Struggling hard 3 weeks out

[Ailurophile 1]

I know it's early, only 3 weeks after my bypass. But it's just been one struggle after another.

I was increasing my ability to eat and drink for a little while, but I seem to be going backwards now. I can barely force myself to consume maybe 25oz of liquid and 4 bites of food a day. But I can't stand any of the Protein I've tried. I found one shake that's okay but I can only tolerate about half of it and not every day. If I have a shake or half a yogurt, I can't eat for the rest of the day at all.

I feel sick all the time. Nauseous, dizzy, lightheaded, weak. I use a transdermal Multivitamin patch approved by my surgeon.

I'm having big regrets. I know it will probably get better later but I feel like it won't ever get better if I'm only consuming Water and a couple bites of food (usually yogurt, well chewed soft meat, or sugar free ice cream).

I have my 1 month follow up next week. Doc is already mad I'm haven't found a way to meet my protein goals. I'm trying so hard it but it's so uncomfortable to eat drink, even water. I haven't been vomiting so I don't think there's any real problems but I can't survive like this.

[summerseeker 2,124]

Ok, Breathe. Its happened to lots of us and we survived to tell the tale and help others. If you have tried all the shakes and hate them all, try letting them down with milk. Try milk and Protein yogurt mixed thin. Try protein Water. If all that fails try milk with dried milk powder added to it to boost the protein count. Try warm drinks. Leave the food a couple of days while you up your liquid count. Your Doc has no right being mad at you because you are trying your best. Its your teams job to help you recover, make them help you

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,596]

2 hours ago, Ailurophile said:

I know it's early, only 3 weeks after my bypass. But it's just been one struggle after another.

I was increasing my ability to eat and drink for a little while, but I seem to be going backwards now. I can barely force myself to consume maybe 25oz of liquid and 4 bites of food a day. But I can't stand any of the Protein I've tried. I found one shake that's okay but I can only tolerate about half of it and not every day. If I have a shake or half a yogurt, I can't eat for the rest of the day at all.

I feel sick all the time. Nauseous, dizzy, lightheaded, weak. I use a transdermal Multivitamin patch approved by my surgeon.

I'm having big regrets. I know it will probably get better later but I feel like it won't ever get better if I'm only consuming Water and a couple bites of food (usually yogurt, well chewed soft meat, or sugar free ice cream).

I have my 1 month follow up next week. Doc is already mad I'm haven't found a way to meet my Protein goals. I'm trying so hard it but it's so uncomfortable to eat drink, even Water. I haven't been vomiting so I don't think there's any real problems but I can't survive like this.

Your doctor shouldn't be mad at you, they should be helping you figure out what's going on. Have you talked to your dietician? Maybe they can help you.

[toodlerue 452]

Call your insurance to see if they have a dietitian you can talk to. I have Cigna & the dietitian really helped me.
Your doctor should be giving you a script for Zoloft. If they don’t order meclezine 25mg from Amazon (cheapest place since the local stores only sell 12 pills in a bottle). You can get 3 bottles of 100 for $13.44. Some days I had to take the maximum to make it through, some days I didn’t have to take any.

[Ailurophile 1]

1 hour ago, SleeveDiva2022 said:

Your doctor shouldn't be mad at you, they should be helping you figure out what's going on. Have you talked to your dietician? Maybe they can help you.

I don't have a dietician but I think I'm gonna see if I can find one

[Ailurophile 1]

2 minutes ago, toodlerue said:

Call your insurance to see if they have a dietitian you can talk to. I have Cigna & the dietitian really helped me.
Your doctor should be giving you a script for Zoloft. If they don’t order meclezine 25mg from Amazon (cheapest place since the local stores only sell 12 pills in a bottle). You can get 3 bottles of 100 for $13.44. Some days I had to take the maximum to make it through, some days I didn’t have to take any.

Why Zoloft? I'm already on wellbutrin, prozac, and anafranil.

[toodlerue 452]

I’m sorry I meant Zofran!!!

Maybe the other ones need to be adjusted.

Edited June 29, 2022 by toodlerue

[Ailurophile 1]

24 minutes ago, toodlerue said:

I’m sorry I meant Zofran!!!

Maybe the other ones need to be adjusted.

Ohh!! That makes sense lol. I have the dissolving tablets of zofran but the taste is horrific. I wonder if something is wrong with me everything is so gross 😭😭😭

[Arabesque 7,219]

No it’s not unusual for things to taste gross. Our taste buds can temporarily change after surgery. Things we enjoyed can suddenly taste awful & food we never liked can be delicious.

Definitely try some Soups. Soup seem to make you feel like your eating something more substantial. And warm liquids often are more soothing. I even used room temp or warm Water to make up my shakes. Some meats can be hard to tolerate - chicken breast is the worst but others struggle with beef. I found minced meats the easiest to eat. I never understand the chew, chew, chew thing - it seems to make the meat dry & tasteless. Glad I wasn’t told to do it. Take small bites (a level teaspoon or less) & ensure the meat is very fall off the bone tender & moist. Use gravies & sauces.

Yoghurt smoothies helped me reach my Fluid & Protein goals. Blend up a high protein yoghurt with milk to a thin easy to drink consistency.

You may be in a bit of a vicious circle at the moment too. You feel nauseous so you don’t eat or drink. But not eating or drinking can make you feel nauseous. You may be dehydrated too which is a concern. What colour is your pee? If it is a darker yellow, you’ll need to go to your local medical centre for a fluid transfusion.

Try a different anti nausea med. Most are quite small tablets so you should be able to swallow them at three weeks.

I’m sorry your surgeon hasn’t been more supportive. And yes, definitely see if you can find a dietician.

[Smanky 747]

Tastebuds are usually out of whack in those early months. Anything remotely sweet made me feel sick, and I couldn't stomach the Protein Shakes. I found ONE Protein Water that I could get down. Was it nice? Hell no. Was it a struggle? Sure was! But I made myself drink it. I got additional protein from protein fortified soy milk that I added matcha powder to for a nice unsweetened matcha latte. That's how I got my protein in post-surgery. I could barely eat for the first three months, so I do know how you're feeling. But you have to soldier on through the early phase, even though it sucks. You have to drink your protein even if there's zero pleasure in it. I would often have to lie down after my protein water because I'd feel light headed and odd.

It does get better, and the crappy phase isn't forever. Try to remember that. You'll get back to enjoying food and drink faster than you think you will.

[Ailurophile 1]

48 minutes ago, Smanky said:

Tastebuds are usually out of whack in those early months. Anything remotely sweet made me feel sick, and I couldn't stomach the Protein Shakes. I found ONE Protein Water that I could get down. Was it nice? Hell no. Was it a struggle? Sure was! But I made myself drink it. I got additional Protein from protein fortified soy milk that I added matcha powder to for a nice unsweetened matcha latte. That's how I got my protein in post-surgery. I could barely eat for the first three months, so I do know how you're feeling. But you have to soldier on through the early phase, even though it sucks. You have to drink your protein even if there's zero pleasure in it. I would often have to lie down after my protein Water because I'd feel light headed and odd.

It does get better, and the crappy phase isn't forever. Try to remember that. You'll get back to enjoying food and drink faster than you think you will.

Thank you ❤️ yeah I am very much dehydrated. A couple days ago I took a laxative even though I'm not supposed to and that absolutely wrecked me yesterday. My pee is dark but I don't really have anywhere I can go for fluids besides the ER which I'd really rather not do. I emailed a local spa type place that has some kind of IV service but they never replied. I just went to the ER last Tuesday for fluids and to try and resolve ongoing Constipation issues. I guess I just have to keep trying stuff and eventually I'll get some protein in me .

.

Oops I meant to quote @Arabesque

Edited June 29, 2022 by Ailurophile

[toodlerue 452]

11 hours ago, Ailurophile said:

Ohh!! That makes sense lol. I have the dissolving tablets of zofran but the taste is horrific. I wonder if something is wrong with me everything is so gross 😭😭😭

I have those too & they do taste awful. I just swallow with a little Water, I figure its gonna be dissolved by the time it gets to my stomach!

[St77 87]

A piece of advice I was given from my team because I was having trouble getting 10 oz. of Fluid down a day was to try starting my day with a warm drink like tea to see if it helps "prime the pump" for lack of a better phrase. I found it actually did help.

I take Zofran for nausea from Migraines anyways, but found that Ativan helped calm down the dry heaves.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,596]

13 hours ago, Ailurophile said:

I don't have a dietician but I think I'm gonna see if I can find one

Wait, your surgeon's office doesn't have a dietician/nutritionist?

[Lornapc 18]

Big news for me from this group was broth. I’m now drinking Bone Broth and the Protein content is amazing compared with practically zero I was getting a few days ago.
I’m the same as you are so I can’t help much but try and get someone to look up bone broth, get the butchers to give up the bones and get simmering. If you can find some to buy while you’re making your own then great.