Having problems with food in general- vomiting, nausea, constant hunger. Am I alone?

Hey All, 

I had gastric sleeve at the end of October of this year.  While I am really dedicated to taking the weight off AND have been losing weight (Just hit 40lb weight loss this week), Ive been having issues with food.  A lot of issues.  Am I alone?  Does anyone have suggestions?  

Issue 1:  Protein.  

Before my surgery I purchased a bunch of protein powder in various flavors, Isopure protein drinks (various flavors), greek yogurt, made bone broth & healthy nutrient rich soups to be prepared for post surgery.  After my surgery I found an insanely heightened sense of smell and taste.  Protein powders, after the first week or two, started making me gag to the point I could not choke them down.  Same with the Isopure.  The whey flavor completely grossed me out and everything like that has a strong chemical taste.  Also, at this point, I am over greek yogurt.  I can't stand the thought of even looking at it at this point.  I've started eating chicken, etc. but I fear I am not getting enough nutrients, most importantly protein.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  

Issue 2:  Vomiting & Craving.  

They kind of go hand in hand for me.  I will crave like crazy some food, for example, deli turkey.  I'll eat it, not a lot, and then suddenly my body goes into a sort of rejection mode and i vomit.  Its like I eat it and my body says "NOPE".  I'll vomit and yet I'll still crave that food.  What is up with that?  Sigh....

Issue 3:  Going from Insanely hungry to Not Even Wanting to Eat in the Blink of an Eye.

Pretty self explanatory.  

Do any of you have these issues?  How to you deal with them?  Any pointers would be amazingly helpful.  

You are still early out from surgery.  Although I never experienced that hunger, I had trouble eating alot of foods for several months - including foods you would think might go in easily.  It's just trial and error - if you are eating and vomiting, my guess is that you are eating too much at a time or not healed enough for that food yet, but that's just a guess.  Use a tracker to see if your nutritional needs are being met.  Greek yogurt is a great source of protein as is ricotta cheese or cottage cheese and they are pretty easy on the tummy.  Good luck.

1. It's often difficult the first few weeks, and in your case (and mine), the first few months to adjust to the sleeve. Your surgeon should have given you guidelines as to what kinds of foods you should be eating now. If you're having difficulty with deli turkey, have you been cleared for turkey yet? It sounds like you've gone from protein shakes straight to meat. There should be a pureed and then soft-food stage to help you transition from liquids to normal food. A few days back in the soft-food stage should help your sleeve recover enough to tackle solid food again. Gently cooked fish, tofu, and eggs are good sources of protein and easy to keep down. I'm with you on the protein shakes and yogurt, though. Once I left that stage behind, I didn't touch another protein shake or yogurt again, nor do I plan to. Just the thought of them is enough to make me queasy.
2. The vomiting issue is unclear. Are you not cleared for turkey yet? If not, don't eat it yet. Vomiting regularly is not good for your sleeve, which at 2 months post-op is still healing. If you are cleared for solid food, be sure to take small bites and chew thoroughly. Cravings have a way of making one scarf down a food, which will very easily cause nausea and vomiting.

psychoticparrot

You might also have a stricture developing causing you to vomit, in that case you should give a call to your doc.

When you're up to your ass in alligators, it's difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp!

The hunger side of it could be acid build up, take your Prilosec or whatever prescription your doc gave you for acid reduction, that should help out on that side of it.