This is NOT about the "standard GERD diet" that most doctors recommend, but that doesn't help so many people who are still living on antacids, PPI's, etc...this is different and, even if you believe that "low carb" is a fad diet (it isn't, but this isn't the place to debate it), if you are desperate or even want to try something different - and harmless - or avoid surgery or strong medications, read below, follow the links, see what others - including physicians and the MANY people for whom it worked - have shared, and consider if this might at least be worth a try for yourself.
My own personal experience: Only during a few months between 1991 and 2010 did my GERD ever abate, and that was when I first started eating low carb. Those first 3 months of eating this way were bliss! I could lay flat, I didn't cough and choke on my own stomach acids, I had amazing relief! And I was eating lots of fats also, tons of fatty foods, as most low carb plans are NOT high protein as so many of its detractors (and the press) would have you believe, but rather high fat. The body uses fats for energy much more efficiently than it uses sugars and starches, which are part of the problem for many - if not most - GERD sufferers.
However, one slice of bread - low carb bread - or a single dish of low-carb cereal or one cookie, and it all came back. I could not tolerate ANY grains whatsoever. I have read reports of GERD sufferers who, after eliminating wheat in all its forms from their diet, found relief; apparently wheat sensitivity is quite common (as is lactose/dairy) although most are unaware, and eliminating these foods can help. But in my case, any grains at all in my system would start the reflux which, a few years later, became violent.
This is no secret. It is well-known by some in the medical profession and all of us who have lived it, that eliminating grains and sugars (even "natural sugars" - sugar is sugar is sugar) and in some cases dairy from the diet can bring relief from even the worst reflux issues for many people and do for them what myriad drugs had not, enabling them to start living their lives normally again. If you are having reflux issues but are wary of the NF surgery...if you have a failed wrap...if your surgery wasn't effective for whatever reason...there are some resources that you may want to check out. Read and learn and, maybe, give yourself some relief :).
Heartburn Cured, from the blog of Michael R. Eades, MD (medical)
How Low-Carb Improves Acid Reflux, from The Migraineur (anecdotal)
Reader who cured GERD with low-carb diet interviewed on TV, from The Healthy Skeptic (video)
Low Carb Plus Raw Veg for GERD, Life Extension Forum (anecdotal)
My GERD is Cured! Low-carb Hits the Mark, from Pain, Pain, Go Away! (anecdotal)
Low Carb and Heartburn (forum, anecdotal, multiple)
GERD Sufferers, Rejoice! from Mark's Daily Apple (informational)A Low Carb Diet for GERD
Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), but Thomas Cowan, MD (medical)
Showing posts with label low carb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label low carb. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Art of Compromise #lowcarb
There are a couple of schools of thought among low carbers...well, more than a couple, but for the purpose of this post, I will mention 2: one says that if you find low carb substitutes for the carby foods you are used to, you will have greater success; the other says if you learn to do without the carby foods you are used to, you will have greater success. Obviously neither is absolutely true 100% of the time, but each is mostly true to whoever lives by it.
I started out, nearly 7 years ago, believing the latter. And did very well with it for the first year or so. Of course there were some things I felt I could not forgo completely - such as Chinese buffet restaurants - so I compromised, with a trip to one per month. Gradually I evolved to the first school of thought, and learned or created ways to have what I wanted but in a safe, non-carby way. And this is pretty much how I have lived ever since. I do still choose a carby food or meal - or even a day! - once in a while but overall, 90% of the time at least, I eat low carb equivalents to the carby foods I enjoyed before.
After my nissen fundoplication last month I knew I would have to undergo diet changes, and one of them is giving up the so-called "gassy vegetables". This includes cauliflower, which meant no more mashed "potatoes"! Cauliflower is a substitute for quite a few low carb foods, but mostly, for me, it was my mashed "potatoes".
For the first few weeks of my recovery, when I was eating very soft foods to allow my stomach to heal, I didn't think or worry about carbs. It was hard enough just getting nutrition into my 3- or 4-bite minimeals. And I wasn't eating enough food to gain weight certainly. A side effect of this surgery is weight loss, even though it isn't a WLS, so I had no worries - I just had to eat what didn't hurt me. And one of those things was mashed potatoes. I kept a box of instant because they are easy to make up just a tiny amount, and they worked so well for me that I still have some on hand. And, since I can't make the standard fauxtatoes, I have found a way to compromise on mashed potatoes.
(Let me note here that regular potatoes, mashed, are way carbier than instant.)
I haven't done the carb count - haven't actually counted my carbs in years - but here is how I am able to enjoy mashed potatoes with my meal, once or twice a week:
- 1/4c heavy cream
- 1/4c (1/2 stick) real butter
- 1/2c full-fat sour cream
- 1/2c water
Combine the above in a small casserole dish and microwave on high for 4 minutes; remove and stir until smooth.
- 2/3c instant potatoes (mine have 14gN per 1/3c) which is less than the directions on the box, don't let that throw you if you try these
- 1/2c finely shredded cheese (I've been using colby-jack)
- S&P to taste
Stir in cheese until melted; add instant potato flakes and stir until smooth; S&P to taste; return to microwave for 1 minute on high; stir one last time.
This makes 4 nice-sized servings. For the potato flake portion, that's 7gN carbs. Everything else that's in there is very low carb. I'm guessing maybe 10gN per portion. Which isn't a bad compromise at all!
Here is the disclaimer: If you believe you shouldn't consume any starches at all, then don't make this for yourself. If you are morally opposed to potato flakes, then please don't purchase them as your hard-earned cash will be supporting their continued use.
As time goes on and I am seeing that I need to alter my low carb lifestyle to fit within the limitations of my "wrap" (the affectionate pet name that most of us call our fundoplications) I am hopeful that I will be able to continue to eat as low carb as I have for so long. But if I need to get creative, I will not be afraid - I will venture forth and find new ways of doing old things. Because that's MY school of thought :).
I started out, nearly 7 years ago, believing the latter. And did very well with it for the first year or so. Of course there were some things I felt I could not forgo completely - such as Chinese buffet restaurants - so I compromised, with a trip to one per month. Gradually I evolved to the first school of thought, and learned or created ways to have what I wanted but in a safe, non-carby way. And this is pretty much how I have lived ever since. I do still choose a carby food or meal - or even a day! - once in a while but overall, 90% of the time at least, I eat low carb equivalents to the carby foods I enjoyed before.
After my nissen fundoplication last month I knew I would have to undergo diet changes, and one of them is giving up the so-called "gassy vegetables". This includes cauliflower, which meant no more mashed "potatoes"! Cauliflower is a substitute for quite a few low carb foods, but mostly, for me, it was my mashed "potatoes".
For the first few weeks of my recovery, when I was eating very soft foods to allow my stomach to heal, I didn't think or worry about carbs. It was hard enough just getting nutrition into my 3- or 4-bite minimeals. And I wasn't eating enough food to gain weight certainly. A side effect of this surgery is weight loss, even though it isn't a WLS, so I had no worries - I just had to eat what didn't hurt me. And one of those things was mashed potatoes. I kept a box of instant because they are easy to make up just a tiny amount, and they worked so well for me that I still have some on hand. And, since I can't make the standard fauxtatoes, I have found a way to compromise on mashed potatoes.
(Let me note here that regular potatoes, mashed, are way carbier than instant.)
I haven't done the carb count - haven't actually counted my carbs in years - but here is how I am able to enjoy mashed potatoes with my meal, once or twice a week:
- 1/4c heavy cream
- 1/4c (1/2 stick) real butter
- 1/2c full-fat sour cream
- 1/2c water
Combine the above in a small casserole dish and microwave on high for 4 minutes; remove and stir until smooth.
- 2/3c instant potatoes (mine have 14gN per 1/3c) which is less than the directions on the box, don't let that throw you if you try these
- 1/2c finely shredded cheese (I've been using colby-jack)
- S&P to taste
Stir in cheese until melted; add instant potato flakes and stir until smooth; S&P to taste; return to microwave for 1 minute on high; stir one last time.
This makes 4 nice-sized servings. For the potato flake portion, that's 7gN carbs. Everything else that's in there is very low carb. I'm guessing maybe 10gN per portion. Which isn't a bad compromise at all!
Here is the disclaimer: If you believe you shouldn't consume any starches at all, then don't make this for yourself. If you are morally opposed to potato flakes, then please don't purchase them as your hard-earned cash will be supporting their continued use.
As time goes on and I am seeing that I need to alter my low carb lifestyle to fit within the limitations of my "wrap" (the affectionate pet name that most of us call our fundoplications) I am hopeful that I will be able to continue to eat as low carb as I have for so long. But if I need to get creative, I will not be afraid - I will venture forth and find new ways of doing old things. Because that's MY school of thought :).
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Dec.1 - Jan. 1 - The First Month [ #lowcarb #fundoplication ]
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Today I started out with a half-slice of an oppsie with butter and SF (and seed-free) blackberry jam, knowing I was going out for lunch. Got to the restaurant and ordered a chicken strip basket, figuring I'd split it with my grandson, and take any leftovers home. I ordered applesauce rather than coleslaw since I can't have raw vegetables (and I LOVE coleslaw!), split that with my grandson. Then they brought the "basket" - it was a PLATTER of humongous chicken breasts, 3 of them, with a delicious corn meal breading, plus about a half-pound of fries. (All this for $6.99 - if you're ever in Houghton Lake, MI stop in at Bobber's!) I ate half of one of the pieces of chicken but removed the coating first, and about 5 fries, plus some of the applesauce. I was very very full - too full, I found out when I stood up - but after walking around KMart I was more comfortable. Several hours later I made my grilled cheese sandwich using Oopsies, but couldn't finish it. That's what I've had today. Tonight I am nauseated for some reason...hat big pile of cheese on my sandwich, I'm thinking...
So, a lot has changed in one month. I'm losing weight like crazy but I don't know how much because my scale isn't accurate; I'll be at the surgeon's office again mid-month and will find out then.
I went into this knowing it would change how I eat forever, and that I would have to adapt. No choice. I am adapting, but I read accounts of people who, 10 years after this same surgery, are able to eat anything, and I find myself wishing the next decade away :). I miss my raw vegetables like salads and coleslaw as examples, but also cauliflower dipped in ranch and other things. If I could have one thing back, it would be raw veggies. But I wouldn't trade them for what I endured before the surgery!
I'm about 1/3 of the way through my 100 days. (The surgeon told me it will take a full year to recover completely, but the first 100 days will be "critical" and that I need to go easy on myself during this time.) I interpret "go easy" as to rest when I get tired, don't push it when something causes pain, eat what is comfortable in my stomach and no more, and things like that. As I have written about extensively in my other blog, there are a lot of physical and emotional issues that I didn't expect and that are impacting me nearly as much as the surgery has. But back to food...
I eat "mostly low carb" but admittedly not fully yet. There are days my stomach just wants something gentle, and that is usually yogurt or the inside of a baked potato, and anything else just doesn't work. In addition, since I'm still eating such small amounts, I'm not feeling any blood sugar impact from them. I've always felt physical responses after eating carbs, such as an about-to-come-down-with-the-flu-like feeling, a mild headache, and a faster pulse. Of course, since such a huge change has been made to my digestive tract, what and how I eat certainly has changed, and how I feel when I eat has changed, how meds affect me has changed...so maybe the whole response to carbs has also...still, it is a non-issue at this point, but how I eat is still changing almost day by day.
So that's my report for the first month after my nissen fundoplication, at least as it pertains to how I eat - mostly low carb, but now completely...yet.
Today I started out with a half-slice of an oppsie with butter and SF (and seed-free) blackberry jam, knowing I was going out for lunch. Got to the restaurant and ordered a chicken strip basket, figuring I'd split it with my grandson, and take any leftovers home. I ordered applesauce rather than coleslaw since I can't have raw vegetables (and I LOVE coleslaw!), split that with my grandson. Then they brought the "basket" - it was a PLATTER of humongous chicken breasts, 3 of them, with a delicious corn meal breading, plus about a half-pound of fries. (All this for $6.99 - if you're ever in Houghton Lake, MI stop in at Bobber's!) I ate half of one of the pieces of chicken but removed the coating first, and about 5 fries, plus some of the applesauce. I was very very full - too full, I found out when I stood up - but after walking around KMart I was more comfortable. Several hours later I made my grilled cheese sandwich using Oopsies, but couldn't finish it. That's what I've had today. Tonight I am nauseated for some reason...hat big pile of cheese on my sandwich, I'm thinking...
So, a lot has changed in one month. I'm losing weight like crazy but I don't know how much because my scale isn't accurate; I'll be at the surgeon's office again mid-month and will find out then.
I went into this knowing it would change how I eat forever, and that I would have to adapt. No choice. I am adapting, but I read accounts of people who, 10 years after this same surgery, are able to eat anything, and I find myself wishing the next decade away :). I miss my raw vegetables like salads and coleslaw as examples, but also cauliflower dipped in ranch and other things. If I could have one thing back, it would be raw veggies. But I wouldn't trade them for what I endured before the surgery!
I'm about 1/3 of the way through my 100 days. (The surgeon told me it will take a full year to recover completely, but the first 100 days will be "critical" and that I need to go easy on myself during this time.) I interpret "go easy" as to rest when I get tired, don't push it when something causes pain, eat what is comfortable in my stomach and no more, and things like that. As I have written about extensively in my other blog, there are a lot of physical and emotional issues that I didn't expect and that are impacting me nearly as much as the surgery has. But back to food...
I eat "mostly low carb" but admittedly not fully yet. There are days my stomach just wants something gentle, and that is usually yogurt or the inside of a baked potato, and anything else just doesn't work. In addition, since I'm still eating such small amounts, I'm not feeling any blood sugar impact from them. I've always felt physical responses after eating carbs, such as an about-to-come-down-with-the-flu-like feeling, a mild headache, and a faster pulse. Of course, since such a huge change has been made to my digestive tract, what and how I eat certainly has changed, and how I feel when I eat has changed, how meds affect me has changed...so maybe the whole response to carbs has also...still, it is a non-issue at this point, but how I eat is still changing almost day by day.
So that's my report for the first month after my nissen fundoplication, at least as it pertains to how I eat - mostly low carb, but now completely...yet.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Day 30 [ #lowcarb #fundoplication ]
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Today I had my first sandwich since my surgery, made on Oopsies. It had ham and havarti cheese and dijon mustard. And it was good. Tomorrow I am looking forward to a grilled cheese sandwich, now that I have a huge bunch of oopsie slices stockpiled.
I also had 2 fried eggs, part of a banana, and the rest of my SF chocolate pudding. And lots of tea of course. And a protein shake because I know I am not eating enough.
Weight continues to drop off of me, not because I want it to, but because it is a side effect of the surgery. I will have to deal with the ramifications of all that as they come but it is what it is. I don't know how much weight I've lost, I only know that my clothes are getting so loose, and I see and feel the changes in my body. And my knees are thankful.
Today I had my first sandwich since my surgery, made on Oopsies. It had ham and havarti cheese and dijon mustard. And it was good. Tomorrow I am looking forward to a grilled cheese sandwich, now that I have a huge bunch of oopsie slices stockpiled.
I also had 2 fried eggs, part of a banana, and the rest of my SF chocolate pudding. And lots of tea of course. And a protein shake because I know I am not eating enough.
Weight continues to drop off of me, not because I want it to, but because it is a side effect of the surgery. I will have to deal with the ramifications of all that as they come but it is what it is. I don't know how much weight I've lost, I only know that my clothes are getting so loose, and I see and feel the changes in my body. And my knees are thankful.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Day 28 - My First Restaurant Meals [ #fundoplication #lowcarb ]
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
My husband and grandson and I spent the day in Saginaw, about 2 hours away. Hubby had some business down there, and since it was his birthday we were going to go to Fire Mountain for lunch. However, he got some great news while we were driving down and we splurged on Super Buffet to celebrate. (You can read more about his great news and other details about the day at my other blog so I can keep this one about food.) But today I ate a LOT of new-since-surgery foods and handled it all very well!
Super Buffet is nice because there are just as many American - or Americanized - foods as Asian on the buffet tables. I've always enjoyed buffets because I don't have to feel "different", I can take a lot of food, as long as it is low carb, as opposed to ordering off the diet menu in a sit-down restaurant while everyone else has burgers and fries. Plus, I like being able to have a couple of bites of a lot of things rather than a lot of bites of a couple of foods :).
#1 discovery: I can't do justice to a buffet like I used to. I was good for about 1/4c spinach with cheese melted on it, one small stuffed (cream cheese/crab) mushroom cap, about 2 oz. of baked fish, and 4 bites of mixed seafood* in butter. Then, after some hot tea and a rest, I was able to eat 4 small bites of their lovely apple strudel - a real treat, since I usually bypass it. But given as little as I'm eating, I am still getting very few carbs...
After a full afternoon we stopped in Midland for something I needed and then had a light supper at the Texan restaurant. I got corned beef hash and 2 fried eggs. I ate half. I told the waitress I couldn't have toast and she brought 2 huge pancakes instead - YIKES! I had a few bites of one of them but that was more than enough.
Then tonight when I got home I had another dish of my SF chocolate pudding made with 50/50 heavy cream/water instead of milk (thereby saving over 20g carbs!)...
I didn't eat enough meals today and felt hungry more than I felt satisfied. Just 2 meals, really, plus a snack. Glad that doesn't happen at home, and next time we're on a day trip I need to pack some things to have in the car with us. This didn't work well on several levels, not only my stomach but also in terms of comfort and energy (or lack thereof).
So that was my food day, first time restaurant(s) and it went just fine.
* The mixed seafood uses "Krab" which contains sugar, so I usually eat mostly the other stuff, with just a bite or 2 of the fake stuff.
My husband and grandson and I spent the day in Saginaw, about 2 hours away. Hubby had some business down there, and since it was his birthday we were going to go to Fire Mountain for lunch. However, he got some great news while we were driving down and we splurged on Super Buffet to celebrate. (You can read more about his great news and other details about the day at my other blog so I can keep this one about food.) But today I ate a LOT of new-since-surgery foods and handled it all very well!
Super Buffet is nice because there are just as many American - or Americanized - foods as Asian on the buffet tables. I've always enjoyed buffets because I don't have to feel "different", I can take a lot of food, as long as it is low carb, as opposed to ordering off the diet menu in a sit-down restaurant while everyone else has burgers and fries. Plus, I like being able to have a couple of bites of a lot of things rather than a lot of bites of a couple of foods :).
#1 discovery: I can't do justice to a buffet like I used to. I was good for about 1/4c spinach with cheese melted on it, one small stuffed (cream cheese/crab) mushroom cap, about 2 oz. of baked fish, and 4 bites of mixed seafood* in butter. Then, after some hot tea and a rest, I was able to eat 4 small bites of their lovely apple strudel - a real treat, since I usually bypass it. But given as little as I'm eating, I am still getting very few carbs...
After a full afternoon we stopped in Midland for something I needed and then had a light supper at the Texan restaurant. I got corned beef hash and 2 fried eggs. I ate half. I told the waitress I couldn't have toast and she brought 2 huge pancakes instead - YIKES! I had a few bites of one of them but that was more than enough.
Then tonight when I got home I had another dish of my SF chocolate pudding made with 50/50 heavy cream/water instead of milk (thereby saving over 20g carbs!)...
I didn't eat enough meals today and felt hungry more than I felt satisfied. Just 2 meals, really, plus a snack. Glad that doesn't happen at home, and next time we're on a day trip I need to pack some things to have in the car with us. This didn't work well on several levels, not only my stomach but also in terms of comfort and energy (or lack thereof).
So that was my food day, first time restaurant(s) and it went just fine.
* The mixed seafood uses "Krab" which contains sugar, so I usually eat mostly the other stuff, with just a bite or 2 of the fake stuff.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Day 27 [#lowcarb #fundoplication ]
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Hmm...didn't eat much today, haven't really felt like eating. Started the day with a scrambled egg and a slice of fried balogna - my daughter was making that for her son's breakfast and made me some too. Next meal was about 1/2c of 4% fat cottage cheese. Then 1/2c of SF chocolate pudding because a chocolate craving hit; I made it with 1c heavy cream + 1c water instead of milk to keep the carb count low. It whipped up light and very good, the whole bowl (4 servings) is less than 10g. And I finished off what was left of my baked potato from the other day which wasn't much, with lots of butter. I'm done with potato for a while now, don't want this to become a habit and need to keep to my no-more-than-2-small-potatoes-a-week rule.
One thing that's kind of major, at least to me: Hubby made a grilled ham'n'cheese sandwich, and I took 2 bites. He used store-bought low-carb bread which still has all sorts of nutritional nastiness in it but the point is that I ate grilled bread without a problem. Yay for that. My pipes seem to be working really fine. I want to start introducing some root vegetables next, in small amounts, cooked well. I miss my rutabagas and turnips and daikon.
Another thing is that I am eating much more normally and not obsessing so much about every bite. My mind isn't focused on the size of the bite (or the size of the swallow) and the amount of chewing so much now; I'm aware though, always. Not totally focused but still aware. It is getting easier to eat.
Hmm...didn't eat much today, haven't really felt like eating. Started the day with a scrambled egg and a slice of fried balogna - my daughter was making that for her son's breakfast and made me some too. Next meal was about 1/2c of 4% fat cottage cheese. Then 1/2c of SF chocolate pudding because a chocolate craving hit; I made it with 1c heavy cream + 1c water instead of milk to keep the carb count low. It whipped up light and very good, the whole bowl (4 servings) is less than 10g. And I finished off what was left of my baked potato from the other day which wasn't much, with lots of butter. I'm done with potato for a while now, don't want this to become a habit and need to keep to my no-more-than-2-small-potatoes-a-week rule.
One thing that's kind of major, at least to me: Hubby made a grilled ham'n'cheese sandwich, and I took 2 bites. He used store-bought low-carb bread which still has all sorts of nutritional nastiness in it but the point is that I ate grilled bread without a problem. Yay for that. My pipes seem to be working really fine. I want to start introducing some root vegetables next, in small amounts, cooked well. I miss my rutabagas and turnips and daikon.
Another thing is that I am eating much more normally and not obsessing so much about every bite. My mind isn't focused on the size of the bite (or the size of the swallow) and the amount of chewing so much now; I'm aware though, always. Not totally focused but still aware. It is getting easier to eat.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Day 25 - Feeling Almost Normal [ #lowcarb #fundoplication ]
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
I'm starting to eat more normally now. I don't think about every bite that goes into my mouth, wondering if my stomach can handle it yet; I just eat it. I haven't ventured forth yet to test if I can handle some of the restrictioned foods but I now know that I can handle my lovely tomato soup, and vegetable juice. I can eat chicken skin and potato skin, and I can eat dry cereal. (I dropped some when I was packing it up for my grandson.) I'm going to be trying ground beef again in the next couple of days, and also a slice of thin-crust pizza which isn't a typical food for my low carb eating, but something I want to try. I've already eaten toasted pita which was fine.
I will probably start with more cooked vegetables this week, and will use a simethicone tablet with them at first, at least. And probably some cooked root vegetables. Potato skins are tough to digest I think, but I doubt that toasted rutabaga is any worse - but I will find out soon :).
So I believe all is going well, and my stomach feels more natural to me now. The big thing I'm still getting used to is chewing more, so that my food will fit down the smaller opening, so I still have to concentrate on that while I eat.
Today I ate cottage cheese, part of a piece of chicken, some creamed spinach, a whole baked potato (but not a big one - still, more about that in a minute!), more cottage cheese, and some yogurt with SF flavored syrup mixed in.
Here's the deal with the baked potato: Pete made us a lovely supper of baked chicken legs, potatoes, and creamed spinach. He served me a leg, a potato (well buttered of course!), and about 1/4c of the spinach. I'd only wanted part of the potato, along with a little skin, to see how my gut handled it, but once it was there on my plate, all buttery goodness...I didn't stop as planned. I paid the price, too, with pain...but it wasn't the same pain as I've had previously, where I felt I had hurt something inside. This was a more general belly pain, which I'm guessing will be more the norm unless and until my stomach normalizes in size again. (Actually I'd rather it not normalize at all, and that it would stay smaller, but that won't happen if I glutton out on baked potatoes!) After that, about mid-afternoon, I've only had a small cup of cottage cheese, and one of yogurt.
Tomorrow I'd like to start resuming my cooking tasks as I start adding back in more and more foods, and I'm looking forward to it!
I'm starting to eat more normally now. I don't think about every bite that goes into my mouth, wondering if my stomach can handle it yet; I just eat it. I haven't ventured forth yet to test if I can handle some of the restrictioned foods but I now know that I can handle my lovely tomato soup, and vegetable juice. I can eat chicken skin and potato skin, and I can eat dry cereal. (I dropped some when I was packing it up for my grandson.) I'm going to be trying ground beef again in the next couple of days, and also a slice of thin-crust pizza which isn't a typical food for my low carb eating, but something I want to try. I've already eaten toasted pita which was fine.
I will probably start with more cooked vegetables this week, and will use a simethicone tablet with them at first, at least. And probably some cooked root vegetables. Potato skins are tough to digest I think, but I doubt that toasted rutabaga is any worse - but I will find out soon :).
So I believe all is going well, and my stomach feels more natural to me now. The big thing I'm still getting used to is chewing more, so that my food will fit down the smaller opening, so I still have to concentrate on that while I eat.
Today I ate cottage cheese, part of a piece of chicken, some creamed spinach, a whole baked potato (but not a big one - still, more about that in a minute!), more cottage cheese, and some yogurt with SF flavored syrup mixed in.
Here's the deal with the baked potato: Pete made us a lovely supper of baked chicken legs, potatoes, and creamed spinach. He served me a leg, a potato (well buttered of course!), and about 1/4c of the spinach. I'd only wanted part of the potato, along with a little skin, to see how my gut handled it, but once it was there on my plate, all buttery goodness...I didn't stop as planned. I paid the price, too, with pain...but it wasn't the same pain as I've had previously, where I felt I had hurt something inside. This was a more general belly pain, which I'm guessing will be more the norm unless and until my stomach normalizes in size again. (Actually I'd rather it not normalize at all, and that it would stay smaller, but that won't happen if I glutton out on baked potatoes!) After that, about mid-afternoon, I've only had a small cup of cottage cheese, and one of yogurt.
Tomorrow I'd like to start resuming my cooking tasks as I start adding back in more and more foods, and I'm looking forward to it!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Day!
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Lovely day! Soup turned out beautifully. The grilled cheese sandwiches looked and smelled amazing! I used English muffin bread, real butter on the outsides, and did them on my electric griddle. I used a slice each of American, swiss, and havarti cheese. My mom ate half of her sandwich and took the other half, plus a Christmas cookie, home with her. Pete had two sandwiches and two bowls of soup. (He usually eats double portions of things, that's why I try hard to keep him low carb but sometimes it is an uphill battle.) I didn't bake cookies this year but bought a package of 10 (?) cookies yesterday that would look pretty on the table - and they did. They are full of sugar and carbs and I ate 2. Won't have any more.
Since I can't eat bread, I had to forgo those lovely sandwiches. What a horrible thing that was, but the threat of great pain kept me from giving into temptation. Still, my pita cheese crisps were pretty good. I used a low carb pita, sliced it in half to make two very thin pieces, then I cut those into a few large pieces. Buttered them, sprinkled colby-jack on them, topped with havarti, and into the oven on a rack until the cheese bubbled and the pitas crisped up. They were better than nothing but I was still drooling over the grilled cheese sandwiches!
I nibbled a lot today. Started out with a dish of cottage cheese, then nibbled on cheeses while I made dinner, tasted a spoonful of my soup several times, then a half-cup of soup and some of the pita cheese crisps for dinner, a cookie about an hour later, the rest of the crisps a couple of hours after that, and another cookie just now.
Both the pita and the tomato soup were new re-additions to my post-fundoplication diet, as was the cookie. I am happy to report that I did fine with them all! Tiny bites, well-chewed, warm tea, and walking around - it was all good!
Lovely day! Soup turned out beautifully. The grilled cheese sandwiches looked and smelled amazing! I used English muffin bread, real butter on the outsides, and did them on my electric griddle. I used a slice each of American, swiss, and havarti cheese. My mom ate half of her sandwich and took the other half, plus a Christmas cookie, home with her. Pete had two sandwiches and two bowls of soup. (He usually eats double portions of things, that's why I try hard to keep him low carb but sometimes it is an uphill battle.) I didn't bake cookies this year but bought a package of 10 (?) cookies yesterday that would look pretty on the table - and they did. They are full of sugar and carbs and I ate 2. Won't have any more.
Since I can't eat bread, I had to forgo those lovely sandwiches. What a horrible thing that was, but the threat of great pain kept me from giving into temptation. Still, my pita cheese crisps were pretty good. I used a low carb pita, sliced it in half to make two very thin pieces, then I cut those into a few large pieces. Buttered them, sprinkled colby-jack on them, topped with havarti, and into the oven on a rack until the cheese bubbled and the pitas crisped up. They were better than nothing but I was still drooling over the grilled cheese sandwiches!
I nibbled a lot today. Started out with a dish of cottage cheese, then nibbled on cheeses while I made dinner, tasted a spoonful of my soup several times, then a half-cup of soup and some of the pita cheese crisps for dinner, a cookie about an hour later, the rest of the crisps a couple of hours after that, and another cookie just now.
Both the pita and the tomato soup were new re-additions to my post-fundoplication diet, as was the cookie. I am happy to report that I did fine with them all! Tiny bites, well-chewed, warm tea, and walking around - it was all good!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Day 22 #fundoplication #lowcarb
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Strange day. Wall of exhaustion, everything took too much effort.
Ate some creamy cheesy macaroni, a few bites of cream of wheat (with half'n'half, butter, brown sugar sub, and cinnamon), some lovely fish that hubby fried up in olive oil (no coatings of any kind), and some full-fat plain yogurt mixed with SF almond flavored syrup. I can't seem to get more than 4 mini-meals - aka "snacks" - into my days, no matter what I'm supposed to be doing.
Hungry now but about to go to bed and don't want to lay down on a full (HA! that word has a whole new meaning now!) stomach - made that mistake last night. No reflux of course, but definitely miserable.
Speaking of eating: I have always finished what is on my plate. Now I am at war with the "need" to eat those last few bites vs. my stomach telling me, "Enough! Not one more bite!" When I don't listen to my stomach, I get pain. But the voice in my head has over a half century of controlling how I eat. It's a tough fight.
Strange day. Wall of exhaustion, everything took too much effort.
Ate some creamy cheesy macaroni, a few bites of cream of wheat (with half'n'half, butter, brown sugar sub, and cinnamon), some lovely fish that hubby fried up in olive oil (no coatings of any kind), and some full-fat plain yogurt mixed with SF almond flavored syrup. I can't seem to get more than 4 mini-meals - aka "snacks" - into my days, no matter what I'm supposed to be doing.
Hungry now but about to go to bed and don't want to lay down on a full (HA! that word has a whole new meaning now!) stomach - made that mistake last night. No reflux of course, but definitely miserable.
Speaking of eating: I have always finished what is on my plate. Now I am at war with the "need" to eat those last few bites vs. my stomach telling me, "Enough! Not one more bite!" When I don't listen to my stomach, I get pain. But the voice in my head has over a half century of controlling how I eat. It's a tough fight.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Three Weeks Ago Today! #lowcarb #fundoplication
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Hard to believe the first 3 weeks have passed already, then on the other hand it seems like a year ago I was in the hospital and then at my sister's. Once I got home the time stretched or something.
Anyway, I had no appetite today. Didn't even drink my usual cups of tea. Just didn't want to eat. Finally at about 3:00 I scrambled an egg with some cream cheese and at half of that. A couple of hours later hubby gave me a dish of full fat yogurt with SF flavored syrup in it...then 3 oz of cooked chicken breast strips...and I ate some tuna/mayo with swiss melted and mixed into it because I felt I needed more food but I didn't enjoy it and didn't really wanted it. Just thought I should.
I've had most of a cup of decaf tea to drink today (I usually drink 5-6 cups) and about 1/4 a bottle of water. I just feel blah in my belly.
But tomorrow is another day :).
Hard to believe the first 3 weeks have passed already, then on the other hand it seems like a year ago I was in the hospital and then at my sister's. Once I got home the time stretched or something.
Anyway, I had no appetite today. Didn't even drink my usual cups of tea. Just didn't want to eat. Finally at about 3:00 I scrambled an egg with some cream cheese and at half of that. A couple of hours later hubby gave me a dish of full fat yogurt with SF flavored syrup in it...then 3 oz of cooked chicken breast strips...and I ate some tuna/mayo with swiss melted and mixed into it because I felt I needed more food but I didn't enjoy it and didn't really wanted it. Just thought I should.
I've had most of a cup of decaf tea to drink today (I usually drink 5-6 cups) and about 1/4 a bottle of water. I just feel blah in my belly.
But tomorrow is another day :).
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Day 20: What I Ate #lowcarb #fundoplication
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Last night I had pretty much already decided I'd have some lovely oatmeal today. But my first meal was 5 tortellini in alfredo sauce that my daughter gave me out of her breakfast. (She is a pastaholic!) They were delish!
Next meal was my oatmeal, with half'n'half, butter, brown sugar sub, and cinnamon. Cooked it well, made it really creamy, and added lots of cinnamon.
Then a chicken thigh with spaghetti squash "strings" (nuked the squash first) fried in butter with chopped onion. Then the other half of the thigh and squash that I couldn't eat earlier. I was pleased that the chicken skin nor the cooked onion didn't seem to bother me, other than feeling a lump after eating the skin. Should have probably taken smaller bites of it.
Lastly I had some cream of mushroom soup and for some reason that didn't sit well and I had to take a zofran but it was good.
So 5 mini-meals today, started out carby but as I've said before, I don't eat enough for the carbs to really add up at this point.
Would love to go to the grocery store tomorrow, haven't shopped in nearly a month but at least I made sure we'd have plenty in the house for the 2 weeks I was away, and until I was up to shopping again. Getting stronger and able to do more every day, feel I'm recovering a lot more quickly the last couple of days, I think I'm up to it now - YAY! :)
Last night I had pretty much already decided I'd have some lovely oatmeal today. But my first meal was 5 tortellini in alfredo sauce that my daughter gave me out of her breakfast. (She is a pastaholic!) They were delish!
Next meal was my oatmeal, with half'n'half, butter, brown sugar sub, and cinnamon. Cooked it well, made it really creamy, and added lots of cinnamon.
Then a chicken thigh with spaghetti squash "strings" (nuked the squash first) fried in butter with chopped onion. Then the other half of the thigh and squash that I couldn't eat earlier. I was pleased that the chicken skin nor the cooked onion didn't seem to bother me, other than feeling a lump after eating the skin. Should have probably taken smaller bites of it.
Lastly I had some cream of mushroom soup and for some reason that didn't sit well and I had to take a zofran but it was good.
So 5 mini-meals today, started out carby but as I've said before, I don't eat enough for the carbs to really add up at this point.
Would love to go to the grocery store tomorrow, haven't shopped in nearly a month but at least I made sure we'd have plenty in the house for the 2 weeks I was away, and until I was up to shopping again. Getting stronger and able to do more every day, feel I'm recovering a lot more quickly the last couple of days, I think I'm up to it now - YAY! :)
Monday, December 20, 2010
Day 19 - and yes, I'm sure of it.
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
Ate an egg scrambled with cream cheese first. Then 2 lovely chicken breast strips dipped in ranch dressing late morning. A couple of hours later had some cream of mushroom soup. Then more about an hour after that.
This evening I rinsed/drained/dried some angel hair shiritaki noodles, then tossed them around a frying pan that contained hot butter and olive oil until they got brown and crispy around the edges. I put some in a dish and sprinkled on parmesan from the can, and some shredded italian cheese blend. It was quite good but these noodles are almost all fiber, and also impossible to chew to a liquid state before swallowing, so I ended up with a bellyache and nausea which the Zofram took care of for me. I'll wait a few days before trying that again.
But the crispy brown shiritaki noodles intrigued me. I can't find much about them prepared this way online, but did find a great thread on Low Carb Friends where people make pizza crusts out of them - WOW! Great idea! I have actually blended them in the past, adding egg, vegetables, and cheese, and made nice patties out of them, but never considered pizza crust. You can find the thread here if you are interested :). I will definitely try this when I can eat it sometime in the future!
As I reported in my other blog, all is going quite well today, and I'm excited for tomorrow to come so I can do more stuff!
P.S. After posting this, I had a dish of plain full-fat yogurt with some SF caramel syrup stirred in...bliss!
Ate an egg scrambled with cream cheese first. Then 2 lovely chicken breast strips dipped in ranch dressing late morning. A couple of hours later had some cream of mushroom soup. Then more about an hour after that.
This evening I rinsed/drained/dried some angel hair shiritaki noodles, then tossed them around a frying pan that contained hot butter and olive oil until they got brown and crispy around the edges. I put some in a dish and sprinkled on parmesan from the can, and some shredded italian cheese blend. It was quite good but these noodles are almost all fiber, and also impossible to chew to a liquid state before swallowing, so I ended up with a bellyache and nausea which the Zofram took care of for me. I'll wait a few days before trying that again.
But the crispy brown shiritaki noodles intrigued me. I can't find much about them prepared this way online, but did find a great thread on Low Carb Friends where people make pizza crusts out of them - WOW! Great idea! I have actually blended them in the past, adding egg, vegetables, and cheese, and made nice patties out of them, but never considered pizza crust. You can find the thread here if you are interested :). I will definitely try this when I can eat it sometime in the future!
As I reported in my other blog, all is going quite well today, and I'm excited for tomorrow to come so I can do more stuff!
P.S. After posting this, I had a dish of plain full-fat yogurt with some SF caramel syrup stirred in...bliss!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Day 17 - Tummy Tantrums [ #low carb #fundoplication ]
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
My stomach hasn't been comfortable with anything I ate today, although it sent hunger signals it petulantly let me know I wasn't sending back the expected foods. All day. In no uncertain terms.
So my tiny meals were a bit odd today as I tried to figure out what I was expected to send down.
A small piece of chicken breast. A few bites of mashed sweet potato. An egg scrambled with cream cheese. A few bites of SF pudding. Some warm and creamy tuna and mayo with swiss melted on top. A few bites of well-buttered baked potato.
I never got it right. But tomorrow is another day.
My stomach hasn't been comfortable with anything I ate today, although it sent hunger signals it petulantly let me know I wasn't sending back the expected foods. All day. In no uncertain terms.
So my tiny meals were a bit odd today as I tried to figure out what I was expected to send down.
A small piece of chicken breast. A few bites of mashed sweet potato. An egg scrambled with cream cheese. A few bites of SF pudding. Some warm and creamy tuna and mayo with swiss melted on top. A few bites of well-buttered baked potato.
I never got it right. But tomorrow is another day.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Pay Attention!
Oy what a belly ache! Starting to take things for granted I guess...
First meal: a scrambled egg (yes, an entire egg!)
2nd meal: some cream of wheat, prepared with cream, butter, brown sugar sub, and cinnamon.
3rd meal: full-fat plain yogurt with SF raspberry jello, which I nursed throughout the afternoon.
Evening I had another hamburger with swiss and mayo. But I got myself into trouble. I was talking and not concentrating on my chewing, timing between bites, size of bites, etc. and suddenly I couldn't swallow, couldn't burp, couldn't do anything. It was like a piece of meat - probably a chunk (I chew until my food is liquified, when I'm paying attention) - just was sitting in my lower esophagus and wouldn't move. For the half-minute or so that I tried to swallow some warm tea, it was like my swallower wouldn't work at all. I got nothing. When I could sip the tea, it did help it to pass...followed by nausea.
Thankfulfor the nausea pills...another lesson learned...PAY ATTENTION! I can't afford not to, since I couldn't even cough or choke - I got NO response at all from my throat or esophagus. I did eat about 5 bites of supper but won't eat anything else tonight, just stick with my tea.
Now I want to just go back to liquids and really soft foods. That scared me.
First meal: a scrambled egg (yes, an entire egg!)
2nd meal: some cream of wheat, prepared with cream, butter, brown sugar sub, and cinnamon.
3rd meal: full-fat plain yogurt with SF raspberry jello, which I nursed throughout the afternoon.
Evening I had another hamburger with swiss and mayo. But I got myself into trouble. I was talking and not concentrating on my chewing, timing between bites, size of bites, etc. and suddenly I couldn't swallow, couldn't burp, couldn't do anything. It was like a piece of meat - probably a chunk (I chew until my food is liquified, when I'm paying attention) - just was sitting in my lower esophagus and wouldn't move. For the half-minute or so that I tried to swallow some warm tea, it was like my swallower wouldn't work at all. I got nothing. When I could sip the tea, it did help it to pass...followed by nausea.
Thankfulfor the nausea pills...another lesson learned...PAY ATTENTION! I can't afford not to, since I couldn't even cough or choke - I got NO response at all from my throat or esophagus. I did eat about 5 bites of supper but won't eat anything else tonight, just stick with my tea.
Now I want to just go back to liquids and really soft foods. That scared me.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
...And I Continue to Add Foods...
Last night I went out to the Christmas party for the company I work with seasonally (April-Oct). As always it was a great time, but I had reservations about what I might be able to eat. This is the first restaurant meal since the surgery. But they had a very tasty potato-crusted cod on the menu, and I got that with a peeled baked potato. Delicious! I was able to eat about 10 tiny bites of each, and took the rest back to my sister's where I had a little more of each for breakfast, and then finished it off this evening for supper.
Throughout the day today I was in the car a lot. So I had a container of creamy cottage cheese (4% milkfat) and a plastic spoon. Whenever I got hungry I ate a few spoonsful of that. Soon after arriving home I finished off my fish and potato from yesterday (reheated in a frying pan with butter). About 90 minutes later I had SF jello with plain full-fat yogurt. And my new food for the day was turkey ham. I nibbled on a slice as my last "meal" of the day, with no problems or issues.
Tomorrow will be a challenge, as we are leaving early in the morning for an appointment my husband has 2.5 hours away, and will be gone much of the day. I will take my container of yogurt and a spoon, and probably a couple of slices of ham, since I will need to eat several times while we're out.
Things continue to come along very well, I'm eating just fine and my stomach is handling everything I send down. The appointment with my surgeon's PA went well, he seemed pleased at how things are going also, and I have lost 10#. I am just going to keep doing what I'm doing, many small meals a day, adding 1-2 new foods each day in small quantities, and not forcing my stomach to accept anything for which it is not ready. Other than potatoes I will be cutting back on the carbs now that I have plenty of low-carb options available to me; hopefully I will be back at my usual level of carbs within a week or two, and will have eliminated carby foods altogether by then. I have decided, however, that I will allow a baked potato or 2 per week.
All is well :).
Throughout the day today I was in the car a lot. So I had a container of creamy cottage cheese (4% milkfat) and a plastic spoon. Whenever I got hungry I ate a few spoonsful of that. Soon after arriving home I finished off my fish and potato from yesterday (reheated in a frying pan with butter). About 90 minutes later I had SF jello with plain full-fat yogurt. And my new food for the day was turkey ham. I nibbled on a slice as my last "meal" of the day, with no problems or issues.
Tomorrow will be a challenge, as we are leaving early in the morning for an appointment my husband has 2.5 hours away, and will be gone much of the day. I will take my container of yogurt and a spoon, and probably a couple of slices of ham, since I will need to eat several times while we're out.
Things continue to come along very well, I'm eating just fine and my stomach is handling everything I send down. The appointment with my surgeon's PA went well, he seemed pleased at how things are going also, and I have lost 10#. I am just going to keep doing what I'm doing, many small meals a day, adding 1-2 new foods each day in small quantities, and not forcing my stomach to accept anything for which it is not ready. Other than potatoes I will be cutting back on the carbs now that I have plenty of low-carb options available to me; hopefully I will be back at my usual level of carbs within a week or two, and will have eliminated carby foods altogether by then. I have decided, however, that I will allow a baked potato or 2 per week.
All is well :).
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Day 11: What I'm Eating These Days
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't always make my point in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page. I mean, if you actually want to see it all :).)
I guess you could say I'm eating low carb although I'm not necessarily eating a low carb foods. But the amounts of food that I'm taking in are so small that even a carby food only adds a few grams, and I've been around - or below - the 10g/day mark every day so far. I'm not afraid to add more (either carbs or calories which I never pay attention to) though, this early in the recovery process.
So what have I been eating? I mentioned yogurt before...I have a bucket of full fat plain yogurt here. It is wonderful that with a splash of vanilla a drop of liquid sucralose I have vanilla - or tossed with SF jello I have a raspberry or lime salad - or whatever. It is thick and creamy and great to have. I also have full fat cottage cheese, which I've eaten alone or tossed with jello also. Eggs are another food I'm eating, and were my only good protein source up until a couple of days ago when I had some tuna with lots of full fat mayo. It was delicious! And I have had some cream of rice cereal (with cream and butter and liquid sucralose), and also some potato - both leftover baked with lots of butter (no skin of course), and the flakes mixed with my broth and butter. Typing it all out like this, I can see that I've had quite an extensive selection!
I miss vegetables. I'd like some winter squash (a fruit, I know, but still...) like butternut or turban or acorn...or baked sweet potato, either with lots of butter and cinnamon, and a little brown sugar sub. I'd like some meat that I can chew, even though I know I will have to chew a lot, like a good chicken thigh. (Beef and pork come later.) But mostly it is the vegetables I miss.
Last night I combined flavors by browning a tsp or so of potato flakes in some butter; then I added some shredded cheese, and when that was melty I topped it with a beaten egg. Once the edges set I could turn it over and cook the other side. I was really surprised I was able to eat the whole thing without getting the "stop eating now!" feeling that usually hits me after just a few bites, and it was really really good. Might even be something that I will make once in a while after my diet is back to normal - or the new normal :).
I'm still excited about food and spend much of my leisure time (which is almost all of the time!) watching cooking videos online. Until life gets back to the new normal I am happy with what I've got, and with what I'm eating :).
(Other details, the ones that don't involve food, of my recovery can be found at my chiachatter.blogspot.com blog.)
I guess you could say I'm eating low carb although I'm not necessarily eating a low carb foods. But the amounts of food that I'm taking in are so small that even a carby food only adds a few grams, and I've been around - or below - the 10g/day mark every day so far. I'm not afraid to add more (either carbs or calories which I never pay attention to) though, this early in the recovery process.
So what have I been eating? I mentioned yogurt before...I have a bucket of full fat plain yogurt here. It is wonderful that with a splash of vanilla a drop of liquid sucralose I have vanilla - or tossed with SF jello I have a raspberry or lime salad - or whatever. It is thick and creamy and great to have. I also have full fat cottage cheese, which I've eaten alone or tossed with jello also. Eggs are another food I'm eating, and were my only good protein source up until a couple of days ago when I had some tuna with lots of full fat mayo. It was delicious! And I have had some cream of rice cereal (with cream and butter and liquid sucralose), and also some potato - both leftover baked with lots of butter (no skin of course), and the flakes mixed with my broth and butter. Typing it all out like this, I can see that I've had quite an extensive selection!
I miss vegetables. I'd like some winter squash (a fruit, I know, but still...) like butternut or turban or acorn...or baked sweet potato, either with lots of butter and cinnamon, and a little brown sugar sub. I'd like some meat that I can chew, even though I know I will have to chew a lot, like a good chicken thigh. (Beef and pork come later.) But mostly it is the vegetables I miss.
Last night I combined flavors by browning a tsp or so of potato flakes in some butter; then I added some shredded cheese, and when that was melty I topped it with a beaten egg. Once the edges set I could turn it over and cook the other side. I was really surprised I was able to eat the whole thing without getting the "stop eating now!" feeling that usually hits me after just a few bites, and it was really really good. Might even be something that I will make once in a while after my diet is back to normal - or the new normal :).
I'm still excited about food and spend much of my leisure time (which is almost all of the time!) watching cooking videos online. Until life gets back to the new normal I am happy with what I've got, and with what I'm eating :).
(Other details, the ones that don't involve food, of my recovery can be found at my chiachatter.blogspot.com blog.)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Day 8 and Blood Sugar/Insulin Thoughts
This is a repost of my chiachatter blog, because I'm not sure quite what happened with my blood sugar while in the hospital and am hoping someone reading this can help with that.
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please click below to see the entire post or go to my blog itself. I don't always make my point in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page. I mean, if you actually want to see it all :).)
For up to 48 hours now I have had chills - low-grade fever (my normal is 97.2, so 99.7 would be like 101.1 if 98.6 were the guideline) - increased pain. The lortab syrup today didn't help the pain much, it brings the fever down into the 97's for a couple of hours, then it shoots right back up. Also my urine output has been less much than half of my intake, and very very dark. And today, no appetite at all. For lunch I ate half of a little peach sorbet with a spoonful of plain yogurt mixed in, then I only ate half of the mixture...so less than 1/4c. My stomach didn't want food this evening but my mouth wanted a slice of american cheese, which I broke into small pieces and sucked on, one at a time, lest I make my stomach mad at me :).
And still I drink. I drink water until I feel ready to burst. All day I am drinking water, and all day I feel stuffed and sloshing inside.
So this afternoon my sister had me fax my surgeon over in Midland (over an hour away) with what's going on. He faxed back an order for a UA and blood work. Getting that done made my sister miss her daughters' Christmas program at school :(. Tomorrow morning he will let us know what's up.
I want to eat. In particular I want some tuna fish with mayo. But my stomach says it isn't hungry. So I keep gagging down water in case I'm dehydrated (my sister knows more about these things than I do.)
I also want to mention something curious. My blood sugar is great, right around 100 first thing in the morning, it doesn't really vary that much as far as I can tell, and after 6.5 years of low carbing, I can tell :). But during my surgery it shot up to 247. So they put me on insulin. I don't know how much or when or how since I was drugged up for the first 2 days and it was all over by the time I was alert enough to question. The next morning (Friday) it was 141 first thing and they were going to give me more insulin. I said that couldn't be right, and after another test a short while later it was 127 so they didn't. And it never went over 114 after that, usually right around 100-106, though they were testing 4 times a day for the remainder of my hospitalization. I find it all very curious, and - though I'm sure this isn't the case - it seemed to me that they almost wanted me to be diabetic. It's just not right, an overweight middle-aged woman who isn't, right?
Ok, so tomorrow I want to eat tuna and mayo. I sure hope I can get permission from my stomach!
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please click below to see the entire post or go to my blog itself. I don't always make my point in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page. I mean, if you actually want to see it all :).)
For up to 48 hours now I have had chills - low-grade fever (my normal is 97.2, so 99.7 would be like 101.1 if 98.6 were the guideline) - increased pain. The lortab syrup today didn't help the pain much, it brings the fever down into the 97's for a couple of hours, then it shoots right back up. Also my urine output has been less much than half of my intake, and very very dark. And today, no appetite at all. For lunch I ate half of a little peach sorbet with a spoonful of plain yogurt mixed in, then I only ate half of the mixture...so less than 1/4c. My stomach didn't want food this evening but my mouth wanted a slice of american cheese, which I broke into small pieces and sucked on, one at a time, lest I make my stomach mad at me :).
And still I drink. I drink water until I feel ready to burst. All day I am drinking water, and all day I feel stuffed and sloshing inside.
So this afternoon my sister had me fax my surgeon over in Midland (over an hour away) with what's going on. He faxed back an order for a UA and blood work. Getting that done made my sister miss her daughters' Christmas program at school :(. Tomorrow morning he will let us know what's up.
I want to eat. In particular I want some tuna fish with mayo. But my stomach says it isn't hungry. So I keep gagging down water in case I'm dehydrated (my sister knows more about these things than I do.)
I also want to mention something curious. My blood sugar is great, right around 100 first thing in the morning, it doesn't really vary that much as far as I can tell, and after 6.5 years of low carbing, I can tell :). But during my surgery it shot up to 247. So they put me on insulin. I don't know how much or when or how since I was drugged up for the first 2 days and it was all over by the time I was alert enough to question. The next morning (Friday) it was 141 first thing and they were going to give me more insulin. I said that couldn't be right, and after another test a short while later it was 127 so they didn't. And it never went over 114 after that, usually right around 100-106, though they were testing 4 times a day for the remainder of my hospitalization. I find it all very curious, and - though I'm sure this isn't the case - it seemed to me that they almost wanted me to be diabetic. It's just not right, an overweight middle-aged woman who isn't, right?
Ok, so tomorrow I want to eat tuna and mayo. I sure hope I can get permission from my stomach!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
It's Still All About The Food
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please click below to see the entire post or go to my blog itself. I don't always make my point in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page. I mean, if you actually want to see it all :).)
I'm posting this to both of my blogs, and those who only follow ChiaChatter will have to go to yesterday's post to see details of my recent surgery, if you want to get up to speed.
Thinking of how I am now eating, food is still my passion. The big difference is, how can I make my miniscule (2-3 Tbsp) meals a little more interesting, especially given my current limitations? Especially since I have to eat so freakin' many of them to get even a minimum of nutrition into my system...
My doctor has said that I can eat anything except bread, raw veggies, and - oh, I can't think of the other thing, but I won't be eating it anyway. Because he instructed me only to avoid those 3 areas, and chew well.
But before I had the surgery I did ALL kinds of research, from pdf instructions sheets of other docs who do the procedure, to medical sites, to a forum especially for fundoplication patients. And the vast majority, in talking about getting back to regular food, have much more specific instructions or experience. So, because the failure rate of this surgery is so high, and because the side effects can be disastrous, I am electing to collect all of the knowledge I gained, and create my own plan based upon the most conservative and logical of them all. I want to have the best possible outcome with the fewest possible post-surgical issues, and feel I need to be my own best "meal planner". It seems to me that most of those who are living with awful lifetime side effects or have had to repeat the surgery didn't go the most conservative route. I may be wrong, but this is how I am proceeding.
24 hours after surgery I was put on clear liquids. 48 hours post op I was put on full liquids. This includes things like yogurt and custard. The first day I ate only yogurt. I could only eat a couple of bites at a time without feeling uncomfortable, so I nibbled at it all day. The next day I included a few bites of cream of wheat with butter (yeah, they consider that liquid), and my doctor said that if I wanted to try soft food, he would change the order. So Saturday I tried some tilapia. The kitchen sent up rice with it though, and I put a few grains on the tip of my fork. Big mistake, lots of pain. I walked as far as I could to help things pass.
I think I need to insert here that my esophagus is considerably smaller than it was where it empties into my stomach. Stuff can get stuck. I have to eat taking tiny (1/2 tsp) bites, and chewing my food to a liquid consistency. I cannot drink more than a few tiny sips while eating (google "dumping syndrome"), or for 30 minutes before or after. Any foods that are hard to digest (including fiber), have skins, or seeds, or nuts, or cause gas, or could swell after swallowing or are carbonated - all off limits for now. So I need to get the maximum nutrition into the minimum intake, and the maximum hydration into the minimal time I have between the tiny meals - while observing the above cautions. Should something get stuck, I can take small sips of very warm (can't have anything very hot or very cold either) water and try to walk it off.
The problem on Saturday evening was that I was in the throes of pneumonia, weak as a kitten, and could only walk a short distance before becoming wobbly and winded. But it did pass, and I decided I would wait a few more days before trying soft or softened solid foods again.
Sunday I continued with yogurt, and added custard. Monday morning before my discharge I ate half of a scrambled egg. Introducing only 1-2 "new" foods a day is part of my conservative dietary after-care per one of the instructions sheets I'd read.
I was still living with a lot of pain when I was discharged, and no appetite to speak of. The hour+ ride to my sister's left me very weak; liquid lortab helped with the pain. I added both applesauce and cottage cheese to my diet that evening without a bad result.
Yesterday I got a little experimental, and discovered that 2 spoons of plain full fat yogurt with 1 spoon of applesauce, sprinkled with cinnamon, and stir in a drop of liquid sucralose - creamy apple pie in a dish! This was my first really enjoyable dish. And for supper, a small piece of leftover potato, put through the chopper with some milk and butter until creamy and smooth, and heated. Who would have thought that a leftover potato could taste so amazing??
Today I had some SF jello with a scoop of cottage cheese that lasted me for several hours (about 1/2c total). Just now I took some of my broth that I'd saved up from my pre-surgical meals (frozen), and heated it with a chunk of butter, then mixed in a few mashed potato flakes to thicken. I let it sit for quite a while to make sure the flakes were fully "inflated" before I ate it. In fact I am still eating it, and it will last throughout the evening most likely. It was delightful to taste my own seasonings again.
So it is all about baby steps - and baby bites! - and patience and listening to my own body. If my stomach starts sending out the "full" message, one more bite will cause pain. And today is the first day I have really felt hunger. To me this is a good thing, a sign of healing. So many people are unable to burp or vomit after this procedure that these issues are to be almost expected, although I have been able to burp a few times. And life of flatulence will also be a result. Lots and lots of flatulence...
Whereas before I took great satisfaction in a delicious plate full of food, in creating an entire glorious meal, now it is much more simple - just blending a couple of flavors to keep the boredom at bay, and the anticipation and even excitement of adding in a new food every now and again.
Everything will be different from now on. But given what I have suffered the last 19 years, progressing to what it became the last few (my husband, daughter, and sister are really the only ones who know the extent of that), this is a small price to pay to get my life back. As time goes on it will become natural, and I will also be able to eat more normally. Doc says a year to heal completely, the first 100 days will be critical. And it is these 100 days that I don't want to do anything to mess it all up. Baby steps, slow and steady...and simple pleasures like apple pie in a bowl where I can find them :).
I'm posting this to both of my blogs, and those who only follow ChiaChatter will have to go to yesterday's post to see details of my recent surgery, if you want to get up to speed.
Thinking of how I am now eating, food is still my passion. The big difference is, how can I make my miniscule (2-3 Tbsp) meals a little more interesting, especially given my current limitations? Especially since I have to eat so freakin' many of them to get even a minimum of nutrition into my system...
My doctor has said that I can eat anything except bread, raw veggies, and - oh, I can't think of the other thing, but I won't be eating it anyway. Because he instructed me only to avoid those 3 areas, and chew well.
But before I had the surgery I did ALL kinds of research, from pdf instructions sheets of other docs who do the procedure, to medical sites, to a forum especially for fundoplication patients. And the vast majority, in talking about getting back to regular food, have much more specific instructions or experience. So, because the failure rate of this surgery is so high, and because the side effects can be disastrous, I am electing to collect all of the knowledge I gained, and create my own plan based upon the most conservative and logical of them all. I want to have the best possible outcome with the fewest possible post-surgical issues, and feel I need to be my own best "meal planner". It seems to me that most of those who are living with awful lifetime side effects or have had to repeat the surgery didn't go the most conservative route. I may be wrong, but this is how I am proceeding.
24 hours after surgery I was put on clear liquids. 48 hours post op I was put on full liquids. This includes things like yogurt and custard. The first day I ate only yogurt. I could only eat a couple of bites at a time without feeling uncomfortable, so I nibbled at it all day. The next day I included a few bites of cream of wheat with butter (yeah, they consider that liquid), and my doctor said that if I wanted to try soft food, he would change the order. So Saturday I tried some tilapia. The kitchen sent up rice with it though, and I put a few grains on the tip of my fork. Big mistake, lots of pain. I walked as far as I could to help things pass.
I think I need to insert here that my esophagus is considerably smaller than it was where it empties into my stomach. Stuff can get stuck. I have to eat taking tiny (1/2 tsp) bites, and chewing my food to a liquid consistency. I cannot drink more than a few tiny sips while eating (google "dumping syndrome"), or for 30 minutes before or after. Any foods that are hard to digest (including fiber), have skins, or seeds, or nuts, or cause gas, or could swell after swallowing or are carbonated - all off limits for now. So I need to get the maximum nutrition into the minimum intake, and the maximum hydration into the minimal time I have between the tiny meals - while observing the above cautions. Should something get stuck, I can take small sips of very warm (can't have anything very hot or very cold either) water and try to walk it off.
The problem on Saturday evening was that I was in the throes of pneumonia, weak as a kitten, and could only walk a short distance before becoming wobbly and winded. But it did pass, and I decided I would wait a few more days before trying soft or softened solid foods again.
Sunday I continued with yogurt, and added custard. Monday morning before my discharge I ate half of a scrambled egg. Introducing only 1-2 "new" foods a day is part of my conservative dietary after-care per one of the instructions sheets I'd read.
I was still living with a lot of pain when I was discharged, and no appetite to speak of. The hour+ ride to my sister's left me very weak; liquid lortab helped with the pain. I added both applesauce and cottage cheese to my diet that evening without a bad result.
Yesterday I got a little experimental, and discovered that 2 spoons of plain full fat yogurt with 1 spoon of applesauce, sprinkled with cinnamon, and stir in a drop of liquid sucralose - creamy apple pie in a dish! This was my first really enjoyable dish. And for supper, a small piece of leftover potato, put through the chopper with some milk and butter until creamy and smooth, and heated. Who would have thought that a leftover potato could taste so amazing??
Today I had some SF jello with a scoop of cottage cheese that lasted me for several hours (about 1/2c total). Just now I took some of my broth that I'd saved up from my pre-surgical meals (frozen), and heated it with a chunk of butter, then mixed in a few mashed potato flakes to thicken. I let it sit for quite a while to make sure the flakes were fully "inflated" before I ate it. In fact I am still eating it, and it will last throughout the evening most likely. It was delightful to taste my own seasonings again.
So it is all about baby steps - and baby bites! - and patience and listening to my own body. If my stomach starts sending out the "full" message, one more bite will cause pain. And today is the first day I have really felt hunger. To me this is a good thing, a sign of healing. So many people are unable to burp or vomit after this procedure that these issues are to be almost expected, although I have been able to burp a few times. And life of flatulence will also be a result. Lots and lots of flatulence...
Whereas before I took great satisfaction in a delicious plate full of food, in creating an entire glorious meal, now it is much more simple - just blending a couple of flavors to keep the boredom at bay, and the anticipation and even excitement of adding in a new food every now and again.
Everything will be different from now on. But given what I have suffered the last 19 years, progressing to what it became the last few (my husband, daughter, and sister are really the only ones who know the extent of that), this is a small price to pay to get my life back. As time goes on it will become natural, and I will also be able to eat more normally. Doc says a year to heal completely, the first 100 days will be critical. And it is these 100 days that I don't want to do anything to mess it all up. Baby steps, slow and steady...and simple pleasures like apple pie in a bowl where I can find them :).
Saturday, December 4, 2010
3 Days Later
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please click below to see the entire post or go to my blog itself. I don't always make my point in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page. I mean, if you actually want to see it all :).)
I haven't felt up getting on my computer, or doing anything else actually, and still don't. But I can do a short update,
Surgery was long and tough as expected. I survived, as expected. Would have been discharged yesterday if I hadn't developed pneumonia - not expected. Who would have thought that, for a woman who does everything I do taking care of my home and family and a toddler, that walking 15' down the hall would be such an exhausting and difficult task??? Or writing in my blog...so that's it for today...
I haven't felt up getting on my computer, or doing anything else actually, and still don't. But I can do a short update,
Surgery was long and tough as expected. I survived, as expected. Would have been discharged yesterday if I hadn't developed pneumonia - not expected. Who would have thought that, for a woman who does everything I do taking care of my home and family and a toddler, that walking 15' down the hall would be such an exhausting and difficult task??? Or writing in my blog...so that's it for today...
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