Ramen Noodles- Lesson Learned

32 days post op and I almost two hours ago I tried literally 4 small bites of Ramen Noodles and I am in pain!!!! That was dumb. Is there anything I can do to make the pain go away? Or is this just punishment for my terrible food choice?

Oh, the woes of a plugged stoma!  Relief = Upchuck or you could just hold your arms above your head and walk around humming the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".  But, I'd go with the upchuck.

Not necessarily due to "terrible food choice" but the trials and tribulations of learning to use your pouch with "real food".  At 32 days post-op your bites should not be small but tiny - size of a pea tiny.  Procedure:  Grab fork, take tiny bite, put fork down, chew 25 times, swallow, repeat.  Those 4 bites should have taken 4 minutes to eat. 

Not chewed enough + too fast = plugged stoma = PAIN

Good luck!

 I am over 2 1/2 years post op and I will NEVER eat another noodle. Once was enough for me. I wont even taste them to see if they are cooked for my family. Daughter thinks I am crazy but that pain is terrible.

Audra

I can eat Ramen noodles, but I really have to chew them or I end up with the same type of
pain.  The first time I tried them, I had to upchuck. 

  Thanks for all of your responses! 

Mike- I did not upchuck but I did walk around with my arms raised for a while and finally got some relief. ( I opted out of the Battle Hymn of the Republic lol.)  I appreciate the idea.

I don't feel the need to have noodles anytime in the foreseeable future. 

I thought I had the small bite and chewing thing down but I think I was a little overeager to eat something familiar and slipped back into old habits. 

I feel worn out and exhausted from the pain. I could go to bed right now, but I have to ready and study for my grad school class tonight. 

Now I don't really want to eat anything the rest of the day. How bad would it be if I just had water and a protein drink later? If so, then I am open to suggestions on how to be gentle to my system without reverting to almost no food.

"I feel worn out and exhausted from the pain. I could go to bed right now," ------- Yep. It will do that to you. It's almost like you dumped.

"How bad would it be if I just had water and a protein drink later? If so, then I am open to suggestions on how to be gentle to my system without reverting to almost no food." ------- Actually it's a very good idea to back up and do liquids or pureed after an episode like you just had. It will calm your pouch down and it will act better the next time you DO eat real food.

I see no one else pointed this out...and I hope I'm not branded as the big meanie...

But ramen noodles at 32 days post opt isn't the best use of your limited pouch space.  There's zero protein....and a **** load of carbs and sodium.  I'm not a carbaphobe in the least bit...but most doctors warn folks off of pasta and rice in the early stages because of exactly what you expereinced.  Rice and pasta are foods that bulk up in your stomach....and have a tendancy to get stuck in your still healing pouch.

I'd suggest maybe by passing on the ramen for a while...and maybe if you get a craving for that "flavor/taste"...make a brothy version of it w/o the noodles.  You'll still get the sodium but not the carbs or the possible "stuck" feeling.

Glad to see you are feeling better though and good luck!

i was told that we are not suppost to have any bread or pasta products not until 6 months after surgery. well at least that is what the dietician had told me..

If I were worried about people being mean, I would not post to a forum. 

I made a bad choie. I believe in the booklet that I have MINIMAL amounts of pasta and rice are allowed but in general we were told to avoid them. Again, I CHOSE to act against nutritional advice AND better judgement. I knew there was maybe 1 g protein per package (which would equate to zero for me since there was no way I could eat a whole package). I didn't make this choice for nutritional value or because I thought it was allowed. I decided that my want for an old familiar food was more comforting and I paid the consequences for that. Nonetheless, I appreciate your honesty and being forthright with me. 

With that being said, since I had not experienced anything like that before I simply sought advice on the best way to overcome the pain and how to move forward now that I learned through experience what I already knew from my nutritional education. 

I have an appointment in a few days with both my nutritionist and my doctor's nurse practioner. I plan to have a frank discussion with both about my choice, behaviors, and associated thoughts so that I don't put myself through this again. (I have a follow-up scheduled with the psychologist but the earliest appointment she has is in December).

Thank you all again for your input, answers, and prompt replies!

You know...I have to applaud you.  Writing this entire post took GUTS and shows that you are doing a pretty good job of self assessment as far as the choices you made/will make.  I think that's THE single most difficult part of this surgery and learning to live with it for life...figuring out WHY we eat or choose to eat what we do...especially when we "know" better.   Figuring that out is like finding the key to Pandora.  We all make pretty crappy choices...even of those farther out (I'm guilty of this too from time to time).  I think for someone as early out as you are to recognize that and then take the steps to figure out the whys is a really positive and good sign!

Kudos for that.