11 Weeks Post-Op

Cauliflower! Popcorn! These are 2 of the foods I reintroduced back into my diet this week. The cauliflower was in the form of fauxtatoes, a standard low carb dish where the cauli is cooked, mashed, and mixed with other ingredients (in my case, sour cream and butter). I ate about a half cup, with no problems or issues whatsoever!

Then I grew bold, and decided to try popcorn, heavily buttered. I ate less than 2 cups but had no problems. I ate one piece at a time, and chewed extremely well. And no issues :).

I still have problems with sticking now and again. Pork roast (too big a bite, concentrating on conversation instead of chewing) was one problem. And meatloaf, that I was trying to eat without ketchup or gravy, got stuck a different day. It was just too dry.

But overall things are just fine, no issues, and I am now eating everything except raw vegetables - although I am eating cole slaw and also greens in salads - and of course carbonated beverages.

I also have most of my energy back. Occasionally I will "hit a wall" but 90% of the time I'm living the kind of life I had many years ago, before all this - and my other issues - started. And it's all good :).

60-Days Post Op - and BREAD!

As a low carber (for nearly 7 years), bread is rarely on my menu anyway. I eat a low carb, homemade version of it for toast and occasional sandwich (never been a big sandwich eater), but occasionally I will eat "real" bread, from the store, as long as it has 6gN/slice or less...I just don't care for everything they put into it, and try to avoid wheat where possible.

So. My surgeon had said that I shouldn't try to eat bread for a long time - I don't recall how long but I remember thinking that it wouldn't be a big deal since it isn't a regular part of my diet anyway, and I had his approval for my home made, grain-free version anyway.

I had tried toast a few weeks ago, with no problem. And today I had bread (the store-bought low carb version). I really REALLY wanted a burger with ketchup, it was the wee hours of the morning and I wasn't up to making my usual homemade kind, and there were 2 slices of bread left. I decided it was a good time to try bread.

I ate it carefully, swallowing only small bites, and not drinking a lot of my beverage with it. (Doc said the problem with bread is how much it swells up after it is swallowed.) I had no problem with sticking, and it didn't cause any discomfort afterward.

I was pleased. The only thing I haven't yet tried is raw vegetables, other than cole slaw; Dr. Fourman had told me I could try them "maybe after a year" - although he said that cole slaw would be ok now. I'll probably take that literally, and maybe try them at Christmastime this year :).

Anyway, I know I can't ever have carbonated beverages, no great loss to me since I've never been much of a pop drinker, so I don't even consider them. I was interested in the bread thing, though, and will be beyond thrilled when I can eat raw veggies again - no matter how long it takes.

So now, 2 months post op, I'm pretty much eating everything I want. I'm still very careful to chew thoroughly, and have had a few things get stuck when I didn't. It is a miserable feeling but it passes...

One other thing: I had mentioned bellyaches last week, and that I was planning to try taking the protonix every morning again. I did that, and it has solved that problem. No bellyaches or discomfort since.

I'm really pleased at how good I feel and how I can eat, and the lack of all the issues that have plagued me for years.