Please help...

Things are only starting to taste good to me the last month, and I am 6 months out. I take prescription Prilosec everyday since the surgery. Everytime I try to get off it, I have pain when eating. In the beginning I could only eat 2-3 bites. I may have measured out 1/4 cup but I didn't always fini**** My Doc said I could eat up to 6 times a day. You may have something going on or you are just not healed yet. Talk to your Doctor and be patient. It will get better.

Thanks everyone for your input!

It means so much

You really kind of have to play with flavors. I hated everything I liked before surgery-including chocolate flavoring. What!!?  I found that Crystal Light Strawberry Lemonade was about the only think I could drink- no other flavors or brands! I eventually started liking my yummy morning coffee again. I like a ton of flavor in my food now and find I like more savory things now rather than sweets. It's an odd thing.  I think most of that miserable, extremely full thing was swelling and it did pass. Most of my preferences have returned but not all. I went thru a vanilla phase which I have NEVER liked. I just try to enjoy the ride:-)

I'm sorry you are going through this. I deal with several of the same things after surgery and I did not get my fluids in and became very dehydrated. That just made all of my symptoms even worse. From personal experience I can tell you that dehydration + IV = ouchie! A couple of things that I learned that helped me... breathe out when you take a sip of water. it feels a little weird but it really did help me. Even though I thought I was taking tiny sips of water, I switched to a plastic medicine cup (like they use for kids) and measured a tiny amount in it. That seemed to help.

Use a baby fork and take 1 small bite. wait 5 minutes and take another 1. I truly did have to go that slow the first several weeks. I was no where near the amount of food that my dietitian thought I could/should get in. That's ok. My sleeve is a little smaller than normal; i figure that works out to my advantage in the long run. 

Above all else, drink, drink, drink. You really don't want to end up in the hospital for dehydration and it kinda sounds like you might be headed that way. I am so sorry you are feeling this way. If you can just get through this and get some fluids in it will get better. 

Fyi - i used to love plain water before my WLS...now, almost 7 years post op...plain water is no go...still...I can have a few sips. But if i flavor it, even a little - i can drink that with no problem... 

Early post op i could not drink cold water - instant pain and cramps. Only warm water, at least room temperature my pouch would tolerate.. Still today - i start my day with warm drink to wake up the pouch gently..if i don't - "the *****" gets pissy...and may stay like that all day... 

Definitely seek help from your doctor. One thing that was a life saver for me to stay hydrated after my surgery and also helped with nausea, I bought Popsicle makers and froze different protein beverages that I was allowed to have. Because of braces I would chop up the flavored ice and eat it with a spoon. This was a life saver for me. I am one year out with sleeve and I still do this at times to help with nausea. Good luck with your recovery.

Talk to your doctor or surgeon to see if you have a stricture. It sounds like you're dehydrated. Everything you now take in will make you nauseus and you don't have enough moisture in your stomach and intestines to make it feel good when food or drink goes down. Push the water - lots of it. It usually takes twice the normal water intake required per day (abot 64 ozs) to make us feel better. Get your water in and see if you don't feel better. Then you can start to eat. Many get dehydrated. Drink all day, force the water in, make sure you don't gulp but sip constantly. Get in over 100 ounces and see if you don't start to feel better. If you do it's dehydration. It will take many days of 100+ ounces to feel good again. When you do eating won't be such a chore. Your stomach will be able to accept food - pureed or otherwise. Check with your doc to rule out the stricture, but it sound like dehydration. Also ask the doc about IV fluids if you're down that low. It doesn't have to be this hard - get checked out and get better.

Jen RNY 2001

You sound an awful like me the first couple of months. I found I had to add flavoring to my water, and even after over 2 years I still do. I can drink plain water now, but I can drink a lot more if I flavor it with Crystal Light. I drank a lot of broth and tea early out to stay hydrated. My plan called for me to be on clear liquids for 10 days, full liquids the next 10 days, then pureed food for the next 10 days. I was a good month out of surgery before I really tried to eat. The pureed food went down fairly easily but once I started eating regular food things really changed. Even on the pureed foods I only ate about 1/4 of a cup. Once I moved to a regular diet, I could only eat tablespoons at a time. Like someone else already mentioned, I used a baby spoon and took really small bites. I also made sure to eat really slowly. It sounds like the 1/4 cup is too much food for you, even of cottage cheese. It's good to measure out your food, but pay really close attention and try not to eat too much. That will give you that pressure in your chest and the feeling of food in your throat. It probably took me about 4 months to be able to eat 1/4 cup of food. I hope this helps you. 

Can I ask you a Question, are you drinking Water?  One of the side effects after sleeve surgery is dehydration and that can cause the stomach issues the lack of appetite, discomfort in the upper abdomen. The change in taste and smell is your body rewiring itself.  You should drink at least two litters of water per day.  The baby food is acidic, it is not recommended to eat baby food or other acidic foods after surgery. You have to turn your stomach from acid base to a water base.  

Thanks again everyone!

I think we've got my nausea under control! My doc upped my anti-nausea meds to every 4 hours.  I am alternating 3 different types of meds now and it appears to be working.  I am also eating ice chips all day as well as sipping water.  I am feeling much better!  I agree that I was very close to dehydration.  My mood has improved tremendously and I'm actually able to take in a few bites of food here and there, I even had a few sips of a protein drink today.  

I am so grateful for everyone's input and support!!!