Hi All,

I am new to this site, so still trying to figure this out.

I am 6 days post op, And I basically feel like rubbish. The post op feeling I’ve had was nothing like I would have expected, but then again the surgery I had and planned for was not exactly what I got.

My surgeon and I decided the mini gastric bypass was the best route for me as I have chronic Acid reflux. When I was on the operating table the started to make the key hole incisions, after the 2nd one they found a very bad infection on my belly button and infected tissue build up, which lead to open surgery instead of keyhole. They removed a large portion of my stomach too, as they said it would have been dangerous to leave inside because of level of infection.

i woke up in the most amount of pain, and I was refused morphine because it was not good for my new stomach. I stayed in hospital 4 nights and was given everything through an IV.

just before discharged I was asked given some clear chicken broth to drink and told for the next 10 days my diet would consist of clear broth, yoghurt and water.

I am really struggling, physically and mentally.
physically I can’t do anything for myself I feel immobile, I walk a couple of minutes and I’m out of breath, I can’t bend I can’t stand straight and sleeping is a nightmare. I also developed a cough due to post nasal drip which as you can imagine is excruciating.

my dr performed a scan day 2 post op to make sure everything was fine and it was, my bloods have all been fine, as have my stats but I just feel rubbish. I don’t know when to eat because I don’t know when I’m hungry or full. I can’t stick to the no water rule because I need the water for my cough. I feel nauseous pretty much all the time, my intestines are constantly gurgling, and I seem to not be able to control my bowel movements!

Can someone tell me I am just freaking out because a lot has gone on with my body, the dr has said everything is fine so why do I feel like this?

thank you so much for reading my essay

rosy

I can't really help with first part - regarding the open surgery.I had a tough surgery lasted almost 4 hours cause some complications.
I did feel the same way first 10 - 15 days
Also had trouble with controling bowell movement
I was on liquids for 4 weeks and understan you well in that mater
Also had issues with "feeling" and knowing when I'm hungry.
I honestly think you have been trough a lot and you must give your body time to heal specialy cause it was an open surgery.
Recovery is longer , harder
I had laparoscopic surgery and had a lot of difficulties with moving around - like you said walk for few min and felt like I've been runing a marathon [emoji28]
Give yourself time and keep in touch with surgeon and your medical team

Thank you Selena for the reply. I’m going to remain mentally positive as I believe this will aid in all areas. I’m going to try have some broth now and hope it doesn’t make me feel funny again

Sorry for all your complications, but on a positive note it sounds like it was fortuitous that you went in for surgery, as they found a serious problem and fixed it.

your intestines grumbling are a good sign, as that is what determines you can go home from the hospital after surgery. It means everything is working.

i also had a screwed up throat after, primarily due to the tube and camera that were down my throat during surgery. I lived on cough drops for 3 days after.

i don't quite understand your water issue. You first state that you were told to drink water, and then state that you are on a no water rule? What givens with that? Water is your friend, and you should be taking in more than 64oz per day unless you have some very bizarre orders that I have never heard of.

keep the faith !

Hi there - I had open surgery (my surgeon prefers that approach) and I felt rubbish for a couple of weeks. These first few days are worrying, weird, unpredictable - it passes! But it is so hard to believe that when you’re in the middle of it.

One thing puzzles me about your post - what is the ‘no water rule’? I was told drink water/broth/liquids every chance possible. The mantra was “sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk” and it seemed to work!

7 minutes ago, Fatboyslim1 said:

Sorry for all your complications, but on a positive note it sounds like it was fortuitous that you went in for surgery, as they found a serious problem and fixed it.

your intestines grumbling are a good sign, as that is what determines you can go home from the hospital after surgery. It means everything is working.

i also had a screwed up throat after, primarily due to the tube and camera that were down my throat during surgery. I lived on cough drops for 3 days after.

i don't quite understand your Water issue. You first state that you were told to drink water, and then state that you are on a no water rule? What givens with that? Water is your friend, and you should be taking in more than 64oz per day unless you have some very bizarre orders that I have never heard of.

keep the faith !

Thank you for your reply, I am glad to hear the intestines grumbling are a good sign.

sorry what I meant with the water issue, is the no water with the ‘food’ liquids like with my broth

4 minutes ago, Biddy zz ?️? said:

Hi there - I had open surgery (my surgeon prefers that approach) and I felt rubbish for a couple of weeks. These first few days are worrying, weird, unpredictable - it passes! But it is so hard to believe that when you’re in the middle of it.

One thing puzzles me about your post - what is the ‘no Water rule’? I was told drink water/broth/liquids every chance possible. The mantra was “sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk” and it seemed to work!

Hello, thank you so much for your response. I’ve not come across many people that have open surgery. I’m glad to hear hopefully it will all pass. I have followed my surgeon from Paris to Istanbul, and I feel my diet is orientated around the food they eat here in Istanbul.

I am allowed to eat, clear liquid broth, low fat yoghurt and low fat lactose free milk for the first 10 days and will go to purées for the next 10 days. I think it would be really helpful if I could gauge what my body wanted, at the moment nausea is my best friend and hence really low in take of everything.

Thanks

Rosy

I I think you may have misunderstood the "no water with food rule" . It means don't drink while you are eating. You should stop all water intake 1/2 hour before eating, and don't drink again until at least 1/2 hour after. I have been holding off for an hour after.

that process allows the food to stay in your pouch and make you feel full for a longer period of time. Once you get on soft and solid foods you will get the idea.

best of luck!

The no water rule only applies to solids hon. As long as you're on clear and pure liquids (even yogurt), you don't have to follow the 30/30 rule. If you experience issues with yogurt when you add it, thin it out with Fairlife fat free milk or some unsweetened almond or cashew milk.

Sorry for your struggles but so glad they caught the infection. Be very careful to observe any new or increasing redness, pain, nausea, discomfort.

Fluid is king right now. Do EVERYTHING you must do to get your fluid in. I think we all need 4oz of fluids per hour minimum? So at first it is constant sips of liquid! or ice chips, popsicles, whatever you have to do to get fluids.

Also if they gave you a spirometer it is SO important to use it like instructed. You have to mobilize the fluid in your lungs and expectorate it. Holding a pillow over your tum is a lifesaver!!! Feel better soon. Walk as often as you can. Even if it's only for a minute. Laying still is your enemy!!!

Try setting a timer and drink (sip) 1-2 ounces from a shot glass every 10-15 minutes. Do this even if you don’t feel hungry as long as you don’t feel sick.
Early on it was harder for me to drink first thing in the morning or to drink if I hadn’t in a hour so constantly drinking worked. I even would take a sip, play a 2 minutes game on my phone, take a sip and repeat. It forced me to drink and get fluids in.
A lot of us initially had constipation but if they had to give you a ton of antibiotics then you could be getting diarrhea from that. Yogurt will help to slowly get good probiotics back into the GI. tract.

I understand your pain partially. Mine was not open but I had hernia repair with a full bypass. I’m 6wks out still having some discomfort and pain. Your body is traumatized and it’s going to take time to heal. Were you given a binder to wear to help support your stomach? Are you sitting up sleeping (propped on pillows) I used 6 to help sleep, or slept in recliner.

It’s a new learning process to know when you’re hungry or thirsty. I still can get in the required liquids and proteins drinks in a day. I get too full even drinking from a shot glass every 15 min.

The no water with food is for solids only. What’s your post-op diet after 10 days it should be purée to softs and gradually adding in fish around 4 weeks soft veggies around 6 weeks. That’s how “some” are structured.

Hi Hun thank you for your reply.

yeah I’m propping myself up on a few pillows. No recliner as I’m in a hotel so I guess that doesn’t help either to get into a routine.

yes the idea after first 10 days are finished, are to start on purées, I’ve been told to drink something other then water that’s sugar free so I need to look into that. I know a lot of people on here have jelly and ice lollies but my dietician has told me not to consume anything to cold or too hot.

I have even given a binder and I use it religiously when I’m walking, it’s causing my wounds to discharge but apparently that’s completely normal.

I am on a whole load of medication; from thyroid meds to vitamin d, couple antibiotics and stomach protectors. And I’m gulping a lot of water when taking the tablets which leaves no room for other ‘liquids’ but I guess it’s a big learning challenge and trying to understand my body again.

rosy

6 hours ago, 2Bsmaller18 said:

Try setting a timer and drink (sip) 1-2 ounces from a shot glass every 10-15 minutes. Do this even if you don’t feel hungry as long as you don’t feel sick.
Early on it was harder for me to drink first thing in the morning or to drink if I hadn’t in a hour so constantly drinking worked. I even would take a sip, play a 2 minutes game on my phone, take a sip and repeat. It forced me to drink and get fluids in.
A lot of us initially had constipation but if they had to give you a ton of antibiotics then you could be getting diarrhea from that. Yogurt will help to slowly get good Probiotics back into the GI. tract.

Hello thanks for your reply.

I like the idea of using a timer, it will help prompt me which I guess I need. I just keep feeling like I have no space for anymore.

im going to keep trying and see how I get on

7 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

The no Water rule only applies to solids hon. As long as you're on clear and pure liquids (even yogurt), you don't have to follow the 30/30 rule. If you experience issues with yogurt when you add it, thin it out with Fairlife fat free milk or some unsweetened almond or cashew milk.

Sorry for your struggles but so glad they caught the infection. Be very careful to observe any new or increasing redness, pain, nausea, discomfort.

Fluid is king right now. Do EVERYTHING you must do to get your fluid in. I think we all need 4oz of fluids per hour minimum? So at first it is constant sips of liquid! or ice chips, popsicles, whatever you have to do to get fluids.

Also if they gave you a spirometer it is SO important to use it like instructed. You have to mobilize the fluid in your lungs and expectorate it. Holding a pillow over your tum is a lifesaver!!! Feel better soon. Walk as often as you can. Even if it's only for a minute. Laying still is your enemy!!!

Hello,

thank you for your reply.

I have been using the pillow over my stomach when I cough and it helps a little. I’m hoping the post nasal drip disappears to allow me to concentrate on everything else that’s going on, I stated my period the day of surgery, well once I had woken up from surgery and it’s been a super heavy flow (sorry for over sharing) and this isn’t particular helping. I’m wondering if there is a relation to the surgery and period. As I had not had one in 5 months pre-op.

I will try to use the spirometer more! I’ve been lazy with it. I have been laying around because of the pain so I will try to push myself to walk around more!!

thank you for your kind words again

rosy

On 01/03/2020 at 15:38, Rosy89 said:

Hi Hun thank you for your reply.

yeah I’m propping myself up on a few pillows. No recliner as I’m in a hotel so I guess that doesn’t help either to get into a routine.

yes the idea after first 10 days are finished, are to start on purées, I’ve been told to drink something other then Water that’s sugar free so I need to look into that. I know a lot of people on here have jelly and ice lollies but my dietician has told me not to consume anything to cold or too hot.

I have even given a binder and I use it religiously when I’m walking, it’s causing my wounds to discharge but apparently that’s completely normal.

I am on a whole load of medication; from thyroid meds to Vitamin D, couple antibiotics and stomach protectors. And I’m gulping a lot of water when taking the tablets which leaves no room for other ‘liquids’ but I guess it’s a big learning challenge and trying to understand my body again.

rosy

Seems like now I crave cold liquids before I couldn’t stand the thought of ice in anything. I have a lot of the sugar free drink mix packets (orange crush, pink lemonade, Hawaiian Punch etc.).

How are you doing on your protein and vitamins?

Hi there Rosy89. I'm just wondering how you are doing this week? Have you returned back home?