Question:
No solid food for 5 weeks continued

My full question didn't post last time for some reason. I was on a liquid diet for 3 weeks (per surgeon) and from 4 weeks on, I can start eating soft solids. I am having SO much trouble keeping anything down! Everything (including tuna, bread and peanut butter) seems to cause a sort of reflux and then I usually throw up (alot of times I make myself to relieve the horrible feeling. Please help! Is this normal? IS it too much too soon? Thanks so much! P.S. I am craving food (bad food), too! What can I do?    — [Deactivated Member] (posted on October 5, 2003)

October 4, 2003
I agree that bread is tough on a lot of people and peanut butter can be very heavy. Tuna still at 8+ months post op fills me up like nothing else. I would suggest yogurt, cottage cheese, soft-boiled eggs, egg salad, protein shakes(my personal life saver) and even cheese. I had a very sensitive tummy nad was afraid to try much but all of those things if eaten slowly were okay. The first meat i could eat comfortably was filet mignon. I still eat that one very comfortably and have told others and they have a very easy time with it too. Another staple for me has been chicken parmagiana cooked in a lot of sauce so that it is essentially stewing. You really want to avoid throwing up if you can but I too have made myself from discomfort. That is why it is really important to find the foods you can keep down so that does not need to happen. Also eat SLOWLY. Eating too fast or too much (even one tiny bite too much) can be a major culprit in things making you sick. Good luck!
   — Carol S.

October 5, 2003
I started out on clear liquids, slowly progressed to full liquids, then to pureed, then soft. I was 8 weeks and on the soft foods: scrambled eggs, cooked cereal, cottage cheese, yogurt. I had a hard time getting into meat. I was well over 12 weeks before I started to tolerate them. My mainstay were soups. To this day I do not eat bread and my desire for potatoes and pasta and rice have greaty diminished. I was SO a potato, pasta, and rice lover! Take your time here, don't rush things. What you can't handle now will most likely change with time. Listen to your body and tread very lightly. Things get better. (Open RNY 10/30/02 405/197/150)
   — Ginger M.

October 5, 2003
Been there, done that. Bread and peanut butter are soft but clumpy and tuna is NOT a soft solid. Soft solid is not a good term to use for the soft food stage. The food must be soft, not dense, not doughy, not stringy. If you go from liquids directly to solids, you must expect rejection from your pouch. I tried it and those foods don't work at all. It would be best to discuss this with your surgeon to clarify that you are going from liqids to puree/soft foods and that you need a list. You should not be going from liqids to tuna without the puree/soft stage inbetween. Your pouch will likely reject everything and you will be miserable. I have just finished 8 weeks of fluids and I am now eating pureed and soft foods along with some protein shakes and soup meals-a comfortable transition, 4 meals a day, 700-900 calories a day. I have to do 4 weeks of puree/soft foods before I can go on to meat or any other dense foods. I was puking everyday because I tried foods that my pouch was not ready for. I have stopped giving in to the head hunger and old ideas about eating. I have learned by necessity to be patient and to not rush things and I'm doing much better.
   — mary ann T.