Vomiting liquid aka "the foamies"

kchaki

Okay, not the greatest subject, but I'm hoping there are others out here that have dealt with the foamies. I am 8 weeks post gastric bypass. Often after my meals, I find myself sick at my stomach. Sometimes I have full on vomiting, with meal contents coming back up, then followed by what seems like an enormous amount of foamy liquids. I have vomited for a solid 4-5 hours and for the life of me, have no idea where all the liquid comes from? Other times, no food comes up, but I will have the foamy liquid, more like a spit-up verses vomiting for 1-2 hours following meals. I have tried gas x and tums. I thought that the tums helped the first couple of times, but feel they have not lately. I measure my food, but will be purchasing a food scale today on the way home from work, so I can be more accurate. Anyone experienced these same episodes? What advice do you have to alleviate or at least reduce the amount of time spent in the bathroom? This is not a good experience and has been the only thing that consistantly has me questioning my decision. I do not want to live like this forever.

CEK0220

I am still too new at all this, so I am sorry I do not have any advice other than contacting your surgeon's office. They might be better able to help with this. I am wondering if you need an anti-nausea medication?

rpyle111

I get the foamies when I eat past what I call the 'stop sign'. The stop sign is the feeling I get when I take the last comfortable bite of food. If I am eating too fast, I can have already eaten another bite before I get the stop sign. It also happens when I have 'just one more bite' on the plate and I try to eat it.

My thoughts are that the foamies are the body's reaction to food still in the esophagus and it coats the food with saliva and mucousy stuff. I have no science behind this, but it is what it feels like to me. Sometimes I can wait and it will subside, and other times I have to bring it back up. Like you say, there is usually more foam than food.

The good news is that you will learn to respect your capacity better as time goes on. Aylajane has it right when she advises to not eat to capacity, eat to satiety.

Rob

loriloftness

I've had it happen a couple of times, once from eating too much/fast, and once from not chewing well enough. So, my advice would be to watch how much you are eating, how fast you are eating and if you are chewing enough. Now that I'm uncomfortably familiar with the consequences of not doing the above, I am very careful to make sure it doesn't happen again. Good Luck.

dsjsmom23

I get that when I eat too much, or too fast. My advice is slow down, and be VERY mindful of how much you are eating
Hope it goes away, it's not fun!

ac7nj

Foaming -- eating to fast and/or too much

cabennett99

Yep - I get 'em too if I don't take my time it if I eat too much. Very seldom any more as I've learned the signals for when I'm "full".

KarlaYP

I read early on that we all experience this as we learn our new normal. I learned it,, don't like it. Learned my limit and feeling of satisfaction (not full since it is painful too) without overdoing it. Must remember chew, chew, chew and slow down. Pay attention to what you are doing while eating.

Seems to be a part of the learning curve that comes with this new tool.

kchaki

Thanks everyone. I probably do eat too fast, and I know I over do it at times. Bought a food scale, so hoping that will make my measuring more accurate. Sure hope I get this figured out soon!

KarlaYP

I purchased some small 2.5 and 5 ounce measuring cups pre op. They are glass, and I use them to eat out of sometimes though my son laughs at me. They measure all of my food too! Have used small plate too but figure if I'm getting the measuring cup dirty, why dirty a plate or bowl too?

Trayjay33

Hmm...I had to read your question again in case I was missed something. But I think the main point is you vomit "4-5 hours solid". No matter how much you over eat that's not normal. I experienced what I thought was overeating and just normal post surgery nausea and it turned out to be an ulcer. I'm not saying that's what you have but you definitely should have your Surgeon rule out that there is nothing more serious going on. You could become dehydrated and your electrolytes could be off with all that vomiting. I too thought I was just having foamies but my body knew something wasn't right. I had an Endoscopy done to also make sure it was not a stricture. Either way it was not considered normal. I hope you feel better and this should be an overall positive experience not one that you are second guessing. Please call your MD and advocate for yourself.

jl191

I have been vomitting for days..just getting progressively worse..Today I can't even sip water without vomitting. After several calls to the doctor trying to convince them to see me cause I have no energy from not being able to keep anything down, I finally have an appointment tomorrow..So hopefully they will see whats going on with me.

Edit: Mine hurts all the way through my chest into my back, after even a sip of water.

LunaGuido

jl191 wrote: »

I have been vomitting for days..just getting progressively worse..Today I can't even sip water without vomitting. After several calls to the doctor trying to convince them to see me cause I have no energy from not being able to keep anything down, I finally have an appointment tomorrow..So hopefully they will see whats going on with me.

Edit: Mine hurts all the way through my chest into my back, after even a sip of water.

Hmmmm...do you still have your gall bladder? The fact that the pain goes around to your back just makes me think that could be the issue. I hope you're feeling better and they get to the root of your problem.

asia1967

I second Trayjay33. Vomiting for that long of a duration gives cause for concern. I would give the doc a call regardless. Hope it is nothing more than learning your full signal. All the best!!

cheekitty

Gallbladder pain feels sort of similar to gas pain, in that you feel pressure instead of stabs, and it will go through clear to your spine. When I was really sick with gallstones, I lost 40 lbs because I couldn't keep anything down; I vomited everything I ate. Seconding @LunaGuido's thought that if you still have your gallbladder, that could be your culprit.

I'm not sure why it causes problem after WLS, but I've seen enough anecdotes from people that it would be my first guess.

If you do have your gallbladder, they'll likely do some ultrasounds, then set you up for another laproscopic surgery. Naproxen took a better edge off of the pain for me than any other over the counter painkillers. Heating pads sometimes helped (by helping the muscles I was tensing up from discomfort to relax) too.

I found gallbladder surgery far far easier to recover from than my sleeve, although I do hope it's something else they can find quickly, as two major surgeries back to back like this would suck.

jl191

My doctor things my pouch is inflamed and gave me carafate to take for a month. I was fine most the day on water and protein shake till I took my meds then started vomiting again

I'm not so sure it's that or my gallbladder. I'm fine on pure liquids as long as I don't take my meds, the moment I take my meds it's pure agony and vomiting the rest of the day. Tonight during the pain I had my sister rub downwards on my back, my stomach made a gurgling noise and I felt better. My sister who had rny had a stricture and she said it sounds more like that but my doctor won't schedule a egd until I've been on this med for 2 weeks and haven't got better. I sure can't go that long without my meds (necessary meds being metroplol, baby aspirin, allopurinol and the omeprazole - I'm suppose to be on more but they told me just to stop them and only take the most necessary ones. )

Not meaning to hijack your thread just having similar issues as you.

Trayjay33

jl191 wrote: »

My doctor things my pouch is inflamed and gave me carafate to take for a month. I was fine most the day on water and protein shake till I took my meds then started vomiting again

I'm not so sure it's that or my gallbladder. I'm fine on pure liquids as long as I don't take my meds, the moment I take my meds it's pure agony and vomiting the rest of the day. Tonight during the pain I had my sister rub downwards on my back, my stomach made a gurgling noise and I felt better. My sister who had rny had a stricture and she said it sounds more like that but my doctor won't schedule a egd until I've been on this med for 2 weeks and haven't got better. I sure can't go that long without my meds (necessary meds being metroplol, baby aspirin, allopurinol and the omeprazole - I'm suppose to be on more but they told me just to stop them and only take the most necessary ones. )

Not meaning to hijack your thread just having similar issues as you.

Just curious, are you taking the medications one at a time and is there a way you can take them with sips of the protein shake Instead of on a empty stomach? Sounds like he thinks you have an ulcer. Not sure if its insurance reasons why he wants you to wait the 2 weeks first...could be. Yes, those are important medications. May I ask what type of surgery you had? If it's the sleeve you may be more prone to increased reflux. It doesn't sound like gallbladder issues in my opinion but you never know. Keep calling the Doctor to report how your feeling until you get results and go to the ER if you need to. Your health is first.

Just read your post again: Omeprazole must be taken on a empty stomach before having even protein shakes.

jl191

He didn't mention a ulcer. Just said he thinks I got something stuck and it inflamed my pouch. I had the rny. I do take the pills one at a time, with sips of water. I never thought about trying protein shake but worth a shot. Yea to me it doesn't seem like gallbladder issues either, if the pain goes away with someone rubbing my back. He also told me to open the omeprazol instead of swallowing it whole. I put it in applesauce but 1 bite and I was vomiting I guess I'll just have to swallow the little pebbles

Trayjay33

jl191 wrote: »

He didn't mention a ulcer. Just said he thinks I got something stuck and it inflamed my pouch. I had the rny. I do take the pills one at a time, with sips of water. I never thought about trying protein shake but worth a shot. Yea to me it doesn't seem like gallbladder issues either, if the pain goes away with someone rubbing my back. He also told me to open the omeprazol instead of swallowing it whole. I put it in applesauce but 1 bite and I was vomiting I guess I'll just have to swallow the little pebbles

I don't know what temperature you have the applesauce but colder is supposed to be better and natural applesauce has less sugar. One spoonful should be enough and the pellets should not be chewed. You should be swallowing it down. It's delayed release so it shouldn't be chewed. I hope you feel better soon. It will get better in time.

KarlaYP

They do make a smaller Prilosec that is a tablet. I have been taking it whole since two weeks post op without any problems.

pawoodhull

I had the sleeve and the only time I get this is when I've eaten past my full cue. Find what your full cue is and respect that and you won't have the issue anymore. My full cue is the feeling like I need to burp. Even if I really do need to burp and do, I'm still done eating at that point. Anything I eat after that will cause the foamies/slimy's and will come back up. I am 3.5 years out from surgery and if I don't pay attention I can still have a problem. Prime example was last night. Spagetti and meatballs, I ate too fast, didn't register my full cue until I was already past it and suffered the rest of the night. So find your full cue, slow down enough to register it and stop eating and you should be fine.