Hi. I am 8 days post op and I am failing miserably with getting my Protein. I am lactose intolerant so I can't have anything milk based. I've gotten to the point where any whey Protein Drink or unflavored (yeah right) powder makes me gag. I AM DONE ????.

That emoji is cute, but I am literally in tears at the thought of more "fake" protein. I won't be released to mushy foods until Wednesday (Feb 11), but I got so desperate that I put some retried Beans in the food processor and ate a little of that, spitting out any pieces of "bean skin". (Gross, I know). My question is this..... Is there anyone that started mushies after one week? If so, what did u eat? I just can't spend any more time, energy, and money chasing supplements that I just can't keep down.

I really hope that this post doesn't turn into a lecture about following my NUT's plan explicitly. I'm very serious about my health, my weight loss, and my new little tummy. In order to up my chances of success, I adopted a low carb/high protein diet pre-op and was very faithful. I am not worried about my protein when I can eat real food, just stressing now. Any advice on food would be great.

Thanks - Amye

At 8 days I was hardly getting any nutrition in. Go easy on yourself. You will be able to tolerate more soon. That is very early and still lots of swelling. My Nut told me not to stress over it and she was right.

My surgeon told me that my job for the first two weeks was just to keep myself hydrated with Clear liquids. She said not to worry about Protein during those two weeks. Your body can go something like 21 days before becoming malnourished. However, you can quickly become dehydrated within a few days.

Carnivor Protien Shots! Beef Based Protein, 50 grams of protein in a 4 ounce shot. Sold at GNC, give them a try. You can also get New whey Protein 'shots' at Walmart, 42 grams of protein in a 3.8 ounce shot.

My NUT could have told me to "suck it up" on Thanksgiving Day, and I would have followed those instructions, but it would have messed with my head and really started me out on the wrong foot. Instead, knowing that purees are commonly started sooner she told me I could go ahead and puree the turkey, which I did.

So this is where we totally differ. My NP and I are of like mind in that I needed to start thinking of food as fuel not as a luxury/pleasure/treat, especially at the very beginning of my weight loss journey. I needed/wanted to break that cycle of feeling deprived if I couldn't eat the same thing as everyone else and I have been very successful. No "mourning" of food was tolerated by her and that was perfect for ME.

I am almost 21 months out and I have lost almost all focus on food. I still get hungry, I still crave certain foods from time to time, I still enjoy trying new recipes and tasting new things, but it's different. Holidays no longer center around tasty treats. When I go out to dinner with my friends or family, I no longer care where we go and if there is nothing there that I particularly want, I don't order anything -- no big deal. I'm not disappointed when the last cookie is gone before I had the first one.

I am not saying that my thinking is better than yours or vice versa, we are just different.

Not getting Protein in for two weeks won't kill you.

I lived on strained Amy's no-chicken noodle soup, vegetarian vegetable broth with a dash of A-1 sauce for flavor and Water with cranberry juice added for the first week. The second week I added Amy's Tomato Bisque, hummus and guacamole - just a teaspoon here and there. By the third week I was eating really soft foods and even though it wasn't in my surgeon's official plan, he was ok with it. I got to skip pureed with his blessing. He made it really clear what I could and could not do, what was myth and what was fact as far as stretching and staples went, and I was fine.

I want to thank everyone for the helpful and informative comments. I have reached out to my NUT and I hate to say, she is just not very helpful. She is reading from a manual and has not gone through the procedure herself so she didn't have many suggestions. I would never pretend to be as knowledgable as my surgeon, but I pride myself on being educated and informed.

That being said, I am focusing more on my hydration and stressing less about the Protein. For my mind and tastebuds, I picked up some garlic roasted hummus. This is NOT on my ok list yet, but I've researched and feel comfortable with it. The psychological aspect of all of this has to be addressed or I will not be successful. I truly needed something more than soup that wasn't sweet. I feel comfortable with this decision.

As far as my other issues, I bought some lactose free milk and made instant pudding with unflavored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury powder. It's sickeningly sweet, but im holding it down. My main issue now seems to be horrible reflux. I've been on Omeprazole 20 mg for the last ten years. I upped it to 40 mg, didn't help. At the advice of my nurse, I switched to Nexium and that isn't helping. Is there anything stronger? Has this happened to anyone else and it got better?

Again, thanks for all the input - Amye

I had horrible reflux also. I was on Omeprazole for the first two months and it gradually got better.

I didn't like my NUT at all. I refused to work with her after our first two consultations. I worked through the NP at my surgeon's office as she knew a lot more about the surgery than the NUT did.

Genepro has absolutely saved me. Is it the best option compared to real protein? Probably not.... But I can put it in hot decaf fixated tea and it completely dissolves. I still drink 2 cups a day - each scoop is 30 G protein. Take care and know it gets better.

Immediately after surgery I became lactose intolerant. But after several weeks this condition went away.

I struggled a lot the first 6-8 weeks. I was so focused on Protein, and my taste buds had changed after surgery and every Protein Drink or supplement tasted terrible and made me vomit. I ended up dehydrated and back in the hospital 2 weeks post op. At my one month appointment, I was still having nausea issues and struggling to keep food down. My doctor was FANTASTIC. His comments to me were:

1. STOP worrying about what you eat or don't eat. Focus on staying hydrated the first couple months.

2. He assured me he has never had a sleeve patient die of starvation. Eat if I was hungry, don't eat if I wasn't.

3. He reminded me that I had major surgery, my digestive system was still swollen and needed to heal.

4. He told me to stop looking for problems. He told me if I needed to throw up, that was ok. If I was still throwing up at my 3 month visit, then he would be worried.

Now I know this will make everyone cringe. The nutritionist cringed when I told this story at my support group meeting. But I can tell you it made me feel fantastic. My stress level decreased, my family stopped worrying about me non-stop and guess what..... he was right. I'm now 13 weeks post op, I can eat normal food, even the Protein drinks taste normal again, my primary care doctor is thrilled with my progress and I feel fantastic - lots of energy, walking 4-5 miles a day etc.

Ask your doctor for a prescription ppi.