Saltines? Caught a stomach bug

[Starry*Night 148]

Hey guys,

Who has gastric sleeve and then manages to catch a stomach virus? This girl!

I was sleeved just over a month ago, and caught a stomach bug on Christmas. Think food poisoning - that's what I'm going through right now. The toilet is my new king and I am its loyal subject. I now know why it's the porcelain throne.

I know saltines are a bad food to eat - they're a slider and they're empty carbs - BUT they're supposed to be good for settling the tummy. They're what I've aways had to settle my stomach. I could really use that right now.

I'm leaning towards not getting them, but is getting them a bad idea? For perspective, I had to go to urgent care and get 1.5 liters of IV Fluid today because anything I drink comes right back out the other end - I can't keep any fluids down and got dehydrated. They advised I stay away from dairy - there goes my yogurt and cheese, my easy sources of Protein - and I don't really want to eat regular food right now.

[elcee 3,340]

of course you can eat them. When you are sick you do what you need to do to get better, you don’t worry about the diet.

[Starry*Night 148]

Thanks @elcee. I woke up this morning really trying to get down fluids and I still can't keep them down, so it looks like I'm gonna have to head back for an IV again today if I don't get better soon.

I really wanted to abstain from crackers cause it makes me feel like I'm failing my post op diet (they're not allowed on my diet, and I have been relentlessly good about following my diet completely, I'm a perfectionist and this kills me), but I'm going to get some to see if they help soak up some acid in my tummy or something - my stomach is just so awful right now. If they don't help or don't make it better I'll toss them.

Although I'm just thinking - if I can't drink while I eat them, and they're a slider, I don't know how much it will help me with getting more liquids down. Hopefully it'll just help soak up some acid or something. Gah!

Edited December 29, 2018 by Starry*Night

[Frustr8 7,886]

Or toss it back up, and THAT is no fun, take it from me , the Grand Emesis kid!

[Starry*Night 148]

2 minutes ago, Frustr8 said:

Or toss it back up, and THAT is no fun, take it from me , the Grand Emesis kid!

THANKFULLY I haven't been throwing up (yay for zofran) - it's all been coming out the other end. But it's bad. I'll take a drink of Pedialite, feel a sharp pain in my lower abdomen about 20 seconds later, and then have to go to the bathroom and it all comes back out. And that's if I can make it to the bathroom in time... if I manage to sleep, all bets are off, I have no control. Been like this since Thursday.

I ran it by my surgeon yesterday and at first they said it was dehydration, but as it kept going throughout the day they said I likely had a stomach bug and needed to go to urgent care to get checked out. When I was there they hydrated me, ran labs and gave me potassium, and told me to come back there faster next time if this doesn't get better - which sadly it isn't.

Moral of the story, don't try to be a hero and make it to a get together when you know you shouldn't go just to make others happy - I did and that's how I picked up this stomach bug.

[Frustr8 7,886]

Have you tried Kaopectate? Older remedy, but might work. Usually helps firm up stool. Old country doctors(and I have known more than a few) would say you have poison in your system that needs to come out, but then none of them wiped so much their tushie and hemorrhoids got sore!

[MarinaGirl 608]

Have you asked your bariatric surgeon and the docs at urgent care what you should eat and drink right now (e.g. saltines & regular Gatorade)? What were their recommendations?

[Starry*Night 148]

2 hours ago, MarinaGirl said:

Have you asked your bariatric surgeon and the docs at urgent care what you should eat and drink right now (e.g. saltines & regular Gatorade)? What were their recommendations?

They said drink Pedialite, don't take an anti-diarrheal, and eat bland food and stay away from dairy. I wasn't able to talk to my surgeon's office about what to eat - that was from urgent care. With stomach bugs all the foods that are recommended are crackers, bread, rice, noodles... all things I can't have. I tried eating some turkey yesterday, but like all the liquids, it ran right through me and came right back out.

That said, I'm happy to report I got the saltines and they're actually making a big difference. I'm really glad I got them. I had to break a couple rules (eating the saltines, and drinking while eating - I figured since they're mushy they'll flush right through my pouch like a purée, which at the moment is what I want - something easy to digest) and it helped me get down a lot more Pedialite, calmed my stomach, and I haven't had to go to the bathroom in an hour or two. I think it's saved me from having to get an IV again, cause before I had them I just couldn't keep the Water down.

I'm just glad I listened to you guys. I was just not going to let myself have anything, but this stomach bug is terrible and I had to find a way to keep liquid down. Now I just can't wait till I feel better so I can get rid of them and get back into ketosis! lol. Even though I know this is NOT recommended and it's not something I'd normally ever do or recommend, I'm glad to know that I CAN do this in an emergency if needed.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Starry*Night

[AJP 132]

I had problems in that area for about 3 weeks and lived off Imodium.

[GreenTealael 24,905]

14 hours ago, Starry*Night said:

Hey guys,

Who has gastric sleeve and then manages to catch a stomach virus? This girl!

I was sleeved just over a month ago, and caught a stomach bug on Christmas. Think food poisoning - that's what I'm going through right now. The toilet is my new king and I am its loyal subject. I now know why it's the porcelain throne.

I know saltines are a bad food to eat - they're a slider and they're empty carbs - BUT they're supposed to be good for settling the tummy. They're what I've aways had to settle my stomach. I could really use that right now.

I'm leaning towards not getting them, but is getting them a bad idea? For perspective, I had to go to urgent care and get 1.5 liters of IV Fluid today because anything I drink comes right back out the other end - I can't keep any fluids down and got dehydrated. They advised I stay away from dairy - there goes my yogurt and cheese, my easy sources of Protein - and I don't really want to eat regular food right now.

Get well soon 🎈

[Starry*Night 148]

Aw thank you guys, your kind words and advice mean a lot! I'm feeling much better, I'm almost human lol. I've managed to get down about 60 oz of liquids so far - yay! I need to get down more cause I've lost about half of it, but I'm thrilled I get to stay home tonight instead of going to urgent care 🤗

[notmyname 591]

Feel better soon. I've always been told to do a BRAT diet when I am sick to my stomach — bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Are you allowed to eat bananas or applesauce?

[Starry*Night 148]

I'm allowed unsweetened applesauce with meals to wash things down in place of Water, so I could certainly try that. I'm allowed to eat fruit now if I limit it to one serving a day, so perhaps I could try a banana - I haven't tried any fruits yet, I've been staying away from the sugar. Great ideas!

[sillykitty 10,708]

On 12/29/2018 at 10:30 AM, Starry*Night said:

. Now I just can't wait till I feel better so I can get rid of them and get back into ketosis! lol.

If all you're eating is a few Saltines and some Pedialyte, you are in ketosis. You have a large enough calories deficiency, so your body is using fat stores for energy, which is what ketosis is.

[summerset 5,261]

On 12/29/2018 at 8:43 AM, elcee said:

of course you can eat them. When you are sick you do what you need to do to get better, you don’t worry about the diet.

This.

Unless you listen to the zealots of course.