Barium Swallow Test

Since I've been on soft foods, I've been having problems with sickness, regurging and chest pain when eating and drinking.

The hospital arranged for me to have a barium swallow in the x-ray department and I have to admit, I was feeling rather nervous because I was worried about the taste of the barium and liquid and the amount of liquid I would have to swallow.

I had to remove my top and bra and was given a gown to wear.  In the room was a mechanised table with a footboard attached to it. The table was in the upright position and I was asked to stand on the footboard and face another piece of machinery.  I was then given a plastic cup of the barium liquid to take sips from.
 
When told, I had to take a sip and swallow whilst standing as still as possible.  The liquid wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - it had an artificial sweet taste to it but was palatable.
 
They took a few images of me sipping and swallowing so they could look at the swallow going down into my stomach.
 
Then I was given a marshmallow which had been dunked in the barium liquid. I was told to chew it and when ready, give a thumbs up and wait to be told to swallow.


I became very embarrassed because it took me ages to chew the marshmallow into small enough pieces and I was very aware that everyone in the room was waiting for me to lift my thumb!


Finally, I was ready and the marshmallow went down very easily.
For the reflux test, I was told to hold onto the sides of the bed and they rotated it backwards very slowly until it was horizontal.  I then had to turn over onto my stomach with my head turned to one side.


I was given another cup with a straw in it.  The cup was filled one third full with barium liquid and when instructed, I had to swallow the whole amount using the straw.


This test was the most difficult as my chest and stomach immediately rebelled and the liquid began to come back up again.  I re-swallowed as much as I could but eventually, I had to spit it out into the cup.

I don't have the results yet, but they said something about my stomach not emptying properly or emptying slowly and also having a reflux problem, but I need to wait for the consultant to contact me and give me a full diagnosis.

A Slightly Brighter Outlook

I was surpised and very pleased to receive a phone call from Cathy, my bariatric nurse at St. Georges on Thursday, 18th September 2014.

She was calling to see how I was getting on and I wasted no time, explaining my eating and drinking problems.

Her advise was to call my GP and ask for a new prescription for omeprazole instead of lansoprazole.  She also suggested I change the anti-sickness pills and wants me to update her on my progress when I go to my hospital appointment on Monday.

My daughter also suggested I try sucking ice cubes which have helped, as long as I don't try more than two at a time.  I feel that any fluid I can ingest is a good thing, so she's now in charge of re-filling the ice cube trays.

Finally, I'm trying to cut out as much dairy as possible.  I'm drinking lactofree milk and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Feeling Low

I haven't posted for a while because I haven't felt very well.  The aftermath of the surgery is nothing like I thought it would be.  I'd assumed the week would pass with me following the recommended diet of 2-2-2 which is two weeks each of liquid, pureed and soft food, but things haven't worked out that way.

To start with, I didn't anticipate the desperate feeling I would experience at having to face another 2 weeks of liquids (soup and yoghurt) after the surgery.  The pureed stage was an absolute no no for me.  Have you ever pureed meat and then tried to eat it?  The texture is horrible and it tastes different.  Then the sickness kicked in - feeling sick, regurging and generally feeling yuck.

But the worst problem has been the inability to find a liquid I can drink without it tasting horrible, too sweet or making me feel very sick.  The dietitian, bariatric nurse, hospital and literature all stress the importance of sip, sip, sip because fluids are so important.  Unfortunately for me, most juices are too sweet for me and watering it down immediately makes it taste nasty.  I did manage to find a cheap orange and added a lot of ice cubes which went down okay, but because of the acidity, it affects my stomach.

Other liquids are just too sweet or taste horrible - so no squash, coffee, tea, smoothies or iced coffee for me now.  Even water, after 3-4 sips, makes me feel very nauseous.

On top of the sickness and regurging, I'm also experiencing the worst taste in my mouth - it's a kind of sweet/sour gone off milk taste and it doesn't really go away.  My lips taste sweet, I'm bringing food back up unto my mouth, especially when I lie down and just looking at food can make me feel ill.

There have been times when I've thought to myself, "What on earth have I done?  Why didn't I try to diet harder?"

As each day goes by, all I can hope an pray for, is an improvement in my symptoms as I just want to get back to normal.  I have no energy, I don't want to go anywhere, all I do is sleep and feel sick.  I know I'm whinging and I feel bad about that, but at the moment, I feel very low.  

Not Doing So Well.

Current Weight:  18st 8.5lb

I started the pureed stage of the diet on Saturday, 6^th September 2014.  I tried, I honestly did, but chilli con carne and chicken and broccoli pureed, is not appetising at all.

The look and consistency began to make me feel very sick and it was then that I noticed something else unpleasant.

My taste buds had changed so drastically, that virtually all drinks either left a nasty after-taste in my mouth or tasted too sweet.

I tried the following: water, peppermint tea, tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice (both neat and watered down), lemon and orange squash, milk, fruit shoot, J20 and coconut water.

I'm begining to feel very despondent.  I feel thirsty most of the time and have a dry mouth and lips, but nothing I drink tastes nice or satisfies me.

Now, I’ve developed other worrying symptoms.  I’m regurging my liquid and food on a regular basis and even sips of water are making me feel very sick.

Food is a problem too as I’m trying to mash and chew it as much as possible, but I’m still getting very windy and feeling sick afterward.

Taking my medication has also become a problem and I’m going to try to spread them out over the day to make it less of an ordeal.

I think a call to the bariatric nurse is in order.

On the plus side, I’m still losing weight, slowly, but surely.

Big Mistake!

Sunday, 31st August 2014

John had gone out for the day, fishing, so it was just me and Ash in the house.  As soon as I opened the fridge, I spotted the birthday cake Ash had brought home from the party and I instantly rebelled.

I'd been so good the night before, but I just couldn't resist putting two small pieces of cake into my mouth, chewing thorougly and then swallowing it down with some milk.

The stupid thing is, I didn't really enjoy the cake and felt instantly guilty afterwards.

During the day, I become more and more fed up with my diet and made a decision to contact the bariatric nurse on Monday, to ask if I could fast track myself onto the pureed stage.

I also made the decision to cook spare ribs for John and Ash for dinner and I was determined to have one.

Dinnertime came and I asked John for a rib.  I really enjoyed it and made sure to chew thoroughly before swallowing.  I experienced wind pain and sat for a while watching tv, waiting for the wind to disipate.

John then offered me another rib, immediately appologised, saying he shouldn't have and before he could say anything else, I took another one.

As soon as I'd eaten it, I realised I'd make a huge mistake.  My stomach rebelled and I had to rush to the bathroom.  Afterwards, I had indigestion pain in my back and felt very sorry for myself.

I don't think I'll be calling the nurse tomorrow after all.

A Birthday Party, One Week After Op

Saturday, 30th August 2014

Today it's exactly one week since my surgery and I'm going to an 18th birthday party.

I decided the best thing to do, was take a bottle of Slim Fast and a bottle of lemon squash with me.

As soon as we arrived, I saw the buffet and as the night went on, I felt more and more frustrated that I was unable to have anything on the table.  

I also felt left out as everyone was drinking and I could only have my squash, but having said that, I did enjoy the night and was up dancing and having a good time.

I'd squeezed into a tight pair of jeans and felt and looked slimmer.

The night ended at 11pm and I was happy to be going home because this past week, I've noticed how tired I get during the day, especially if I don't get a nap.

First Week After Op

It's been a strange week for me because John has been off work with tendinitis in his shoulder.  He's been in a lot of pain and hasn't been able to do much of anything, so we've both been sitting around, bored.

My craving for food has not gone away and it's really getting me down.  I'm sick of soup and yogurt and things that tasted okay before, are now leaving a nasty aftertaste in my mouth.

I've also discovered that the wind pain I was suffering has slowly increased as the week's gone on.  I'm getting immediate wind as soon as I swallow anything and I have major difficulty distinguishing between being full and being full of wind!

I've also had a couple of slips and eaten things I shouldn't have, including some dahl which was just too thick and didn't agree with me.

I'm swinging between feeling an immense regret at having the surgery, this is totally due to not being able to eat anything I can chew, to feeling wonderful as I watch the weight come off, which is averaging out at 2lb per day.