I am sorry to hear that your dietary choices are not being respected by the hospital staff.

What country are you in? I would have assumed hospitals in most developed countries should be able to cater to different dietary needs. What would they do if someone had a sever allergic reaction to certain ingredients? Tell them to just starve?

I don't have anything helpful to say. Hope you get better soon.

A very positive update:

I was given food and it was vegan. :)

I wasn't given a venflon in spite of my allergy and was correctly given oral medicine.

I was also told by the doctor I am of course allowed to walk, so I can go to the toilet. According to him I was allowed the entire time.

I am scared they'll return in the evening, but for now it's good.

I sincerely deeply thank everyone who was supportive in the very tough time I went through yesterday.

I'll probably make a formal complaint once I am out of the hospital. I am scared they'd retailiate if I said anything while I'm still here.

I work in a hospital, and have campaigned to get vegan food included on the menus with some progress. Every year they run a staff feedback online form, and I try to press them on their "clean green image" that they keep running with. I keep asking for the menus to have plant-based food as a tickable option, rather than as a request. Hasn't happened yet.

At least they now have pre-made vegan sandwiches and wraps available. Problem is the patients here are all rich boomers who turn their noses up at the mere mention of vegetables. So a lot of the vegan sandwiches/wraps end up in the skip.

I've asked them to keep the out-of-date ones aside for me, but hospitals don't like that kind of thing unfortunately.

Point is, I'm seeing quiet mild progress in the vegan food at hospitals department.

Tell your doctors you can't eat the food that's being given to you because you don't eat meat. The doctors should instruct them to accommodate you. Failing that order a vegetarian food for delivery to your room. There is no need to force you to eat meat if you are vegetarian. Not everybody eats meat. Don't tell them it's "moral", tell them it's "religious". If they absolutely refuse to serve you at least vegetarian food then throw what they bring on the floor and let the rude staff clean it up. You need to be committed to not eating anything they serve you by that point though and have established a way to get your own food.

Preface: Australian, may not be helpful for other countries

Do you have anybody who can sneak food in for you? I had a friend in ICU who was refused vegan food. I visited them and found out they hadn't eaten, so I head to the nearest store and get them food and smuggle it in (as well as their meds they were refused access to).

It was also the case that in their file they were not marked as vegan despite telling all the doctors and nurses. I had to suss out the treating doctor as they were the only one who could add that to the file, but even then they thought it meant "veggo" (Vegeterian) and that ultimately didn't fix the issue. So it could be the case that you haven't told the right person? I understand it's stupid that you have to go through all this effort, but don't give out hope as it might be a management issue stopping you from getting food.

You need to talk to the charge nurse, and if that person doesn’t handle it, then escalate to whoever they report to, etc. Do this firmly and without throwing little tantrums.

what hospital is that? that doesn't sound normal

Can you order uber eats? That sounds like such a fucked situation, I wish I had more ideas on what to do. Can you maybe contact a lawyer?

solidarity and good luck 💕

My wife is vegetarian and I often opt to cook rather than take out because eating out anywhere can be difficult due to the lack of vegetarian accommodations, I imagine that goes doubly so for vegan.

I just wanted to say that your struggle is real and valid and I hope things improve.

I find some of the responses here disturbing. I was told of making conspiracy theorists by a person making up fantasy about me being abusive! Based on absolutely nothing. I am incredibly patient and polite towards anyone, going out of my way to thank the staff who help me. I believe people like such are literally dangerous as you promote attack on me while I'm so vulnerable for no reason other than your fantasy.

Update regarding the staff:

They threatened me with using needles in spite of my allergy. I wasn't given any food after the surgery the entire day, so I was really lucky to had saved a banana, which they didn't know of and is not sufficient meal for an entire day, especially after a heavy surgery.

Those people don't seem to be nurses in the entire sense either. They don't do the needles. They sent another person to do so. I spoke with said person and he agreed I shouldn't be given a venflon and told me to administer medicine orally, and that he will tell them to do so.

I was refused help to stand up since I haven't stood up on my own since the surgery, but needed to go to the bathroom. I was told I'm not allowed to stand up. No help for bathroom was provided, even to do the do in the bed, which I think is humiliating and deeply unkind towards the other patient in the room. So the indirect result is I'm literally expected to poo directly in the bed onto it.

While I understand why people suggest a lawyer, I don't have the financial means and I'm suffering physically in the now. I consider discharging myself because I believe this is deep medical neglect, and I feel like my life is being endangered. I am scared I won't be able to hold it in and the bacteria would infect my wounds. Not to mention the lack of nutrition affecting healing.

That hospital is so unethical serving meat to the patients. They’re not serving the best interests of the patients.

My local hospital network just has a vegan dietary option. It's not hard to do.