AJW

You can grind your big vitamins and put in smallest amount of food and take that way, something like applesauce. Now silly question: As far as food phases,etc., is day 1 the day of surgery or the day after surgery for counting purposes?

Hi Carol! Yes, Yolanda told me that you were looking for me. I went into surgery at 11:30AM and didn't come out of recovery until 4:00 PM, so it was a long time. Thanks so much for checking on me; sorry I wasn't available to say hi. Doing OK; yesterday was a crappy day, hope today is better. One step at a time.

That little bit of pain on swallowing is just from having the surgery, not the tube down your throat. Everyone is different recovery-wise, so don't go by your husband. I'll sure you'll do fine.

I think the drain was really useful. When you have a tummy tuck you'll have a drain for a week, I've heard. It allows all those fluids to come out - a necessary evil. I'm wondering how long it takes for the incision left by the drain to heal up, 10 days maybe? Did you have a morphine spinal during surgery? Although I thought it odd at the time, I think that really is the ticket to controling the surgery pain right afterward. I had a bad day yesterday due to gas and non-stop diarrha. Hope today is better for us both.

Thanks for sharing, Tiffy.:drool5:

OK, got'cha now. I had a particularly difficult digestive day. I can't say for sure, but I think a lot of the excessive gas, bloat and diarrha was due to the Body Fortress whey protein shots I consumed. Every day before today I've been fine, well relatively fine considering the time post-op. This is the only ingredient added, so I'll have to assume it's the culprit. Think I'll lay off the Jell-O too considering the source of that stuff.

I googled Body Fortress whey protein shots and did not find any negative feedback on the product. Can you point me to the controversy?

Oh boy, swell. The other poster Caro said their doctor gave a thumbs up. IDK, but I tried two of them today and I've had the major runs all day long along with a major stomach rumblings and lots of gas. I don't think this is a good sign for the product, either that or I cannot tolerate them.

Yes, but not to a huge degree. I am not experiencing the heightened smell-or-rama that people say they have. I think things taste a little funny to me because my tongue is coated a bit from not eating. It's not a big deal, though. But everyone is different so you'll have to judge from your perspective.

I'm getting the protein shots today. I like that they are 2.9 fl. oz. as that's so much less to consume to get 26 gr. protein. Three of those a day and I'm in there! Down another 2 pounds today. It'll slow down I'm sure. This is still fluids coming out after not eating real food since 8/9/09.

Too late, I took it and the headache went away. I don't take aspirin all the time or even frequently at all, so I'm sure this one time won't hurt me, but thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for the suggestion, Caro. Here it is: Walmart.com: Body Fortress: 26 G Protein Fruit Punch Flavored Drink Super Whey Protein Shot Ultimate Recovery Fuel, 2.9 fl oz: Diet & Nutrition that looks pretty easy to get down. I wonder about the quality of the protein, though, as I know not all protein is created equal. But it sure sounds easy to take and that's a biggie right now.

Tylenol doesn't work on me. I need Excedrin, but thanks for the suggestion.

Yes, that's what I figured, about the same time that you can begin eating real food. Logical. I chopped up an aspirin cause I've had a headache for a few days and figured enough is enough. Not the most pleasant. Thanks for the response.

Ouch! You're lucky that's all you broke; could have killed you. Glad you survived it.

Two broken arms? Girl, what did you do to yourself, were you in an accident? I broke my leg skiing on 1/1/98. Yes, I'm home, been home since Wednesday night.

Did it take you a month before you could do that - take any size pill? Or how long?

I ordered some samples of the Syntrax Nectar stuff from Vitalady. I figured out how to order them. You have to look past the tub sizes down the list to the $1.99 for the sample sizes. Unfortunately, GNC does not carry it even though they indicate they do on line. Maybe it's only online, who knows? They don't have a variety anyway so no biggie. I am of course stuck with about 8 bottles of Isopure. My husband thinks they "aren't bad," so guess it's not a total loss.

Well since I was in Mexicali, they don't do major pain meds like Dilaudid; they do the initial morphine spinal (an odd pain medication delivery system to me, but whatever) and after that you get under the tongue pain meds which aren't very effective. Most of my discomfort was from gas, bloating, queasiness, and everything associated with stomach upset rather than real PAIN. Dilaudid is a heavy-duty morphine pain med; I had it when I broke my leg as that was the appropriate pain relief medication for that situation. I had to have surgery to fix my fracture (and thus began my 10 year spiral of weight gain, but that's another story). For this type of surgery, in my humble opinion Dilaudid is way over-kill. Not that I would have turned it down, mind you, but apparently such a heavy duty drug is not the protocol at Hospital Almater.:laugh0: The liquids are going. I use a straw. The first 5 days (that's all I got so far) it still hurts a little when I drink. That supposedly goes away after a week according to Dr. Aceves. Hope so. I am sipping, not gulping (as if!) but I still feel that spot that the Water hits when it goes down, especially in the middle of night when my pump is not primed like during the day, if you know what I mean.

Glad you're doing so well. I did better on day 1 than the rest of the days because of all the morphine going through me. Day 2 was not so good; day 3 was "ok;" day 4 was icky cause of the built up gas and fluid retention; today is day 5 and feeling 50% better. Tomorrow will be better still until I'm back to normal.

Glad you're doing better now.

Thanks. I emailed Michelle at Vitalady to ask about the samples. I'll see what she says. So how are YOU feeling these days? Are you still having the nausea? Not that I know anything yet because I'm baby-stepping along this process, but from what I've been told it's important to get your Protein in or you can become nauseous. The other reason could be too much acid so maybe you have to take whatever you're taking for acid relief (Nexium, Prilosec) a little longer than 3 months. And finally of course, what you're eating. OK, that's enough from me on this subject since I'm a total newb to the process and you guys are old hands at this by now.

Hey Guys, Hope today is better than yesterday. I walked around like a big gas bag burping and back-dooring gas all day, and peeing like a race horse. OK, TMI again. Sorry:blushing: Yeah, that Isopure has got to go. I cannot stand the taste of it. I did not see on the Vitalady site where you can order samples of the Syntrax Nectar mix, just the big up plastic $30 jars of it. If I get it I just need to like it, ya know. GNC carries it too, but I'm sure not in all flavors, and shipping takes so long. I have other unflavored whey protein , so I guess I could mix that into different drinks. I tried Hawaiian Punch lite (or basically sugar-free) as suggested by Nina at Dr. A's, but gag me on that stuff. Too sweet. Taking pills is a real challenge too. I soaked the Nex Mups, but I also have to take a BP pill for awhile longer, and at night I take OTC Unisom to help sleep. Nothing is simple any more. On the up side, with all that water release yesterday I was down 3 pounds today. Of course that's just fluid retention not fat. One day at a time I guess.:laugh0:

/ Best of luck to you; I'm sure you'll do fine. Just don't expect too much too soon. On a high note, I did NOT have the gas pain in the shoulder/back that everyone complains about. I "think" but don't know, my pre-op diet helped me a lot with shrinking back the liver and what not so they didn't have to blow a lot of gas into my abdomen. Everyone else was complaining about the gas pain in their shoulder/backs. On the Isopure front: thought I'd make a smoothie out of the Isopure to make it more palatable. I don't recommend it. It doesn't "smoothie" very well. Just chill and drink; that's the best you can do.

That's very sweet of you, but those babies are long gone. Guess someone knew a good thing when they saw them. I have repurchased in a smaller size and I'm sure they'll fit when I get them.:biggrin0: