will it ever get "normal"

ok, so i am only 3 weeks post op and starting to transition over to a more solid substance. have had a couple of problems with some foods and not others, kinda weird. I was just wondering for the people who have been in recovery for longer, does the feeling of pain ever go away when your eating??? is it just because of the swelling, or will i always have to chew each bite of food for 20 minutes? will i ever be able to just take a bite of something, and chew normally and swallow, and not feel that pit and pain in my abdomen???? i know it is a good idea to chew well anyways to aid with digestion, but how small does it have to be? will i ever be able to take more than a sip of something at any one time??? trust me, im NOT regretting my decision for surgery AT ALL..it was the best decision of my life, but i want to know if things will ever get back to normal (as normal as it can be after surgery) and to where i will be able to eat normal foods and drink normally?

Hi Anita, Yes it does get better in some ways. No you will never before to chew alittle and then swallow. Your bites of meat should be about the size of your little finger nail and you need to chew it until it is almost nothing in your mouth. It could get stuck if you don't. The pain in your chest when you are eating and drinking can be caused by eating and drinking too fast. When I was three weeks out I had that same pain when I drank, now I am 7 weeks out and it is better unless I take too big of a drink. As far as eating goes....try a baby spoon because it will slow you down. I think I am a slow eater and I still get the pain in my chest because I eat to fast, then I usually end up As far as things becoming normal again it just takes time and you will have a new normal now. Some foods will work one day and not the next. I still go out to eat but usually eat off my hubbies plate or order something and get a to go box at the same time so I can remove the temptation of eating too much or too fast. By the time I am done with my dinner (which only takes a few bites) everyone else is close to finishing up so it works out okay. Once we are thin beauties we won't care about how different our eating is from everyone elses. After all the way I ate before surgery was the reason I needed the surgery. Best of luck to you. Roxi 285/245/126

Hey Anita, I know how you feel about your pouch feeling unsure when you eat i'm 3 weeks post-op and i've been sooooooooo lucky this far not to have gotten sick. I'm starting to eat more solid foods now my dr told me that if I see something and I think I could handle it to try it, but I know how sensitive my tummy still is so I steer clear from most of the food I would love to try. Yesterday I had some wendy's chili and it was soooooooooooo good I bought a small and I managed to eat the entire thing in about 4-5 hours. I've had chicken but I was curious to see if I could handle the beef in the chili and to my amazement I did just fine. One thing I have to becareful about is taking too big of a bite because i'll chew and chew but if I take too big of a bite I always seem to accidently swallow alittle that I know I haven't chewed enough. As for drinking that is definately somethiing that i'm having the most problems with because your used to just drinking gulping your fluids and having to sip all day is sooooooooooooo different. I'm definately dyhydrated which my dr got onto me about saying I have to sip constantly through out the day always!!! I had to have a steriod injection yesterday for a ruptured disc thats causing me alot of problems, and one of the nurses there has had the fobi pouch bypass same as myself. Shes 3 yrs out and was talking to me about how things are for her now and she can eat alot more normally, but she says she still has to drink constantly throughout the day or she gets dyhydrated still so that is something that we'll always have to do. I know it's hard to get used to but we will we have no choice now do we Just know that your not alone Anita. Kriss

I read somewhere that we are still acute post op for 3 MONTHS! I have no trouble with really soft foods like yogurt or soups and tuna fish canned is ok. But I still have trouble with solids..I just cant believe that I cant eat more! And then the pain and the vomiting ...uhg. We wont really start to feel more "normal" until 6mos out and then we have to watch the weight again..sigh... Julia

Anita, I am almost 6 wks post op and I can definitely tell you that you will see big changes over the next three weeks. As the swelling continues to go down, your ability to eat/drink will improve. At 3 wks I was taking baby sips of water and now I can take a big gulp. I still have to be careful, but things are much easier. I no longer get that lump in my chest/stomach as long as I stop eating soon enough. I am also able to take bigger bites of food and I'm not as paranoid about chewing as much. Obviously we'll still need to chew more than most people, but it does improve over the next few weeks. Hang in there, this has been a long tough road for me too. I guess I didn't realize how long it would take to heal and be able to eat again. Linda B

I'll tell ya, I couldn't eat anything at 3 weeks post op. It would hurt my pouch. Now almost 5 weeks post op I can eat much more with no problems. Don't over do it. Your pouch takes 3 months to heal. I still can't take big drinks of water, I just tried a couple of hours ago and got a big air bubble, it hurt. I am not sure if we will ever be able to just "chug" water again. I also agree with another post, we'll have to come up with a new "normal". Good luck Kristy

Hi Anita, I am out 3 weeks and I have switched over to other foods such as scrambled eggs, FF refried beans and even turkey loaf.....of course I can have only 3 or 4 teaspoons and Im done. If I have even one more teaspoon of whatever I am eating, I feel a lump in my chest and I have terrible gas for an hour. I also fall asleep. I have only done this 3 times and switching to a baby spoon has done wonders. I cannot eat and drink at the same time and wait at least an hour after I eat to drink something....I have to admit, I am constantly thirsty. I cant gulp anymore, and sips dont quench my thirst. I am drinking 20 ounces of water a day and that takes all day in itself, along with my protien drink that I start at 8 am and usually takes me until 8 pm to finish. I have not vomited on anything, thankfully. But I am very careful not to eat anything at all with sugar alchohol in it, which they say triggers dumping big time! Chewing....I chew until its virtually nothing in my mouth before I swallow it. Just the other day I mentioned to my boyfriend about how my jaw gets tired....LOL! All in all, I havent had any problems since I have been home and 22 lbs. down I am feeling really great.

I am almost 8 weeks out and it is finally beginning to get better. Hang in there.

I am about 7 or 8 weeks out, and I had an open RNY. During the first 4 weeks I would try to eat things like thin mashed potatos, or strained cream soups, but they really didnt appeal to me so I didnt try them very often till at 5 weeks, then I did a lot better. I recommend Campbells vegetable soup, the one with alphabet noodles and red broth. The vegetables are very soft and the broth is good. I was able to tolerate that very well. Things do get better, about a week ago I started feeling really good, no you will never be able to just chew a little and swallow...I chew until there is nothing left it seems like. I was told by my Nut to take bites no bigger than a pencil erasure and since following that advice I have very little pain. The pain is cause by air I think because if I take deep breaths and (sounds funny but true) burp myself by slapping my chest (not too hard lol) I feel better afterwards. My strongest advice is take deep breaths when the pain starts and it seems to go away faster. I am able to take bigger drinks of water, but I still swallow them slowly, if I dont I get painful air trapped and it is not pleasant! Dont be discouraged, with time things definitly get better!