HELP help help

10 days post op - having no problems till yesterday. dr said i could have soft foods. went from clear liquid to soft food. had a little chicken with cheese for protein. no problem when I first ate - 4 hours later some cramping. its going on and off all night no relief. still miserable today. is this a blockage or just slapping me around for going into soft foods too quick? any suggestions or help. Mari

Mari, Sorry to hear about your situation, but I thought that soft foods meant soft foods, no meats, breads et****il after 4 weeks. I am 25 days out of surgery and I do not get meats until after my visit on May 2nd, which is 30 days out of surgery. Check with your doctor and make sure that chicken is one of the foods your are allowed. I was told low fat cheese, noodles and cheese, eggs and cheese, plently of cheese, but no meat yet. I hope this helps. Another thing, if you are having problems with any food do not try it again for 2 weeks, then eat very slowly, and chew, chew, chew until it is like a paste, then swallow. I have not had problems with cramps, unless I eat too much, which I have done a couple of times. I learned to slow down. It still takes me about an hour to eat a meal. Good luck to you and slow down. My nurse said it is just like feeding a brand new baby and you wouldn't give chicken to a baby would you? Think about it! Yvonne

Our plan has pureed food 10 days out. BUT, having said that, cramping going on more than just a few hours could mean something is going on. I'd check in with the surgeon to make sure. Good luck. Greg

Hi Mari! Wow- that was a fast progression! I went from clear liquids to full liquids (2 weeks on that) to pureed foods (6 weeks) before I can go to "regular" food chewed extremely well. I had my surgery on April first and am down 30 lbs, so it seems to be a good system...Since I'm still on pureed food, some of the foods that have worked well for me (and have that important protein) are: fat-free refried beans(even better if you melt a little cheese on them),cottage cheese,Isopure protein drinks (these have helped me a lot- they taste like Crystal light but have 40g of protein! You get them at GNC), and eggs. I try to eat little/no carbohydrates- they make me hungrier! I cheated once and tried some chicken and paid the same price you did!Try backing off a bit and see if that does the trick.We need to be patient while we're still healing...not my best feature, but all of this is a learning experience! Take Care and the best of luck! LeAnn

Yup, soft is soft whi*****ludes mashed potatoes, unsweetened applesauce, anything you can puree, etc. Chicken is a big no no at just ten days out. You absolutely have to make sure that anything you swallow is the consistency of paste. You might find some pasta to be do-able. You have to have very very tiny bites that are chewed until there is nothing left. But that shouldn't cause you discomfort for more than the first hour or so. So you might need to call your surgeon.

Hi Mari, I have to say I am 18 days post-op and I start soft foods on Monday and chicken is on the list as well as turkey tuna salmon and boca burgers !!! I have done a little testing and I am scared to eat anything !!! I can't judge when i am full until it is too late then comes the sweating and the stabbing chest pains !! It is hard to get in 64oz of liquid too because if you wait 30 minutes and take a sip and the food has not passed the stabbing chest pains start again!! I stocked up on soup today, I am thinking I need to take it easy for a bit yet my pouch gets angry when i feed it !! Good Luck !! ~Jennifer

I am 12 days post-op, and I can't have any meat for another 4 weeks or so. Pureed foods, to my doctor, is scrambled eggs, tuna, egg salad, etc. If I absolutely HAVE to have a veggie, I can have a tiny bit of mashed potatoes. But no matter what your doctor says you can have, if you can't tolerate it, which it sounds like you can't, I would call and tell them what's up. Especially with chicken, which can be so dry. My doctor recommends using FF, SF marinade, gravy, etc., to moisten it up. Or try dark meat chicken, with is naturally more moist. I hope you feel better soon. Linda