KarenLR75

Did you recently post about this on another thread? I had read something recently about it and was intrigued which is why I was asking. I think after I focus on recovering from my first...um...egg...I would like to look into this although I'm a big premier protein fan for 'myself' so far but am always open.

I've had pneumonia only once and it is one of the harder thing I've ever recovered from. Get what you can in each day. I've heard my own dr say that 60 mgs is the goal but do what you can. I know we have some very savvy veterans and some amazing medical professionals that are going through this same journey. I could be wrong but I think your 1st pty is to stay hydrated, then to get as much protein as you can. My Dr's post-op even says 'there will be some days you only get 40 gms and other days where you can go higher. One thing his practices puts great emphasis is that full healing (per my Dr) takes 6 to 8 weeks. His nutritionist has told me twice this month that my body is going to take every calories i'm giving it to try to use to help heal my body. They've been doing this for over 15 years but even I have a hard time believing when she continues to assure me that my 'chances' at seeing a more rapid weight loss will actually come when my pouch and everything else has healed. I know my DR doesn't want me taking the extra vitamins we need in pill form right now, but he is OK with vitamin patches. He also prescribed this weekly 'inhaler' basically of B12 that you inhale it up one nostril. Is there some supportive stuff like this that your Dr will allow to help keep up a bit with vitamin and nutrient needs (I will say that the B12 once a week seems to help). I think...is it Frustr8 or someone else who actually goes in to their dr either monthly or bi-monthly and they get injections and some other stuff? Anyone know who I might be referring to? Give yourself a break though...pneumonia on top of a new sleeve (we're July surgery siblings) is a lot for your body to take in and try to heal you from. I don't always have the right words to say nor am I a veteran but I want you to know that I do care and I hope that you start to heal quickly..and that you can take some comfort in trying to stay hydrated and do the best you can on protein, obviously keeping in touch with your Dr. Sending hugs and prayers your way.

I tried about 40 mins ago as stomach continued growling...and by now it had been another hr or 2..to sip 1 oz of Premier Protein Banana Cream shake which I have not had any issues with. I was doing a jigsaw puzzle with my husband so while I did not 'sip, sip, sip' the 1 oz, I did 'sip' it. Lord, I think y'all are the only ppl who can even make sense of what I'm trying to say. Well, I never anticipated that 1 oz would be a problem but as I was pouring out another measured ounce to drink in about 15 minutes, I could feel my pouch rejecting the 1 oz..well, first came that hard core restricted feeling and then..it felt like the protein shake wanted to come back up. Kept trying to focus on the puzzle pieces and doing deep breathing exercises. I know this sounds weird, but do pouches spasm? I actually have a high tolerance to 'pain' in general. I have found since I tore my knee up, I do NOT do as well with chronic pain. Tonight after I drank that 1 oz of protein shake, the restriction or whatever it was that I was feeling, brought tears to my eyes. I have only at one time almost begged for painkillers and it was not through 2 very difficult labor and deliveries, the 2nd of which was 36 hrs and at hour 25, I finally asked for an epidural. It was 2 years ago when I was bleeding internally. It hurt more than a gallbladder attack which thankfully has been the ONLY gallbladder attack I've ever had. Tonight..I came SO close to asking husband to drive me to ER. I went back in my bedroom and let a couple of tears out. I was raised with 3 brothers and my Dad had a saying that was basically "if you are not coughing up a lung, then there's nothing wrong". My Dad indeed did truly love us and show it, but he was a pretty tough guy and he raised kids that all have a high tolerance for pain..or maybe it is just that we learned to push past it? I'd put the pain tonight on a scale of slightly less than a gallbladder attack. Is this the norm? Should I be taking 1 of my last 3 robaxin's when it hurts like this? I'll be emailing dr' in the morning. I thought I had gotten past "hell week" although honestly, my first week was SO much easier. I was able to take in more liquids than I could the 2nd week. If this is what everyone deals with, just let me know. I really wish I had been able to make actual new friends before this surgery. I had joined a women's group as I've been dreadfully missing my Mom and my best friend of 20 yrs who passed a couple of yrs before my Mom from brain cancer. You don't just replace relationships like that but God do I feel so very alone right now.

OK, I got approval from dr. today to have 1 scrambled egg today and basically start pureed stage tomorrow (couple of days early). I scrambled it in olive oil spray and ate it as slowly as I ever ate anything...carefully chewing it to bits. My stomach was still growling (true hunger growling) but I figured the egg would settle in and that would be that. Instead about 15 mins..maybe 10..after the last bite, I felt the restriction kick in like I had just inhaled an entire protein shake. I have never felt the restriction discomfort as I've been on full liquids and have been very cautious..but I felt it last week badly..and it was when I stupidly made one of my protein shakes into more of a 'pudding' which I should not have done. My dr. did not say 'full liquids' AND puddings...he said full liquids, sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles. I didn't even finish the entire 'pudding/shake' as it hit me suddenly I was FULL...MORE THAN FULL...OH MY GOSH IT FEELS LIKE A NOOSE AROUND MY POUCH FULL. Ended up throwing up. Was miserable...and what a lesson learned. Well, I tried to be uber careful with the egg as 'pudding-gate' is firmly entrenched in my mind. After 15 mins of eating I had that awful feeling again..not even a SUGGESTION that I'm getting 'full'..just hard core full out stop. Now it's been...4+ hrs since then and all I can still feel is that restricted feeling. Even drinking water makes my stomach hurt..is this normal? This is part of how I got so dehydrated last week. I am not even looking forward to pureed items right now as the restricted feeling has lasted afternoon into evening...I had an upper GI scan last week and no leaks observed, etc. Do some ppl have particularly 'tight restrictions'? Does that even make sense or is this normal and I should have stopped @ half an egg?

Hey siblings, I'm a bit bummed right now. My weight is actually up 1.5 lbs from my current 'profile weight'. I had RNY on 7/25. I've stuck to liquids like a madwoman. I've tracked intake on various days of ea week. I've averaged anywhere from 100 calories a day to 340. Ironically the 1st week after surgery I was closer to 300 calorie mark and then I had issues with nausea, feeling tight restriction even when only drinking few oz's, etc. so I dropped down to 100 calories or less for about 4 days. Ended up getting 2 bags of IV fluids last Thurs Wasn't on an IV for 24 hours, etc. I knew I'd have some 'water weight' gain from 2 bags of IV fluids but scale has not budged from current gain (Waited 3 days to weigh hoping I'd get some water off). So am almost 3 wks out with only a 10 lb loss to show. Was SO looking forward to pureed foods as I've been on liquids FOREVER, but now am terrified I'll eat pureed foods and start gaining. I plan to keep pureed (plus any shake supplementation) down to a bare minimum of calories/fat/carbs (of course protein is my main focus). Weird, while I was typing this my dr called!! Said he wants me to start taking some bites of food tomorrow. He said avocado, eggs, etc. I was like..um...puree stuff. he said 'no, real bites'. LOL..I told him I'd do whatever he asked lol...as I"m staring at HIS list for the pureed phase which I was supposed to start this Thursday. GAH! I just realized I'm posting as I'm so nervous about what will happen when I add purees (and I know tracking is crucial, at least it is to me..it gives me comfort)..and now he said 'start tomorrow'. Oh sweet baby Jesus... I am seriously so happy that my siblings are doing so well but I must admit I'm becoming very sad and bewildered.

Since you can work remotely/from home, that is a big benefit. I work remotely and went back to work the same day of surgery (at night). I did take 1/2 the day off the next day to 'sleep in', but since we had huge deadlines at work, that next day I started what would end up to be a 75-78 hr work week. If I had to drive in to work and/or had a more labor intensive job, I would have taken at least 3 or 4 days off.

lol..not sure if it is strength and/or the fact that 1) I was under a huge deadline as well as 2) It helped me to stop thinking "when will this gas pain go away" after all other measures to rid myself of gas had been exhausted

Wow, you have good eyes!!!

I work remotely but I work a lot of hrs each week. I went back to work the same night on 7/25 - the date of my RNY.

I had an RNY but I experienced similar sensations..pulling at my incisions especially the larger ones and I had a particularly deep/semi-constant burning pain on the 'right side' incisions - again..especially the larger one. I did mention to Dr. @ post op visit and both he and his staff told me the burning sensations were a good sign? Healing, I guess? I had some other urgent issues we had to deal with so I didn't query them further about why specifically it was a good sign, but they definitely indicated that it was normal for my situation. Whenever I engage my core...it would burn and tug. Am now 17 days post op and the tugging and burning have both stopped. I have a decent pain tolerance but I had both gas/constipation and other abdominal aches that I address primarily by walking, taking Gas-Ex, ensuring I had semi-regular bowel movements..and a med , Robaxin, that my dr prescribes all his patients (for muscle spasms and light pain relief). I don't take it these days.

Thank you for this. Before my RNY on 7/25, I had spent 15 months on a version of keto. There were 2 critical things about my food choices: meet the nutrition requirements/macro limitations and EASY. I tried to turn food into a non-event. My family asked how I could eat/drink same things over & over. I was not looking for food, I was looking for fuel. Not going to lie though when odd urge struck me on keto, I'd look up recipes but if they didn't fit my target macros then I gave them a hard pass. I know youngest daughter thinks the way I was eating was too limited, boring, etc. I HAVE to have 'EASE' & convenience due to my work schedule & honestly do not want to spend too much time on cooking, food prep, etc. I DO want to know tips/tricks, etc. that are in line with what we should be doing the 1st couple of mos, to ensure that things like chicken, etc. go down smoothly (add broth, etc.) I was so torn on other thread re: Dr. Brian/Bryan? But I think none of us really..wants to blow this HUGE change we've made to our bodies. Most have heard about honeymoon period, the X amt of mos where you lose majority and how we can "break it or make it". I feel I'm going to have to get back in with a therapist as with all addictions, when you are "new in recovery"..In AA & NA they tell you to stay away from people, places and things you used to associate with as you don't have good chance at staying clean/sober if you repeat old behavior..even if you don't relapse. I can't afford a 'food relapse'. I need safety. Was tempted to check out recipes, but I kept reading different input & it brought me back to where my mind had been planning to go...which is for ME, I must KISS (must be simple). And I have to be accountable to stay in my "lane" dr prescribed. As I'm not 30 anymore, I can't afford for this opportunity to get sacrificed in a sudden urge to search for, what would be for me, distractions. Heck, some of you know due to last min dr. change, I've been doing full liquids (pre-op & post-op) for 49 days as of today & by time my dr let's me move to pureed, it will be 54 days. I had felt sorry for myself a few times but I'm going to change that by telling all of you how I absolutely rocked the liquids stage...I did it! I'm still doing it! Just to clarify, I feel we can find flavor & variation in things as we go down this road, but just like in recovery, we are warned to keep main focus of 1st year solely on self. No new relationships, etc. I've been clean for 30+ years now & let me tell you,a food addiction makes getting clean/sober look like child's play for ME personally. Glad we can all talk about this. I have to understand too that what 1 person can eat/not eat & successfully lose weight on does not make it true for me. Think I will keep training wheels on for now.

@MeowAMR - what a difference! SO awesome!!

Haven't posted regularly the past few days. Had 1st post-op visit with Dr. I was dehydrated and having pain in kidneys and lower abdomen (not consistent/ruled out with gas, BM’s, etc). Also, starting a few days ago, just drinking my Protein Shake or water...after 2-3 ozs, the next 'drink' makes me feel constriction to such a degree it feels like a knot in my chest Dr sent me to for an upper GI (kinda?). Things looked ok from what they could see. They were able to run tests with me just sipping 4 ozs of a horrible soap drink. Tech that was left at the end said "wow, things go through you fast". LOL..uh yeah..RNY here. Also had my INR (blood thinner levels) checked as I was so busy working last wk that I hadn't had it checked. Am on blood thinner for repeat PE’s and DVT's. GOOD thing we had labs pulled. My INR is a 7! VERY HIGH! If blood thinning levels are too high, you can start bleeding internally. Last yr, I ended up in hospital for 2 wks when INR was '9' & I started urinating blood. My dr said to immediately stop blood thinner and had me send husband to store to buy spinach. Had me blend it up with a liquid (used broth) since spinach has high lvl of vitamin K & can help reduce my INR. Well, am still on liquid post op diet and pouch did NOT react well to all that fiber. Was in bathroom most of night. Ended up back at local hospital for IV treatment. Unsure if I will weigh soon after all the fluid that was put in me. Finally home again.

how do i get a post deleted? I want to move my post on Thurs @ 11:34 to the July surgery siblings post op thread and remove it from here. I cannot edit it any longer..and I remember something about not being able to edit at a certain point.

@Healthy_life2 - would it be possible to get the recipe for those awesome looking enchiladas? Picture was so good it made my mouth water.

Hey everyone, Haven't posted regularly the past few days. Had first post-op visit with Dr. I was dehydrated but was also having some pain in kidneys and lower in abdomen (not consistent with gas, constipation, etc. - or rather I should saw, have been getting fairly regular BM's and have taken the usual Gas-Ex which solves any gas issue quickly). Also, starting a few days ago, just drinking my protein shake or water...after 2 to 3 ozs, the next 'drink' makes me feel that constriction to such a degree it feels like a knot in my chest where my pouch is. I can only assume this is what a pouch would feel like if you overdrink/overeat? My doc to be thorough sent me 5 mins down the road to a hospital and they did an upper GI (kinda?). Things looked ok from what they could see...I thought i was going to die when they made me try to drink this soapy tasting water! I walked in and they had 2 HUGE styrofoam containers - like 8 to 12 oz containers. I blinked at them and asked if they knew I had just had WLS. One dr nodded and I told him, even if I can drink this w/o it impacting that odd 'restriction sensation'...I CANNOT down 16 to 24 ozs anytime in the next 12 to 18 hrs. Water, even when I can get it down is making me very nauseated to point that it sometimes comes back up in my throat. Long story short, things checked out from a stitching/no leak perspective which is great. They were able to run tests with me taking in maybe...4 ozs of this horrible (BUT WELL LUBRICATED SOAP) across an hour. The one tech that was left at the end said "wow, do things go through you fast". LOL..Um..yeah..RNY here. I called Dr's office back on my way to go get the test and asked if I could have my INR (blood thinner levels) checked as I was so busy working (75 hrs last wk, actually really more like 78) that I hadn't had it checked. Am on a blood thinner for repeat pulmonary embolisms and DVT's. Well, it is a GOOD thing that we had labs pulled. My INR is a 7! For those that don't know what normal is - if you do not take aspirin/blood thinners, you are usually a '1'. For someone who has a clotting history, at least on Coumadin/Warfarin, they want MY range to be between a 2 and a 3. That is considered 'therapeutic'. Well, if your blood thinning levels goes to high, you will start bleeding internally (brain bleed, etc.). Last summer, I ended up in a local hospital for 2 weeks as my INR level got to '9' and I started urinating blood. My dr said to immediately stop my blood thinner and he had me send my husband to the store to buy some spinach and told me to blend it up with almond milk or something. A Vitamin K injection is how hospitals handle an 'out of control' blood thinning level. The issue with this is it sends you immediately to a '1' and if you have a tendency to clot, you can clot while they are trying to get you from '1'..back to the 2-3 range which is what happened last year when they gave me the shot. Just in the few days of trying to get me restarted, I threw some clots that went to my lungs. So he is using the Vitamin K in the spinach to be a more gentle type of Vitamin K and I'm to got to hospital tomorrow to get it checked and they are going to put me on IV's for several hrs to rehydrate. My dr is familiar with my work situation. He did want me admitted but I said no, no, no. It wasn't until I was driving 1.5 hrs back to my house that they got the blood test results. If I had known I was at a '7', I probably would have let them admit me. Well, at least my dr seems on top of things. I think he is going to try to have a "Come to Jesus" meeting with my cardiologist as that dr does NOT want me to switch to something like Eliquis and my surgeon knows that with all of the internal changes, having something that can slide so much in terms of range with a 'pouch' is just not something he feels is right, safe, or sustainable. Miss posting real stuff. Oh crud...let me know if I need to delete this and post it elsewhere. I just thought of my August buddies. Well, back to work, I'll try to monitor if you need me to move this.

Not sure what the 'progam' is like now although I briefly peeked. WAY back in the day when I did Optifast (after Oprah Winfrey made it popular), they had us mix our shake packets with WATER, averaging between 80 - 100 calories a day. We did not have a 'meal replacement option'. Did it for 90 days...3 LONG MOS! Lost 80 lbs and kept it off for a decade. I do see that if a person mixes it with milk or maybe there is now a ready to drink shake..that this would be 200 cals (which you referenced)..so hopefully for the purposes of losing for pre-op, a dr might put someone on Optifast with a requirement to use water, that would be roughly 500 calories a day and would allow a small food meal. Again, this is just conjecture on my part but was interested to see Optifast is still around..and back in my 'dinosaur days'..we had to walk uphill in the winter for 10 miles and ONLY mix our shakes with water!! LOL

Don't feel alone. There are many on here who had to do primarily liquid diet for 2 weeks and some for 3 weeks. As I stated in earlier post, I ended up doing one for almost 30 days BEFORE surgery. MOST pre-op liquid diets that I've seen ppl post about seem to all have a couple things in common - you can have sugar free jello and sugar free popsicles. Maybe something to inquire about to see the reasoning on no sugar free jello/popsicles? Or maybe you already know why your dr prefers that you keep limited..to just s/f Italian ice?

Yeah, my first post-op is this Thursday. Man that incision is just being....difficult. It was burning so much earlier it felt like someone has a match up against my skin. Maybe unhappy nerve endings?? Just throwing out anything that comes to mind....

OMG...I want coffee SO BADLY!

I'm on Day 13 Post-Op and last night woke up in the middle of the night due to pain and a burning sensation on my lowest right side incision (one of the 2 big incisions). I was lying on my back so it wasn't like I was on my side and maybe pulled it. The pain continued for about 4 hrs. I took a Tramadol which usually does nothing for me. Had slight relief but I can feel it starting to hurt again. It is NOT major horrible pain. Is it just..healing?? One sidenote: When I was in my hospital bed after surgery, I suddenly needed to use the restroom and frantically looked around for the remote to raise the head of the bed and this ONE BED did NOT come with a remote for the patient to control. I paged nurse out of desperation but they were tied up. The bed also didn't have rails/pull ups reachable for me. I ended up having to use all my abdominal muscles (or lack thereof) to get to an almost sitting position where I could grab the small tiny rails that were located near my knees. It HURT!! I pointed out to nurse when she finally came and she was astonished that this '1' bed on whole floor was without a control. I had to, within the next 14 hrs, get up this way many times and it made everything BURN. No idea if they are connected but I hadn't had the similar burning and pain sensation until 4 AM this morning

You're such a sweetheart! It helps to get suggestions, including pics and everything of these things that we can buy to make life easier! Going to amazon right now!

YES, they have great prices..I drink the Premier Protein drinks. I did notice that having different flavors that YOU LIKE is also key on anyone who is supplementing with protein drinks like this. I LIKED chocolate the best (so burned out now). My eldest daughter, who is not obese, actually drinks 1 every day for breakfast and she found out they had a banana flavor and when visiting she asked me to order some. It was Banana Cream. Now, I like 'bananas'. was not sure about the Banana Cream. I do like the Strawberry flavor and Cookies and Cream so I just picked up 4 packs of those to have something to break 'chocolate' monotony. OMG, the banana cream was the BOMB! I only drank 1 as I had gotten the 4 pack for her..wish I had snagged another..LOL

Absolutely many have/had a problem with it. I changed dr's @ the last minute so I ended up doing almost a full 30 days of an almost completely liquid diet. I thought the first 13 days with one dr was hard...but man, starting it back up again - full disclosure, the 'new pre-op' date I got with final dr still allowed me 3 weeks to do 'his full liquid plan' but I had a DAY break on 4th of July! I was honestly impressed that I did not gorge..and yeah, I'll use that word as I have done that before. Had just lunch and dinner from 4th of July. No desserts. I had been doing keto for 15 months taking maybe a day off every other month as my body would start to stall and just hang onto the weight so I'd shake it up a bit. However, all I can remember is the LONG 30 days. If I had known up front all of the insurance hassle and scheduling issues that would result from me changing dr's....I would have been freaked at the idea of that long of a pre-op diet. Now I'm post-op and am on Day 12 of yet ANOTHER 3 week post-op liquid diet so I'm roughly on Day 42 (and yeah, I still had that '1 day break') but today my body just seized up on the liquids. I think it is primarily due to working 75 hrs last week when I was only 2 days recovered from my RNY. One thing you have to remember - you are NOT going to be on liquids for life! You are NOT going to be doing pre-op or post-op (first X of weeks depending on your dr) FOREVER. Is it hard to get through? I THINK SO! Is it DOABLE? OH YES! You have hundreds upon hundreds of bariatric friends that are either walking in your same shoes now, have walked in those shoes or who will be walking in those shoes in the near future. Greentealael shared GREAT points about the benefits of the PRE-OP diet most have to follow in some form or another. To be honest by the time I got to..um..Day 19 or 20 of liquid pre-op...I was SO DONE. The ONLY thing that kept be going and refusing to cheat is my BMI is so high, I COULD literally not afford physically, mentally or emotionally to have my dr call off surgery because it would be too dangerous to operate. I also knew I didn't want to ever do any more days of pre-op then I already had to. POST-OP I'm living through...and it has not been easy except for first 2 days...but I remember that this is helping my body to heal..helping our new pouches adjust. I've read what happens when someone pushes the envelope or even more bizarrely..they seem to have not been given a 'post-op' diet..and I know I will make it one way or another to PUREED FOODS. NEVER thought I'd say I was fantasizing about pureed foods, but fantasize I do indeed! You are at the right place, you did the absolute right thing and as a person also known for her discipline when she puts her mind to something, that means YOU HAVE THIS - IT IS YOURS FOR THE TAKING!!

Somehow..I thought with the last minute switch from VSG to an RNY..that I was 'luckier' in some ways as SURELY this method would DEFINITELY give more 'true hunger' relief. I got to enjoy a whole TWO days of that. I do feel the restriction though and I'm thankful for that. I have to be honest though..I would have been happier to keep the not feeling hungry "feeling". It felt SO GOOD for those 2 days to not be hungry.