DownInSocal

(Vegas cough cough valium cough cough see your PCP cough cough) Ok yesterday, bad day I did something really dumb at dinner and paid for it. My stomach still hurts this morning. Breakfast: Starbucks White Choc Mocha with a splash (like 1/4 shot decaf), tall, nonfat, no whip. I like the coffee flavor but didn't want the full shot. I don't know how my tummy would feel about that acid. It was good. I didn't drink it all so 202 cals, 9 gram Protein. Not bad for breakfast. Could do better though I know. lunch 1: 3 pieces pureed fish sticks with breading removed and pureed. These are really small. 145 cals with breading so less than that. 1.5 oz cheddar pureed and 1 tsp tarter. Lunch 2: Hummus pack with 2 slices cheese. I need to cut back on the cheese damit. Dinner: Here is where things went south. :redface1: :eek: I left work late and didn't want to make anything for my husband to eat so he asked for his fav mexican food. I was going to just open a small can of refried Beans at home or heat up a few meatballs. Instead I got a small order carne asada fries. WRONG. I ate like 4 fries and some carne asada meat (like 2 or 3 oz). I chewed it very well but did not puree it. WRONG. WRONG. I can't explain how wrong I was. I should have never done that. I had terrible stomach spasms. Passing a dinner plate through my stomach. I cried. My stomach is still sore this morning. Never again. I think they were serious about no tough meats :thumbup: I don't know my final counts for the day because of the carne incident. Oh and feel free to critique me. I won't take offense.

I like your blog so far! Yes hurry up and wait. See somethings are the same no matter what side of the border you are on. Will be thinking of you tomorrow. I know things will go great. I can't wait to get an update from your mom.

I keep track of what I eat on my iTouch in a program called Lose It! Yesterday: (it was a bad calorie day) Breakfast 7 am: 1/3 cup non fat milk lunch 1: 10 am: 1 snack pack hummus (i dont know size, it is small prob 2.5 oz) and 2 deli (thin) slices Gouda cheese. Lunch 2 noon: 2 Ounces Protein shake (I was still full) Lunch 3 3pm: 2 slices pureed ham, 1/4 cup pureed cooked carrots, 1 tsp thousand island, all mashed together. Driving Home 5:30 pm: rest of Protein Shake 8oz dinner 7 pm: 1 slice swiss, 3 fish sticks with most breading removed, 2 ounces cheddar, 1 tsp tarter sauce, all pureed together to mush. Yum. I didn't finish it all though. Yikes: 9 pm: Small cookie. 60 cals. I shouldn't have ate it. I was still full. I could have left it too, that was what made me angry at myself. I popped it in mouth without thinking. So I am not doing great about the cheese still. That is not helping my issues. I was 150 cals over my goal for this day. That extra cookie and slice swiss was a bad idea.

Another board has what are you eating threads almost everyday. I was thinking we could have the same thing here. I will try to keep up with mine. It might keep me clean about how good or bad I am doing with my Protein vs calories and such. Feel free to put yours down. You don't have to put calories and protein if you want, just what you have been eating. It might help newbies get an idea of what we eat after surgery. Newbies feel free to post what you eat too! Even if you are pre op it helps to see it up sometimes in making sure you are staying on track. You might want to note you are pre-op so people are not wondering about a large intake than a post op.

I'm late. I was held up in the bathroom! No chit. Anyway 1) My plans for last weekend: Yeah you guessed it bathroom time. I also played Sims 3. 2) Mac and cheese is my fav food. I can't say post op if it has changed because I need all my space for Protein. I can't waste it on carbs. I guess now my fav food is pureed teryaki chicken with some blue cheese dressing. 3) Star Trek. We are major trekkies. Even got married at the Star Trek Exp. in Las Vegas, before it closed down that is. 5) Cali, Utah, Washington, Alaska, Colorado, I was conceived in Arizona does that count?

So I thought to myself - I should mention all this to my husband. His answer - you know I prefer you do it yourself......you aren't going to Mexico for surgery, "I won't allow it". Now you don't know me, but I'm not the shy retiring type so I started to laugh. He didn't think it was funny and said if I went I would find the door with a different lock and divorce papers. Then I suggested the US....hmmm it appears that it really isn't Mexico that is the problem - seems it is a money thing. I have a good job (I have been blessed in this and in many other ways), and my Mom recently gave me $5,000. My parents don't believe in leaving an inheritance, they want to share what they have now. Uhh. WHAT? I am going to be really blunt here. Your husband is completely out of line. I left an abusive relationship 5 years ago. I think there are a lot of issues in your marriage that you may not even be aware of. NO ONE has the right to control and manipulate you. He tells you he won't allow it? Excuse me? You are an adult woman and have a right to make your own healthcare decisions. His JOB as your husband is to support you in your decisions. NOT treat you like a child. You will come home to find divorce papers? FINE would be my answer. YOU DESERVE BETTER. Get your surgery. Stop taking his crap. You are worth more than that. I would bet there is more emotional and verbal abuse going on here that maybe you don't want to face right now. You certainly don't have to air your laundry here on the board if you don't want to. I have been there. I know. You can pm me if you want or don't. I have been thinking about you since I first read your post. Angry at him. Worried about the abuse you are taking. You take back your life girl. You are worth it.

Phew. That was a close one!

Well slight update. Things are ......... ok.......... That is all I can say. I would like to go back to normal in this regard. I know that will take a long time. I still get terrible spasms but I have medicine for that. The thing that sucks right now is I need to walk! I am stalling and it is because I am not active because I spasm down there when I walk too much. I tried the eliptical. That makes the spasms awful. The not losing weight right now pisses me off more than anything. How dare my butt sabatoge my weight loss! :bored0: It better watch out, my stomach was sabotaging my weight loss and look what I did to it! :lol0:

I am glad you came to talk about your feelings. I hope you stay around! All bodies are different. For example I lost a lot of weight right after surgery and now I am going on a 3 week stall. I was crying last night over it. Even my husband was like you will start to lose weight again, how can you not? You eat 4 oz of food! I promise hon it is going to happen. Your body has been through so much. Have faith and love yourself.

I feel the same way. I am amazed at how much people pack away. I look at my husband's portions and I am thinking "uhh you could go with half that and be fine". I don't say anything though. I have stopped him from eating my leftovers though. He has a slight weight problem and does not need my extras. When I am done I run off with it and put it down the garbage disposal or put it in my little 3 oz ziplock containers. I love em: GladWare Containers I buy the smallest ones, 4 oz. Filled to the top they are perfect for a meal.

You know it is funny but honestly I feel somedays like my stomach and I have bonded in a way. It is so silly but true! Before my stomach was just an organ, sometimes despised for being hungry and wanting such large amounts of food. Then we had surgery. After surgery one day a coworker asked me how my stomach was that day. I thought a minute and said "It does it's thing, I do mine." Needless to say it was not a good stomach day. I was reflecting last night on how we are a team now. I understand what my stomach wants (most times) and we no longer argue over big plates of Pasta or an extra cookie. I feel bonded to it. It is now the stomach I always wanted. It is no longer just an organ. Dumb I know. But that is my feelings. No name though. I just call it tummy.

I don't know about all of the rest of it but your bra size is pretty hot!

Funny, both my doctor and two pharmacists said I could open the capsule because the beads were the time release portion not the capsule. One pharmacist showed me with Vinegar how the capsule dissolved in about 2 mins. Maybe I am the only one taking a close look at stuff when it comes out. Not that I am a freak like that or anything. :001_huh: Oh and I have not noticed a difference in the effectiveness. http://www.effexorxr.com/about-effexor/dosage-information.aspx Straight from Wyeth.

I can only speak for what my doctor said. I could have apple juice in moderation. You must get some calories. Just don't drink surgar drinks because you body may not be ready to deal with that much sugar. I only drank maybe 20 oz over a 4 week period of apple juice. Not much at all.

I do better with direct questions Anything not answered yet in this thread feel free to ask me. I am in week 6.

I too take Effexor XR. I don't chew that one don't worry. I just pop open the caps and put the little balls in a medicine cup. I take a "sip" of the balls and wash it down with Water. After I have taken them from the cup I take a few swishes of water around my mouth and swallow to make sure i got them all. Sometimes one will hide out and I will get a bitter taste a few mins later but water takes care of it. Hijack and TMI alert: Has anyone else noticed on Effexor that sometimes not all the little balls are fully "digested". Like you can errr see them in the toilet? This was going before surgery so I don't think it has anything to do with surgery but it is odd. I feel like I am not getting all the medicine if the balls are not disolving.

Wow I am soooo jealous! Keep up the great work. So no stall for you yet eh?

Welcome Nikski! This is a great forum. I have always found the support and advice I need here.

I would do no food past 5 to 6 pm and no liquids past 10 pm. And don't drink like a gallon of water right at 9:59 either! lol. Don't forget when brushing your teeth to not swallow any water or toothpaste.

This is actually a win win situation! You allowed yourself a treat. That is human and ok! You didn't gorge on donuts until you were sick. You didn't buy 10 and that is all you ate for two days. You are allowed a treat now and then. The other part? You are going to throw that other donut out to show that inner fat girl is not in charge anymore. Normal people throw out extra goodies and you are a normal girl now. You are not longer taking orders from the inner fat girl. She is going to have to find a new place to live.

So what is the plan Vampy? I am just wondering what your doctor is going to do. I would not want that thing trying to move out of my pyloris valve. That will be painful. What a mess. Please keep us updated. I am worried about how you/your doctor are going to get it out.

Thanks Vegas. Your support is great as usual. Your not alone Helen. I also used a gloved finger to figure out what the heck was going on. I guess sometimes it can be broken up but really something a medical pro needs to do. There is a nerve called the vagus nerve that can cause trouble if stimulated wrong. There was no breaking up this though. You know Skinny I don't know what to tell you. I know my doctor prefers Metimucil to Benifiber. My doctor never said anything about Miralax. I know he would prefer me not to use stimulant laxatives. I am not sure if Miralax is. I have had a rule since surgery that nothing goes in the pouch unless my doctor is ok with it, as far as meds go, OTC or not. I cleared the fiber with them and an OTC stool softener. I think you should talk to your doctor about adding a fiber suppliment gradually. Don't start off with the maximum dose. 3 tsp is the Metimucil's full dose but I will work up to that.

The short answer? Yes. Most pills settle at the bottom of your stomach and disolve. You don't want to irritate your staple line right now. I never had problems with being sick to my stomach if I ate some Jello and then took crushed pills. I don't even bother with the crusher now. I just chew them. Yeahhh I am that hardcore :001_unsure:

HA! So funny you said this if you saw my other thread. I should be listening to all the old timers here. You guys are pros. All the newbies. Listen to the old timers. They have wisdom beyond what they realize. Anyway. I now get to go to my therapist every week for awhile. She feels I am in danger of developing anorexia if I continue down this path. I have done a lot of soul searching and realized this crazy thinking is a direct result of feeling so out of control in so many areas of my life over the years. Mainly eating and my train wreck relationships. Please be honest with yourself about your food issues. I see so many people (mostly other boards) who are in denial about their food issues. Most people would not be overweight if we did not use food as a drug. I need to learn to have a healthy relationship with food. This surgery will make me healthier and help my self esteem but it will NOT fix my underlying emotional problems that I can not ignore any longer. I have never regretted this surgery. This is just one step in begining to love myself again and believe I am worth taking care of. My assignment this week is to write an obituary to the hunger monster. You know that orange guy that sits in the back seat in that commercial? Well he is dead. There is no reason to punish myself for previous eating. Maybe I will post it here. Dunno. Might be too dumb :lol0: to share. Wonder what my therapist will have in store for me this next week? :001_unsure: As always you guys are awesome. Love ya all. :scared0:

Hi Guys, this is long but important. I can't be bothered with spelling, sorry. I have not been around much because I had a complication. I was also struggling with whether I should post it or not. I am not shy so the topic does not bother me but I don't want to scare people away from this wonderful life changing surgery. I decided it could be a good cautionary tale to keep people on program with fluids. Don't screw around. Sip, sip! It is THAT important. I, like many others, have been struggling a little with constipation. When you don't eat much there is not much there to make a BM. No big deal right? Well not for me....... I started to feel constipated for the second time since surgery on Monday, Sept 30th. I kind of ignored it as bathroom habits are all out of whack for everyone now. By Wednesday I was feeling really constipated and uncomfortable. I emailed my team and they said drink Milk of Magnesia. It will be ok. It was not even close to ok. Wednesday afternoon I could tell I needed to have a movement but when I would go to the bathroom nothing would happen. I didn't strain because I thought it would just happen on it's own when ready. Wednesday evening this "mass" (as you will see later) was really trying to come out. I was starting to get involuntary pushing on the toilet trying to expel this movement. I could tell it was large and very hard. This is when I started to notice a lot of blood, mucus, and Water moving past the mass. I was also cramping very badly and upset about the whole situation. I called my mother who is a nurse. She felt I might be "impacted" and needed to contact my team in the morning. She recomended I take a Valium (to stop the painful spasms) and try and get some sleep. "Impacted" is when there there is a large mass of BM that will not move on it's own because of the size and hardness. I did not have a fever or any other problems. I did not feel my pain was worth a trip to the E.R. I took a Valium and went to bed. At about 4 a.m. Thursday I woke up with the feeling of needing to have a movement. I went to the bathroom and the involuntary pushing started. The only way I can describe it is when you have bad diareha and can't control the way it comes out? That is the contractions I am talking about. I couldn't stop pushing. After about 30 mins of this I was ready to tell my husband to call an ambulance. I was in terrible pain in my rectal area. I finally passed a movement the size of a water bottle that was rock hard. No joke. No exageration. Needless to say a lot of blood and mucus followed. It was very painful and traumatic. I screamed through the whole ordeal. My husband was very upset and didn't know what to do but tell me he loved me and hang in there. My mother was sleeping after her night shift (I didn't want to wake her) and I was feeling a little better (though very sore) so I went to work. I emailed my care team and told them what happened. Later in the morning I started to spot bleed from my rectum and started to get worried. My team told me to get to my PCP who was waiting for me. I was begining to feel a lot of pain at this point. Of course I got a flat tire on the way to my doctor's office and had to walk the last 3 blocks. No easy feat when you have been through what I had just gone through. He examined me (NOT fun) and found I had fissures and tears all throughout my rectum. This is what was causing the bleeding. I now have an internal pain killing cream I put in with a syringe thing, a cream I put in also, more Loritab, and Valium for the rectal spasms that almost make you want to pass out. I should heal in 7 -14 days. Walking makes the area spasm so walking much is out of the question right now. The whole experieince has been very painful. To top it off I am in a stall right now. My weight is flucuation 2 lbs, back and forth. Why did this happen? Because I did not get enough fluids! I really believe this was the root of the problem as I live in a hot climate and sweat during the day often. I also was getting no Fiber (none of us are at the begining), and eating lots of cheese for Protein (well lots for us with small tummies). It was a perfect storm. I am using Metimucil's Clear Metamucil Clear & Natural now. This stuff is great. I am starting with 1 tsp a day to get my system used to it. It has no taste. I can't even tell I have put it in my water. I am eating less cheese. I am getting all my fluids and not kidding myself about getting enough. Measuring is the only way I know I am getting what I need. Please talk with your doctor about adding this fiber to your diet and make sure you are getting fluids. This whole thing was my fault for not getting fluids. I have learned my lesson. Don't follow in my footsteps.