hi! i'm new here. thought i'd jump right on in. =)

my surgeon told me that we couldn't eat raw veggies until 6 months out. he said that he'd only had 2 people get something stuck that had to be fished out by him, and one was a piece of lettuce that was stuck for a while.

when i'm wanting bread, i eat a quesadilla since i tolerate the tortilla well. i've tried bread...teeny bite (i'm 12 weeks out) and promptly threw it up. so, i'm going to stick to the guidelines and not try it again until 3 more months.

i haven't had comfort food cravings, believe it or not. if i want something chocolately, i have some chocolate carnation instant breakfast (no sugar added) with hood's carb countdown milk.

if i keep on my schedule, i find that i don't have time to want any "bad" or "comfort" food. i do allow myself to have a tiny piece of chocolate every 3-4 days if i'm wanting it. it hasn't bothered me yet.

try filling up with water or go for a walk. brush your teeth. read a book. anything to get your mind off of food. when i used to get cravings when i dieted all the time, i'd go out and play with my dog. 30 minutes later, i wasn't thinking about food at all. just some suggestions! =)

OK, Vickey,
This is blasphemy and sacreligeous to say out loud, but why not try a small amount, say a bite and see what happens? They tell you a lot of things for a lot of good reasons, but in the end we are all different. I could eat anything 3 weeks after my surgery. I was supposed to be just soft food but I thought why not try a bite of meat? Why not try a bite of veggies... what will happen, I will hurt a bit? I may be the exception but I had no problems.

I have had salad, really no one has told me not to! I am almost 8 weeks out. Firm lettuce, like iceberg and romaine were fine for me, I took one bite of spinach, and spit it out, because I was afraid of what it might do to me.

As far as bread, I have had 1/2 turkey sand. I toasted the bread, and did not eat the crust. That has not bothered me. I agree with wag. This plan wthat we are on, so soon after surgery, is not going to be for the rest of our lives. We will eat salad and bread. Just all in proportion. I even had a tootsie roll today. Its all in stride. Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the good advice. My surgeon is really strict. I am still afraid of stretching the pouch also. I did have a piece of toast. I cut off the crusts so it equaled about 1/2 piece. Went down fine. I guess I will just have to take it slow. I see the nurse on Tuesday for a checkup. I'll have to write down questions for her.
Vicki

Even though bread is just bad carbs all the way around, I do understand!!

Toasting the bread is the best way to go if you are gonna do it. the problem with bread seems to be that it will gumm up in the stomach and block your stoma. This is why it makes some sick. Toasting will help keep this from happening.

Lettuce tends to be like wet wall paper inside the pouch (I believe). and in effect also blocks the exit from the pouch.

Chew the crap (sorry ;-P) out of this stuff and you might be fine.

It's your tool You choose how to use it! We can only give you the info, we can't make you use it!
God Bless!

Janelle

I miss my comfort foods as well, u arent alone. I take a bite or two, chew the crap out of it, swallow little bits and if I get sick, I add it to the list of things not to eat again, lol. Like grilled cheese. I used to love it. I ate a bite, and wanted to die. It's a never again kinda food. Try things but don't stress that pouch!

I am 3 months post op and I eat bread. Typically it is an english muffin or crackers. If you eat sandwich bread it goes down easier if it is toasted. I will not eat lettuce, it is very hard to digest so I am avoiding that for now. You may want to just try a little bread and see how it goes.

I'm 12 wks post-op and was just given the green light for salads and bread etc. last week. For dinner on Sunday I had 2 oz. baked chicken breast and a nice green salad consisting of Romaine lettuce, broccoli slaw, grape tomatoes, a sprinkle of parmesian cheese and light dressing. It was wonderful, I too have been craving salads and it was sooooo good. I also had a very small heel of a crusty whole-wheat bread. And I'm pleased to report I've had absolutely no trouble with these new foods. But last night I had 2 oz. of pork loin and was too full to eat my salad or anything else for that matter. "And that's a good thing" as Martha Stewart would say.
Maggie