Getting discouraged after only 8 weeks

Gina_N.
on 8/2/11 12:54 pm

Me again...it's now 8 weeks since my DS and I still can't keep most foods down.  I called the doctor after my last post a few weeks ago and tried what they suggested ( protien drinks at 4oz instead of 8oz, small meals more frequently- I can still only each about 1 oz so I couldn't get much smaller, taking zofran daily).  At around 6 weeks things got a little better and I could eat 2 pieces of lunchmeat wrapped in 1 piece of cheese and only a few other things but got excited that things were looking up. I had a good week or more  and back to sickville i go.  I am approaching unrestricted but what does it matter if I can't keep anything down.  I have no problem with liquids, shakes, vits or cheese ( I pretty much live on shakes and cheese right now). When I do get sick though it will last for hhoooouuuurrrs and makes it hard to get any remaining shakes or vits in.  If i would just get sick and feel better that would be fine.  I've become a pro at getting on with normal life while getting sic****ep a bucket almost everywhere, even in the car. I am getting very discouraged, to the point of not even wanting to track my protien.  I feel like the couple ds'ers I talk to, who are at the same stage, are having a wonderful experience and i'm wondering wat's wrong with me.
Trust me, i hate coming on here sounding like "wahh me" but i am just frustrated.  Looking for anyone who has had this experience so I don't feel so alone....and I am starting to feel alone
'

Gina
beemerbeeper
on 8/2/11 1:01 pm - AL
I'm not clear on what you are eating that is making you sick.

It definitely is not a normal experience to be vomiting.  It sounds like you are vomiting up food and not just nauseated in general? 

I guess I need more info.

~Becky


z85sparty
on 8/2/11 1:22 pm, edited 8/2/11 1:23 pm - Mason, MI
I would agree... more information is needed.

How are you eating your food?  Are you taking small-small-small bites and chewing them extremely well?  Are you eating fast, medium or slow?  Are you eating past the point of feeling full?

I would say at first glance, make sure you taking VERY small bites, chewing your food extremely well, and I would say wait 3-5 minutes between bites!  Same with your shakes.  Make sure you aren't just gluping them down!  Set a timer if you need too! 

The only time I've had problems with food sitting wrong is if I eat bites that are too big or if I eat my meal too quickly! 

Also.... What kind of food are you trying to eat?  That could be the issue as well?  There are some foods which took a little bit of getting used to.  My suggestion... if you want to try some "real food" try a Roasted Chicken from the grocery store!  Make sure you try to eat it while it's hot n' fresh!  It's amazingly moist and was the best kind of protein for me right after surgery.  Just make sure it's small bites, chew well, and let a few minutes pass in between bites!

If you're doing all that and still having issues... hopefully, with more information others will be able to help! 

So thankful for my DS! 1/20/2012 - SW 290/CW 155 - 1 year to lose, 1.5 years and counting maintaining! 

A Run With Meghan (My Running Blog)

My First Half Marathon: Fort For Fitness (9/24/2011): 2:22:58
My Frist Marathon: Marine Corps (10/30/2011):
 5:39:59
My First Sprint Triathlon: Trek Series (8/7/2011): 1:55:18

elixir
on 8/2/11 1:22 pm - MI
I had surgery four days after you did and I seem to be going backward instead of forward also. I didn't have nausea until I was about five weeks out. I'm taking Zofran also, but it's not great. It doesn't completely alleviate the nausea and also gives me the worst headache ever. 

I find that some of the things I could eat fine at four weeks out now cause gut-ache. The nausea makes it so hard to eat and drink. Oh, and get this... I can't sit in front of a fan. The air blowing on me makes me feel nauseous. WTF? I have no idea what is going on w/my stomach anymore. I asked Dr. K about it at my six week appt and he said the nausea could last for three to six months.


 I am not like I was before. I thought that nothing would change me. ~Sinead O'Connor
    
MarciRenee
on 8/3/11 9:51 am - IA
Is it possible that you're dehydrated?

Dehydration and the start down the road to dehydration is a vicious cycle.  You don't feel like drinking/eating and so you don't...and then you try to and it makes you feel sick.  So the more you let yourself get dehydrated the worse you feel and the less like drinking/eating you feel.
Marci       
Gina_N.
on 8/2/11 1:27 pm
Hi Becky.  Your right, I'm not nauseated (?) all the time just after I eat.  I've tried chicken( moist, cooked in a pan, also rotiserie chicken), all pig products don't even last a half hour in my stomach,tuna had me sick for 2 days, tonight was a meatball (which almost fell apart it was so logged with gravy- sauce to non- italians) and a couple forkfulls of wheat speghetti.  Tonights dinner, like most stayed in for a couple hours but left me feeling uncomfortable and then in the car picking my son up from soccer practice i got sick.   I have done a piece of wheat toast with a piece of cheese melted on top (open face grilled cheese) and that was fine.  At this point i grabbed a couple chips from my kids today and 3 ruffled chips stayed down.  I know it's too early to start bad habits but I just wanted to see if it stayed down. Thanks for reading
Gina
elixir
on 8/2/11 2:09 pm - MI
elixir
on 8/2/11 2:25 pm - MI
I can eat chicken OK. I made white chicken chili with leftover rotisserie chicken and it didn't make me feel like hell warmed over. Pork is not my friend. Even thinking about it makes me queasy. I tried some bacon one night and felt terrible. Pork roast? Same thing. I had a bit of bun-less Philly cheese-steak burger one night from Applebee's and it went down OK. The gut-ache I experienced after eating it was minor. I've been sticking to shakes, cheese, chicken and turkey. I've been doing very low carb. I tried some rice pasta one night, fried rice another night, and both gave me a stomach ache so I don't even think about them now. Milk makes me feel awful. I can eat potatoes just fine, but avoid doing so as I don't want to fill up on something that isn't giving me any protein. Tomato sauce is also bad. I made lasagna with no noodles and the sauce made me sick. Tilapia goes down great, but not tuna. And I seem to do OK w/shrimp too. In fact, I went to Mongolian BBQ for dinner tonight and filled my bowl up with shrimp, mushrooms, bean sprouts and a bit of green onion with chili garlic sauce. Yum!  The NUT said I could try some whole wheat bread, but I'm going to stay away from that as it's not really part of a low-carb diet, which is what my surgeon suggests. (He recommends Atkins.) 
 I am not like I was before. I thought that nothing would change me. ~Sinead O'Connor
    
meme54
on 8/3/11 1:56 am
Hi Gina
As you can see I come from the same bariatric group - what they gave us in instructions on how to pregress should be followed to a T (albeit complemented with the 'golden rules" specifically for DS'ers from this site)  - so I am just suggesting here - also based on my personal experience:
at this point I was definitely not able to swallow- keep down or enjoy " a meatball (which almost fell apart it was so logged with gravy- sauce to non- italians) and a couple forkfulls of wheat speghetti."   !!!! maybe a few small bites of a meatball with pauses and well well chewn.
Also what i have done and proved to be working very well - I START every day with a portion of kefir (kind of thinner yogurt with natural probiotics) this kind of coats my stomach and prepares it for the day - in the beginning- and that where you are now - I ate only the very few things that were tested and recommended in the progression - occasionally - and even now at 18 months I cannot eat meat sometimes - then I just stop immediately, before the fullness or nausea set in and go back to what i know works.  The kefir helped immensely - only rarely do i need to take a prilosec - if you have high acidity even water can give you the sensation of nausea. 
I apologize if this is redundant for you just wanted to reassure you that ver ysmall steps will do the trick - get to know your body - everyone is different but the general progression rules are good.
    
Elizabeth N.
on 8/3/11 2:39 pm - Burlington County, NJ

It's tough to say.....Everyone is different and some people take a LONG time to make reaal progress with food options. Ms Cal Culator says somewhat regularly that it took almost three months (I think she says eleven weeks) for her to believe she'd even survive, much less eat comfortably ever again. Julie R. comes to mind as someone *****ports pretty much waking up hungry after surgery, starting food about six minutes later (I'm exaggerating of course) and never looking back.

I was on the easy end of the spectrum but not as easy as some. By 8 weeks out I had a pretty good variety of foods I could eat, as long as I was very mindful of how I felt with every bite.

Spaghetti and grilled cheese would have made me puke almost instantly at that point. Ask me how I know this :-D. I still have to be really careful about pasta.

If you've been thoroughly evaluated to make sure you are not ill and have no "mechanical" problems, and if you are very well hydrated, then I'd tend to be of the "hang in there" thinking.


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