theantichick

Mine arrives tomorrow, and I fessed up to my hubby about buying it last night. He LOL'd at me, but is happy to try it, especially if he gets to pass along other kitchen appliances.

I like GENEPRO and also Syntrax unflavored. I don't find that they change the flavor for most things, but I'm very sensitive to texture and it does change that IMHO.

There are many resources on line with post-op diet plans you can use for the short term. It's not ideal, but it sounds like you were cut loose without any real support, and if I read your post right, your surgeon doesn't have you eating anything with significant Protein. You have got to ramp up your Protein in order to heal.

It will be very important for you to find a doctor to follow up here stateside, ASAP. A bariatric specialist would be ideal, but many are leery of doing followup on another surgeon's work. The 2nd best option would be a gastroenterologist. If nothing else, find a primary doctor who knows something about bariatric patients.

Here's a link to one of many bariatric diet phases that you can use UNTIL you get a local doctor.

http://www.floydbariatrics.org/floyd-bariatrics-sleeve-gastrectomy-diet.html

However, since you are having complications, you are going to need to move very slowly and carefully through the phases. I would start with finding a Protein shake you like and add that in, because you have to have protein to heal. The link I gave says 72g, which is a good start, but if you can push that up closer to 100g/day so much the better. Once you can tolerate the shakes well, another good first food is greek yogurt (blended, no chunks of fruit).

You also need to be getting LOTS of fluids in - Water, broth, gatorade, popsicles, sugar-free Jello, etc. Anything that is liquid at room temperature and you can generally see through it counts. Recommended amounts vary, but a generally good rule is a goal of 64oz/day, increasing it as you can to 100+/day.

Then add foods ONE AT A TIME, starting with things that are liquid, and VERY SLOWLY working toward pureed foods. Add a new food for a couple of days and make sure it's sitting well with you before you add the next.

I hate that you had no education and no good followup. Right now you need to focus on three things: get a local doctor, get your protein in, and get your fluids in.

Here's my answer to why I chose the surgery.

http://www.theantichick.com/2016/08/05/the-easy-way-out/

I'm a nurse and have done the research, and diet/exercise alone for most people does not work long term.

Also

http://www.theantichick.com/2016/09/11/three-weeks-in-my-sleeve/

The changes with the sleeve are really making a HUGE change in how I interact with food. I'm working on a new post and hopefully will have it up over the weekend talking about how this is changing my emotional dependence on food.< /p>

I'm an IT analyst, so I have work from home capability, thank goodness.

I had the surgery on Wed, had arranged for PTO Wed through Fri, and then worked from home starting the following Monday for a week, then was back in the office 12 days post. I was discharged Thursday around noon, had little pain but was very fatigued until I could move to purees at 14 days post. Had some nausea but no vomiting.

Serious complications can happen, but they are rare. Sounds like you have planned for contingencies and you should be fine. Good luck!!

I guess i am one of the people who taste the difference. I don't care what they say, the difference is real and it's wretched. I tried to mix gene pro in a cup of coffee per the hot or cold mix instruction and all the powder just floated to the top and sat there like a crust that had to be broken in order to access the liquid. Blech. Now I just mix a scoop of the gross stuff with 2 ounces of Powerade zero and shoot it. It's the only way I can get that stuff down.!

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I haven't done it with coffee yet, but found that it worked OK for broths and Soups if I used my blender and mixed the unflavored Protein (GENEPRO and others both work this way for me) with a small amount of lukewarm Water or milk, then mixed that with the hot liquid.

I also find that while the taste doesn't change, the texture definitely does. I cannot stand the Protein powders mixed with pudding/yogurt/drinks but it works OK in soups/broths for me.

Saying that the rate of complications isn't as high as it would appear on this board is not the same as saying people shouldn't discuss their complications and support each other. I have witnessed a certain degree of "just hang in there, you will feel different later" when people talk about their issues, and I disagree with that sentiment. All I have said is to realize that complications appear much more common on a board like this than they are in total. And to discuss any concerns with your surgeon.

Gina, I know we are being terribly US-centric, but as a nurse I can tell you that your experience would be VERY outside the norm here in the US. There are bad docs out there who dismiss their patient's concerns, but they are not the norm. I feel very safe in saying your experience would have been COMPLETELY different here, if in no other way than the c.diff would have been handled very differently here. That is not to say you should be quiet about it, I absolutely think you need to keep raising awareness of not only potential complications, but also the potential deficiencies in the bariatric system in the UK (or at least in your network). All I want is for people to not get a skewed idea of the rates of complications.

I have a constantly runny nose, but it was that way before surgery. I read something somewhere about eating stimulating the vagus nerve which causes acute runny nose in some people, and I have noticed sometimes it gets worse when I'm eating. I also have auto-immune, not sure if it's related. I have tried every medication under the sun - antihistamines, sprays, etc. We finally found one - Atrovent nasal spray - that works great for me (when I remember it). That's after literally dozens of medications over a span of a couple of decades. Sometimes perseverance pays off.

I wish people would understand that the Protein requirement isn't a suggestion but a prescription and just drink the damn shakes. Sometimes we have to do things we don't like for our own good.

I know that's going to piss people off, but my god people sound like children not wanting to eat their spinach.

That's easier for some people than others. If I try to make myself eat/drink something I can't stand, I will throw it up. Every time. I get frustrated when people say "just buck up and eat/drink it". I literally can't.

Melatonin is all natural and contains only what ur body already produces and would be harmless

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All natural doesn't mean safe. Arsenic is all natural, and produced in small amounts in the body. I certainly wouldn't recommend ingesting it.

Melatonin can interact with blood thinning medications, high blood pressure medications, immunotherapy medications, seizure medications, medications for mental disorders, and can cause complications in people who have clotting issues. Serious issues are rare, but they can certainly happen.

Please call your surgeon or his team for medical advise. If you are taking prescription medications, such as pain meds, there is a risk of interactions with over the counter medications. Benadryl, for example, can increase side effects of pain medications and there is a risk of overdose. sleep is important, and you do need to find out what to do, but getting medical advise from people on the internet is not wise.

Discuss this with your surgeon. There are times when the medical needs of a particular patient require modifications to the surgeon's standard protocols. It is my understanding that caffeine is mostly problematic because it is slightly dehydrating. Some surgeons are OK with caffeine intake if the patient can offset the potential Fluid loss with extra Water intake.

For example, surgeons generally agree that NSAIDs (ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen) are not allowed after VSG surgery. My surgeon agrees that the risk is outweighed by the benefit of treating my autoimmune disease, so I am allowed to take NSAIDs as needed, but I have to stay on a PPI to minimize the risk of ulcers.

Every patient is different, and good surgeons can work with the individual needs.

Hi all,

I will be getting a RNY bypass, but first I have to do 6 months of medically-supervised weight loss. My dietician has put me on a high-protein/low-carb diet. I have to get at least 100 grams Protein every day, but must eat fewer carbs than Protein (so less than 100 g carbs/day). So the net result of that is my calories dropped from about 2500/day to about 1400/day and fiber went from 25g average to maybe 10g average. I'm so constipated! I'm taking MiriLax and eating 3 prunes every morning but it hasn't helped much. Will my body adjust? And how the heck will I get enough fiber post-op? :-/

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Add a stool softener (or 2) daily. Start post ip Vitamins NOW. Both will help. Also, I've recently started adding chia seeds to my diet.... a couple teaspoons to a couple tbsp daily. They're pure fiber. If I go more than 3 days without a BM I add a gentle laxative.

Have a great day!

Just wanted to say about the chia seeds, if you're newly post-op please check with your doctor before eating those. Tiny seeds, especially ones that expand, can cause trouble with the incision if it's not healed enough.

Your surgeon is the best one to answer the question of which is best for you.

A lot of people like the LB because it's reversible, and adjustable. However, it can slip and can erode the stomach. I also know two different people who got the LB and developed life threatening infections. That's always a potential complication for any surgery, but anytime a foreign object is being put in the body to be left there, it adds a few potential complications to the list.

It was not even an option for me because of my auto-immune disease. Each person is different. My surgeon doesn't like to do them because of the complications possible, but she still does them for certain patients that meet a narrow criteria.

Hi all,

I will be getting a RNY bypass, but first I have to do 6 months of medically-supervised weight loss. My dietician has put me on a high-protein/low-carb diet. I have to get at least 100 grams Protein every day, but must eat fewer carbs than Protein (so less than 100 g carbs/day). So the net result of that is my calories dropped from about 2500/day to about 1400/day and Fiber went from 25g average to maybe 10g average. I'm so constipated! I'm taking MiriLax and eating 3 prunes every morning but it hasn't helped much. Will my body adjust? And how the heck will I get enough fiber post-op? :-/

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My surgeon and my primary doc said that it's common with a high protein diet. You can use Miralax or other fiber supplements to try and up your fiber. It's also important to up your Water and your exercise. Walking in particular helps stimulate the bowel to work properly.

My primary gave me a recipe for "fiber applesauce" that is 1 cup of applesauce, 1 cup of wheat bran, and 1/2 cup of prune juice. Mix it, refrigerate it, and take 1-2 tablespoons per day WITH AT LEAST 8 oz of Water. She said that almost all of her patients with Constipation issues can get completely off laxatives and stool softeners if they'll do that and drink LOTS of water. I can't stand the prune juice part, but am going to mix some up without that part and see if it's effective. There are carbs involved, obviously, but it shouldn't be much given you're only eating 1-2 Tbsp a day.

I'm very picky. Don't care for seafood at all. I will eat tilapia and sometimes tuna but tuna is very hit and miss. Don't eat vegetables to speak of.

I have been trying all sorts of things, even if I didn't care for them before the surgery (I'm also working on the PTSD-type reactions to foods that aren't in my comfort zone with a therapist) and when I find something that works I add it to my repertoire.

I'm also experimenting with Protein ball recipes and other odd ways to get unflavored Protein powder in foods - but the texture goes off for most of it, so it's very hit and miss.

I'm getting Protein thanks to the one flavor/brand of shake I like, cheese, chicken, the two flavors of greek yogurt I can stand, TVP (meat substitutes), Peanut Butter, Beans, ground beef dishes, pulled pork BBQ, Protein Bars, etc. It's not easy. But it's doable.

Or they are even more common than is reported on forums like this.

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I don't think they are. I'm in several WLS groups and yes, there are complications, but nothing like reported on this site.

I've been involved in many online support groups since the AOL dial-up days. People tend to join when they need things - usually information or support with issues they're facing. Once have the information they need, or their issues have subsided (or they've just learned to accommodate them), they tend to fall away as other things in their life become more important.

The people who stick around long term tend to do so because they form relationships that are important to them, they feel a drive to "pay-it-forward", or they are having longer-lasting issues than the majority (or a combination of the above). So you end up with a core group of "evangelists", a group of "dissidents", and a rotating group of newbies on any board. And of course, the drama llamas and trolls, but I tend to discount them, LOL. That's why if you hang around a board for any length of time, you can predict fairly reliably who will respond to a given post, and what they will say.

There are also a LOT of people who get their information needs met by their surgeon's team, have a good support group in person, and just don't have any complications to speak of. Those people never even sign on to a board like this. That's why I say if you want information about how common a complication or side effect is, talk to your surgeon. They report to agencies about that sort of thing, and they know the real numbers. Complications like nausea and vomiting are common, to be sure. But it's not common to have intractable nausea/vomiting (meaning not responding to meds). It happens, sure. But nowhere near the incidence rates one would think just reading this board.

For example, when my daughter developed alopecia, we were both very active for about a year on alopecia boards and groups. As we figured out how to deal with it, got all the research information we needed, and determined there wasn't any treatment just living with it, our time got filled with other things and neither of us have been on those boards for years. When I was trying to get a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, and then for a while after, I was very active on several RA/auto-immune boards and communities. Now that I have a diagnosis and am on a treatment plan, I don't have a lot of needs that the online community can meet. The deficits that I'm dealing with are fairly stable and I've had to accept them or accommodate them.

Despite how it feels, boards like this are not a true cross-section or random sampling.

When telling my story, I have made it abundantly clear that my experience has been personal to me. Of course though, that is the way of all surgical procedures. The only thing that most of us have in common is that we are or were overweight.

We have different diets, different bariatric teams, live in different countries, receive different care. Our surgeries are different, our aftercare is different, our meds, Vitamins and supplements are different.

Some people have complications, some don't.

When people say that posters with regret issues expressing themselves here is "dangerous", that will elicit comments in defence of those posts.

If pre op patients want to be fully informed, there has to be room for people to tell of all their experiences, good and bad.

There should be total acceptance of people here. All people.

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I agree that we shouldn't try to keep people from posting about their complications. First, they need support - especially from people who have already been through it. Second, we shouldn't be painting any surgery as a rose garden that is 100% safe and free from complications. Every surgery has risks. Some of them can be minimized and avoided, some can't. I agree that hearing many people's stories is important. I just caution that sometimes the nature of a board like this can make it seem like complications are more common than they are.

I was hooked at "replaces the crock pot and the rice cooker". LOL. Hope my hubby agrees, because I didn't consult with him!! LOL.

Don't stock up too much. My tastes changed after surgery, and the powders I'd thought I really liked, I couldn't stand after surgery. It's good to get samplers and such beforehand so you get a general sense of what you like and don't like (couldn't stand fake strawberry before, can't stand it now) but don't buy too much.

Oh, yeah, I guess I wasn't clear. I'm stocking up on pretty much all of the variety/sampler packs I can find, plus I got a tub each of unjury and GENEPRO unflavored.

I did get a full tub of a key lime pie though because it's my absolute favorite flavor for everything, but I'll probably mostly finish it pre-op.

oh, then you're fine.

Call your doc, definitely.

In the meantime, how are you doing on fluids? If you're not getting enough, dehydration can cause a number of symptoms, including headaches. I'm currently struggling every day to get enough in, and fighting Migraines because of it. Just had one for 3 days straight over the weekend.

Y'all convinced me. Amazon will be bringing me one by the end of the week.

Don't stock up too much. My tastes changed after surgery, and the powders I'd thought I really liked, I couldn't stand after surgery. It's good to get samplers and such beforehand so you get a general sense of what you like and don't like (couldn't stand fake strawberry before, can't stand it now) but don't buy too much. I had found a Syntrax flavor I really liked and an unjury, so I got tubs of those and some unflavored stuff. Post-op, all I could stand was Premier Protein. I suspect I'll like the powders again and if not there are some recipies I can make with them, so it's not a total loss, but if I had it to do again, I'd just order another round of samplers for after until I figured out what I did and didn't like.

This just scares the crap out of me, I am supposed to have surgery on Dec. 8th, I'm already panicky and now I am worse, that is exactly what I am scared of happening to me after surgery and I won't be able to handle that, so what do I do???

This is what makes these kinds of posts so dangerous sometimes. This isn't to take away from anyone who has had legitimate medical issues post-op that have nothing to do with them making poor choices. Some people will have issues, but others will not. I can tell you that I had a practically seamless surgery and recovery. I had one little infection with the incision inside of my belly button. I took antibiotics for a week and it cleared right up. Other than that, everything has been routine.

I encourage you to think about the facts. Eating and drinking, as you have known them, will change forever; you will have to follow the guidelines of your plan to be healthy and successful; any positive change in your life requires sacrifice, perseverance, and grit. If you are willing to rise to the challenge, you should be fine.

Please don't let anyone's particular experience derail you from what could be a life-changing experience for YOU.

Good luck.

Yes, you hear more about the complications on a board like this due to its very nature. And the stories of complications stand out in your mind. I do not want to detract from the very real complications people sometimes have. I believe it's good to know what kinds of complications are possible. But do keep in mind that many, if not most, people who have the RNY or VSG have a smooth recovery with very little complications.

I had nausea, but no vomiting. I'm a little over 3 months out and I had heaves for the first time Thanksgiving Day, but didn't actually throw up (and yes I ate something my sleeve didn't like, but mostly was because I was having horrible gas pains and had to drive 45 min home before I could do anything about them).

I had very little pain, and a pretty fast recovery. The worst of it has been a mini-dumping kind of reaction when I eat too fast, too much, or something my sleeve doesn't like. And Constipation, but I had IBS-C to start with so that didn't surprise me in the least. I also was very fatigued for about 3-4 weeks, but I have auto-immune arthritis, so it's hard to suss out what was sleeve recovery and what was auto-immune.

So don't let yourself get too freaked out, and discuss your concerns with your surgeon and team. Most minor complications like nausea/vomiting and pain, they have meds to manage. Some people don't respond to the first nausea med that's tried, but there are several options, so even if you have issues, don't give up just stay in contact with your surgery team.

My instructions are to eat 5-6 small meals a day, Protein shakes can replace a meal, with my primary focus being Protein and Water. I'm able to eat slightly more than 1/4 cup of food at a time, at 3 months post.

What I do during the week is pack what I call my "feed bag" with easy to eat things that comprise all of my calorie allotment minus Breakfast and dinner in an insulated lunch bag. I have a notification on my phone to remind me to eat every 4 hours in case I forget (which I do frequently). When I get to feeling hungry, I pull something out and eat it. That way my total intake is measured but I don't have to worry overmuch about measuring each meal.

I keep my Water cup full with cold water, sometimes with flavoring to mix it up.

It's at home on the weekends where I still need work. I'll completely forget to eat for most of the day, and forget to drink water.