I'm having my sleeve on June 3. I'm a terrible procrastinator which means I am totally unprepared! I was wondering if anyone could help me out with things I need to have at home when I'm released from the hospital? What were your preferences?!?

Protein shakes?

Vitamins?

Foods?

liquids?

Medications?

Other misc?

Help me! I feel so unprepared!!!

You're going to need clear (sugar free) liquids for the first few days. Like Jello, broths (beef, chicken and veggie), tea (decaff or caffiene free), etc.

Then thicker liquids, things that will pour off a spoon, like thin Soups (no chunks).

Then thicker soft foods, like Yogurt and puddings (both sugar free and fat free) and thicker soups (still no chunks)

Then smashable foods, like flakey fish, soups with soft chunks that can be squished with a fork, chicken.

shakes. For all phases after the clear liquid phase.

And, if you get tired of the shake flavors, then you can get extracts and sugar free puddings and such to flavor them.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Protein shakes?

powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury unflavored powder, Unjury Protein cheese sauce mix, Unjury chicken Soup and strawberry shake powder, Syntrax Matrix vanilla, Muscle Milk, Garden of a Life Raw Protein original and vanilla, Premier Protein chocolate and vanilla, Syntrax nectar various flavors, and PB2

Vitamins?

Garden of life Raw Vitamin Code for Women

Calcium

B12 sublingual

Foods?

Drinkable yogurt (Siggi's and kefir were the lowest carbs)

Broths... Chicken, beef, Swansons Tortilla soup broth base, Swansons Chineese hot and sour soup broth base

Cream soups....chicken, mushroom, celery, asparagus, shrimp, lobster bisque, potato leek, tomato, etc.

I diluted and strained the cream soups and added Unjury unflavored powder to soups and broth. The Unjury protein cheese powder was especially yummy mixed in chicken broth and tortilla soup base.

Liquids?

Mio and Dasani Water flavor drops, crystal light packets, K2O packets, organic juice, pedialyte, vitamin water, Lifewater, decaf herbal tea

Medications?

My surgeon sent me home with Omeprazole 40mg, antibiotics, GI motility meds, and sublingual pain meds (never needed them)

Other misc?

GasX strips, Maaloxx, Blender Bottle for mixing shakes and soups

This got me through the first 18 days while I was on clear and full liquids.

Edited June 1, 201412 yr by Kindle

I think the previous post have covered what you'll need for food. I will try to give you a this of "other" things you may want or need.

A lazy boy recliner to sleep on for the first 2 weeks. Or a wedge to lift the top of your mattress. If you don't have either, you can shove a bunch of pillows and blankets between your mattress and box spring to raise the head of the bead.

You will want a small pillow or stuffed animal to place on your belly when trying to stand up or sit down. I would recommend this is also something you should bring with you to the hospital.

Try to find sweatpants or pajama's that are way too big that fit just below your chest.

Chap stick

A few good books.

Shoes that slip on (no ties)

A journal. Start documenting everything. I am 9 months post op and I still update my journal and look back on it to show myself how far I've come.

Last but not least, ask if the hospitals pharmacy can fill your prescriptions before you leave. That way you won't have to stop at a pharmacy on the way home.

Good Luck to you. Wishing you a trouble free procedure and a speedy recovery.

Protein shakes?

For the first couple weeks after surgery, I did a lot of Unjury chicken soup and Unjury chocolate splendor. Unjury vanilla stirred into warm chai tea. Unflavored protein stirred into warm beef broth or warm miso soup. I also drank some Isopure RTD mixed 50/50 with G2 or Essence Water -- stuff tasted vile but it really helped me meet my protein targets for the day.

Vitamins?

I did liquid vitamins for the first four weeks after surgery: liquid multivitamin, iron, and calcium, all Wellesse brand.

Foods?

Do you mean solid food? I wasn't allowed solid food for four weeks after surgery so that wasn't really a consideration for me.

Liquids?

Different kinds of broths and strainable soups, G2 and G2 Natural, Powerade Zero, CarbMaster milk (mostly used for making protein shakes), Hood Calorie Countdown Fat Free milk (again, used for protein shakes), light juice, Essence Water, crystal light packets, kefir, sugar free popsicles and sugar free fudgesicles, chai tea, decaf coffee.

Medications?

I had what my doc sent me home with: liquid Lortab for pain, omeprazole for stomach acid, reglan for nausea (I never needed that). I also had Gas-X strips, Miralax, Milk of Magnesia, and Senokot on hand but of all of that, only needed the MoM once in the first couple months. The other stuff is still in my medicine cabinet, unopened, nearly a year later.

Other misc?

chewable probiotic, immersion blender (best way to make protein shakes IMO -- mixes everything really smoothly and no air bubbles or foam), food thermometer (most protein powders will denature and clump if you mix them with liquids over 130 degrees), sugar free fiber powder -- I used Equate brand -- to mix in with protein shakes or other liquids, digital food scale with tare function that weighs in both grams and ounces, a couple of well-insulated mugs to keep your drinks hot or cold (I used Bubba Keg brand -- love them), heating pad, recliner (consider renting one if you don't own one), body pillow or pregnancy pillow if you aren't going to sleep in a recliner, clothes that don't fit snugly around the waist or under the bust (think empire waist dresses, yoga pants, cotton leisure bras that fasten in front and are wirefree), and whatever it is that will keep you from being bored -- a Kindle loaded with books you want to read, a stack of puzzle books, lots of new yarn and knitting ideas, your Netflix queue loaded up with movies to watch, Amazon Instant watch list filled with tv shows to binge watch -- you get the idea. You also may want to make sure your house is clean, your laundry is done, and you are stocked up with any heavy supplies your house might need (laundry detergent, kitty litter) for the next few weeks, unless someone else is going to be taking care of those things for you post-surgery.

Good luck!

Edited June 1, 201412 yr by Bufflehead

Don't forget some SF popsicles

Liquid Tylenol - I wasn't really in much pain, so didn't want to take the pain medicine as it made me even more nauseous. So liquid Tylenol worked perfectly for me.

I am so glad for this thread.i also will be getting surgery soon and this thread really helps. Now, I know I need to get moving to order/find the above stuff and to fix the bed at an angle. Thank you!

Is unjury much better than just any Protein powder at walmart? Does the unflavored taste really have no flavor?

Edited June 1, 201412 yr by Travelmego

@@Travelmego Unjury has great numbers in terms of calories/carbs/protein and most people find that it tastes really good, especially the Chocolate Splendor. It is very light and mixes well. Unjury also makes the chicken soup protein powder and for many people, they really enjoy that after surgery because you get sick of sweet stuff very quickly!

You can buy a starter kit from their website before committing to a larger tub of any flavor, which I recommend doing for any protein if you can. And I would say wait until after surgery, taste it again, and only then buy anything larger than a sample size.

Unflavored doesn't have no flavor. Whey protein tastes like whey, and unflavored just means they haven't added anything like chocolate or vanilla to mask the whey taste. But in small amounts it is fine, particularly if you add it to something that has a pretty strong flavor of its own.

Ok, thank you @@Bufflehead << what a name lol. I will get the sample pack. I hope it would last me long enough to order the larger size of the flavor I like post surgery. I did hear that taste changes so that is a really good idea to wait.

Thank you for starting this thread. My surgery is scheduled for June 19th and although I have been glued to this site for months, I still feel overwhelmed when I think about preparation. I live in a remote area, so simply running out and picking up something afterwards is not an option. The hospital I will be having my surgery at is 4 hours away, and my surgery is outpatient, so I will leave the hospital the same day as my surgery and stay overnight in a nearby hospital. I am a bit apprehensive about what to have on hand for that 1st night in the hospital. My husband will be with me, and he is a wonderful caregiver. If anyone veterans have any suggestions for that first night in the hotel room?

@@Travelmego what I did was I got the starter kit to begin, before surgery. I decided I liked the chocolate splendor, vanilla, and chicken Soup, then I bought 3 individual size packets of each of those flavors:

http://www.unjury.com/store/protein/unjury-protein/unjury-protein-samples.html

that way I was sure to have enough on hand to try them after surgery and order a tub if I still liked them (I did).

i'm June 23 and also prepping now for post-op.

i LOVE the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury strawberry mixed with some crystal light lemonade. it tastes like an awesome summer mixed lemonade from Applebees!!!

in late june it will be awesome on ice while i'm starting my recovery!

I'm also glad I came across this post, I'm scheduled for 6/18 and trying to get everything in order. I'm going to order the sample pack and Unjury to try as well.

The one thing I'll add to the list are those tiny dixie disposable paper cups. They are exactly 3oz and in the first month, handy to have so I wouldn't have to dirty up a bowl or plate every time I ate few small bites of cottage cheese or whatever I was eating!

I think the previous post have covered what you'll need for food. I will try to give you a this of "other" things you may want or need.

A lazy boy recliner to sleep on for the first 2 weeks. Or a wedge to lift the top of your mattress. If you don't have either, you can shove a bunch of pillows and blankets between your mattress and box spring to raise the head of the bead.

You will want a small pillow or stuffed animal to place on your belly when trying to stand up or sit down. I would recommend this is also something you should bring with you to the hospital.

Try to find sweatpants or pajama's that are way too big that fit just below your chest.

Chap stick

A few good books.

Shoes that slip on (no ties)

A journal. Start documenting everything. I am 9 months post op and I still update my journal and look back on it to show myself how far I've come.

Last but not least, ask if the hospitals pharmacy can fill your prescriptions before you leave. That way you won't have to stop at a pharmacy on the way home.

Good Luck to you. Wishing you a trouble free procedure and a speedy recovery.

This is GREAT info - thanks - I have surgery on June 30 and I will definitely take all of this into consideration!