You have all been such a comfort to me as I go through my recovery. I am so thankful I found this board before my surgery. It really put my mind at ease. I have slowly been adding fiber to my diet, but have not had any fruit other than bananas. Is it OK to start eating apples and pears??? How about red meat? So far, only chicken and fish for me, as I heard red meat was hard to digest. Also, is it 6 weeks before I can start excersizing and lifting more than 10 pounds??? I know my surgeon should be answering these questions, but he's been so vague on the subject. He's really "loosy goosy" about restrictions, and has said, basically, add things slowly, "as tolerated." Plus, I saw him one week post-op, and don't have another appointment for 3 months. Well, I've tolerated everything pretty well, but I realize I'm still eating pretty mild food. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks again to all who have shared their experiences.

Hello, my surgeon told me no lifting for about 2-3 months post-surgery. I had open resection which might make a difference. I am a little over 4 months post-surgery and only in the last couple of weeks did I start trying to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs. A co-worker asked me to carry some boxes about a month and a half after my surgery and it was very difficult and I had to sit down & rest for quite a while after. So I would wait a little longer if I were you.

As far as diet, I am still careful not to eat anything spicy or hot, and I have not tried red meat other than burgers and other ground meats. I am still a little nervous about eating steak because I had a bad attack a few months before my surgery right after I had a steak dinner. I eat mostly chicken, fish and vegetables, and fruit seems to be no problem at all. A lot of fiber and drinking lots of water has been a good way to go for me. My surgeon told me 3 weeks after my surgery that I could eat anything I wanted, but that didn't work out so good. Maybe try a burger at first and work your way up to a small steak or chop and see how it goes. But I am always careful to have some spinach, broccoli or asparagus with any red meat and drink lots of water to help things along. Also, I avoid cheese since it seems to stop me up (rice also).

Hope some of this helps!