Hi post-op'ers. Is there anything you've learned through this process you wish you knew going into it?

Like, what to bring to the hospital?

How to portion/weigh your foods.

How to stay motivated?

I would love to get some feedback.

Liquid diet starts TOMORROW, surgery September 20th.

Thanks!

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Get some benefiber and stool softeners. Constipation was the bane of my recovery. I'm at seven weeks post and finally think I have it resolved.

Don't stock shakes. Your taste might change after surgery and you will hate some flavors.

That I just have to eat one small piece of carbs like potato or a piece of fruit and I gain weight. It really is a High Protein low carbohydrate diet

You will burp, all the time, after almost every swallow. At least I do! Overall what I wish I had known though was that the first 3 or 4 days are hard, but after that it is actually pretty easy.

I wish I knew more high protein low carb foods I could eat as an ovo vegetarian.

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That everyone's experience is a little different from everyone else's. I had virtually no pain. Have had no problem with constipation, but some of the reverse issue. I've had gas, annoying rather than painful. Mostly, I guess I wish I'd known how incredibly tired I'd get of protein shakes and water as the basis of my intake. I've had some soup and yogurt the last few days, but I can't wait until I can have a greater variety of food. Also, I feel like I'm drinking constantly but I still don't meet my water goals. Argh.

I wish I had known that I'd still be dreadfully hungry after surgery. I'm exactly a week out and the soups and liquids are doing NOTHING to sate my hunger. I keep sneaking in solids like meat but that's a monster to digest. I'm miserable because I'm constantly drinking but feel like I'm starving. Although protein shakes kill the hunger, I can no longer stand the processed taste and it automatically induces nausea. I wish there was a way I could make an all natural protein dense liquid meal.

I wouldn't eat no meat that can be dangerous! My doctor said strictly liquids for 3 weeks ! Nothing else! Today is the end of my 3 weeks it wasn't easy but I made it!

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The 2 week pre op and then 2 week post op liquid diets were a real mental challenge.
I was able to take pills...i didn't have to crush them. I just had to do one pill at a time and take them slowly.
Pain was minimal. Mostly getting up from chair/bed or sitting down...abs felt like they had been in a major workout.
Coming home after surgery my weight went up...all the iv fluids etc...and I was getting up to urinate frequently the first couple of days home.
It wasn't until week 6 when I got to eat food again that I started to feel normal...i was very tired the first several weeks, often needing a nap.
It is hard to not obsess about the scale. The stalls when the scale doesn't move are more emotional than I expected. I try to focus on the non scale victories and look at the big picture. But it is a bigger mental challenge than I thought it would be.

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All of the above and that a good core binder for post op would have been great to know about! Getting in and out of bed ...up and down on the toilet was Theeee Worst pain I've ever felt and I've had rotator cuff surgery[emoji15] I found one on Amazon for bariatric/tummy tuck/C-section surgeries and it was worth every penny! The more I moved without it my inner stitches wouldn't heal!

9 hours ago, VelvetSpank said:

I wish I had known that I'd still be dreadfully hungry after surgery. I'm exactly a week out and the Soups and liquids are doing NOTHING to sate my hunger. I keep sneaking in solids like meat but that's a monster to digest. I'm miserable because I'm constantly drinking but feel like I'm starving. Although Protein Shakes kill the hunger, I can no longer stand the processed taste and it automatically induces nausea. I wish there was a way I could make an all natural Protein dense liquid meal.

"I keep sneaking in solids like meat "--I'm sorry to react this way, but WHAT?? Considering the dangers involved of causing a leak in an organ that is healing from surgery, why would you do this?? I know you were told by your surgeon and nutritionist not to eat solids after surgery--is hunger really more demanding than your safety and the success of this surgery? Please, please don't do this.

How much the gas pain sucks the first few days post op, and that I would still be hungry after surgery.

I never had any gas pain at all. I don't even recall having to deal with it. Maybe I absorbed it lolol

I took so much stuff to the hospital with me. In the end, I spent 75% of the time sleeping or dozing, and the rest just reading a book. Keep it simple in the hospital....

I wish I knew how great I would feel in 10 months, in six months, in four months after the surgery. I wish I had known how good I was going to feel in the long run, so that he didn't have to be so afraid beforehand or in the first few weeks after the surgery when I felt like I would never be "normal" again. Because the truth is, I feel more "normal" than I have since I've been an adult.