?regarding chewing of food

Good afternoon everyone. My cousin is looking into the bypass surgery with me and she has a question that she has asked me to post and hopefully you can help her. She is having a very difficult time in making a decision and this will hopefully help her. Her question is: My question would be about my teeth and the fact that I cannot chew........most of my food either gets pushed up against the roof of mouth or gets swallowed in chunks. Getting the teeth fixed is not an option...no dental insurance...just a few teeth left. It seems as though this would have a hugh effect on this type of surgery since you have to chew your food thoroughly, almost to the mush stage...... and this would be impossible for me. Thanks....i'm anxious to hear what people have to say....... Rita Ann

Hi, and welcome.. well, I think she would have to continue to puree her food...chunks cannot be swallowed....She could do shakes, cottage chees, yogurt, ricotta cheese, eggs, farina, oatmeal, beans, mashed potatoes, and many other things...then when she is out of that stage, she would have to puree her protein and such. A nutritionist would be able to give her more options. Janean

Rita, I am with Janean, she would have to always puree her food, there is not way getting around not chewing! OUCH.... I would think one would get very tired of eating pureed foods ALL the time, as I was sick of them the 1st week out of 6 that I was on them. I only really started feeling better when I started to eat normaly, meaning NON pureed foods. As Janean said, maybe check with a Dr and see what other options are out there. Best of luck to you both... ~Hugs~ Debra P 285/240.5/125??

Hi Rita Ann My suggestion would be for your cousin to invest in a very good food processor. My 23 year old daughter is disabled with CP and a very bad gag reflex where I have to make sure she does not swallow any chunky foods~~I have been chopping her food ever since she was the age of eating solids as a baby. It works! Although your cousin's situation is different than my daughter's they are the same when it comes to preventing the swallowing of chunky foods. When we go out I usually order fish, w/mashed potatoes, soft veggie etc. Basically, I order what I know she can handle...It will take some adjusting but she will eventually be able to live with her new lifestlye. Remember this was a big adjustment for ALL of us too! We all had to retrain our minds and bodies to eat healthy, and to mush the heck out of our foods. Only difference is your cousin will have a machine to help her do that. PS--we also purchased one of those mini choppers to keep in my daugher's wheelchair bag for when we need to chop something when regular soft foods are not available. Good luck with her WLS decision. Hope this helps! Hugs Marianne