Response for Tiwana

Hi Everyone.... I just posted this response to Tiwana, but thought that there might be alot of info that someone else could use, too, and I didn't want it to get buried in another thread. She is having some challenges as a loser. So, here goes................. ___________________________________________________________________ Girl....there you are! I've been wondering about you. Sounds like for the most part you are doing ok, but things aren't working exactly as they should be. To begin with, I am 19 months out and have NEVER been regular. I told my doc and he said that was pretty normal, due to the small amount of food we eat. HOWEVER a week is a bit too long. You may be becoming dehydrated (which is very common at your stage of the game), something could be wrong and you don't know. So...you should call the doc and ask them about it. Don't worry - you paid them enough to take good care of you and that includes after care! Your surgery was pretty recent. Are you sure you should be on pureed foods already? I was 2 weeks out before I was allowed to start on meats and stuff. But, if Oscar the grouchy pouch is being a 2 year old, by all means go back to liquids for a day and then try again. Our new tummies are like babies. Recall back to when you started your baby on solids - you did it very slowly and took your time to make sure that they were ok. treat your pouch the same way. It is YOUR new baby. Not sure about mashed potatoes. I didn't try them until I was alomost 6 months out and found that they did not go down well (even today - UGH!). But, make sure that your food is very moist and that you chew very well. Chicken can be a bit on the dry side and be difficult to get down. in fact, even at 19 months out, i had that reminder yesterday when I (1) ate too fast and (2) ate chicken a tad on the dry side. Needless to say - up it came. Was I surprised - YES! I'm 19 months out. Was I happy about it? Yes - cause it means that I still have the internal reminder that my pouch is still working and I need to take care of it - IT'S IN CHARGE! If you are going to eat chicken and potatoes, add a little bit of fat free gravy to make it moist. Instead of eggs, how about egg beaters? I recently found that my pouch tolerates them - not much in the beginning, but now it's become a morning staple. But, can you try them with a bit of reduced fat cheese melted into them. Great source of protein! How about refried beans with cheese - even pintos and cheese from Taco Bell. Cottage Cheese with some pureed fruit (stick with something low in sugar. I like a small chunk of banana or some fresh blueberries), or sugar free preserves, or a bit of splenda and cinnamon or a 1/2 scoop of flavored protein powder (another great protein source). Part skim ricotta cheese with sugar free preserves (another staple) or a little bit of marinara sauce and parm cheese (heat in the micro until all gooey and melty). Sugar free pudding with a scoop of protein powder mixed in. IE: Chocolate pudding w/ a scoop of chocolate protein powder and skim milk as directed in the recipe. Tuna salad, chicken salad, shrimp salad are all perfect. Started with 1 oz of protein and go from there. I would not puree all of the food groups together, because right now you want to limit your carb intake and stick with the protein. That's what is going to heal your body. Some recommend mac and cheese - I, personally, and not a supporter of mac and cheese, mainly because of the carbs and it does not go down well on me. Also, that is a comfort food for me and could be a trigger food as well. So, I stay away from it. But, for you, try it - you never know. Just make it high in protein. When I ate (and still do this) I chew until I counted to 20. That way I know that everything is ground up pretty well. Plus, it forces me to take my time. Try that. That may help. BUT....if it does not, you need to discuss it with your doc and it could be something wrong and need to be treated. Now, last thing....we are ALL here for each other. Please do not be afraid to ask. We're all at different stages of this journey and just because you are starting out means nothing. Because guess what - there are PLENTY of us who have been where you are today. We all have our own experiences and many of us have had similiar experiences - so, you are NOT alone in this! You know how to get in contact with any one of us - so, please do!

OMG!!! I am in tears right now! I so needed to hear everything you wrote in that post. I'm exactly 1 week out and I feel like I should not of been eating the foods that they told me I could eat. The more and more I would see people on here who would announce they're 6-8 weeks out and just having their first meal. I started questioning my diet. Before I left the hospital they gave me a choice of eggs or cottage cheese with yogurt and applesauce. I was told that I am supposed to eat three meals and mashed carrots, mashed potatos w/ gravy, pureed chicken, tuna, turkey. Peaches/soft fruit drained rinsed pureed or mashed, saltine crackers, baked tortilla chips? I spoke with a friend who had her surgery with Dr. Terracina? and she said that I should not be eating all of that. I also eat lots of popsicles. I want to drink more, but I feel like my pouch feels up, then I'm waiting for the water to go through me so that I can drink some more. I feel very thirsty and I've been walking non stop and doing some light dancing, more like stepping to music around the house to some of my favorite tunes. Any how, since I went back to liquids I feel so much better. My sternum and chest area started to bother me when I ate the other foods. Tonight for dinner I had chicken broth w/ added protein powder. I felt guilty trying to eat the other stuff and I wouldn't necessarily be hungry for it. I just ate because it was supposed to be my diet and I had to eat three meals. I'm going to stick to this liquid diet and just add my protein in until I know my pouch is healed. I go to the Dr. tomorrow and I think I am going to express my concerns when I go. You just don't know how much this means to me. I can hardly see trying to type right now because the tears are streaming down my face. I feel bad for eating all those things but I only did it because I was told I could, and I feel like coming out of surgery I really should have been on a more strict diet after surgery. Well, thank you so much you are truly a blessing to me. I feel so down right now because I really want this to work, I feel like I got off to a overwhelming and bad start for my first week being post op. Good night Jill, once again this helped me more than you could every know! I am forever grateful! Tiawna J.

T- You are SO very welcome. I'm a little surprised by what's on your list as you are too early out for alot of that stuff. My doc had me on liquids for the 1st 2 weeks. Liquids consisted of planin yogurt (I would add protein powder to get some flavor), clear broth, vanilla pudding (which never went down well and still doesn't), sugar free popcicles (yuck! Too sweet for me), eggs (I tried and did not site very well), protein drinks (I had 3 per day and sipped them all day), watered down apple juice (not for me), applesauce, ricotta cheese, etc. It wasn't until I was over 2 weeks out that I got pureed food and even then, it was very carefully added. Unfortunately, each doc is a bit different, but I would say that if you change your diet and it works, go for it. You are the one who has to live with the lifestyle, and as long as you can make it as healthy as possible, well then............... As I said before, I personally am not a supporter of mac and cheese, potatoes, pasta, etc. These are food that got mein trouble to begin with. Plus, they can be overfilling and not sit well in the pouch. Plus they car so high in carbs, and carbs can slow your weightloss down. I was told by many of the old supporters (they were 2+ years out and are our mentors) that we need to start with protein, and then veggies and then good carbs such as brown rice, whole wheat, etc. BUT.....start with your protein and if you feel like you need more to eat, have more protein and then move on to veggies, etc. But, that does not mean that when you start eating pureed/soft foods that you cannot eat these. This is MY choice because I don't need them and they still do not feel good going down. occasionally, I will have a few bites of sweet potato, a few strands of whole wheat pasta, or a tablespoon of brown rice - but I started that doing that at 1 year out, and I make sure that I have had my protein and veggies first. Always knwo that there is someone here. If you aren't sure....ask. We may tell you to go and see your doc, but hey at least you know that you are not alone. Jill

I added my thoughts to this post if you want to check it out. Courtney

This is great Jill! I saw the post and didn't have time to answer it ans was afraid it would get lost in the shuffle. Here is my two cents. I was released from the hospital, immediately on pureed foods. I never did a liquid diet. I didn't have any real problems with anything (except onion mixed into things) but I was really careful to puree everything really good. I have heard of other people who did have issues with the pureed food and did go back to liquids and that is perfectly acceptable, do what is best for your pouch. I would basically eat whatever meat & veggies & fruit was being served (I spent a lot of my healing time at my mom's) and I just pureed it. I had purchased a little blender type thing from Walmart by Black & Decker I think for like $10. I also did eggs (gave me gas but didn't upset my stomach), tuna, egg salad, beans & ham, cottage cheese, oatmeal, yogurt, chili, etc. That early out I didn't really do any carbs, just my protein, fruits & veggies. Definitely try to do the protein first and add in the fruits and veggies if you can. They are important too, my nutritionist recommended doing like two bites of protein then a bit of the fruit/veggie that way you are getting those vitamins & nutrients that you need. When pureeing I did things seperately that way I had different options on my plate and not just one small group of things. My nut. taught that we would appreciate the variety so that we would feel like we were participating in the meal and wouldn't get bored. Now I have actually been pretty regular every since surgery but I agree that a week is too long. That might be why your stomach is hurting, because you are backed up. The water will definitely help, if you aren't getting in enough that could be part of the problem, but we all understand how hard that is to do when you are early out. The fiber in the fruits & veggies should help too so if you can eat some more of those it might help. Definitely talk with your doctor and see what they recommend. As Jill said, we are here for you. You can do this. Courtney