Some pre and post surgery tips

[JavaKnut 104]

Being that I am in my 3rd week post op from a sleeve with a DS, and into the mushy foods stage - I wanted to post a couple of things that I found to be very useful with pre-surgery and post.

If you go on the liver reduction diet like I did pre-op, then do yourself a favor and go to the Vitamin store that sells your stuff well before your start date, and get the single serving samples of ALL of the BA shakes, and also buy one of each of the Snacks. My wife had me do this and it was a life saver! I found some of the "recommended" flavors were really not tolerable for me. I bought one big bag, and one medium tub of the BA shakes to get me through - and then added a couple single servings of the sweeter ones just to have a change of pace once I was on shakes only in my second week of the liver reduction.

Another big help for me was that with the BA shakes, you need to drink them right after you shake them. If you let them sit, they swell a little and foam up, then get a really nasty texture. I found that if I shook them up, used super cold Water from our water cooler, then chugged them within a few minutes - they tasted fine. No problem at all. I ended up wishing that I bought the big bag of chocolate instead of vanilla.

Post op, only being able to have 2oz at a time - using the BA shakes are near impossible because of how nasty they get after they sit a while. I use Premier Protein shakes - already mixed in the drinkable box. They taste great, have a nice variety, and you can get them at the big box retailers.

Another piece of advice - when you are post op, as uncomfortable as it may be - get up and walk, and do it as much as you can. I can't believe how many people said they had no pain after surgery. They had me on morphine and I swear it did nothing for my pain. I did better with the oral pain med once I could take it. The first 3-4 days were pretty painful. I stopped my pain meds as soon as I could because I was getting stopped up from them. I would try to walk 2-3 times a day, and I should have done more. It really helps with the gas and recovery for sure!

Post-surgery - change your meal times. My wife made me stay away from the table and meal times, and we also kept food talk, food shows, etc all to a minimum. I did notice that just sitting and talking about foods or watching them I was fine, or at least I thought so...but then I would still get a craving just to have something to chew on. Staying away from those situations and "triggers" is a real benefit. Now that I am on mushy foods, I have been able to sit with my family at meal time and at least have something for oral fixation and it makes all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I am not worried about slipping, but your gut can get excited and saliva build up - even though you may not have a craving. Just being away from those situations made it so much easier to get through liquid only times pre and post surgery.

Anyone else have any tips or advice they can think of for those getting ready to go through this? I had a couple of friends that were able to advise me before I went through it. Not everyone is that fortunate so I wanted to share.

[FluffyChix 17,410]

Awesome tips dude! Thanks so much for them. I'm saving this one.

Glad you've done so well and are well on the road to the new improved 2.0 you!

[GenJones 15]

Thanks so much for this! I plan on heeding your advice on the BA samples.

[Briar 3]

I got all the BA samples and they all make me sick. I am on my pre op liquid diet now and I stay sick to my stomach every time I take my shake. I can hardly get 5 of them down a day and most of the time they don't stay down for long. Still waiting on a call from my nutritionist to see if there is an alternative

[James Marusek 5,244]

Many experience problems drinking Protein Shakes. I hated them. But in the beginning I drank them, three 16-ounce Protein shakes a day, in order to meet my protein requirements. You do not have to like protein shakes only tolerate them. There are many varieties of protein shakes available today. Experiment until you can find one you can tolerate.

I used Muscle Milk Light (Vanilla Creme) powder blended with Water and a half a banana. That worked for me. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might try premixed Isopure.

If you tried all the various varieties and still are unsuccessfully, then there is the fallback of fortified milk. 32 ounces of 1% milk fortified by adding 1 cup of dried milk provides 56 grams of protein. It also takes a dent out of meeting the Fluid requirements. Mix up a pitcher and drink a little throughout the day.

Without sufficient protein, your body will scavenge protein from other areas of your body, such as your muscles. Protein is extremely important after surgery as its job in the body is to build and maintain tissues including your body's major organs and skeletal muscles. Protein deficiency, when continued over a long period of time can cause a disease known as protein caloric malnutrition. Common symptoms are poor healing, fatigue, Hair loss and muscle wasting. Immediate post op, protein promotes healing of the staple line and incisions.

[Briar 3]

I have no problem with muscle milk or Premier Protein but my nutritionist keeps telling me that I have to deal with this BA for my pre op diet then I can change post op. I don't understand the difference really.

[JavaKnut 104]

BA is designed to help reduce your liver size. That needs to happen so they can get in and do the surgery. Basically all the stuff they want to get to is covered by your liver. The Premier Proteins are not designed to do that, but are a great Protein source and very easy to drink.

For the BA drinks - have you tried super cold Water, and then drinking them right after you shake them? Seriously, the longer they sit, the more evil they get.

Isopure is the devil. I hated it, but put up with it for the first week after surgery. The mouth feel and after taste is what got to me most with it. I only tried 5 flavors of those and settled on 2 to get me through the week. Glad I only had to do 2oz at a time.

[Tevibez_wls_ 10]

Being that I am in my 3rd week post op from a sleeve with a DS, and into the mushy foods stage - I wanted to post a couple of things that I found to be very useful with pre-surgery and post.
If you go on the liver reduction diet like I did pre-op, then do yourself a favor and go to the Vitamin store that sells your stuff well before your start date, and get the single serving samples of ALL of the BA shakes, and also buy one of each of the Snacks. My wife had me do this and it was a life saver! I found some of the "recommended" flavors were really not tolerable for me. I bought one big bag, and one medium tub of the BA shakes to get me through - and then added a couple single servings of the sweeter ones just to have a change of pace once I was on shakes only in my second week of the liver reduction.
Another big help for me was that with the BA shakes, you need to drink them right after you shake them. If you let them sit, they swell a little and foam up, then get a really nasty texture. I found that if I shook them up, used super cold Water from our water cooler, then chugged them within a few minutes - they tasted fine. No problem at all. I ended up wishing that I bought the big bag of chocolate instead of vanilla. [emoji14]
Post op, only being able to have 2oz at a time - using the BA shakes are near impossible because of how nasty they get after they sit a while. I use Premier Protein shakes - already mixed in the drinkable box. They taste great, have a nice variety, and you can get them at the big box retailers.
Another piece of advice - when you are post op, as uncomfortable as it may be - get up and walk, and do it as much as you can. I can't believe how many people said they had no pain after surgery. They had me on morphine and I swear it did nothing for my pain. I did better with the oral pain med once I could take it. The first 3-4 days were pretty painful. I stopped my pain meds as soon as I could because I was getting stopped up from them. I would try to walk 2-3 times a day, and I should have done more. It really helps with the gas and recovery for sure!
Post-surgery - change your meal times. My wife made me stay away from the table and meal times, and we also kept food talk, food shows, etc all to a minimum. I did notice that just sitting and talking about foods or watching them I was fine, or at least I thought so...but then I would still get a craving just to have something to chew on. Staying away from those situations and "triggers" is a real benefit. Now that I am on mushy foods, I have been able to sit with my family at meal time and at least have something for oral fixation and it makes all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I am not worried about slipping, but your gut can get excited and saliva build up - even though you may not have a craving. Just being away from those situations made it so much easier to get through liquid only times pre and post surgery.
Anyone else have any tips or advice they can think of for those getting ready to go through this? I had a couple of friends that were able to advise me before I went through it. Not everyone is that fortunate so I wanted to share.

Thanks for the info . I will be starting my liquid diet on the 16th. I will assure to keep these tips in mind.

Sent from my SM-J700T using BariatricPal mobile app

[JavaKnut 104]

I just remembered another tip from one of the nurses I had post-op - if you need to cough, grab the nearest pillow, person, jacket, box - something to wrap your arms around like a gentle bear hug, then cough - no pain! Amazing!!