nurse_ally

Don't be scared. Eating doesn't "hurt", but it definitely feels different. I'm almost 3 mos out and feel absolutely fantastic, and here's how it went for me: For soft foods, I ate alot of fish, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese...some of the soft foods that others ate like tuna and scrambled eggs didn't feel very good on my tummy. Again, it wasn't "pain", just an uncomfortable feeling. Once I was on the soft foods for 10 days or so, I just began trying out little bits of normal food. The key is to chew the heck out of everything, pretty much until it's mush. Steak is no problem, I just chew, chew, chew it. I don't know if I'm just really lucky or if I heal really quickly, but I haven't had one single problem. There have been times early on in regular foods where I've eaten something dense and either didn't chew enough or ate too fast, and food backed up in my esophagus and made me feel like I was gonna throw up, but once it worked its way down I was fine. Don't worry, just be careful and don't push yourself. I know that by the end of liquids I was DYING to eat something, but go slow and enjoy the feeling of chewing again. Good luck!

I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm almost 2 1/2 mos. out and can eat pretty much whatever I want. I do feel restriction and get a horrible feeling if I eat too fast, but there hasn't been anything that I CAN'T eat. I've lost 42 pounds since July 1 when I had my surgery, which is just over 20 pounds a month, which isn't bad. I think we should be counting our blessings that we CAN eat, and are not struggling with the problems that some have as far as not being able to get protein and water in. Like someone said earlier, you're able to eat a small wendy's chili. Before surgery, I could have eaten a small chili, a large fries, a baked potato, and washed it all down with a large coke. A small chili or 8 nuggets isn't gonna hurt us :thumbup: Keep you chin up and be proud that you've lost 48 pounds in only 3 mos! When have you ever done that before? :thumbup:

You guys! This is what we all wanted, to not be able to eat ourselves silly anymore! This is the reason we all got the sleeves done in the first place. I'm just about 6 weeks out and I'm getting to the point where I can pretty much eat whatever I want, just slowly and in small portions. Sparkle, I'm with you on knowing that you need to eat, but nothing sounds good. I find myself knowing that I need to eat, and even being a little hungry, but when I look through the cabinets and there's NOTHING that sounds good or looks good, I just go about my business and haven't eaten anything. Shame on me, I'm not keeping track of cals/protein/carbs at all, and I'm sure I'm not getting all the nutrition that I should, but I'll be danged if I'm gonna gripe about not wanting to eat. I've been dreaming of this my whole fat life! It'll get better, guys. Keep your heads up and know that we're all together in this :biggrin0:

Tiffy-my PPI is called Dexilant and I do take it 30-60 mins before I eat anything. And thanks for the info on the GasX strips, I won't be taking them much anymore :001_wub:. ouroborous-I didn't expect to never feel hunger again, but this is a LOT. Like more than before surgery. And fighting the head hunger when my tummy is growling isn't easy. mb20mom-I agree, I wouldn't go back for anything in the world. It's really nice that, even when I'm hungry, a little bit of food takes care of it. globetrotter-how far out are you? if you're more than a month or so, I would think eating shouldn't hurt anymore. I'm about 6 weeks out and I can eat pretty much anything now without pain, unless I eat it too fast. But some things that I thought would be easy going down aren't. Tuna salad hurt. Scrambled eggs hurt. Which really stunk, because I really looked forward to them! Steve-good job on making good food decisions! That's what this tool is for Thanks for your help, everyone! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who still feels hungry.

Having a bit of disappointment at the moment, I'm hungry! All the time! I eat small amounts and get full, but in two hours I'm feeling hungry again. I take a PPI (not Nexium, my insurance won't pay for it), and Gas X strips don't really help. Has anyone had this problem? Any suggestions? This stinks!!

woohooo hot stuff! congrats!

I went to Dr. Aceves and he used general and spinal, but I'm sure you could have the option of refusing the spinal if you wanted to. As far as using spinal only? As an RN, I really don't think that would be a good idea given the complexity of this surgery. Yes, it's a laparoscopic surgery. But it's still major surgery, having part of a major organ cut out of your body. They can give you really good nausea medication to help keep you from throwing up, if that's a big concern for you. If you're going to Dr. Aceves, contact Nina, his patient coordinator, and she'll answer your questions. She's great!

Yay, Kathy! I'm so glad everything went well for you! Getting the head hunger under control really is the hardest thing, though. Even though my tummy isn't hungry, my head still wants to hit the road to Taco Bueno! But it's just a bad habit I'm gonna have to quit. Are you having any pain or nausea? What was Dr. Almanza's clinic like? Again, SO glad you're home and ok :thumbup:

So I love scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, and mashed potatoes, but can anyone help me out with some creative ideas for things I can eat on the mushy stage? Are any meats cleared for this stage? I just need some ideas so I don't get bored.... Thanks! :001_tt2:

Globetrotter, I know EXACTLY how you feel! I felt the same way the first 10 days post op when I was on clears. The only thing that got me through was ramen noodles without the noodles. And the unflavored protein mixed with the ramen broth tasted like broth with crackers mixed in it, not too bad. By the time I could advance to full liquids, I was seriously about ready to hurt someone for a cheeseburger. But it does get better. If you can make it through the clear stage, the protein is better when mixed with milk. I tried several different protein powders and the ONLY ones I can stomach are the 100% whey protein from GNC in chocolate and vanilla. Mostly just the chocolate. Hang in there, it will get better.

LaSa, I also experienced the little headache you're talking about. I think our bodies are just so used to getting more fuel that they have to adjust to not getting as much. The protein shakes I drink seem to make me feel better when I get that feeling. I drink the whey protein from GNC, don't know if you have those in Canada. They're the best tasting ones I've found. Glad you're doing well! I had a great experience with Dr. Aceves, too :thumbup:

Okay, I'm so glad this thread was posted because I'm feeling the same way. Even though I'm only a little over 2 weeks out, I dropped 18 pounds in less than 2 weeks, and now the scale hasn't moved in about 5 days. I know, I know..I'm super impatient! And I shouldn't compare myself to others. I have a feeling I'm not getting enough calories in and should probably start counting them diligently...

So happy you made it through surgery, the first few days are the roughest. Actually, the whole clear liquid phase made me fairly homicidal! :tongue_smilie: Once you make it to full liquids, it gets better. As far as the ticker, you'll see mine in this reply, click on it and it should take you to the page to create your own. Hope you have a very smooth and pain-free recovery! Keep us posted on your success

I did the ramen noodle broth when I was on clears because the regular chicken broth didn't have enough kick to it. And honestly, I didn't pay one bit of attention to the nutrition facts, I was just struggling to get anything in because I was SO sick of clears! And now I'm to the point where I'm so sick of full liquids I could croak. Can't wait for some scrambled eggs!

Hm...I don't think it took me that long to pass gas, in fact before I left the hospital. Have you had a BM yet? (I'm a nurse, I can ask that