introducing semi solids and PAIN

[ditsy_dame]

Hi, I'm almost 4 weeks post sleeve, and my diet sheet says I can move off smooth purees and start to transition to more semi solids. A couple of things I've tried have really given me gyp. The worst was some mince beef in tomato sauce. It was finely chopped lean mince and I chewed it into almost liquid but oh, I did not feel well. For hours it was stuck. Wouldn't come up and didn't feel as if it was going down either. Eventually the pain went, so I guess it did finally go down but OW!!
Then I tried some tofu from a Chinese take out, Nice soft tofu, about a tablespoon of plain boiled rice. Again with the overstuffed and suffering feeling. Tonight I tried some baked beans mixed into mush and well chewed up. I managed about 3 tablespoons and am still feeling it sitting there in my stomach like a ton of bricks. is this normal? Can I hurt myself, like tearing the staples or making a leak? I thought I'd vomit if I overdid it, but although I feel like I might, I don't. It just takes hours to get rid of the horrible painful lump in my stomach. Thing is, eating just sloppies now leaves me hungry, so I guess it is the right time to start to try food with more substance, but owie, experimenting has not been exactly fun. With a sleeve my stomach is somewhere around the size of my index finger! This is quite a balancing act, and i'm not very good at it. :sigh:

 

[Mrs_CakeyBun]

didnt want to read and run...but post-op bander here so cant help but just wanted to send best wishes and hope it gets easier for you xx

 

[thinkbethin]

Hi Ditsy, sorry I can't help as I'm pre op for band but really hope you get it sorted and start to feel better xx Gaynor xx

 

[tendersage]

The best thing is to check what your doing, chew well which you are, eat SLOWLY, put the fork down between bites so you have to pick it up again when you have finished, the slower you eat the less likely to cause a blockage or reflux. also ensure you have not drunk anything with the meal OR for 30 mins beforehand as this fills the pouch. another tip is to alternate the food types to help prevent sticking

 

[shelbell]

Hi Ditsy,

I can only assume that your sleeve pouch works in a similar way to a bypass pouch when it comes to the feelings you've described. I know the main difference is that the pylori is still in place, so in theory the advice I would give a bypasser would be the same for you.

As soon as you go on to sloppies you have to learn a new way of eating. You may feel that you are chewing well and eating slowly, but the sensations you are describing sound like pouch wind and over filling.

Pouch wind is caused by eating too quickly. It is very painful, and in a bypasser feels like a knife going all the way through from front to back. The only way to prevent it is to take tiny bites (the size of the rubber on top of a pencil) and chew until completely liquid. If your food is still even warm by the time you finish at this stage then you are eating too fast It should take you around 20-30 minutes to eat your meal.

Overfilling follows on from eating too fast. You have to learn to liisten to your tummy and learn when it is nearly full and stop eating. It isn't easy! Slowing down will help, as it takes time for the brain to register fullness. Just 1 bite too much will make you feel uncomfortable for a loooong time.

Its a completely new way of eating, it takes time to master but once you get it everything becomes a lot easier

 

[ditsy_dame]

Thanks for the advice, I probably am eating too fast although I eke out meals for up to an hour. And I think I'm taking too big bites of food. I went looking for online advice yesterday when I was bogged down and it said the bites should be no bigger than your baby fingernail bed!! I've been taking half teaspoons which is most likely too much. I was concerned about doing some kind of permanent damage, but probably most people have these kinds of "teething pains" when they move off puree onto sloppy.

 

[shelbell]

Its a theme that comes up on here time and time again ditsy, so you're not alone!

I would think that the chances of you harming your sleeve are slim, with a bypass you have to overeat significantly and regularly to cause problems.

 

[iinklii]

Hope you feel better soon
XxX

 

[deq]

hope you are feeling better soon, Debs

 

[Janeywanttoloosealot]

Thanks for the advice, I probably am eating too fast although I eke out meals for up to an hour. And I think I'm taking too big bites of food. I went looking for online advice yesterday when I was bogged down and it said the bites should be no bigger than your baby fingernail bed!! I've been taking half teaspoons which is most likely too much. I was concerned about doing some kind of permanent damage, but probably most people have these kinds of "teething pains" when they move off puree onto sloppy.

Hi debs, if its any consalation i am going through the same as you chick. Had my bypass march the 8th and am struggling abit with my food i either eat to much at one sit in and cannot eat all day or i eat to fast. I can only eat about 1 to 1 and half tblsp at a sit in and can only eat three times a day if i am lucky all i can say is thank goodness for soup. Hang on in there it will get better so i am told and i know it will be worth it. janey

 

[claire36uk]

hope you are feeling better soon X

 

[phatgirl]

You all have given excellent advise. Only wanted to add that when you have that stuck feeling, you may have a tiny bit of swelling at the stoma (opening of the stomach to the intestines). If you have this feeling every time you eat try doing a half sloppy/half liquid diet. Say one meal sloppy, then the next liquid and keep rotating. That way you give your stoma a chance to go back to normal before you try a more solid meal. It might help.

Nic