AllyInDallas

I eat sugar free pudding with GENEPRO mixed in. I get yumminess and my Protein in.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

I eat sugar free pudding with GENEPRO mixed in. I get yumminess and my Protein in.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

I am flying soon and only taking carry on. I of course need to bring Protein with me. Suggestions on how to pack my GENEPRO? I don't want to bring the entire 90 serving container.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

I am so pleased to say that Jan 5 marked my one month surgiversary and I am down 24 lbs from my surgery day weight of 219 lbs ( currently 195 lbs). But the real kicker is my starting weight pre op was 242 lbs so total lost is 47 lbs , yessss. Also, my birthday was Jan 5 as well and I am a beautiful 39 years young may I add. So excited and looking forward to more success in near future. My goal is 150 lbs. motivation is on point to reach it.

My body is changing . I am currently down total 21.8 pounds from surgery date of dec 5( 44 lbs from pre op weight of 242 lbs). I feel my body changing daily. scale isn't moving as fast as I would like but I am losing inches everywhere. New years I noticed my face looked different , even since surgery it has gotten a little more defined and smaller. I was like yayyyy, NSV. I have another great NSV. I bought an outfit from The Gap n baby I haven't been able to wear anything from there in like 16 years. I bought a large sweatshirt and size 14 pants ( I used to be a death grip 16 ????????) and the 14 had room and were baggy in waist as well as sweatshirt was very roomy... omg that was a victory for me.

Just like you have a tummy similar to a newborn so will you have poopies.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Try to get a tummy binder or wear something that will gently squeeze in and help hold the part of your tummy that hurts the worst. And as horrible as it sounds try to walk at minimum every hour that you are awake to get that gas out. Make sure you are following the diet instructions fully as well. Sorry that's all I have. Hope you start feeling better.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

I had the DS even though my BMI was 40 and I had no other issues. Why? Because if I was going to put my body through surgery I only wanted to do it once and it has the best long term results. I am also fortunate enough to live close to one of the best highest rated DS surgeons in the county. I would never have chose the surgery otherwise. The surgeon is so extremely important esp with DS.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

I add it to my sugar free pudding, broth, Vitamin Water, Decaf tea, etc.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

I add it to my sugar free pudding, broth, Vitamin Water, Decaf tea, etc.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

With all the other sub forums here, it should not be hard. It could be called Gastric Sleeve for Millennials who need a Safe Space.

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

Can a special forum for Millennials be created so they don't get their feelings hurt here?
DS surgery 12/14/2016

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!

I add it to my sugar free pudding, broth, Vitamin Water, Decaf tea, etc.
DS surgery 12/14/2016

That is great advice and something my husband and I have talked about. However, we normally order completely opposite things lol. The "to go box" before hand is a great idea and something I would do when I was dieting and portion controlling so I would still psychologically be "finishing my plate" while only eating a portion.
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I am 10 days post op and in the "soft foods" stage. My son wanted to take me to the store and I know he loves going to Breakfast so I suggested we go before hand. I ordered from their "light" menu a single scrabbled egg with cheese and bacon. Out came what looked like about 3-4 scrabbled eggs of which I took maybe 3 "normal" sized bites of leaving 98% of my food. I gave the bacon to my son. When I was done I asked for a box and the waitress saw all my left over food and asked "did you not like it"? I don't know what it was about the question that made me panic a little but I did. Being someone who has almost always cleaned my plate my entire life I just didn't know what to say. I didn't want to offend her or the cook or have an "awkward" moment of me and my mouth that just has no filter by saying "I just had weight loss surgery and can't eat much". After awkward silence my son saved me by saying "my mom already ate at home but I made her come get breakfast with me". Thank God! But this long rant does have a point..... when only being able to eat a very little portion of food when going out, how do you answer that question? "Did you not like your food?" I am sure this will not be the last time.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I hated going out to eat for quite a long time after my RNY. I couldn't justify ordering something and not eating it. I don't like many leftovers at all so it was kind of a waste for awhile. Hubby finally convinced me that it isn't the quainty it is the quality and I should enjoy it. Now I had almost begged him to let me eat a few bites of his food, Well we have been married for 43 years and we never were the SHARING KIND. LOL So he always told me NO I want it all. Fast forward to June of last year and he had his Sleeve done and you know what!!! He still can eat more than me but guess what!!! WE SHARE our food!!! I LOVE IT!!!