Does it ever get better ?

[Monique1123 28]

I’m 11 days post op, had my sleeve on July 14th and I’m starting to feel a little sad and question my decision even though I’m trying very hard not to. So everything has gone great as far as my recovery , I’m in absolutely no pain, incisions healing great, I’ve already been cleared for soft foods and I was SOOO excited. I have tried eating ground beef with Tomato sauce , eggs , mashed potato’s , and meatballs. I chew them all until it’s an applesauce consistency which honestly disgust me, I try to take dime size bites , I eat at the table and put my fork down after every bite and yet…. When I’m done I still get severe chest pain as if the food is stuck. Which I’ve researched means you didn’t chew enough or your eating too fast… I guess I’m asking all of this to say does it eventually get better? Once you heal, are you able to eat without chest pain? Are you going to be able to take normal bites vs dime size ? At this point , the excitement that I had to be able to eat soft foods have now be turned into a daily challenge of forcing myself to eat. Without realizing until today, I noticed that I’ve gone 2 days without food because I’m so afraid of the pain that it will bring . Does it ever get better ?

[Elahnen 183]

It definitely gets better! Week 3 seems to be the magic number!

[Luna Girl 307]

2 hours ago, Monique1123 said:

I’m 11 days post op, had my sleeve on July 14th and I’m starting to feel a little sad and question my decision even though I’m trying very hard not to. So everything has gone great as far as my recovery , I’m in absolutely no pain, incisions healing great, I’ve already been cleared for soft foods and I was SOOO excited. I have tried eating ground beef with Tomato sauce , eggs , mashed potato’s , and meatballs. I chew them all until it’s an applesauce consistency which honestly disgust me, I try to take dime size bites , I eat at the table and put my fork down after every bite and yet…. When I’m done I still get severe chest pain as if the food is stuck. Which I’ve researched means you didn’t chew enough or your eating too fast… I guess I’m asking all of this to say does it eventually get better? Once you heal, are you able to eat without chest pain? Are you going to be able to take normal bites vs dime size ? At this point , the excitement that I had to be able to eat soft foods have now be turned into a daily challenge of forcing myself to eat. Without realizing until today, I noticed that I’ve gone 2 days without food because I’m so afraid of the pain that it will bring . Does it ever get better ?

Hang in there! It does get better. For some, including myself, it takes a bit longer to adjust to eating solid foods. I still eat mostly soft foods and I am 3months out...but I was able to eat salad for the first time this week. chicken is still a no go for me, I can do over easy eggs, but not scrambled and absolutely no bread. It is an adjustment but well worth these few months of struggling with figuring out what you are able to eat. You got this!!

Edited July 25, 2021 by Luna Girl

[chrissy86 1]

Listen to your body and go back to what feels more comfortable for a couple more days. The time the surgeons give is an estimate, and everyone is different.

A couple more days on liquid and you'll feel much better in the long run.

Try out little bits of food here and there to test your tummy on how it will react. Like for example, a couple of tiny pieces of meat, chicken or fish in the Soup you're eating. Or some strawberries or banana in the yoghurt.

In other words, throw in some lumps and feel how your stomach digests each mouthful. And CHEW. Taste each mouthful and enjoy. You'll get there.

Sent from my SM-G970F using BariatricPal mobile app

[Arabesque 6,446]

Your soft foods might be too dry &/or too heavy. As @chrissy86 suggested go back to your liquid stage for a couple of days. Though your surgeon said you are ready for soft food your tummy may not - we all heal differently & at our own pace. Maybe try pureeing your food (it’s a stage many of us are required to go through before soft foods). Yes, listen to your body. It will tell, you pretty darn quickly what you’re ready to do or not.

Personally, I don’t understand that chewing, chewing thing. If your food is soft it should be fall apart tender & not require much chewing. Mash things, slow cook meats, add extra sauces, gravies, etc. Some people do struggle with beef, chicken breasts or eggs.

What portion size are you eating? I was allowed 1/4 - 1/3 cup. Are you eating slowly & leaving a couple of minutes between each bite?

You’re 11 days out. Give yourself time to heal & not strain or stress your poor tummy - it’s been through a lot & you have a lot of stitches & staples holding your tummy together. Yes it does get better & easier but there’s a lot of learning about how your new tummy works on the way.

[Monique1123 28]

On 07/25/2021 at 18:27, chrissy86 said:

Listen to your body and go back to what feels more comfortable for a couple more days. The time the surgeons give is an estimate, and everyone is different.

A couple more days on liquid and you'll feel much better in the long run.

Try out little bits of food here and there to test your tummy on how it will react. Like for example, a couple of tiny pieces of meat, chicken or fish in the Soup you're eating. Or some strawberries or banana in the yoghurt.

In other words, throw in some lumps and feel how your stomach digests each mouthful. And CHEW. Taste each mouthful and enjoy. You'll get there.

Sent from my SM-G970F using BariatricPal mobile app

thank you! I will try to gradually add in foods . Tonight I had chicken and puréed Beans and I had no issues after . I just got really frustrating wondering if this was going to last forever and I’m glad to hear that it gets better . Thank you!

[Monique1123 28]

On 07/25/2021 at 18:14, Elahnen said:

It definitely gets better! Week 3 seems to be the magic number!

I’m almost there in that case . 1 more week to go! Thank you !!

[Monique1123 28]

On 07/25/2021 at 23:38, Arabesque said:

Your soft foods might be too dry &/or too heavy. As @chrissy86 suggested go back to your liquid stage for a couple of days. Though your surgeon said you are ready for soft food your tummy may not - we all heal differently & at our own pace. Maybe try pureeing your food (it’s a stage many of us are required to go through before soft foods). Yes, listen to your body. It will tell, you pretty darn quickly what you’re ready to do or not.

Personally, I don’t understand that chewing, chewing thing. If your food is soft it should be fall apart tender & not require much chewing. Mash things, slow cook meats, add extra sauces, gravies, etc. Some people do struggle with beef, chicken breasts or eggs.

What portion size are you eating? I was allowed 1/4 - 1/3 cup. Are you eating slowly & leaving a couple of minutes between each bite?

You’re 11 days out. Give yourself time to heal & not strain or stress your poor tummy - it’s been through a lot & you have a lot of stitches & staples holding your tummy together. Yes it does get better & easier but there’s a lot of learning about how your new tummy works on the way.

I’ve actually noticed that everyone was going through a puréed stage after full liquids but my doctor gave me the green light on “soft foods” just 8 days after surgery. After I got the green light , eating has seemed more like a chore. Yeah, I literally chew so much that I don’t even want to swallow sometimes lol . To be honest, I’m not sure about portion sizes. I’ve only been able to have about 4-5 bites and then i stop. I take pics of the food before and after and it barely looks as if I put a dent in it . I just really wanted to make sure that this pain after eating was a permanent issue and that ONE DAY I will be able to actually enjoy food. For the first time this evening, I was able to take numerous large sips of Water and that was a great accomplishment! So your right , I need to give my tummy some time ! Thank you!

[Anj0399 61]

My surgeon stated that it’s not necessarily the chewing that causes pain…he said the stomach is still swollen and healing and that’s why it can be painful. He also said it can be painful to eat pureed and soft food the first few days starting them but said as the swelling goes down it gets easier to eat and is less painful. He was totally right! I’m 19 days post-op and can get everything I’ve been eating down for the past few days with no problem. Hopefully it will get easier for you each day!

[Monique1123 28]

On 07/26/2021 at 00:52, Anj0399 said:

My surgeon stated that it’s not necessarily the chewing that causes pain…he said the stomach is still swollen and healing and that’s why it can be painful. He also said it can be painful to eat pureed and soft food the first few days starting them but said as the swelling goes down it gets easier to eat and is less painful. He was totally right! I’m 19 days post-op and can get everything I’ve been eating down for the past few days with no problem. Hopefully it will get easier for you each day!

I completely agree! I think my body was just going through a transition of having food go down because as of lately I’ve been doing okay with getting things down without the pain. I will say that even though I was practicing before , the one thing that’s super hard is not drinking while eating . Sometimes it just feels so dry going down that I want a sip but have to wait 30 minutes :-(

[mtlmiracle 4]

On 7/25/2021 at 3:59 PM, Monique1123 said:

I’m 11 days post op, had my sleeve on July 14th and I’m starting to feel a little sad and question my decision even though I’m trying very hard not to. So everything has gone great as far as my recovery , I’m in absolutely no pain, incisions healing great, I’ve already been cleared for soft foods and I was SOOO excited. I have tried eating ground beef with Tomato sauce , eggs , mashed potato’s , and meatballs. I chew them all until it’s an applesauce consistency which honestly disgust me, I try to take dime size bites , I eat at the table and put my fork down after every bite and yet…. When I’m done I still get severe chest pain as if the food is stuck. Which I’ve researched means you didn’t chew enough or your eating too fast… I guess I’m asking all of this to say does it eventually get better? Once you heal, are you able to eat without chest pain? Are you going to be able to take normal bites vs dime size ? At this point , the excitement that I had to be able to eat soft foods have now be turned into a daily challenge of forcing myself to eat. Without realizing until today, I noticed that I’ve gone 2 days without food because I’m so afraid of the pain that it will bring . Does it ever get better ?

Yikes, I haven't had the surgery yet but this sounds like a complication I would enjoy. Not eating for two days sounds nice but are you feeling hunger or just head hunger?