Question:
Can someone please explain to me

how people can skip the liquid diet and the pureed diet and straight to solid foods and not have any problems? Maybe it's just me, but at 5 weeks post-op I did the liquid and I'm still on pureed, but a couple of times I have not pureed and for some reason I end up feeling like there's a rock in sitting in my tummy. I think I'm chewing enough. Could the bites be too big to start with? Are you able to eat less when it's not pureed, get full faster? Also, how long is solid food supposed to take to empty from the pouch? I had dinner tonight around 5:30 - 6, and at 8:30 I attempted my nightly protein drink. I got about 3 swallows of that down and it came right back up. Is it possible I just drank it too fast? I still feel full from dinner. What do you think? (No, I don't have a stricture, before you suggest that ;)    — KelBurt (posted on June 6, 2002)

June 5, 2002
You should chew each bite 25 times and wait 3 minutes between bites. After you take your last bite it takes 30 minutes for the food to go out of your pouch into the stoma. That is why you should wait 30 minutes before taking in any liquid after eating solids. My doctor had us on solid food on day 3 to make sure it was going down ok. Good luck and great losing!
   — MARSHA D.

June 5, 2002
It might well be that the bites were too big and you didn't chew well enough. Even at 9.5 months out, I can't deal with big bites and not chewing well enough; however, my pouch then rebels and I throw up. The other thing is that some foods your tummy just may not yet be able to cope with. For example, I still have problems with bread, so a sandwich is not a possibility for my meal. (I just eat the filling and leave the bread on the plate. I also cannot deal with hamburger - a pre-surgery favorite!) I don't necessarily fill up any faster than I did Immediately post-surgery. The swelling from the surgery goes down after a time, and your pouch can handle more at a time. I still continue to chew every bite to a liquid consistency.
   — Marjorie B.

June 5, 2002
And cut your food up to the size of an eraser (on a pencil not a blackboard eraser :)) Good Luck
   — Robert L.

June 6, 2002
Kelli, I think that the first few weeks we attempt solids, no matter how long it is after surgery, it takes some adjustment in learning how much to eat, bite size, length of time between bites, what type of solids our new tummys can handle etc. I remember at 5 weeks having an awful time with hamburger, overcooked salmon and chicken. Now 4 months post-op, I get to enjoy all of them again. It takes different amounts of time for the pouches to empty. Perhaps yours just took a longer length of time. However, if you still feel full, then don't have anything. Have you also tried water 45 minutes or so after eating solids?
   — Cindy R.