When were you able to tolerate raw veggies?

I'm 6.5 weeks post-op & want to try raw veggies but I'm not sure about them. What are the best/worst ones to digest? I really want salad but am unsure. I tried homemade dill pickles today & they went down ok but now my stomach hurts pretty bad.

I was probably close to 15-20 weeks before I tolerated small quantities of raw vegetables. They're very tough and fiberous for still-healing pouches. I ate well-cooked veggies as soon as I could eat mushy foods though.

I figured it would be a while, that's a long time though! I was thinking stuff like thin lettuces & softer veg's like tomato, cucumber & mushrooms might be ok but since I am having problems w/ a lot of foods right now I guess I better wait a little longer

Raw cruciferous vegetables are still hard for me to digest sometimes.

Salad vegetables, lettuce, tomatoes, cukes might be ok in small quantities AFTER you have eaten the requisite protein. I could barely eat enough protein at 6 weeks out, to be honest.

Protein amounts are a struggle for me too. I just can't eat that much. It's esp. hard because I was lactose intolerant before & now it's worse so I can't factor in cheeses & dairy to help meet my quota. I tried deli meats & they feel like I'm eating rocks. I really need to get better at cooking & being creative so I can figure this out. I just miss salad in general so I'm looking forward to when I can eat it safely.

I started them at about 6 weeks.

I had cucumbers first and used them to dip into hummus or yogurt. All good. Then I tried tomatoes, no problem. Then peppers again for dipping. All good. Lettuce was fine. I waited a while for carrots but they have been fine too. No issues.

I just tried one thing at a time and then added as I went along.

I have to confess that salad was not anything I missed incredibly, or much at all, during my early post-op life. It wasn't a huge factor in my preop weight of 347 pounds and so wasn't a staple of my diet.

What does your surgeon say? Do you have a written food progression you're following? Because at six weeks out I'd still be following those instructions if you have them.

As far as raw veggies, I was cleared for solids finally at week nine so it would have been at that time or after. Not sure when I added raw produce back in which may be a good thing in that I have vivid memories of everything I had trouble with early out. You'll probably have to do the trial and error thing for a bit. I like what someone said about only adding in one veggie at a time and seeing how you do with each individual one.

Good luck; if you don't have your surgeon's specific plan you may just want to run this question by your nurse.

Hi, I do have a food guide they gave me. It says it should be about 2 months before I can do raw veg's so I will wait. I just know everyone's different so I was wondering where everyone was at with it thanks for replying.

Honestly, it was closer to 6 MONTHS, for me, and even now, at nearly 17 YEARS, things like iceberg lettuce never sit well. I eat raw spinach, as my salad base. If I use raw veggies, they have to be cut well and be fresh, or Oscar (my grouch pouch), will fuss, ALOT!!

If your guts are griping over the pickle you ate, your body is obviously telling you it is NOT ready to progress. There is most def a learning a learning curve, to this lifestyle!!

Your best bet is go SLOWLY, and introduce one new thing, at a time - but PLEASE fill your space with your protein, first

I think it was about six months for me as well. Raw vegetables can be hard on a healing stomach. Occasionally they'll still bother me - like tomatoes (the acid) or baby carrots - but in general, I can eat them now.