Daisee68

Thanks @@Djmohr! So did you make other cooked veggie choices until you could eat raw or were you just not that concerned about the veggies in the beginning? I've eaten roasted butternut squash and I liked that but otherwise not a big fan of cooked veggies. I may just be struggling with my old diet mentality but I guess I am worrying about not having a little more balanced diet

@katydid86 - no there is nothing wrong with you. It's just a head hunger battle you have to overcome if it is beating you.

When is your surgery? I remember taking Imodium I think as late as 24 hours before surgery. Also Gas-X might help

I am just over 9 weeks out and just FINALLY feeling better and feel like I am turning a corner. (No vomiting in 8 days! YAY!) I had quite a bit of trouble with meats but likely because I wasn't chewing enough or eating too much so I have stayed with very soft foods that I knew I could tolerate and with that I don't feel like I am making the healthiest choices - just been focused on getting any food down and keeping it there and learning to stop when satisfied, eat slowly, etc. I am consuming around 500-600 calories per day with 80-90g Protein (thanks to shakes). I am not crazy about cooked mushy vegetables though I do like raw veggies but I know my system is not quite ready to tolerate them. I do love fruit - especially berries but I know I am not quite ready for those either. I have had a small bit of banana a few times (in a shake) and a peach slice (in Water no sugar added) and tolerated both very well. For what it's worth, I am getting in about 1/4 to 1/3 cup per meal which is pretty much 2 Tbsp (1/2 ounce) of meat (shaved turkey or tilapia) and then another 2 to 3 Tbsp of cheese usually. (Most of my protein is coming from dairy - cheese, yogurt, etc.) I did successfully eat 1/2 a Quest bar today for Breakfast for the first time and I was very happy about that! I sure wish I could move on to nuts and Jerky but not confident I will chew it will enough yet to tolerate it. Oh and I have had scrambled eggs but honestly I just don't like them that much unless they have salsa on them. (Seem to be handling spicy just fine.) I was only able to eat about 1/4 of the egg before I just couldn't get in anymore. (Cold eggs are even nastier than hot eggs and eating a small bite every 90 seconds or so gets the eggs cold very quick!) I have a meeting with NUT on Monday but was wondering if anyone had suggestions that I might ask her if I can progress to. I think she has told me a few more weeks at least before raw veggies (never craved cucumber so much in my life! )​ I am not frustrated or bored with my food choices at all. Not struggling with head hunger. Just wanting to make sure I am really working on healthy food choices in addition to very tiny food choices....

Yes! I have done that already - especially with pants which are hard to fit because of my size and height, so once I found a pair of jeans I liked (not expensive), I got them in 3 sizes. But then I completely went through one size during my 2 week recovery while I was wearing only yoga pants and pjs!

Yep we have all been there and it is either a) head hunger or acid reflux. If you are having physical signs if hunger, try taking a Zantac. It helps. I promise. If it is head hunger, you just have to wait it out. Find something else to do to occupy your mind. It's hard I know but it's not worth risking your internal healing. I had a lot of broth and I actually drank a little pickle juice which helped with hydration (hey why not athletes do it) and the salty taste helped. Powerade Zero also has a bit of a salty taste and may help. Honestly I am surprised you can't have jello. Check that again. It dissolves in your mouth (if u allow it to) and is generally considered part of liquids. I will say I remember a couple of bites of jello filled me up though in that first week. Hang in there. You will transition to more foods soon. PS if you have worked with a therapist, reach out to them. They can help with the head hu get at this stage.

Week 3 was a rough week for me for some reason. I started having a lot of nausea and dr said sometimes just a week 3 thing. I got another Zofran prescription which did help the nausea, but it seemed to come and go for a while. Quite honestly I just realized today that this week has been much better and I started feeling a little more normal. I was 9 weeks post-op yesterday. So it does get better but it is slow. Enjoy the good days when you have them and rest on the bad days. I remember seeing someone say about month 3 they felt much more normal so I am really looking forward to that and hoping same is true for me!

@@Indieflickers Nope I take BariActiv calcium which is sort of a SweetTart (though not nearly as good) so that's not it. Other than it is calcium citrate with Vitamin D.

Me too! But no idea why. I figured it was not enough fluids in my case. Hopefully someone has some good advice. PS Incredible weight loss!! Great job!

I'm with @scout2014. It can be very overwhelming but you have to start changing habits one at a time. So try switching to decaf coffee for 2 weeks then add a new habit like no drinking fluids during your meal and 30 minutes after and then in 2 weeks add another habit - small bites, putting your fork down between each bite, stopping eating after 20 to 30 minutes, getting in 64 of fluid, etc. Diet soda was the last thing I gave up. I started about a month before surgery and went without for a couple of weeks (had switched to decaf soda over a year ago). Then during my ore-op liquid diet, I did have it some but 2 days before surgery was the last one. My dad always says when I have a big task ahead of me , "how do you eat an elephant ? - one bite at a time". So one habit change at a time.....

Be sure you are following the plan your Dr and NUT set out for you. It is different for everyone. I was just confused by your statement that you feel like you are eating a lot but only eating once a day. Touch base with your NUT and provide them a copy of your food logs so they can go e you some direction. If you are not tracking your food, you definitely need to be doing that. That is at least one commonality among all surgeons and NUTs.

I am diabetic but only got the shots in the hospital twice I think. None to take home.

Why are you only eating once per day? You should be trying to get at least 3 meals (albeit very tiny meals) plus protein shake if needed.

I wish I had taken my own heating pad and ear plugs. Hospital provided both eventually - 4 hours after requesting and asking at least every hour.

Promise it gets better! Take your pain meds on schedule for at least the next day. Walk as much as you can. I used a heating pad and ice packs too. I think Day 4 or 5 was the worst then it gets much better painwise. Stay hydrated no matter what!

Well as everyone said it is a personal choice, but I told everyone - and I mean EVERYONE! And I have been so blessed to get amazing supportive responses. Maybe they are talking behind my back, but I don't care if they are. I think at first for me it was sort of like calling myself fat (pre-op) before someone else could - you know beat them to the punch to take the sting out and by telling about RNY I was getting out in front of it. But now, the more people who notice, the more I tell. I have kept how much I ate a secret in my past life and keeping this a secret or not talking about it just made me feel like I was ashamed of it. (I am NOT saying that those who don't tell are ashamed by any means. It is just how I felt when I considered not telling.) I think as a physician it will be difficult not to talk about it, but maybe you can keep it to only those patients you feel need to hear it and maybe keep the conversation short like "yes, I had WLS. I would love to talk to you about it when we have a little more time." I don't know. Something that gives you control of the conversation and allows you to tell what you want but also shows you are glad you made the decision. Good luck! You will figure it out! (PS - curious how you would advise your patients if they asked you the same question...)

Have you ever looked at the blog / website - http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/? She has a lot of great recipes and most of her blog is all about "a day in her pouch" so that will give you a great idea of some meals. I am only 9 weeks out and have had some issues with meat, so I am not a great example as I am still staying with pureed mostly. For Breakfast I generally have 1/2 container of yogurt mixed with 1/2 scoop of Protein powder, then a shake for mid-morning snack. At lunch, about 1/2 ounce deli turkey and a string cheese and maybe 1 cracker. And dinner similar or pimento cheese with extra Protein Powder (its a Southern thing if you haven't heard of it) and/or hummus. I had tilapia and butternut squash last night but a very tiny tiny amount. Eating out, I have pretty much only ventured into tortilla soup (without tortilla strips) and I even had some guacamole a couple of times (it was just mashed avocado, onion and lime juice but luckily the raw onion didn't bother me). The thing is it is different for everyone. Some can tolerate certain things that others can't so it is tough to say what you will or won't be able to eat. Rest assured though you will find your new normal eventually (or so I am told) and will be able to enjoy small amounts of food that you want to eat.

Well then you have this made! It is nothing at all compared to those things!

I even found Quest Bars at my local grocery store. I would agree this is an exception. I am 2 months out and haven't had jerky or nuts yet, but going on my first trip next week so I am going to try those this weekend as well. I was going to say Cheesestick also or the Babybel cheese (wrapped in wax kind so I don't think it would have to be refrigerated and shouldn't melt). Also maybe take some Crystal Light (or other brand) in the single to go packs (that you just dump in water). Might be a good change and could help flavor a vanilla shake. Premier Protein doesn't have to be refrigerated. STAY HYDRATED above all else! Bottle of Water in your hand wherever you go. Have fun!

While in the hospital on strong pain meds - very very minor. Maybe a 2. When I first woke up in recovery, probably a 5 or 6 but they quickly got it controlled. Day 3 was not good for me but I was also passing a kidney stone at the same time AND Day 3 seems to be tough following any surgery (not just WLS). After Day 5, more just an annoying pain. Have you had other surgeries? I have had 4 shoulder surgeries, 4 lithotripsies (with stents for kidney stones) and hysterectomy. Bilateral ureter stents were by far the WORST! The rotator cuff surgery not great but manageable. WLS easiest of them all actually. Now I had bypass. I understand sleeve is a little more uncomfortable, but if you are afraid of the pain, don't be. It is absolutely manageable. Getting the fluids and Protein in is WAY harder than the pain. Oh, and I used heating pad a lot and even an ice pack some. Hope that helps!

I don't know a lot about this and certainly not a medical professional; however, I will say that it isn't a super high count. I mean not great but not awful. Is the AST high also? It can be a myriad of things - do you take cholesterol or diabetes meds or other like maybe too much pain relievers? Also, it can signal gallbladder issues sometimes. Or most likely it could be fatty liver which most of us with high BMI's have. Try not to worry too much. If it was off the charts, they would call you. I think there was someone else on here who had to postpone their surgery a little until the count came down, but I believe their counts were higher. Hang in there. Be patient (though I am TERRIBLE at that myself .)​ I hope they call you soon and if not, call them tomorrow morning to put your mind at ease.

@@nuzzlebear40 - I like your plan and wish I had been given guidelines like that. I have just been stumbling along trying to figure out how much I can eat and it is different nearly every meal. When it comes to meat, the best I can do is 1/2 oz. All I have been able to tolerate is deli turkey, maybe a couple of bites of chicken (from Soup or something very very moist) and a few bites of tilapia. Of course that is all with bites of other things but in general I average about 1/4 cup. I am 9 weeks post RNY tomorrow.

Use a 1 oz medicine cup and set a timer and sip from it every 3 or 4 minutes. You should (hopefully) be able to get in 1 ounce every 15 minutes. (You won't have to do this all day long but as much as you can.) It is the only way I could get my fluids in. You won't hit 64 oz this early. Just do as best as you can. Dehydration is a big reason for people ending up back in the hospital so keep it up. Remember your broths and popsicles (and sometimes shakes) count as Fluid too.

I had bypass and my surgeon was out of town at first follow up so I saw her partner and she said I had to wait until day 15 to have pureed. Seems every doctor is different and it could be due to your individual circumstances. I think I would err on the side of caution and stick with liquids for another week if you can stand it. it won't hurt as long as you are getting in your Protein. I know that last week is tough. You might look at your booklet again and see if there are any more suggestions of what you can have this last week. Cream Soups? Yogurt? I had popsicles - a lot of them. The cold didn't bother me (luckily). I also (and don't judge me here) had pickle juice. It was great! I wanted the salt and it really helped plus it is used for hydration by some athletes, so I figured hydration couldn't be bad. Not much of it and not all day but it was a good salty taste for a break from the sweetness. Good luck! Hang in there. You are almost there!

Mine was over the phone too but the NUT just had to send the documentation to the surgeon to get fined with the paperwork. I just had to tell him what my weight was that day.