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I've got a hitch!!

Alia

New Member
Hey every one, I have a small problem, not so small I guess and am not sure how I can get myself over this.

As anyone who has read my journey will know I have had previous wls 10 years ago which left me in a huge mess.

To cut a long story short a band that should have been around the top of my stomach had slipped down to around the bottom of my stomach so I could eat food but it could n't get out so I would end up severly ill for sometimes days after eating certain things. I had such a bad experience during that surgery that I signed myself out of the hospital early and never ever went back for check ups etc and rather than face the problem suffered badly till about two years ago when I finally got myself referred to Mr Pollard at Leeds. What the problem was, was only discovered by my surgeon when he opened me up for my gastric bypass and it all became clear to him. (He had warned me that he could n't be sure what he was going to do till he saw what was going on in there as nothing had showed up on xrays and barium meals) My surgery took 5 and a half hours as he had to cut the band out as it had become embedded into the surrounding tissues and bled quite heavily.

As a result of this I developed a severe phobia of certain foods. Foods that I knew would make me ill. Meat, chicken, rice, pasta, bread, raw vegatables, raw fruit, salad.. to name but a few, are all things that I've not eaten and digested for 10 years now. I have eaten them and then thrown up, may sound graphic, deliberately as I knew if I held onto them I would be severly ill. I would end up with stomach cramps and start vomiting black stuff and it could go on for days. Sometimes the urge to resist would be so strong I had to eat them but always knew I'd get rid of it straight away cause of the effect. I've become an expert in how to make myself sick with in seconds. Also cause it was easier to eat it in a social surrounding than explain to people and to make a discreet visit to the toilet afterwards.

Things that I could eat and gave me no problem were all the things that were bad for me.. the slippy things, things that went down with no problems.. icecream, sweet things, milkshakes, custards etc, hence why I did n't lose weight.

What I'm trying to over come now is the phobia I have. My stomach is different now and it should react to the foods differently but the thought of actually eating one of them and holding on to it makes me feel really nervous cause I can't afford to be ill if for some reason I have the same reaction. My head is telling me there is no way I can have the same reaction as the plumbing has been sorted out and my bypass should react in exactly the same way as every one elses but putting it into action makes me very nervous.

Does any one have any idea how I can start to introduce these foods with out me hyperventalating at the thought of not being sick afterwards.

The only thing I have tried from the long list of foods I could n't eat before is Chicken. I litterally ate 2 tiny mouthfuls and chewed and chewed till there was nothing left and I was fine with it. I also made sure I did n't drink anything for 2 hours afterwards. I know they recommend 30-40 minutes but that always caused me problems before. I could eat for example a small amount of chicken, think I was fine and an hour later have a drink and then I would start to suffer as the chicken would still be in my stomach and the fluid had no where to go and I'd feel it rising up the back of my throat.

I'm going to see my dietician in the middle of Jan but just thought I'd see for now if any one had any ideas of how I could over come this problem.

I'm 6 weeks post surgery and still am having pretty much a liquid diet. Mainly soups, protein shakes, the odd cracker with peanut butter or marmite on it, half a piece of toast and pureed veg and I'm finding the need to chew is coming more and more and I am so desperate that I don't go down the same route as before and start to go for things that go down ok but will stop my weightloss. I have n' had the urge to sabotage my weightloss with icecream or shakes etc but I want to find a way to avoid it and start enjoying other foods so they fill the void that my body is craving for me to fill. :wave_cry::wave_cry::wave_cry:
 
Hi Alia. That is a hard one. I am sat here reading your post and I really don't know what to suggest you do. The real problems seems to be getting your head around your new anatomy. It is sorta like dealing with an eating disorder isn't it? Such a shame that you have had to go through that for 10 years, it must have been dreadful.

I guess my advice would be to tackle one problem food at a time. Like chicken, measure out an amount of chicken (1 ounce at your stage should be about right) and have a go at eating it all. Do this everyday attempting one new food per day until your brain is convinced you won't be sick eating them. It is fine to wait 2 hours to drink (I try to wait 1 - 1 1/2 hours myself after eating because it keeps me 'full' longer) if that makes you more comfortable. Just make sure you drink lots once you start drinking again to get your fluids in. Also don't be afraid to use sauces & gravy to moisten food, they help them go down well and you only need a tiny bit for your small servings.

It might be wise also to consider seeing someone who can help you with your food issues, there are professionals that are trained in techniques that you might benefit from. That is only a suggestion and if that makes you uncomfortable then forget it.

Best of luck hun & hope you can get a handle on it easily.

Nichole;)
 
Hiya Alia, because you have lived with that problem for so long you may need some extra help, like counciling or even hypnotheraphy. I have, had the latter and would recommend it to anybody. Good luck chucks I hope you get it sorted. x
 
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I cant offer any advice Alia but didnt want to read and run.

I totally understand why you have these food issues and why you are finding it so hard to come to terms with eating "normal" food again. Its obviously vital that you eat a healthy balanced diet now that you are post bypass so that you can have the best results and live a healthy life.

So just a hug from me and hope you find the answers you are looking for. You definitely need to discuss this in detail when you see the dietician. x
 
hi alia i too was and still am stumped for an answer the only thing i can think of is to do as pg says and do one food item at a time and do te same as you have with your chicken issue and see how you go. Its a slow process a bit like weaning haydar small amounts and only one new food at a time.

Hope this helps.
 
Thank you every one for taking the time to answer me.

It is really difficult for me but I think I'm going to take your advice and start with one food item at a time and introduce it over a few days. I'm going to weigh out once ounce of mince today and have that and see what happens.

When I had my surgery I was so excited at the thought of being abe to eat all the foods I'd avoided for all these years all be it in small amounts yet when it comes to it I'm stuck

Just one of my many demons I hope to conquer over this journey

I'll let you know how it goes

Alia xxx
 
i think you should ask your gp to refere you for some councelling hun eating food knowing you can purge it even if only for a short while can mess your head up i was bulimic for years[im not saying that your problem] your associating feeling with certain foods id go for some help so you can start viewing all foods the same also will help you not sabotage yourself. and good luck sounds like you had a really rough time of it
 
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