mactrio

Thanks!

I saw my dr today and my appt when really well. I've lost 24.4 lbs (happy dance) he said that everything that I've felt this week (nausea, weakness, dizzy, retching) is normal. He said not getting in my full liquids is normal. I don't have pneumonia (thank God) just a really bad cold & chest congestion. He said I can move from Clear Liquids to applesauce, creamy Soups, Beans, milk... just to focus on high Protein and low carb. He said to keep crunching ice as often as I can to keep getting in the liquids. He said to build up my Proteins slowly and to aim for drinking an entire Protein shake every day. The ones I have are 35 grams protein, 1 grams carb & 1 gram sugar & 150 cal per 11 oz can. He told me to focus on nutritious foods over quick filling foods. He also said to add some items that have sugar, like juices but to cut with Water. He prescribed 40 mg Prilosec to keep tummy calm, a multi Vitamin, tums with Calcium but said for me to crush for another 2 weeks. Said if I had acid reflux or need something quickly to sip a bit of maalox or malanta liquid. I have mixed a few spoons of applesauce & a bit of apple juice to make it really thin and was able to eat that and keep it down.

Wow! I'm exactly one week post op and I still can't get in enough liquids. I can't even imagine taking a bite of food. I see my dr today & I'm hoping he will let me move onto protein drinks, creamy things because the clear liquid stage has been bad. All clear soups, broths are ok and I can manage maybe 3 or 4 small sips off a teaspoon and then the next time I heat some broth and i smell it the nausea hits & the dry heaving begins.

I was sleeved on Mon 2/25/13 and everything has been fine. Luckily my dr sucks out as much air as he can so I had minimal gas pains. Drinking however that's another story. When I woke up after surgery my cheeks were stuck to my teeth. I couldn't moisten my mouth. When I got up to pee (I had 3 bags iv fluid) I stopped at the sink & I rinsed & swished and spit. Ugh it was yellow, dried blood, tube residue....I know I rinsed & moistened my mouth for a good 5 min. I actually asked the nurse to bring me Water & a cup to spit in. That night I could begin sipping at 9:00. I took tiny sips and it took 3 hours to do an ounce. I sipped all night & day and finally got into a routine of Gatorade & water as my salvation. I'm day 6 post op and it takes me about 5 min to do an ounce of liquid. Today has been bad. I have had low grade fever, weak, shaky, head cold, congested and I'm praying its not pneumonia. I have had no food, no Protein shakes, nothing but chicken broth, water, ice, juice, Gatorade, Popsicles & Jello. I finally went to the bathroom on Saturday. After the 20 oz laxative that I drank before my surgery I didn't think anything else would come out for days. I begin the protein shakes phase tomorrow and I hope I can handle it. Right now the thought of food gags me. I'm not hungry at all and I don't even miss eating. I'm down over 25 lbs already.

So today is day 6 post op. I was sleeve on Monday, discharged Wed morning. Had very minimal pain. The liquid pain meds were so gross I just didn't take it. Wednesday I had homemade chicken soup broth. I had 4 teaspoons & was full. I had juice, Popsicles, water, ice chips, Gatorade. I tried soup broth a while later and it turned my stomach. I tried some beef veggie soup broth - couldn't do it. Made me sick. So all I can handle is a few sips of juice, Popsicles, SF jello, water, ice & Gatorade. If I see food or smell I I begin to gag and retch. Serious dry heaving. I'm weak, shaky, BP is hovering around 100/67 BS has been 72-113 I hope tomorrow when I begin protein drinks that I will feel better.

I was scared & had fears too. I had heard horror stories and had a family member who had a bleeder and a blood clot.... I put it out of my mind and I prayed. I made an appt with a dr and I canceled before the consult. I did this 6 or 7 times and I prayed and asked God to guide me. I made the appt, went to it and scheduled my surgery that day. I told my mom, husband, son & best friend. I prayed over it daily. When the time came I was calm and on the day of surgery I was a bit nervous but I was ready. I turned it over to God. I'm not one of those religious fanatics that preach & preach, but I attend weekly Mass with my family and I believe in miracles of The Lord. I believe in the power of prayer. I pray that you will get the answers you need.

I have to crush my med's. I asked my dr for how long and he said that our tummies can not handle pills until after the 3rd week. Maybe ask for a liquid version. Good luck

I crush my sleeping pill and then put it in a bit of juice and dissolve it and then sip it. My dr said that our tummies can't handle pills until after 3 weeks. Good luck

Good luck on your surgery

I received a flash drive with my entire surgery on it. I thought WOW no wonder my belly button hurt.

No I didn't. I have asthma and I'm hoping that using my rescue inhaler will help. I just took my temp & I have fever first time since surgery. It's a very low fever 99.2 but its been running 97.8 all week.

I went to my family dr for my labs & had him write the order for the EKG & X-rays (that way my ins would pay for it) then his office just faxed everything to Dr Borland's office. My initial consult was 1/21/13, my testing was 1/29/13 & my surgery was 2/25/13 and it was a week late due to Mardi Gras and the dr was closed for 2 days.

Give him a call and talk to Him or his staff. His staff are nice & friendly. His initial consult was $200 so when I paid for the surgery my checks totaled $9600. You would need someone with you after surgery. The first night you have to get up every 2 hours and with those leg sleeves & those wires it is difficult. We stayed at the candlewood suites it was right at $100 a night and had full size refrigerator w/ ice maker, a dishwasher & soap, stove, microwave, toaster, coffee pot, dishes, silverware, pots, pans...(so hubby could eat and heat my Soup broth) There was a desk, recliner, tv, we had 2 queen beds so I could sleep alone and not worry about him flipping & moving in the bed.

A bath sounds so nice right now. Showers get old quick!

I'm healing fine, I'm able to walk & stand without pain from my incisions. My problem is that the smell of food (Jello, Soup, broth) turns my stomach & I gag and then dry heave. I had broth twice on Wednesday and felt fine, after those 4 little spoons of it, I can't even think about it without getting sick. I've had Gatorade, apple juice, popcicles, Water & ice chips and that is it. I'm feeling shaky, weak, when I walk my head makes that whomp whomp whoosh sound, I'm actually too weak to walk very far right now. It's been freezing here & windy so going outside wasn't in my plan. On top of that I've got a bad cold, runny nose & congestion. I'm coughing so hard that my entire torso is sore. When I walk from kitchen to bedroom or from kitchen to den I am huffing and puffing and struggling to get in enough air. My doctor said only Clear liquids this week and then I can add Proteins beginning next week. I'm getting ready to try a small cup of hot miso soup from Ichiban (Japanesse hibachi restuarant) Hopefully I can keep it down. I'm going to mix3 parts sf apple juice with 1 part reg juice and see if I feel better. My BP & BS have been very low the past 2 days so I'm ready to see my dr tomorrow.

http://www.thomasborlandmd.com

I was self pay and had surgery on Monday 3/25/13) I live in Louisiana and my surgery was done by Dr Thomas Borland in New Iberia, La. He does it as out patient surgery and then you stay at a local hotel (I stayed at candlewood suites) and he makes house calls to check on you. My cost was $9,800 plus the cost of the hotel (mine was 2 nights) I have been extremely pleased with my dr and his staff and the staff at the surgery center. They are professional, friendly & I have no complaints.

Hope you feel better.

I'm post op 1 week now (6 days out) I've had water, ice, sf jello, sf Popsicles, apple juice, Gatorade, tea and that's it. Nothing that wasn't on my list.

Buy a clear see thru shampoo and not a pearl (creamy) color. Sometimes just changing to another brand helps.

Congratulations!! Talk to your nutritionist and see how many calories, proteins etc...to add to your diet. I have a family member who is pregnant (sleeved & DS 2 yrs ago) and her dr told her to add 400 cal to her diet, too up her protein & carbs.

If you search on the recipe sharing section on here you can find of bunch of tasty recipes. When I found her posts I did a copy & paste.

I found quite a few recipes on here and I copied them. I can't remember the name of the lady who put them up otherwise I would give her credit for them. I plan to make some red Beans & white beans and purée them and freeze in small containers. I'm also going to make chicken salad (without relish). The following recipes I got from these boards. Egg salad - couple eggs, 1 tsp of mayo, 1/2 tsp of spicy brown mustard, salt & pepper - puree until smooth Buffalo chicken - can of chicken, 1 tbsp blue cheese crumbles, 2 tbsp ranch dressing, 1 tsp. of buffalo sauce, salt & pepper - puree until smooth - MY PERSONAL FAVORITE! Squash casserole - 1 can of squash with vidalia onion, 2 tbsp of cream cheese, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, salt & pepper, 1 tsp margarine/butter, 1 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese - puree until smooth, pour into dish and microwave for 90 seconds or until heated through and bubbly Pintos and cheese - 1 can of Pintos with onion - puree until smooth, pour into dish and cover with 2 tbsp. of shredded cheddar cheese - microwave for 90 seconds or until heated through and bubbly - stir well to combine the cheese - optional: add a bit of enchilada sauce if you are looking for more flavor. Lemon Ricotta Creme Take one 15 oz. container of part skim ricotta cheese, add the zest of one lemon, juice of half the lemon, 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 4 packets of splenda - puree until smooth - AWESOME!!!! You can do variations on this should you choose - substitue orange zest and 1 tbsp. of orange juice with orange extract or keep vanilla extract for a dreamsicle taste. chocolate ricotta creme is easy too by substituting 2 tbsp. cocoa powder instead of zest and juice, same vanilla extract and splenda to sweeten. Perfect sweet tooth item instead of the same old pudding and/or jell-o and it has a high concentration of Protein due to the ricotta cheese. Enjoy! Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower (tastes a lot like mashed potatoes, but very low carb!) 1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets 1 tsp butter/margarine 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese 1/4 cup of milk Blend until smooth, pour into a casserole dish and top with another 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese and microwave for 90 seconds - enjoy!

LOL - I'm very new to this board, and I have received so many great tips & recipes and wonderful advice. I just realized that as I have been reading in the past few weeks, it is mostly about head hunger. I worked on that more than anything in the weeks before my surgery. I suffer from insomnia and head hunger plays into that. So in the weeks prior I drank water, ate ice, ate sf jello and the stuff I knew I could have during my clear liquids stages. IDK if it will help 7 or 8 weeks out but I'm trying my best to remain positive and to use my liquids for my head hunger. I'm not perfect and I hope I didn't offend anyone with my subject topic. I'm just trying to understand why they don't want to follow orders?

I am in NO way an expert. I was sleeved on Monday (2/25/13) but I do have a question. If your doctor, nurse or nutritionist told you to stay on Clear liquids for 1 week post op and then to do creamy liquid drinks (no food) for week #2 and then to do creamed/mushy foods for week #3 then WHY in the world do so many 'cheat' yourselves in week 1? Or week 2? You have had MAJOR stomach surgery why would you put yourself in danger by trying to eat food before your stitches are heeled? Before your stomach is healed? You had this lifestyle changing surgery to help you to get healthy, why try to intentionally eat and hurt yourself? Like I said I am in NO way an expert, but I chose my doctor based on research and I intend to follow his directions and suggestions. I must be one of the lucky ones because I have had 'no hunger' so far. (6 days out) now maybe tomorrow I will be starving, who knows; but I am COMMITTED to making my surgery a success and I will follow my dr's orders.