Hi jdouglas, well it sounds like I’m right there with you. Fatigue, nausea and brain fog are wearing on me. I am a 59 year old female and my surgery was October 3. I too could eat right away but wish they would have restricted me to liquids. I took the advice I’ve seen here and ate small amounts but wish I would have gradually increased from liquids to solids. (Wonder if it would have made a difference.) I say that cause I feel like I am having a time getting my systems working again as well. Nothing really sounds good but I eat. I can tell my stomach is slower emptying and of course the rest of the digestion process is slowed. Surgeon suggested Senekot so I’m going to take that regularly till I think things are up and going on their own again. Talked to my PCP this weekend and she reminded me that even though the surgery was lapriscopic, it was still major. Think my lack of desire for food is because my taste seems off, which I assume is because of the anesthesia as well as the nausea, weakness and brain fog. So all that to say that I have resigned to the fact that my systems were basically paralyzed during the procedure and it is just going to take time for everything to wake up and get going again. My husband reminded me that my frustrations are probably compounded because I felt so bad for the months before. I’m just ready to feel better fast. 😊. Hopefully others here with more knowledge of surgery recovery can comment. Keep plugging along. We will get there.

FOODS TO EAT FOR MALs SUFFERERS

Hi @jdouglas Glad to hear you were lucky with the diagnosis, with hope your symptoms will subside and disappear altogether. I lost 28lbs in a month when I realised food was the cause of the pain. It took another 2 months for me to work out what I could eat. The rule of thumb for me is Anything GREEN BROWN or RED is a no go; all the foods that your digestive system finds hard to digest. So basically most healthy food for me causes severe pain. When you eat these foods the pain doesn't start straight away, they accumulate in your system, that's when the pain gets real bad.

So for a while stay away from
Brown bread, Bran, pulses, potato with skin on etc
Green beans, dark leafy greens especially spinach, kale, chard & collards, sprouts, green vegetables & fruit like peas, asparagus, broccoli, grapes & celery etc, it's the chlorophyll that we can't digest.
Red meat especially BEEF and red vegetables, beetroot, chicory, radishes

It may seem extreme but its does work with the following suggestion,
Pretty much all white foods are safe like cauliflower, parsnip, potato no skin, pasta and easy cook soft white rice. Chicken is great but don't eat whole pieces; make sure it is minced and flake your fish. I never had a problem with spices as long as you lightly spice it.

Ask your doctor to prescribe you something like or Fresubin juice which has a high caloric value, it is fat free, fiber free and lactose and gluten free. Fortisip shakes are another but they do contain lactose and gluten. They are great for increasing your daily calorie count. I would also change to lactose free milk and go for the full fat one. If you are a hot chocolate drinker I suggest Milo; It contains a lot of vitamins and minerals plus it's high in calories too.

I can only eat 1 meal every three or 4 days and even then it's only a breakfast bowl size, but I am a sever case. I have however managed to halt my rapid decline in weight by sticking to the rules above. I would suggest you eat a meal every other day and build it up from there on a fortnightly basis.

I wish you a speedy recovery,

Mark