Surgery in July and I regret it.

I had surgery in July and I don't know what I have done or am doing wrong but I regret having this done. I am not able to eat very much and I have constant foam that comes up when I do eat. I fight daily to get liquids down and feel like utter **** I am supposed to be on soft foods by now and I am still really only doing liquids. What is wrong? Has anyone else had this? My surgeon's office has told me to keep doing what I am doing the foaming will eventually stop but this can't be normal. The girl that is always taking my call or calling me back never seems to know what is going on. I am beyond pissed and wish I never had surgery.

What we call the foamies is common at first. It is from putting too much in your pouch at one time. I think we all had it happen during the first months after surgery.

I had surgery in 2007 when we progressed much more slowly than people do now. I was on liquids only for two weeks, then added very soft things like applesauce and sugar-free puddings. I had surgery on October 16 and my first real food on Thanksgiving. It was a one inch square of turkey breast, seven kernels of corn, and a teaspoon of mashed potatoes. I was so stuffed.

After three months, I was allowed to add low carb vegetables like lettuce. My first salad was wonderful. I also had a small portion of Wendy's chili, and a serving a vegetable soup. Then I had a real meal in a restaurant. It was beef filet with broccoli.

By the time I was six months out, I could eat 1/2 a slice of toast if it was very well done. By 18 months, I was able to eat 1/2 of a 6" subway sandwich. That was a shock.

What I can tell you is that your body will heal and it will heal at its own speed. Even if the program says you can eat soft foods, your body can have other ideas. I pretty much survived on protein shakes for the first year. It is important to drink the water so you do not get dehydrated. Not eating food will just mean quicker weight loss.

Your information is helpful and does sound like it could be my stomach telling me to slow down or I am putting too much in it, but would this also happen with liquids (water and protein drinks) that I have first thing in the morning when there is nothing else in? I am talking about the first sip I take the foaming starts. It just seems like I am not going to be able to ever eat without it. You have done really well since your surgery and to see how much you ate for thanksgiving it crazy. It doesn't sound like a lot but right now if I tried to eat turkey even that small amount I would be throwing it up.

If you're drinking cold water, you might try it hot -- or vice versa.

Early on, plain water can feel "bulky". Tea might be easier, or something like Crystal Light.

Protein drinks can be hard on the stomach, so you might need to skip them until your stomach is feeling better.

I drink room temp water since my surgeon said that drinking cold water can cause the stomach to spasm. Crystal light is too sweet for me, so I just do water. I am fine with that as I drank a lot of it before surgery. I might try some hot tea though. See how that works out. Thanks for the suggestions.

try some beef or chicken broth.

I am sure I never got it from water or protein drinks. I do think it was from raw vegetables like a salad. It is 13 years ago, so sometimes hard to remember. I do sometimes have just a tiny bit too much food and get sick. Even water won't always stay down. I can feel most of the time when I have reached my limit and better not have another bite or sip.

I remember on Thanksgiving, some of my family thought I was just showing off and was not allowing myself to eat what I really wanted. By the next Thanksgiving I could handle a normal slice of turkey, but I never load up a plate and eat it now. But I could do that if I wanted to and probably not get sick now. I am just used to my tablespoon of dressing or of mashed potatoes for a holiday meal.

I do hope that things improve soon. One lady who had surgery the same day that I did could not eat any solid foods for the first six months. It just took her a longer time to heal enough. Another lady who had surgery the same day as me was a school principal. In December she attended her school's Christmas Party. She decided to just enjoy eating at that party.

She never told me exactly what she did eat. She had to use the restroom and went to her private office and restroom on the second floor. When she did not come back to the party, someone went up to see if she was OK. They found her lying on the floor, unconscious, and bleeding heavily from her rectum.

She was rushed to the hospital. The surgeon called her family and told them to say their last goodbyes before he took her into surgery. She had eaten so much that the stitches holding her pouch together had burst open and blood was pouring into her intestines. He was able to repair the pouch and she did not die.

But when she came to a support group and told her story, we all were more aware of what could happen. She recovered, lost her excess weight, and is fine now. The time after surgery is for healing. Every body heals at its own pace.

I think of the new pouch as a new born baby. It can only process a tiny amount of food. But the pouch grows up much quicker and in a year or so it is a fully grown adult pouch that can eat like an adult.

Horrible thing that happened to that lady I am glad she survived. I can attest that I am not even close to enjoying a huge amount of food. I would just like to be able to drink/eat something and not foam. I was very prepared for surgery had researched things extensively and also talked to several post ops. I know I should be able to eat an egg right now at least soft scrambled but I cannot. I should be able to have a few bites of yogurt or refried beans but I cannot. It is frustrating that each time I do it I foam. Something is not right but it is getting a professional to find out what it is that will be the key. Until then I will keep sipping water and protein shakes as I can. I will try to eat soft foods that are approved but know it will result in the foaming.

The one lady had problems for about six months. The surgeon and nutritionist were stumped. I remember her trying so many different things and then one day she was fine. So I am sure that is going to happen for you too. Keep in touch with us.

I'm so sorry that you're having such a rough time, and especially that it sounds like you're not getting much support. Do you have a nutritionist that is experienced with WLS patients? If so, have you spoken to them? Perhaps the "girl" you've been speaking with is the nutritionist.

I have some suggestions, but of course if my suggestions conflict with what your medical team is telling you, follow their advice, not mine.

1. Go back to nothing but fluids for a couple of days, until your stomach settles down.
2. Once you've had at least two days with no stomach trouble, try one new food. You'll start by picking a food from the list of foods you were allowed to eat right after surgery.
3. If that food doesn't agree with you, go back to what you were eating before until you've had two days without stomach trouble.
4. If that food agrees with you, have it again the next day.
5. Once you've had the new food two days in succession without trouble, you can try a new food.
6. Over time you can try foods at the more advanced stages.

I don't know if this is true for others, but in my experience, the foamies are caused more by the particular food than the amount. Eating too much of a "safe" food will just make me feel yucky, but only certain foods trigger painful foamies. The two biggest culprits for me are raw veggies, and anything dry (like falafels). Early on, if I ate either of those, even in small amounts, I'd be in pain. I'm two years out, and I can eat anything, including raw veggies and falafels... but I do have to watch the amount. In fact, I had an attack of the foamies after eating carrot sticks with hummous just yesterday! Fortunately, I rarely get the foamies or any other stomach problems now,

You really can't trust your stomach yet to tell you when to stop eating. You'll need to proceed carefully until you learn the sensations of your new stomach and the messages it's giving you. How much you can eat is very dependent on the particular type of food. I learned through trial and error how much I can eat of, say, fruit vs. cooked veggies vs. raw veggies vs. veggie burgers, etc. I found that a good starting point was half of the serving size listed on the package. I pretty much never eat more than a full serving size, except for a few very low calorie foods.

Please let us know how you get on, we can help get you through this.