Trouble eating

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone had the same trouble I am having eating. First, as of March 7, I will be 4 months out. I have lost 74 pounds. I am having trouble finding foods that I don't feel sick eating. I take just one or two bites and I know if I will be sick or not. Food just doesn't seem to agree with me. What I can eat is chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, some cereals ( I watch the sugar content) chili, canned fruit with splenda, applesauce and watermelon. I have no problem with 2% milk. Thats about it. If I try chicken, any kind of meat or fish, usually after two bites I feel like I will throw up if I continue eating. I am not really hungry. I do eat what I know I can. But is this odd or is it just me? Am I not ready for the meat thing yet? I already know I can't eat anything fried. That really makes me sick. Also, I get a lot of saliva in my mouth and some times its like foamy. And I get a nasty taste in my mouth. I chew gum to get rid of it. If any one can help me I would appreciate it. I would just like to eat some meat or chicken or fish once in a while. Thanks Hugs, Sarah

Hey Sarah, You need to call your doctor sweetie, they might want you to come in to see them. Most of us here have trouble with certain meats and foods. But if your having trouble with alot of things you need to make sure your okay. Try eggdrop soup too, I ate alot of that when I could not keep other things down. Also get Smart Milk or Carbcount milk too, they are really great too. Again call your doctor if this does not get any better just to be safe. Take care and good luck honey. Hugs KimC

Hi Kim, I talked to my doctor about it last month and he said to experiment. He doesn't seem concerned about it. But I do have an appointment in 2 weeks and I will discuss this with him again. I don't have a problem with 2% milk. It is great and taste good. I did the Smart milk and then switched when my Dr. said I could. I will try the egg drop soup. I have never had it, but am game to try it. Thanks Kim, Hugs Sarah

Sarah, It might be a good idea to run your situation by the doc just to be sure there is nothing wrong, but what you are experiencing may just be normal at this stage of the game. The saliva production and foamies are normal as far as vomiting goes. It is a strange thing to get used to and an episode can last for a couple of hours or more before everything works its way out. I had a hard time with solid proteins for a long time also. I found that chicken was the worst. I still have trouble if it is overcooked and dry. That goes for anything, pork,beef, fish... if it is overcooked, dry or not served with some kind of sauce, I will have difficulty. I rarely get sick anymore (1 1/2 yrs out), but those 1st months of solid foods are tough because the pouch is still healing and smaller than it will end up being at the end of its growth. We are also re-learning how to eat and finding the right foods and ways to prepare it so that our pouches will stay happy. What I would suggest to you is to eat what works for you to avoid getting sick often and when you have chicken or other solid protein, cook it in sauce. Also you might want to use more ground meat. Ground turkey or beef was and is still a real favorite of mine. I love making meatballs with tomato sauce with melted mozz cheese on top. It is soft and goes down real nice and is a real pouch filler. Cooking with a crock pot can help also because it makes the meat so tender. I don't know how you feel about tofu or beans, but they are soft and protein rich foods that might work for you also. I hope you find what works for you... this is a real time of change for the pouch. Keep experimenting. Every once in a while try that solid protein again. What doesn't work for the pouch now, might be fine later. hope this helps terri

Hi Terri, I have a doctors appointment in 2 weeks. I have already told him and he told me to experiment. He didn't seem too concerned about itI get the salivia and foamie thing during the day or at night. I am not sick when I get it. It just happens. I do use my crockpot alot. It is just that solid protein. Like I said, after just 2 bites I can tell if it will stay down or not. Sometimes it just makes me feel not so good. So I stop eating what ever at the moment. But I am fine with it for now. Just getting bored with my choices. Want more variety. I will keep eating what I can and keep experimenting. Thanks for the help Terri, Hugs, Sarah

Hi Sarah, You may want to try some chicken in chicken broth, same goes for the beef. in beef broth. At your stage, and for me even 11 months out I find I need alot of moisture in both chicken and beef to get them down. Terri is right about the crock pot. Great way to infuse what your cooking with a lot of moisture. I also throw chicken in the food processor with some mayo, or broth to make it easier to digest. It will get better, know that for sure! Take care and keep up the good work! Julio

Hi Julio, Nice to hear from you again. Thanks for the advice about the broth. I never thought of that. Come to think of it, I can eat the chicken in chicken noodle soup and it is fine. I really can't do mayo. Anything fatty or fried makes me real sick. Its funny because the 3 rd week out I was eating tuna with mayo and it was fine. But since my stricture I can't do mayo. Food just doesn't taste like it used to. I will just work on what to or what not to eat. Its all still new and I will experiment. Thanks for the response Julio.Take care. Hugs, Sarah

Well, the nasty taste is probably ketosis, which is normal when you're loosing weight. It's also normal to be 'not hungry', but sometimes you have to FORCE the issue. It sounds like- from what you have been able to eat, you really getting very little to NO protein at all! Yikes- I'm scared for you. Soups canned fruits and cereals are not going to be any help to you in continuing to loose weight and getting in your requirements- not to mention keeping you full. It is normal to have difficulties, but at 4 months you are definately ready for meats. Please try to be creative in what/how you eat. For example- for about a month and a half, all I could stomach was cheddar cheese and tuna with lite mayo and a saltines. That's ALL I ate- no kidding- for like 6 weeks, 3 meals a day. I just got SICK of getting sick and I was TIRED of trying to eat. So, I gave up and stuffed my three or four spoonsfuls of food in the same way every day. In retrospect- NOT the best choice- BUT- at least it was PROTEIN based. Also in hindsight- I think it helped me to learn to eat to live rather than live to eat. But- now I digress... You don't mention LOTS of foods you could try- cottage cheese? yogurt? what aboutprotein bars (more dense than shakes) how about trying different kinds of tuna (albacore, chunk white, in old in spring water, etc) with lite mayo mushed up good. How about eggs? Ricotta cheese? Other cheeses? Different cuts of meat- turkey burger, lean hamburger... Peanutbutter (low sugar variety)) Anywoay- those are some suggestions. If you've tried all this, and I'm preaching to the choir- then it;s time to go to your surgeon and visit the nutritionist RIGHT AWAY. Also- a little trick that is helpful for those with 'fussy pouch' is th have some WARM tea- especially a mint tea is helpful- before youeat. This helps calm and relax the pouch. Give it a try. You may be plesantly surprised. Good luck to you!! & Keep on tryin. Lisa C

OK- hold up- I just read that you had a sticture- which I assume you had dialated.... When was this? That is important to know. Is that why you're eating only soft foods? If you HAD one and you're having difficulty with solid foods- you may be on your way to wards one again- so talk to you doc. Then again, you may be just pshycholocically unaccustomed to the way solid foods feel in your pouch. two or three bites of dense protein is ENOUGH to begin with. Don't try to eat more. You CAN eat mayo- get miracle whi*****n-fat mayo. if you can do 2% milk- you can do lite mayo.

Hi Lisa, Thanks for all the info. I do eat cottage cheese and lite yogurt. For soem reason any mayo or anything greasy or fatty I can't do. I had my stricture fixed twice. It was so bad they had to do it in two stages. Once in Jan and then at the begining of Feb. It is much, much better now. I hardley ever get sick now. Just nauseated sometimes. I am not afraid to try anything, so I will take it all to heart. Thanks again, Hugs, Sarah