Gastric bezoar?

[kristihelene]

So last month I ended up in the hospital with a bilateral kidney infection due to the cath used during my surgery the week prior. Anyway while CT'ing my kidneys they found what looked like a mass in my esophagus. Never having had active Crohn's there, they did an endoscopy and found a bezoar (a collection of food). They removed it at that time. I've never heard of this before, and to my knowledge it's never been an issue with me. Ever since my surgery I feel like i have food stuck in my esophagus after I eat, and I'm getting heartburn which I've NEVER had in my life! (To the point I'm sleeping sitting up). It's been 6 wks now and this is still going on, and while I haven't had another scope I'm assuming I have another bezoar. Anyone ever had this?? GI started me on Zofran 30 mins prior to meals but it's not helping!! While this isn't painful, it's incredibly uncomfortable! Help?!

 

[DJW]

That sounds awful. This is the first time I've heard of it.
I hope this gets sorted out quickly. Sending you my support.

 

[UnXmas]

I've read about bezoars. Some animals can get them too.

It's odd your symptoms came on after they removed the bezoar. Could they be being caused by something that went wrong during the process of removing it? Did you have any symptoms previously that could have been caused by the first one?

Have you asked your doctor whether it's possible you could have another one? With new symptoms like these coming on so suddenly, they might think it sensible to do another scope to see what's going on.

There are many medications used to treat heartburn. I just looked up Zofran quickly as I'm not familiar with it, and it seems it's used mainly for nausea. Ask your doctor about meds for heartburn/reflux such as PPIs.

 

[kristihelene]

Thanks for your replies! My surgery was because I was having symptoms of a structure, and they remove some adhesions that they thought were the culprit. But the symptoms I was having that we thought were stricture related included the feeling of having something stuck in my throat, nausea, etc. So, I wasn't totally shocked to hear they found something after my surgery in my esophagus… my G.I. wanted me to try Zofran for three months, before repeating a scope. While you are correct that Zofran is typically used for nausea, it also acts as a peristalsis agent helping things to move in the correct rhythm. His hope with using the Zofran was to increase my peristalsis. He said the medication that used to be on the market for this was called Propulsid, but the FDA does not allow it to be sold anymore because of potential side effects. I am just frustrated because this does not seem to be well-known, and it's weird not knowing if something is stuck in their causing my symptoms! He was not comfortable with me trying over-the-counter heartburn medications as he does not believe this is an acid reflux type heartburn. I feel stuck.

 

[my little penguin]

My oldest (non ibder)has issues with food not moving properly .
We were told gastropateisis which has a risk of bezoar .
He take erythomycin 30 minutes prior to meals to move things along.
My ibder was on Zofran for nausea the Gi said it wouldn't work for the other kiddo since it didn't move things along -it slowed stuff down but helps with nausea .

 

[my little penguin]

Ondansetron does not stimulate gastric or intestinal peristalsis; may mask progressive ileus or gastric distention.

http://www.drugs.com/ppa/ondansetron-hydrochloride.html

I would ask for a gastric emptying scan and another med for moving things along
Google gastroparesis that should help

 

[kristihelene]

Thanks for the info! I emailed my GI telling him what that link says, and asked about erythromycin. I'll update with his response! He specifically said Zofran was a good peristalsis agent so I'm anxious to hear his response. I've had emptying scans in the past with no abnormal results so maybe it is time for another one -- good idea!