Beck90

Okay.. I can't take it anymore.. Not something I expected to talk about on a forum but... During the 800 calorie a day two week pre-opp diet, I first started noticing changing bowel habits.. my stools were loose and watery, but I didn't worry about it much.. My doctor and program never talked once at any point about constipation or changed bowel habits post-surgery and how to deal with that - never even mentioned it could happen. So what's going on now? Basically I've gone from never having problems with constipation to infrequent watery stools with lumps that come only every few days or less and when they do happen it rarely feels like I got "cleaned out" I spend a lot of time feeling bound up over a several hour period and then feel okay again.. for a while.. but it always comes back. I'm -terrified- of the idea of taking a laxitive.. I've never had one.. I don't really understand how they work or if they're safe. I'm scared I'll take one and just wind up with bigger issues.. My mom suggested taking Herb Lax from Shaklee since it's more natural than OTC laxitives but I'm still scared.. I'd love some suggestions for what to take.. if you have experience with herb-lax or a similar medicine I'd love to know about that.. or other medicines... Two things though - it can't be liquid.. it needs to be in pill form and it can't have any artificial cherry flavoring (the latter I'm very allergic to). I would prefer a pill over a powder like metamucil because I just find it hard to believe it's as tasteless as the advertisements insist. Help... encouragement, information, medicines I could take that won't do something bad to me? Please .. don't ask me to talk to my doc lol. I'm not all that comfortable with him / his staff anyway (as many of you know from previous posts) and certainly not about this.. so I'd like to hear from you guys and -your- opinions and experiences that might help me.

I had the same complication as Lily mentioned above and the same treatment (steroids) but it didn't extend my stay because the plan had always been a 3 day stay so they were able to get it under control within that time

I'm in the exact same place as you are.. I have found that I have to actually make out a chart.. and put times on it.. in order to get it all in... I chart every hour of the day and plan when I will eat (and what - Protein count) and when I will drink. It makes it a little easier to juggle. I'm also using an app called Plant Nanny - it lets you grow plants as you tell it you've drank. You can make 4 custom size cups for your different liquid intake.. and choose which one you drank before you tell it you drank so it gives it the right oz. When the plant finishes growing it moves to your garden and produces seeds so you can buy more exotic plants and have variety... it's super fun and it makes getting in my liquid a bit more rewarding.

For me.. I'm only three weeks out.. but my sense of hunger has changed a lot.. I don't really feel hunger anymore.. (sometimes I do have head hunger and crave thing I used to eat before) but I can sense my body telling me that it needs food - for instance yesterday I did a really intense Water aerobic exercise for an hour. And a little while after I got an intense sense of needing to eat.. but it wasn't.. hunger really.. just a sense that my body needed some food rather than just liquids.

I think it's I'mportant to have a "I'll see you later" instead of a funeral... thinking about some of your old favorite foods as "This is goodbye I can't ever have this again" will be a really hard thing to overcome later on after surgery... I did go out for a last huge meal before my surgery diet began but I did it mindfully knowing I'll come back and have hibachi again.. it just won't be with such a huge portion Now some people have to avoid tempting foods altogether to avoid slipping back to bad habits but for me at least.. I do intend to eat everything I once liked.. just with a lot more good food and in a lot more moderation

They've all given great advice. I'd recommend the two weeks before setting a goal between 800 and 1k calories to do. Make this diet lean meats / high Protein, low carb (and if you do want carbs stick to healthy carbs) and low fat.. It'll help your body start adjusting to how to eat after so you won't be shocked.. Go out for a yummy meal the night before you start this diet / have all your favorites in the week or so lead up and remind yourself this isn't goodbye you'll eat them again! Make a goal to hit 50- 60 grams of protein as that's what you'll want to hit after surgery and start trying to work toward 64 oz of fluids a day..

Wow you guys are wild.. I'm still feeling like it's a work out just to take care of myself (do daily needed tasks: make my food, make the bed, dress, bathe etc) + walk back and forth in the house for laps several times a day... I can't imagine doing anymore strenuous exercise right now because i'm still in a constantly post-opp fatigue. I'm struggling to get in enough Protein so I'm calling my nurse today to see if I might be able to add in a little puree or soft food to try to help myself push through and get in more protein.

Thanks for the advice guys. I refuse to let a stall break me and ruin my progress... just scares me to know it'll come. But you all have excellent advice. I guess I have a while before that three week stall being that I'm 5 days out from surgery. And it helps to know it may be quite a while before I have a really horrible one that takes a long time to break.

Living on was just the casual expression lol I'm meeting my Fluid goals with Protein shakes, Soups, and other full liquids. I just mean I'm eating a lot more popsicles than I ever have in my life.. just like I'm also eating a lot more Jello etc than I have in my life. I've been using a lot of things to meet my fluid goals (yes flavored Water types as well) not just popsicles! lol I just figured if I was going to eat them and I could count them for anything I might as well XD an ounce and a half isn't much but hey.. it's something I suppose

So... to preface this a bit.. my experience with weight loss has always been negative (that's why I'm here.. that's why I had surgery) no matter how hard I exercised or how little I ate, my results at losing would be meager.. a few pounds over a whole summer and fall for instance.. constant disappointments have left me believing that I can't do it and that this is absolutely my last chance to ever be healthy and fit. And right now it's going swimmingly... I'm 5 days post opp.. doing okay on full liquids and have gone from 265 to 251.5 since May 18th which makes me... unspeakably happy... But I have a deep fear... The first stall.. I'm scared of how fast it'll come.. I want to keep enjoying the weight loss like this.. I want to lose.. I don't know more.. lol before that first stall comes. I think because even though rational me knows it's not true - when it first happens... emotional me will be scared that this is the end of my weight loss and the end of my surgery success because I've never been successful before.. I know that's not true.. but every day during that stall when the numbers don't go down I think I'll still be terrified... Advice? And also.. when did your first stall happen? How soon can I expect it? If I'm prepared maybe I'll handle it better.

Well you all know it.. the struggle of getting in enough oz of liquid during the liquid post opp phase.. I've finally made it there and I'm living on tangerine and strawberry flavored Outshine no sugar added popsicles. I LOVE them.. the problem is.. I can't figure out how many ounces of Fluid they are.. i'm eating the ones that are single bars (as opposed to a double bar with two popsicle sticks) can anyone help? What ounces did you count these as... ?

What a Jerky thing. I'd set her straight and point out all that work (not to mention research and recovery) that goes into having WLS... if anything I think it's EXTRA work!

For me it's whenver disovlable stitches are gone so I figure about two weeks I'm planning to give it a go at our family reunion which is 13 days out though might use Water proof band-aids just to be extra safe. I'm also planning to just walk around .. nothing hard core.

Okay so if I sip liquids all of the time is it normal to be sipping but feel totally and completely -full-?

okay so I was sent home with conflicting goals from different program leaders 1) Get in 60 oz protein/fluid per day ASAP don't "drink" a meal for more tha 30-45 minutes) 2) Sip constantly if need be to make your goals. Most of my early patients are sipping something almost all the time and still can't make the 60 oz / day goal right in the first days after being discharged, but you should be trying. Help? So I'm not "hungry" at all.. in fact I felt like I a bit over did it when I drank 20 oz of Soup over the course of an hour earlier and I'm -definitely- not the least bit hungry after that but It was only about 25 grm Proteins too.. so I'm not sure if I should try to drink a glass Protein enforced milk to get me up to 40 or slt or just let my body tell me I'm full.. after all this is how I GOT in the position to need surgery.. I didn't listen to my body when it said I was full :\

I had the same surgery date. Struggling to drink my Protein and fluids due to pain and swelling but I'm trying my best.

So I'm getting two different stories from my care nurse and my nurse practictioner.. the NP suggests being able to finish a shake in about 30 minutes.. keep meals - be they solid or liquid to a set period of time. Meanwhile, the nurse coorinator who's been in the program said her experience was that usually.. especially in the beginning with so much pain and swelling, patients are constantly sipping all of the time to come even close to the goals set for us... Which is right -.- ?

I'm relieved it should buy me some time at least a little to keep helping if I stretch them out over 4 days instead of taking them every 6 hours. Taking one as well as my norco was able to control the pain enough that I could get some tomato soup with protein enhanced milk down.

@ Good idea.. I'm not sure what happened but four of the magic pills I wasn't supposed to have found their way into my prescription bag (in a prescription bottle from the nurse practictioner who verbally said she agreed with the doctor that I didn't need them. they're meant to be taken every 6 hours so if I followed the instructions only one day but i'm going to take one a day and see if I can make them last and help.

I'm home now.. I've fixed myself some tomato Soup with fairlife Protein enhanced milk and am trying to get it down.. Just that couple of ounces make me so full. Thought liquids if drunken slow you could drink more at a time agh.. (Not that I can much I'm just worried about not getting my protein in. )

No complicated except fixing a hiatal hernia and stricture of my esophagus from it (which is part of why it's hard to eat) .. I don't think it's so much anything they're watching but that they that they want to be sure I get in all my Protein. I'll just stick to eating regularly - when I do feel up to it and watching my protein and Fluid intake. I get to go home today so then at least I can get away from them.

Thanks guys! That all makes sense. I'll just worry about Protein and Fluid for now.

Now if you've read posts about my surgeon before you know he's been rude to me, bashed my exercise weight loss program even though it's perfect legit (aquaexercise because I'm having join pain and I get nauseated easily in heat), then kept me later 4 hours for my surgery scheduled time.. but after all that I was started to think we might have have a rapport But then he did a hiatal hernia fix on my esophagus which led to some tightening (with my permission) but now it hurts to swallow at all.. he was giving me dexamethadone I think it's called to help me with swallowing in the hospital and giving me a lot of IV Fluid but then he decided the "potential complications" of the drug are too costly to send me home with some (even though I'm having a complication that indicates that medicine is need and does help anyway) So he'd rather me have pain than risk potential complications even though I was doing fine on that med in the hospital and it was doing a lot of difference.. So now i have to go to my PCP and get him to prescribe it for me. Grr.. so nice to care that my surgeon doesn't give a shit about what I'm actually going through and won't listen to me about my own body. Then to add onto it my mother decided to go "Well maybe it's God's way of helping you stay away from something that's dangerous for you." Or not.. That's reading in an awful awful awful lot there. Especially since I was tolerating the medicine just fine in the hospital and I said "Or maybe you read too much "God" into place he doesn't mean anything at all and she was like "Thanks I needed that insult." And I was kinda like "Yeah well I didn't really need yours so don't act insulting and then expect not to get it back. You're supposed to be on MY side." Still waiting to hear back from my PCP .. hopefully he'll actually care about how I'm feeling and what's actively going on with me than some potential side effects that aren't even an issue. -.- (FYI: No I can't change surgeons.. I'm locked in to seeing only him or I would've switched months before surgery but insurance basically didn't give me a lot of options and it would be complicated to tell the entire story but.. for all intents and purposes I'm stuck with him. )