HELP

Hello Friends, Today I advance to pureed food stage and I need help as to ounces???? In this stage how many onuces of food should I be taking in @ one sitting 6 x a day? And fluids as well in between how much???? I guess I am moving on....from 1 oz. a hour? I am confussed already GEESH!!!! This is work....LOL *****I know what to eat in this stage but more food suggestions are welcome***** Thanks

Good morning friend.......you know I can't help with the question.....but how are you feeling today....love Gail

Good morning Shay, I ate 2 oz every 2 - 3 hours. An example: I might have breakfast at 6 AM...it would take me anywhere from 20 - 30 minutes to eat that. So that meant I'd begin to sip my drink again at 7:30 AM...make a point to drink from 7:30 till 8:30 then stop, wait till 9:00 AM and eat 2 more oz. Following a schedule like this allowed me to get in alot of my protein and most of my fluids fairly early on. I also used unflavored Unjury in most of my food to really get the most bang for my buck. It sounds like alot of work I know but give it a week or so and you will slide nicely into a routine that fits your lifestyle. One of the most helpful things you can remember is to take tha****er bottle ( or whatever you may be drinking ) with you everywhere you go. You'll do just fine. Do the best you can and don't stress over small things. It will all come in time. Linda

Shay, I think we all go through the same confusion post-op. Relax. All the info from PMRI & the Dr's state that you can eat quantities of food. Good luck. It'll be way too much. You might be able to get in 2 oz each meal, maybe less. I used to say I could have 5 friends over and have a dinner party on a can of Progresso soup. You'll be lucky getting in 3 food meals. Count your protein drinks as a meal too. So 3 foods, 3 proteins drinks and maybe a small piece of fruit as a snack if you have any time left. You'll get into your own groove. It'll take a couple weeks. Keep your diary and each day it'll get easier. Start to sip your protein drinks all day long. If you do the crystal lite/unjury drink it also counts towards your water intake. So you get the protein and fluids too. Like Linda said the biggest bang for your buck. Just stop drinking 20/30 minutes before and after eating. Take your time eating. So what is your 1st meal gonna be???? Mine was garlic smashed potatoes. MMMMMMM. Above all ask and you know we'll answer. ((HUGS)) Elissa

Hi Shay and welcome to the wonderful world of experimentation. Now you are basically at the six meals per day (for the rest of your life) and drinking in between each meal. The trick is to continually increase that protein intake. I stuck with water in between meals for the first three months and was able to get my protein in at the meals. Try and get about 8-12 oz. of water in between each meal. You can do smoothies (protein shakes) for meals as soon as you tolerate them. I did a lot of pureed tuna salad, shrimp salad, soups and chili. I also did a lot of pureed eggs. Added nuked cheese to a lot of things for extra protein. Add salsa and chilis to spice things up and give the food some extra taste. My diary says I was doing about 3-4oz. per meal after the first week (about 1/3 of a cup). The good thing is if you buy a bowl of soup from some place it is good for three to four meals. Save the applesauce for the crushed meds. Yummy. Hope you are feeling good. The first couple of weeks is all about getting into a regimen, gaining energy, and watching the six holes in your stomach get smaller. Hope to see you soon. Rob

Hi Shay, and Gail, Congratulations on graduating to pureed!! I agree with what everyone has already said. The only thing I did different is that I inserted a lot of the protein drinks (like Protein Ice, and Isopure) for my liquids. I wanted to do everything I could to get in all of that protein. Hope to see you tomorrow night! Ken

Hey Shay!!! Ditto to what everyone else has said thus far. The only difference for me was I was not able to eat all that much. A couple of bites did me in. Anything more and I was too full and started foaming and etc. It was the funniest thing ... for the first several months, my body would signal me with a runny nose or sneezing, that I was done for that meal. I have heard so many people say that they did not know they were full. So I guess I was pretty fortunate that I had a built in pop up timer!!! *grin* When I was allowed to progress to "solids" ... I ended up taking a step back to the puree stage ... my tummy was not quite ready for it when the calendar and docs said I could do it. But a couple of weeks later, I gradually worked at it and was up and running. I know it all seems very confusing right now ... no matter how much you think you are prepared ... sometimes it just hits us like a brick and everything we learned is much harder to put into practice or we simply forget it all! *It is not just a blonde thing GRIN* But rest assured that you will find YOUR grove and things will all start to fall into place for you real soon. Just know that we are each very different and this surgery can be totally different for one than it can be for another. Did that make any sense at all? *scratching head* I too did the double duty protein/fluid thingy. My capacity was so small that if I did not get my protein and fluid in a shake thus doing double duty, it would have taken me far too long to get in any decent amount of fluids and protein. As far as how much fluids ... you need to work up to at least 64 oz a day. But at your stage, I was nowhere near that. I have heard of others that did not have that problem though. Just want to mention to keep an eye on your urine. If it becomes darker in color, you really need to concentrate on upping those fluids. Also, for me at your stage, I had trouble being nauseous ... found out through trial and error that it was caused by being slightly dehydrated. As much as I could, I upped my fluids and it was real hard. As soon as I got that level back up the nauseousness went away and only returned(s) when I am not drinking enough fluids. Another thing, I had some real problems with plain H2O initially, sat really heavy on my tummy (I know that sounds really weird but it is true). Had to stick with crystal light (very weak), propel, sf koolaide and fruit 2-0 for a while. Then suddenly I was able to do water once again and now I rarely drink anything but my protein shakes and water. Just do what you gotta do to get fluids into your body. Okay, okay I have rambled far past my ramble quota for the day ... so with that in mind ... catch ya later Chickie!!! Love ya!! Tammy Hang in there Shay ... it will get easier ... I promise!!!

Hi Shay, I know how you feel! I made an appointment with Julie Walenta at PMRI the day aftr I was discharged (the 2nd time-from dehydration) to try and get straight. She validated how confusing the whole thing is and stated that initially you are not expected to get in 6 meals per day. She suggested I have 2 protein shake meals as they are plenty of protein and then have 2 meals. Each week she suggested I try to add another meal or shake to up the Protein. Remember, your pouch is swollen now to what you take in will increase as the weeks go by. I have gotten some wonderful suggestions from everyone when I tired of the standard meals. My favorite right now is crab meat with a little fat free mayo. YUM! The crab is 11 gms of Protein in 2oz!! I also have ricotta cheese with a couple of tablespoons of spahetti sauce.(I use the low carb as it has less sugar) I stir that all up in a cup (only 1/4 cup and heat it in the miicrowve -- then I add a T of parmessian cheese which has no sugar and 2gms of Protein) I tell you I felt like I was eating Lasangna today. I also posted the Orange Cream Shake recipe last week -- which is quite good and full of protein. Sometimes I drink half in the morning and half in the afternoon if I add the ISOPURE which has 50 gms of Protein. I an still home so give a call anytime. Sorry I missed the meeting tonight. Were you there? Peace!