Day 117

The omens were not good for today. I had a dreadful night coughing up what I now know to be a mixture of acid and bile.

At Ev's suggestion I rang the Oesophageal Patients Association helpline and spoke to a man who had had the operation 13 years ago. He was fit enough this year to cycle from John O'Groats to Lands End. I may have mentioned on this blog of an unpleasant sensation when after having eaten I can feel a lump in the back of my throat. The man(Ricky) described this to me as food cloying. This is because the nerve controlling the Oesophagus muscle has to be cut during the operation. As a result it is only when food gets stuck that I can know I am full.

We then got on to talking about a sloppy food diet. Ricky mentioned Lactose and the fact that many folk who have had this treatment develop an allergic reaction to milk in particular and dairy products generally. We discussed mashed potato as a case in point. If you think about it this is an ideal food easy to swallow etc. However to make it taste nice you tend to add milk, a bit of cheese and some butter when making it. This does invite cloying. In short I would be better off with roast spuds or even some chips. He added that the ideal is food that melts in the mouth so cutting down pressure on the reshaped stomach. Crisps and nuts do very well for snacks apparently. This information has caused some concern to Ev who has bought such things as full fat yogurt and custard. You fear that much experimenting with food lies ahead of us. Ricky said it took him 2 years to return to normal eating. Now he says the only things he does not touch are sprouts and cabbage.

As far as sleeping is concerned, he advised against lying on my side. This encourages the acid to gather. How I can lie on my back and not move is something I shall report on tomorrow.

Today has been a bit better than yesterday. I went further in my walking than before and though it was tiring I felt good about it. This afternoon I went in the car with Ev for a trip to put petrol in the car before the latest tax rise on fuel. This evening Andrea and Martin brought Grandchildren for a visit which was nice.

In short we are hanging on in there.