Hi Gang! I'm Meow. I was scheduled for a 100cm Bypass on June 29th and they just moved me UP to June 9th! AHHHHHHH! I'm usually pretty grounded with life's hurdles but all the sudden my mind went blank and I thought "I'M NOT READY!" Any other May, June, July Bypassers want to join up and share and support? I'm not sure how to put my stats in my profile but I am 5' 5" female. Late 40s. 220# at the Doc yesterday. Goal weight is 150. Having BYPASS instead of Sleeve due to life-long reflux. Told I only need to do 3 days liquid liver shrink beforehand since my BMI is only 36. Feel both overloaded with info and under-prepared to say goodbye to the contrasting albatross/joy that is FOOD in my life. Both glad and nervous about the timing as it feels like an easier time to stay away from friends and family who social-eat until I get a handle on my new digestive system. But also I'm pretty bored as my line of work is largely halted until the conditions are far safer. Likely won't have regular work until 2021. I'm ashamed to say the last 2 months have been more of a food funeral than I anticipated so I have a lot of mind-prep to do in the next 2 weeks. I am keeping this a private journey. Only my husband and best friend know. Even keeping my tween daughter in the dark at least for now. Would love some buddies who check in frequently to go thru this with. I've been posting on other June thread but thought a BYPASS thread would be great. And of course Veterans are WELCOME to pop in and share. Share your stories with me! Let's do this together!!

2 hours ago, MaybeMeow said:

I've only lost 11 pounds in the 2 weeks.

Meow! Do you realize how awesome that is? Congrats on a strong start!

Update after my one-week post-op appointment yesterday.

The nurse practitioner I saw was awesome. She listened to all my concerns and then said that everything I'm feeling is TOTALLY NORMAL. No, I can't add soft foods until after the two weeks is up, however, adding more protein (so trying to drink another protein shake) will help a lot. The good news is, my pain is really manageable now, barely even an issue, and that's much better than a lot of folks experience at 1 week, especially with a nasty hernia repair thrown in AND having to inject myself in the abdomen with blood thinner twice a day! She described my current symptoms as "a general malaise" and I laughingly had to agree. I'm going to start taking my vitamins today, which she said would also help me feel better. And bonus! Even though I'm still liquid only, I can take my calcium chews which are basically like candy so HURRAY.

As far as feeling exhausted, until it improves she encouraged me to just take as much time and lay down to rest whenever I need to. There's no requirement for activity level, just try to do as much as I can but don't push myself. Yes, 300-400 calories is normal at this stage and so is the resulting fatigue.

Last night I had my husband get a chicken soup from Chick-fil-a and strain all the solids out. Then I ate just the broth. It was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted. ?

4 hours ago, Groovymommy said:

Update after my one-week post-op appointment yesterday.

The nurse practitioner I saw was awesome. She listened to all my concerns and then said that everything I'm feeling is TOTALLY NORMAL. No, I can't add soft foods until after the two weeks is up, however, adding more Protein (so trying to drink another protein shake) will help a lot. The good news is, my pain is really manageable now, barely even an issue, and that's much better than a lot of folks experience at 1 week, especially with a nasty hernia repair thrown in AND having to inject myself in the abdomen with blood thinner twice a day! She described my current symptoms as "a general malaise" and I laughingly had to agree. I'm going to start taking my Vitamins today, which she said would also help me feel better. And bonus! Even though I'm still liquid only, I can take my calcium chews which are basically like candy so HURRAY.

As far as feeling exhausted, until it improves she encouraged me to just take as much time and lay down to rest whenever I need to. There's no requirement for activity level, just try to do as much as I can but don't push myself. Yes, 300-400 calories is normal at this stage and so is the resulting fatigue.

Last night I had my husband get a chicken Soup from Chick-fil-a and strain all the solids out. Then I ate just the broth. It was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted. ?

Hooray! Ok, you can survive one more week on fresh chicken broth. And those starburst-like chews. Funny, my doc says not until week 3 for the chews. Isn't that crazy how different it is? Glad you have more peace of mind.

ONWARD!!

4 hours ago, Groovymommy said:

Update after my one-week post-op appointment yesterday.

The nurse practitioner I saw was awesome. She listened to all my concerns and then said that everything I'm feeling is TOTALLY NORMAL. No, I can't add soft foods until after the two weeks is up, however, adding more Protein (so trying to drink another protein shake) will help a lot. The good news is, my pain is really manageable now, barely even an issue, and that's much better than a lot of folks experience at 1 week, especially with a nasty hernia repair thrown in AND having to inject myself in the abdomen with blood thinner twice a day! She described my current symptoms as "a general malaise" and I laughingly had to agree. I'm going to start taking my Vitamins today, which she said would also help me feel better. And bonus! Even though I'm still liquid only, I can take my calcium chews which are basically like candy so HURRAY.

As far as feeling exhausted, until it improves she encouraged me to just take as much time and lay down to rest whenever I need to. There's no requirement for activity level, just try to do as much as I can but don't push myself. Yes, 300-400 calories is normal at this stage and so is the resulting fatigue.

Last night I had my husband get a chicken Soup from Chick-fil-a and strain all the solids out. Then I ate just the broth. It was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted. ?

@Groovymommy our plans sound very similar. Except mine requires walking. I started my vitamins yesterday too - and sooo agree that the chews make big difference. I’m 7 days post op too and was feeling pretty weak for a couple days there. The dietician said to up the protein for me as well and also suggested adding in Gatorade 2 (and only gatorade 2) to help with some electrolytes.

I still have not gone #2, so I’m mixing miralax into that G2. So glad you’re feeling better.

15 hours ago, WishMeSmaller said:

Meow! Do you realize how awesome that is? Congrats on a strong start!

Only? I think that's great.

2 hours ago, It's time. said:

Only? I think that's great.

Thank you. I'm trying to stay grounded. I have three surgery-twin buddies with the same date/Rny and we message one another each day and all three have lost significantly more than I have. But I am the lightest starting-weight of the group so... that certainly matters. I'm staying positive! ONWARD!

PS: I feel a little guilty speaking about food when I know some of you are struggling with fluids BUT I am also your future so I want to give you hope. Last night I ordered out for the first time since pre-op and I ordered a piece of plain mahi mahi with lemon. It was lousy. Dry and fishy tasting so after one bite I tossed it. Then I spied by daughter's scallops. She did not want to finih them. I took two and weighed them. 2 oz. I rinsed them off as they were coated in butter. Then I ate them tiny bite by tiny bite. THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS. And they went down like s DREAM! I felt the same as I did after having an egg the first time... but even BETTER. REAL food. I kept waiting for a price to pay. No price. So I saved the other two for lunch today. Put them in the toaster oven under broil for 3 minutes. JUST AS DELISH. And I can make scallops. So this feels GREAT!! Went down so easily much better than the ground chicken. So... GET YA SOME SCALLOPS when you're trying meat proteins. The End.

2 hours ago, MaybeMeow said:

PS: I feel a little guilty speaking about food when I know some of you are struggling with fluids BUT I am also your future so I want to give you hope. Last night I ordered out for the first time since pre-op and I ordered a piece of plain mahi mahi with lemon. It was lousy. Dry and fishy tasting so after one bite I tossed it. Then I spied by daughter's scallops. She did not want to finih them. I took two and weighed them. 2 oz. I rinsed them off as they were coated in butter. Then I ate them tiny bite by tiny bite. THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS. And they went down like s DREAM! I felt the same as I did after having an egg the first time... but even BETTER. REAL food. I kept waiting for a price to pay. No price. So I saved the other two for lunch today. Put them in the toaster oven under broil for 3 minutes. JUST AS DELISH. And I can make scallops. So this feels GREAT!! Went down so easily much better than the ground chicken. So... GET YA SOME SCALLOPS when you're trying meat Proteins. The End.

When my sleeve was new, I lived on scallops. So soft and easy to digest. My nutritionist was not happy. She kept repeating, " But there's nothing in them!" No, there's no Omega -3s like in fish, but there is no fat and there's a lot of protein packed into the deliciousness. I kept eating them and did just fine. Enjoy! Oh, and I had good luck eating shrimp, too. Just don't overcook them.

5 hours ago, MaybeMeow said:

So... GET YA SOME SCALLOPS when you're trying meat Proteins. The End.

I love scallops all the time and have been fantasizing about having some post-op. They seem like the perfect texture! Day 5 liquid pre-op diet ?

ps. When I go out to eat, my family always knows I will order scallops if they are on the menu?

Edited June 26, 20206 yr by WishMeSmaller

????Did someone mention SCALLOPS??? ?

On 6/25/2020 at 7:51 AM, Groovymommy said:

Update after my one-week post-op appointment yesterday.

The nurse practitioner I saw was awesome. She listened to all my concerns and then said that everything I'm feeling is TOTALLY NORMAL. No, I can't add soft foods until after the two weeks is up, however, adding more Protein (so trying to drink another protein shake) will help a lot. The good news is, my pain is really manageable now, barely even an issue, and that's much better than a lot of folks experience at 1 week, especially with a nasty hernia repair thrown in AND having to inject myself in the abdomen with blood thinner twice a day! She described my current symptoms as "a general malaise" and I laughingly had to agree. I'm going to start taking my Vitamins today, which she said would also help me feel better. And bonus! Even though I'm still liquid only, I can take my calcium chews which are basically like candy so HURRAY.

As far as feeling exhausted, until it improves she encouraged me to just take as much time and lay down to rest whenever I need to. There's no requirement for activity level, just try to do as much as I can but don't push myself. Yes, 300-400 calories is normal at this stage and so is the resulting fatigue.

Last night I had my husband get a chicken Soup from Chick-fil-a and strain all the solids out. Then I ate just the broth. It was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted. ?

I do think people try to overdo. Regular life isn’t possible right now on that few calories (300-600). The chick-fil-a soup was a good idea (I did that before my colonoscopy). So glad you got what you needed ?

P.S. glad to hear the pain has lessened, it had concerned me. Take your time.

Edited June 26, 20206 yr by AlwaysCruising

Had my bypass on 6/09 also. I am on purées now. Never though tuna would taste so good. Next is egg salad puréed. Hope everyone is having a great day.

Hey all.
Beware...rant session with whining ahead.

I am starting to stress about the possibility of my surgery being canceled because of COVID...again. I am 6 days into my pre-op liquid diet and worried my 7/6 date will be canceled and I will have to start over. The first cancelation of my May surgery date got me really down and I am struggling with the reality that it could happen again. I am also getting even more paranoid about being around other people and even going to the store, because if I get COVID, obviously surgery will be canceled and of course I am high risk with obesity, asthma, etc. I am supposed to eat 2-4 cups of veggies per day right now, so I need to go out to buy fresh produce. And I’m hungry. And I’m not sleeping well. And I have to pee about every 5 minutes (contributing to poor sleep).

My hubby is awesome, but I know he doesn’t “get” my mindset right now, so I figure I would share with folks that do understand. Feel free to throw me any advice right now to help me get through this. I appreciate everything everyone shares here and it definitely has helped me to this point to focus outward on other people’s stories.

4 hours ago, WishMeSmaller said:

Hey all.
Beware...rant session with whining ahead.

I am starting to stress about the possibility of my surgery being canceled because of COVID...again. I am 6 days into my pre-op liquid diet and worried my 7/6 date will be canceled and I will have to start over. The first cancelation of my May surgery date got me really down and I am struggling with the reality that it could happen again. I am also getting even more paranoid about being around other people and even going to the store, because if I get COVID, obviously surgery will be canceled and of course I am high risk with obesity, asthma, etc. I am supposed to eat 2-4 cups of veggies per day right now, so I need to go out to buy fresh produce. And I’m hungry. And I’m not sleeping well. And I have to pee about every 5 minutes (contributing to poor sleep).

My hubby is awesome, but I know he doesn’t “get” my mindset right now, so I figure I would share with folks that do understand. Feel free to throw me any advice right now to help me get through this. I appreciate everything everyone shares here and it definitely has helped me to this point to focus outward on other people’s stories.

Oh no wonder you are frustrated! I’m so sorry you’re facing this uncertainty. I would be upset too. My initial surgery was postponed from early April to June 9th. I admit I went back to snacking constantly. It was the way I coped. Ended up gaining 8 pounds during those 2 months. But... I had a lot of food funerals. My only advice is one day, one hour at a time. The Covid situation is beyond your control. Keep plugging forward. The one-hour-at-a-time is how I powered thru those first 5 days post op so it will be a good quality to have practiced. Stay positive! Believe it will happen! And can you get your groceries delivered? Gotta stay healthy! I’m crossing all my fingers for you. Onward!!

37 minutes ago, MaybeMeow said:

Oh no wonder you are frustrated! I’m so sorry you’re facing this uncertainty. I would be upset too. My initial surgery was postponed from early April to June 9th. I admit I went back to snacking constantly. It was the way I coped. Ended up gaining 8 pounds during those 2 months. But... I had a lot of food funerals. My only advice is one day, one hour at a time. The Covid situation is beyond your control. Keep plugging forward. The one-hour-at-a-time is how I powered thru those first 5 days post op so it will be a good quality to have practiced. Stay positive! Believe it will happen! And can you get your groceries delivered? Gotta stay healthy! I’m crossing all my fingers for you. Onward!!

Thank you, Meow! Everything you say is true and it is exactly what I need to hear. I appreciate you!