Hello everyone. So glad I found this forum and I hope it's active because I don't really have anyone other than my surgeon, his nurse, and my nutritionist to ask questions of and they don't have time to be my BFF. Hahaha!

My surgery was Friday, June 10th so I'm am on day 10. I feel much better than I did this time last week but dangggg I'm starrrrrving and I am so very over jello, Popsicles, broth, protein shakes, etc. Surely there has got to be something else with a bit more body that I could start to try to get my mini tummy ready for week three, which I'll only have two days to adapt to before returning to work, that will also keep me from feeling like I'm starving.

I've been super duper strict and had hoped to do so the entire time but I'm actually concerned about other things because of lack of nutrition. I have been dealing with dizziness, lack of balance, minimal energy (which is highly irritating because I had cleaning plans to work on the two weeks I would be out of work) and just overall weak as all get out.

I am getting lots of water, some jello, broth, and Popsicles, and I try to do two protein shakes a day so plenty of fluids, but how in the world can I find something to give me some energy that won't ruin what my nutritionist gave me in an eating plan?

I know I am SICK to death of sweet stuff. Blegh! Haha! I have backyard chickens. Would it be bad to try a backyard Fresh scrambled egg and see how my mini tum tum handles it? If not, what other ideas do those of you who are more experienced have?

Edited June 20, 20224 yr by ShianRaineDrop

Are you allowed creamed soups? They are a little heartier and might help you feel full longer.

I was allowed so I had creamed chicken soup strained and put old bay in it and tomato bisque.

Hope it helps, but I wouldn't cheat. haha Your "tum tum" needs time to heal!

I did start "soft foods" a day earlier but I asked permission and my surgeon approved me to do so. So, you could reach out and see what they say. They also might just have pointers.

Good luck!

4 minutes ago, kcuster83 said:

Are you allowed creamed Soups? They are a little heartier and might help you feel full longer.

I was allowed so I had creamed chicken Soup strained and put old bay in it and Tomato bisque.

Hope it helps, but I wouldn't cheat. haha Your "tum tum" needs time to heal!

I did start "soft foods" a day earlier but I asked permission and my surgeon approved me to do so. So, you could reach out and see what they say. They also might just have pointers.

Good luck!

I was told I could have creamed soups but I haven't tried them yet. I'm afraid they will gross me out. Hahahaha! I only have cream of mushroom but I reckon I could try it. When you say tomato bisque, do you mean you were able to eat tomato bisque soup or did you use tomato bisque flavoring of some sort? I thought I read somewhere that tomato based products were a no no this early but I totally have some tomato soup that I'd try a couple tablespoons of if it's not going to hurt my baby tum tum. I need to give baby tum tum a name I think....?

We were told tomatoes could be too rich on a new TUM TUM (haha) but we were allowed. They recommended that we try a teaspoon or 2 and wait a few to see how we handle it before eating a serving. I did fine with it.

Yes, I had actual tomato bisque soup (strained) and it was DELICIOUS!

PS: I think baby tum tum is perfect. hahaha

Oh man, I'm so going to try some tomato soup then! ? Well, maybe I'll try the cream of mushroom first.... We shall see. Lol!

5 hours ago, ShianRaineDrop said:

I need to give baby tum tum a name I think....?

Mine is Steve, recently promoted from Baby Stevie since he quit being so temperamental those first few weeks.

Soups were my saviour because those shakes were disgusting & bone broths tasted too salty. As for feeling dizzy, lacking energy, etc. is to be expected you just had pretty major surgery. Think of all those staples & stitches holding your tummy together. Your body needs time to heal & recover. The surgery itself is quite a shock to your body too. Rest. I spent a lot of time on my couch & just light pottering around my house & taking shirt strolls. No way could I have cleaned my house. Besides being physically unable I would not have wanted to compromise my healing.

Add an electrolyte drink to your fluid roster to give you a bit of a boost. Yes, some people can go back to work after a week but others need longer because we all recover at our own pace. (I needed all of 4 weeks & returned part time due to low BP making me lightheaded & doughy in the head - always had a pre disposition to low BP.)

Any cream soup is fine: chicken, beef, pumpkin, mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower, potato & leak, tomato, etc. Some people find tomato too acidic but give it a try & see how you go. I diluted the soups (extra milk or water) to make the flavour less intense & thinner & easier to swallow plus it meant I was drinking more fluids. I also strained them to ensure there weren’t any chunky bits or bits of herbs or vegetables. You can also eat the broth part of pho, wonton soup, etc.

8 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Soups were my saviour because those shakes were disgusting & bone broths tasted too salty. As for feeling dizzy, lacking energy, etc. is to be expected you just had pretty major surgery. Think of all those staples & stitches holding your tummy together. Your body needs time to heal & recover. The surgery itself is quite a shock to your body too. Rest. I spent a lot of time on my couch & just light pottering around my house & taking shirt strolls. No way could I have cleaned my house. Besides being physically unable I would not have wanted to compromise my healing.

Add an electrolyte drink to your Fluid roster to give you a bit of a boost. Yes, some people can go back to work after a week but others need longer because we all recover at our own pace. (I needed all of 4 weeks & returned part time due to low BP making me lightheaded & doughy in the head - always had a pre disposition to low BP.)

Any cream Soup is fine: chicken, beef, pumpkin, mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower, potato & leak, Tomato, etc. Some people find tomato too acidic but give it a try & see how you go. I diluted the soups (extra milk or water) to make the flavour less intense & thinner & easier to swallow plus it meant I was drinking more fluids. I also strained them to ensure there weren’t any chunky bits or bits of herbs or vegetables. You can also eat the broth part of pho, wonton soup, etc.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I tried some cream of mushroom soup yesterday and it was actually really good and I seemed to have tolerated it well.

I wonder if I can eat Grits for breakfast? They can be made pretty runny and my list for this week says watered down hot cereals. They are tiny pieces though so I may have to double check with my surgeon before trying on my own.

I have done some reading on sugar alcohols and I think I may have found the culprit for at least the bloaty gassy type feeling I still have in my gut. I was reading the guide from my nutritionist and there was one short line about sugar alcohols and how they can cause gas/bloating, diarrhea, etc. I have been eating a lot of sugar free jello and Popsicles but had no idea that watching the amount of sugar free sugar alcohols I am consuming, is important! I learned, possibly the hard way, that reading each food label carefully, is super important! I wish I had caught that days ago because today will be a restart for me in order to try to reduce my overall discomfort which I am cautiously sure, may have been caused by sugar alcohols! I'm not a sweets person by any stretch of the imagination so it's just not something I have typically had to look a lot for. Crazy how surgery like this can make us smarter. Haha!

I can see this journey will also be an incredible learning opportunity which is good for me because I love learning about all kinds of things.

Thank you again! I appreciate all of the wonderful advice and experience I have already received since joining this forum just yesterday! ❤️

12 hours ago, FutureSylph said:

Mine is Steve, recently promoted from Baby Stevie since he quit being so temperamental those first few weeks.

That is hilarious!!! Love it! ?❤️

14 hours ago, ShianRaineDrop said:

I wonder if I can eat Grits for Breakfast? They can be made pretty runny and my list for this week says watered down hot cereals. They are tiny pieces though so I may have to double check with my surgeon before trying on my own.

I have done some reading on sugar alcohols and I think I may have found the culprit for at least the bloaty gassy type feeling I still have in my gut. I was reading the guide from my nutritionist and there was one short line about sugar alcohols and how they can cause gas/bloating, diarrhea, etc.

I was allowed instant rolled oats from purées & being instant they were more highly processed & less coarse than traditional oats. Grits are even smooth so it makes sense they may be on your plan. Give them a go but definitely make them very liquidy - run off a spoon like soup.

A lot of people have issues with sugar alcohol artificial sweeteners. Try to avoid them as much as you can or look for alternatives. It won’t be easy, though cause they seem to put them in everything.

The learning can be fascinating. I’ve really enjoyed researching things associated with the surgery, nutrition, health considerations, etc. as well as learning about me & what my body needs to function effectively. You just got to avoid the fads, the self proclaimed experts, those with agendas to push, … but it makes for interesting reading. This forum has been very helpful to me too. A wealth of information. Lots of similar experiences but lots of different ones as well.

All the best.