Calling on vegetarian DS veterans for advice --

[Vikki C.]

Sigh. I have been vegetarian and vegan at times, and had my DS 8+ years ago. I suppose it's possible to do it (not vegan, maybe vegetarian) but it was work, like a full time job. The amount of effort it would take to remain vegetarian as a DSer is not worth it. I eat meat.

I am a diligent DSer, meaning I don't ever miss getting my labs, and those labs are scrutinized to make sure I keep levels in good range, and at the earlier stages of my DS when I still played with the idea of being vegetarian, I had my labs drawn every 3 months. Insurance didn't pay for all those, so I had to pay thousands out of pocket. I didn't find a DR that was well versed in the DS, so I found a young, eager to learn Dr, that wanted to learn along with me. I still go to her.

It takes time finding the right Drs, or fighting for referrals to the right type (like an endo) time researching what we need (as Drs still don't have many of the answers for us), time to continually fiddle with lab results and adjusting supplements, money to throw at tests or dr visits or supplements, and time to research, and come to sites like this one to learn.

It sounds like your daughter is at the opposite end of the diligence scale as me regarding her DS. I won't try the vegetarian thing again, and certainly think she shouldn't.

I'm concerned about your daughter and that she is causing ever more health issues which may not be reversible, or fatal. This is one of the more knowledgeable communities (and more importantly, poor information is weeded out) available online. Could you convince her to come here and learn?

By the way, kudos to you for coming here to try to gain some information for her, and finding a place with good DS information. I hope she can care enough to come here for herself.

She doesn't normally participate in online forums, so I'm not sure I can convince her to pay us a visit, but I'll certainly pass on what everyone has so generously imparted.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Hey, wait a min. She eats fish and eggs and dairy. You can totally do the DS with that. Fish has just a much protein as red meat. Have smoked salmon for breakfast as oppose to bacon - add a couple eggs. Have tuna fish salad for lunch as oppose to chicken salad. Have a Shrimp scampi for dinner.

Eat lots of soy products, lentils, beans, etc.

Without dairy, fish, and eggs, it would be harder.

 

[Vikki C.]

Hey, wait a min. She eats fish and eggs and dairy. You can totally do the DS with that. Fish has just a much protein as red meat. Have smoked salmon for breakfast as oppose to bacon - add a couple eggs. Have tuna fish salad for lunch as oppose to chicken salad. Have a Shrimp scampi for dinner.

Eat lots of soy products, lentils, beans, etc.

Without dairy, fish, and eggs, it would be harder.

I agree, it should be doable, as long as she realizes how important it is not to skimp on protein. She also needs to cook more fresh food and not rely on prepackaged veggie meals. And she needs to revamp her supplement regimen. In other words, her health needs to become her priority.

 

[galaxygrrl]

I agree, it should be doable, as long as she realizes how important it is not to skimp on protein. She also needs to cook more fresh food and not rely on prepackaged veggie meals. And she needs to revamp her supplement regimen. In other words, her health needs to become her priority.

But she will need to do that no matter what. To me this is a very hard part. I live alone and I have to cook. Ordering in just does not work much anymore.

You can get lots of prepped fish meals. Trader Joes does it will.

 

[Vikki C.]

But she will need to do that no matter what. To me this is a very hard part. I live alone and I have to cook. Ordering in just does not work much anymore.

You can get lots of prepped fish meals. Trader Joes does it will.

She's married, and her husband is vegetarian as well. They do, in fact, shop at Trader Joe's. I didn't know they did prepped fish meals there; I'll suggest that she looks for them.

 

[southernlady]

Eat lots of soy products, lentils, beans, etc.

Unless you have thyroid issues then the soy needs to be very limited.

 

[galaxygrrl]

She's married, and her husband is vegetarian as well. They do, in fact, shop at Trader Joe's. I didn't know they did prepped fish meals there; I'll suggest that she looks for them.

Oh, they have lots of awesome things in the frozen food freezer. Mahi burgers and they are so good, sole stuffed with crab meat, a scallop mushroom cream thing and so forth. To be honest, what I'm loving from trader joes is their smoked mozzarella which has a ton of protein. It's cheap and now with the DS, I just melt it on alum. foil and eat it with a fork and knife. Been living on the stuff.

I don't ever see red meat (besides for cured meats - yum bacon) ever being a big part of my diet, but i could do the DS no problem with fish and dairy.

 

[DBmom23]

Hi Vikki, I am pescetarian and do just fine with my nutrition without meat. Perhaps it takes more thought, but honestly it doesn't feel that hard for me. Things I eat regularly include:
Breakfast: cheese omelet, protein shake
Lunch/dinner: beets and fresh mozzarella salad, tofu dog, edamame and sashimi, lots of tofu-based dishes, cauliflower pizza, seared fish, veggie burgers, fake taco meat salad, etc
Snacks' lots of cheese, almonds, Power Crunch bars, Quest soy protein chips, pumpkin seeds, tons of Greek yogurt, etc

Good luck!

 

[marissamast]

I have urged her to go back to animal protein. She does eat eggs and fish. I don't really know her full vitamin regimen, but she does take ADEK's, and 50,000 dry D. Frustratingly, due to insurance constraints, she is not under the care of a DS doctor, does not get regular blood work, and only receives infusions when her anemia symptoms become incapacitating. She lives in Salt Lake City and hasn't been able to find a good physician who is knowledgable about DS.

Hi! I am in Salt Lake too. Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians with Dr Simper is where I got my DS done. That being said, Dr Simpers office gives RNY advice. When I was in University Hospital with my hernia repair, due to me being a bariatric patient, they sent Dr. Anna Ibele in to see me. She is with their bariatric surgery team. She does not do the DS but knows all about it. She is AMAZING and immediately agreed to take on my aftercare. She ordered all my labs while I was in the hospital. I will be making an appt to see her in November for my 2 year follow up. Maybe your daughter can contact her. Your daughter can contact me on FB if there is anything I can do to help! Hope this was helpful!

 

[Vikki C.]

Hi Vikki, I am pescetarian and do just fine with my nutrition without meat. Perhaps it takes more thought, but honestly it doesn't feel that hard for me. Things I eat regularly include:
Breakfast: cheese omelet, protein shake
Lunch/dinner: beets and fresh mozzarella salad, tofu dog, edamame and sashimi, lots of tofu-based dishes, cauliflower pizza, seared fish, veggie burgers, fake taco meat salad, etc
Snacks' lots of cheese, almonds, Power Crunch bars, Quest soy protein chips, pumpkin seeds, tons of Greek yogurt, etc

Good luck!

Thank you. This is very helpful. I'll pass it on to her.

 

[Vikki C.]

Hi! I am in Salt Lake too. Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians with Dr Simper is where I got my DS done. That being said, Dr Simpers office gives RNY advice. When I was in University Hospital with my hernia repair, due to me being a bariatric patient, they sent Dr. Anna Ibele in to see me. She is with their bariatric surgery team. She does not do the DS but knows all about it. She is AMAZING and immediately agreed to take on my aftercare. She ordered all my labs while I was in the hospital. I will be making an appt to see her in November for my 2 year follow up. Maybe your daughter can contact her. Your daughter can contact me on FB if there is anything I can do to help! Hope this was helpful!

Thanks for this information. I'll be sure to tell her about Dr. Ibele, and about your kind offer to have her contact you.