TES

For the soft/mushy stage, do you just eat the hummus with a spoon like you would eat refried beans or something? Thanks!

Thank you for the advice, Starfish and Pottergirl! I am very lucky that my nutritionist is a vegetarian and understands a lot about it plus has creative ideas. Once I start on solid foods, I'll post ideas here that she gives me or ones that I come up with. Right now I am drinking a lot of hot chocolate made with diet Swiss Miss and 1.5 to 2 scoops of whey Protein powder (20+ grams/protein and 100 calories). Plus I make it with soy milk for a bit more protein. So excited to move to thin purees tomorrow! My doctor recommends that you go off of Protein shakes once you move to full solids (6 weeks post-op for me), but as a vegetarian, I have a feeling I'll be taking at least 1 to 2 shakes a day indefinitely.

Can you have the Isopure clear liquid Protein drinks? (sold at Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, etc.).

It will be totally fine! It will be over in the blink of an eye and then you will be a free woman.

I got mine taken out in the hospital and it wasn't too bad. The 1 stitch the PA took out before the drain actually stung a little more than the actual drain removal. The drain removal feels weird bc you can feel it snaking through your body a little bit (odd sensation), but the anticipation of having it done is far worse than the actual momentary slight discomfort of the actual removal. Good luck!!!!

I gained 18 lbs in fluid weight while in the hospital--but it came off pretty quickly--about a week. The next week I lost about 10 lbs. So my 2-week net loss was only 10 lbs, lower than others, but the fluid definitely puts you behind. I'm not sure why some people retain that much fluid and others don't. BTW most of my fluid was lost from diarrhea... it wasn't too bad, though it was good that I was at home.

My surgeon's educational materials state that consuming adequate protein the first 2 weeks after surgery can affect/prevent hair loss later on. Has anyone heard this before? It is definitely good motivation to try to get in the protein....lots of other good reasons too of course.

So sorry to hear, Delta Girl. I hope that it grows back soon. Your weight loss is awesome! I am taking Biotin and want to start a Biotin shampoo/conditioner, too, but so far the ones I have found contain animal products and I'm a vegetarian. I think Aveda has a new type out that is supposed to help with thinning hair, etc.

Possibly dehydration--there has only been one day post-op when I didn't get in enough fluid (I was sleeping due to being up late to meet a work deadline) and I paid for it with horrible foot cramps all evening and night. This was about 1.5 weeks after my surgery. I got back to an equilibrium by really focusing on drinking diluted G2 and water (this was the first time I had G2 since the hospital and I liked it better than I thought). Also, sometimes it is a magnesium deficiency. Remember that your body needs more fluid than normal when you are losing weight.

all of these ideas sounds great--thank you so much!

Thanks for all of the replies on how long to where the binder. To those asking about where to get one: It's possible that you might receive one in the hospital, but if not, you can get them at a medical supply store. In the hospital, I was given a replacement one because of the drainage and such that got all over the first one. The nurse said that I could keep the first one and take it home and wash it, but I declined because the sight of the drainage on it was making me woozy, just because of how I was feeling at the time. Wish I would have kept it so that I could wear an extra while washing the other one. You have to handwash or wash on gentle in cold and then let them air dry. I'll probably just pick up a spare at the medical supply. That's one of the reasons I was wondering how long everyone has worn them. I feel like it gives my abdominal muscles more support and balances out the weight of my chest area. When I don't wear it, even in the shower, my back starts aching a little. I'm thinking maybe 4 to 6 weeks will be enough and then maybe just when exercising for a while.

Tricia, I would just listen to your body and sip as much as you can. Are you taking something like Propel or G2? Are you stil on pain meds?

thanks everyone! I was just at Vitamin Shoppe over the weekend but didn't know about the PB2 then--will check it out today. This sounds like it would be good in a strawberry protein shake.

I was sleeved on Feb. 5 and gained 18 pounds in fluid in the hospital. I lost most of that within a week or so. Since then, I have lost another 10 pounds. Scale hasn't moved in a few days, but I'll take it since previously, it took me at least 2 months to lose 10 pounds. I am on a similar regimen as others--2 weeks of full liquids (no yogurt/refried beans), a few days of thin purees, 2.5 weeks of puree, a week or so of transitional/soft foods, and then full diet. So full diet about a month from now. I'm really looking forward to my 2-week post op appointment so that I can try some thinned out cream of wheat or oatmeal. I'm not physically hungry but went back to work within a few days (desk job) and sometimes that low blood sugar/weak feeling makes it a bit difficult to concentrate on complex tasks (less complex ones aren't an issue).

Thanks Tawnie!

Do any retail stores sell this or is it available online only? Thanks!