Each bite is a torture - how long will this last until I can eat comfortably?

[Lucylovesfood 1]

I'm 1 week post op and based on what I've read, the first 2 weeks is liquid stage. My surgeon has a very different 4 phase plan and by day 7 I can start eating soft foods.

Runny scrambled egg is fine and cream of mushroom Soup or chicken soup goes down fine. What I'm worried about is when I do eat, I get full in like 1 bite. I'm so traumatized by the experience that I dont feel like eating because I'm afraid of the tightness in my chest whenever I do eat and the nauseous feeling I get.

I know it's only the beginning for me but I've read on here that even months after the surgery, the amount of food you can eat is very limited and that sounds depressing.

And between meals, sometimes I get chest discomfort and my stomach grumbles and I have no idea how to combat that or get rid of it.

Please tell me this gets better because I can't imagine going my whole life not being able to enjoy food properly. I'm hoping that I don't go back to my pre-op eating habits that can scarf down 2 bowls of instant noodles but I'd imagine that my new normal would at least be able to eat half a serving. I'm eating 1 egg and I already feel full.

Need some motivation and some of your stories. When you started out eating soft foods, how many ounces could you eat in a serving? I'm worried I'm not going to get proper amount of nutrition because of this.

[MistySkye 181]

I didn’t have soft foods until week 4. I was 2 weeks “full” liquids, 1 week puree. Then soft.. even then my plan said if issues, go back to Full Fluids, so perhaps try that?

[Lucylovesfood 1]

1 minute ago, MistySkye said:

I didn’t have soft foods until week 4. I was 2 weeks “full” liquids, 1 week puree. Then soft.. even then my plan said if issues, go back to Full Fluids, so perhaps try that?

I realized that since today I've only had Soups and a very runny egg and I haven't felt like throwing up. But my chest still feels tight and there's a slight discomfort in my lower left chest and also tons of tummy grumbles. Are the tummy grumbles normal and when does that disappear?

Or do I have to expect that this is a long term discomfort?

[Maisey 260]

You may not be eating slowly enough or chewing thoroughly. Make sure your bites are small.

Your stomach is still healing and swollen. Give it time.

[Lucylovesfood 1]

22 minutes ago, Maisey said:

You may not be eating slowly enough or chewing thoroughly. Make sure your bites are small.

Your stomach is still healing and swollen. Give it time.

Hi Maisey!

I'm still on liquid/pureed phase so not sure how to chew haha

Do you know how long is it swollen for? Like on average? How long until you were able to eat comfortably?

[Maisey 260]

16 minutes ago, Lucylovesfood said:

Hi Maisey!

I'm still on liquid/pureed phase so not sure how to chew haha

Do you know how long is it swollen for? Like on average? How long until you were able to eat comfortably?

Gotcha 🙂 Smaller sips would be a better suggestion. I'm not sure how long swelling lasts. But I would imagine it is a while. You had major surgery.

[Czarrina 1]

my stomach sounds like an airport sometimes i swear - it does get a little less noisy the further away from surgery. i ate two weeks full liquids- no real food until week 4 - eggs made me puke and hurt even. stay with mashed potatoes, yogurt those items for a bit and yes you feel full after a bite or two - or at least i did . wait a good 30 minutes to drink before a meal and after wait 30 minutes before you drink.... that pocket is tiny

[Ashley_vsg_2021 18]

Wow ! I know we’re supposed to believe and trust our surgeons but sorts that soon sounds like a lot .. I was on liquids 21 days pre .. and then Clear Liquids 2 days post and full liquid for a full calendar month.. then purées for 2-3 weeks and then soft and then full.. I’d chat with your nutritionist

[Neensyb 111]

Oh gosh, your post brings back memories. I had my WLS done in January this year. Straight afterwards I had buyers regret....what the hell was I thinking....every mouthful I felt ill, I worried I would dehydrate as I wasn't getting enough liquids. So I sat myself down and gave myself a stern talking to 🙂

Take one day at a time. If one mouthful fills you up, great. Just move on and take another mouthful in an hour or so. I still feel full after just one mouthful now, so I break it up into tiny little bits, and graze for an hour over my food. I can get about a half to full cup of food in over that period of time.

Psychologically the struggle was real. I fought with myself that I needed to eat more, and when I was full and still had a delicious mound of baked potato with lite sour cream and bacon bits sitting on my plate, I got so sad. That's when I really had to work hard to only put on my plate what I knew I could finish, and start mindful eating and enjoying the company I was with.

This is a huge lifestyle change for anyone who has the surgery, and I don't think any of us really understood the impact outside of the physical.

If you can only cope with liquids, stay on liquids and make sure it's full of nutrition. Very slowly increase the thickness, puree leek and potato Soup, pumpkin soup with tasteless Protein (you'll laugh, one pot of soup lasted me 3 months...I froze it in half cup lots). Pulverize chicken noodle soup.

Good luck, we'll be waiting for an update 🙂

[Lucylovesfood 1]

3 hours ago, Neensyb said:

Oh gosh, your post brings back memories. I had my WLS done in January this year. Straight afterwards I had buyers regret....what the hell was I thinking....every mouthful I felt ill, I worried I would dehydrate as I wasn't getting enough liquids. So I sat myself down and gave myself a stern talking to 🙂

Take one day at a time. If one mouthful fills you up, great. Just move on and take another mouthful in an hour or so. I still feel full after just one mouthful now, so I break it up into tiny little bits, and graze for an hour over my food. I can get about a half to full cup of food in over that period of time.

Psychologically the struggle was real. I fought with myself that I needed to eat more, and when I was full and still had a delicious mound of baked potato with lite sour cream and bacon bits sitting on my plate, I got so sad. That's when I really had to work hard to only put on my plate what I knew I could finish, and start mindful eating and enjoying the company I was with.

This is a huge lifestyle change for anyone who has the surgery, and I don't think any of us really understood the impact outside of the physical.

If you can only cope with liquids, stay on liquids and make sure it's full of nutrition. Very slowly increase the thickness, puree leek and potato Soup, pumpkin Soup with tasteless Protein (you'll laugh, one pot of soup lasted me 3 months...I froze it in half cup lots). Pulverize chicken noodle soup.

Good luck, we'll be waiting for an update 🙂

For you it's already more than 6 months and you still feel full after 1 mouthful? That seriously sounds like torture T___T

Have you gotten used to it? What about the discomfort and heartburn and tummy grumbles? Does that still happen to you?

[Arabesque 7,612]

First congrats on your surgery. It can be tough to begin especially getting used to how your healing tummy works: so strange & different from anything you’ve experienced before. But it does get better especially once your tummy heals.

There are a lot of plans out there. Some with slight variations others with lots of differences. We always say follow your surgeon’s plan because if something doesn’t go smoothly they can more easily diagnose the cause. But don’t be afraid to stay or go back a stage if your tummy isn’t quite ready yet. It’s not uncommon for people to stay extra days at a stage or to go back a step if the new stage is causing them discomfort. We heal differently & in our own time.

I wonder if you’re eating/drinking to quickly too. Go slowly. Put your cutlery or cup down & wait a few minutes before having the next sip or bite. Two years on & I still experience gurgling if I eat or drink too quickly. I can have two swallows but if I have a third - gurgling & tightness. It’s like I have my own poltergeist gurgling & moaning & groaning inside. I sometimes find if I have dairy it will do the same thing. You will get to know how your body reacts to how & what you eat. (Mine’s gurgling now from too many sips of tea - lol!) You’ll realise the restriction (the tightness) & the gurgling are good things - they’re telling you you’ve had enough or you need to slow down & to be more mindful about how & what you’re eating.

As time passes you will be able to eat more. I was only eating 1/4-1/3 cup the first couple of months. But by the time I was at goal I could eat about a cup depending on what I was eating. I eat about a recommended serve of most foods now. This is plenty of food & all my body needs. And that it is one of the big learnings - eating what your body needs not what your head/emotions think you need. And I still enjoy food lots. I’m just more careful about my food choices & my portion sizes.

Good luck & give yourself time to heal & discover what works best for you.

[Hayden 43]

Just because your doctor says to move on to soft food doesn’t mean you have to. Don’t go above the dr recommend diet but if you need to back up to liquids and eggs then do that. Try other foods again in a week. It’s really important to get your fluids Protein and other Vitamins. It could count for why you’re feeling so bad cause you’re not getting the proper nutrition cause you can’t tolerate the soft foods yet.

just back up a step. Eat whatever makes you feel comfortable as long as it’s within your diet. The biggest problem I have had is speed. You really have to eat slowly. I usually eat while web surfing cause I need both my hands so it makes me wait several minutes between bites. Also chew chew chew chew. Savor the flavor and enjoy it because we all know we can’t have too much of it before our tummy’s yell STOP!

[Neensyb 111]

21 hours ago, Lucylovesfood said:

For you it's already more than 6 months and you still feel full after 1 mouthful? That seriously sounds like torture T___T

Have you gotten used to it? What about the discomfort and heartburn and tummy grumbles? Does that still happen to you?

I most definitely have got used to it. My tummy grumbles mainly after I've had liquid and it stops pretty quickly. I haven't had any heartburn at all, one of the very lucky ones in that instance.

I've actually learned to really enjoy my food, which is quite a change from my gobbling down a full plate prior to surgery. I used to tell one of our twins "hurry up, stop damned well mucking around and eat your dinner!". Now I am the one still at the table with him, enjoying every bite. We try to get our kids to eat what's on their plate without thinking about the habits we are getting them to form. Our other twin inhales his dinner just like his dad! It's actually quite awful watching it, but I need to take some of the responsibility for it.

I promise you things get easier. You have to remember, with a gastric sleeve they remove up to 90% of a pretty important organ - that's MAJOR surgery. Focus on how much better your life will be once you get through the next few months. Fill up your belly with really good nutrition, one mouthful at a time. Stay on liquids until you feel 100% ok with moving to the next stage - trust me you will know when that is.

One thing that I found probably the most difficult is not feeling hungry. That was really odd to me, instead I feel "empty". Does that make sense?

Feel free to send me a direct message, I'm more than happy to keep in touch.

xxx

[Neensyb 111]

3 hours ago, Chip L said:

Just because your doctor says to move on to soft food doesn’t mean you have to. Don’t go above the dr recommend diet but if you need to back up to liquids and eggs then do that. Try other foods again in a week. It’s really important to get your fluids Protein and other Vitamins. It could count for why you’re feeling so bad cause you’re not getting the proper nutrition cause you can’t tolerate the soft foods yet.

just back up a step. Eat whatever makes you feel comfortable as long as it’s within your diet. The biggest problem I have had is speed. You really have to eat slowly. I usually eat while web surfing cause I need both my hands so it makes me wait several minutes between bites. Also chew chew chew chew. Savor the flavor and enjoy it because we all know we can’t have too much of it before our tummy’s yell STOP!

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! You are 100% correct in everything you say....I am also a work from home person in IT....I get the need to remove myself from my desk to have meals.

Very wise words!