cajunredpanda

I’m three weeks out. I followed my plan to a T post op, excluding the turkey chili that I for some reason thought had no tomatoes (no tomatoes until March because acidic). My family has done absolutely little to support me during the holidays. They forced me to sit down at watch them eat steaks on Christmas, they go to the movies and buy the largest popcorn and Coke combos, they’ve made three pans of brownies in four days... Meanwhile they move my food to the back of the fridge or throw it out of the pantry because “it takes up too much space.” I eat something on my plan and they accuse me of cheating. I didn’t expect a lot of support but it sucks so hard. New Years Day they prepared the traditional New Years meal. I figured it was soft enough so I had a small amount of cabbage, black eyed peas (which I was unaware of my sister loading a lot of hot spices into until I ate one), sweet potato, and spiraled ham. I think it was less than 3 ounces in all on my plate; didn’t eat all of it. First mistake- tried more than one new thing at once. That being said, my second mistake, the ham, was too thick despite me chewing and chewing. It went down, but it stayed there for hours. Also had mad gas pain (cabbage?). I’ve taken chewable Gas X but it’s not doing much. I sipped in water throughout the night and my stomach is so sore. I waited until 5 pm tonight and it took me almost 45 minutes to drink an 8 oz protein shake. Got nauseous afterward and had to take a nausea pill. If it gets worse I’ll see a doctor or the ER but I feel so stupid. My mom kept telling me pre op that she had little faith I’ll follow the plan and instead go immediately back to my pre op portions, etc. In a way, I fulfilled her prophecy. I was doing so well, and I think I ruined it already.

Granted, I'm three weeks post RNY tomorrow. My taste buds haven't changed too much so far. I can eat most things that I liked pre op just fine. If anything some things the sugar or spice is amplified (GNC Cookie Butter shakes are sickeningly sweet now despite only having 3 grams of sugar, black pepper packed a lot of heat in a tuna pouch I had). Other things they taste, I don't know, duller? Not to the point of being inedible, more like my tastebuds were numb. I'd drink milk, for example, and could barely taste it. It's getting better, however. Of what I have tried/reintroduced, I've only found one thing that I liked pre op that I didn't care for post op. Also found that the smell of beef broth makes my stomach want to flip. I did sip some of it in the hospital and tolerated it, but that's it. The smell turned me off from downing more. Of course this is subject to change as I try more things. A lot of people say that they were super hungry after surgery. Head hunger returned for me after two weeks. Otherwise I'm still having to force myself to eat to get protein/calories in. My stomach doesn't give a hoot. Water, though? I'm getting an easy 80 fl oz in, but I seem to be an outlier. I was reaching 64 fl oz easy by day 3. Many RNY patients seem to struggle with getting even half of that at three weeks. Even if your tastebuds or hunger change, you should be able to find stuff that works for you. It just might take a little more effort.

I slept maybe five hours? Went to bed earlier than usual, but woke up five hours later at like 2 AM. Just kept awake by watching YouTube videos for two hours until I had to shower, give the dog a pee run, and leave at 4:30. Good luck!

I ate a blend of fat free refried beans, shredded cheese, reduced sodium taco seasoning, chicken broth, and unflavored protein. I ate 2 ounces and it went down just fine. I want to scramble an egg but haven’t gotten to it yet. I tried unsweetened applesauce on Saturday and it was much sweeter than it did pre op. Today I had Hormel turkey chili with shredded cheese; that’s my favorite thing so far. I’m actually not allowed tomato anything until March and I missed tomatoes in the ingredient list somehow. Bummer. It’s been the easiest thing to go down since I started purées. Also, funny you mention the RTD Unjury shakes. I had a couple in the fridge and tried them post op. The vanilla was still good, but the chocolate tasted bitter to me? Most of my shakes have had the Unjury chocolate classic as the base powder, to the point the tub is almost empty. I loved the Cookies and Cream Premier pre op but have yet to try it post op. Thank you! I haven’t really drank anything added to my water except for decaf tea one time and a MIO electrolyte once. The one time I had infused water, it actually WAS cucumber and lemon! My clinic has a fruit infuser cooler in the lobby along with a regular one. When I visited for my 10 day follow up, that was the blend du jour. Youll get more protein in over time. But yes, definitely get fluids in at least.

It's day 15, so I finally get to eat purees per my post op diet! I might try diluted refried beans as my first attempt. That or a scrambled egg. Probably have it later tonight because even pre op my stomach was always uneasy early in the morning, so I often just had a protein shake or a banana and milk for breakfast just to have something in my stomach. Having to drink a protein shake while the rest of my family ate steak and potatoes for Christmas dinner was rough, man. My stomach is still meh on food but I do have some head hunger now. Not as bad as before, but it's present. Could be more me looking forward to solids than anything. Protein shakes are doable, but boring. (Note: my sense of smell has been off half the time since surgery. Sometimes way off. My mom made Christmas cookies the other day and I thought she was making beef stroganoff XD On the other end, I could smell the steaks just fine and holy cow, they smelled amazing.) I'm still not hitting my 500 calorie goal, but am consistently hitting protein and hydration goals. I've been averaging 60 grams of protein and at least 72 oz of water. I'm also getting closer to my calorie goal at 400-425 calories a day. I've been drinking two protein shakes plus a small glass of milk most days. I can't do broth on its own anymore.

Currently mixing Unjury and Syntrax Sweets with almond milk. I cannot do just water with "sweet" shakes; it makes me gag. I was recently relieved to learn that Syntrax strawberry mousse is still good to me post op. Ready to drink I've only tried Fairlife Core and Core Elite post-op. Both are really good. The chocolate tastes like chocolate milk and the vanilla Core Elite tasted kinda like melted Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream to me.

I've been using Unjury unflavored protein. It's 21 grams of protein a scoop and I can't really taste it when added to things.

I'm fresh from RNY post op and I'm not very hungry either. On one hand, I'm happy that I'm not feeling like a bottomless pit all the time like I did preop. On the other hand, it makes it hard to consume calories. I can drink fluids (including water) just fine. It's just protein that's difficult. Finally managed to reach 60 grams of protein for the first time today at 9 days post op. Things I've been doing to get closer to my calorie and protein goals: Peanut butter powder. Add it to a chocolate shake for an additional 50 calories and 5 grams protein I haven't had Premier since surgery, but I've been having Unjury, Syntrax, and Fairlife shakes. Unjury makes a chicken soup protein you might like. If you hate milky shakes, Syntrax has a lot of juice flavored ones that are popular. Add unflavored protein to things. I don't get much of a taste from the Unjury unflavored protein when I add it to broth and soups. I'm mostly doing it atm with broth, but I would also add it to your favorite Crystal Light or other non plain water drinks if you can't drink protein waters (a la Premier or Protein2O). Sugar free popsicles. Hey, 15 calories is 15 calories. That's energy, and it counts towards total fluid intake. Can you drink milk? Just a glass of milk can help towards protein. Same with a high protein non dairy milk. It's better than no meal at all. Like everyone else said, focus on hydration and protein.

I had my first walk at the park earlier this week (I think 6 days post op). I used a cane and went slow. Other than the vertigo episode I've been feeling good. I can't drive but the surgeon said that as long as I'm not using the liquid hydrocodone he prescribed then I should be able to drive. I cannot lift more than 20 pounds at a time, can't do a lot of abdominal movements, and can't walk my dog for two weeks. I just finally managed to sleep on my side again today; otherwise the incisions on one side of my stomach hurt horribly and it felt like my guts just fell onto my left side.

I started my period two days after surgery. It's been over a week and I'm only spotting right now. My periods are normally 7-10 days long (including spotting at the beginning and the end) so if it goes on after Christmas then I know it's out of whack.

I had my 10 day follow up appointment today. Down 16 pounds! The nurse practitioner removed my surgical coverings, said everything looked great. Main concern I had for her was that I had a vertigo episode on my staircase this morning. She said that since I was getting in 64 or more ounces of fluid a day that it was probably from a lack of calories. I'm supposed to get up to 500 a day by next week, but have only been able to get in 300 or so in the past couple days. I haven't been very hungry and have had to work my way up to two protein shakes plus other things like sugar free popsicles a day. I got 425 calories in today, plus reached my minimum protein goal for the first time today. I know I'll get there.

I just had to do full liquids one day and clear liquids the day before surgery.

I’m about a week out and not hungry at all. I can drink water just fine. Anything with nutrition, however, I have to remind myself to take. I just finally managed to double my protein intake today. Otherwise I’m eating only once a day (not counting a sugar free popsicle at night).

Protein 2o is another popular clear protein water. If push comes to shove, you can add unflavored protein to Crystal Light.

Scheduled for December 11!

I use Splenda from Aldi to sweeten my Kool Aid. I tried Stevia and it was too bitter for me.

The ones that I currently watch: Minnie Me in TN (RNY) Kimberly H (fun fact: we're both from the same hometown!) (VSG -> RNY) Grace Gets Gastric (VSG) Time to Shrink (VSG)

My apologies for never updating. I was finally approved by my psychologist right before Halloween! She said that I made great progress and just wanted one meeting with one of my parents to make sure that I had at least one person's support. My mother attended and all three of us discussed my case. At the end of the meeting she told me that she would discuss her recommendations to the surgeon on the following Thursday and wished me the best. I have RNY scheduled for December 11. Thank you so much to everyone here that supported me and gave me advice. It really helped during my pre op journey.

Still preop so my tastes can always change. Right now I really like Unjury and Syntrax Nectar/Sweets. The Unjury chicken soup is a great savory alternative while the chocolate tastes like chocolate milk to me. My favorite Syntrax are the vanilla and strawberry, but they also have fruit juice flavors. Bariatric Pal store carries Syntrax but you'll have to get Unjury on their website. They offer a "starter pack" with protein samples of all their flavors, RTD shakes, and a shaker bottle for $30 after shipping. In terms of RTD I'm okay with Premier, Unjury, and GNC Total Lean. Fairlife is not bad either; it's the least sweet I've tried. Quest recently released RTD shakes but I haven't tried them yet. From what I've heard people have liked them.

My plan doesn't allow for tomatoes of any kind until I think puree. Probably because of the acidity. You may want to ask your NUT just in case.

Okay, I went to my latest appointment this morning. This was the most optimistic meeting I've had since starting in March. She looked over my logs and had no concerns with it. She liked that I was exercising, that I was taking my medicine, that I was getting back into old hobbies. Her main concern was still my support group at home. She wants one or both of my parents to attend my next meeting on the 29th to know their perspectives and that they'll at least support and understand my decision. My mother supports it, albeit being slightly skeptical (she thinks I'll be one of the people that eats through the surgery immediately), so I think I'll be approved then. I was also notified that the surgeon now believes that RNY would be the best for me. He originally considered RNY but was concerned about me dealing with the lifestyle change as an autistic, so he recommended VSG for me at the initial consultation. I guess either something in my earlier food logs or very mild reflux when laying down changed it back to RNY. The reasoning wasn't explained to me. I'm a bit wary of the malabsorption but not to the extent of my father. He was barely okay with VSG because it was the least invasive. I wish he could come to the appointment but it looks like only my mother would be able to attend; my father just got a new job and he won't be off until either Thanksgiving or inclement weather since he works outdoors. It does get stormy this time of year so who knows.

I went to my appointment on October 1 but for some reason my appointment wasn't in the computer. I had the sticky note to prove that it was set up. Hopefully it was just a computer error. I see her again this Tuesday. I'm nervous about what it'll entail. Had a sleep study done and it was determined that I don't have sleep apnea. What a relief! Yet another thing pushing back my date is the last thing I need. Had to restart clearances for insurance reasons because of the delay. Nutrition thought that my logs were fine and liked I've been losing weight, so I'm still cleared on that end. I wish that that was enough.

So I contacted my program manager. She said that she'll talk to the psychologist. She did say that 2000 is a high max but that 1800 or lower should be fine. I also got contact info for people I can talk to regarding surgery itself (including our Facebook group, which I have been interacting with). I still have to go to the psych appointment October 1st. I hope I didn't do anything wrong; I'm super nervous about it.

I'm sorry you had to deal with that too. I'm great at losing 30 pounds by myself but then something happens and I regain everything and more. I was hoping to have sleeve as an additional tool to get me over the hump and keep going. Obviously I wouldn't know how my restriction would be like until after surgery, though. I've mentioned this to my psych and she was still like "I'm not risking what you'll do if you don't have restriction etc so we need to keep going." Sigh... I'm planning on calling the clinic tomorrow and see if I can at least contact my nutritionist. My NUT is a sweetheart and I felt comfortable talking to her. Thank you for the validation. I seriously felt like I was going crazy. I'm going to start with seeing the NUT again and maybe switching to another psych if I can help it. If that doesn't work then advocate is an option. I have Aspergers. I had disability assistance along with therapy for depression and anxiety from Kindergarten to college (note: the therapy started in high school). My psych claims that she has approved people "lower functioning" than me so I'm wondering what did they do "right" and I'm doing "wrong?" HIPPA prohibits specific information about the others but still, that's a serious question. Everyone else has been willing to work with me including my surgeon during our initial consultation. Heck, my normal therapist approves of my surgery plans and thinks that even with the new lifestyle changes that losing the weight would overall help my mental state. The problem is that she has no bariatric experience so her thoughts on the subject are considered moot. You're right about the new psychologist having my records. Maybe having someone new will make it easier to talk since I have to re-say everything. Who knows. I really want this surgery; I wouldn't be struggling with this if I didn't want it.

Mmm, poke bowls. There's a place by me that specializes in poke and ramen. I like mine with shrimp. Are the shirataki noodles fishy smelling?