Question:
I am 5 weeks post op....what can I have in a Chineese Rest?
I was wondering about shrimp fried rice. I've had the egg drop soup but I feel the need to chew. I'm down 28 pounds but feel I need to fill this craving before it becomes an obsession. Any suggestions are welcome! — Sharon B. (posted on June 20, 2003)
June 20, 2003
If your tummy is like mine...nothing. I can not tolerate Chinese food. I
have tried 4 times and lost it every time. I am now 18 months post-op and
my last try was about a month ago. Good luck
— bbjnay
June 20, 2003
sharon, i'm about 7 weeks post op and recently had beef and brocolli. i
asked them to prepare it with as little oil as possible, and i skipped the
rice. it worked fine. i would also think tofu dishes should work. good
luck and enjoy!
— carolsaunders
June 20, 2003
I would steer away from the rices, noodles, and deep fried and breated
items on a chinese food menu. Stick with the beef with brocolli, terriaki
chicken and beef, and steamed veggies with meat or shrimp.
— sunneegirl
June 20, 2003
*that's "breaded" items, not breated (is that a word?).... lol
— sunneegirl
June 20, 2003
I would avoid rice, it tends to swell in the pouch and you will be in a
world of hurt!
— Tracey N.
June 20, 2003
When I go to a chinese buffet, I usually only get egg drop soup, and maybe
a little fish or crab meat. I stay away from meats containing a lot of
sugar (don't want to dump) and rice, pasta and fried foods. I'm 5.5 weeks
post op too, and it's a bit pricey for this stage of the ball game because
you can eat so little. The veggies are a little crisp too, especially when
we are to be on softer foods.
— Happy I.
June 20, 2003
from my experience, i'd suggest that you avoid rice, noodles, fried, and
also, shredded vegies. i had some chinese food at about 8 weeks, (moo shu
veal - minus the pancakes), and managed to block my stoma. i was vomiting,
every 3-5 minutes, for more than an hour. wound up dehydrated and
exhausted. and i was lucky, since i didn't need surgery or other
assistance from my surgeon in passing this. when i started feeling
'needy', we would go to a chinese buffet, and i'd get the salmon, generally
baked, or steamed, and perhaps a bit of the other proteins...
— tuxedoll
June 20, 2003
I'm 10 mos. post-op and I still have trouble with Chinese food. I can do
wonton soup pretty well and some of the dishes that are heavy on the
veggies, but put rice or noodles in the mix and I'm sick as a dog. But
honestly a wonton soup fills me up half the time.
— Cathy S.
June 20, 2003
I haven't had Chinese yet, (3 months out) but would imagine Shrimp chow
mein (minus the noodles and rice) would go down well. Anything shrimp,
really, maybe with lobster sauce (although I don't like it). How about egg
drop soup, spare ribs, mmmm getting hungry...good luck!
— msmaryk
June 20, 2003
Please be careful with the Chinese food so early on. I made the mistake of
trying at about 5 weeks and became so violently ill I ended up in the
hospital again. I was so dehydrated from the dry heaving I was doing after
the meal. I won't even walk in front of a Chinese place now, where as
before the surgery I would eat it every day...really. I am 15 weeks post
op and the memory of that day keeps me far away. My doc seems to think it
was the combination of MSG and I just wasn't ready yet for that type of
food. My tummy had no problem with Mexican food around the same time, so I
stick with it. Just remember everyone is different and you may handle it
very well, just take baby steps.
— D L.
June 20, 2003
hi, i am seven months out and chineese food is a hit and miss game for me.
one time it's fine the next it's not. one time it stays down the next it
won't. my friend who is three years post op can't ever keep it down. i
would stay away from rice and noodels at this stage. concentrate on eating
only the meat and very little veggies and be sure to chew them well.
kimberly open distal rny 11/12/02 -100lbs
— kimberly T.
June 20, 2003
Honey- BE CAREFUL WITH CHINEESE FOOD! Can you sense the bad experience
coming up?...I'm 7 mos post op and can't touch anything from a chineese
food rest. Not seafood, not rice, not chicken, not even steamed stuff.
Sorry to say. I was violently ill the first time. The second time I dry
heaved for like 45 minutes and the third time (OK, OK- I'm a slow learner-
but I REALLY love chineese food)well, let's not talk about the third time.
I'm trying to forget. My husband is under strict orders not to bring it
into the house or face penalty of death. I'm not sure exactly what it is,
since I can eat most Thai items. Perhaps a chemical perservative, perhaps
MSG, maybe the way they fry everything, maybe the fat content. Perhaps a
combo of all these things. But, my advice to you is DO NOT- REPEAT DO NOT
eat chineese food in a restaurant the first time you try it again. Go for
take out. Good luck to you. I hope you can eat it, and if you can- have
some for me! ;)
— LMCLILLY
June 20, 2003
I am 15 mo post op and still cant eat Chinese food- even avoiding the
rice..something just doesnt sit well in my pouch-
— ~~Stacie~~
June 20, 2003
The key to Chinese food for me early on was the MSG because I became
intolerant post-op. I could tell the difference if a restaurant used it or
not immediately and it would cause me to get 'sick', i.e. throw up usually.
Early on I would get soup, maybe eat a carbmeat rangoon, and a bit or two
or an entree without rice. Rice even at two years post-op is not great as
it swells. Boiled shrimp was a hit early on and now as well or crab legs
too. I shy away from the fried things primarily and eat a few veggies with
the meat. Good Luck and just take the time to listen to your tummy!
— Molly S.
June 20, 2003
Oops, CRABMEAT rangoon not carbmeat, ha!
— Molly S.
June 20, 2003
Guess I'm one of the odd balls. I have had no problem what so ever with
chinese food. I absolutely love it too and I have had it on a few
occaisions. That said I didn't attempt it as early preop as where you are.
I usually order Beef and Broccoli and pass on the rice. I have to really
chew it very good. Honestly your probrably a little early on to deal with
the broccoli especially since it's not cooked mushy. Rice and pasta will
swell..I recommend you don't go there and many sauces are probrably to
sweet you might dump. Good luck. I'm 10 months post op so things do
improve. Carrie
— Carrie D.
June 20, 2003
I would tred very carefully with Chinese foods, especially rice, noodles,
fried, brocolli(causes intestinal gas), maybe the Chinese cabbage will do
the same gas wise and sweet & sour sauces. I am 6+ wks post and just
tried fried rice. I only had 1 TBLS and I ate it last after my protein. I
did not have a problem with the fried rice. I had Chinese early on, when I
could have my first blended meals and then I only had 2 TBLS of the shrimp,
crab and scallops from the dish my DH had. I just last night also had the
same 3 fish in the whole form, not blended and then went down fine after
chewing them to mush. I of course have not had a problem with any food
except sugar free fudgesickles and sugar free choc/vanilla ice cream. I
think that is from the aspartame because even sugar free gum bothers me.
Good luck and go very carefully.
— ChristineB
June 20, 2003
I eat chinese food all the time. I usually get a Pupu Platter and some
soup. The platter is mostly protein, and my wife helps me eat it, cause it
is too much for me to finish. I haven't had any problems.
— dkinson
June 20, 2003
Chinese food in general doesn't give me any problems, although rice &
pasta sometimes still do. Naturally, the solution to that is to only eat
the meat/veggies that are "legal" for you at this stage per your
doc, and to skip the rice/noodles (that's what I did). The inside of crab
rangoon was one of my cravings post op. The secret (for me) of eating
Chinese food post op early on, was to choose things with lots of sauce.
The bit of extra sauce helped things stay in my pouch better. For some
reason, General Tso's always worked out well so long as I took small bites.
Chinese food was more likely to make me sick early on, but now I have no
problems with it.
— Laurie A.
June 20, 2003
I've done fine with Chinese food. I usually get Moo Goo Gai Pan (? sp ?).
I love it. I usually eat some of it for dinner, some for lunch the next
day, and if I'm still in the mood I'll eat the rest for dinner again (this
usually doesn't happen...so my dog really loves me). (smiles) I can eat a
bit of rice with no problem, but usually get too full on the actual meat
and veggies that I don't even bother (I'm better off for it...you
know...CARBS). (wink) Hope all goes well for you! (hugs)
— Renee B.
June 20, 2003
I was a Panda Express fan pre-op, and thankfully, I can still eat there.
High protein foods, you ask? They have a Tofu/Eggplant entree in garlic
sauce that is absolutely to-die-for! It's great on protein without having
to eat meat. I just get it without the rice, or I dump out the rice if
they insist on serving it that way (strangely, it's cheaper to buy the
combos and dump out the rice/chow mein than it is to get the entree a la
carte!). I also enjoy teriyaki chicken WITHOUT the teriyaki sauce. You
can just ask them not to pour anything on. Luckily, I haven't had any
"gas" problems when I've had the beef/broccoli, but I hear gas
can be an issue, so I'd avoid that.
— Amy A.
June 20, 2003
I read alot of the responses below mentioning that the MSG "may
be" intolerable. You can ask for your order with,
"NO MSG" and the resturant will prepare it without it. Don't know
if it would help you, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
— ToriJ
June 20, 2003
I think you have to be sensible and selective. At 2 weeks I was able to
eat egg drop soup. I can eat most things now at 4 months, but don't eat
most things which are rice or noodle based. I can tolerate them but feel
that they are useless calories eaten. I will taste them though--just a
bite. I have had trouble with shrimp and the other meats if they are too
well done and dry, AND reheated stuff doesn't always go down easily. Oh,
the other thing is that MSG or not, Chinese food is full or sodium and I
don't lose well for a few days after eating it due to water retention.
— Fixnmyself
June 21, 2003
I am a support group leader and Chinese food happens to be one of the ones
that people frequently tell me they don't tolerate too early on after
surgery. I'm not talking a week or two after surgery, but my group
requirements are no solid food for the first 6 weeks, so I'm talking too
soon after that 6 week period. Chinese food is one of the very few foods
that has ever made me sick. I tried it at about 8 weeks post op and I had
such severe pain and cramping under my ribs within 15 minutes of eating I
thought I was gonna die! Well, not really die, but it was awful! I don't
know if I ate a little too fast, too much, or didn't chew good, but it was
horrible. I waited a few months and tried again and now I don't have any
problems at all. Basically you have to stay away from anything sweet and
sour, and tell them light on the amount of sauce that is on anything,
especially teryiaki (sp?) sauce. Good luck to you! Remember that once you
get your meal, get a separate plate and serve yourself how much you should
eat and go ahead a ask for a doggie-box for the rest. This is a good habit
to get in to wherever you go so you don't sit there talking and such and
before you know it you've eaten too much.
— Lynette B.
June 24, 2003
When I was about the same distance post-op as you are I went out for
Chinese and had some Egg Foo Yung (young?) and it stayed down fine and I
had no problems. Now when I go out to Chinese with friends I usually have
a bite of each of the different dishes we order and I've handled them all
just fine. Good luck! :-)
— Renae
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