Couple of questions

I am now a little over 2 1/2 wks post op Open RNY and I am having trouble with just about everything that goes in my mouth. Even drinks I loved before surgery (Crystal lite and water) make me nauseous. Just the smell of all the protein drinks make me gag. Also tried chicken, turkey luncheon meat etc and get very nauseous (actually threw up a couple of times) Yesterday found can tolerate the water a little better if over ice with a wedge of lemon....also tried small amout of lean red meat and only a little bit of nausea but at least it stayed down. - Questions - How long did it take for any of you to get past this ...am I just rushing things...I have no appetite what so ever ..the only things I have had craving for have been fruit and tomatoes with Feta (never big on either before surgery). Just want some feedback that will give me hope that this is just a phase and I won't always feel this way Rosie

Hi Rosie.. Oh how I remember where you are at.. the only things I could get in were bariatric chicken broth and hot choc from smartforme.com at your stage. Most folks can't eat dense meat or chicken till like 4-6 months out so you you should perhaps wait till your pouch heals a little more before going back into hardcore protien like that. So yeah.. you are kinda rushing things.. hehe As for real food at your stage, you should still be on soft/pureed proteins for the next couple of weeks while you are healing.. soft LF cheeses, tuna (blended), yogurt, ground turkey, eggs, soups, etc.. the more blended and soft your food the easier it will be to eat.. the easier it will be to tolerate chewing for two hours.. hehe As for veggies.. I would go by what your surgeon says.. I was only allowed veggies/fruit after 2 months out because it's kinda ruff on the pouch and you only wanna utilize pouch space for protein right now in order to get it all in.. Everyone has different tastes but my new favorite thing is de-caf coffee with chocolcate GNC protein whey powder.. tastes like a mocha.. 20 g of protein.. I have it every morning for breakfast. The trick is that you can't mix in the powder when the liquid's too hot or else it will be chuncky and gross. If you wait about 5 min for it to cool down.. it will mix well. The coffee taste really masks the protein powder taste.. and if you ultimately don't like the powder GNC has a return policy of their shtuff. Another new idea that kinda tastes like an orange julius.. mix a scoop of banana cream whey protein with 1 cup of rubyred crystal light and 1 cup orange pinappleorange crystal light.. it's tastes pretty good.. again all the fruit flavors mask the protein taste pretty well.. Hope this helps.. just remember to slow down and try try try to find things that don't make you gag and then stick with those.. April R

April - Thank you! I am going to go out to the GNC store today to get some whey protien .....I have slowed down and am trying soups SF Hot Chocolate etc ...My pouch seems to accept hot fluids better than anything else Rosie

Hi Rosie I remember where you are. I felt nauseous for about 6-10 weeks. I used to love chicken and eggs before surgery then shortly after surgery I couldn't stand either on even the smell. Dr. Randall suggested putting vick's vapor rub to help with the smells that were making me feel sick. This worked out fairly well. As time passed so didn't the nauseous feeling. It will get better with time. I now can eat chicken but I still do not like eggs. Try to eat yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna, oatmeal or other soft foods or even some melted cheese on a wrap or whole wheat syrian bread. Maybe your pouch is just not ready for the denser foods. I did good with beef early on. You will feel better as time goes on. Best of luck in your recovery. Janet

Janet Thank you I am doing better the last 2 days - today (Monday being the best so far) ..tried a little bit of egg this morning with cheese and that made it easier to tolerate. I have also found that Minute Maid LIGHT lemonade helps sooth my stomach nausea so that is improving - funny how I can eat the red meat - even if very small amounts ...I just want to make sure I get the protein in! Rosie

Hi Rosie, Definitely slow down on the solid foods. Your new stomach just is not ready. If hot liquids work well, try some chicken broth with powdered egg white. My nutritionist suggested it to me and it worked well. Also, experiment with the protein drinks. You may find one that works well for you. When you are ready for something more solid...perhaps some string cheese? It goes down pretty well.

Thanks Ginny - I have been trying lots of different protein drinks - friend of mine from NH dropped some off she used and another friend from Colorado sending me some to try...hopefully I will find one that suits me...Cheese & Peanut butter have been working now so each day it is getting better - I do keep reminding myself I am only 3 weeks out! Rosie

HI Rosie, I think I met you at the last support group meeting before your surgery. Is Erika your NUT? Did you get the paperwork in the hospital for what you can eat? I think you may be rushing things. I didn't try luncheon meat until well after 3 weeks. I've tried hamburg but no other red meat, etc. I feel bad that you are feeling nauseous. Maybe you should e'mail Erika or Barbara or whoever was you NUT. I'm 7 weeks out now and I'm still very careful what I try. Let me know how you make out! Have a good night. Good Luck! xo JOanne

Hi Joanne Yes I stopped by and said hello to all of you the meeting before my surgery. I have Barb for a NUT and I see her on 3/20 ...am keeping a detailed journal of what is and isn't working...I did get the paper in the hospital and Dr R said I could progress as to the week 2 foods (but could not tolerate the lite mayo so I tried the turkey meat) I only tried that once! I am having better luck yesterday and today with red meat and cheese as long as very moist and wll chewed.... Rosie