Julia82

20 hours ago, Beantownposse said:

I had my surgery on Oct 20th and have had issues drinking the Protein shakes(gross). So basically I have had no Protein since surgery so ate some steak tips today very slowly and my stomach seems to have handled it well. I know this is not ideal but I was so weak without any protein and felt sick. I feel much better now. Anyone else eat food earlier than they were scheduled to? Thanks.

My surgery was 10/4, im still having trouble getting enought protein but have found these shots that have between 15 and 36 grams of protein and are only between 2 and 4 ounces each. Much easier to choke down than 10-16oz to get the same amount of protein. I have eaten some foods a few days before I got the official orders to switch to purees but that was a huge mistake. I threw up for over 24 hours after that. I tried a soft meatball for dinner then mushed up salmon and cauliflower the next day for lunch and after that I couldn't keep anything down, I was honestly afraid I messed something with the surgery up, so much so it's been almost a week and I still have been hesitant to eat even pureed fruit I've been sticking with my Protein Shots depending on which either 2 or 3 times a day then the rest of the day work on trying to get enough fluids to not be dehydrated. You definitely got lucky your pouch wasn't irritated or damaged, as was I, ive read some horror stories of people eating too soon and it causing a leak in their stomach pouch which can and did almost killed them in a very short time so im paranoid now and sticking to protein shots and zero Gatorade for as long as I can stand it. I read somewhere it really takes like 12 weeks for the stomach pouch to fully heal even tho the drs progress the diet doesn't mean it's fully healed so just be careful.

3 hours ago, Pamela90 said:

Hi Everyone! I’m scheduled to be sleeved with hiatal hernia repair. Nervous, but excited. Anyone else have both?

I wanted them to repair my hernia when they did my sleeve but they told me to wait till after I lose some weight then he will go back in and fix the hernia

1 hour ago, raspberrylime said:

Thank you for the update and I hope you're recovering well! It's really helpful for what to expect because I did indeed get my period yesterday, just in time for Tuesday 🥲 Good idea on the period underwear, I'll definitely add them to my hospital bag. My biggest qualm at the moment is only being allowed to take Tylenol for the cramps- sadly it does nothing for me compared to Advil. Having to come to terms with having period pain forever is harder for me than giving up carbs 😅

I was worried about the cramps too and also never use Tylenol since it hadn't worked in the past and ibuprofen always works but I did try liquid Tylenol and it honestly did help more than I expected. It's worth a try, better than nothing else.

On 10/4/2022 at 2:26 PM, raspberrylime said:

Good luck you'll do great! Im in the same boat, It's super likely I'll have my period next week during surgery too 😬 I'm hoping the worry and stress leading up to the big day will cause it to show up later lol

The nurses were super cool about it, put these stretchy disposable panties on me with a pad, she said they would cut them off in the or, not sure if they did or not cause I woke back up with some on so they either left it or put new ones on me. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, just glad the first nurse was female, not sure if I would have been so comfortable telling a male nurse but honestly I was way more worried about it than I should have been, so if yours does show up just in time for surgery don't freak out about it like I did. I also have period underwear, I don't use pads or tampons so brought about 6 pairs of those in my bag and after the first night when I was up and moving more I used those since the one size fits most stretchy hospital ones and the big bulky pads that barely stuck to anything, like more of it came off with the paper. I didn't have to worry about leaks, I had to pee sooooo often and would change the huge non sticky pads every time. They had me on fluids so I was peeing more than I ever have in my entire life lol

On 10/7/2022 at 11:36 AM, Vicky Sue said:

Day 2 post op... really tired, so I'm sleeping quite abit, and haven't taken any pain meds since last night. Still pretty sore when i get up and down especially where the stomach came out on my right side. The nausea has been little to none. I'm feeling blessed and so happy i made this decision.

Thats weird, they took mine out on the left side. I only have one small incision on the right side and the other 5 on the left. I do have a large hernia that I'm sure complicated things for the surgeon, but that large one the stomach came out whichever side it's on really is the most sore one for sure.

On 10/4/2022 at 2:42 PM, heatherdbby said:

How are you?

I'm still a little sore and have no appetite so getting as much Protein they want me to is difficult, ive been drinking as much Gatorade as I can to at least stay hydrated. Was expecting to only stay one night in the hospital but it ended up being 2. I guess my blood pressure was super high (which it's never been before) when I was in recovery, I know they gave me meds for it but I was too out of it to even ask what. The incision thats been the most uncomfortable the whole time was the largest one they took the stomach out through, the smaller ones never really hurt too much. Walking really does help with the gas pains which like everyone else has said the pain meds do nothing for. Can't wait to drive again, they said a week as long as I'm not on the pain meds anymore, they only gave me 6 when I left Thursday so only had a day or 2 worth and didn't need it anymore so Tuesday I'll be able to drive again if I absolutely need to. It's definitely hard watching the family eat and not be able to join them, im not even hungry but still looks and smells good so feel like im missing out.

I had my sleeve done at 7:30am on the 4th, they kept me in the hospital 2 nights, I was released a few hours ago. The most sore incision is the one they pulled my stomach through. I've been focusing on getting enough fluids, have no appetite at all so haven't even tried a Protein Shake yet. Had a lot of nausea the first 36 hours and was on Zofran that whole time to help with the nausea. It's improved now, not 100% but not so bad I was afraid I was going to vomit. My 2 biggest issues are getting up and moving enough and not getting enough fluids I've been trying to force fluids but after a few small sips I start feeling the pressure on my chest they warned was a sign of having too much so I have no idea how I'm going to get enough fluids. I slept the majority of the time in the hospital and still am sleepy and kind of want to just sleep but need to remind myself to keep getting up and walking around at least for a few min.

Of course last night I got my period, a week early, thinking it was all the stress. Sorry if that's TMI just worried about it, im sure the nurses will have delt with it before but it's still a little weird for me.

Just got the call, have to be there at 6am tomorrow! I'm not sure its fully hit me that it's tomorrow, im sure once I walk in tomorrow morning it will hit me like a ton of bricks ill definitely take a dose of my anxiety meds before my ride gets here! Hopefully I'm there just one night, not sure how things will go with the huge hernia they have to work around. Good luck to everyone else having their surgery tomorrow too!

2 hours ago, kaya.xpn said:

Heyo! I am October 3rd!
I have been on my pre op diet since the 19th. I have lost about 10 pounds since starting the pre op. I did really good up until yesterday when I messed up and ate 2 scalloped potatoes. I am having a bit of anxiety over it. Thoughts like “what if my liver doesn’t shrink now?” “What if the cancel me?”
The nerves are getting more intense every day.
I’ve been in this process for over a year so I think it’s hard for me to realize it’s actually happening!

I'm a day behind you, surgery on the 4th and started liquids diet the 20th. Sounds like we have a lot in common, started the process late August of last year, its been a journey for sure. I don't think the one little slip up will hurt your progress any. The nerves are really starting to get to me too, even my anxiety meds aren't even helping anymore. I'm having an issue getting my pain management dr and surgeon to communicate so that's added to the stress, the pain management dr wants me to stay on what I'm on then the team can add to it accordingly after but surgeon wants me off of it and didn't tell me till less than 2 weeks before which isnt enough time to taper off so im definitely losing some sleep over it, unless I either disobey the surgeon and stay on it and avoid being in withdrawal or follow the pain management drs orders and stay on them and let them add on. If neither respond to me and let me know what they decided I'm going to have to make a decision to stop taking them tomorrow and deal with the withdrawal till surgery day or stay on, message the surgeon and tell him I've decided to keep taking it and pray he doesn't cancel my surgery. I never imagined this whole process would be so stressful

I'm dealing with this now, surgery Oct 4th and pain management dr who prescribes my subs said do not stop taking them and the surgery team can add short acting pain meds with it and he would be happy to speak with him but surgeon told me 2 days ago he wants me off completely and to take 1mg less a week... Im on 4mg and there is less than 2 weeks so at best I'll be on 2 so I dunno what he was thinking, ive been calling and emailing my pain management dr for days and so far no response so im kinda freaking out at this point I really don't know what to do.

I had my pre op appointment with the surgeon, surgery is Oct 4th so less than 2 weeks away he said he wants me off of them and to take 1 mg less a week... im on 4mg... there is 1 week and 4 days... at most I'll be down to 2mg according to his plan I tried to tell him that about 10 times but he didn't listen. My pain management dr who prescribes them to me said to stay on them, his exacts words were... I would recommend that you continue taking the Suboxone "through" surgery (not stopping it) and then if additional pain control is needed after (which it will be) the team can add some short-acting medications on top. If the surgery team would like to discuss that with me, no problem.

I've messaged him a few times to ask him to talk to him but hes not responding, called asked for his nurse she wasnt there so the receptionist took a very detailed message about my siruation and how urgent it is and they said to expect a call today and no call. I don't want to stop taking it if I'm not supposed to but the surgeon was really against the use of it to treat pain but when my oxys and percs constantly needed to be increased to work I said no more and went on a search for a pain management dr willing to prescribe suboxone off label as pain meds. This dr actually does confrences promoting it being a safer alternative for those people like myself who seldom feel like I need something stronger. Recently I've felt like I've needed more after a car accident hopefully that heals because I'd like to keep taking the subs even tho they have ruined my teeth in the 10 years I've been on them.

I pray my dr comes through on this and speaks with the surgeon because stopping it and feeling sick for a few days before and then again a few days after just sounds miserable to me, that's one less thing to add to my anxiety that hopefully won't have to be. He's only in the office Mondays you bet you butt I'm calling when they open and again every few hours if he doesn't call or message me back.

1 hour ago, Jan69 said:

Need some help on Multivitamins anything that you recommend. Oh trying Protein ready to drink shakes, Muscle max is so sweet tried coffee Premier Protein shake ok on ice any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Glucerna hunger smart chocolate is the one I've tolerated best and tastes the best to me. I'm lactose intolerant so I didn't have many choices from the list the dr gave me but I'm so glad to have found the glucerna I've bought about 15 6 packs lol don't try the powder of it tho, it's disgusting! I got some of the syntax nectar ones and they aren't too bad, haven't tried them all yet tho. But if you hate milky stuff like me the nectar ones I was very happy to find.

On 9/20/2022 at 10:46 AM, 18kDays said:

Congrats to all my October buddies. My surgery date is October 3rd. I started my pre-op liquid diet yesterday and it seems surprisingly easy. I do wonder how I will feel about it next week though. I am isolated in my daily life. I am over 50, single with no kids at home or nearby, I work from home and live in a suburban area that is mostly made up of families and traveling plant workers and I don't know anyone - no support system in place. Who else is going through this completely alone? I am arranging paid transportation to the med center and a paid medical transport to bring me home following the procedure. For those of you who have had to go through this by yourself, did you feel able to manage alone post-op? What was the most difficult thing?

I'm sort of in a similar position, I do have a few family members 20+ min away but my dad is fighting a 15 year battle with chronic lymphatic leukemia and my mom is taking care of her older sister with alzheimers so basically an adult sized toddler. So I avoid asking either of them for anything. I have 1 daughter who just had a baby so don't ask her either other than to bring the baby to me to snuggle which helps a lot when im having a rough day but otherwise I'm disabled and stay home alone most of the time. I can definitely relate on the lack of a support system. I'm having a tough time getting enough Protein and drinking more on top of that. They want me on 80-100 grams of protein a day and so far 65g is as much as I've gotten and barely drank anything else. Not having any food at all is tough. I bought a ninja creami and have started freezing the fruit flavored clear protein and making it into sorbet so I feel like im actually eating something, next will be the chocolate one, I hope its like chocolate ice cream if so I think I'll have a much easier time tricking myself into getting the whole 80-100g in plus some more zero Gatorade on top of that. I'm often online not sure how but if it's possible to message me on here if you ever need a buddy to talk to id be happy to chat.

On 9/12/2022 at 3:08 PM, KimA-GA said:

frustrating to have dates moved!! my surgeon hasn’t given me a date yet … just beginning of october

I was supposed to have been scheduled for mid to late August. I called and messaged the RN who was supposed to schedule it for me finally 2 weeks later I get a message saying sorry I forgot to schedule it before I left for my 2 week vacation and that the soonest the surgeon has available was October 4th. Talk about frustrating I wanted to reach through the phone and grab her and shake her and tell her she better fix it and make it for August but I tried to calm down and just go with the flow and time has actually gone by really fast so trying not to be too mad at her lol

So per suggestions of people who have already had the procedure done they say the creami is a great purchase. I got one on sale yesterday so looking for ideas and recipes people have tried and liked. It definitely seems like a good way to make yucky Protein Drinks more painful to consume if they are made into ice cream.

October 4th here. Getting the sleeve done. Have been waiting since July 2021 for it to get scheduled. Less than 4 weeks away, im starting to get nervous. I thought I had plenty of Protein but now that I've gotten my full instructions I only have like 2/3 of what I'll need just for the 2 weeks before and the 2 weeks after. I wish they had been more upfront with how much we would need I would have started hoarding it a lot sooner. Otherwise I think im about ready, have lots of Water and zero Gatorade for me and food and litter for the kitties. I feel like im never going to be totally ready in the time I have left.

I know this is old but I have been on Suboxone for 10 years now, my pain management dr told me and the surgeon he wants me to continue taking my 4mg of suboxone through surgery and that if the surgeon had any questions about medicating me for pain after my sleeve surgery he would be happy to discuss it with him. I'm not sure if they have spoken yet but have a meeting with the surgeon in about a week and surgery in less than 5 weeks so we shall find out if they have me follow his instructions of continuing to take it or not and if I do how pain control goes. I've heard of other pain patients actually taking percocet for breakthrough pain while on subs so i don't see it having a negative effect but with all the horror stories about precipitated withdrawals when I started taking subs I can't lie im definitely nervous.