mi75

i have a very physical, busy nursing job and was told to plan for 4 wks off. going into surgery i was thinking "oh, i'll be ready after 2"...right now i'm post op 3 days and seriously already having anxiety about HOW am I going to be ready to go back in 3??? it's much more physically exhausting on the body than i thought it would be. several incisions to watch, a drain to manage, Protein and Water to count...ugh. on the flip side, by the time i DO go back at week 4, i will be on phase 3 eating and will likely not be having too many issues anymore.

it irks me when people think we are 'jumping into' WLS. it's not exactly a decision you make on a Monday and surgery that Friday. this is a LONG process, many months for most. it also revolves around a food ADDICTION. i once retorted back to a colleague who questioned me the same way "would you discourage an alcoholic from going to AA"? and dropped it. another poster said it best, people are terribly misinformed. rest assured in the decision you made for yourself is best and keep your eye on the prize. good luck!

ahh Linda, TOO much is a compliment! that says you were doing exactly what they were telling you to do...i'm now only 3 days post op but really too, looking forward to a good salad. Red Lobster garden salad with a skewer of grilled shrimp. YUM!

GREAT poll Alex! I chose 'other'. My big hold up was actually food. yes, the thing i wanted to get away from was the thing that held down the pause button for me for over a year. It's hard enough to admit you have a food addiction, but like most other addictions, 'just quitting' is almost never possible. I simply was not ready to bid farewell to my friend, food. Now I am 3 days post op. Only 3. But...well, besides the soreness and the drain I have to deal with, I already feel better! Today I went outside to just stroll around the yard while my hubby mowed the lawn. My husband came up to me and wiped a few tears and said to me "it's just so good to see you outside again after so long"...you see, it had been at least 2 years, maybe 3 since I had gone outside to bask in the sun, sit in a lawn chair, just enjoy the fresh air. before surgery, my only priority was sitting inside and eating as much as I could. Now i KNOW that this surgery will change my life.

there is a lot of great advice here. you may simply need to back off a little on your foods, amounts, or add some good anti-nausea drugs to your regimen. i am only three days out, certainly no expert yet. be patient and hang in there. i totally agree with calling your surgeon ASAP. if you aren't holding down foods 3 weeks out, you are also at risk for malnutrition and dehydration. good luck!

i would think you will be great by then, just remember to keep a protein drink with you at all times AND water. try also to eat at places that have soups, softs, etc so you can enjoy the meal with the group. have a great time!

walking and moving. that is really the ONLY thing that helps. i have been trying to get up and move at least every hour since i've been home. move as much as you can, even if it's a couple laps around your home dwelling. it generally takes up to a week to excrete laproscopic gas totally. hang in there!

i've done a lot of searching on fast food so i will be able to plan on what to eat when my fam eats out. taco bell- pintos and cheese, or chicken taco insides with a couple of plain nacho chips wendys- junior burger without bun to start, add half bun later down the road; chili mcdonalds- the insides of a grilled snack wrap to start, maybe add a little bit of tortilla later pizza places- toppings to start, then later on try a VERY thin crust piece; 'naked' wings- just the chicken! just a few ideas. good luck!

i'm 2 days post-op too! i have a lot of it too. it's mostly the laproscopic gas they use to 'inflate' your belly so they can work in there without hitting any vital parts. i have the same thing. i have terrible referred pain in my shoulder and my guts feel like they're going to blow open! i think the very worst thing is the drain. what a pain. my site around the drain is leaking serous Fluid and it doesn't hurt but i have to keep changing the dressing. walking DOES help. it just doesn't seem like we will feel any better, but in 2-3 days we will feel awesome. just try to keep moving!

Hi all- i can't believe that my surgery was monday morning and already i'm home and raring to go. well, sorta! first on the docket is a good shower and hair washing; hubs went to get my pain med filled, and kiddos are with the g-parents for a few more days. i'm looking forward to resting and watching some good movies with the hubs!

I am home now! thanks to everyone for your MANY kind words and prayers. My surgery went very well and I am already SO glad that I went through with it. The surgeon reported to me that although I already knew I had fatty liver, it was worse than we both thought and within a couple of years I would have had some serious fibrosis set it, leading to cirrhosis. WoW. I'm not even 40 yet and now I have a long life ahead to look forward to. I will be posting soon in the POSt-op FORUM too. thanks again to everyone!

for ME, the first three days were absolutely the worse, then on day 4 it seemed my hunger just disappeared. it was still a challenge after that, but at least my guts weren't knawing at me the entire time. During my pre-op I had to deal with my birthday, my daughter's birthday, multiple graduation open houses, a HUGE midwest festival in my town, work parties, and a mini-vacay with the family. ALL of these things involved huge amounts of food that i would normally have eaten 2-3 plates of. it DID bother me, but I knew i didn't have a choice and just kept focused. i had a few emotional moments along the way too, many tears, but I made it. you will too. good luck!

I would like to truly thank everyone for your warm wishes and prayers. Today was an up and down day with plenty of self-doubt, not about having my sleeve, but the 'what if's...glad it is evening and moving towards bed time! i will be signing off soon and I promise I will log on as soon as I can with a new thread to update my experience. thanks again!

thank you to everybody for your kind words! I am ready for this change, and there's no overwhelming feeling or anything, I just want everything to go smoothly and without incident. today cannot go fast enough, and truthfully i just want it to be over with!

oh thank you all so much! Today is a bit emotional for me with all that is ahead and the kind words from you all brought a few tears. I'm confident that all will go well.

Hi all- I'm not sure how active the traffic is here, but tomorrow is my day and I could use some prayer for a successful surgery and NO complications. I have good trust in my surgeon but after all, this is major surgery. thanks to all!

I can't believe that June 23rd has come so fast. I am ready, but still a good amount of nerves have set in. I have had SO little in the way of calories and nutrients over the past week. My appetite has just completely vanished on the 2 wk pre-op diet and it has been very hard to intake anything. I've had mostly shakes, and now I"m hoping I haven't ingested so little that i will be in trouble. Good news is today I get to have REGULAR juices, popcicles, etc to carry my blood sugar through tomorrow. I know that there is a religious board, but there is very little activity on there. I would like to ask those who are so inclined to keep me in your thoughts, prayers and such over the next few days. I will see everyone over on the post-op board!!!!!

thanks to everyone for the great info. it is much appreciated!

such great info. thanks again! my nut gave me a little 4 page guide to what to eat and at what phases. it includes ALL foods, including carbs like pastas, bread, rice, potatoes, Cereal, etc. so it is hard for me to guage the realities of what to expect. i believe that my bariatric clinic approaches this much like a general weight loss plan, and not so much like a carb-limited plan-as far as i can read in the info- so I love being able to come here and ask these questions. THIS is where i think I can get more realistic answers to my questions. thanks again!!!!!

very good advice. Thank you for your kind words. I have been pre-op for about a year so it has been a year of research and such, but now THIS part of it is surfacing, the 'what the heck will I eat' questions!

hello to all the post-op folks on this forum! my surgery is in 2 days and I have many questions about the success/failures of eating certain foods afterwards...I hope you will help me with a few insights! 1. Baked Beans- my family and I love Bush's baked Beans and the Protein count in them is great. But do they give anybody problems due to the sugar content (brown sugar, molasses, etc)?? 2. Kraft Mac/Cheese- another fave in my house. We have small kids AND live on a tight budget so every couple of weeks when the bank account is dry we have Kraft spirals for dinner with some ground beef mixed in... 3. Peanut Butter toast- a staple Breakfast. I know eggs are great for me post-op but I'm sure I will only be able to eat SO many days of eggs before I need a break... 4. Spaghetti- a weeknight staple for my family- I assume I would be able to have a very small amount of the Pasta with a nice serving of sauce (which I also put some sort of ground meat into for protein) Now...I KNOW that the purpose of this surgery is to re-start my eating habits and essentially give me a restart button. I absolutely believe that and I fully intent to eat very well 90% of the time. However, there are times when the budget, time or travel will play a big role and I may need to turn to one of these options. I would appreciate any feedback about these foods or any other 'typical' foods. I thank you all in advance!

tried them ALL. i only like the Muscle MIlk 100 mixed with ice cold skim milk OR the Muscle Milk Premium Mint Choc mixed the same way. zero chalky taste, zero aftertaste. pretty good Protein counts in the 100, awesome in the premium.

agree with above- its your vagal/vagus nerve. tricky little thing that nerve! you are stimulating it too much.

repair would only stretch your esophagus and shouldn't have any impact on your physical ability to regurgitate. you are lucky!

I wish you the very best of luck and the warmest wishes for a good procedure. I understand the need for a PICC especially if you are a really hard stick and such. you will be in our prayers and thoughts and please check back in when you can!