What's up with red meat?

[heartonmysleevey 133]

My dr says I need to wait 4 months for red meat. Does anyone know why? For those of you who do eat it, is it hard to swallow? How does it feel?

[mrchris 98]

This varies from doctor to doctor.. But the standard answer is "follow what your doc says". Mine was solid foods in week 7 post-op, meat in week 8 (including red meat).

They suggested softer meats at first but to be honest I had more problems with things like hamburger and got the solid meats down easier. Certain semi-soft foods seem to get stuck at the start of the sleeve, while the more solid items pushed through. The NP said this was not uncommon, and a slight stricture at the opening to the stomach would cause this but that it would loosen up (which it did).

4 months for red meat seems like an awfully long time. Compared to many here the 8 weeks my doc states is even a bit on the long side. I know it's not something you want to jump right into as your stomach needs time to heal. But that's the first I have heard of anything that long... Were there any complications before during or after the surgery or was this a band to sleeve revision? Something that might suggest additional healing time is needed? Or is this his standard guidelines?

[hadouni 301]

I think I had red meat earlier than that too, but honestly, I have the most consistent issues with white-meat chicken. The dryer the meat, the harder it is to get down & keep down.

Chew forever (hard to remember sometimes when you feel hungry) and wait at least a minute between bites of denser Proteins would be my advice.

[ShrinkingBiker 121]

I just moved to soft solids and one of the things on my list is meatloaf which I had last night and while I can't eat much of it, it went down fine.

[heartonmysleevey 133]

I will be 8 weeks in Friday and had a little kofta yesterday and Monday. It's a ground beef kabob. I am gonna wait till 4 months and not eat anymore red meat but it went down fine. I haven't had any revisions and no computations. Thank God. I eat everything else and I have a sleeve of steel. That's for sure. I would love a burger with a lettuce wrap. Mmmm!

[scorpio2479 237]

I'm 7 mths post-op & beef is still not my friend:-(

[Ms.AntiBand 2,984]

Red meat is harder to digest and some pork is, also. As are some veggies like asparagus, broccoli, cabbage etc. Try to avoid these until further out and try by sample until you know it's stomach friendly to you now. Everyone's is different. I don't have any problems with anything.. Just can't have but a little bit

[SleeveNZ 219]

I was eating red meats at 6 weeks out. It was actually recommended due to the Iron. I have no problem with any red meat but I do have problems with white meat!! Fish and chicken is so much drier ... dont wait 4 months! Seems stupid to me.

[Kalimomof3 613]

I had red meat when I was cleared for solids at 6 weeks my surgeon advised me to try whatever meat I thought I could tolerate. I actually still have a tougher time with drier meats like turkey or chicken I am over 5 months out...I can tolerate steaks cooked medium-medium well and stewed meat for me moisture content of meat is key and of course lots of chewing

[bmbrush413 124]

Yesterday was my first day of purée, and I pureed a meatball...worked out okay.

[lotti 154]

Surgery march 13 I had pork chop very moist 4 small bites lately. Must chew a lot and eat very slow.

[sharonintx 1,275]

After 5 weeks the only things I haven't tried are steak, pork chops, and BBQ such as ribs, etc. But I'm gonna do so any day now.

[SerendipityHappens 1,594]

My plan says I could have deli meats at 3 weeks.. so I got some roast beef and have been loving it.. Then I could have ground meats at 4 weeks.. I'm not supposed to have beef until 6 weeks. but... ground was ok, and deli meat was ok, they just didn't want me eating like a steak until 6 weeks. Which leads me to believe that it's not so much the meat as it is the texture?

[MrsG 329]

I had to wait til I was 8 weeks out for red meat. My sleeve tolerates it very well. I just prefer chicken, turkey and fish. My NUT told me they just like to make sure the tummy is healed because red meat is harder to digest.