Why can't I eat regular food yet?

swtdel · March 31, 2011

OK I'm 7 weeks post op and I'm still having trouble with regular food. Is this normal? I do great with thin liquids, Soups (mainly broths) but when it comes to thick liquids or regular type foods if seems like they get stuck in my throat. This even happens with Protein drinks!! It's soooo frustrating to me!! Will this go away?

Billy363627 · March 31, 2011

I would check with your doc. I had the same situation and I irratated my stomach and I had to stay on thick liquids until it healed. They gave me carafate to coat my stomach and help it heal. you should be eating at least soft foods right now like tuna, salmon etc.

Tiffykins · March 31, 2011

Everyone heals differently and at a different rate. Also, learning to chew everything to literal mush is recommended when introducing new foods. You need to check with your surgeon, and advise them that you are struggling. You could be having esophageal spasms which can lead to that discomfort in your chest.

I can tell you that I stayed on mushies/super soft solids until I was well into my 3rd month post-op. Not because food hurt, but because soft foods worked best to get in Protein without the use of shakes that I could not tolerate. I had zero issue getting in my Protein from soft foods, and was able to get in the proper calories/protein/carbs. I'd have 1 meals of regular solid protein, but I wasn't able to eat more than 1-2oz at a time, and that left me deficient in my protein goal.

If you had a hiatal hernia repair simultaneously with the sleeve, your healing will definitely be different than a normal VSG'er.

Disney · March 31, 2011

Everyone heals differently and at a different rate. Also, learning to chew everything to literal mush is recommended when introducing new foods. You need to check with your surgeon, and advise them that you are struggling. You could be having esophageal spasms which can lead to that discomfort in your chest.

I can tell you that I stayed on mushies/super soft solids until I was well into my 3rd month post-op. Not because food hurt, but because soft foods worked best to get in Protein without the use of shakes that I could not tolerate. I had zero issue getting in my Protein from soft foods, and was able to get in the proper calories/protein/carbs. I'd have 1 meals of regular solid protein, but I wasn't able to eat more than 1-2oz at a time, and that left me deficient in my protein goal.

If you had a hiatal hernia repair simultaneously with the sleeve, your healing will definitely be different than a normal VSG'er.

Could you tell us what mushy/soft Proteins you ate? I am in the same boat with the Protein Shakes. Can NOT tolerate them at all. I think my weight loss is stalling because I am not getting in nearly enough protein.

What do they do if you are having esophageal spasms?

Thanks Tiff!

swtdel · March 31, 2011

Thanks soo much everyone for the feedback, I'm definitely going to call my Dr. and have them check me out. I just have to relax and allow my body to heal in it's own time.

Tiffykins · March 31, 2011

Could you tell us what mushy/soft Proteins you ate? I am in the same boat with the Protein shakes. Can NOT tolerate them at all. I think my weight loss is stalling because I am not getting in nearly enough Protein.< /p>
What do they do if you are having esophageal spasms?

Thanks Tiff!

Refried Beans with cheese and greek yogurt

Chicken/tuna/egg salad super mushed up no veggies usually mixed with greek yogurt and Ranch (dry) dressing

Poached eggs with cheese (I couldn't do scrambled)

Ground turkey/chili meat/ground beef with some kind of Pasta sauce be it Tomato or cream based

Ground meat with taco seasoning and greek yogurt

These foods were all "okay'd" because you can mash them all up to mush, or I would pulverize them with a stick blender if necessary

Deli meat with cream cheese was authorized on my mush/soft stage so I ate a bunch of that as well.

I also made lots of "crock pot" meats. I would look at recipes online, remove the starch/carb (like potatoes, rice or pasta) from the recipe and just put it in the crock pot on low for several hours because low and slow with meats and I could eat a decent amount in one meal.

Usually if you have esophageal spasm they can prescribe medication to help you get through the healing phase. Something else I did to help aid in digestion early out was use papaya enzyme. It helps with digestion and meat breakdown.

Rev Me Up! · March 31, 2011

My mushy experience: I am living on cottage cheese, greek yogurt, soft deli meat with cream cheese rolled up, "light" drinkable yogurt and bits of dark meat chicken (I cook it in a baking bag so it is super moist) mixed with ricotta cheese,. The drinkable yogurt has more carbs than I should take in, but it is the only way I can get any calories at all. As it is, I only get in about 400 cals and 30-40 grams of Protein. I, too, can't tolerate the Protein shakes and I can't stand sugar substitute. I can't eat more than 2 oz of anything mushy. I did have a little plain oatmeal this morning and it went down well - I am also hoping it will add some much needed Fiber to my diet. I just bought some hummus and had a 1/2 of a teaspoon just to taste it. It seemed to be OK. But, I am always cautious of introducing anything new. eggs are not kind to me. They upset my stomach and, for some reason, I get really depressed after I eat them - weird. So, no eggs for me right now.

I have to remind myself to CHEW!!! Also, take long breaks between bites. It does take 20-30 minutes to eat my measly 2oz of food. If I take my time, it goes down well and I have no tummy ache later.

I am wondering how I will ever move on to any other type of food because my restriction is TIGHT!!! If you can't get any mushies down, I would call the doc and make sure there isn't something else going on.

Lara