Daisee68

@@scarlep - Oh it was definitely weird the first time and I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to cancel - and I actually like my therapist! It is an uncomfortable situation to talk but it will help. If nothing else just to learn their tips and tricks for dealing with post-op emotions and helping you identify your triggers for wanting to eat.

@@nuzzlebear40 - Thanks for the tip! I was actually researching that online last night. I have a friend that used to use it for IBS. I am going to get some today.

@@HealthyJudy - I have an appt with acupuncturist tomorrow! Very hopeful!

My therapist has been a WAY bigger help to me than even my NUT. I didn't realize how desperately I needed to talk to a therapist and thought I would just go once. You do need to have a decent relationship with them, so if you don't like him, perhaps try another one, but don't give up on seeing them. It makes a big difference - even if you don't want to see that right now (I know I didn't). Remember they see a LOT of us patients and know what the struggles are and can help with those before and after they get here. I would encourage you to give it a chance.

Well better a little - had to get the food back out around 10:30 (4 hours after eating). It just wouldnt' really go down. Really exhausted today but sticking with liquids for the day as you suggested to give my stomach a break and tried warm tea for Breakfast to help with nausea. Didn't really help yet so I took a Zofran which did. Working from home again and hoping working from the couch / resting will help.

Gotcha! It was on my approved list but I cannot say I will try it again anytime soon! I haven't tried any fluids yet because I was hoping it would settle. It seems much better now so I am going to try a shake. At least it didn't come back up this time!

So I must have eaten too fast again! I don't know where I went wrong. I set my timer to make sure my bites were at least 1 minute apart. I was only able to get 1/2 of a saltine, 1/3rd of a piece of thinly sliced turnkey (deli meat) and 1/4th of a 2% cheese stick. I REALLY don't want to vomit again like last night. It's been nearly an hour. Any suggestions / tricks how to make it go down? (lunch was pureed meat and it went down and stayed down fine. Maybe I am just not ready for real meat...)

I'm so sorry you aren't getting good support. Hopefully your Aunt can be your go to for support and hopefully the others will come around as you work through the process.

@@HealthyJudy - I have not tried acupuncture before but it was suggested under another similar post today (not sure if that was you), but I immediately looked for an acupuncturist. It gives me hope this might make this more livable!

I was too tired to care about changing. I just wore my gown with another one worn on my back like a robe.

@@sleevenv - Acupuncture?! What a great idea! I have never done that but have heard good results. I am going to try to find someone local. I had this surgery to get off all meds not take other ones! Appreciate the advice. Apologies to original poster for hijacking the post!

So I had to stay home from work today AND missed a dr appt because I could not actually leave the restroom from the constipation and difficulty passing. It was awful - AGAIN! I have taken Colace (3 yesterday and 2 pretty consistently every day and only working occasionally), added Benefiber (think it is making it worse), Milk Of Magnesia (seems to work but gives diarrhea for the next 24 hours so I can't leave the restroom for other reasons). I called the dr office and left a message and actually starting crying because I am that miserable and frustrated - AND my tailbone and bladder hurt from where it is pushing on it and I have hemorrhoids and possibly a fissure. Anyway, NP from surgeon office called back and said this may happen the rest of my life. Constipation is a side effect from RNY. Really?! OMG! I have never experienced this kind of pain and frustration except when I had bilateral ureter stents for 3 weeks. At least I could take pain med for that! If I take pain med, it makes the constipation worse. They had given me a sample of Amatiza which is a very strong laxative and the first time I took it, I seriously nearly passed out and had chills. The solution is taking this med twice a day (instead of Colace and Benefiber) and hope that it gets me back to regular. I have not tried Miralax yet but I have in the past and felt it wasn't much better than other solutions. I am still on pureed / soft foods so I really really hope this will get better as time progresses and food progresses. (BTW, NP said as long as I am still going every 3 days, it isn't an emergency and hopefully the Amatiza will get me regular enough to get rid of the stools that cause such pain.) Sorry I am rambling, but I just needed to vent a little. I am so discouraged about this. I cannot keep missing out on life for this problem. This is not why I had the surgery.... combined with the morning nausea, vomiting (probably my fault because I ate too fast) and inability to eat in the morning (because of the nausea), I am beyond discouraged.

Not sure the crusted one would hold up great as the top of the grill would stick. But it is super easy to stick in the oven for 20 minutes. Even toaster oven.

Ugh!! I hate this feeling. Seriously didn't realize I ate too fast but I would give anything to back up several bites. How can I learn this better? (You would think this miserable feeling would be enough to slow me down each time but no!!!) Any tips?

I get that if I eat too much or too fast. It I'd hoe I know to slow down and stop. Also need to take smaller sips.

So very sorry you have gone through so much. Anxiety and regrets are completely normal reactions - and that is for those of us who haven't been in mind-numbing pain or 2 surgeries so quickly! Have you worked with a therapist through this process? Mine is truly been invaluable. The one thing she kept saying when I was freaking out was to stay in the present. Think about today only. If you have a therapist, reach out to them. If not, call your surgeon and see if they can recommend one they work with that will understand what you are going through. Meanwhile, maybe you need something other than Xanax? Call whichever dr prescribed that and see if there is something else they can do. Deep breaths. You got this!

I had the same problem. One NUT from a WLS clinic (who also worked with dialysis patients) was way more concerned about balanced approach. The NUT I work with now is way more concerned about Protein. (I am 4 weeks post-op.) When I talked to the new NUT about 6 weeks before my surgery, he explained that NUT's who are generalists often give bad info as it relates to bariatric patients. My NUT works with bariatric patients only and has for going on 10 years, so he has figured out what works. (Even then, you will find protein goals to differ among bariatric NUT's.) Anyway, the best advice he gave me was to just start working on changing habits. So maybe for the first 2 weeks, you make sure you are getting in 64 oz Water. Then the next 2 weeks, you add a habit such as not drinking 30 minutes before a meal, during a meal or 30 minutes after a meal and just keep building from there. Maybe 1 habit you can try is replacing one meal or snack a day with a Protein Bar (Quest bars are pretty tasty) or Protein Drink. Cutting out the carbonation is a tough one and I didn't give it up completely until the very last second (2 days before surgery) but I did start cutting back about 1 month prior. Maybe make a list of the habits you want to change, tackle one at a time and then by the time you get to surgery, these will all be old hat to you and make your transition much easier. Making some of the simple changes (including starting to exercise if you aren't) will likely lead to some weight loss naturally. As for your PCP and their NUT, there are always going to be some who say "can't you do it on your own"? Obviously not or we wouldn't be where we are, but I will tell you it is a question I asked myself even after surgery (i.e. a bit of buyers remorse). Surround yourself with those who are supporting your decision. You have 6 months, if you get there and change your mind, no harm no foul. You have new healthy habits. But at the end of the 6 months, you will have a better grip on your new lifestyle. By the way, not sure if your insurance requires this, but mine did (Cigna), and it was a letter from a dr other than the surgeon recommending the surgery. If your PCP is not game, that may be difficult to obtain. You might consider discussing more in depth with him now or finding a new dr before then that will be supportive of that decision so you will have someone who will write the letter if needed. (My endocrinologist was more than happy to write it and had discussed the topic with me for a couple of years before I decided to go forward.) Hope I haven't confused you more! Bottom line- find the right kind of support and seek out the right kind of NUT. And if you don't like the NUT or DR, find a new one.

Congrats! I was able to go down 1 jean size last week and it was so exciting so I know the feeling! Great NSV!! PS - have you taken measurements? THAT is a motivator in and of itself, I promise!

I am drinking a Premier Protein ready to drink shakes now so I looked at the info for you. It is 11 oz, 160 calories, 30 g protein and 4 g of carb (1 g of sugar). There is also an unflavored one I use called Doc Hale's Nutrition Whey-licious (http://dochalenutrition.com/product/whey-licious-canister/). It is 90 calories, 20g protein, 1g carb/sugar. I have mixed it with Propel Fitness berry Water (among other things) and it does have a taste but not necessarily an unpleasant one. The Syntrax nectars tend to have a little higher sugar - generally 18g of carb. Hope that helps! They took me off my diabetic med (Metformin only) before I left the hospital. Can't wait to see what my A1C is when they finally test it. Good luck!

@@Babbs - no worries at all! I knew the potential of dumping. It's all good!

It is very hard in the beginning and I am not really getting a lot of Protein from my food choices yet, but I am relearning "satisfied" and getting used to textures. May not be the answer you are looking for but unfortunately "tastes good" isn't the name of the game right now. Saltines, while approved, may not be the best choice. Especially after something nice and salty like that, I'm not sure I would want a Protein Drink either. What kinds have you tried? Have you enhanced them with anything like some of the Torani sugar free Syrups? (I used salted caramel in my Premier Protein vanilla shake.) What have you tried to eat? The Ricotta Bake from TheWorldAccordingtoEggface.com is very good. Fat free refried Beans with some spices added in and a tiny amount of greek yogurt blended in makes it creamier and increases the protein. I have also been able to eat humus in small amounts, pimento cheese (with lowfat mayo), sugar free pudding cups mixed with unflavored Protein Powder, and greek yogurt mixed with a tiny bit of Sugar Free Fat Free cheesecake pudding mix and some raspberry sugar free syrup was my latest creation. Keep trying. If you can't stomach what you try, throw it out and try it again in a few days. It is really trial and error right now.

Thanks everyone. @ Tilapia is on my approved list but no bread other than saltines. I was able to scrape the "breading" off. I was only able to eat maybe 2 oz of it, but it sure tasted good! I also had a tiny bit of roasted butternut squash (dice up really small that I bought in the vegetable section in Walmart). Only got in maybe 1/16th of a cup but what I did eat was also really good. I hadn't had this before and am happy to find a new soft vegetable I can eat. No guarantees it will all stay down I suppose but so far so good....

Thanks @@Djmohr! I'm going to try to scrape most if the breading off then.

OK great! Thank u for the reply! I haven't tried the Parmesan one. Will go that next time. I also have some orange rough filers with no coating but I have to thaw it first and forgot.

So right out of surgery, I could only handle about 4 ounces per hour and each sip only about 1/2 to 1/3 ounce or it hurt. Within a week, I was able to drink closer to 8 ounces per Water. Now (4 weeks post-op), if I am really making an effort, I can drink a 16 ounce bottle in an hour. (Not all day...) My question is, as long as I am still sipping and it doesn't hurt going down (like it did in the beginning), is there an issue with drinking too fast? It won't hurt the pouch will it? As long as I am not "full" and overfilling it? I am sure this is a dumb question but just checking....