How do you deal with physical illness?

I am so grateful that I started therapy many months before I got WLS.  I knew I was an emotional eater, and between therapy and some of the WLS effects, I can honestly say I don't try to eat my emotions away anymore.

I am finding that the next struggle I need to deal with is that the same kind of cravings I used to have when dealing with emotions, I have when I physically feel bad.  Since I have two chronic conditions and they're both giving me fits right now, that's a lot of the time lately.  

And the fatigue and pain from the conditions makes it incredibly hard for me to fix food, even just microwaving something is taxing.  Hubby wants to help, but his idea of cooking involves a LOT of spice and one of the things I'm struggling with is a near-constant nausea from my migraines that are ramping up right now, so the heavy spice is not helpful.

So my questions are:

What do you do to fight cravings driven by physical illness/pain?

What kinds of food do you keep around (or would recommend) that are ready-to-eat or near-ready-to-eat and are easy on a nauseated stomach?

Good ideas, thanks!  I think we'll see about instant potting a chicken this weekend.

Jerky I love, but when I'm nauseated it doesn't set well.  But the tilapia's a good idea.  I even have some in the freezer, and didn't think of it.  :)

I use a triptan that melts on the tongue and usually knocks the migraine out pretty quickly.  But the prodrome and after effects still get me.  :/  We're working on some preventative meds right now, but it takes time to find the right med/dose.

I suffer from severe migraines as well and have learned that the right migraine medication is key to knock it out fast. I had tried everything and still ended up in the er every couple of months which in my opinion is the worst place to go when dealing with migraines and the nausea they cause.

I was on Topomax, Propanol as preventatives and then i used imitrex, maxalt.....i cannoy even remember all the crappy non working drugs they tried.

Then i was referred to my neurologist who happens to suffer from migraines as well. The team she has, nurses, admins etc all get them as well. She will only hire you if you get them. She wanted her patients to know that her methods work.

So, at the time we decided to keep me on propanol (i was obese at the time) as a preventive. Then she wanted me to use a injectable called dihydroergotimine as the first defense. If I felt a migraine coming on, immediately give myself a shot. If for some reason that did not work then i had a rescue drug that i would inject called ketorlac. In 6 years, I never had to use the ketorlac and of course now i cannot because it has Nsaids in it.

The dihydroergomine is the perfect medication.I get no side effects, my headache is gone gone within 30 minutes and I can go back to my day. Since losing all my weight, I only get a migraine once or twice a month and no longer take the propanol. I simply treat with dihydroergotamine.

I was also given zofran for nausea if i need it but i no longer need to do that.  She also sent me to occupational therapy to learn biofeedback exercises to help when i have a headache and she sent me to a physcologist to help me work through stress.

i have not been to an er in more than 6 years.  This doctors methods really work. Migraines suck and can really screw up your day or even your week if you cannot treat it properly. This medication is expensive. The injectable is the cheapest and in my opinion works the best. Sometimes it is in short supply so i have had to use the nasal spray which is more expensive for less doses and in my opinion does not work as well.

if you have not tried it, you might consider talking with your doc about it. It works fantastic. Many of those others drugs give you chest pain and nausea and the side effects alone can screw up your day.

good luck to you!

Thanks, we're adjusting meds currently trying to get ahead of the spike in headaches.  I use Maxalt ODT which works really well to knock out the migraine, but the prodrome is where I'm getting the bad nausea, and sometimes even with the triptan the after-effects last a day or two.  And of course when the auto-immune flares, the inflammation triggers migraines, and there's not a lot to do about that except keep plugging away with the auto-immune drugs.

So while we're attacking the medical side of the issues, I'm still left with food cravings that are nuts, so I'm trying to figure out how to manage that best I can in the meantime.  :D

I have my share of chronic issues and my wife has some significant health issues as well.

It can be hard when you have no energy. Foods that work for that are eggs, meat and cheese roll ups,yogurt, and tuna.

Our grocery stores are prepping vegetables these days. One will be for stir fries or pot roast. The other day I threw a pot roast and a container of pre cut vegetables. Threw in some spices and tomatoes and it was tasty.

I shop on Amazon for big bulky things I'm going to need over and over like kitty litter and dog food.That non food stuff so that way I can just run in for fresh stuff. If I"m really feeling bad I have all the groceries delivered.

Nausea can have many sources. Dehydration is a leading cause. Try to increase you fluids.

Good luck 

Thanks for the feedback.  When my daughter was hospitalized for a week with a status basilar migraine as a teen, she ended up with a FANTASTIC neuro who told us to never let her get hungry or thirsty.  I implemented a bunch of his recommendations for her myself.  I struggle with getting fluids in when I'm nauseated, which I know just perpetuates the cycle.  I need to work harder at it.

Check my surgery date. I still am mindful and have to be purposeful to get in enough fluids!

A few times I gave in to carb cravings when I was ill and most of the times I wish I did not. If they help - then only for a very short time yet I had to deal with much longer lasting effects after (1-2days. )

For me to go foods for nausea are peanuts, pork rinds or cheese. Not sure why why peanuts settle my gut. I use the Costco, no sugar added. Pork rinds are like crackers and I can use avocado to make a dip. 

Last but not least - coconut chips... Dried coconut... 

If I really crave some chips - the Terra veggies chips are rather tasty. 

Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, I cannot tolerate ketosis, so I don't do low carb.  I work to avoid sugar and limit simple carbs.  So I know I'm choosing foods that are counter-productive when Ritz and ginger ale are the only things that are sitting well on my tummy.  LOL.  I think the only thing saving me is that overall I don't feel like eating anyway, so I'm getting very little calories in on those days in the first place.  Of course, I'm not getting much protein in on those days either which is doubly counter-productive.

I have never been able to bring myself to try pork rinds.  I was raised vegetarian for religious reasons and even though I love pork chops, ham, and bacon, things like chitlins and pork skins always sounded really awful to me.  I may have to try some baked ones though.  :)  Heavy grease doesn't agree with me when my stomach is already churning.