I am so afraid PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

Well I am 1 month out as of today and I CAN NOT GET DOWN ANY PROTEIN. All I can do is drink water or flavored water. I try and try and try again but I gag like all heck. I could be so hungry and I will try to eat something and as soon as I put it in my mouth I gag and DO NOT WANT it and I know I am doing damage to myself TERRIBLY but I just can't seem to get anything down. Everyone keeps saying you need to get PROTEIN., I KNOW THIS BUT I CAN'T. My husband and I are barely talking anymore as he is so sick of me saying I can't. He keeps saying it is a mind thing.. Maybe it is BUT the point is that as soon as something goes in my mouth I am gagging and that is the end of it. I have tried SO many RTD protein's and even food to get the protein in and it just doesn't work. Dr. Aranow said last week that if this keeps up he is going to put me in the hospital with a feeding tube.. I SO DO NOT WANT THAT... Then there are my other friends telling me that they know someone who went through this and died because of not eating protein.. WELL let me tell you I saw every hour on that clock last night as I was paranoid I would not wake up. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me that I am not the only one that this has happened to.. Oh and Also everything that I used to LOVE I hate now as it tastes GROSS Lisa

Hi Lisa... I'm so sorry that you're going through this but you aren't alone. I hated ALL the protein drinks because of the thick yucky consistency. Have you tried Isopure Zero Carb protein drink? It's a clear liquid, has 40 grams of protein and 20 ounces of fluid. You can cut it with water if it's too sweet for your taste (that's what I do). The grape frost is my favorite flavor. It's worth a try. You can buy it at GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. Good luck!! Kim K.

I couldn't stand protein either. Why don't you be easy on yourself and have egg beaters, fat free cream cheese, even a couple of bites of a low carb protein bar? Tofu has protein also. I hope this helps, Stacey

Ok.... Let's see what we can do to help here. Near the end of your note, you have started to explain everything......"Oh and Also everything that I used to LOVE I hate now as it tastes" Your tastes do change, and some more dramatically than others. You will eventually get used to it, but for now you do need to find some way to buckle down a bit and start to deal with it. Do you need protein..... in a single word, yes. If you can drink flavored water or water, there are protein drinks out there like the isopure which are more like flavored water than anything else. Get some. Today would be a good day to start with them. DO NOT TRY to drink them straight at this point. If you have had problems over the last month, give your system time to get some kind of food in and get used to it. Dilute it.... even 4 parts water to one part of the isopure. Make it more like your flavored water than anything else. Then, drink. Stay away from any form of solid foods until you can get past this. Your pouch is fairly healed by now, but it has had nothing to digest per se so far and it is not ready for the task of digesting "normal" foods. Another thing, come to group meeting tonight and ask who drank which protein liquids. Use the benefit of others experiences to see what is available, and what might work. he most it will cost you is the gas for the trip. You are not the only person this has happened to. You will not die from this, unless you never find an answer. We are all there to help you find that answer. As long as you don't give up, then we won't either. BTW.... has Dr A. ever had you scoped to determine if there is a stricture in the stoma? Peter

Have you tried the Any Whey Protein that is tasteless that you can put in anything. I had a suggestion on this board to put it in pudding to get some protein. If you like something (soup, pudding, etc.) you can mix it in and you can get in your protein in that way. You can buy this at www.barriatriceating.com. People also say that at GNC Whey Protein drinks (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) are pretty good and some put ice in the blender to make it like a milk shake. I personally haven't tried it but I need too. My nutritionist said CIB gives you 15g of protein (with Milk) per serving. I hope this helps!! Christine C

I am so sorry to hear that you are still having issues getting anything down. Sometimes it really is mind over matter. If you can go to the support groups- GO! I had the worst time with the protein in the beginning and even now it can be hard to get it all in- but you just have to rise above it. You will not die from this but you will begin loosing muscle mass, experience something called "muscle wasting" which is extremely painful- and avoidable. Sick part is even if you throw it up- you don't throw it all up- so get it what you can, keep in what will stay and use the resources available to you! Best of luck! Erica