How come some people cant eat all the same food from before sleeve and other cant?

tmela28 · July 5, 2011

So I am 1 week post op and hearing all diff stories about what people can and cant eat and my question is why can some people eat the same food before and others cant !!! I was under the impression that with the sleeve you can eat alllll the same stuff just in smaller portions!!!! I luv these stories where people are doing great eating allllll sorts of things like pizza ,,fajitas!!! ..popcorn ..steak,,,burgers etc then i have a friend whose telling me no meat nothing even close to spicy which doesnt bother me ,,,,no kinda bread pretty much nothing but chicken and that scares me ,..I love to cook and certainly dont want to be drasticallllllly limited!!! So is there a way to prevent your body in the begginning of rejecting food or is how the doc did surgery what is it???? does anyone know why????? I would grreatly appreciate anyones input .

TijuanaPlication · July 5, 2011

I think it's just down to chance whether you'll have problems with certain foods after. Theoretically the sleeve shouldn't cause intolerances but it does to some (intolerances are a lot more common in surgery that re-routes your intestines).

Milk seems to cause people a lot of problems although fermented milk seems to be better tolerated. So yogurt and cheese tend to be better. You can also try getting some lactose free milk. I introduced things slowly once I was further out and experienced no adverse reactions to anything I was OK with before.

tmela28 · July 5, 2011

Thank you im glad to hear!!

ar!!!

I think it's just down to chance whether you'll have problems with certain foods after. Theoretically the sleeve shouldn't cause intolerances but it does to some (intolerances are a lot more common in surgery that re-routes your intestines).

Milk seems to cause people a lot of problems although fermented milk seems to be better tolerated. So yogurt and cheese tend to be better. You can also try getting some lactose free milk. I introduced things slowly once I was further out and experienced no adverse reactions to anything I was OK with before.

Tiffykins · July 5, 2011

I know very few people that have true food intolerances post-VSG. Foods might not settle great in their sleeve, but a lot of the time it boils down to people choosing to not eat certain foods.

Pork chops settle extremely heavy in my sleeve, but I don't get sick or throw up, or feel horrible if I eat them, they're just heavier, more dense than say a steak.

Whoever your friend is simply sharing her experience, and if she has that many intolerances, obviously she is in the minority. It's just not the truth, and I'm sorry, but that might be her experience. If you head over to obesityhelp.com you can read the "Whatcha eating today VSG'ers" and see what various people are eating on a daily basis at different stages post-op. There is also a maintenance group that has lots of 2-7 year out VSGers on there sharing their experiences. Funny thing for me in regards to your friend's comments is that chicken is actually more difficult for me to eat versus steak, ribs, venison, turkey or seafood. The only way I can eat the same amount of chicken as I can steak if it's cooked in some sort of gravy, or sauce and slow cooked works best. I still can not eat an entire grilled chicken breast by itself, but I can eat half of an 8oz filet mignon cooked medium.

I just ate a chicken fajita for Breakfast HA without any issue.

Oh and last week, I went to the one good Indian restaurant here in town and ate naan bread covered in chicken madras curry sauce, and about 4oz of the chicken over some basamati rice over an 1 hour and 20 minutes while having lunch with my girlfriends.

I've eaten spicy food since being 3 months out including super spicy salsa, Thai curry, Thai pepper steak all with Thai medium to Thai Hot seasoning. I've never had any issues with spicy foods.

In the beginning, I honestly think it's your body adjusting back to accepting foods after being on liquids so long, and eating bland foods for a few weeks. Then all of a sudden throwing something in there that throws the body a curveball.

Food progression should be slow, and steady. My program recommends only introducing one new food type or adding in varied items only one item per day to see if your body will tolerate it. I couldn't eat pickles without burping up the skins a couple of hours later early out. So, I just skinned the pickles, easy adjustment and now I have zero issues.

I did experience the milk tolerance, but had zero issue with cheese or yogurts post-op. The lactose intolerance resolved until pregnancy, and now it's back in full effect.

KellyL · July 5, 2011

I think this happens to some people early out when introducing new foods in certain stages after the liquid stage. Some peoples sleeve seems to be more sensitive. I've been lucky to tolerate everything I've tried so far, no problems. But i don't eat breads much due to the carbs and filling up such a small sleeve with things other than Protein. As we get further out we will have a little more room to add more than just protein, in small amounts.

thinoneday · July 5, 2011

I am 18 months out and can eat just about anything and like you say in small portions. HOWEVER, yes always however, I can't eat salads, raw spinach, and now bread (unless i toast the heck out of it almost burnt) . . it just doesn't agree with me. . causes me alot of pain. . .go figure. . . cheers!

tmela28 · July 5, 2011

I love talking to you lol Your journey is how I imagined it being and how I want mine to be not the kind my friend went on . I just met her actually at a doc app she is now 1 year post op so i dont know what she went through . But i really feel like I will be okay i follow instructions and so far soooo good very minimal discomfort only in the hospital was a nightmare and everyday I have progressed and I have energy she didnt feel well for a month I dont meant to compare I was just getting worried. I think every docs office should give out this website its definetly what has kept me sane through house arrest lol. And I happened to come across it myself and I will check out the other one!!!! thank you

I know very few people that have true food intolerances post-VSG. Foods might not settle great in their sleeve, but a lot of the time it boils down to people choosing to not eat certain foods.

Pork chops settle extremely heavy in my sleeve, but I don't get sick or throw up, or feel horrible if I eat them, they're just heavier, more dense than say a steak.

Whoever your friend is simply sharing her experience, and if she has that many intolerances, obviously she is in the minority. It's just not the truth, and I'm sorry, but that might be her experience. If you head over to obesityhelp.com you can read the "Whatcha eating today VSG'ers" and see what various people are eating on a daily basis at different stages post-op. There is also a maintenance group that has lots of 2-7 year out VSGers on there sharing their experiences. Funny thing for me in regards to your friend's comments is that chicken is actually more difficult for me to eat versus steak, ribs, venison, turkey or seafood. The only way I can eat the same amount of chicken as I can steak if it's cooked in some sort of gravy, or sauce and slow cooked works best. I still can not eat an entire grilled chicken breast by itself, but I can eat half of an 8oz filet mignon cooked medium.

I just ate a chicken fajita for Breakfast HA without any issue.

Oh and last week, I went to the one good Indian restaurant here in town and ate naan bread covered in chicken madras curry sauce, and about 4oz of the chicken over some basamati rice over an 1 hour and 20 minutes while having lunch with my girlfriends.

I've eaten spicy food since being 3 months out including super spicy salsa, Thai curry, Thai pepper steak all with Thai medium to Thai Hot seasoning. I've never had any issues with spicy foods.

In the beginning, I honestly think it's your body adjusting back to accepting foods after being on liquids so long, and eating bland foods for a few weeks. Then all of a sudden throwing something in there that throws the body a curveball.

Food progression should be slow, and steady. My program recommends only introducing one new food type or adding in varied items only one item per day to see if your body will tolerate it. I couldn't eat pickles without burping up the skins a couple of hours later early out. So, I just skinned the pickles, easy adjustment and now I have zero issues.

I did experience the milk tolerance, but had zero issue with cheese or yogurts post-op. The lactose intolerance resolved until pregnancy, and now it's back in full effect.

Roseib · July 5, 2011

Yes, everyone is different. A lot of food I could eat before surgery made me nauseated the first two or three months after surgery, but then later I could add them back in with no problem There are a couple of things I still can't eat (like deli meat) but I think that's a mental block, not physical. I can also eat spicy like lots of other people. In fact I never had a problem with spicy. I avoid whole grain bread because it sits like a lump in my stomach, but that doesn't happen to everyone. I don't eat some of the food Tiffykins can because I'm still losing and she's on maintenance and I haven't added them back in. Follow Tiffykins advice about food progression.

kellyw74 · July 5, 2011

I have not had any issues with food since being sleeved.

Other than in the beginning, some solid foods felt stuck for me. When I first tried chicken, cottage cheese and eggs they all felt that way! Now, everything is fine. I think it was because I was still too swollen to eat them!

Kelly