having problems

[Dianal]

Having problems eating . It's been 4 weeks since surgery and yesterday made the mistake of eating a piece of chicken breast around 4:00 p.m. I didn't eat but about 1/2 of it and I hurt all evening and really haven't felt real well today. I forced a shake today and it hasn't made me any more miserable then I was. I hope I haven't hurt my insides. Does anyone have a clue. When I cook my husband something it makes me sick like when I was pregnant. Diana

 

[Pat99]

Dianal-I found myself having a very difficult time eating certain meats even after completing the 4 meal plan phases. These phases allow our pouch to heal completely before we attempt to eat regular food. My pouch still hurts a little when I eat certain whole meats unless they are moist and extremely tender and my surgery was on 2/27/12. I even have to simmer lean ground beef and turkey in recipies until it is almost mushy before I can eat it comfortably. You need to go back to the meal plan phase you feel the most comfortable with and stick with it until you can move to the next one even if you have to stay there for longer than your written instructions suggest. We all progress at very different rates so what works for one person may not work for another. The reason the chicken breast made you feel miserable is because you aren't even close to being completely healed from surgery and your pouch simply can't handle this type of "heavy" food yet.

As we heal from surgery the opening from our pouch to our intestines is a bit swollen and that will make the opening a little smaller than what it will be when we heal completely. Compare it to a cut that requires stitches, the surrounding tissue swells up. When you have a hole and the tissue swells up the hole will be smaller as a result of the swollen surrounding tissue. The chicken breast you ate was too dense and therefore had a difficult time passing freely through that tiny opening between your pouch and intestines so it made you feel miserable. If you stick to your meal plan you will feel much better after eating. If your discomfort gets worse or doesn't go away in a day or 2 you should call your surgeon for help.

 

[Dianal]

Thanks Pat I was so afraid I might have caused a major problem. I feel better today. It really scared me.

 

[Pat99]

Dianal-I'm glad you're feeling better today. I can only eat 1/4 to 1/3 cup of a dense food without feeling uncomfortable but can eat 1/2 to 1 cup of a soft food and not have any issues. What happens is our pouch stretches while eating and that usually causes a certain degree of discomfort. It's nothing like the feeling of fullness we used to know and love before surgery. Since the dense foods take a lot longer to pass through the pouch opening that discomfort lasts longer and in my experience gets worse as time passes. That's probably what happened to you yesterday. But, we all do it and learn from it. And like I mentioned earlier I must avoid certain meats. I made some pork chop suey yesterday. I used a very small tenderloin, cut it in 1/8" strips and pounded the heck out of it just to make sure it would be extra tender. By the time I got done it looked like it was already chewed!!! This was the first time I made anything with pork since surgery. Well, I added pork to my list of meats I can't eat yet *LOL* Even after chewing it to death it's fighting with itself in my pouch. I even tried a few bites for dinner again today and it's still a "no-go". Good thing my beagle, Molly, loves my cooking She always hangs out within arms reach of me at meal times because she knows I never finish my food anymore. Lucky dog

 

[Dianal]

That helps me for future reference. Be careful giving your pup pork sometimes it'll give them loose stools.lol thanks again

 

[Pat99]

I only gave her a tiny bit. My vet warned me about pork years ago, he said dogs just can't digest it properly. Boy, did I learn the hard way. I was on a camping trip and at the time had a male Keeshond named JD. He was a glutton *LOL* I bought this big knuckle bone to take on the trip so he would have something to keep him occupied. There was no label on it and I thought it was beef. JD made short work of it and within 2 hours was writhing around in great pain. I called my vet and drove all the way back to the city. When I told him about the bone and he said it was probably a pork knuckle which was causing upper GI issues. He gave JD a huge syringe full of pink stuff orally and 2 huge pills that are the same thing given to calves when they have upper GI issues. He also had to give JD 3 or 4 pints of subcutaneous fluid to ward off dehydration. We were sent home with 3 prescriptions. Just one of many grand adventures from a dog that thought he was part goat *LOL* On another camping trip he swollowed a live tree frog that made the fatal mistake of hopping too close. Judging from the amount of grass JD gorged himself on the frog must have been jumping around in his tummy for quite a while *LOL* I'll spare everyone the details about the mouse he ate *LOL*

 

[broyerkdb]

i too have issues with white meat ,it must have something to moisten it or i can not swallow it without pain.