I am getting very Frustrated..

This is so frustrating to me.    Lets say for example that I have Cancer… and I go to my doctor for treatment ..  The treatment that he prescribes is going to be very similar (if not exactly the same) to what other doctors prescribe. 

 

So why is it different with Bariatric Doctors?  My Doctor says NO mashed potatoes, NO pasta, NO milk, NO veggies, NO fruit ….  Yet I hear of many of you eating and drinking some of these things right out of the hospital..   I’m not angry at you guys, it’s just rather frustrating when I am trying to find some variety in what I can eat (and get in enough protein) and I hear of other people eating things I would LOVE to eat!

 

I just don’t understand why there has to be a big difference in what doctors prescribe for their Bariatric patients.  It is soooooo  depressing..  :(  

Hello! I don't know why every surgeon is a little different. I think it's because, as I have heard, each surgeon does the procedures in their own style. That can affect what's tolerable, I would imagine. They have probably made the no-no lists based on trial and error with patients on what's tolerable. 

I know it can be frustrating. In most cases though, there is very good reasons why some doctors feel strongly against certain items. Perhaps certain foods have gotten stuck in the stoma for several of his/her patients or has caused ulcers, etc. Here's my take on the foods you listed in particular and why a surgeon MAY say 'No'. Potatoes & Pasta: both are high in carbs. When you are early post-op, what you NEED is protein. Yes, you need a certain amount of carbs as well in order not to go into ketosis, but the more of them that you can get that are not in the 'white' catagory, the better. Pasta, like bread, can gum up inside the pouch so ANY pasta should be avoided. It can make not only for a very uncomfortable feeling but can also block your opening to where you'll need the surgeon to an endoscope and get the goop out of there. Cooked fresh potatoes (or any other veggie) is too hard for our new pouch'es to digest so our bodies can't break them down and get the nutrients from them...so going from white to sweet potatoes isn't a good idea when you are early out. As you get further out, your pouch is more capable of breaking down foods to make them usable for energy. Veggies...see above. Also, some veggies (tomatoes) can cause ulcers due to their natural acidity. Fruit...the citric acid in fruits can cause ulcers. They also contain natural sugars. When you are a new post-op, you want to avoid all sugars as much as possible. Lastly, the textures are very hard for many people to have. I once had to have a scope because a tiny piece of cataloupe got stuck in the stoma! Of course..the stoma was only 2 mm at the time. Milk...Most doctors will allow milk as long as it's skim milk. You want to keep the fat content down as low as possible. The biggie with milk however is that many people use it as their sole protein source. That is fine if you cannot tolerate any other protein because a little bit is better than none. However..if you can handle protein drinks, you'll get more grams of protein in per calorie intake. When I was a new post-op, INSTANT mashed potatoes were ok...but my surgeon preferred I eat as little of them as I can. High carb/low protein. I was also to drink a protein mix which consisted of powder milk, skim milk, and flavoring..so a protein kicked-up milk. At that time though scrambled eggs were ok. Too many people were having them get stuck in their stoma though so they were removed from the ok list by the time I had my revision 6 months later.  As Linda said...each surgeon is going to go by their personal experience and what has/has not worked for the majority of their patients. The best thing you can do is follow what YOUR surgeon/nutrician has instructed YOU to do to a 'T'...regardless of what others were told. Sherri

HANG IN THERE AND GO BY WHAT "YOUR" DOC SAYS THERE IS A REASON FOR IT. MY DOC HAD SOME THINGS HE DIDNT WANT ME TO HAVE AND A DOC IN THE SAME OFFICE WAS OK WITH IT. ITS JUST THIER EXPERENCE AND HOW THEY DO THINGS. I KNOW ITS FRUSTRATING BUT IN THE LONG RUN YOU WILL BE BETTER OFF. I KNOW I AM . HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE CLOTHING EXCHANGE SATURDAY

VICKI