My Sugar & Carb Filled Post-Op Hell

I think you just need to sit down and be honest with yourself about the choices you are making. Just based on your own list, these aren't the only foods you can eat--they're just foods that you want and you are telling yourself that you are therefore forced to eat them.

I mean, a candy bar where 2 of the first 3 ingredients are corn syrup and sugar? Get real. If you must, must, must have a candy bar, get an Atkins or other low-carb bar.

Candied walnuts? You can't eat just plain walnuts? They have to be drenched in sugar? Please.

Doritos and cheese puffs because they "contain protein"? For serious? Throw that **** out and don't buy it again.

And no, the only things you can drink are not sugared water. Come on. Buy some crystal light if you must have a sweetened drink.

You've gotten the tough love.  I'll just give you a few tips instead.

Have you tried ginger for the nausea?  I remember Diana Cox saying that ginger worked wonders for her nausea.  Try some pickled ginger, like you'd eat with sushi.  There's a reason we give ginger ale to kids with upset stomachs.

Also, making protein shakes palatable is my specialty, since I never cared for them preop.  I prefer the muscle milk flavors because they're generally pretty sweet.  The Cake Batter one?  MMmmmmmmMMMmmmMMMmmmmmm

With any shake that isn't fruit-flavored (except strawberry & banana), try putting it in the blender with a LOT of ice and half & half.  Drink it with a straw.  It makes a nice milkshake consistency that you can sip on for over an hour.

If you like coffee, mix some instant coffee granules in with your shake. 

The Nectar brand proteins have a Roadside Lemonade and Iced Tea flavor.  Personally, I think they smell horrible, but other people haven't noticed it or remarked on it, so it could just be my weird nose.  If you like lemonade, try that.  They also have a fuzzy navel flavor.

Vitalady sells individual samples of protein.  Go to her website and order a bunch of different flavors.  You MUST get your protein in.  

I see that you have a big sweet tooth, like me.  I found some great protein bars - Muscle Milk Light protein bars (the light ones actually pack a bigger protein punch than the regular ones) taste just like candy.  The Zone has some good dark chocolate ones.  My only rule with a protein bar is that is has to have at least 15 grams of protein in it for under 200 calories.  There are others on the market that are really good, but they all contain Maltitol, a sugar alcohol, that gives me horrible gas.  But if you need a sweet pick-me-up, try a protein bar.

Frank.  Get it together, Frank.  It took big brass ones to post that you were eating like this.  I salute that.  Now start putting your energy into fueling your body appropriately.  You can do this.

WTF?  Chip products are never going to be considered a protein source. 

And if candied walnuts go down fine, regular walnuts are gonna be A-OK too.  Come on, now.

Tried some reg. walnuts today and am able to eat them, so the candied nuts are history. Thanks sweetheart! ;)

Oh Frank!  I'm so sorry you're having trouble!  *big hug*

You got all kinds of tough love here....  Wowza.  But you need it, dude!

Here are my thoughts.

I heartily second the ginger - you can also get ginger tea.  I used to get horribly car sick and I started taking ginger capsules and would feel better immediately.   You might have to take a lot - 3 or 4 capsules.  But try drinking the tea before you try to eat.

Also, if you like flavored drinks, try the Celestial Seasonings teas - I drank gallons of the red zinger post op and it made me feel better to get those fluids in.  Definitely try the different temp thing too.  Teas have more flavor without having to be sweet - I liked how tangy they were.

I'm also a big fan of the Tropicana Light Lemonade - I drink that stuff by the gallon.  Also the Dannon flavored waters - there's a lemon flavor and a raspberry flavor I really like.  I drank them so much I got tired of them.  Oh, also the Diet Lipton Green Tea with lemon flavor.

I also think that you're possibly mistaking hunger for nausea.  Post-op hunger just doesn't feel the same way.  You haven't described *why* you can't eat those other foods - do you vomit?  Do they just taste bad?  I vividly recall those post-op days when everything just made my stomach turn.  But I always ALWAYS felt better if I could just get a bite or two or three in.  After getting the first few bites down, I felt better and could get more in.  After that it got easier.

Egg salad was my life saver.  I HATED the SF popscicles.  But you do need to find better food to eat or you're going to die.  I don't want you to die - I <3 you! 

Good luck at the meeting tonight - I wish I could come, but hubby started a new job in Costa Mesa, which means I can't leave until he gets home after 6...  I will definitely see you Saturday.  I'm going to bring my protein bars - I bought huge packs of them, and just don't like them, so you can try these bars.

hugs to you,

Aimee :)

Thanks Aimee!

Life's been a ***** for the past month or so. I've experimented w/ ginger and it didn't help much. On the bright side, I went to the store today and picked up some of the foods recommended in this post. Regular walnuts, string cheese and beef jerky are so far a go. In fact, I've had about 30 grams of protein from Beef Jerky so far today. Around 55 grams of protein total (so far) today. I hope to have more good news for you Saturday!

How much water are you getting in daily? I was quite nauseous and found it VERY difficult to eat or drink when I was dehydrated.

Hawaiian Punch makes a sugar free version - they even sell the boxes of individual packets at the Dollar Tree.

There are a TON of different sugar free lemonade drink mixes.

Sugar free popsicles taste just about the same as the regular ones. The no sugar added fudgesicles even have a whopping gram of protein each.

If you can eat 2/3 of a McD's quarter pounder, then I'm sure there are LOTS of other foods you can tolerate. Heck, cook yourself a cheeseburger at home without the bun.

Water hasn't been a problem since I got out of the hospital 3 - 4 weeks ago. I've been diluting lemonade and that's been going down. I just switched to Crystal Light today to avoid the carbs. Thanks!

One thing you didn't address is how much volume are you eating at any one time?

Eating too much in volume is sure to make you nauseous. You should be taking little nibbles throughout the day, many people (most?) can't handle a standard size meal at this point, let alone anything even vaguely resembling their former idea of a meal.

For example: protein bar for breakfast, two hours later have two small cubes of cheese, another two hours later have a small handful of nuts. Lather, rinse, repeat all day.

Just imagine how much MORE weight you could have lost had you been eating correctly. 40 pounds in almost three months for a man isn't bad, but it's nothing to brag about, either. Let that motivate you if the dire consequences of protein malnutrition isn't doing it for you.

You CAN do this!

 Frank, I heart you. I think you're just yummy to the bone, but that being said, brother who are you fooling?  I'm almost three months (next week) and I do admit it is hard to choke down some protein. I still can't eat ground beef like i'd love to, eggs are off limits (they get stuck in my throat, no matter how I try them) and well, sirloin or lamb chops is flat out contraband in my world these days. I can only get chicken and salmon down my throat with ease. I'm wondering if you're thinking to yourself: "Why should I really correct this, when it's working for me and I'm losing weight ?"  Don't get caught up in the cycle, because just as quickly as it came off the first month, I promise you, it will **** you sideways and slow down to a crawl. You.Must. Experiment. and find out what you can tolerate. That's what it is about these days, just tolerate something!!!! I've had to resort to Torani syrups and Greek yoghurt with some Oh Yeah shakes, because chewing has become unappealing. You can't sacrifice your health for taste, Bro. Period! That protein is a necessity. Don't compromise and get on the anti-nausea patch as soon as possible. Call the doc and get an Rx. See if you can get on that and your Zofran at the same time to combat the nausea, okay? Be well.