jim (and I) can hear what works for others, it would be a big help!

Thanks for any input.... I look forward to the support of this board, and I look forward to maybe being able to provide that support to others in the future.  Jim had prostate cancer 3 1/2 years ago, so this is not our first go round with a serious illness. 

Jennifer

wilsontrees

 

 

 

M in Kentucky---- my husband was a strong and healthy 62 year old before the surgery. He's 6'4" and was about 280. I say was, because he's dropped about 25 pounds. It's been 2 1/2 weeks since the surgery, and just last night he started to crave food. (I think it was watching me eat in front of him-- I feel sort of guilty doing that, but he's says he'll let me know if it bothers him too much)   We own our own business too -- we have a wholesale nursery where we grow trees, shrubs and perennials. I do all of our office work, and for the time Jim was in the hospital I really did the bare minimum.  I have been going to our other office which is in another location about 3 times a week. I don't think Jim needs me around at this point, as he takes his meds and pours his own juice. I think the main reason for me to be around is to make sure he rests. He was out on his four-wheeler checking the farm our a few days ago wearing pajama bottoms. It was quite the sight. Seriously, your husband will probably be very tired from this major surgery. Jim's surgeon told him he would only be able to do light office work for at least a month, if not two.  He does go on daily walks, as exercise is extremely important in healing.  Every doctor is different. I've read that some people began eating soft foods while in the hopsital. Some are told not to. (In Jim's case, clear liquids and feeding tube for one month.) If every patient comes home with a feeding tube, I'm not certain. I do know that the doctors will want your husband to maintain his strength, and not lose too much weight. Jim weighs himself regularly as he is supposed to keep his current within 2 lbs up or down.I don't know if I've answered all your questions, but I'm here if you need more info. If you want to e-mail me directly, just hit "private reply" and I'll be happy to get back to you.   It's a tough, hard surgery and recovery, but having a healthy husband at the end will be so worth it! (I sometimes think I'm having more problems adjusting than he is!)

 

 

Hello Jennifer,

My very strong and healthy 64 year old husband has been scheduled for an esophagectomey for 4th stage High Grade Displysia on 9/11 - I am a nervous wreck here!  I've read it all till I'm sick on what to expect but how can one really know till they have been through it?  My husband loves his food and his daily routine so this "downtime" will not come easy for him. 

He is a heavy duty diesel truck mechanic, we own our own business for 26 years with myself in the office working side by side so this is going to be a toughy for us both.  I realize he will be in the hospital for about 10 days and then home for some time.  Did you need to be home with him?What can I do to prepare?  Are you saying he will have a feeding tube for a month - that we were not told!  How on earth can these guys keep up their calorie intake??  My husband I have always called my "big guy" he is just so statuet, strong and defiant - I am praying that in itself will make him recovery even faster.  Your husband had his surgery on 8/10, how much weight has he lost at this point?  The corn on the cobb sounds promising~M in Ky

Dear M in KY,

 No matter what you're told, you're still going to be a nervous wreck.  But, I will say that this board helped me tremendously get through my husband's pre-surgery, surgery and post surgery.  My husband had his surgery on 5/13, had his feeding tube in for about 3 weeks.  2 of those weeks were in the hospital and the 3rd week at home.  He ate soft food while he had the feeding tube in and drank a lot of thick shakes.  The shake he liked the best was one the radiation therapist gave him called Scandi Shake.  From the point of diagnosis to post surgery, he lost about 55 lbs.  He's now holding his weight at a very healthy weight for his height.  He eats and drinks anything he wants, although, he's careful with bread products.  He eats very small portions but often.  He's been back to work full-time for about a month.  He just recently dry walled the interior of our outside shed and replaced one of the outer walls as well. 

Our collective prayers will be with you and your husband.  Please feel free to ask any questions.

Helene

Jennifer,

My husband had his surgery on 5/13.  He's now back to work full time, eats whatever he wants, including pizza.  However, he is very careful with bread products.  He ate a bagel shortly after surgery and ended up back in the hospital for 2 days.  He drinks anything he wants, including beer.  We bought the incline pillow that people on the board recommended but he just sleeps with his regular pillow.  The only thing different about my husband's lifestyle now is that he eats smaller portions and more often.  Eating out always means bringing home a 'doggy bag' and my husband says it's frustrating not being to eat a full meal.  He's been to baseball games, rebuilt our shed, cleaned the garage...what more could one expect!

Best to you and your husband,

Helene