AbacoRaveness

I'm only three weeks out, but I've been noticing low back pain more often. It seems to come out of nowhere. I've even asked people to look at me from the side to make sure I'm not hunched over like I'm favoring incisions or something and I'm not. I've always had some low back pain because two of my lower vertebrae are not formed exactly right, but I've definitely noticed it more since the surgery. I'm hoping that its a muscle issue and as soon as I start exercising again I can build the support musculature back up.

I had the same issue. I hate sleeping on my back but that was the only comfortable position for about 2 and a half weeks. Tomorrow is three weeks post-op for me and I'm finally starting to be able to sleep comfortably on my left side for awhile (my biggest incision was on my right side) and I can lay on my right side for a few minutes. I do use the pillows, but I use them more to elevate my arm and leg so that I don't collapse in on my abdomen. But, even that gets uncomfortable after awhile. So, I'm still mostly on my back but its definitely getting better little by little.

I am 19 days out and I have been lucky in that everything I've tried to eat has gone down and stayed down without a hitch. There have been a few things I've eaten that I probably shouldn't have -- a Reese's mini on Valentine's Day and a BK 4pc chicken tender (though I could only eat two at a time so it lasted for two "meals"). But, I spent alot of time with a counselor before I had this surgery. She forced me to look closely at all the reasons I was doing this and because of that I try to think about everything I put in my mouth and if thats contributing to or counting against my long-term goal. So, if you're really feeling alot of guilt over this, it might be time to talk to a professional who can help you with your emotional eating, head hunger, and guilty feelings. It's really helpful in alot of ways. That said, if you've lost 16lbs in 16 days you are doing wonderfully! You didn't say what you've eaten that is bad, but is there a chance you're being too hard on yourself?

I wish someone had told me that I wouldn't be able to sleep on my side for awhile. I've ALWAYS slept on my side or at least fallen asleep that way. Tuesday will be three weeks post-op and I'm only just now starting to be able to sleep somewhat comfortably on my left side (if I'm careful and go slowly). I can lay on my right side for a few minutes, but its still painful. I didn't really care what position I slept in as long as I was taking the percoset every night, but now that I'm off the pain meds I get sore laying on my back for too long. It'll be a relief when I can roll-over at will again.

I was lucky, my husband works from home so he was with me. But by four days after surgery he pretty much stayed in his office because I was able to do pretty much everything for myself. At least the important things like getting up and down off the couch, going to the bathroom, and getting fluids. The pain level really wasn't bad for me. I had some discomfort around the biggest incision (on the left side), but mostly that only bothered me when I was getting up or sitting down, once I was settled in either position I was fine, and it wasn't so bad as to be debilitating. By day three post-op I was only taking pain meds at night to help me sleep because I've had insomnia for years. That said, I have a pretty high pain tolerance and I am a bit masochistic in that I tend to enjoy pushing through it. So, I guess it depends on how well you tolerate pain. It would be ideal if you had a friend or relative who could stay with you just in case, but if all is going well you will probably be fine.

I am 18 days out from surgery and I have trouble drinking plain water. It just doesn't taste good at all. So, some days I mix it half and half with G2 gatorade or I use light (0 calorie) lemonade mixes. I too am on the Flintstones vitamin band wagon. Supposedly those aren't as complete as Centrum chewables, but they taste a whole lot better!

I had my surgery on 1/31 (a Tuesday). I went back to work exactly 15 days later (a Wednesday). That Wednesday-Friday I worked from about 9:30am-4pm, so kinda part-time. But, honestly I felt great. My work does not involve alot of physical activity. I sit at a desk and I do alot of hallway walking, but I've not felt at all tired at work.

When they came in pre-surgery to talk to me, they said: "It really NEVER happens, but you need to know there is always a chance that we could chip or crack a tooth." I said, "It will happen to me... the freak things always happen to me." Sometimes I think if it weren't for bad luck I'd have none at all... so unless you're the fall guy like me you're teeth will probably be fine. I've never heard of anyone else having this problem!

We are all different, but I had very little pain after my surgery. About three hours after I got to my room I woke up in pain... it was an overall ache type pain. My nurse said it was probably from the gas, so I got up and as soon as the gas shifted a bit I felt much better. The day after surgery I walked a mile so it couldn't have been that bad. By about day 7 I really felt some pain in my left side from the liver retraction, but it was more annoying than anything because it was the only thing still bothering. THEN, disaster struck, apparently when they intubated me, anesthesia cracked one of teeth. It got infected and festered for a week before hitting the nerve in my jaw. THAT pain was horrible! It was WAY worse than the surgery and I really broke into those pain meds! I waited four days for a root canal and they were the worst four days of my life.... luckily I was stoned out of my mind on percoset and don't really remember them Now I'm 17 days out and I still have some pain in my left side when I do silly things like bend over repeatedly to throw a ball for my dog, but now the worst part is the scabs from my incisions getting caught on my clothing (sorry if thats TMI), but those little suckers hurt when they get caught. But, seriously, if thats my biggest complaint... I'll take it!

So, I was told before I left the hospital that the second week would be the worst. I have no idea if that was the case or not. I was completely stoned out of my mind the entire second week because anesthesia cracked one of my teeth and I ended up with a dental abscess and had to wait four days for a root canal. The pain was so horrible (WAY worse than the actual surgery) that I was drinking percoset every four hours. I literally don't remember that week AT ALL. Initially I was pissed! But, now after reading all of this I think I'm probably glad I missed out on all of that! I'm sorry to everyone who is having a hard time! I hope it gets better! I am 17 days out now and I'm loving life! Honestly, I don't want to be "normal" again like I was before. I'm done with that life and I'm so looking forward to my new one!

My surgeon told me before I left the hospital that I would be unbelievably tired in the second week. So that indicates that its totally normal. Fortunately for me, I completely missed the second week because I was taking percoset every four hours for a dental abscess. I was so stoned I don't know if I was tired or not!

Are you doing it from your smart phone or from the actual website? On the website, when I enter a food I have it set up to show me calories, protein, fat, carbs, and sodium. On my smart phone when Ienter a food I have to go back to the home page then click on "daily" and it will show me a full report. I haven't ever seen a ratio function on the site.

You're right Cheri! I definitely have had a dream recovery from this surgery (other than a cracked tooth, dental abscess, and root canal courtesy of anesthesia, but that's another story). I had a little trouble with my fluids at first, but once I got past that everything that I've put in my mouth has gone down and stayed there. So, I'm very lucky! Great advice on trying just a small bit until you see how well it's gonna go down! Wow! Thanks for the recipe... I've always wondered if, given my very limited cooking talent, I could make gnocchi at home. You think there is any chance of making it work with a ricotta/cottage cheese mix?

OK, so my center recommends NO rice, bread, or Pasta until at least 45 days out. I don't really miss many of these things, but I was trying to think creatively about foods that I could eat in the mushie phase and I thought about meatballs. Where better to get a good meatball than at an Italian place? But, what a bummer that I could only have a meatball and no pasta. So thats when I thought about gnocchi! It's like pasta, but its potato based. So, if I can have mased potatoes, then why not gnocchi? My husband and I went to FIGO in Atlanta for lunch today. I had gnocchi with funghi sauce (mushrooms) and a meatball. I ate about 1/4 of the meatball and maybe four or five pieces of gnocchi... the poor server looked so disappointed that I hadn't liked my food! :wink1: It was SOOOO good... and I have enough in the to-go container to last several days! So, I said all that to say, if you're really missing pasta in the early stages, try gnocchi!

You're welcome... BTW: my username is the same on MFP, "AbacoRaveness" you can add me as a friend there if you want :-)

Under the "MY HOME" tab there is a sub-tab for settings. You can go there to change which nutrients (carbs, protein, etc.) that you track and how often you eat. Then, again under "MY HOME", there is a sub-tab for goals. If you go there and choose "custom", you can change pretty much everything from calories to sodium. For carbs I think, and don't quote me on this, it should be less than 40g per day. But probably want to check with your NUT on that.

Congratulations!!! Hope your recovery continues to go well!

Wow! I have had this same issue with some doctors. I remember once I went in because one of the horses at the barn that I was at (not my own horse) had kicked me in the knee. I waited for the swelling and bruising to go down and probably two weeks later my knee is still really bothering me. So, I go in to see a PCP and all I manage to get out is, "So, my knee hurts...." Before I can even get to the part about the horse this doc starts going on about how fat I am and how I'm always going to have knee trouble as long as I'm fat and when I lose about 100lbs it will all go away and I'll be healed! I just sat there looking at her. Finally after she shut up because I had been staring at her for so long. I managed to say, "Actually, I got kicked by a horse AND I'm pretty sure no matter how much I weigh that was always gonna hurt." Then I got up and walked out. I don't know if I made my point, but it made me feel better.

OMG! I USED to love chips, but when I read this all I could think of was that commercial where the guy hires the popular teenage girls to follow him around and everytime he eats something "unhealthy" there is a chorus of "Ew!, Seriously! That's so gross!" In fact, if you play that off youtube over your computer speakers everytime you hear the bag rattle, that might solve your problem!

So... I've ALWAYS been a super slow eater. My husband makes fun of how long it takes me to eat a slider! But I had to teach myself that behavior since anyone who's ever been to my mother's house knows we eat like we're in prison before she takes your plate away! My advice on how to eat more slowly, for what its worth.... (1) Take small bites... seriously. Cut your food up like you would for a child. (2) If you're one of those (us) who likes to watch TV while you eat, only eat during the commercials. (3) Putting the fork down between bites really does help. (4) Chew your food to within an inch of it's life. If it doesn't taste good enough to do that, you probably don't need to be eating it anyway. (5) If it feels stuck, get up and walk around until you don't feel the discomfort anymore, then try again... small, slow bites! Hope this helps!

Congratulations on your boots! That's got to be a great feeling to wear some "skinny" clothes again! Today was my first day back to work (yesterday was exactly 14days post-op), and when I got dressed I couldn't believe how loose everything felt... including my calf-high boots! AND... I got to hear the first few people exclaim with surprise, "You've lost weight! You look great!" Whoo Hoo! (Sorry to hijack, but wanted to share my boot story with you!).

It's hard to say whether you should be eating more or not. If you're losing consistently, then I would say to stay where you're at until you stall completely. The fact that you're losing at all means that your body is in a good place and willing to let go of excess. I guess it couldn't hurt to experiment with bumping up your intake a little. But be prepared that you may not lose any faster or even at all that week. Everyone's body is a little different and what works for one (me) may not neccessarily work for all (you). I guess my advice at this point is to do what "feels" right.

I was supposed to be in for only one night... but I was also supposed to be the first surgery of the day and ended up getting bumped so instead of a 7am surgery I didn't hit the OR until 1pm. I didn't get to my hospital room until like 5pm. So I stayed two nights and I WISH I had stayed the third. But, my surgeon made a deal with me. I could either stay one more night with the JP drain in place, or I could take the drain out and go home. I chose to take the drain out. That thing was majorly annoying!

I was around 600cal per day the first week. I noticed that I was kinda stalling a little the second week, so I bumped up to 700cal per day and my losing kicked back in. I figure I'll stay around 700 until I hit another stall then bump up to 800. I've heard on these forums before, though my center never mentioned it, that you should be somewhere between 600 and 800cal/day in the mushie phase.