Discomfort when eating

[Butlersh 212]

I am almost 5 weeks out and anything I eat causes discomfort. The only thing that goes down ok and stays down ok is crackers. I am not sure if I am eating too much, too fast or what. My sleeve seems to be very very tiny- it would honestly suit me just fine to not eat at all, but I keep trying because I know that is how I'm going to lose the weight. Any advice??

[iggychic 1,405]

It's hard to give advice without more details. First I'd say crackers aren't your best choice so you should move away from that option (which you are probably trying to do hence this post). But when you say you can't eat much, what do you mean? At five weeks out of surgery a meal for me was about 1/4 cup of Protein and that left me feeling quite full, often uncomfortable. At three months past with the swelling you still have down, I still am often uncomfortable with a 1/2 cup (which is what my nut wants me on). So, what's a "meal" to you?

[Jumperbean 26]

I am the opposite and getting concerned about what I can eat. I can eat 3 ounces of Protein over a half hour or so with no real pain. I am 3 weeks out. I am also hungry. I did not think I would be one of those lucky people that was never hungry but part of the reason I did this was because of the hunger reduction. So needless to say I am disappointed to be able to eat this much already and that I am hungry. It is not as bad as before surgery but it s always there. I feel resigned to always fight this hunger. It is depressing.

[DUBrookie03 142]

I am the opposite and getting concerned about what I can eat. I can eat 3 ounces of Protein over a half hour or so with no real pain. I am 3 weeks out. I am also hungry. I did not think I would be one of those lucky people that was never hungry but part of the reason I did this was because of the hunger reduction. So needless to say I am disappointed to be able to eat this much already and that I am hungry. It is not as bad as before surgery but it s always there. I feel resigned to always fight this hunger. It is depressing.

When they removed most of our stomach, they removed about 85% of the tissue that creates the amino acid Grehlin- the cause of "hunger". By about 30 days post op most all of that should be out of our systems. If you are experiencing "hunger" I suggest taking an acid reducer, as what you are most likely experiencing is not hunger at all, but the symptoms of high levels of acid as they are identical! Give it a try and see what happens!

[Butlersh 212]

Crackers are on my approved list, that being said they are my last resort food as i avoid carbs. I'm only eating a few bites of anything. 4 to 5 small bites at max and done its just that nothing I try goes down easily or sits easily - particularly dense Protein (chicken, tuna, etc). I also get diarreah after most everything. It's frustrating to not be able to comfortably eat anything. I'm not barfing, but at some points I wish I was. I've tried smaller bites, chewing more, adding more moisture to things, but nothing really helps.

[iggychic 1,405]

We all heal at different rates hun. My guess is that you probably have more swelling than so many people you read about here (and that's a good thing because you aren't doing anything stupid!). I wasn't able to eat more than a few bites five weeks out of my second surgery either and if it was dense...maybe even a couple was too much. My doctor advised I go backwards and stick to less dense foods like cream Soups, (I ate a lot of chowder) cottage cheese, etc. Perhaps that's what you might want to do now and then wait a couple of weeks to advance further? Advancing too soon is dangerous, but advancing slowly is never unsafe as long as you're watching your Protein.

As to the crackers...they were allowed on mine as well. My concern in reading that you were only able to get those down is that even in tiny amounts if we have a carb heavy meal (like bread or crackers) it goes through us too soon and we don't get to that full feeling, thus wanting more food sooner than we would have with half the amount of food if it were a denser Protein like cottage cheese. (Did that make sense?)

[Pookeyism 1,143]

I am almost 5 weeks out and anything I eat causes discomfort. The only thing that goes down ok and stays down ok is crackers. I am not sure if I am eating too much, too fast or what. My sleeve seems to be very very tiny- it would honestly suit me just fine to not eat at all, but I keep trying because I know that is how I'm going to lose the weight. Any advice??

Five weeks out I was still having discomfort - people are different, they might factory stamp the sleeve, but they cannot count everyone in on the same healing rates and such. I would discontinue crackers if at all possible, if you can have a cracker, there would be better options you can probably digest - consider potato (it is considered a "complete food") or plantain (plantain are better carbwise and denser). Crackers are considered OK but most are really high in sodium, and that often leads to a false sense of hunger (thirst often feels like hunger to me now). Or try a protien-loaded cracker. chicken was really bad for me five weeks out - consider trying tambiko or crab, rabbit or bison. avacado incorporated into meat helped me out, too.

If you can only hold down crackers, consider dipping them into or taking a teaspoon of evoo...it will help keep your good fats up.

[clk 3,519]

Dense Protein is hard for a long time. It took me months to be able to get down more than two bites of beef.

Crackers don't bother you because they slide. At this point you need to eat what you can but your best bet is to keep trying foods until you find a better option (as far as Protein goes, because protein is really important) that you can tolerate.

Provided you aren't experiencing lactose intolerance, cottage cheese is a great option. Lentils are high in protein, too, and should be easier than a very dense food to eat. Tofu works if you like it and is a much softer food. Try eggs and see how they go. Many people have an issue with them but just as many rely on them for protein. I still prefer eggs over beef or chicken.

Discomfort means you're eating either too much or too fast or not chewing well enough. Slow it down. At five weeks out you can be stuffed to the point of pain after just a couple bites of food, even if you feel like you need to eat more or if you have the compulsion to clean your plate.

If you haven't found a Protein Shake that you like, keep working on it until you do find one. You will feel much better once your nutritional goals are being met and shakes are a great way to do that, especially when it's so difficult to eat.

Good luck,

~Cheri

[rybecca20 160]

I am almost 5 weeks out and anything I eat causes discomfort. The only thing that goes down ok and stays down ok is crackers. I am not sure if I am eating too much' date=' too fast or what. My sleeve seems to be very very tiny- it would honestly suit me just fine to not eat at all, but I keep trying because I know that is how I'm going to lose the weight. Any advice??[/quote']

I was just about to write the same post!! I am so sick of eating and my stomach hurting. Crackers and string cheese is about all that goes down well. Just tried to est chilli and got so sick!! But I am 4 months out!

[clk 3,519]

I was just about to write the same post!! I am so sick of eating and my stomach hurting. Crackers and string cheese is about all that goes down well. Just tried to est chilli and got so sick!! But I am 4 months out!

Everyone has their own list of foods to avoid for a while. Beef is hard for a lot of people, for a long time. It's very dense. I think I was more than a year out before I could eat more than half a burger...sans bun! With certain foods, sometimes just a few bites can do what half a cup of a different food will do. It's all trial and error and it's all up to your own particular sleeve.

Keep trying new foods until you find what works. I was determined that tuna was going to be a staple in my diet post op but it really bothered me for a while. I just had to switch things up until my body tolerated it the way I expected.

Good luck,

~Cheri

[rybecca20 160]

Everyone has their own list of foods to avoid for a while. Beef is hard for a lot of people' date=' for a long time. It's very dense. I think I was more than a year out before I could eat more than half a burger...sans bun! With certain foods, sometimes just a few bites can do what half a cup of a different food will do. It's all trial and error and it's all up to your own particular sleeve.

Keep trying new foods until you find what works. I was determined that tuna was going to be a staple in my diet post op but it really bothered me for a while. I just had to switch things up until my body tolerated it the way I expected.

Good luck,

~Cheri[/quote']

Thank u so much!! How far out are you?

[clk 3,519]

Thank u so much!! How far out are you?

Two and a half years out on the 15th of January!

~Cheri