Food questions for veteran sleevers

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AceOfSpada
AceOfSpada Posts: 47 Member
What foods are you unable to tolerate? And what happens if you can tolerate it...do you feel nauseated or do you throw up? What happens?Just figuring out what to expect.
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  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I am almost two years post-surgery. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am able to tolerate most foods. The foods I do have a problem with are sweets, but not all sweets. I can eat a little bit of chocolate and be fine, but if I eat a bite of a donut, I get a bad stomach ache. I can eat some starches like plain bread (although not too much at once), but starches like potatoes make me feel like I swallowed a brick and make my stomach uncomfortable. The only time I threw up was when I ate something that I added too much salt too, and that was early on. I can tolerate meat, dairy, veggies and fruit just fine. You really can't know what to expect post surgery. Your tastes will change not just from before surgery, but even after. Things that were ok the first couple of months, you might not like later on. It will be a lot of hit and miss as far as what will agree with you and what won't, and everyone is different as far as what they can tolerate.
  • AceOfSpada
    AceOfSpada Posts: 47 Member
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    garber6th wrote: »
    I am almost two years post-surgery. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am able to tolerate most foods. The foods I do have a problem with are sweets, but not all sweets. I can eat a little bit of chocolate and be fine, but if I eat a bite of a donut, I get a bad stomach ache. I can eat some starches like plain bread (although not too much at once), but starches like potatoes make me feel like I swallowed a brick and make my stomach uncomfortable. The only time I threw up was when I ate something that I added too much salt too, and that was early on. I can tolerate meat, dairy, veggies and fruit just fine. You really can't know what to expect post surgery. Your tastes will change not just from before surgery, but even after. Things that were ok the first couple of months, you might not like later on. It will be a lot of hit and miss as far as what will agree with you and what won't, and everyone is different as far as what they can tolerate.

    Thank you. I'll just have to be careful and experiment. Thank you for responding.
  • BringingSherriBack
    BringingSherriBack Posts: 607 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I am almost 4 years out from surgery (November) and just like garber6th, I can tolerate most everything. That can be both good and bad. Bad because I tolerate alot of things that aren't good for me very well. Good in that I don't have to look like the "picky eater" when dining out or with friends. And just like garber6th, I have problems with sweets. Generally mine is the qty not the specific item itself. Too much sweet and I am physically ill. I get stomach cramps, sweat, and get a headache and have to lay down until it passes. I learned fairly quickly what triggered this and know my limits on sweets.
    My tastes changed also and some things I loved before surgery don't even taste good after surgery like iced tea and most all the Crystal light flavors. I loved them all before but now can only drink a couple flavors. I have never had issues eating meats, dairy, fruits and vegetables. I can tolerate most grains and starches too, however too much and I feel bloated and overly full and almost like I can literally feel all my energy being drained out of me.
  • Thaeda
    Thaeda Posts: 834 Member
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    I am 18 months out and I can eat everything. Rice is something I do not eat a lot of because it makes me feel overfull and uncomfortable- the only time I have rice is when I have sushi and I try to choose "low rice content" items like salmon or yellowtail rolls that just have a smidgen of rice in them. :)
  • 5BeautifulDays
    5BeautifulDays Posts: 683 Member
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    Thaeda wrote: »
    I am 18 months out and I can eat everything. Rice is something I do not eat a lot of because it makes me feel overfull and uncomfortable- the only time I have rice is when I have sushi and I try to choose "low rice content" items like salmon or yellowtail rolls that just have a smidgen of rice in them. :)

    I will eat a California roll (about 3-4 pc) every once in a while, too...yum. I generally avoid starchy foods, but when I've had them they sit fine. I can eat crappy foods if I want, too, although I surely don't recommend making a habit of it.

    I can tolerate anything, really, although some foods either can't be eaten together, or I can't eat much of them. Sadly, eggs are one of the foods that will make me nauseated after more than a few bites. I also struggle with veggies at the same time as meat--so I've worked out eating my meal in courses where I have my salad or veg part first, and then the meat 10-15 min later (which is opposite plan protocol) because meat sits better on top than the veggies do. I make sure I get my protein in, though.
  • AceOfSpada
    AceOfSpada Posts: 47 Member
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    Thaeda wrote: »
    I am 18 months out and I can eat everything. Rice is something I do not eat a lot of because it makes me feel overfull and uncomfortable- the only time I have rice is when I have sushi and I try to choose "low rice content" items like salmon or yellowtail rolls that just have a smidgen of rice in them. :)

    I will eat a California roll (about 3-4 pc) every once in a while, too...yum. I generally avoid starchy foods, but when I've had them they sit fine. I can eat crappy foods if I want, too, although I surely don't recommend making a habit of it.

    I can tolerate anything, really, although some foods either can't be eaten together, or I can't eat much of them. Sadly, eggs are one of the foods that will make me nauseated after more than a few bites. I also struggle with veggies at the same time as meat--so I've worked out eating my meal in courses where I have my salad or veg part first, and then the meat 10-15 min later (which is opposite plan protocol) because meat sits better on top than the veggies do. I make sure I get my protein in, though.

    I love California Rolls! It will be nice to just order 1 haha
  • SibylDiane
    SibylDiane Posts: 177 Member
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    The only things I've found that I can't tolerate are yeasted bread (quick breads are fine) and anything carbonated. I don't throw up though. Bread makes my stomach feel really heavy and uncomfortable and I feel slightly nauseated. More than a couple sips of anything carbonated and I feel very uncomfortable and nauseated. Nothing else has given me any trouble. My surgeon has an extremely slow and cautious progression of post-op eating for his patients so I wasn't doing a lot of experimenting early on. I think that helped me stay comfortable and safe.
  • skattersIA
    skattersIA Posts: 13 Member
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    I am 2.5 yrs out, and can tolerate everything. For the first year or so, if I ate ice cream I got that stomach ache like when you were a kid and gorged yourself on too much candy. But now it is fine. I get slightly nauseous if I take one or two bites too many... but it passes in a few minutes.
  • blairmundy
    blairmundy Posts: 219 Member
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    Only 6 months out but... I can tolerate most things. Protein shakes are still hard but it's mostly the thickness. If I get one at the market that is made fresh with soy protein instead of whey protein I am ok. For the longest time I couldn't eat eggs. I can now eat most of a soft boiled egg. I still have lots of problems with cooked meat. Raw fish is easiest to eat - I can eat 4ish oz of that. I can eat about 2 oz of cooked fish. I can eat about 1-1.5 oz of dark meat chicken. I can't really eat any beef or pork or lunch meat. I can tolerate small amounts of rice, bread, etc. no problem. Like the above poster, no carbonation. I once opened a diet rootbeer and left it in the fridge for 3 days until it was mostly flat. One sip still made me throw up.
  • imboswell
    imboswell Posts: 104 Member
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    I am 10 months out and can most things but sometimes that one bite too many has made me throw up. (I am writing this after my one too many bite of salad that I had for lunch.) The things I cannot tolerate are pineapple (I used to love it) and apple skin (I have to peel the apple to eat it.) I can drink soda, sometimes I just crave a coke but 1 or 2 sips satisfies that and I don't drink a whole can or cup. Unfortunately I can tolerate bread and rice a little to well and sometimes over eat those items and pay the price. If you take things slow you will know very quickly what you can tolerate. It hits me in a matter of minutes.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
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    At 4 years out the only thing that still bothers me is plain black coffee. Pre surgery I always drank it that way. Post surgery it has to have even just a touch of cream in it or it makes my stomach ache. I know, don't drink it right? I am addicted to coffee. I willingly and for the most part easily gave up everything else I was addicted to (ie Ice Cream), I'm keeping the coffee since it won't make me fat or keep me from losing weight. Other than that, a little sweet is OK, but over doing it with any kind of candy or dessert makes me nauseous. Like others on here, that one bite too many makes me very flemmy and most times I will lose that "too much". I can easily avoid that by paying attention to my full cue. For me that's the sensation of needing to burp. When I feel that I know I'm done, yes even if I do actually burp. It also means I have to eat slowly, because if I eat too fast I'm past the cue before I register it. And then I'm throwing up the too much.
  • gardendoc
    gardendoc Posts: 64 Member
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    Giving up coffee pre surgery was "painful". I couldn't wait to french press my first cup after. My go-to bean is Death Wish coffee. I haven't seen any detrimental effects yet.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    gardendoc wrote: »
    Giving up coffee pre surgery was "painful". I couldn't wait to french press my first cup after. My go-to bean is Death Wish coffee. I haven't seen any detrimental effects yet.

    I didn't give up coffee pre-surgery, but my surgeon said I had to wait six months post surgery to drink coffee again. Trust me, 6 months to the day, I had coffee. It was a rough breakup but I was so happy when we got back together :-) I also haven't seen any detrimental effects, thank goodness!



  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
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    gardendoc wrote: »
    Giving up coffee pre surgery was "painful". I couldn't wait to french press my first cup after. My go-to bean is Death Wish coffee. I haven't seen any detrimental effects yet.

    Curious. Can you or do you drink it black or do you have to "doctor" it?
  • loriloftness
    loriloftness Posts: 476 Member
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    Like others, sweets are a hit/miss thing for me. Pre-surgery I loved ice cream. Post-surgery, it doesn't seem to sit very well so I stay at few spoonful's at most. I don't do much bread because it feels like a brick in my stomach, even when I toast it first. I can do a little bit of decaf coffee, but too much causes stomach irritation.
  • rpyle111
    rpyle111 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    pawoodhull wrote: »
    gardendoc wrote: »
    Giving up coffee pre surgery was "painful". I couldn't wait to french press my first cup after. My go-to bean is Death Wish coffee. I haven't seen any detrimental effects yet.

    Curious. Can you or do you drink it black or do you have to "doctor" it?

    I'm not gardendoc, but I can (and prefer to) still drink it black. I have almost always been a black coffee drinker, and the main thing I have noticed is that these days, a majority of my protein powder is mixed into coffee, I have been developing a taste for the milky/sweet coffee that I never had before. I will have to be careful not to add Starbucks et al into my routine.

    Rob
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    rpyle111 wrote: »
    pawoodhull wrote: »
    gardendoc wrote: »
    Giving up coffee pre surgery was "painful". I couldn't wait to french press my first cup after. My go-to bean is Death Wish coffee. I haven't seen any detrimental effects yet.

    Curious. Can you or do you drink it black or do you have to "doctor" it?

    I'm not gardendoc, but I can (and prefer to) still drink it black. I have almost always been a black coffee drinker, and the main thing I have noticed is that these days, a majority of my protein powder is mixed into coffee, I have been developing a taste for the milky/sweet coffee that I never had before. I will have to be careful not to add Starbucks et al into my routine.

    Rob

    Occasionally I have a soy latte from Starbucks. Without any syrup, or with sugar free syrup, it's about 130 calories and 7 grams of protein. Not too bad if I treat it as a snack, but yeah, it probably wouldn't be a good daily habit to get into!

  • vsg_joanna
    vsg_joanna Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm 1.5 years post op VSG and like everyone else I could tolerate mostly everything. Luckily, I have a hard time with ice cream or any other heavy dessert (this used to be a binge food for me). If I have a tiny serving, like a baby cone and eat very slowly, I'll be okay. If I eat more or quickly I get extreme nausea and usually it leads to vomiting. It honestly feels like food poisoning when it happens.
  • seaghdha1072
    seaghdha1072 Posts: 89 Member
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    I'm almost 8 months out. I have to be careful around pasta, if only have a small amount and chew well I'm good but too quick and it all comes up! I can't have bagels or thick bread because they sit like a rock in my chest. Sometimes spaghetti or red sauce gives me heartburn but other than those exceptions I can eat almost anything. Try to stay on the straight and narrow though, not a lot of pasta breads or sweets. Mostly meats, salads fruit etc.
  • kc82
    kc82 Posts: 65 Member
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    I am 2 years and 3 months post-op. I still have a hard time digesting milk. If I drink more than 1/2 a cup, I feel sick and nauseated. Same thing goes for ice cream. I now drink Fair Life milk as its the only one I can digest with no issues. Plus it has a TON of protein in 1 cup.

    Bread of any kind is a no-no and sits like a rock. Not a good feeling, so I try to avoid it. (I now make and eat Cloud Bread). You can find the recipe on Pinterest! Some recipes are different. I use cottage cheese in mine and add a packet of splenda to the mix. Super easy.

    I can pretty much tolerate everything else... and like others have said... that's either a good thing or a bad thing. I still love starchy foods like rice, but I avoid them at all cost because they are TOO filling and do not allow me to get my protein in.