I NEED HELP

Okay fellow August buddies, Friday was suppose to be an awesome day for me. I am now a graduate of pureed foods. According to my "Instructions" I should start to eat salad and some vegetables. I no longer have to puree my food. So, my husband and I celebrated last night. We went to a restraunt. I ordered a grilled chicken salad. I started out with drinking a few sips of onion soup. Then I stopped, waited 30 minutes and proceeded to eat a tiny piece of salad with a little piece of chicken. I chewed and chewed until the chicken was almost liquid and then swallowed. I repeated this for about 3 bites. Then I started getting that stuck feeling. I immediately stopped. Which was a good choice. It only hurt for about 10 minutes this time and I didn't get the "foamies" So, I thought that was successful. But, now I am discouraged again. I am really confused with that I can eat. I have no problems eating taco meat, mixed with refried beans and sour cream. Yet, I choke on a piece of salad with chicken. I have had chicken with parmasean sauce to dip in and had no problems. I have had roast beef with gravy and mashed potatoes and had no problems. Grant it, I am still only eating about 6 tablespoons of food. Which is around 1/3 cup, per meal. It's not the quantity of food that is bothering me. It is what food I should eat. Any suggestion on what you all are eating and tolerating will be great...Send recipes. I bought a WLS cookbook and every recipe I have tried has not done well. The bites tasted awesome. I just couldn't keep it from getting stuck. I believe I am eating slowly and biting to a pulp... Any suggestions and I would be so thankful. I am so discouraged that I would prefer to just drink protein and not eat....HELP.... Apryl 245.5/210/140

HI Apryl, I am constantly amazed at the differences in diets prescribed. I was told not to eat any red meat for an entire year - so I'm really jealous of your taco meat! My surgery was 8-25. So far the only meat I have had is very thin sliced deli turkey and I did okay with it. I'm so scared of getting some stuck or getting sick that I am overly cautious. I think the key is to just try little bits at a time. Our dietitician told us not to eat raw veggies at all until 12 weeks post-op, so I haven't tried lettuce. Maybe it was the lettuce that bothered you and not the chicken? Who knows! Just try one new thing at a time and that may help you sort out what is what. Where did you get your cookbook? Don't get discouraged. This restriction is all just temporary until we get where we want to be, then we can try more things. Hang in there - Becky

Thanks for the support. I am going to put salad off for a while. I noticed a lot of people are eating deli meat and mozarella sticks. Is everyone tolerating this well???

The only time I threw up was with lettuce, so far. I took two bites and within minutes was throwing it up. My nurse told me to give it another try around 12 weeks. I believe some people have problems tolerating lettuce long term. At least you got it down. I would wait a little bit and then try it again.

Hi Michelle, My surgery was 08/29/05. Each doctor seems to recommend what works best for his/her patients. My doc gave me the OK for fegular foods at 4 weeks. He suggests trying only one new food a day so you can tell if your stomach can tolerate the new food. He also recommends not to eat heavier meets "dry"--I eat Dinty Moore Beef Stew and don't have any problems. Chicken has to be moist or I can't tolerate. I haven't tried lettuce yet, I'm still trying to get in all the protein. don't know if that helps any...but we all are learning and growing together. Good luck! Kat

Hi, Apryl I had my surgery 8/22. According to my booklet, I should be starting soft foods tomorrow. But - I saw the nurse last Thurs and she said I am far enough out to try about anything, and see how I do. Well, I did salad the last 2 nites, and it is fine. What isn't fine is chicken. No matter how I chew it - white meat or dark - no matter how tiny the bite, how tender the chicken - it gets stuck!! So - I will try again later - but for now, I refuse to have that horrible stuck feeling again. That is just my tale. Good luck to you! Hugs, Laura

Hi Apryl, I had my surgery on 8/24 and I can now have blended meats, I have tried just a small bite of chicken and it came up. I too can eat taco meat, Thank God for Taco Bell, it is the only fast food place I can eat. I was eating alot of soups and the salt got caused water retention. I made speghetti w/ meat sauce for supper and that went down fine (small amount of noodles). I have to eat the meats to get in enough protein. I cannot eat hamburgers, tried a cheeseburger from McD's nope can't do that! I have not been brave enough to try salads yet, think I am going to put that off for a couple more months. Crave then though. Probably best to stick with blended meats. Judye

I was told no raw fruits or veggies for 4-6 months. Seems that the lettuce could be the problem. I eat alot of chicken and ground beef products, but it seems that most of us were told to lay off the greens Ugh! It will get better, I promise.

Last night my friend made chicken parmesan and I ate the chicken from the inside and it went down fine, I had a little melted mozarrella cheese and some tomotoe. It all went fine. Actually, it tasted awesome. I did not pre-blend and I had no problem with the chicken. I have had a worse time with fish. I have not had any problems with red meat. I know I craved them because I do not take iron every day. But, thanks for all the great posts. I am going to keep trying one new thing at a time. I have tolerated chicken pretty good, blended. It is this whole new un-pureed thing I need to get use to....Good luck Everyone...Thank you for all of your support Apryl 245.5/210/140 I also wanted to say that last night I was a little down. So, I always go and look at the before and after pictures to get me motivated...But all of your posts help too....

Hi April - hang in there- it does get better . My surgery was 8/15 - and I came home on pureed food- didnt like it much and (ahead of schedule) began eating chicken/london broil/shrimp/hamburger/meatballs. I have friends who stil have problems with meat or chicken- I did not- and tolerate everything very well- I know I am lucky in that regard. I only began eating salad recently-as I was afraid how it would go down- but my friends assured me it was ok- and it was. Oh yeah- even Chinese food- spicy or plain- is okay for me..So my trick to eating salad - is always have the salad dressing on the side- so you can dip the chicken in it - anything moist goes down well. Since I always make sure 50% or more is protein, I tend to save my leftover salad & chicken for day 2. I honestly eat a lot f chicken. Also I have had turkey burgers- they also go down easier. I have also tried taco bell refried beans and (insides) of a taco, and Wendy's Chili with cheese They are all great- and it amazes me how much money I am not spending on lunch. I have also started trying protein bars - and these come in very handy. I have lost 42 lbs so far, and I have to pinch myself, becuz I can't believe it.Not as fast as others, but as long as the scale is going down, its going my way. I can't wait to see where I'm at by Xmas! Hugs, Donna