# Need suggestions for liquid diet for pre-op and post-op Achalasia Surgery



## APSWIFE (Jun 7, 2009)

My husband has been on a liquid diet for 5 days for pre-op -- surgery is tomorrow.  He is very weak so I was looking for suggestions.  He's had protein shakes, tomato soup, chicken broth, V8, gatorade and lots of water, Diet Coke to keep his sanity -  is there anything else that might give him a little more energy.  He has to remain on liquids for 10 days after his surgery as well.  He's getting very bored with this and discouraged.


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## Andy M. (Jun 7, 2009)

Hello and welcome to DC.

If you have a blender, just about anything can be liquified.  Experiment with some soft foods, adding appropriate liquids to make it drinkable.


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## CasperImproved (Jun 8, 2009)

APSWIFE said:


> My husband has been on a liquid diet for 5 days for pre-op -- surgery is tomorrow.  He is very weak so I was looking for suggestions.  He's had protein shakes, tomato soup, chicken broth, V8, gatorade and lots of water, Diet Coke to keep his sanity -  is there anything else that might give him a little more energy.  He has to remain on liquids for 10 days after his surgery as well.  He's getting very bored with this and discouraged.




Hello APSWIFE - I can only echo what Andy said. Put just about anything in a blender that he likes, and he'll get by. Except for steak, I don't think steak and a blender go well together.

One thing I have been doing a lot of lately myself, is yogurt. I have a Meijer store not too far away, and their house brand of yogurt (light), with fruit are something I'm eating daily now. I especially like the Black cherry, strawberry,  and the cheesecake ones. For someone that is a meat and taters kind of guy, I actually like these.

Hope hubby is open to new ideas


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## linicx (Jun 9, 2009)

Jello. Make some vegetable soup and give him the broth. Ditto home made chicken soup and home made bean soup. ENSURE - chocolate is pretty good and it has the vitamins and calories. If you have a great food processor you can almost liquify concrete. You should be able to liquify cottage cheese too, as well as baby food or even a plain hamburger - without cheese, pickles, lettuce or onions. .

I suspect it will take some time after surgery before he can eat regular foods.


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## ErikC (Jun 9, 2009)

You might want to check whether sublingual B12 Vitamins are allowable. They dissolve under the tongue, and can give quite a boost in energy. Liquid diets don't usually provide this, as normal ingestion of B12 requires that the food make it to the lower tracts nearly intact.
Best wishes to you both.


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## archiduc (Jun 11, 2009)

APSWIFE said:


> My husband has been on a liquid diet for 5 days for pre-op -- surgery is tomorrow. He is very weak so I was looking for suggestions. He's had protein shakes, tomato soup, chicken broth, V8, gatorade and lots of water, Diet Coke to keep his sanity - is there anything else that might give him a little more energy. He has to remain on liquids for 10 days after his surgery as well. He's getting very bored with this and discouraged.


 
Hi Apswife,

IMHO, the medical team in charge of your husband`s care have a moral, if not a legal responsibility (maybe also a fiduciary responsibility), to advise you about your husband`s diet prior to any operation and post operatively.

Post-operatively may be whilst in hospital, first few days/weeks after operation/hospitalisation and at home, and longer term care.

I doubt if posters here are medically or nutritionally competent to advise you! You should be asking these questions of the staff in the hospital where your husband is being treated. 

* Make a note of all the questions to which you need answers - write them all down;
* Discuss and develop your questions through this forum, friends etc.;
* Make an appointment with the medical/nutritional staff to discuss you concerns - important whether you are paying for healthcare or not;
* Arrange that you will be taking a friend/colleague with you;
* Let the medical staff/nutritionists see you take lots of notes.
* Work with the staff to develop a diet for your husband;
* Write it out, get it agreed and signed by them - so more than one meeting required.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc


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## Mama (Jun 11, 2009)

Any of these can be liquefied in a blender:
-mashed potatoes with chicken broth
-broccoli, cauliflower, cheese puree  
-banana, peanut butter, ice cream shake  
-carrot, parsley juice (really tasty)  
-V8, fruit juices, veggie juices of all types  
-tomato soup with chili seasoning, mexican seasoning, or italian seasoning  
-potato/cheese soup  
-taco soup (tomato soup with pureed green pepper, onion, cilantro, taco seasonings)  
-puddings  
-applesauce with apple pie spices  
-thin mashed potatoes with cream cheese and parmesan  
-sweet potatoes with maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla  
-macaroni and cheese


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## srm (Jun 12, 2009)

I had a surgery in my nasal cavity a while back, they went in through the roof of my mouth so i was on liquid food for a while.  one of my favorites was a smoothie i would make.

1 scoop of protein powder
1 container yogurt
1 cup of milk
1 cup of frozen berries (my fav was blueberries)
I also threw in some egg whites for extra protein
1/2 avocado

Blend it, enjoy.

The avocado gives it a great creamy texture.


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## ChefJune (Jun 12, 2009)

APSWIFE said:


> My husband has been on a liquid diet for 5 days for pre-op -- surgery is tomorrow. He is very weak so I was looking for suggestions. He's had protein shakes, tomato soup, chicken broth, V8, gatorade and lots of water, Diet Coke to keep his sanity - is there anything else that might give him a little more energy. He has to remain on liquids for 10 days after his surgery as well. He's getting very bored with this and discouraged.


 
sounds like a lot of processed food.  no wonder he is weak.

Make him some really hearty soup (like bean or lentil) and puree it, Then thin it down with homemade chicken broth.  It will give him lots of energy.

If you don't have a juicer, get to a health food store that does, and get him a large carrot/parsley/celery/spinach juice combo.  It looks horrid, but tastes good, and it will revive him right away.

If  you DO have a juicer, I would get on line to a juicing site, and get some recipes/formulae for nourishing juices..... and I would discontinue the diet soda immediately.  It is arguably unhealthy for even the healthiest of persons, and certainly nothing for a sick person to be ingesting.

Hope this helps, and that he is soon on the road to recovery. 

cj


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## luvs (Jun 12, 2009)

baby food fruit! -yum!


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## chefkathleen (Jun 12, 2009)

These are all good suggestions imo. As long as he's not on a restricted diet anything goes. You may want to watch spices as they may irritate his throat. The veg soup blended with everything in it sounds like a good idea too.
 My ex had a broken mandibular condyle and while this was nowhere as serious as your hubs, we even blended up chili dogs for him to drink through a straw.
 Best wishes for you and your husband.


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## katybar22 (Jun 12, 2009)

I have quite a bit of experience w/ this and I will tell you that Ensure mixed w/ milk and slightly frozen makes a good shake. I also like mashed potatoes made thin w/ milk and chicken or beef base. Protein powders usually have a weird taste, but I have been using something called Beneprotein. You can mix it with any soft/liquid food and it's undetctable. If his energy is low it could be that he's not getting enough calories. I also take Benecalorie. Again, undetectable. And for the times when I just want something really delicious, I mix up a thin cake mix, chill it, and drink it with a straw. I know that you want to check all this w/ his doc, don't know if he needs extra protein or calories like I do. If you need more suggestions, you can pm me, I'm full of 'em. Good luck to you both.

Katy


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