Question:
out of hospital

hi all, i am out of hospital but far from done. still have tube in stomach. now that i am home i am have a hard time eating. i am tired of eating the same thing and feel very weak and dizzy. please any suggestions to build energy. i am also very depressed about eating. every time i have to eat i just want to and sometimes do cry.    — pinky_711 (posted on January 6, 2009)

January 6, 2009
hi shelly, congrats on your surgery. i know it's tough now but you did have the surgery to cut down on your dependency on food. maybe look up overeaters anonymous and attend a meeting when you're well enough to leave the house. it'll really help your depression and help you figure out why you have been using food for so long to cope with so many things. good luck and happy losing!
   — slimcolagirl

January 6, 2009
It is hard at first to realize you do not need as much food as you would think. The variety will increase as time goes on. Try to enjoy the freedom from needing to eat all the time. If you are finding it very depressing you may need to seek some counseling to see what the under lying problems you were hiding with food are. Be brave it will get better with time.
   — trible

January 6, 2009
It's normal to feel this way for many of us, I think...The hard part is healing and learning to eat again and missing/mourning the loss of food! But daily it gets better and easier...I remember thinking "WHAT DID I DO TO MYSELF"...I cried like a baby...I felt nauseous and gassy and the pain...OY! But I held onto my Nutritionist's and Surgeon's words..."IN A YEAR, you will be able to eat normal foods like a small normal person...and you will be thinner and healthier." And after a year...It was all true. I ate like a regular small person! My 19 year old daughter is 115 lbs and we eat the same amount at dinner. I weigh 165 lbs. She eats far more junk/sweets than I do...But she can pack away some food, that little girl! So can I! But I felt just like you did the first few weeks...By 3 months I was eating enough food to be able to stop those disgusting protein drinks (which by the way have gotten MUCHO better over the last 5 years) Change is very stressful alone...Add surgery and pain and you've got a cocktail for depression...But trust that things will get better...Keep practicing what you learned and in a year, you will have mastered an eating style that works for you and be able to enjoy a healthier, thinner, body and eat like the regular small person that you will have become! Drink water, take vits, get in as much protein as you can, but don't cut out all your carbs (saltines, crackers with no seeds or whole grains for a few months) or starchy veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, squash, potatoes, yams etc)...Please include some in 3 main meals a day meal, Just a tablespoon for energy or one or two saltines with hummus or peanutbutter!...Walk ...walk... walk...Try to visit the sunshine daily...It helped my mood! I pureed whatever my family was eating... If I made a roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, carrots...That is what I pureed for myself. I kept broth in the fridge to moisten my food and I froze pureed dinners in snack baggies incase my family was eating something like pizza the next night or something spicy. I made lots of soups and stews for puree too. These were great because they were moist , easy to throw in a crock pot , TASTY, and sleep all day if I wanted to....and the family loved it too. I had my surgery 5 years ago this month...so I remember the cold and the weather didn't help much...But it gets better! Spring is around the corner just as things really begin to get better! ANd what a wonderful time it was...I felt like I was experiencing spring and it's beauty for the first time with eyes wide open and my energy was so high and my knees stopped hurting by then...and people were shocked and jawdropped when they saw me! TRUST that is gets better! REALLY SOON too!...Hugs and good luck!
   — .Anita R.

January 6, 2009
Shelley, Sounds like maybe you need to up your diet a notch. What I mean is try something slightly more substantial. If you aren't up to protein shakes now may be the time to start. Check with the doc of course. Sometimes just plain gelatin will work as an in between snack. As for the depression you are experiencing; talk to your doc and a professional in the mental health field. Perhaps there was more to your overeating before than you realized. If you want to communicate with me further; contact is [email protected]. Good Luck and God Bless, vinnigirl, retired RN
   — vinnigirl

January 6, 2009
I felt exactly the same; everything made me sick and I had the runs. They gave me Tagamet and Reglan and that helped a lot. I hated that tube so much and did not get it out for three weeks. Good news is that I got through that awful time and am progressively better although still cannot eat many things because they make me sick just chewing them! Also reached the big 200 today; down 67 pounds in four months and two weeks! So thrilled.
   — nofrogs29

January 6, 2009
Hi Shelly, Congrats on the surgery and hang in there!! The first two weeks are the hardest. It does get better! There are so many things you can eat...scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, mashed taters, yogurt, popcicles, soup broth, v-8 heated and treated as soup, etc. The dizziness could be from pain meds..I know for me the liquid vicodin-hydrocodone..or something..made me dizzyish and if you are on meds...could be them. I was on High bp meds and had to stop taking them-per my dr's orders. The weakness will go with time. You need to heal. Being depressed is normal. I had a hard time at first too. the smells of food I loved was hardest. On day 11 I don't know what happened..I was just ok with everything. I knew before surgery that I was making a life change and I guess it hit me. I still chew on things I like, but don't swallow. But also , not often. But when My husband has a steak, I chew a piece and spit it out. Just to get the flavor. It has helped me a great deal. Now I am 6 months out and don't need to do such things. I am over food. Now i eat for necessity and don't miss it at all. It will happen...it just takes time. Take this time to re learn to eat healthily and enjoy your new body!! Congrats again and Good Luck!! Take care and feel better soon!! Hugs, Kim
   — gpcmist