Non-Dairy Suggestions

I need some advice.

I am 14 months out after having RNY.   Recently, I got out the hospital 10 days ago after an 8 day stay.  I have several health issues going on.  Including a complex ovarian cyst that I am seeing an Oncologist about this coming Thursday.

Additionally, I have become borderline if not actually, anorexic.  I have been told by my surgeon (threatened in a polite way) to get back to 140.  I am 5 ft 4 and currently weigh 119.  I was 234 at surgery time.  I was down to 113 back in December.  Then fluctuated between 113 and 116.  Then up to 119 since being admitted to the hospital.  I am at the bottom of my BMI.

Anyway, I was admitted via the ER for abdominal pain.  I had all kinds of test  and exploratory surgery (he did fix a small hernia he found),  My intestines are not plump like they should be, for lack of another term.  Pretty much they think I have Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), possible now lactose intolerant and maybe issues with fruit.   The other thing is, contents goes through my digestive track very fast.  Which could be causing dumping.???  I am on antibiotic for the SIBO and told not to have fruit or lactose.  I am also anemic.

Needless to say, it makes a mess of trying to find something to eat.   Trying to gain 20 pounds, stay lowfat, low sugar. 

I need suggestions for dairy, like cheese and yogurt.  What brands should I look for?  We have Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Fresh Thyme etc. where I live.

For the record, I am seeing the Nutritionist and Counselor at the Surgeons office.  I may have to switch to an eating disorder clinic.  I realize, it may come to that.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

If you are lactose intolerant and/or a vegan you could try Almond Milk.  It generally has more Vitamin D than cows milk and tastes better than cows milk.  If you feel the need for intense therapy for your eating disorder, I would recommend going the Arbor-HRI Women's Partial Hospitalization Program.  They have a mental health/eating disorder/women's program.   You'd be in groups from about 9:30 to 3 PM M - F. You are considered hospitalized during the day but go HOME at night.  I have not gone to the eating disorder program but have gone to one of their other partial hospitalization programs.  People I know who have gone to the eating disorder program has found it to be extremely beneficial.

Arbor-HRI is located at: 227 Bab**** St., Brookline MA  02446 (617) 731-3200.  If taking the "T" you'd take the Green Line "B" Train and get off at Bab**** St.!

They DO take Medicare and Medicaid besides private health insurance!

Maronita

I cannot drink regular milk (haven't been able to for a few years)....I cannot eat ice cream (I am not a huge fan of it anyway---but if I want to clean out my intestines------just a little of that----LOL). I drink lactose free milk (which I only use for my coffee). I eat Chobani yogurt (although, it would be better if I bought the plain and added flavors to it or fruit; cause it has a ton of sugar in it otherwise). I can eat any cheese (doesn't that seem weird....but I can). Maybe you need to eat something other than "low fat"; but that is just a thought. Maybe that would help you with the weight gain (but I really have no idea about that). I wish you the very best. Prayers for you!!!!

I have SIBO. Forget anything low fat. 

low fat is not good... for you or anyone else. I stay low carbs. 

look into low FODMAP diet (google that) plus google sibo... and diet for sibo. 

I use unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk. The  only OK substitution for dairy- I found Kite Hill product. Not every WF carry them. My WF has some cream cheese. Anything else as substitution - is not really eatable IMO. 

I have dairy allergy, soy allergy and grain intolerance,. 

I tolerate some nuts, and some veggies.  Raw cucumbers, SF pickles, avocado. Coconut oil is great to fry or saute foods.. Eggs are great... 

Nuts that my body tolerate are almonds, coconuts, pecans, some peanuts, and a few walnuts.

Fruits - blueberries are the only ones I can really eat. 

 

 

  

 

Did you have these food intolerances before your weight loss surgery? When did you have surgery and what type?

The longer I am out form my gastric bypass, the more food intolerances I develop. I follow a Pescatarian Paleo Diet, but also I am trying to conform to a non-phytate diet as they seem to cause sever bowel distress, as well as I am trying to conform to the FODMAP diet for the same reasons. I am such a delightfully fun dinner guest!!! LOL.

I have seen data that show celiac disease and lactose intolerance are on the rise after bariatric surgery. I would add to that IBS.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Food intolerances - before or after RNY - I really don't know.  Maybe I had them before and taht why I got MO in the first place?  Maybe losing weight and RNY just exposed that for me.  

Food no longer gets digested - broken down in my stomach - so the "food " reaches small intestines unprocessed. Maybe that brought the food allergies to light... and intolerances.. I will never know... 

I do follow low FODMAP diet, low carbs, combined with SCD type diet.

I don't  eat most raw veggies...

Testing for SIBO can be dangerous to someone with RNY, my doc and I chose not to do that...(dumping, severe RH, etc. ) and sometimes results can be false negative anyway... 

I don't have lactose intolerance - I have allergies to dairy (like - proteins). I also have soy allergy, plus a few others... severe to mild... 

I do suspect I have SIBO, Candida and leaky gut... etc... ButI think I had Candida and probably sibo way before RNY...  But RNY made it worse - IMO... 

I have IBS_C... 

I do try to eat as real food as I can... Protein shakes - no matter if organic, vegan, etc - I heavily processed and eventually can lead to additional allergies...  

 

 

Thank you, this is very helpful. 

I go back and forth on whether to use protein drinks or not. I agree with you that they are heavily processed, and I do eat real food the majority of the time. I was taught to eat high protein by a bariatric nutritionist many years ago so that is what I do. But more recent research seems to contradict that thinking... yes, high protein / low carb is supported in the research, but not at the rate that I was taught. 

I am going to try it for a month without the protein drinks and see how I do. 

Thanks again.

Removing food I was allergic to, adding more fat and use food as protein source improved my blood protein levels. 

the protein shakes are very easy to absorb and what body does not use for muscles and body rebuild - it can turn that into sugar... or just simple calories.  lean - low fat and carbs protein shake may initially increase the BS - and then one hour later - causes it to drop.. making us hungry...

Proteins require insulin and cortisone to be processed. Fat - the good fat - does not.  

I  use avocado, bacon, butter. olives, nuts, coconut oil and milk...eggs.. 

google "food insulin index" 

I used to get RH after lean protein shakes... Then I learned about the insulin index... the more processed the proteins - the more insulin may be released causing low BS ...

when I finally understood that - I started adding fat to my meals.. my protein intake is now app 70-80, fat - 70-90gr, carb - I try to keep around 50-60.  

BTW: SIBO - means taht there are bacteria in small intestine - the good, the bad. fiber can feed the bacteria - and they will break the fiber into gas and sugars... with SIBO - one can't ignore those "fiber"  carbs... at lest 20-50% of them are digested - not in a colon.  That's why so call "fiber" can cause in some of us BS increase... 

Same with SA... 

 

 

Thank you, again this is all very helpful information. I love it when a patient is so on top of her health. Good for you! I certainly have some new things to try thanks to you. 

I had been taking a fiber supplement, psyllium husk or metamuccil (sp), and realized it was causing GI distress. The same goes for a prebiotic. The gastroenterologist told me to stop taking them as they cause gas and bloating.

H.a.l.a. B. I want to thank you again for how extremely helpful you have been. I googled the SIBO Diet and found one that is a combination of SCD and FODMAP http://sibodietrecipes.com/the-sibo-diet/ -- this blog post includes a list of foods to eat and those to avoid. The more that I read about SIBO, the more it sounds like the cause underlying my health issues. I am going to make some modifications to that list, as there are things on it that I don't eat either because I know they upset my GI (almonds, dairy) or because I don't like them (meat, alcohol, etc). 

I've suffered from exhaustion. Have you found that to be related to SIBO?