My Post OP 4th week

[DebiMil]

Can I please get some info on eating? It's my 4th week and I need some REAL FOOD,,, I have lost 20 pounds in 30 days. But does anyone know if U can have the TCBY or Orange Leaf Yogurt???? By real food, I mean meat.
What about your vitamins, I take the Barilife.com , they are horse pills and need to take 6 a day.
Looking into getting the chewable ones, Are they better than the Barilife HUGE VITAMINS????
I am hoping I do not have regrets with this surgery, My doctors office employees are not very informative with what is good and what is acceptable to eat . Thanks for anyones comments or help that they may give me. 8-)

[nursechick91]

Hi Debi. I don't know if I am a good one to give advice (although I am an RN) because I kind of pushed the envelope, so to speak. My 4 week "anniversary" was 3/12/14, and I have been on regular food for at least 10 days now. I needed "real food" so I went from thick or full liquids to things like chicken soup, real soft foods, and now I'm eating just about everything, in tiny quantities, of course! I eat protein first, of course, and haven't had bread, but I went to a potluck and had 2 strands of spaghetti noodles with a "dot" of sauce. I have also had a one inch wide piece of pizza that I couldn't finish. I haven't had any trouble. As for vitamins, I have a huge jar of bariatric chewable vitamins (only have to take two a day) but they are awful! Gotta find something else for the future! I lost 12 lbs prior to surgery and 18 since, but I have stalled at 30 and am waiting to get going again. I heard this stall is normal; hope I haven't sabotaged myself!! Best of luck to you! I'll be rooting for you!!

[Cinthysline]

I am 10 days out and can eat any soft food I want, in 2 oz quantities. Meat will come in at 4 weeks out.

[sociologist]

Chicken and turkey should be no problem. Ground beef too. Hold off on steak for another month. From my experience, it tends to not go down well. By a month out, you can try anything and you will learn fairly quick which things you can tolerate and which ones you cant. As far as vitamins, one a day womens petite, 2 a day. Calcium, 2 tums. My dr said that was all I needed. I also take b12 and d3, biotin 10,000. Its usually okay to swallow pills about two weeks out. My biggest issue in the beginning was not being able to take a big enough sip of water. You can crush some meds and take them with applesauce but check with your dr first. Never crush time released stuff. I still cant tolerate bread and pasta, rice is iffy. Ground beef is no longer my friend. Just introduce one new thing a day to see how you react to it:-)

[Ms. Jupiter]

I started puree substitute crab meat or plain Greek yogurt with puree tuna during my 3rd week.
By the 4th week I was eating ground turkey and lean ground beef. 2 oz at mealtime with a spoon of cottage cheese.

[dackn8tr]

I was eating "real" foods at a month out. Like Margaret, I'd suggest waiting on steak or even baked chicken for a few more weeks & just remember if its dry meat you might have trouble getting it down. I always have a little RF sauce of some kind handy in case I need to dip it to make it easier to eat. I'm pushing 2 years out and still can't east rice, just a tiny spoon of it makes me miserable, and have to go sparingly with bread or pasta. Just test it with a little bite, if you feel OK after eating it keep going but have a back up plan if it doesn't. Can't tell you how frustrating it can be some times to find something that goes down well ... I went in spurts w/foods after surgery and more than a few meals were a couple bites of "this" that didn't set well, so as couple bites of "that" that didn't sit well and that was all I could eat - I was full!

As for vitamins I take Vitafusion gummies and love them!! Nice fruity flavor, no aftertaste & all my blood work comes back spot on! I get them at Same Club but have seen them at CVS, Walgreen's & Walmart. Hope some of my ramblings helped a little! Keep up the great work!!

[depatric3]

I was told that you can have any kind of yogurt as long as it is the non sugar stuff. and some oatmeal. hope this helps. I have been calling to all different hospitals to find out different info. I have not had my surgery and really would love to hear exactly what the surgery is like and also the treatment, pain, security. have not set a date because I want to hear it from someone that actually went through the surgery before I pay out my hard earned money

[DebiMil]

Thanks for the information Shelley,,, I have lost another 3 pounds , total of 23. I had my surgery 2 days before you did.
Still trying to figure out a way to take all my minerals and vitamins or try something new other than the HUGE HORSE PILLS, I am taking 3 times a day. Barilife.com. They say thats all you need is just those pills. Makes it hard when you can't swallow.
I threw up for the first time today, Maybe I ate to fast. Hoping that is all it is. Hoping you are doing well and Good Luck

[DebiMil]

You swear by VitaFusion,,, so thats all you take? No iron, no calcium , no ????? just the VitaFusion?????

[jessiejess]

I started puree substitute crab meat or plain Greek yogurt with puree tuna during my 3rd week.
By the 4th week I was eating ground turkey and lean ground beef. 2 oz at mealtime with a spoon of cottage cheese.

I was on purees by week 4 until week 7. I couldn't do a true puree bc the consistency was too gross for me so I'd have tuna salad or ground beef with marinara or ground turkey with gravy. Stuff like that. I wore out my mini food processor.

[DebiMil]

on the VitaFusion, is their any particular flavor you like or choose? I just started taking the vitamins 2 weeks ago and makes me want to gag everytime I swallow them. Even have thrown them up they are so big... I really need an alternative. Thanks for your reply.

[DebiMil]

what kind of vitamins you taking Cinthysline? I am 4 weeks out and barely can tolerate the horse pills I am taking

[dackn8tr]

Sorry, haven't been on in a few days On the Vitafusion there's only one option to purchase, but there are 4 fruity flavors mixed into the bottle ... my teenage daughter even takes them now with no prompting if that tells you anything about the flavor!!

I take 2 vitamin gummies + 2 of that brand's Calcium Chews (which are also nicely fruity flavored!) in the morning plus 2 more of each in the evening and i take 1 B-12 every other day but honestly that's all i take other than my prescribed medicines. I've never had an issue with iron deficiency so was told not to take anything extra there. I did take Biotin for my hairloss, 5,000 mcg once in the morning and again in the evening, but that was only for about 6 months ~ when I was sure the hairloss had subsided I stopped taking them. Feel free to message me too if you have questions I could answer for you, i'm more than happy to help in any way i can!!

[DebiMil]

As for the water without meals,,,, is this just for the 7-8 weeks post op.... OR IS THIS FOR the rest of your life with meals?
You have lost a lot of weight, that is awesome!!!!! I want to be a beach bum again, lol lol

[dizneeanna]

I was told that you can have any kind of yogurt as long as it is the non sugar stuff. and some oatmeal. hope this helps. I have been calling to all different hospitals to find out different info. I have not had my surgery and really would love to hear exactly what the surgery is like and also the treatment, pain, security. have not set a date because I want to hear it from someone that actually went through the surgery before I pay out my hard earned money

Everybody's experience is completely different. I felt like I read and read and listened to so many video diaries and felt very informed. Then when I was in the hospital my experience was totally different than theirs. All you can do is trust your surgeon and keep focused on WHY you are doing all of this. That's what is most important.