TexasTina

My Dr allowed decaf when I went to my 2 wk post op, but said regular coffee until 6 months. I've also had terrible trouble with constipation. Well, last Saturday (at 7 wks out) I finally had my first 2 cups of decaf with some regular coffee-mate, and added some protein powder. I actually had to run to the bathroom a few hours later. Hurray! I'd rather have it without the protein, but I need that. I hadn't tried it during the work week. Scared to. But did so a few hours ago because I'm constipated again. Hope it has the same effect before morning. Had been on Benefiber for a couple of weeks, but that seems to have lost it's power.

Thanks for the responses. Today I noticed the tiny stitch tip had popped back out of the scab and so the scab looked less pointy. Still black, but I guess the stitch had been hiding in it. Kinda like an ingrown hair. Gonna try to wash the scab off. Kinda afraid to pull the stitch tip out. Maybe I'll wait until my 3 month follow up and have Dr. do it. Unless it does begin to look infected.

I'll be 2 months out this Friday and have had no complications. Had 5 incisions and 2 of them had what appeared and felt like a small piece of stitch/thread at the end of them. One of them finally disappeared and is healing as smooth as the other 3. One, however still has that small piece I can mostly feel and a scab has formed at the tip. It looks like a pimple. Today, however, I noticed the scab looks black. More like a big blackhead. Does anybody have any idea if this is normal or should I go see the Dr? That usually means a 3-4 hr wait for a few minutes of his time. Hope someone can relate out there.

So my nut said I should be eating 6 small meals a day (1/4-1/2 cup at each) and I can't possibly do that! I am 4 weeks out, have lost 29 lbs, manage to get in all my chewable Vitamins (yuck!) and feel great. I get to work at 7:30 am, have my Protein shake (1/2 c), Then my snack @ 10:30 or 11:00: another 1/2 c Protein Shake. lunch will be @ 1;30 or 2:00: 1/2 c cream Soup or fat free yogurt w/protein added. Then I have dinner @ 6:00 pm. If I add another afternoon snack I wouldn't be having dinner until 8:00! And that would still only be 5 meals. I manage 4-5 8oz glasses of Water and have been doing 30 minutes on the treadmill (slowly) 5 days a week since 2 weeks out. My daily calories average between 450-500 per day, less than 40 carbs, and 60-70g of protein daily. So I'm wondering if this sounds okay to you guys out there and if not, how do you possibly get all those meals in? My nut insists I follow her plan.

What are symptoms of a leak anyway? My Dr never told me what to look for.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will check that blog out. That's why I'm frustrated at the thought of 4 weeks of what looks like the same diet as the full liquid stage. Thinking of just doing it for 2 weeks and then trying some of the stuff other people are having.

How long were you guys on pureeds/mushies? My mushy stage doesn't allow eggs. Just a few things like cottage cheese and any soup that can be blended. And this stage is for 4 freakin weeks! Thing I'll have to stick to liquids another 4 weeks!

Okay, this is my 2nd day on stage 3 (pureeds/blended) and I can't see much difference between this diet and full liquids. They gave me a short list of things to try but they look gross blended. Think about drinking cottage cheese! I read other people's posts and no one seems to be on stage 3( pureed) for a month and stage 4 (very soft foods) for another month before trying regular foods. Stage 1 was clear liquids for 5 days and Stage 2 was full liquids for 2 weeks. What do you guys suggest?

Thanks for the responses, guys. And for the laughs. I asked today (a little bit more discreetly than Knee2010 ) and he said it would be fine now at 3 weeks this Friday. Surprisingly, he also okayed decaf coffee for me, although his nutritionist had said not until 2 months later. He said I could have caffeine at 6 months.

Will be 3 weeks post op this Friday and see my Dr on Wednesday but too embarassed to ask him, so when are we allowed to have sex again? Not in a hurry to do so (could use the rest), just wondering.

Thanks for the article, Rick. Helped release some stress. I also think that maybe the cream of wheat and cream soups on my full liquid diet and even the yogurt may have too many carbs.

Okay, yesterday I hit 2 weeks post-op. I mentioned before that I lost 13lbs on week 1. Haven't lost a damn lb since! I have tried on some smaller clothes that fit (1 size lower). I see a lot of posts about 3 week stall, but anyone else hit a 1 week stall that can shed some light on why so soon and when will it pass. Weighed myself again today. Still no other loss.

I actually took them off last night, slowly, since they were still pretty stuck but looked nasty to me. They seem to hurt a bit because some of the scabs came off with the strips. My husband says by the looks of them I probably should have removed them earlier. But they're healing, just a bit painful now that the strip isn't there holding everything stuck together.

Just posted a question regarding my diet and how I can't eat all they ask Stage 2. I had 5 days clear liquids, 2 weeks full liquids, 4 weeks pureed, 4 weeks very soft solids. They did provide specific lists as to what foods they allow at each stage. Not many choices.

I'm 2 wks post-op tomorrow and on Stage 2 of my diet. Stage 1 was the first 5 days: Clear liquids. Stage 2 is full liquids from a list given to me by Dr.'s office nutritionist for 2 weeks. Stage 3 is pureed for 4 weeks! Followed by 4 more weeks of very soft solids. I am having a hard time with Stage 2 because they ask that I have 3 meals, 3 Snacks. Sample menu calls for the following: Bkft= 1/2 c cream of wheat, 1/2 c skim milk; snack= 1/2 c whey Protein shake; Lunch= 1/2 c strained fat free cream Soup, 1/2 c sugar free pudding; snack= 1/2 c protein shake; Dinner= 1/2 c cream soup again, 1/2 c fat free yogurt; snack= 1/2 c Protein shake. Is it just me or is this a lot of food? Trying to space these out about 2 hrs and trying to get Water in 30 minutes before and after is a chore. I only do 1 of the things they ask at each meal (1/2 c), no way would I have room for a total cup at any meal time. I'm also stuck at a 13lb loss week 1 and nothing week 2. Am wondering if this sounds about right compared to you all's diets or should I be eating less. I'm not hungry so I don't want to eat at times. I also think 4 wks for purees and 4 weeks for very soft solids is a long time before I can try regular food again. Would appreciate your input tremendously.

Know the feeling! I weighed myself after the 1st week and lost 13 lbs. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks and I've lost nothing more than those 13. However, this morning I did follow advice given on this board. I started trying on some smaller clothes I had from my many previous diets. I was wearing 3x comfortably before surgery. Well, the 2xs and some 1xs actually fit this morning. I wish the scale would move too, something about that number that wrecks havoc on our brain, but I'm trying to be patient and enjoy the fact that these dusty ole clothes fit. Best wishes.

Thanks for the replies. I'd be too scared to try to take them off myself cause they seem so stuck on. I guess I'll wait for next Wednesday when I see him. i just worried that the longer they stayed on the more difficult it would be for them to be removed.

I got sleeved on 12-16-11. I'm posting this here because I always looked for pre-op steps on this forum. I have BCBSTexas as my insurance. I am very pleased with my Dr and my results. However, I had to place many phone calls, ask lots of questions (sometimes 2-3 times) to get the info I so desperately needed. I understand that to the office staff this is routine and they forget that patients a) don't know the many hoops insurance/and or Dr requires of us and we are anxious to get this done and don't want any unpleasant surprises. I started my nutritionist visits the last week of July. Put it off until then, then worried that insurance would deny me because my appointments weren't 30 days apart. They didn't. I had to switch to a PCP or the monthly visits by August because the former nutritionist left her job and wasn't replaced soon enough. No problem with this from insurance. I had my initial consult with surgeon in August and he gave me the psych referral. Saw the psychiatrist in September. He had a list of about 5 questions. He typed while I answered. No problem. Psych eval is valid for 1 year. As the months went by I worried that I wouldn't get everything done before the end of the year and then BCBS would change the rules on me. So, i found myself constantly calling both the insurance and the Dr.'s office asking what else I needed and how soon could I get it done. Sometimes they'd rattle off things like "you'll need an Hpylori, ultrasound and EDG but we'll tell you later when you can do this." Not good enough. I pressured them for answers in November and they asked when my last supervised diet date. I told them December 2nd and I wanted everything ready to submit ASAP before the Dr left for vacation. They weren't in the same hurry I was, but being an educator, i was also hoping to use my 2 wks vacation to recover. I finally got them to clarify what the last steps are before submission.I would need an EGD done at the hospital and would have to miss work the entire day. This was valid for 6 months. Gallbladder ultrasound took about 30 minutes in a Dr.'s office. Valid for 3 months. Hyplori done at surgeon's office in November. This was good for a month, along with the PCP's medical clearance. I also needed an EKG, which I'd had already, but due to the surgeon's office not telling me timelines, I had it too early at my PCP's office. So, she had to do another. This one is good for 3 months. Moral here: pressure the office for information on the tests they require and the timelines. BCBS only required the 6 month supervised diet, psych eval and medical clearance. The rest was my surgeon's office. I got all the tests done the last week of November, had my last diet visit on !2-2-11. Also attended a mandatory pre-op nutritionist class at the Dr.'s office on 12-2-11. The following Monday, 12-5-11 I called the surgeon's office to see if they had received the PCP's medical clearance. They hadn't, so I called my PCP. By Tuesday all paperwork in at the surgeon's office and submitted to insurance. Friday, yes Friday, 12-9-11 i had been approved. However, I didn't find out until Tuesday (12-13-11) when I called the insurance. Man, I wanted to cry from joy and a little from fear. I called the surgeon's office and told them and they called to get a confirmation # from insurance and they scheduled me for Friday, 12-16-11. It'll be 2 weeks tomorrow. I had no complications. Went into surgery @9:30, in recovery room by 11:00, in my room by noon. Had my IV, catheter, NG tube. Was walking a bit by night time. Did better the next day and was released by 5:00 pm. Hope this was helpful to someone out there. If you have any questions I'd be happy to try to answer them. Best wishes. This is the best thing I ever did for myself.

I'm 2 wks post op tomorrow and steri strips haven't come off. Not even budging. Band aids came off day 2. I asked Dr.'s office and they said to leave them alone. But I won't see him for post op until next Wednesday due to holidays. Just thinking that they're really stuck on the longer they stay put. Input from the vets, please. My Dr uses glue under those steri strips.