why bother eating at all?

well. hello. i am 27 days post op vsg. why eat at all? i'll never get the amount needed of protein in. i'd rather just drink 2 protein drinks a day and a cup of protein broth. that gives me 78grams protein. can  eat only 2 ounces of whatever-had ricotta cheese  a little bit ago. not really having any hunger.  and have to wait an hour after eating this small amount to drink. i get behind in my fluids.when can i stop opening those actigal capsules and start taking them whole?(they arent' small). yuck! anyway. sorry for rambling..and my belly is still sore on and off...especially around the bellybutton area..how long does that last? any is anyone's roof of their mouth sore? all in all. i don't feel to badly. fatigue easily. sorry for rambling. i think i hit that three week stall thing. but yesterday the scale said down a pound. but actually...i did this more for control of my diabetes...can't complain about that! have not taken diabetic meds since day of surgery and my blood sugars have been running between 82 and 115! so..happy for that...anyway..i love this forum and thank you for a lot of great information . and...just for listening!

I know it's really tough in the beginning but it will get better! I was on mostly liquids the first month. My surgeon was just happy with the efforts I made to ge****er and protein in. Sounds like you are doing the same. 2 small spoonfuls of food hurt in the beginning but it will get easier. Congratulations for being off your diabetes meds, that is a big deal right there. You did this all for the right reasons. Best of luck to you!!!

Just keep working at it, it will get better.  

Why bother eating?  Do you really want to spend the rest of your life on protein shakes, LOL.

Seriously though, as you continue to heal and swelling goes down you will be able to eat more regular and solid foods.  Think of this as just taking your stomach through infancy again.

As you heal more you will experience physical hunger, and you will want the feeling of dense protein in your stomach.  The challenge after going to regular foods will be choosing the right dense proteins and making sure you do get your proteins, and then when you can, getting a few bites of vegetables.

As for the soreness, it gets better.  For me the incision that stayed sore the longest was the big one on the side that they pulled the stomach through.  To be honest I don't recall when I stopped noticing the occasional twinge from it.  It just kind of faded out.

Glad you're with us on the losers bench.  Best of luk to you.

If liquids get you the protein you need and you're not craving food, then stay on the liquids.  There's no big rush.

Never heard of the top of anyone's mouth being sore.  You may want to take a good look at your mouth and tongue to make sure you're not developing thrush.  You'd see a white coating to your tongue.

I know you're sick of hearing it, but things really will get better.  But knowing that doesn't really help that much in the "here and now." 

I feel the same way, jbeanrn.

I'm about 5.5 weeks out, and it seems that trying to get enough protein from food at this point is impossible and totally throws me off of trying to reach my goal water intake because of wait time before/after foods. But, I keep trying because eventually it'll happen and I am starting to get sick of sweet shakes - I wanna scream!

I knew there were going to be lots of hurdles to overcome and this is one of many. We can and will do it! Keep your head up.

I am only 2 weeks out, and I am already sick of the Shakes as well,  I have been waiting to be able to start soft foods next wed.  Sounds like there are lots of challenges.  I am worried about what will agree with me or not..  Any suggestions on what food to start with or ones that  you found easier ??  Thx for your post and HANG in there,   We are all going through this change together !

Sorry for the late response - didn't realize my post was replied to.

Anyhow, I didn't do alot of 'mushie' foods. Cottage cheese and greek yogurt were a staple then - still is. High in protein, and easy to get down. I did have some mash potatoes, but only because my mom made them and they were super good. But her gravy was so rich, I ended up on the toilet within 10 mins. I did try some store bought mash potatoes and ick! I also did try refried beans, but they felt super heavy to me. To be honest, I wasn't a huge refried bean person without it being on a tostada with lots of lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa - so wasn't that fabulous for me anyways.

I was going to continue to do soups and things like that, but I was more concentrated on getting my protein in - so was kinda a waste for me. I'm trying to keep my proteins at least 70g. Everything and everyone is different. Try to do anything you can think of, but be cautious when doing it and go slow. Try new things seperately, don't try to pack more than one in a day - you want it to be easy to eliminate anything that may give you problems.

I'm almost 3 wks out so I fully feel u... u've got great advice above... just wanted to add, I've been taking my prevacid (they're pretty big too) since day 3 when i got home from the hospital... u should deff b fine now :-)

Good luck!

 hey bigtigger - just wanted to say hey since I too am from Laurel and Dr. A was my surgeon too!  Your gonna do great!

hey! yeah, i've been pretty good... it will get easier tho after my husband gets his, 4/30 :-)

You have done great! keep it up!!!