I started looking into this 15 months ago. I'm lucky to live by Lake Norman, NC where Dr. Heider is. I went to his seminar and was convinced. I was 25 then (just turned 27 a month ago) and worried about being too young. But his staff is great and put me at ease.

From there was getting started with the Lake Norman SWL center, and then 6 months documented diet with my pcp. February '16 all the paperwork was sent in, of course insurance denied it. The center was great, and fought it for me. In July, I was finally approved after 13 months. Surgery was scheduled for 9/15.

All the pre-op went well, I managed to not cheat my diet at all, and my center is liquid only Optifast for 2 weeks. Day/night of surgery was a lot more painful than I expected. Day 2, came home late afternoon - really struggled to drink enough and get my pills in. Paced all around my house for a good while.

Yesterday was a bit better. I've learned hot liquids go down easier than cold or even room temp. Today, day 4 is going ok. Made some hot chocolate with Protein mix which went down okay. Until day 11, I'm on broth, Jello, Protein shakes, and sugar free popsicles only. It's hard to eat/drink enough calories that way.

I'm starting to feel a bit hungry - not surprising, since I have eaten maybe 200 calories in the past 3 days. Seems all the room in my pouch goes to pills I have to take. I also haven't had a bowel movement, but there's not really anything going in. Hopefully that's normal and not an issue.

Looking forward to what's to come! Any and all advice is appreciated

Rolo- I am schedules for Oct 4 - I am also a paramedic and teach a lot. I'm kinda more concerned that you are worrying about calories when you main focus should be Protein. You need that protein to protect your muscle. Reminder the body is goofy it likes to burn muscle. As for having a BM don't get worried about it - check with your Doc and see if you can add Fiber like Metamucil (watch for bloating - I forget the ingredient to watch for). This can help move things along - keep a food log of protein - my target is 100grams a day. Maybe take pills with Protein shake ? Sorry I am giving advise when I haven't had my surgery yet.

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All those calories come from a proteim shake :-) better yesterday with about 20g protein

All those calories come from a proteim shake :-) better yesterday with about 20g protein

20 grams protein is extremely low. My protein target is 100 grams. What is your protein target? You need to be doing everything you can to get in all of your protein and fluids. Sip, sip, sip, and sip some more.

75 to 100. This is only day 4 post op. I take 15 pills, I think they're taking up almost all the space. I sip sip sip - hot is easier so am sipping hot cocoa made from chocolate Protein mix, 24g protein.

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All those calories come from a proteim shake :-) better yesterday with about 20g Protein

20 grams protein is extremely low. My protein target is 100 grams. What is your protein target? You need to be doing everything you can to get in all of your protein and fluids. Sip, sip, sip, and sip some more.

Oh the milk has 9g protein. So 33 total today.

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Protein is critical for healing. See what you can do to increase your protein as soon as possible. According to my surgeon there is no physical reason someone couldn't consume three premier protein shakes the day after surgery. It isn't easy but it is doable.

Congrats on your recent surgery. Don't worry too much that you might not have all the answers. I did research overload and still felt overwhelmed.

My advice would be to slow down, and listen to your body. Don't be timid about putting yourself first over the next weeks. It's a lot to get used to, pretty much a whole new way of life. Take it one day at a time and don't get lost in comparing your results to someone else. Your body will proceed at the speed that is right for you and you alone.

Best wishes!

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Yikes. I start throwing up, believe me I have tried getting it all in. I'm going to look in to some liquid Protein drops

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Congrats on your recent surgery. Don't worry too much that you might not have all the answers. I did research overload and still felt overwhelmed.

My advice would be to slow down, and listen to your body. Don't be timid about putting yourself first over the next weeks. It's a lot to get used to, pretty much a whole new way of life. Take it one day at a time and don't get lost in comparing your results to someone else. Your body will proceed at the speed that is right for you and you alone.

Best wishes!

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Thank you. The Protein just worries me. I think I am going to need extra time off work. I thought I could go back a week from today.

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Congrats on your recent surgery. Don't worry too much that you might not have all the answers. I did research overload and still felt overwhelmed.

My advice would be to slow down, and listen to your body. Don't be timid about putting yourself first over the next weeks. It's a lot to get used to, pretty much a whole new way of life. Take it one day at a time and don't get lost in comparing your results to someone else. Your body will proceed at the speed that is right for you and you alone.

Best wishes!

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Thank you. I'm mostly worried about the Protein. I also think I'm going to need to go back to work later. Thought I'd be able to go back a week from today (desk job).

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Has anyone tried "yes whey" or "new whey"?