Unable to tolerate dairy- protein help

I had open DS on 11/12/12. I am unable to tolerate dairy at all ( including whey based protein, yogurt, cheese, lactose). I am struggling to get protein in on the current liquid plus protein shake portion of post op.  The soy isolate protein I tried was HORRID.  It would not blend-just settled to bottom of cup immediately.  Current using egg white protein but 24 gm protein needs 12 oz of soy milk and doc wants me to have 5 a day

I really like this:

http://www.vitacost.com/optimum-nutrition-100-soy-protein-du tch-chocolate-2-08-lbs

also the Lactaid products. They have a Lactaid cottage cheese.

Your intolerance may change so every 3 weeks or so try some plain yogurt or cheddar cheese,,,You can make egg drop soup by slowly streaming some blended egg into a saucepan with hot chicken soup.  Also try blending a poached egg with a tablespoon of cooked potato and butter  Keep us posted on how you are doing. 

Try some egg drop soup.  At least that tastes good.  Maybe you could sneak in some of that egg white protein too.  I think it would work as long as the soup wasn't too hot.  Do you like miso?  If you do you could do that as a soup and add protein.  Actually you can change that egg drop soup a little by adding egg white to any type of clearish broth soup.  And you could make those shakes with less liquid, just make up for it elsewhere.  If all else fails, coffee mate creamers are non-dairy.  A shot of one of those flavored creamers might make the shake much more tolerable.  Check your local grocery, I think there are a couple of non-dairy ice creams out there too.  One scoop could make that shake palatable.

Yes, I know those creamers/ice cream have carbs.  Don't even worry about it.  You haven't reached the weightloss stage of all this, you are still healing.  Next, very few people are getting 100+ gr of protein 2 weeks post op.  Seriously, I think this is wishful thinking on your docs part, especially since your diet is so limited.  Generally speaking the rule of thumb is 30gr by 30 days, 60 by 60, and 90 by 90.  So don't be stressing too much about this protein thing just yet.

According to your doc, what is a liquid?  If it's anything you can drink through a straw, start thinking about what you can put in a blender and dilute with chicken soup or broth.  Another option might be mashed potatoes, chicken broth, and some added protein.  Almost any can of soup out there can be blended to straw consistency.

How long  till your diet advances to give you more options?

You are only a couple weeks post-op. There is no good reason for you to be torturing yourself like this, or perhaps more accurately, for your doctor to be torturing you like this. Your body has protein stores from pre-op to get you through the first few weeks when nothing tastes right, nothing feels right in your stomach, and you can only get in 1-2 bits of anything at one time.

Your focus at this point should be fluids and staying hydrated. Any few grams of protein you get in are a bonus. Try different soups and see how they go - I found the Progresso soups had a much better flavor than regular chicken broth, I just didn't eat the solid stuff they contain. Just the liquid. And the only protein shake I have ever been able to tolerate is the pre-mixed Adkins shakes. The cheapest place I found for them is Walmart.  I also agree with the suggestion of egg drop soup - is there someone who could pick some up for you at a Chinese restaurant so you don't even have to worry about cooking it yourself? Or a restaurant that delivers?

In a couple more weeks you will find your new stomach is much more able to eat and drink, but for now, just focus on fluids, and don't try to force down anything that doesn't agree with you. You will only make yourself worse that way.

Larra

I had the same problem with straight whey protein.  In fact, it was so bad, that 48 hours after I was released from the hospital, I was back in , on IV fluids.  The straight whey had run all the fluids out of me (and I do mean *run*!)  Doctor told me to use whey protein isolate.  Had no problem with it.   It takes so much more vegetable based protein to get what you need with the DS, because vegetable protein is just not as bioavailable as animal based protein. With the soy, figuring in the malabsorbption, you're not even getting half the protein grams stated on the label. 

If you don't have one already, get yourself a Blender Bottle.  They come in 20 and 28 oz sizes.  They have a little wire whisk  ball inside that will blend *anything*.  It's even great for smoothng out gravy if it gets lumpy on you!

Yogurt is usually a DSer's best friend.  Also, instead off buying that overpriced Lactaid, Walmart has it's own brand of lactose free milk,  as well as the dairy digestive enzyme pills.  I used those and switched to whole milk with no problem.  At nearly 4 years out, I don't even use those anymore.  I still use the whey protein isolate, though! Don't ever completely let go of your shakes - it's very hard to get all the protein in that the DS requires with food alone!

You can find these online, or at any number of nutrition shops. 

Are you sure it's lactose you don't get on with?  I can't tolerate anything powdered so I have to make sure my Greek yogurt doesn't have milk powder in it.  The yogurt they gave me in hospital had powder in it and my insides felt like they were going to explode.  I told my surgeon about this and he was very apologetic as he's well aware of people having issues with milk powder.

Have you tried lactofree products?  In the UK there's a range that specializes in this (lactofree.co.uk) and I'm sure that there must be something similar in the US.  I also go for goat's products as they're a lot easier on your insides as the lactose molecules are far smaller and much more easily digestible.  Also you may find Greek yogurt made from ewe's milk so that may very well be OK for you (generally the smaller the animal, the more digestible it'll be for you).

I don't do protein powder and I generally get 120g-150g protein a day and my protein levels in my 3 month labs were good (my stomach was done nearly 2 years ago so I wouldn't expect anyone to be able to do that 'til they're 6+ months out from being sleeved).

I'm sure if you make a tweaks you'll do fine.  

I tried whey isolate-major stomach pain and diarrhea.  Lactose free-same. And that was all BEFORE the surgery. I can't even imagine adding that agony to my post-surgical days.  Egg protein powder seems to take so much fluid to make a shake, that I would have to put it in a constant drip to get enough in a day. And I am craving a scrambled egg right now so badly, I could scream!  Monday is supposed to be my transition day. I may try to convince someone that I need an egg tonight!  

Patty's suggestion of egg drop soup sounds like you're best option for the mo.

I am nearly 4 months out now.  ITA with everyone on here.   Egg drop soup is a great option.  It's going to take awhile before you can get to 100grams of protein a day!  Don't beat yourself up!  Your Surgeon is a cutter, he's being very unrealistic to tell you to get in 5 a day at this point.  I tried a lot of different brands and types of protein shakes before surgery too.  I could not stand them!!!  I found this one:  New Whey Liquid Protein HERE  They were sweet like a concentrated juice.  After surgery, they did not agree with my new anatomy.  I even dilluted them with water.  I knew that I had to have the protein supplements.  I could not yet get enough protein from food.  Once again, I started trying different ones.  All of them making me want to gag.  Then I bought the sampler pack from Unjury.  I guess you'd think that I work for them LOL!  I figured out that anything with nutrasweet makes my insides grumble!  (I cannot use the Chocolate Classic).  I use the Chocolate Splendor.  Then I have some Chicken Soup that I will occasionally make, then unflavored for coffee or whatever else.  I really think that this is for those of us who cannot stand the protein shake.  I know that this is my lifeline!!!  This is medical grade protein.  The dietician when I was in the hospital the month after surgery gave me beneprotein.  Some people like it.  I never could get it to mix well for me. I cannot use milk because it makes my stomach extend (although other dairy doesn't seem to bother me), I tried cream (it's worse).  I mix mine with Unsweetened Whole Foods Brand Almond Milk.  You can't do this from their website.  If you call them and get set up on auto-delivery, you will save 15%.  You can change dates anytime.

The other thing to do:  Try drinking out of a straw.

I highly recommend the Blender Bottle and a Magic Bullet (or some variation thereof).

This is what helped me.  I make 3 of them to take with me on work days.  The night before, I mix one at a time in my Magic Bullet and pour it into the Blender Bottle and put it in the fridge.  It's really cold!  Which seems to ease my stomach.  I use the larger blender bottle on those days.  Then just pour out 1/3 in a cup at a time and drink it slowly.  I'm constantly getting in a little bit of protein.  Then I have water with me too!  The reason why I only do 1 scoop with about 4-5 oz of Almond milk is that I find (not the full 8oz).  It blends really well this way.  If I try to do more, I never feel like it's blended well enough for my taste.  Then on the days when I'm home.  I just make one drink then another put in the fridge with the smaller Blender Bottle so I always have one available if I want it.

I drink anywhere between 3-6 shakes a day depending on how much food I'm able to eat.  This weekend is an example of a rough tummy.  I had 4 protein shakes yesterdayI and by the end of the day, will probably have 4 for today.  Today, I had a little bit of eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, then chicken soup (eating only the chicken and broth), now onto my 3 mixed protein shakes. Then tonight, I will do a yogurt and a protein shake.  Food is so unappealing to me at the moment, you could put lobster (which is and always will be my favorite food in front of me) and I would pu**** away. 

Your Mileage May Vary - everybody is different.  I will be the first to admit, finding one's way is not as easy as the surgeon/his NP/his Dietician presented it to me.  Stay here on this group.  They are wonderful & knowledgeable!

Best of luck to you!  You've gone this far... you can do it... Find what works!

 Remember- WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE , my understanding is it does not have the lactose

It is so soon.  I could not stand protein shakes for the first 6 months and now I start my day with one.  I was able to drink milk and I was told by others to be careful as I could build an intolerance.  I have not had a problem but I did omit the milk and add heavy cream to decrease the carbs but that will not help you.  My doc did tell me to take nexium for the first 6 months which you can buy generic from costco.  I was to take it 2 times a day and it helped greatly in regard to any stomach senitivity.

Donna