I had to look it up.
Gastroparesis, also called delayed gastric emptying, is a disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents. Normally, the stomach contracts to move food down into the small intestine for digestion. The vagus nerve controls the movement of food from the stomach through the digestive tract. Gastroparesis occurs when the vagus nerve is damaged and the muscles of the stomach and intestines do not work normally. Food then moves slowly or stops moving through the digestive tract.
My surgeon said there would be some damage to my vagus nerve and my brain would have to re-train itself on receiving messages. In the beginning, instead of coughing I would sneeze. My husband was so afraid I would choke, so as soon as he heard me sneeze, he knew I would be okay. Once and a great while, I still sneeze while coughing. I think it is just a result of surgery so I don't worry.
About the vomiting. I try to eat "everything", but not everything likes me. I have learned not to eat iceberg lettuce, but can eat leaf lettuce. One man I know (EC suurvivor-17 years) cannot eat salad at all for the reasons you mention. Some things just won't digest and either come up or go through the other way and cause a quick trip to the toilet. It gets better with time, but as far as I know you will always have foods that don't agree with you.
Did your surgeon give you a suggested diet? I am supposed to leave citrus alone, carbonated bevs alone, fried foods, caffein. I break the rules and sometimes I pay for it even now after 4 years. I don't worry though, I just go in the bathroom and throw up what isn't going down and go on with whatever I was doing. I use multi-symptom Rolaids for the stomach aches and the reflux, along with my prescription Omeprasol.
Everybody is different. I know of another woman who had stomach/eso cancer 7 years ago and she only eats mac & cheese & soft foods like applesauce. She said she has gotten used to vomiting and diarreah. She still plays 18 holes of golf on a regular basis. I don't know if I could eat chives or not. I love peanuts, but can only eat about 6 at a time and have to really chew them very well. I have learned to chew a whole lot better than I did before.
Oh, I do have a lump feeling in my throat, but that is because the right vocal cord was paralyzed during surgery and a friend of mine has a left vocal cord paralyzed from the radiation. That paralysis does make it seem like something is definitely caught in the throat area and once and a while I get a pill stuck in there.
It will be interesting to read what others experience.