im always sick

i get a crushing pain in my chest anytime i eat. i eat with a baby spoon and usually experience this after just a few bites then can't eat anymore. also get when swallowing water. I have such a need to eat and drink and can't. you would think I would drop wt like crazt but I am not. I have had multiple scopes trying to figure out what is wrong. no answers. has anyone else experienced this? what did you do and did you get better. i was 302 at surgery now 281. should be more

no you should not weigh more. Just eat very slowly maybe you are not ready to progress food wise at this stage. I had lots of problems in the beginning as it is a whole world of change. Good Luck

You're less than 8 weeks post-op so you still have a lot of healing to do. Don't give up, you can do this.

My main recommendations are to take very small bites of food and sips of water; chew food up really well; make sure you drink a minimum of 64 oz of water a day as dehydration can cause nausea and discomfort; weigh your food as you may be consuming too much right now; don't seek out a feeling of fullness; and if you can only eat a small amount of food, don't pu****

Your expectation of total weight loss at less than 8 weeks post-op is not realistic; 21 lbs thus far is a reasonable amount. Everyone loses at a different rate, and many people experience periodic stalls, so do not compare.

Can you provide some examples of what you eat each day so we can provide feedback and possible tweaks?

Hello!

I have an idea of what you're going through now. I had my RNY about 3 weeks before you did and I have had a stormy post-op course. I just want you to anticipate that things will improve!

My story is somewhat different from yours, but the end result was the same . . . I had ongoing chest pain plus nausea when I tried to transition from full liquids to soft, dense proteins. I felt like this problem would never end.

Even though I was found to have a stricture and it was dilated during EGD, my symptoms did not miraculously improve. My surgeon tried several other things including IV hydration and multiple anti-nausea medications to no avail.

Like you, I reached out to the veterans in this forum for advice. I received excellent recommendations, as I see above that you are also starting to get.

Suggestions I found most helpful included:

1. Measure/weigh the amount of food you are going to have at a meal before you sit fown to eat. My "guesstimate" on how much to eat was based on my old eating habits. The amount that fills me up post-RNY is just so minute compared to what I used to eat at a meal!
2. Eat slowly. However, I limited my meal time to a maximum of 30 minutes or to when I first felt some pressure in my belly (sign of being full). If there was still food left, I saved it for a snack or another meal.
3. Drink slowly. Despite all my practice pre-op, when I am really thirsty, I often fall back to old habits again and gulp my fluids. When I do that, it feels like I am forcing a big block of wood down my esophagus sideways--oh, so painful!
4. I also received recommendations on types of soft, dense proteins that the veterans found easier to digest. You can look at old posts here with these suggestions.
5. One of the best ideas I was given by a veteran was to marinate my soft, dense proteins with broth, gravy, Greek yogurt, non-fat mayonnaise, etc. What a difference that made. The protein actually reached my pouch without causing chest pain or nausea. To me, it was a miracle!

That's where I'm at now. I'm still trying different soft dense proteins to see which ones I can tolerate now. The veterans have assured me that over time, the repertoire of dense proteins that I will be able to eat will continue to grow though there may be some proteins that I may never tolerate.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel . . .

---Joyce

At six weeks out, it could be several months before you will be able to eat without pain. I simply fixed a protein shake and sipped on it all day. I also sipped water all day. By the middle of month three, I could eat half a bowl of vegetable soup or half of a Wendy's chili without pain.

By eighteen months, I could finish an entire serving of Wendy's chili. Your new pouch is in the middle of your chest and that is what is causing the pain. You are trying to put more into it than it will hold. Like the stomach of a tiny newborn baby, it will grow, but it will take about a year for it to reach its final size which might be about the size of an egg and hold about eight ounces of food without pain.

For me, chest pains indicated I'd eaten to much, too fast, did chew well enough, or the meat was too tough/dry too early out. If I drank too fast it would happen also. I had to slow down my eating and drinking, chew chew chew and listen to my body for the new signals. I hope you feel better soon.