5 days post op and want nothing bu****er

I have had nothing since my surgery but the nasty contrast liquid for the swallow tes****er, water, water, one sip of a peach mango protein drink, a sip of raspberry protein drink that gagged me, a teeny bite of jello, a teeny sip of chicken broth, and a few baby spoons of cream of potato when I got home yesterday.

I know I have to start getting protein in somehow but I am so disgusted with the thought of food and I can't imagine the pain of throwing up.  Suggestions?  I have a few sample packs of different protein things--hot cocoa, chocolate pudding/shake, unflavored protein powder...nothing that tempts me at all.

Also, I have to start crushing up my meds (anti-depressants and blod pressure meds) and getting them down somehow.  I tried them in a bit of apple sauce and the crushed up pills burned the skin off the inside of my mouth.  Dr. promises it's ok to crush these.  Any suggestions about how to get them down?

Right now you NEED protein.  Your body requires protein to heal wounds and create new red blood cells.  It also gives fuel to muscle (including your heart).  You don't have a choice in the matter right now -- protein is medicine.  Get it in no matter how you can -- even if you have to plug your nose and slug it down.

You can not rely on temptation or "feeling like" eating.  You must get on a feeding schedule and get your meals and snacks in no matter what.  This is not an optional thing.  Your body needs food, give it what it needs.

As for crushed meds.  This is the worst part of the whole thing right now.  I hated this part too.  I discovered the hard way that the only way to get these down is to suffer through it.   Best way to get them down is in the smallest amount of food as possible -- 1 teaspoon of horrible tasting applesauce is better than 8oz of horrible tasting protein shake.  Yep, I tried putting my crushed meds in a protein shake - big mistake.  Yuck!

Good luck
Pam

Thanks Pam!  I opened up a sample packet of chocolate protein shake/pudding mix.  I mixed it as pudding and ate about a quarter of it.  It wasn't horrible.  I'm saving the rest for another meal (or three).  I'm really tempted to try another one of these sample packets.  It's apple oatmeal "stuff" and their website says it's fine to use in the full-liquid phase.  I keep hoping something will give me an urge to eat.

I'm gonna try the crushed pills in a bit of the protein pudding stuff.  I've GOT to have those meds!

I appreciate your help.

Billie -

Great!  I'm glad I could help. 

These first few weeks are really hard and take a lot of focus and determination.  But getting through this first stage really proves how strong you are and how much you can accomplish down the road.  You're going to do great!

Pam

Bottom line, whether the urge to eat is there or not, you need to get in sustenance and protein. I wasn't hungry. I was nauseated all the time. I ate on a schedule...not because I wanted to, was hungry or anything else other than I was supposed to. That's what you may have to do. If you wait to feel like eating, you might not eat for a while...and that won't help your body heal/recover.

I was like you in that I couldn't eat after surgery. They brought that crappy broth I hated it.
I couldn't eat anything they brought me except something like a chocolate moose.
Things taste horrible after surgery. I could only eat a very very small bits of a banana. Banana pieces were about the only thing I could eat. I mean only a piece the size of two peas. I ate that because I could only drink water and not much of that. I used the banana piece to put broken pills into and swallow whole. This was in small pieces, but it worked to get down pain meds I take for chronic pain.

When I got home I could  handle sugar free pudding by Jello. This is how I took my meds that were crushed. It's an old nursing home trick. Put the crushed pills in pudding and you can deal with that better. I also took the pills and cut them in 1/2 or 1/4. That may help you.

I couldn't eat applesauce. YUCK. Pudding is good. I like the sugar free butterscotch and the fudge banana. They have a lot of different sugar free flavors by Jello in the refrigerated section at the grocery. Remember your tastes are going to be different after the surgery, so what you normally would like may change. Get some different flavors and try them out. You will find one that will help you take your pills.

Give the pudding a shot. It will help with those nasty tasting meds. This won't help with the protein problems. But you have to get the meds down. This will work.

Billie,
On top of the regular meds I have to take, I also have to crush Magnesium Oxide twice a day and I put it in a small medicine cup full of popsicle that is starting to melt. I mix it together and find that the cold really does mask the awful taste.
Marilyn

Try Any Whey Tasteless Protein.  Each scoop has 17g of protein, and it really is tasteless.  I mix 2 scoops  with 2 cups of milk and a Carnation Instant Breakfast, and that's 54g of protein right there.  Even better when it sits in the freezer for a little while and turns into a slushy....YUM!

I was like you though.....I tried bullets, powders, everything, and they all made me gag.  I seriously think that if a friend hadn't of brought me some of the Any Whey, I wouldn't be getting much protein today.  HTH!