Question:
Why can I eat this much? Something's definitely wrong!
I'm 16 days post-op today and LF refried beans has been my staple since I've been moved to pureeds/soft foods, however I'm having a problem with feeling full. I'm working on five meals a day, two of which MUST be protein drinks but here's an idea of how much I'm able to consume for the food part (not all at once, of course) - Refried beans: ~ 3oz, 1 egg: I can finish about 85% of it, glass of milk: 8oz easy!, other fluids: I can drink like I did pre-op. No pain, nausea, vomiting. With all the gasps and mortified looks I get from other post-ops when I tell them about those quantities something just has to be wrong. My surgeon's office has told me that "I'm young" (whatever that has to do with it), "adding a couple more bites should do the trick" and "there's nothing wrong". I may end up pulling my hair out before it has a chance to fall out, has anyone else gone through this their first month? — Tamisia (posted on April 20, 2004)
April 20, 2004
Hi Tami - You might not like this answer, it has a little "doom"
to it... I could always eat a lot right from the start. I wasn't on
pureed as quickly as you, but even with the liquids, I was eating a lot.
Pureed was great - an egg with cheese on it was no problem, the beans from
Taco Bell - gone! I tried to make myself not eat much because everyone
seemed so horrified, but I never got sick, never felt full, etc. At 6
months, I could eat all the courses of meals on a cruise with no problem.
People "diagnosed" a large stoma - the opening between your pouch
and intestine. If it's large, food won't stay in your stomach. You have
to have an upper GI to find out if that's the problem and there's not
really anything that can be done easily to fix it. Based on my experience,
I'd recommend developing self control during the next couple of months
while your eating is still physically restricted. In a few months, you'll
be able to eat like you used to and it's going to be up to you to refrain.
It's not easy, especially when a huge part of this surgery is to enforce
portion control and that's not working! I'm 20 months out now and have a
whole different set of problems, but lost about 200 so far. You can do
it!!!!!!!!!
— jen41766
April 20, 2004
Well first question is this. Are you drinking this milk while your eating
the food? If you are thats the problem, you shouldn't eat and drink at the
same time. When you do your pushing the food through your stoma to fast
and allowing your self to over eat. You should stop drinking 30 mins before
you eat. I know it sounds stupid but it really is true.
— Lelani R.
April 20, 2004
I wouldn't get too worried yet. Soft foods just kind of go in and squish
on out so the more you put in, the more you push out. If you're not
feeling full, that's normal. But are you feeling HUNGRY? Probably not.
So just serve yourself the portion you know you should have, and eat it,
then stop. I had no pain from drinking either. Once you get to solid
foods, if you still feel like you can eat alot, then you may want to
mention it to your doctor, but for right now, only eat when you're hungry
and stop when your're not hungry anymore, instead of waiting for that
feeling of "Fullness". Hope this made some sort of sense.
— ScottieB86
April 20, 2004
First, when it comes to drinking...I can easily down 20 oz in 30 minutes.
Especially if I'm thristy. Liquids go RIGHT through...there's like very
little hang time that liquids spend in the pouch. And it sounds to me like
your eating about 4 oz in a sitting (of soft foods which also break down
quickly and move out of the pouch faster than say a few bites of steak). A
good rule of thumb (because some times in the first weeks we can't actually
tell if we're too full or not) is to measure out EXACTLY how much we are to
eat (2-4 oz is a safe amount) and then stop when we are either full or done
with what's on our plate.
I can eat 6 oz of chili without problems, yet can only eat 2-3 oz of
something solid. Its just how the stuff moves through the pouch. If you
are that concerned, demand the surgeon take a look inside to check things
out.
— Renee B.
April 20, 2004
Tami: Don't panic yet. I suspect, from having seen so many other posts
from new post-ops, and also from my own son's experience, that you have not
yet developed "feelings of fullness." My son's surgeon told him
that is common for new post-ops. It sometimes takes up to 5 weeks to
develop these feelings. My son was, inexplicably, able to eat more than he
should have been able to at first, and we were very concerned that
something was wrong with his surgery. However, after a couple more weeks,
he started to "get it" and knew when he was full, and amazingly,
started eating less than at first. I know it sounds strange, but it is
true. I agree with the other poster, measure your foods so that you are
eating an amount in line with your doctor's guidelines, and then stop. For
instance, I think at 16 days out I was eating like 2 TBS of oatmeal or
cottage cheese, along with 2 TBS of pureed fruit - something like that.
Then 30 minutes after, I was instructed to drink 1/4 C of milk, then
another 1/4 C 30 minutes after that, etc. Then drink as much water as you
can until 30 minutes before your next meal. I'm not sure what being young
has to do with it, but my son was 24 when he had surgery. He started at
442 in May 2003, and has lost to 264 as of yesterday. So hang in there,
and stick closely to the eating guidelines. Best wishes. Lap RNY 9/11/03,
270/175/???
— Carlita
April 21, 2004
At 16 days post op- you really don't have much pouch function yet, in fact
you probably don't have any developed 'sensation' of fullness yet. I don't
see a problem with yu drinking 8 z of bevg., as long as you are not gulping
and the amount of food you eat is not THAT much. Having said that.. This
stage of the game is about healing, not about feeling full. You should not
eat to feel full(don't know if you are?). Just eat the amount that you are
supposed to. Soft foods will not really fill you up anyway, and you can
push the limits if you don't measure first! So, I'll add that old cliche-
just because you can doesn't mean you should. Try to be patient with
yourself and this process. It will constantly change. One day you will be
able to eat more than another- probably for the rest of your life. When
you are a bit further out say 4 to 6 weeks and you are eating solid food,
come back to us and let us know how you're doing. I'd be willing to bet
you'll get full on small quantities, fast.
— LMCLILLY
April 21, 2004
These are all soft foods. Try 3 oz of rice! Kidding of course. You are
in a very common phase that will last a few months. It's frankly a freak
out phase. You're going to worry about a lot of things, plateauing, etc.
I was able to eat a whole egg then. Nothing else. though. You need to be
able to eat eat protein. I was only on tablespoons of food back then so I
don't know how much I xould have eaten. I thought it was 3oz though.
Anything less is not enough protein per meal. I get more full now at 10
mos than I did at 2 mos.
Really as long as you are eating protein, it is not the amount. It comes
down to exercise. I would focus on that. 5 hours of cardio a week is the
standard for weightloss.
— mrsmyranow
April 21, 2004
Oh dear don't worry it won't last all the stuff you are consuming is
considered liquids and I seriously doubt if it will last - one day you'll
eat 1/3 of what you think you can and your tummy will refuse it. Its
strange but after this surgery each day is like a box of chocolates -
sugar-free of course LOL
— Anna M.
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