I am afraid to eat

[Brieshay 12]

Its been 8 days since my surgery and I am afraid to eat, I am okay living on liquids... Next week I am suppose to start my puree food but I am scared to eat and maybe get sick.. I love my protien shakes and Soup and sugar free popsicles...is this normal?

Please help

Lawona

[Jack 855]

There's a difference in degree between "afraid" and "apprehensive"...the new & unknown are matters we all process differently. It's good to hear your liquid-phase is going so well.

I'm not sure what you mean by "get sick".....if you mean hurl up whatever puree you tried to gag down too rapidly, the very act of learning how to eat in a new way will be enjoyable. At least for myself, learning how to actually control not only what but how fast and when I eat, was a tremendous discovery.

Don't be afraid, you can do a lot of new things in this postOp world.

Eventually you will likely come to want to give puree a try....and there is a whole new experience to enjoy.

cheers on your journey

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

Take it slow, your body will tire of liquids before long. Just follow the rules on bite sizes and eat slowly. You can do it! I think we were all apprehensive about restarting regular food. You will do fine!

[mrsto 2,925]

I agree with both above. When you sit down to eat your first pureed meal, take very small bites, and go slowly. Swallow each bite & let it go all the way down before taking another.

I'm not on full foods yet, but I am eating solid foods; Beans, potatoes, chicken, ground beef/turkey, toasted bread, etc. No fruits & veggies yet (except for bananas, apple sauce and avocados). Like you, I've been nervous about getting sick, and do NOT want to throw up. That being said, I follow the eating rules; small bites, chew chew chew, and I stop at the first signal of being "done". Well, sometimes I've pushed it just a little bit, but my body signals me by getting a fleeting feeling of nausea. At 5 weeks out, I have no issues whatsoever. There are a couple of foods that didn't feel great, so even though they're allowed, I avoid them. Yesterday, it was a toasted English muffin. Whole grain bread is fine, but the muffin didn't work well. Little by little, as you add things along your progression, you will find what works best for you.

I'm a lot like Jack.....I absolutely love eating slow & chewing very well. A concept I was never able to practice before surgery. I feel SO much better eating this way, and do not get the bloating & other issues I used to have after eating.

Good luck!

[Jim1967 3,569]

Feed yourself just the same way you would feed a baby for the first time. Little bit at a time, chew it really really fine and you'll be OK. You do that you and will get a feel for things rather quickly from there.