I have been asked a bunch of really good questions about life without a stomach. One of the great questions is do I feel hunger. Well the answer is yes, but not exactly like I used to. There are some minor hunger twinges (not great enough to be called hunger pains). They don't occur too often and this is still fairly new, so I'm guessing that this may change over time. Essentially, they come on occasion when I am "hungry." Other times they come is when they are triggered by either smells emanating from or sights of various foods that might be around me.
I am eating solid foods again which also elicits the question of what I can eat. Instead of spelling everything out (and making more use of my poor typing skills), I thought I'd post the handout the hospital nutritionist gave me (see the previous blog posting). These are mostly guidelines to which I will need to experiment and figure things out along the way. The guidelines are not overly restrictive (thank goodness!), but there are some major casualties along the way. A couple of my biggest regrets are the loss of chocolate and ice cream for the immediate (and possibly the long term) future. This is killer! Oh well, sugar free frozen yogurts are still allowed!
Basically, I am allowed to eat most things, and the repertoire will increase as time goes on. I'm told that in the long run I should be able to enjoy almost any cuisine that I enjoyed prior to cancer. Great news! The basic casualties are: sugar (mainly sugary desserts), nuts (bummer as I love cashews & peanuts), fried foods (no more KFC!), and alcohol (although I'm told that I might be able to work my way up to an occasional glass of wine).
So as time goes by, and as I'm feeling more adventurous, my allowable food variety will get greater. Currently I am eating fruits (thanks goodness for this), chicken soup, pancakes, cereal with milk, cheeses (mild ones), crackers, chicken, turkey, cooked veggies, eggs, cottage cheese, and I'm even trying peanut butter (something that I'm trying to acquire a taste for).
Thus, given the fact that I can even eat solid foods at all (a miracle of modern medicine and body adaptations), I can honestly say that LIFE IS GOOD!
3 comments:
I will consider it my personal challenge to eat all the chocolate and ice cream you would have otherwise eaten. It will be tough, but somebody has to do it. :-)
Joanne
If I could just stop eating chocolate and ice cream I would lose weight!
Sent you an email to your work account but you may not have received it.
Glad you are doing well!
Don
Hey Steve, glad to know that you are back at home and away from Ollie! No more Chocolate? I don't know what I would do without it! Help!!! But then again, if I can leave the stuff alone, I can lose some weight. Better still, I'll give you my stomach if you will give me what you got (smile). That way, you can eat til your hearts content.
Janette
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