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I'm having a hard time transitioning to soft solids.

LauraLeigh

LauraLeigh

Member
I was given permission to transfer to soft solids at my last visit. One of the things they recommended was soft, flaky fish, which is great. I love seafood. I baked tilapia last night and had it get stuck. I drank some warm tea and walked around and it passed. I gave it an hour before finishing my dinner by cutting it up into tiny pieces and adding 1.5 tbsp of light miracle whip (I thought maybe the fish was too dry). I had no further difficulties and had the same meal for lunch today with little problem. Tonight, I decided to try some tuna fish mixed with light miracle whip. I ate about 1/4 cup and it got stuck, but this time it wouldn't pass and I threw it up. I had absolutely no problems post-op, but I feel like I'm having a hard time getting solids down. Is the transfer back to normal food supposed to be so difficult? I don't feel I'm eating too fast. Am I not chewing enough? I can only eat about a 1/2 cup of most foods at a time. I'm averaging close to 700 calories a day and 65 grams of protein. I'm debating whether or not I should give the office a call?
 
If you feel like you need to call your Drs office then call them, better have them tell you then its nothing and play it safe then just assume. Have you tried other protein sources yet? For me boiled eggs went down well, or really moist chicken. Also for some reason shrimp is hard for me even though I love it, and shrimp was also difficult for my Mom who has the bypass too although now she is able to eat it (about 10 yrs out). Are you also just eating the protein or did you have anything with it-bread, veg? Maybe it could be something else besides the fish causing it to be stuck, if not I am out of suggestions. This forum is great though and I am sure others will have much better thoughts or advice.
 
The fact Miracle whip has sugar in it may be part of or the whole problem.... Read up on dumping syndrome and refined sugars and carbs...

The next problem sounds like the amount your eating.. Are you measuring your portions according to your surgeons referances?

My surgeon and nutritionist allowed 1.5 ounces of protein per meal and 1 ounce of macerated fruit or well steamed / soft veggies. I understand each surgeon has their own guidelines for amounts but it does seem pretty

consistent on the starting and transition amounts and portions

I would start very tiny amount and chew until your food is liquefied in your mouth.... Chew at least 20 to 30 times.

The talapia, make a fish style salad using olive oil mayo and season to taste.. Flake it all up and add a small amount of mayo till you have a stiff almost paste like texture. Not wet.

I am just 2 months out and I still cannot get more than a total of 2 ounces aka 1/4 cup total in per meal.
 
LauraLeigh said:
I was given permission to transfer to soft solids at my last visit. One of the things they recommended was soft, flaky fish, which is great. I love seafood. I baked tilapia last night and had it get stuck. I drank some warm tea and walked around and it passed. I gave it an hour before finishing my dinner by cutting it up into tiny pieces and adding 1.5 tbsp of light miracle whip (I thought maybe the fish was too dry). I had no further difficulties and had the same meal for lunch today with little problem. Tonight, I decided to try some tuna fish mixed with light miracle whip. I ate about 1/4 cup and it got stuck, but this time it wouldn't pass and I threw it up. I had absolutely no problems post-op, but I feel like I'm having a hard time getting solids down. Is the transfer back to normal food supposed to be so difficult? I don't feel I'm eating too fast. Am I not chewing enough? I can only eat about a 1/2 cup of most foods at a time. I'm averaging close to 700 calories a day and 65 grams of protein. I'm debating whether or not I should give the office a call?
Click to expand...

Yes, call your Doctor. Get advice. It sounds like you are eating too much too quickly. As others have said her softboiled/poached/hardboiled eggs usually go down the easiest. Stay away from breads right now. They can be difficult. If you do bread make it whole wheat and toasted. CHEW CHEW CHEW. As someone else has said chew until it literally dissolves in your mouth. Stop after a few bites and burp. You are now just like a new born baby sipping from a bottle. Take a little and then burp. Let the gas out. Otherwise, it gets trapped and you have the kind of experiences you are having. Watch it on sugars and fats. That was also said.

If you throw up, which you have, have nothing for several hours and then perhaps go back to clear liquids protein shakes.

You may just have to stay on liquids for a few more days. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR AND HIS/HER TEAM. They are there to help you through all this.

Ralph
 
Well it sounds like you are getting good advice on here. Also one thing that I am using to help me remember small bites is to use a tool for cubing vegetables to cut up my meat. Yes into tiny toddler sized pieces. I never had a problems until I started working out hard and pushed to pure hunger. This helps me slow down some. Don't wait to eat until you are really hungry. Make sure meals are 3 to 4 hours apart and read labels for added sugar. It will get better. Also, I was given a list of potential problem foods shrimp was on that list. I was told to avoid white bread, pineapple, orange juice and some other items the first year.

It has been 7 months out for me and I am just now at the half cup mark so don't try to get it in all at once.

Best wishes
 
Thank you for all of the good advice. To clarify a little, the doctor and nutritionist want me to eat between 600-800 calories/day and to get in at least 60 grams of protein. Each meal is supposed to be 1/2 cup or say 3 - 3.5 oz protein and 1/4 cup veggies or soft cheese and take 30 minutes. No drinking 15 minutes before or for an hour after meals. They gave me a chart with serving sizes and sample meals and I've been sticking to that.
I'm tolerating ground turkey, egg salad, chili, black and roma beans, reduced fat feta cheese, mushy vegetables and tiny bites of lite canned fruit (peach and pear), along with the standards of cottage cheese and dannon light & fit greek yogurt.
I'm not tolerating baked fish, canned tuna, or baked turkey breast (think Thanksgiving), even with mayo or mustard to moisten it up a bit. I haven't tried chicken yet; I am afraid to now. I'm only getting in 1 - 2oz or 1/4 cup before I have problems.
I'm not allowed to touch real carbs yet, with the exception of Kashi go lean hot cereal. I haven't had bread, pasta, or rice in what feels like eons. The doctors said it would get stuck and I believe them.
I never considered the light mayo could be the problem because I mixed the same stuff with my eggs in the same quantity and did not have a problem, but I'm certainly willing to give it up if it's part of the problem.
Also, the nutritionist said to wait about 5 hours between meals and I am hungry at this point. I try to pay attention to the clock, but maybe I am eating too quickly.
You guys have given me a lot to think about. It's greatly appreciated. I'm going to stay away from the things I'm struggling with until I can talk to my doctor on Monday.
 
LauraLeigh said:
I was given permission to transfer to soft solids at my last visit. One of the things they recommended was soft, flaky fish, which is great. I love seafood. I baked tilapia last night and had it get stuck. I drank some warm tea and walked around and it passed. I gave it an hour before finishing my dinner by cutting it up into tiny pieces and adding 1.5 tbsp of light miracle whip (I thought maybe the fish was too dry). I had no further difficulties and had the same meal for lunch today with little problem. Tonight, I decided to try some tuna fish mixed with light miracle whip. I ate about 1/4 cup and it got stuck, but this time it wouldn't pass and I threw it up. I had absolutely no problems post-op, but I feel like I'm having a hard time getting solids down. Is the transfer back to normal food supposed to be so difficult? I don't feel I'm eating too fast. Am I not chewing enough? I can only eat about a 1/2 cup of most foods at a time. I'm averaging close to 700 calories a day and 65 grams of protein. I'm debating whether or not I should give the office a call?
Click to expand...

LauraLeigh, you mention you can only eat 1/2 a cup at a time. You are only 4 wks out. As I recall you should only be eating about 1/4 of a cup at most at a meal at 4 wks. You are probably getting your pouch too full. I think what your eating is probably fine, just too much at one sitting. Maybe try eating half your meal and then in an hour try eating the other half. Take care.
 
Our guidelines are different based on surgeon

Cheyenne said:
LauraLeigh, you mention you can only eat 1/2 a cup at a time. You are only 4 wks out. As I recall you should only be eating about 1/4 of a cup at most at a meal at 4 wks. You are probably getting your pouch too full. I think what your eating is probably fine, just too much at one sitting. Maybe try eating half your meal and then in an hour try eating the other half. Take care.
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My surgeon said up to a 1/2 cup too.

However, I discovered I could not go that far so I limited myself to 1/3 cup and I was fine.

So, as Cheyenne suggests try 1/4 for starters and see how you do. Then perhaps progress to 1/3 once you are doing well with a 1/4 cup and eventually about 2 or more months out you will find that you can do a 1/2 cup at a meal.

Most of the time I consume 3 ounces of protein. The easiest is eggs usually soft or hard boiled. Even so many times I limit myself to one egg and then a couple of hours later I will have the second egg. I can sense that sometimes two eggs is simply too much.

East slow, let the gas out as you are eating by burping. Also, use gas-x chewables after the meal to help with the gas as well.

Ralph
 
I think you are eating too much solid food one month out from surgery. A half cup of protein and 1/4 cup of veggies is 3/4 of a cup. I'm eating half of that 3-1/2 months out.
I know they want you to get your protein in, but it's not always possible in the early months except by supplementing with protein shakes or other protein-enhanced foods like jello or pudding.
 
wow

Karenina said:
I think you are eating too much solid food one month out from surgery. A half cup of protein and 1/4 cup of veggies is 3/4 of a cup. I'm eating half of that 3-1/2 months out.
I know they want you to get your protein in, but it's not always possible in the early months except by supplementing with protein shakes or other protein-enhanced foods like jello or pudding.
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Oh, Karenina, you made my heart jump when you said the jello and pudding can be eaten. Haven't even been accepted for surgery yet. Oh, just regular JELLO brand or something special?
 
jduffy said:
Oh, Karenina, you made my heart jump when you said the jello and pudding can be eaten. Haven't even been accepted for surgery yet. Oh, just regular JELLO brand or something special?
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Sugar free jello and sugar free fat free puddings. You might want to buy some unflavored powdered protein and add a scoop to the batch, otherwise there's not much nutrition in them. Be sure that the jello is not 140 degrees or warmer when you add the protein powder, or it will clump.
 
Slow down

As our pouches receive new foods, they essentially revolt. You will find that when your pouch gets certain new foods, it will not like them. as some have said, start with a lot less. while you can handle cottage cheese, which is essentially a processed food, fish, is not. anything that is in a more raw, or natural state will be more difficult in the proteins. If a portion is 3-4 oz, try half that or even 1/3 of that if it is something that is new to you.

The other thing which might be a concern is if you are hainvg some scaring. did you have bypass? when they reconnect the intestines to the stomach that exit hole from the stomach can actually heal up. i've known a couple of people who had that side effect. If that is an issue about the only thing you would be able to do is liquids. is easy to diagnose by your team with a scope. And usually correctable in out patient surgery at the time of the scope, they just stretch the hole back out - simple enough. If you had lap band, they can just adjust the band to help you better process those harder foods. One of my girlfirends had the lap band and for several months she had to have adjustments so that she could finally find the right balance between weightloss and ablity to handle certain foods.

Slow down. If you continue to have problems, contact your team. Throwing up, usually happens when you overeat, or you eat a food that is causing dumping. Do you get hot flashes too?

De
 
Update:
I talked to my nutritionist and she said I'm doing fine and it doesn't sound like there's anything to worry about. She's happy with the amount and variety of food I'm eating and my calorie and protein intake. She thinks the fish and turkey may have been too dry and that's why it was sticking on me. She said it's also possible I'm not tolerating fish yet since the canned tuna gave me the most problems. Additionally, she said the Light Miracle Whip was fine for me to eat with a protein. 1 tbsp contains 20 calories, 1.5g of fat, 2g of total carbs and <1g of sugar.I was using 1.5 tbsp. She said to give it some time and try tilapia again by cooking it in some broth in the crock pot as opposed to baking it and not to be discouraged if I can't eat it yet or if I can only eat a tiny amount.
I tried chicken breast and did well, though I could only eat 1/4 cup, cubed. I also tried plain egg and can eat 1 whole egg. She said that was fine and to use my protein supplement if the smaller amount of food isn't getting me to my protein goal. I generally know when I'm full and couldn't tolerate another bite because I hiccup.
Also, I now know what dumping is. I made the bad decision to eat a serving of Welch's fruit snacks the other day; a tiny baby pack. I prayed for death. Sugar is not my friend.
 
LauraLeigh said:
Update:
I talked to my nutritionist and she said I'm doing fine and it doesn't sound like there's anything to worry about. She's happy with the amount and variety of food I'm eating and my calorie and protein intake. She thinks the fish and turkey may have been too dry and that's why it was sticking on me. She said it's also possible I'm not tolerating fish yet since the canned tuna gave me the most problems. Additionally, she said the Light Miracle Whip was fine for me to eat with a protein. 1 tbsp contains 20 calories, 1.5g of fat, 2g of total carbs and <1g of sugar.I was using 1.5 tbsp. She said to give it some time and try tilapia again by cooking it in some broth in the crock pot as opposed to baking it and not to be discouraged if I can't eat it yet or if I can only eat a tiny amount.
I tried chicken breast and did well, though I could only eat 1/4 cup, cubed. I also tried plain egg and can eat 1 whole egg. She said that was fine and to use my protein supplement if the smaller amount of food isn't getting me to my protein goal. I generally know when I'm full and couldn't tolerate another bite because I hiccup.
Also, I now know what dumping is. I made the bad decision to eat a serving of Welch's fruit snacks the other day; a tiny baby pack. I prayed for death. Sugar is not my friend.
Click to expand...

It is definitely a learning experience for each of us. It is also a personal experience in terms of what we can consume at what stage of our post op progress.

You are definitely handling correctly and it is great that you are using the resources available to help you become more comfortable each day that passes.

Great progress.

Ralph
 
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