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theantichick

Pre Op
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Posts posted by theantichick

  1. Posted

    Try to relax.

    Every time I stalled out, I was convinced my weight loss was over, and I was screwed. That I was the ONE person this surgery wasn't going to work for.

    If you can, stay off the scale. If you can't try to relax and remember that it really does work if you follow the plan. Frankly, for the first 9 months or so, it works even if you don't follow the plan. That's what a lot of people call the "honeymoon period".

    According to all the WLS vets I've talked to, virtually anything you do for the first 9-12 months, the weight will come off. That time is when you need to cement your best habits for eating and exercise in place so you can maintain and not re-gain. Weight loss is not the challenge. Maintenance is.

    My weight loss goes in a pattern. I'll stay the same or even appear to have gained a pound for several days, then I'll drop 2-4 pounds in a 2 day period. I've quit stressing over the mini-stalls, and just go with it.

  3. Posted

    I echo the other comments to talk to your surgeon and team.

    However, I'll also offer this... people tend to think once they've been released to a full diet that they're all done healing and they should be able to eat anything and in normal amounts.

    Think of your stomach like a baby's stomach. It used to be a big bag, and now it's been re-structured as a long tube. It has to re-learn how to deal with each and every kind of food. We start off with liquids and move up through purees and soft foods and keep trying things in small stages over and over. It's not a one-and-done deal.

    With each new food that you're introducing, the best results happen when you give the sleeve just a little - a spoonful maybe, or one very small bite and see how it goes. Chew the ever-living stuffing out of it, until you think you just can't chew anymore, especially if it's dense like steak. Then try it again another day. Don't overwhelm the sleeve with too much all at once - too much of the same stuff, or too much new stuff all at the same time. And if something doesn't sit well, leave it for a couple of weeks before trying it again. My doc told me some people don't tolerate eggs right off, even though they're listed in the soft foods phase, but if they come back to them after other Proteins are sitting well they often can tolerate them then.

    Some people have steel guts, and can throw anything at their sleeve and it's fine. Others need to take it a little more gingerly.

    I'm 4 months out, and some days things that sat well before just don't that day, but are fine a couple of days later. I really have had to learn to listen to my body, eat VERY SLOWLY with very small bites, and if something isn't going down well, walk away from it and try something else. It can be very frustrating but it's also been a great learning experience in listening to my body and intuitive eating. Some days I don't get my Protein in, but I'm getting better at it, and learning lots of different foods I can use to feed myself with.

    Just keep at it, and take it slow and steady!

  4. Posted

    We will see if you still feel like this next December.

    I'm glad you posted this but it is an absolute waste.

    It is like walking into a heroine den and talking to people about being clean. The people that are food addicts are lost causes, nothing is going to stop them from self harm.

    I like to think there are people who just read and absorb, and don't get into the fray. I'm writing mostly for them. And from now on when this kind of post gets made, I'll link back to this one as my only comment and move along. LOL.

    sent from mobile device

    LOL. Yes, we'll see. I get frustrated like everyone else, especially when vets are getting attacked for simply trying to offer common sense. But I'm pretty stubborn. And very used to repeating myself, as I'm a parent and a RN. LOL.

  5. Posted

    I don't stand in front of cameras very often, when I do see a picture of me, I think "who is that fat woman?". I am looking forward to seeing pics of me now (I still don't stand in front of the camera often) and thinking "yeah, that's me" since I obviously don't recognize myself heavy, I'm hoping I recognize myself again when I look the way I do in my head again. LOL.

    But seriously, you look fantastic!!

  6. Posted

    Hi!! I'm 7 days post op and I'm not sure the reason you are not suppose to swallow your medicine? I take meds for diabetes, high blood pressure and a few others. I can't dissolve it and drink it! It makes me very sick!!! Will I be ok swallowing my meds?

    Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

    that one depends on a bunch of things. My surgeon said if the pill was the size of an M&M or smaller (and I assumed not the peanut ones) I could take them staying the day after surgery with my Protein shakes out with applesauce. But my surgeon allowed those things on the full liquid phase that started day 2 if we could keep Water down on day 1. Other surgeons have their patients crush the meds and take with Jello or yogurt unless they are extended release which are never safe to crush. Check with your surgeon or team.

    sent from mobile device

  11. Posted

    I'm glad you posted this but it is an absolute waste.

    It is like walking into a heroine den and talking to people about being clean. The people that are food addicts are lost causes, nothing is going to stop them from self harm.

    I like to think there are people who just read and absorb, and don't get into the fray. I'm writing mostly for them. And from now on when this kind of post gets made, I'll link back to this one as my only comment and move along. LOL.

    sent from mobile device

  13. Posted

    It gets better. Your new sleeve is having to learn how to handle fluids (and later food). If you think about it, the stomach used to be a big balloon... once past the opening, there was plenty of space for it to just go wherever. Now think about pouring Fluid down a beaker in the science lab, or in a funnel... it's going down a narrow tube. Early on, I found that any sip I took, it was like there was a huge bubble trapped, and it was VERY uncomfortable right in the center of my chest, until the liquid kinda seeped down around it, or I was able to burp. But the more I sipped, the smaller the bubble seemed to get, as if the sleeve figured out what to do with it. As days and then weeks passed, I was even able to take larger and larger sips without invoking the same discomfort. I can drink Water almost normally now at a little over 4 months out without discomfort, and thicker fluids like Protein shakes or milk I just have to take a little slower.

  14. Posted

    Definitely don't eat anything you're not cleared for.

    Try mixing it up.. I was so sick of sweet stuff, I had some chicken bouillon with Protein powder (mix up the Protein Powder with warm Water, then mix that with the hot Water and bouillon) and that was heaven.

    I also did better with the clear Protein drinks frozen into ice pops.

    Just keep plugging away, focus on fluids first, then Protein, and you'll get through it. It gets better!

  17. Posted

    Over the last few weeks, I've seen a number of posts about "cheating" on the diet plan in the days and weeks immediately following surgery, and I am very concerned about this trend.


    I am not a doctor, I do not play one on TV, and I am not dispensing medical advice.


    However.


    I am a registered nurse, and what I'm about to say is an informed and educated opinion.


    Surgeons tend to give VERY detailed instructions about what to eat after a stomach surgery, and for VERY good reason.


    Even when the surgery is arthroscopic and looks to be a very tiny surgery on the outside, it's a VERY BIG surgery on the inside. The VSG surgery leaves a staple/suture line the entire length of the stomach. That incision has to heal, and if you could see it, it would look like raw beef. If the incision were on the outside, we would be very careful with it, keeping it clean and bandaged while it healed. Of course, it's on the inside, so we can't do that. But we need to keep in mind that it needs to heal in the same way.


    We have to eat, and that food will be against that raw incision. At the same time that we have to protect the healing stomach, we also have to get in plenty of fluids and nutrients, specifically Protein, in order to support healing. Protein is the primary building block for tissue, so it's critical to healing. Carbs are mainly just energy sources, so they're not as important, especially given that people having bariatric surgery have plenty of energy in their fat stores. This is why protein is stressed so heavily over carbs in the diets.


    Additionally, the stomach is now in a new shape, and it basically has to learn how to function as a slender tube instead of a big bag. There's a learning curve. Kinda like a newborn baby's stomach. We don't dump steak and salad into a newborn's stomach for good reason - it doesn't know how to deal with it. Similarly, we don't want to do that to our new sleeve. We start off with stuff that's easy on the suture line and easy to digest, and as the suture line heals and the sleeve learns its job, start working our way up to "real" food.


    So over the years, doctors have learned what foods are best for a healing stomach, and that translates into the post-op diet progression instructions.


    Typically, that looks like this: Clear liquids, then full liquids, then pureed foods, then soft foods, then slowly move into a "full" diet beginning with high moisture content foods first. When moving from one stage to the next, it's typically advised to add just one food at a time, in small amounts, and see how it's tolerated. A food that's not tolerated well can be tried later on as well. If an entire stage is not being tolerated, back up to the previous stage for a while, and then try again more slowly.


    Surgeons tend to specify how long to stay in each of these stages, what types of food make up each stage, and how to transition to the next stage. Every surgeon's instructions are a little different, and it's based on their experience and sometimes changes based on the patient's specific medical case.


    The general idea in the very early weeks is to eat foods that will not stress the healing suture line, and do not have particles that are known to cut into the raw tissue or get embedded into the suture line. If a cut or embedded food particle gets infected, it can become an abscess and develop into a leak. A leak can be life threatening, and at the very least cause the patient to have to be hospitalized and possibly have more surgery to correct it. Foods that are particularly known to cause issues are those that swell up like rice, have seeds like strawberries, or have rough hard edges or hard to digest fibers like wheat crackers or raw vegetables.


    There are people who eat all sorts of things against their doctor's orders and have suffered no ill effects, but this should not be used as an argument that the doctor's orders are not important. Similarly, you will find some people who smoke a pack of cigarettes every day and drink a pint of whiskey every day but live to 100. They are not representative of most people, and should not be used as the example other people follow.


    The reality is that some people will develop abscesses and leaks because they ate things before they were cleared to by their doctors, and there is no way to predict who will have the complications and who will not. And the consequences can be as severe as death. It's not common, but that's how bad it can get. That's why the doctors give the instructions they do. They're not just testing you or trying to make your life hard. They are giving you the best information they have to keep you safe.


    Violating these orders is not "cheating" on a diet. It's risking your life. I am not being overly dramatic with this statement, it is a fact that it has happened. You are risking your safety and your health if you violate these orders. It's not about "being human", it's not about "food addiction". It's about your safety and your health. It's hard to be on liquids only for 2 weeks (or more). Some people have huge cravings, or "head hunger" as we tend to call it here. Or just want desperately to chew something. No one is saying it's easy. But it's necessary. Distract yourself. Eat/drink anything that's allowed on your plan - freeze it, heat it up, try something that's opposite of what you've been having to shake it up. Walk around the house or the block. Suck on an ice cube. Count to ten or a hundred. Post about how hard it is, and ask people to help you get through it. But muscle through. It's nothing less than your health and safety.


    As for why one surgeon will have his patients on Clear Liquids for 2 weeks while another only does 2 days? Or why one will skip a phase entirely? Each surgeon has different experiences that inform his practices. One is not right and the other wrong. They are each operating out of what they were taught and what they have seen in their own patient groups. They may have even modified the plan because of a specific health concern in your specific case. As a patient, you need to fully understand what your surgeon expects, and if you have a problem with the protocols get it straight with your surgeon and team BEFORE you go under the knife.


    If you don't trust your surgeon and his protocols, find another surgeon. I personally would question a surgeon who doesn't allow any Protein drinks including the clear ones for 2 full weeks post op (saw that in one patient's instructions on this site) and likely wouldn't work with that surgeon, given what I know about the needs of protein for healing. But after surgery is not the time to be questioning the surgeon's protocols. Get those questions asked and answered to your satisfaction well before the surgery date.


    If you are having surgery, and you have not been given your post-op instructions, at the very least for the first 2 weeks post-op, do not proceed with the surgery until you have that information. We have people posting here stating that they were sent home without clear instructions as to what they were supposed to eat or drink, just a vague statement about "full liquids". That is not sufficient information, and instructions should be given WELL BEFORE the surgery, not after. You should fully understand what will be expected in the weeks after the surgery before consenting to the surgery, or your team is not doing their job.


    (This ends my sorta rant about post-op diets and "cheating")


    Good luck to everyone!

  18. Posted

    I'm not sure it's a "one time chance". That is a very disheartening thought. And we do see people lose their regain, so that makes me think it's not quite accurate. However, I do think it's harder for people like us to lose weight than the general population, and I do agree it is wise to take advantage of the first year or so. It's imperative to learn how to manage our weight and make some permanent life style changes.

    It's possible to lose weight without the surgery, so it's not the only chance to lose weight. But the evidence is pointing to a one-time chance at re-setting the "set point". That set point is one of the factors that makes weight loss such an uphill battle. Uphill battles are not impossible to win, but certainly harder than those on level ground.

    So I'm treating this as my one and only "get out of jail free" card, with "jail" being the fat prison I've been in most of my life.

  20. Posted

    Huskergirl1972 nothing is going to happen bad unless you ate a bunch of sugar. Sugar is a dumping syndrome content that sends you to hell temporarily.. Other than that I ate about 4 bites yesterday when only 12 days in and I still lost a pound I just made sure my dressing was soft potatoes were soft broccoli and cheese casserole was very soft and a piece of smoked turkey like one bite chewed very well and I felt like I was on top of the world hallelujah!!!!!!!

    Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

    That actually depends...

    if you're in the first few weeks after surgery there are foods you can eat that can absolutely cause physical issues and jeopardize the safety of the staple line. There's a REASON for the food progression from liquid to puree to soft to full post-op, especially when you have a staple line that's healing the length of your stomach. Eating anything not on your surgeon's list in the first 2 weeks is potentially dangerous. You can have a leak or an abscess if a particle of food gets trapped in your staple line and infects.

    And most sleevers don't actually have dumping syndrome. A significant number of bypass patients don't even do it. So it can't be counted on as an aversion technique.

  21. Posted

    I agree that there's no need to beat yourself up over something that's already done. And no, I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. However, I am a registered nurse, and I have to take exception to some of the things being said here.

    The post-operative diet progression instructions are given for VERY good reason - the patient's healing and SAFETY. As my surgeon says, it's a little surgery on the outside, but a VERY BIG surgery on the inside. The entire length of your stomach has an incision with staples and has to heal. Eating things outside your surgeon's post-op diet progression orders is not "cheating" on a diet, it's violating your prescribed post-op instructions, and it can have very serious consequences. Anyone saying that there's no reason to worry, simply doesn't know what they're talking about.

    It is very true that many people can eat things not on their post-op diet orders and not suffer any consequences. But it is also very true that a few can suffer leaks or abscesses that can land them in the ICU or worse because of it. We are not being overly dramatic when we say these things.

    @@huskergirl1972, it is more likely than not that you have suffered no damage from this. However, it's important that you understand the gravity of deviating from your doctor's diet progression orders for the first several weeks post-op. Until your surgeon has cleared to a full diet, your incision has likely not healed, and you are vulnerable to complications. Your surgeon can tell you specifically what to look for in terms of complications, but the biggies are very sharp pain that is much worse than the pain you've had so far post-op (and usually very localized to one spot), very fast heart rate, dizziness (especially when standing up) and fever. If you develop those symptoms you should call your team and consider going to the ER.

    The post-op diet is hard, especially the first couple of weeks when it's liquids only. But it is only a short time, and it is for your safety. Please work very hard to follow your surgeon's instructions closely until released to a full diet.

  22. Posted

    I had issues with shakes after a while. Try different shakes - before surgery I liked the Protein powder shakes, but after surgery I could only tolerate the ready to drink Premier Protein ones. So try different stuff. Also, after surgery I had better luck with the more clear fruit drink Protein stuff like Syntrax nectar, I liked the Roadside Lemonade and would freeze it in ice pop type sleeves to make it easier to tolerate. Also, put Protein Powder (unflavored) in anything you do tolerate - like bouillon, yogurt, pudding, etc. And focus on fluids. While protein is super important, it's even more important to stay hydrated. Good luck, it does get better, just hang in there and keep trying!

  23. Posted

    I have RA/PsA. I had to go off my meds for surgery and had a slight flare after surgery but my inflammatory markers are slightly down now. And less excess weight makes my joints hurt less. The early indicators are that the meds are now working better.

    sent from mobile device

    blakescat reacted to this

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