It is 9 days since my RNY procedure. (A bit unusual because I had open surgery and also had a gastric band removed.)

After the surgery? Well, it iwa a brutal surgery because they used a rib spreader to give maximum easy access, and an incision from rib center down to tummy button. The wound felt ok, but my chest felt like I had been kicked in the chest by a horse. (My family were bemused as I inadvertently txted them all that it felt like I had been licked in the chest by a horse, and they couldn’t understand if that was good or bad!) The joy of open surgery - no gas pain!

Slept rest of day 1 and much of day 2. Self pump morphine allowed a dose every 5 mins, but needed way less. Walked corridor 4 times on day 2.

Day 3 30ml (medicine cup) or water an hour. Diarrhoea begins - daily once or twice. Don’t trust a fart!. Last morphine dose 10am. Short walk every 2 hours.

Day 4 60ml hourly in the morning, 90ml afternoon. Lear broth for dinner with a tablespoon of jelly for after. Slightly longer walk.

Day 5 Tablespoon of purée fish for lunch, over 30mins - and when it goes down, off home (to a big city hotel). Hooray. Nice, peaceful home, where no one wakes me up every three hours to take my blood pressure!

Sleeping a bit uncomfortable, need a pillow ‘under’ my tummy to sleep on my side.

Now I am on day 9. Diarrhoea stopped day 7 and quite normal now. I am going for gentle walks maybe 300 yards/metres but they do quickly tire me out. Can sleep on my side with near comfort now.

Eating: 3 teaspoons yoghurt for breakfast, slow - 15-20 mins. 3 teaspoons cottage cheese with pesto/mild chilli/flavour for lunch, also over 15-20 mins. Protein soup from BariatricPal pal for dinner - 8oz over 1/2-3/4 hour. In between, water (20% Apple juice cos I hate water) constantly, and 1/4 chai latte in a cafe today made me feel like a million dollars!

About 250 -300 calories, 30-40g protein and I am up to 6 cups fluid today. Not enough hours to get in All the food and the liquid!

Eating speed is hard to judge - I was told to expect a lump in my chest if I ate too much or too fast, but don’t get that. So just trying to be sensible - if I AM too fast I get mild sharp tummy pain about an hour later.

No regrets so far - really manageable surgery. Not half as rough as a hysterectomy!!

No weighing yet - till I go home on Boxing Day...

Thanks THMommy - sometimes you just write and it feels a bit into the void, you know! And I read so much about people at 3, 4, 6 weeks struggling with purée, and I eat a lentil patty no problem, so I think my experience is unique, and useless for many folk here! So thanks!
I did wonder if my surgeon cut me open, took the band out and sewed me up. But then at about week 3, I gave in and had a tiny portion of iced Christmas cake, home made and given as a gift by my boss (the perils of not telling your work about the surgery!) 5 minutes later I had a dumping episode - 45mins of retching, heart racing, bright red and overheated. Never again. But clearly, I had the surgery!
At week 3 (ie a week ago) I started eating a midday meal of chicken, fish, beef chilli. Small amounts (50grams) fill me very quickly where Water, yoghurt, cottage cheese don’t - do you get that too?
I am getting most days 50g Protein, but still struggling to get over 600-700 calories in. Have just introduced mid morning and mid afternoon snack to assist.
Water - if I forget and take a gulp or two - no problem. But I try not to.
Tell me about your diet?

Yogurt and soups do not satisfy me. I eat 4 times per day. Each meal is 3 oz of food. Egg salad, tuna salad, and ground turkey with tomato sauce and cheese are my favorites. I use unflavored protein in sugar free cocoa once a day and I drink Nectar protein drink once a day in my water. My body is trying to get used to everything and it is not easy watching others lose weight and I am not losing anything. I know my body will eventually start to let go of the pounds, I just need to be patient.

I am glad to hear your story. I also thought my surgeon did not do my surgery right...lol!! I know she did, because I can not eat as much of the denser proteins. I think I also have trouble with feeling full since I had the lap band. I think the lapband have me scar tissue or my nerves are not as sensitive, it is harder to feel the fullness. During my 5th week (next thur) I will be able to have vegetables. I'm so looking forward to having them again. When do you get to vegetables?

Yogurt and Soups do not satisfy me. I eat 4 times per day. Each meal is 3 oz of food. Egg salad, tuna salad, and ground turkey with Tomato sauce and cheese are my favorites. I use unflavored Protein in sugar free cocoa once a day and I drink nectar Protein Drink once a day in my water. My body is trying to get used to everything and it is not easy watching others lose weight and I am not losing anything. I know my body will eventually start to let go of the pounds, I just need to be patient.

I am glad to hear your story. I also thought my surgeon did not do my surgery right...lol!! I know she did, because I can not eat as much of the denser Proteins. I think I also have trouble with feeling full since I had the lap band. I think the lapband have me scar tissue or my nerves are not as sensitive, it is harder to feel the fullness. During my 5th week (next thur) I will be able to have vegetables. I'm so looking forward to having them again. When do you get to vegetables?

Oops...in two weeks I can start vegetables, which is the beginning of week 5.

I had vegetables on day 4 - before I left the hospital! Broccoli cooked until it was well dead, then mashed. Very nasty. My surgeon has you eating that and meat (steamed fish, mashed) to check tolerances, before we leave his care. Not a big quantity, maybe 25g.

So for lunch today, I will have 55g (half a packet) of lemon, sesame and dill tuna with maybe 10 sliced and steamed baby spinach leaves stirred through. I will have maybe two slices of red bell pepper with it, for crunch, and maybe some cubed cucumber. Not much -50g tuna fills me up pretty much.

I also wonder if it is an after effect of the band, not having those ‘feedback loops’ from your tummy saying you are full. And maybe you and I will have to be particularly careful of slider foods like yoghurt that will slide right through.

As if I was EVER any good at eating rules!!!!

But this is my last tool in the line, so... I have committed for the rest of my life to one easy rule. Protein first. And then other stuff if I have room. Like 1/4 diced plum with my weetbix and yoghurt breakfast! There are other rules that I imagine I might find harder to keep 24/7 forever. I have tried and failed at so many diets! But that one, non-negotiable.

Do you have to chew until food disappears? I try to remember to, but if I swallow a chickpea sized chunk (cos I am pre cutting stuff before my mouth, because I get distracted from chewing occasionally) it just goes down fine...

Edited January 11, 20188 yr by Biddynz

PS another pound down overnight, and another old ring back onto its ‘correct’ bigger finger, so SOMETHING is working!!!

I had vegetables on day 4 - before I left the hospital! Broccoli cooked until it was well dead, then mashed. Very nasty. My surgeon has you eating that and meat (steamed fish, mashed) to check tolerances, before we leave his care. Not a big quantity, maybe 25g.
So for lunch today, I will have 55g (half a packet) of lemon, sesame and dill tuna with maybe 10 sliced and steamed baby spinach leaves stirred through. I will have maybe two slices of red bell pepper with it, for crunch, and maybe some cubed cucumber. Not much -50g tuna fills me up pretty much.
I also wonder if it is an after effect of the band, not having those ‘feedback loops’ from your tummy saying you are full. And maybe you and I will have to be particularly careful of slider foods like yoghurt that will slide right through.
As if I was EVER any good at eating rules!!!!
But this is my last tool in the line, so... I have committed for the rest of my life to one easy rule. Protein first. And then other stuff if I have room. Like 1/4 diced plum with my weetbix and yoghurt breakfast! There are other rules that I imagine I might find harder to keep 24/7 forever. I have tried and failed at so many diets! But that one, non-negotiable.
Do you have to chew until food disappears? I try to remember to, but if I swallow a chickpea sized chunk (cos I am pre cutting stuff before my mouth, because I get distracted from chewing occasionally) it just goes down fine...

I do not chew until it is liquid, but I chew everything pretty good. I take small bites, so I think that helps when I forget to chew really well. I agree with you about portioning my foods before I eat. I this is also the last surgery for me. I want to be successful and not fail. I have gone through so much to have the surgery and I see it as a gift.

Every surgeon is so different. I just may try to add some vegeables this weekend, because I do not have any trouble with foods. I will probably start with spinach (it should be easy to digest). If I have any problems, at least I will not have to worry about going to work the next day.

I hope you don't mind me asking: How are you doing with urinating? I'm drinking a lot of water, but I do not eliminate it like I used to. It is like my body is holding onto everything I drink. I do not what is going on. I may have to put a call into my doctor to see if this is normal.

Sent from my SM-T818T using BariatricPal mobile app

PS another pound down overnight, and another old ring back onto its ‘correct’ bigger finger, so SOMETHING is working!!!

That is awesome...I'm so happy for you. You are really putting the time in to have nourishing meals and you are following all the rules. Keep up the great work! I'm so glad I can talk with you. You are such and encouragement for me. Thank you!

Sent from my SM-T818T using BariatricPal mobile app

1 hour ago, tankheadmommy said:

I hope you don't mind me asking: How are you doing with urinating? I'm drinking a lot of Water, but I do not eliminate it like I used to. It is like my body is holding onto everything I drink. I do not what is going on. I may have to put a call into my doctor to see if this is normal.

That would explain you slower and frustrating weight loss rate - I am peeing exactly as before - maybe a little more since I drink more.

I have noticed if I have a salty food day (lots of feta or salty stuff) I will put on weight overnight, not lose. Yep, call your doc. How many calories a day? I am using myfitnesspal to track - 600 but edging up to 700 for me...

That would explain you slower and frustrating weight loss rate - I am peeing exactly as before - maybe a little more since I drink more.
I have noticed if I have a salty food day (lots of feta or salty stuff) I will put on weight overnight, not lose. Yep, call your doc. How many calories a day? I am using myfitnesspal to track - 600 but edging up to 700 for me...

I'm below 600 calories as well with what I'm eating too. I am eating cheese everyday. I wonder if that is making me retain fluid. I also wonder if the lack of veggies is a problem too. I'll have to talk to my doctor and I'm also going to add veggies to my diet very soon. I may even stop cheese for a bit to see if that is adding to the problem. Thank so much for your input...it has been very helpful! I never imagined eating such a small amount of food could cause such an issue.

Sent from my SM-T818T using BariatricPal mobile app

I had grilled paddock and a tiny amount of stir fry spinach and it was an amazing dinner. I was going to wait until Saturday, but decided not to wait. Spinach is mild and I stir fried it until it was tender. I knew it would not be difficult to digest since the leaves were so tender. I will let you know tomorrow how it made me feel.

Sent from my SM-T818T using BariatricPal mobile app

“Grilled paddock”? That is one whole lot of greens!!???

Look forward to hearing how it went.

It is the middle of a long, hot, dry summer here in New Zealand. At least my recouperation gets to be peppered with endless sitting in the sun, drinking my cold water!

“Grilled paddock”? That is one whole lot of greens!!?[emoji23]?
Look forward to hearing how it went.
It is the middle of a long, hot, dry summer here in New Zealand. At least my recouperation gets to be peppered with endless sitting in the sun, drinking my cold water!

[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]
Grilled haddock...too funny! So far so good with the spinach and I'm soooooo happy. I will definitely have it again tomorrow.

I'm in the middle of winter in the USA and it is freezing! Temperatures have been as low as -16°C here, so I'm spending most of my day indoors. We are both living in the extremes it seems.

Biddynz...I had no issues with the spinach. I will continue to keep it in my diet.[emoji4]

Sent from my SM-T818T using BariatricPal mobile app

Fantastic. Life is better when our food looks like normal healthy food.

I made cauliflower fritters last night with egg, almond flour, grated/blitzed cauli and parmesan. Tasted lovely but I couldn’t get it into my new tummy. First maybe three mouthfuls (maybe 1/2 fritter) too fast and that was it! Sort of a lump at the bottom of my throat for 3/4 hour. Good low-calorie dinner!! Still, my other half polished off the other six and loved them!

Fantastic. Life is better when our food looks like normal healthy food.
I made cauliflower fritters last night with egg, almond flour, grated/blitzed cauli and parmesan. Tasted lovely but I couldn’t get it into my new tummy. First maybe three mouthfuls (maybe 1/2 fritter) too fast and that was it! Sort of a lump at the bottom of my throat for 3/4 hour. Good low-calorie dinner!! Still, my other half polished off the other six and loved them!

It sounds delicious! Some of favorite foods in one dish. Our new tummy's can be so fickle. Lol...my family has been enjoying my cooking as well.[emoji4]