Almost 3 wks Post-OP and EVERYTHING gives me gas

I was going along fine until about 1-1/2 weeks ago and now everything I consume gives me a tremendous amount of gas.  I'm not nauseated or vomiting, just have so much gas!  I haven't been able to ID anything in particular that's causing it yet except that dairy (yogurt, sf pudding) seems to be part of the culprit.  I've been using Lactaid to water down those items and stopped both, Lactaid and diary and it's improved a little but I still have it.  The doc approved me to use Gas-ex which I use after each meal but, I still have it.  The dietician said it could be my protein drinks if they have protein concentrate because concentrate often has lactose, so, I stopped those with the concentrate, too.  Anyone have any ideas on how I can minimize it?  Is this a temporary thing?  Thanks in advance for your input!

Diana

What ARE you eating?

I am eating protein drinks (no protein concentrate), liquid pureed diet of baby food (meat, veges), home made stew (meat, carrots, potatoes beef broth), soup w/unflavored protein. 

Do you mean real baby food or just that consistency? If it is real baby food, well, first, stop it, and second, look at the ingredients. You might find fillers that are bothering you.

For the home made stew--ditch the carrots and potatoes for now. Not that they are terrible for you, but they both are potential sources of gas and you need to cut them out to get to the bottom of this. Is there any thickener like flour or corn starch in the stew?

Thanks, Chad!  You have given me some good advice (all of you have).  I didn't make the stew so I will ask the person who did if they used a thickener.  I will also try keeping to one food a day and keep it to protein (chicken, fish, etc).   I have been eating real baby food and will look at the ingredients for fillers.  However, I haven't had the baby food every day so it may only be one of the culprits.

Question, though:  if I eliminate the protein drinks/supplements, I doubt I'll get enough protein in.  I certainly can't eat enough to meet the goal.  I realize water/fluid is more essential at this point but, isn't it detrimental to not even get close to the goal?

Diana, I would be stunned if you could eat enough food to get all your protein in at 3 weeks out! Yes, if you do an elimination diet, you will definitely not get in your goal for a day or two while you check things out. Assuming you are otherwise healthy and feeling good, that shouldn't be a problem. Protein is a long-term thing, not a short term. You don't pass out from a day of protein deficiency, you develop it over a period of time.

In the end you might find that you need to tolerate a bit of discomfort with the protein drinks until you can get in more from food. That is what I had to do. It was 3+ months before I was able to cut them out completely because I was finally getting enough calories, and every shake I drank in that timeframe gave me diarrhea--every single one. They no longer have that effect on me, so this all definitely changes over time.

What Chad said.  Post-op, many of us become VERY uncomfortable when we eat things containing overly processed wheat flour products such as the gravy in your stews and the "modified food starch" (because who know what the hell that is) in the baby food.

Some people later have no problem with those things, others are stuck with the sensitivity.  Time will tell.

Also, on the protein drink.  I have had to go to egg white protein and NOT the Jay Robb brand, as it contains sugar alcohols...things that end in -itol...and those bother the stomachs of MANY people, wls or not.

If I were having those symptoms right now, I'd look for things with NO additives or as few additives as possible.  A can (or bag) of tuna or chicken if it doesn't have those additives.  But canned roast beef, while "soft" enough, has more flour in the gravy than I want to deal with.

Potatoes and carrots....bingo. Probably other veggies, too. Also your whey protein. Try egg protein instead.

Thanks for the input.  I'll keep that in mind.  The stew I am/was eating was homemade rather than canned/processed.  So I know there was no "modified food starch" or other "additives.   I am thinking it was the potato and carrots in that.  And, I will check the baby food for the starches/additives before I eat another bite of that.  

I have always stayed away from the "-itol" products and will continue to do so now. 

I haven't seen the egg protein... where do you find this protein other than in eggs?

There are a few different brands of egg protein supplements. The only one that comes to mind right now is Jay Robb, but it has sugar alcohols. I'm thinking there are a couple others that don't, though.