Question:
5 Weeks Out, System is Touchy.. Need Food Suggestions.
I am 5 wks open rny and am having a hard time with food choices. Dairy is out, protein supps make me very sick, any kind of meat/cheese is disgusting, pasta is too hard on my stomach and smells are giving me the dry heaves. I know that some of this may be "normal" but I really need to get something in me that sits well. I do have a sinus inf and am on antibiotics so the sinus drainage could be part of the problem. It seems the only things I eat are toast with p-butter, pretzels (getting old fast!), mashed potatoes, some oatmeal, have tried pea soup (homemade so I know whats in it) and Quakes (mini rice cakes. I had a bad experience a couple weeks ago with rice also. My fluids are just ok, I still dont think I am drinking what I should. My surgeon doesnt push the protein drinks and the ones I have tried so far just disgust me. I am starting to get the dry heaves with just the thought of food or even stepping foot in my kitchen. Any advice or how long with this last??? I am due to go back to work next week, but surgeon wont allow unless I can eat and drink reasonably well. — Lisa S. (posted on June 12, 2003)
June 12, 2003
Have you tried any of the Campbell's creamed soups? They're easy to digest
and bland, so they'll be easy on your tummy. The cream of potato isn't bad
and atleast you'll be getting some nutrients. The broccoli and cheese is
good too. I'm sorry you're having a bad time of it. It'll get better soon.
Good luck. Cheryl Lap RNY 6/2/03 -- down 20ish pounds
— Cheryl M.
June 12, 2003
I am 4 weeks (almost) and soups really do soothe me. I am sure a creamy one
with a nice base and texture would be good. I also worry that if you cannot
do dairy you may not be able to do cream soup, though. I would try sticking
with clear liquids for a few more days, then try again. Maybe try a boiled
egg minus the yoke? The protein is in the yoke, but at this point it hurts
me! I have heard this from others too... bad, dry texture. Toast is a good
thing, but too many carbs. Same with the oatmeal & mashed potatoes, I
am only allowed 15g of carbs a day, but if i were in your shoes, this would
be a good time to try a variety of them. They usually help & will get
you past this time. But I would really consider the clear liquids for 48
hours. I hope you are feeling better soon.
— heather S.
June 12, 2003
I am 4 weeks (almost) and soups really do soothe me. I am sure a creamy one
with a nice base and texture would be good. I also worry that if you cannot
do dairy you may not be able to do cream soup, though. I would try sticking
with clear liquids for a few more days, then try again. Maybe try a boiled
egg minus the yoke? The protein is in the yoke, but at this point it hurts
me! I have heard this from others too... bad, dry texture. Toast is a good
thing, but too many carbs. Same with the oatmeal & mashed potatoes, I
am only allowed 15g of carbs a day, but if i were in your shoes, this would
be a good time to try a variety of them. They usually help & will get
you past this time. But I would really consider the clear liquids for 48
hours. I hope you are feeling better soon.
— heather S.
June 12, 2003
I am 4 weeks (almost) and soups really do soothe me. I am sure a creamy one
with a nice base and texture would be good. I also worry that if you cannot
do dairy you may not be able to do cream soup, though. I would try sticking
with clear liquids for a few more days, then try again. Maybe try a boiled
egg minus the yoke? The protein is in the yoke, but at this point it hurts
me! I have heard this from others too... bad, dry texture. Toast is a good
thing, but too many carbs. Same with the oatmeal & mashed potatoes, I
am only allowed 15g of carbs a day, but if i were in your shoes, this would
be a good time to try a variety of them. They usually help & will get
you past this time. But I would really consider the clear liquids for 48
hours. I hope you are feeling better soon.
— heather S.
June 12, 2003
I am 4 weeks (almost) and soups really do soothe me. I am sure a creamy one
with a nice base and texture would be good. I also worry that if you cannot
do dairy you may not be able to do cream soup, though. I would try sticking
with clear liquids for a few more days, then try again. Maybe try a boiled
egg minus the yoke? The protein is in the yoke, but at this point it hurts
me! I have heard this from others too... bad, dry texture. Toast is a good
thing, but too many carbs. Same with the oatmeal & mashed potatoes, I
am only allowed 15g of carbs a day, but if i were in your shoes, this would
be a good time to try a variety of them. They usually help & will get
you past this time. But I would really consider the clear liquids for 48
hours. I hope you are feeling better soon.
— heather S.
June 12, 2003
I had the same problem that you are having at 4 weeks out . . . a head cold
at three weeks that I couldn't shake dumped so much mucus into my pouch
that I was constantly nasesous. Combined with being in ketosis (the
ketones are in your saliva and impact your taste buds) I was a mess. I
drank a lot of broth-- it's warm (which seemed to help my digestion), there
is some protein in it and it tasted good. I also had a carnation instant
breakfast (no sugar added) every couple of days just to force the vitamins.
And, I was able to puree some chili and would nuke small portions of it
with some cheese every couple of days. Given that the CIB and chili had
carbs, I avoided anything else with carbs . . . and I would steadfastly
avoid the more simple carbs like mashed potato and toast that don't seem to
offer much in the way of nutrition. It is a tough period-- gagging on your
own mucus and not enjoying the taste of anything seems like an endless way
to spend your days, but trust me, it does get much, much better.
— SteveColarossi
June 12, 2003
Try blenderizing Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle soups. Good source of
protein. Another good thing to try would be those frozen baked potatoes.
I used the ones I could microwave and were just buttery tasting. The
butter sprays are really good on those. I had trouble with dairy, but
could do cottage cheese if I put some really spicy seasoning on it. I used
McCormick's steak seasoning and it wasn't bad. What about low-fat cubes
of cheese? This will pass. Please make sure you get enough protein and
fluids somehow--even if you have to hold your nose and choke it down--will
help you heal and keep you from losing lean muscle and burn fat. I use a
liquid protein from Scifit that is disgustingly sweet, but isn't bad. It's
called Amino Infusion 5000 and I get it from Vitalady.com. Was one of the
few I could tolerate. Have you tried tuna? I could do that at that stage
pretty easily. What about that fake crab meat or canned crab meat? A few
shrimp about that time was something I could do as well. It took me til
about 6 months out to get to where I didn't have so many problems with
foods. Still can't eat very much at 10+ mos, but don't have so much
selectivity issues as I did.
— Cathy S.
June 13, 2003
Sorry, sweetie, that you are having such a tough time. I know it doesn't
help you now to hear that it does get better, but it does! You really need
to get in your protein-it is so essential at this point. The shakes can be
rough in the beginning, but have you tried the koolaid looking types of
protein drinks that are out there? If not, get yourself to GNC and check
it out. I was ever so grateful for Isopure Zero Carb in the glass 20 oz
bottles and flavors like Grape Frost. I cut it in 1/2 with water, added
ice and sipped all day long-40 oz of protein per bottle. As to how long it
will last, different for everyone but know that it will not last forever...
— Cindy R.
June 13, 2003
I know you said that cheese makes you ill - and while I had the same
experience (found it went sour when I chewed and chewed - blech!) I did
find that string cheese (mozarella) didn't do that. Have you tried that?
Also I did really well on homemade chicken soup - shredded chicken thighs
boiled to death with a small amount of onion, celery and carrots - no
pasta. I found I could eat roast from a crockpot since it was extra moist
and was wonderful shredded up in mashed potatoes. While most meats
bothered me early out, I found I could eat small amounts of rare or
med-rare steak and prime rib, jerky, chili (because the meat is boiled to
death), occasionally tuna on a cracker, cheese wiz on crackers, chips with
salsa. I know it's a lot of carby stuff - but early out food was food to
me and if it set well, I ate it :>) I also found that water at room
temp settled better than cold water - I hear others say the opposite - so
if one works better...well anyway, Good luck to you!
— [Deactivated Member]
June 13, 2003
oh and don't forget nuts! Almonds are one of those foods recommended for
pregnant women who have easily upset stomachs. Worked great for me!
— [Deactivated Member]
June 14, 2003
Hi Lisa, I had the same exact problem at 5 weeks out. I have allergies so
the drainage was just sitting in my pouch and when I attempted to eat
something, it would just come back up with a bunch of flem. I contacted my
surgeon and he ordered Carafate(kinda like a super Maalox) and he suggested
drinking something warm like herbal tea 30 mins before eating. This seemed
to help me a great deal, but it didn't totally get rid of the problem.
Time seems to be the best remedy. I ate a bunch of cottage cheese and
yogurt at that time. Also, I drank the Herbalife protein fruit drinks.
There is an orange that tastes like Tang and a wildberry that is like
Hawiian punch. Each pouch you mix with 8 oz of water and it has 15 grms of
protein. I sure hope things start looking up for you!! Missy Lap RNY
3/31/03 309.5/249/156
— Missy W.
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