anyone know where to get info on 5 small meals a day?

Learn to cut recipes in half or prepared foods in half. It can be done.

For example, my husband and I are empty nesters now, so I am freezing more products than ever before (putting hamburger buns in individual baggies, twist tying them closed, etc.). I eyeball mixes for muffins in half and bake 2 or 3 muffins, instead of 6. Same with Kraft Mac & Cheese, again, I just make half, tape the bag closed, and use that half another time.

But if you want to make it simpler, buy items as if you were in college making foods in your dorm. There are many individual sized items at the grocery. My 18 yo daughter likes the Easy mac cups (1 serving).

Frozen fish comes in bags, flash frozen so when you open the bag, you can remove just one fillet. Reseal the rest for another time.

Just a few fresh vegetable types last my husband and I all week, one zuchinni for example or a handful of green beans, or one bunch of asparagus.

It's just another way to cook, shop and prepare but it can be done. There are lots of cookbooks out there.

I learned how to halve recipes long ago. Try it, what's the worst that can happen? You just get your calculations wrong and have to make the entire batch (I've done that, added the full milk amount for muffins and had to make the entire batch!).

If you are at someone's home, I take half of what I would have taken before my IBS started. I leave lots of space between my food items on my plate. I also chew slowly and sip water. You slow down your food intake when you do this. Instead of wolfing the food down.

Good luck. Hopefully you'll get more replies.

When my gall bladder was acting up, I ate whatever wouldn't upset it and ate it whenever I wasn't bad sick. Oddly enough, I was able to drink Carnation Instant Breakfast. If you are losing too much weight or otherwise can't eat a lot, I would suggest trying something like that or Ensure because they both have a lot of vitamin and minerals in them, which you need if you're not getting it anywhere else. Ensure also has a lot of calories for a drink, which can help counter your weight loss from lack of food. It's what they make older people drink who can't seem to eat enough.

Be careful about apples, because apple juice is a natural laxative; you shouldn't be consuming apples or apple juice if you're having diarrhea. They're also bad to cause gas in people with IBS. I can't have them at all, even with my gall bladder out. I also can't have any acidic fruit juices like orange juice or grape juice. Which really sucks, because I used to LOVE fruit juices. But with all that bile in my guts because I don't have a GB in there anymore to hold it, I can't tolerate any additional acid like that.

Think of making 5 meals (or more) a day like this: You probably need about 2200 calories a day. That's about what I need to maintain based on my size and exercise level, but even if you're smaller and less active than me, it sounds like some weight gain won't hurt you any. Even a fairly small woman can burn up to 1800 calories a day going about her regular business. So, take those calories and divide them into 5. That's how many calories you need to aim for per meal. Going on 2200 calories, that's 440 calories per meal. That could be a bit of chicken or tuna and some crackers and cheese, or a hot dog on a bun with a handful of chips. Or a glass of milk with some Carnation Instant Breakfast in it. Or a muffin (maybe; depends on the size of the muffin and who made it). Veggies have almost no calories in them, so you can pretty well freely pair them with whatever meat and bread you want. You could also make slightly larger meals three times a day (I find that I really miss having a substantial supper), at 540 for three meals, with two snacks of 290 each. Bascially, you should count calories to ensure that you're getting enough, and that they're spread pretty evenly.

When I was having frequent GB attacks, I had a hard time eating anything for breakfast, because putting something on my stomach as soon as I got up made me really sick. So I would wait until I had been up at least an hour, usually more, and then I would eat lunch around lunchtime. I'd eat supper at the normal time, and then, before bed, I'd have a third meal--that missing breakfast. I was in college at the time and on something of a second-shift sleep program anyways, so I got up a bit late and went to bed late, but even now that my GB is out, I still don't eat breakfast first thing: I usually wait 2-3 hours after I get up to eat it (I used to eat it at work).

What has done wonders for me with very similar (but not exactly the same) symptoms, was learning about Auyervedic. I started with Auyervedic cookbooks (one by Amedea Morningstar). They helped guide me away from certain food, that, while considered healthy by many standards, were not right for me. For example I moved away from raw vegetables, certain fibers, (soy-based or other meat substitutes like mushrooms actually triggered my nausea and a few vomiting spells). What has helped tremendously is learning the value of spices (for health, but thankfully for flavor as well).

Check a cookbook out and use them for what works for you. Don't get overwelmed by too much weird or exotic foods. I have 2 Auyervedic cookbooks and I don't use any of their recipes, just the concepts. I make 4-5 small meals each day that consist of about equal amounts vegetable, meat, and grain. I have a 1/2 dozen spices that really help with digestion and flavor, so I am not putting lots of effort into what I cook. It takes me 30 - 45 minutes each morning to make all my meals for the day.

I keep to this diet 80% of the time and feel good when I am maintaining it. I feel the consequences pretty quickly when I veer off course at times. Occasional splurges on inappropriate food don't cause the challenges they used to.

I do also take some supplements to aid digestion (hydrochloric acid, pancreatic enzymes, probiotics, and I drink a tea every evening to manage my gallbladder dysfunction). I have been moving in a positive direction for over a year without "medicines", so I will continue with this until it proves ineffective.

Hope there is something in this that you find helpful!

So I'm going to stray away from the 5 meals a day topic for a moment... Momto3 mentioned domperidone.  There are actually a few medication's available for GP symptoms.  Even if you require meds it's normal that you need to learn what food works and what doesn't, so, it's good to get nutrition figured out first. Same thing with the gallbladder, even if it's going bad, you'll likely have to adjust your diet whether you keep it or not--so may as well learn now how to eat healthy.   

Of the motility medications, Reglan is one that is available but has been associated with permanent Tardive dyskinesia.  The FDA has recently published an updated warning about it (but the TD association has been discussed for some time).  The other, Domperidone, has been used in other countries for a long time and in the past in the USA.  From what I've read, it was supposedly dropped in the USA because it was being (ab)used or wrongly prescribed for it's side effect of lactation.  I've also read about the reports of cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death in patients with malignant disease who received relatively high intravenous doses.  Those concerns are not generally associated for those taking it for GI issues, but I really don't know.  There's also a few antibiotics that are sometimes prescribed because of their association with increased motility, but those are shorter term options.  I've also read of some other medications for depression and other neurological symptoms that may be suggested.   Thus, if diet isn't working there are other options.

Given all the controversy, I looked into natural options.  There are also some alternative treatments (like Acupuncture, but I can't provide feedback on that).  As for herbs, If you are near a decent health food store, you may want to check out what they have and/or suggest. I've already mentioned DGL Licorice, it works for me to reduce nausea.  I haven't tried, but I've heard that digestive enzymes can be helpful.  I've also heard some mixed reports from folks using an herb derived from the Strychnine tree, "nux vomica" to aid in digestion--that's probably the most controversial herbal option I've heard of.  There are quite a few .gov / .edu sites out there with medical/scientific research to aid in your journey, so you don't have to make decisions based simply on the hype.  Tip:  Add "In Vitro" or "In Vivo" to your searches to help pull up medical research documents.

To get back to diet, I'll go back to my experience down this path and say that I did well following the recommendations for the gallbladder diet... but... don't get stressed out on exactly what to eat.  Perhaps you'd do better following a gluten-free diet, or a specific carbohydrate diet, etc.  Just keep track and be methodical, start out with a real simple diet for at least a few days (whatever diet you choose to follow, minimize the # of items) and slowly introduce new items into it.  I found for me it can take 2-3days for some symptoms to appear.  So, every 3days or so I would try something new and wait.   [The Gluten allergy symptoms can take weeks to clear up, so you may want to go even longer before introducing some foods, but I wouldn't go any less than a few days.] 

 

I can say I never really had any serious pain, well some short term stuff, but not bad enough to need pain meds--and I'm fairly sensitive to pain so I wouldn't suffer for the sake of suffering. Is your pain from gallstones / sludge or suspected from the slow emptying stomach, or they just don't know yet? How did they determine your stomach is slow emptying? Did they do a gastric emptying test or a hida scan to test either? The dietary treatment approach is pretty similar for both GP and GB, some slight differences but not that far apart...

Domperidone(Motilium) is considered a very safe drug for intestinal use. There is not much money in doing anymore trials for the FDA as it is so cheap now. It can be bought over the counter in most countries and has been on the market for over 30 years. I have used it with great success and have had no side effects. Reglan is full of side effects. My Doctor knows I have it. I don't use it everyday, just when I am bloated or going thru a bad spell. It is used for Parkinson's patients as well as for nausea. I think the FDA is wrong on this one IMHO. It is readily available on the internet for a very cheap price. Canada requires a prescription but other countries don't. I pay less than 30cents a pill.