Why can't I throw up?

Last night I ate a hamburger patty (92% lean)....it was small....but with in like 5 minutes of eating it, I felt sick and dry heaved for a good 15 minutes (nothing came up but saliva)......when it got to be unbearable, the hamburger finally came back up (not all of it) and it hurt like hell when it came back up.....after that....I felt great.

But why all the dry heaving and nothing coming back up....I don't get that?  Prior to surgery with all the dry heaving that I did.....I'm sure all my stomach contents and those of the next door neighbor would have come up.....

Hamburger has now been black listed!

I think it's one of those surgery side effects that doesn't get much attention.  I haven't been able to vomit since surgery - even a year later when I had a bad reaction to medication - nothing but dry heaves.  I've never been able to bring up anything at all. 

OK this is only a guess, but I feel for you.   I was not able to throw up until about 8 months out, and it has only happened once that I actually had anything but foamies come up.  That being said I don't think we can throw up due to where the muscles are to make us throw up.  The new pouch doesn't have the same muscles as the old stomach.   It is just a theory but for me  I know when I try it is all lower muscles that hurt after.  Glad you feel better, burger for me had to be with gravy so it would slide down.

I have the hardest time throwing up when something is stuck.  The only thing that works for me is taking a big gulp of water, everything including the water comes back up.

I hate throwing up and glad that I havent had much of an issue with it since surgery.  But that stuck feeling is horrible.  

I heard other people talk about papaya enzymes but I have never tried those.  I forget to pick some up everytime I go to the Vitamin Shop.

I HATE throwing up.  I can probably count on two hands the number if times I've thrown up in my lifetime.  I am "stomach strong", I refuse to throw up!  But, that can be a real problem when I NEED to get something up, because then I suffer and feel like crap. I too have not thrown up since the surgery.  I haven't thrown up since I was pregnant with my 9 year old.  I do get those dry heaves with saliva pouring out if something doesn't agree with me.  I just bend over the sink, let it go, and know it will pass in a few minutes.  It's not pleasant.  One time, early on, I was out grocery shopping with my husband and the heaves came on.  Thankfully we were in a section of the store that happened to have a small prep area with a sink, so I descretely went over there and let it pass.  (thankfully there were paper towels too)  I don't get the heaves too often though, maybe once a week at most, although it was a little more often than that early on, it's usually if I take certain pills or vitamins and my pouch just doesn't like them that day, or I ate something that was too dense.  One time, I felt so crappy, I even tried to make myself puke- stuck my finger in my throat- couldn't do it!

 What is strange is I have had the exact opposite reaction. I can throw up on command now. If what i ate was dry I can feel it get stuck in the back of my throat. But if something is not sitting right. I can get it out of my system within minutes if I have to.