Chunkysoup

I had help for a day and a half and I have a toddler. I was fine, don’t get me wrong I was sore but felt pretty good overall.

On 8/4/2018 at 9:44 AM, sillykitty said:

I had this issue early on, starting about 3 weeks post op. I was shaky, weak, any exertion made me feel like I was going to pass out.

But it was not calories I needed. I needed B12. I got a shot from my surgeon's office, and now I take sublingual B12 supplements.

I'm at 5.5 months post op, and my calories are very low. Most days I am around 400 calories. I have no issues with energy level at all.

Don't delude yourself into thinking, I need calories, I need sugar. That is just our brain that got us to the point of needing WLS telling us that. Get your Protein in, get your liquids in, talk to your Dr. about B12, and you will be fine

I take a B complex and I’m wondering if it’s sufficient. How much B12 does your sublingual supplement offer?

I was the same way. I only had trouble with liquids the day of surgery because of nausea. After that it was smooth sailing. By one week post op I could take normal somewhat large swallows (large for a bariatric patient anyway). I am now able to eat soft foods and I have a nice tight restriction so don’t worry. I was also afraid that I had a huge sleeve or something since it was so easy to drink fluids.

I grab a sugar free fudge pop. It’s sooo good. Or sugar free pudding. Both of those feel like dessert to me.

Errday

I had my surgery on the 17th as well. I’ve lost a total of 14 pounds which is what you lost in the first week! I’d say you’re doing really well! You’ve got me beat by 1-2 kg. I feel really happy with my progress though! Don’t worry, the scale will continue to move we have to remember that!

Did you have a hiatal hernia repaired? I did and was having hiccups that wouldn’t go away, it was pretty painful. My nurse told me it was from the hiatal hernia repair.

I am 15 days post op and have been able to take normal drinks for at least the last week. Fluids have gone down very easily. That was my biggest fear going in to surgery was not being able drink very much. And for the first week I had to take it real slow but then I noticed it started going down very easily. I don’t have to “sip” anymore, and the temperature of the liquid doesn’t make any difference for me. I’m very thankful for this.

My surgeon and hospital accepted care credit as payment, you may look into that. See if they’ll accept it and if so, apply and see if you get approved.

On my plan we were allowed full liquids which included Protein Shakes and creamed Soups the day after surgery. At 14 days post op we are allowed to start soft foods (my program does not do a puréed stage) which includes tuna/chicken/egg salad, refried Beans, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, string cheeses, and Greek yogurt. There are a lot of differences in each program. Just wanted to share what and when my plan allows food. And in my opinion it’s fairly early compared to others. My advice would be to definitely take it slow, take small bites, and pause after you swallow. I think probably the best things you could “cheat” with would be like creamed soups and thinned out Greek yogurt. Just my opinion.

Holy moly that’s a lot in a week!

I started feeling hungry again at 4 days post op. A friend of mine didn’t experience hunger until 2 months post op. Everyone is different.

56 minutes ago, fishing_5 said:

I guess im just wanting to try some of the foods pre-op so I know how to handle it when I actually need to eat those foods. lol

Yeah I understand, I hated having to do the pre op diet but I do feel like it helped prepare me a little for what was to come. I personally wouldn’t recommend getting started on the pre op type diet before it is necessary only because it’s very hard and it gets old reallly fast! You’ll be doing plenty of liquid type diets pre and post op, take this time to just eat healthier, drink lots of Water, and take a 30 minute walk everyday. That’s my suggestion.

Oh yuck! Thanks for the info I’ve contemplated freezing them before.

Yep mine feel the same. I’m 12 days post op. And when I stretch it sort of looks like there is a small area under the incision that is like cinched? Not sure how to describe it. Like maybe there is a stitch in the fascia.

1 hour ago, fishing_5 said:

So pre-op you drank 5 shakes. Thats it? No other foods? How long was the pre-op diet for?

I guess I'm just trying to try things as if I was pre-op.

I was allowed sugar free popsicles, sugar free Jello, broth and Protein Shakes. It was rough!

8 minutes ago, fishing_5 said:

Can you go into details when you consumed these shakes and when you took the Vitamins? I know everyone is different when eating but just a general idea for me.

I’m 12 days post op and was instructed not to take Vitamins until two weeks out. I have my 2 week post op follow up with the dr on Tuesday so I’ll get my Vitamin regimen at that time. As far as Protein Shakes at this point I drink 2-3 a day. Basically at meal times. When I did my preop diet I was instructed to drink 5 shakes per day.

2 minutes ago, fishing_5 said:

Awesome story. I'm in the process of getting it approved by my insurance. My Nutritionist said I should look into the Meal Replacement shakes. Can you recommend any? Also what multi Vitamins are you taking?

I want to the try the shakes before I really commit cuz I know it's gonna be hard.

I personally like the Premier Protein shakes. I like the chocolate, Cookies and cream, banana, and caramel flavors. Chocolate is my favorite, I mix it with Decaf coffee every morning and it is wonderful! In my opinion the premier Protein Shakes don’t taste like a Protein Shake. It tastes like chocolate milk. They’re a little pricey but their definitely my favorite!

3 minutes ago, mrpritchett said:

Yeah. My nurses basically said recovery didn’t jump on it quick enough so it went on longer than it should. No nausea now, even without nausea meds.

I had my surgery on 7/17 and I too struggled very badly with nausea. Had my surgery at noon and pretty much suffered and dry heaved the whole rest of the day. The next day I was 100% better! My nurse said it was just the anesthesia that needed to get out of my system. It was awful but I felt like a brand new woman the next day! And I feel amazing currently. Congrats on making it to the other side!

Are you taking anything for nausea? I was sent home with some phenergan gel to apply to my wrists and it was a life saver!

Hopefully by this time you are already in surgery or done with surgery because my experience is different than the previous posters. Despite having a nausea patch and every single different kind of nausea medicine available administered after surgery I struggled ALOT with nausea and dry heaving about 3-4 hours after surgery. We just couldn’t get it under control. However, by the next day I felt great! That was just my personal reaction to the anesthesia used for surgery and it had to get out of my system. I am 6 days post op and typically wake up a bit nauseous but nothing so bad that I would throw up.

You could tell them that you’re having a hiatal hernia repaired.

Oh my goodness yikes! Well I’m certainly glad to hear you are on the mend. Thank you for sharing your story

@saygrace - Ah yes, the risk of blood clots. 

You had to get off birth control in preparation for surgery?? My surgeon stresses the importance of birth control/protection specifically to ensure that we don’t get pregnant too soon after surgery. Anyways, I fell pregnant with my third child after being infertile due to PCOS for years IMMEDIATELY after I quit taking my birth control. That drop in hormones stimulates ovulation. The fact that he didn’t “finish” in you would be the only reason I wouldn’t be too concerned. But it’s certainly still possible! I mean really the only thing you can do is take your chances and go ahead and have the surgery as planned or put it off until you can get a reliable negative pregnancy test result. It’s going to be a judgement call for you.