MrsGamgee

An accurate kitchen scale. I had one I had been using for months and the day before surgery it started acting wonky. Just needed a new battery but it hadn't been on my radar and I had to send my hubs on a battery hunt the day after I got home.

I'm day 3 post op from rny, and I'm wrung out beyond imagining. The pain meds certainly aren't helping with the tiredness. I'm getting about 2/3 of my fluid requirements and about 1/3 of my protein. My RD said my main goal for the first 2 weeks is about fluids.. to focus on that and the rest will fall into place. I am going to try the Gatorade zero suggestion as I'm sick of water.

Other than regretting the 1/4 cup of plain non fat Greek yogurt with a tbsp of protein powder I had for dinner, I'm doing okay. Tired, and in a little bit of pain, but overall, not bad.

Remember, your body has just been through a major trauma. Blood pressure will rise while you're healing. Certainly check with your doctor, but also be patient with yourself.

Just got home from the hospital... for me it felt like I'd done about a 1000 crunches. First swallows of water burned going down, but now it's easy. Hiccups are a new kind of torture though.

I'm on the loser's bench now too. First night/day was a challenge with pain, but mostly my fault because I didn't want to take the morphine. Now I'm on tram-something and it's much better. I think I'm being discharged later today. Hiccups are a new and exquisite torture.

Well, I'm on the loser's bench now! Surgery went well and pain is mostly managed. Did a lap around the ward and now feel as weak as a kitten. I expect I'll be discharged today, and then the real challenge begins. Not looking forward to climbing the stairs to get to my front door. Ice water and jello are lovely... cranberry juice not so much. I guess it's all experimentation from here on out.

Day 18 - make physical contact. I'm going to be clinging to my hubs when I get released from hospital today. We have a small flight of stairs that leads to our front door and in my head right now it looks like Everest. Surgery went well and pain is mostly under control. Ice water and jello are my current bffs. Did a lap around the ward and now feel as weak as a kitten. B-side - salon all the way. I have never been good at doing my nails and if I try it becomes an exercise in frustration. I don't go as often as I used to, but it always makes me feel great.

Surgery day for me. Woke up with a scratchy throat due to seasonal allergies. Can't believe it's finally here.

15 - Read... I have to read every day. I can't fall asleep unless I read at least a few pages. Currently I'm reading "Becoming" by Michelle Obama. Next up is a novel about Katherine of Aragon (Henry the 8th's first wife). Doing my clear liquids today and the pico salax flush. Not much fun. Surgery is at 8:45 tomorrow morning. Wee-lings are being picked up by my MIL in an hour or so. EEEEEeeeeeee... this is really happening.

Today is jello and chicken broth, tomorrow is surgery. Feeling anxious and excited.

Missed this yesterday... sort of. I'm feeling a bit off today. Tired and headache-y. I'm hoping it's just a side effect of the liquid diet/my period/too much sun over the weekend. My hip/leg is improved today, but still not 100%. 2 days until surgery... oy, this is getting so real. Cook from scratch... well, I do that most of the time anyway. Tonight the wee-lings and my beloved are having Slumgullion (a ground beef and macaroni dish, reminiscent of hamburger helper... but homemade, so it's miles better) and garden salads.

Well, I'm a couple of days behind, but that's what happens when you have a 7 year old's birthday to celebrate and a family reunion of sorts happen back to back. It was a good weekend, lots of fun even with not being able to eat any of the awesome food that was on offer. But my family is super supportive of my choice to have surgery and they were understanding when I would have to walk away from the group for a bit while it was meal time. We had fun, lots of laughs, and got a little sunburned. Good news from today... I finally managed to bust past the 242lb wall that I've been up against. Bad news... I somehow managed to injure/strain my hip yesterday. I have no idea what I did, just that I couldn't sleep last night because every time I moved it would hurt, and it screams at me every time I move from sitting to standing and vice versa. I'm going to take it easy today and try to relax. The last thing I want is to go into surgery on Thursday already dealing with pain. Day 13 - play with an animal. No pets in our little hobbit hole. Maybe I'll check with my wee-lings and see if I can play with their stuffies.

Only 2 more days of shakes (hallelujah!!), then one day of clear fluids... woohoo! Had a couple of moments last night of "OMG, what am I doing?" but this morning I am more committed than ever. On a slightly downer note, I somehow managed to injure my hip/leg yesterday. I have no idea what I did, just that it hurts like mad every time I try to move from sitting to standing and vice versa. I'm trying to work myself up to my usual walking workout but it may not happen today.

Oops... what happened to the rest of my post? The list is of people to contact when I'm in recovery. I'm also going over all my paperwork again, just to make sure I've got everything covered.

I was told I could cook my veggies or make them into a soup, which is why I figured a couple of baby dills every now and then would be okay. It's coming quick. Today I made a list for my hubs of people to co

I'm having surgery the same day as you, and I'm allowed up to 200 calories of veggies along with my Glucerna shakes. I've had a couple of baby dill pickles every couple of days (the sweet of the shakes is overwhelming).

Because of the climate where I live, walking outdoors is dicey 6 months of the year. I also happen to be a TV junkie. So to get my steps in every day I'll walk or jog in place while watching TV. I use my 2lb weights to help work my arms more as I'm walking, and I do laps around the house on the commercials. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's manageable.

Welcome Jasmine!

Glad to hear from you! Listen to your body, and rest when you need to obvs! Congrats on being on the loser's bench now!

Oatmeal is one of the things I've been missing most on my pre-op diet. I love this idea! Thanks for sharing.

Okay, I may or may not have just lost my cool on my family. When prepping for surgery, I made a plan to make a bunch of freezer meals for my hubs and two wee-lings for the first two weeks post op, because I figured that I wouldn't be interested in cooking for them at that time. What I should have considered was how hard it would be to cook meals for them while being on the pre-op diet. I take pride in feeding my family mostly healthy, interesting meals. Tonight, while I was dishing up their dinners they were horsing around generally being pains in the butt, all three of them. One hungry mommy who hasn't eaten anything resembling comfort food in more than a week who's also dealing with wicked pms is not to be crossed when she's staring down the barrel of a pot of mashed potatoes and a tray of oven fried chicken. *sigh* And now I feel rotten.

I'm with you VeeAurora. A cold has been making its way through my family over the last couple of weeks, and for the last few mornings I've woken up with a scratchy throat. I'm praying that it won't develop into anything, because when I get a cold it usually lasts for more than a week and surgery is next Thursday. Crossing my fingers and praying for both of us.

Mine is due to start on surgery day... so much fun. My nurse told me the same as above, tell the nurses day of and they'll get you what you need. And as soon as you're up and mobile afterward, you can use whatever you usually use.

I'm having bypass surgery on May 16th. I've been on my pre-op diet since April 1... two phases. For the month of April I had 3 Glucerna shakes a day, one healthy meal of no more than 500 calories, and up to 300 calories of fruits and veg. A week ago I started phase 2, 5 glucerna shakes a day and up to 200 calories of veg (specific ones). I'm so sick of sweet and looking forward to post op when I'm able to try some savoury foods again.