1 week out... HELP, tummy trouble!

Wow.  I have no advice for you, but just wanted to let you know I'm sorry that you have these issues.   I hope the change in the type of protein will resolve the problems.  What a nightmare.

I'm mostly disappointed because I had my whole menu all planned out, and now it's out the window and I gotta wing it. I will survive this month... I'm just going to have to get creative a lot earlier in the game than I thought. The good news is, my new tummy isn't terribly sensitive as long as I take my time and don't eat too much at once. I haven't had any nausea problems after the first few days out. I feel pretty darn good for somebody who just had surgery a week ago! It just seems like my gut got "upset" by this whole process and is taking longer to recover than the rest of me.

I just hope I can eat cheeses later on this year. I do love my cheese!

DEFINITELY milk problems. I had the same issue immediately post op. I would drink my protein shake, then within a few minutes, BOOM diarrhea. I, too, had a cabinet full of protein powders that I suddenly couldn't use :( LUCKILY, there are a TON of lactose-free powders out there!! I've been using Syntrax's Nectars line since I started having trouble and they were very kind to me! I had to start using soy milk (not my favorite thing, but the powders tasted good, so that made up for it... See if cheese gives you trouble too. For me, the closer to the "source," the worse the reaction I had. Sour cream, cream, milk, etc. = BAD NEWS. But cheese, since it does not contain as much whey, didn't give me problems unless I ate too much in one day.

See if you can find a lactose-free protein (whether powdered or RTD). Hopefully that will help get things settled... And by the way, the yogurt will probably only help. Since you were pumped full of antibiotics after surgery, the good "flora" bacteria in your gut were likely diminished. If you can't tolerate yogurt (I hate it too!), you might consider trying taking some Acidophilus, which will encourage your gut to get it's act back together. I found that the acidophilus helped quite a bit before I realized that I had a lactose problem.

But, wait! I also have GOOD NEWS! Lactose intolerance that is developed post op is often NOT permanent. Mine went away about a month ago (hallelujah!), but I'm still careful when I use milk in my protein shakes... I don't know that I'll ever get over milk paranoia!!

Best of luck, hon. I hope it gets better SOON.

I sure hope it's not permanent either. I do love my cheese! I haven't tried any cheese because it's not on my plan. I can gag down the yogurt for now. I close my eyes and pretend it's cottage cheese. It's not, but I just think about cottage cheese when I eat it, and that makes it more tolerable. The only side effect I've had from the yogurt is a little bit of gas, but nothing like the nightmare I get with the shakes.

I'm sooooo disappointed. I really really wanted to be a good patient and get my shakes in. I had this all planned out! And I'm sure I'll get them in, just maybe with different ingredients than before.  :)  I'm not averse to getting my nutrition in, truly, and trust me, I can choke down plenty of nasty things to make sure I get it - cast iron taste buds, here.  I have good muscle mass and want to keep that as I lose the fat!

Good for you! You're better than me... I can be so picky :( Right around the time that I discovered that I was lactose intolerant, I suddenly couldn't stand the Muscle Milk shakes that I had been drinking for the first week or two post op. I'd smell it and suddenly know it just wasn't happening.

Don't beat yourself up! You're doing great!

I just had the funniest thought. Unrelated except for the cheese thing. My favorite organic grocery store sets out free samples of things... with my sleeve, I could probably go there and have a "full meal" now! (Well, once I hit full foods.) They set out lots of different grilled meats and cheeses in the deli. I could be like "Lunch? I already had lunch... I went shopping! I'm good!" They literally set out enough meat and cheese that I could probably fill my sleeve up in short order.

IF I can tolerate cheese. I'll have to "test" cheese in a couple more months, see if the gut cooperates or if it's still being finicky.

ETA: The sleeve, oddly enough, is NOT finicky. Small, yes, but not terribly sensitive. It's the GUT that's giving me hell right now!

That's a GREAT idea!! One that I may steal... ;)

I have eaten a whole meal at Whole Foods just by eating their samples...and I didn't eat everything offered to me, either!

Jane

Once I'm a little further out, I'm totally going to try that. >:)

Temporary lactose intolerance is fairly common, and usually resolves itself down the road a bit.  If you want to, try Lactaid milk and see if that'll work.  Otherwise, since yogurt is working for you, find a way to flavor it so that you enjoy it.  I've used sweeteners and sugar free preserves/jellies, and that works. 

And for some reason, lactose intolerance doesn't always extend to cheeses or other dairy products - like yogurt!  So try some cottage cheese.  Try the ricotta cheese bake (you can find the recipe on theworldaccordingtoeggface.com).  Get non-milky protein drinks.  Use almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, soy milk and see if they work.