The one thing you could not live without post surgery

[TaylorMade4One 105]

For directly after surgery and during the recovery stay, initially it was the lip balm and dry mouth spray, and my sweatpants. I was thankful I brought a pillow from home. My cell phone and charger. Everything else, I really didn't use. Never read my book, didn't bother with anything else other than my cell and the lip balm and dry mouth spray.
At home, my Ninja food processor (picked up the 2 horsepower version), I use it several times a day *STILL* more than 2 months out of surgery.

What is your go to recipe using the food processor?

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[TaylorMade4One 105]

Vitamin/pill box
phone/watch for timer (pill taking & drinking)
crystal light; I keep it everywhere. Mixes well with my Premier Protein clear & gives it a better taste
my hydro flask bottles; they have the perfect sip lid (no straws allowed for me)
Plastic condiment containers; I am on soft food and only allowed 1-2 ounces of food at a time and these are super handy and cheap on Amazon or Walmart.
Digital scale!! Measuring food is so vital. I purchased 2 (one for home, one for work). Going to order another that will fit in my purse for when I am further out and going out to eat

Awesome list. Now, I wanted a food scale but my dietician said I'd be mainly tracking my oz. so a scale wasn't needed. Are you able to track your oz.?

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[Bryn910 519]

4 hours ago, TaylorMade4One said:

Awesome list. Now, I wanted a food scale but my dietician said I'd be mainly tracking my oz. so a scale wasn't needed. Are you able to track your oz.?

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I am able to track my ounces only with a food scale. You can get a cheap one for $10 bucks at any big name store(wal-mart, target, Kmart etc.) or even Amazon

was your nutritionist only talking about the fluids you will have for a while? You can track those in a Blender Bottle, water bottle or with a scale. It when it’s time to eat food, you will definitely want a scale. You’ll be measuring food and dividing it up

[TaylorMade4One 105]

I am able to track my ounces only with a food scale. You can get a cheap one for $10 bucks at any big name store(wal-mart, target, Kmart etc.) or even Amazon
was your nutritionist only talking about the fluids you will have for a while? You can track those in a Blender Bottle, Water bottle or with a scale. It when it’s time to eat food, you will definitely want a scale. You’ll be measuring food and dividing it up

Ok, thanks! No she was talking about my food. She said I could buy it but she left me with the impression I didn't need it, and I feel like I would. Especially to track my ounces.

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[sillykitty 10,781]

8 minutes ago, Bryn910 said:

I am able to track my ounces only with a food scale. You can get a cheap one for $10 bucks at any big name store(wal-mart, target, Kmart etc.) or even Amazon

was your nutritionist only talking about the fluids you will have for a while? You can track those in a Blender Bottle, Water bottle or with a scale. It when it’s time to eat food, you will definitely want a scale. You’ll be measuring food and dividing it up

Agree. I use my food scale throughout the day. I measure ingredients out for recipes, for my shake ingredients. I measure out my Snacks, Jerky, cheese, veggie dip etc. Constanly measuring makes it easier to eyeball and track when you eat out.

[ALFxRNY 540]

My ice pack and gas x have been a God send. Hopefully this stomach binder works out too.

[doingitforme18 26]

Does anyone drink Protein Water as part of your water intake? I drink it now (I'm a vegan so protein is a must for me while pre-op preparing and on starch free before surgery). I'm feeling like this is a no brainer way to get protein and water in...am I missing something?

[doingitforme18 26]

On 6/10/2018 at 10:18 AM, IveGotThePower said:

I know this is not exactly a thing I could not live without after surgery. But at this stage in my journey, there was something I did that I am very glad I did. I made several before pictures in a certain outfit/location/poses so I could do more down the line for comparison. It is VERY cool to have these to pull out when I needed a little reminder of how far I've come. I also started a journal. I wrote about where I was mentally at that moment and how I felt. What my expectations were and what my fears were. I go back and read that sometimes and am very glad I did that as well. The very best to you in your journey.

I LOVE this idea!! I'm going to take pictures with the same outfit on!!

[mi75 1,239]

I'm 4.5 years out, so my reply is probably much different. Immediately post op, yes the lip balm and slippers are important, but for ME the one thing that I couldn't do without immediately post op was my MOBILITY.

As a RN, my biggest advice is this: as obese people, we are at in increased risk for DVTs and PEs. Get out of bed and MOVE as soon as they will let you. And wear the sequential boots that they put on you while in bed. But get up, get moving. I got out of bed 6 hours post op and my surgeon thought I was crazy, but I was scared to death of making it through the surgery only to have a fatal blood clot! And yes it's a real concern, there are plenty of vets here with stories of blood clots.

Long term, the one thing I couldn't live without is the support of my family. Losing the weight initially is not a problem. The surgery does all the work. Any physical activity you do adds to the result, but the surgery is the worker for the first 12-18 months. After that, it's all on you and what you do-the surgery has done it's job at that point and hands the controls to you. The support of my family has kept me on track and when I fell off, their support got me back on track and losing again.