LaLa Ladybug

I'm glad you are listening to your surgeon's meal plan, but now you can ...take a break... for a bit.
Some surgeons believe they are helping their clients by making a very lenient post op meal plan... but there truly is a reason most patients are on liquids or thin purees for 3 weeks post op. Their tummies simply can't handle coarser food.
My meal plan was fairly typical.
7 days of Clear Liquids (Not even Protein shakes)
7 days of full liquids (thin enough to suck through a straw...started protein shakes)
7 days of thin purees (will pour right off a spoon.. but included pretty much anything that would go in the blender)
7 days of thick purees (like undiluted refried beans)
After the first month, it moved to chewable foods in increasing density.
I followed this plan to the letter, and am now 10 weeks post op, and haven't had a moment's trouble (touch wood). Part of the plan says that if a food is permitted on the plan, but doesn't agree with the patient, to just wait and introduce it later. You can always move through the stages more slowly.. just not more quickly.
Sleeve patients and bypass patients have similar postop needs. They use the same guidelines (in case you were wondering).

Less diet related.. I'd recommend stopping the Imodium. The last thing you want is to become constipated. The pain is there, telling you there is a problem. If it continues, you need to talk to your surgeon, and maybe even head to the hospital if it's really bad. I'm glad you moved back to just Water. Your system needs the rest.
You can try a hot water bottle on the tummy, or some pain medicine if you have any left over from the hospital (just nothing over the counter, particularly not nsaids! liquid tylenol might be ok.. but really should be cleared with your surgeon).
I hope you feel better soon!

I was on full liquids for the first month after my RNY gastric bypass surgery and then on pureed foods for the next month. It was only in week 9 that I was approved to move onto solid foods. After surgery your stomach needs time to heal properly. You are only 11 days post-op. It is very important to follow the program guidelines.
The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.
Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as Protein Shakes.

I'm 2 years post op this summer. At one year I could eat most foods but in smaller portions. Protein is very filling I couldn't eat more then 2 or 3 bites of a steak or chicken. If you eat too much you will vomit. Normally dumping has stopped by 1 year unless you drink or eat too much of something very high in sugar. But you can share a dessert with someone just don't eat it all or you'll vomit and or dump
Now coming up on two years I can eat a small steak but it's very filling I prefer to have fish. I just had a bagel with butter and coffee when Creamer for Breakfast. I don't normally go to buffets as I can't eat enough to justify the money! But most people can't even tell I've had the surgery by what I eat. They just know that I'm not a big eater. If having dinner out I don't eat everything off my plate.

I had surgery 6 months ago. The thing I appreciated the most was my husband staying with me in the hospital for two days and nights. My program required you to get up and walk every 4 hours. I'm a heavy sleeper so my husband set an alarm, got me up and walked with me. He also helped me keep track of my Fluid intake. This was a huge help for me to stay on course. He then stayed home the first day I was home just to make sure I could manage by myself. I did fine at home and didn't need pain melds more than Tylenol, so he went back to work. My doctor didn't want me to drive for seven days so I didn't. When he would get home from work, he'd walk with me and if weather was bad, he'd take me to A store or the mall to walk so I could get out for a little bit and not go stir crazy. For me, I think the walking helped me heal and get my energy back. I was able to go back to work in two weeks and have not had any issues. I hope this helps, best of luck to you both.

I am currently 10 months post op band revision to RNY . What a journey it's been ! My expectations was to lose weight but I was told I would lose weight extremely slowly and not that much because of previously being banded . Well I hit my 100# loss and couldn't be happier !
HW 285
SW 265
CW 165
GW 140

I'm 4 weeks post op. I can barely eat 2oz. I don't miss the breads, pastas, or rice. I don't really have any cravings. But I'm tired of fish.

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I feel the same way! I am only 6 weeks post op but I take maybe 4 bites of fish and a couple bites of veggies and I'm done! I can't imagine eating a whole meal anymore.

I'm going into this with the attitude of not "what can I get away with" eating. Having restriction for a while will certainly help. This is part of a change I want to make forever and I have to do my part.
My sister had gastric bypass when it was fairly new and she changed her eating habits very little. While she has stayed around 220 from 350 I know she isn't happy there. She just didn't make the changes needed. On the other hand I have no doubt she'd be over 400 by now had she not had it. Now I'm inspiring her to eat more Protein and first. Dense protein [emoji16]

Sounds like you are doing really well & I'm so impressed your focusing your energy on listening to what your body needs. Hope I remember that when it's my turn.

Congratulations & thanks so much for helping us other newbies with the info you shared.

I'm hoping to have mine in either August or September. I have 2 more nutrition classes to finish and then it will go to my insurance company for approval and then for a surgery date. I'm very excited but also worried that I won't be able to do this. I'm sure once I see the weight start coming off and feeling better that I will be fine. I guess I'm just a little nervous.

My husband's surgery date is coming up and I'm looking for advice on how I can best support him. How many days after surgery is best to have full time support? About how many days before he can drive? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Annie, Congratulations on you progress (I can see the difference in your pics) and your successful surgery. I had mine on the 22nd. I ended up staying 2 nights in the hospital and boy did that extra night make a difference. I was actually thankful that I was quite a distance from home, so after surgery my hubby went home and didn't see him again until pickup time. I was able to concentrate on following what my body needed. Mostly slept and drank my Water. I didn't have a catheter so most of my exercise was heading to the bathroom. I'm home now today and took the dog for a walk around the block. That tired me out pretty well. I did have one of my grown sons with me just in case I found it too difficult ( or if the dog went #2 [emoji23])
You were so forward thinking in taking such good photos to document your progress. Good for you! Keep it up and feel free to keep in touch!

Thank you so much everybody for your support and encouragement. My surgery was yesterday and it went beautifully. Although the pain is worse than I expected ( I had had a C-section a few years ago I didn't think that it would be worse than that. )It is and that surprised me. But the nurses and staff are all just so great and meds are very helpful.
There are a few other changes that I wasn't expecting so quickly. Like how Water tastes like it has a hint of sugar in it now. I absolutely adore chewing ice for the first time in decades. And how I could only get through 3/4 of a sugar-free popsicle before I was full. They should be bringing me lunch soon but I still had a Jell-O left over for Breakfast so three bites of that and I was done. The sugarfree Popsicles and Jell-O were so incredibly sweet that it was almost gagging. The Jell-O was the worst only because it didn't turn into a water consistency so it coded your mouth in this syrupy flavor and texture. The one annoying thing is that They've removed my catheter as of this morning and I feel that I have to go but when I said it just hasn't come out yet. Lastly I haven't had this many hiccups come on so easily in my life and the gas pain we all hear about hasn't hurt like I expected. I have some in my belly but it's not bad and taking deep breathes completely took away any in my shoulder within 2 hours.
Everything so far has been so worth it. Not regrets yet. I was told of all keeps going this smoothly, they'll send me home tomorrow morning!


HW: 328 (02/21/17)
CW: 275 (preop 53# disowned)

You've done so fantastic! It's going to get even better now!

How are your kids doing now? Getting into the swing of it?

Go easy on yourself. It may be easier if you look at it in one week increments. You are 7 days out from surgery and down 8.6 lbs. That would qualify as dropping quickly. You're doing great! Celebrate cuz that's pretty freakin amazing!

Hello everybody,
My wife is having surgery next month and to help support her I've been looking for any resources geared towards the partners of Gastric Bypass surgery patients but sadly I found very little.
We all know that the rate of divorce after weight loss surgery is statistically high and I think that is quite sad.
So I've decided to start a blog to recount my own experiences as my wife and I go forward towards and after the surgery.
The blog is anonymous as requested by my wife though she totally supports the endeavor, she knows that some people can be very judgemental regarding weight loss surgery.
Anyway if you'd like to take a look at my project the links are below.
blog: https://gastricbystander.wordpress.com

Hi there everyone! I'm new here and also hoping for a summer date. I meet with my surgeon again in July...hoping for an August date. My 40th birthday is August 9 and I can't think of a better birthday present to myself.

Hi Blondie66,
Quick question. Where do you get your premier protein shakes? Are they in stores? Or just online?

Holy crap, between surgeon and hospital it was over $100,000. Thankfully my portion is only $1,000.
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This is great info!

Congratulations! Way to take charge! July's not so bad. Less than two months away now. Mine will be 7/13.

It is important to understand what happens inside the body when you eat... especially carbs.
Basically, you eat a fast-absorbing carb (simple carb, like table sugar), and it hits the blood stream quickly. The sugar in your blood goes up, too high. The body sends insulin out to force the sugar into the cells, because too much sugar in the blood is dangerous, but it is safe in the cells.
But now the body might have sent too much insulin, and now your blood sugar is low. Normally adrenaline kicks in about this time to go release some sugar back into the blood. But for some people this mechanism is damaged, so the blood sugar drops and the body can't increase it on its own. So, you have to eat more carbohydrate.
The way to fix this vicious cycle is to always eat carbs with Protein and fat which slows their entry into the bloodstream, and concentrate on eating complex carbs that also enter more slowly.
This is what the glycemic index is about. The lower the #, the slower the sugars hit the bloodstream. Anyone with poor blood sugar control should only consume carbs #54 and less. (As a starting point. Individual results vary).

Can you have sugar-free Jello? That helped me some. I liked Premier Protein drinks the best, and some of the Atkins. I know the broth gets old, but I liked them. I doctored mine up a little. Onion powder in beef broth tastes like French Onion Soup. Poultry seasoning in chicken broth makes it taste richer. Garlic makes things better, too. Hang in there!

My only regret is not getting rid of my band sooner. Especially when I found out how common these issues are. I was angry with myself for keeping my head in the sand. Once I had done a little research I realized it had to go. It does not get better, only worse and it can irreparably damage your health. Get it out asap!
Like other ps have said rny is infinitely better. Back to normal...only without the health issues and an extra 100 lbs or so.