My surgery was on 9/15 and I am doing well. Still struggling to get all the Water in, but I came close to my Protein goals on most days. On 9/30 I was approved to go to "mushies." (My group doesn't do purees, per se; if you can mush it up well enough, I don't have to puree.) I was SO looking forward to this, but it's such a struggle! I'm following my phase diet plan, which says I can have 1 egg, scrambled, with 1T shredded cheese in it. Sounds so good at this point, but I just can't eat it. It's finely mushed up, I'm taking teeny bites and chewing thoroughly, but by the 2nd bite I start burping and my insides start gurgling. I can eat maybe one and a half tablespoons of this before I feel very uncomfortable. There's no warning- I'll be eating and gurgling, and then with the next little taste I am immediately uncomfortable. Yesterday I tried scrambled egg/cheese and chicken salad (just chicken w/a tiny bit of low fat mayo and some broth to moisten it all) and I just couldn't do it; gave up and went back to Protein shakes.

Should I keep trying to eat, or should I go back to full liquids for awhile? I really don't know what to expect here. I haven't ever felt full, in the way "full" used to feel; instead I get an uncomfortable pressure in my chest. My surgeon wasn't concerned about this, given where my sleeve is anatomically located. I guess this is my new "full" feeling. I can't imagine I'm getting enough protein on a tablespoon of egg or chicken, and it's so freaking uncomfortable when I eat. I'm hoping it'll get better, but right now I'm not really happy (but still know that this sleeve is the best thing I've ever done for myself!).

CHICKEN POT PIE! Who knew?? My husband had a pot pie for dinner last night, and I thought, "Why not try?" I took a spoon of gravy, mashed up some chicken and carrots in it, and gave it a shot. I ate it in teeny bites, slowly, waiting in between bites. It stayed down, no pain, and I finished the whole tablespoon! NO potatoes, no onion, no peas, no crust, just mashed chicken and carrots with gravy. Probably not the best nutritionally, but it felt good to "eat" and having no pain was amazing! This morning I had a half of a Dole Fruitocracy pouch (apple/banana puree) and a tablespoon of cottage cheese. I really shouldn't have the fruit- it's nothing but sugar- but it's tasty and has some vitamin C. I think maybe I need to do the puree thing, even though my Nut said it's not necessary. I'm still drinking my protein shakes, but it's nice to know that I can get some food down and I AM getting better!

you might not be ready to progress to that solid of food yet and I wouldn't push it. I started with greek yogurt and cottage cheese. and no more than an ounce initially - eaten very very slowly. when that got easier, I had a puree phase where I blended tuna, salmon or chicken with a little greek yogurt. you might want to try something like tuna or salmon which is already broken down into small bits and mix with light mayo or plain yogurt before going to chicken which is denser and a little chunkier. A lot of people have trouble with eggs early out so you may want to hold off and try them again in a week or two - or try egg salad with very finely chopped egg.