I got scheduled for surgery on December 8th! I start my liquid diet on thanksgiving! I’m excited and nervous!

Hi, December buddies!

I've been a bit out it and am just now feeling better. My procedure went well on Thursday, but when I was in the recovery room coming out of anesthesia, I threw up a bunch of blood and had to be rushed back in for an emergency EGD for a blood vessel that burst at the new site of my intestine/stomach.

This caused some extra pain and a great freak out for my spouse. I was nearly transfusable. I was supposed to be released on Friday but have ended up being kept for two extra nights because my blood levels still aren't stable after the full shock.

My pain is minimal now and the staff have been really lovely. My surgical team has carefully explained what happened and the nurses have been like clockwork to come do check-ups and post care. This is also a teaching hospital so all my years of watching Grey's Anatomy has made me less shy about the full audience.

I'm really looking forward to getting home! I'm glad to hear that you are all recovering well and I'm taking notes on your recommendations for full fluids. You're just a little bit ahead of me. Happy new year!

Edited January 1, 20233 yr by Kimpossible00

6 hours ago, Kimpossible00 said:

Hi, December buddies!

I've been a bit out it and am just now feeling better. My procedure went well on Thursday, but when I was in the recovery room coming out of anesthesia, I threw up a bunch of blood and had to be rushed back in for an emergency EGD for a blood vessel that burst at the new site of my intestine/stomach.

Huge hugs, Kim. I'm sorry you had this complication but happy to see you able to post an update. Does this affect your post-op diet plan?

Take care and speedy healing!

Oh Kim so sorry to hear this!!!! Hope you get to go home soon and the rest of your recovery is uneventful. Sending healing vibes to you

Home now and resting comfortably! I'm on full liquids so my post-op diet should be similar. I now understand all the fuss from you about trying to get liquids in when you feel full all the time!

I know that we are supposed to try to eat low-fat or fat free cream soups, but did any of your dietitians tell you what the recommended grams for fat and carbs are to keep under? So many soups are processed and the ones out of the deli are higher than carbs/sat fats than I'm sure we're allowed.

Also, if you aren't sure what to mix your Miralax into, I just added it to 4 oz of chicken broth and I couldn't even taste it! That's a win in my book.

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by Kimpossible00

Glad to hear you are home! I use the bariatric pal instant soups, 15 g protein each. I was told week one full liquids to get 45-64 oz fluid, 40-60 g protein, meals should last 30-60 minutes. Keep sugar <10g per serving, fat<5g per serving.
i like all the soups, straining them with seive before eating at this stage.
i mixed my miralax with 4oz coffee this morning. At least it hid the taste. Hope all goes well here onwards for you.

4 hours ago, Kimpossible00 said:

Home now and resting comfortably! I'm on full liquids so my post-op diet should be similar. I now understand all the fuss from you about trying to get liquids in when you feel full all the time!

I know that we are supposed to try to eat low-fat or fat free cream Soups, but did any of your dietitians tell you what the recommended grams for fat and carbs are to keep under? So many soups are processed and the ones out of the deli are higher than carbs/sat fats than I'm sure we're allowed.

Also, if you aren't sure what to mix your Miralax into, I just added it to 4 oz of chicken broth and I couldn't even taste it! That's a win in my book.

I'm still on clear liquids so I am mostly either making my own broths (made Japanese Clear Onion soup yesterday) or using the boxed bone broths, adding unflavored protein to whatever I am eating at the time. I have only approximated my calories and not thought about fats at all. My doc told me to only think about 3 goals this first week: 1- fluids 2-protein 3-vitamins, in that order. I finally started hitting my fluid goal yesterday. I have discovered Hint water, which has helped me increase my intake. I used to love plain water but it isn't the same right now. I'm still down on proteins. I had maybe 45 g of protein today. Vitamins have been easy for me, so far.

I am worried about my calorie intake, a little. My approximation is that I am only at about 300ish or less calories a day. Tomorrow is my last day of clear liquids and then I move to full liquid. My calorie intake should increase some at that point, I guess.

Glad to hear you are home! I use the bariatric pal instant soups, 15 g protein each. I was told week one full liquids to get 45-64 oz fluid, 40-60 g protein, meals should last 30-60 minutes. Keep sugar <10g per serving, fat<5g per serving.
i like all the soups, straining them with seive before eating at this stage.
i mixed my miralax with 4oz coffee this morning. At least it hid the taste. Hope all goes well here onwards for you.

Ooh, the sugar and fat grams is really helpful. My surgery center (Virginia Mason in Seattle) has all the same guidelines as yours but didn't mention guidelines for sugar and fat intake and I want to avoid dumping. I am not allowed coffee until I hit my water goal.

Only home one day, and got in half the liquids and half the protein. Going to really get after it today! I just got unflavored protein.

How are the BariatricPal soups?

I'm still on clear liquids so I am mostly either making my own broths (made Japanese Clear Onion soup yesterday) or using the boxed bone broths, adding unflavored protein to whatever I am eating at the time. I have only approximated my calories and not thought about fats at all. My doc told me to only think about 3 goals this first week: 1- fluids 2-protein 3-vitamins, in that order. I finally started hitting my fluid goal yesterday. I have discovered Hint water, which has helped me increase my intake. I used to love plain water but it isn't the same right now. I'm still down on proteins. I had maybe 45 g of protein today. Vitamins have been easy for me, so far.

I am worried about my calorie intake, a little. My approximation is that I am only at about 300ish or less calories a day. Tomorrow is my last day of clear liquids and then I move to full liquid. My calorie intake should increase some at that point, I guess.

Wow, Lisa! Great job hitting your protein goal. I'm gonna get after it today. Being in a car for 5 hours yesterday made that a little rough.

Im working with Mt Auburn in Cambridge MA. They said i could have one cup of coffee if I wanted, so i started with just 2 oz on day 3, then 4 oz. 4 oz seems enough right now to be satisfying, and I drink either black with miralax or mix with 4 oz fairlife elite protein shake (the 46g protein per bottle variety). Im keeping careful notes on everything, looks like Im getting 600-750 calories per day. (Im 5’6”, 254 lb).
Soups- i have the broccoli, bacon cheddar, mushroom and cream of chicken. They are all nice and savory and satisfying. Im putting them through seive at this point to not have any little “bits”. The bacon one was great yesterday when my teen was making pepperoni pizza. OMG the smell!!

Kim, 5 h in car!!! That sounds really rough. I am huge fan of my heating pad on my tummy, helps with that achy feeling

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by 321cathy
Add stuff

Im working with Mt Auburn in Cambridge MA. They said i could have one cup of coffee if I wanted, so i started with just 2 oz on day 3, then 4 oz. 4 oz seems enough right now to be satisfying, and I drink either black with miralax or mix with 4 oz fairlife elite protein shake (the 46g protein per bottle variety). Im keeping careful notes on everything, looks like Im getting 600-750 calories per day. (Im 5’6”, 254 lb).
Soups- i have the broccoli, bacon cheddar, mushroom and cream of chicken. They are all nice and savory and satisfying. Im putting them through seive at this point to not have any little “bits”. The bacon one was great yesterday when my teen was making pepperoni pizza. OMG the smell!!

Pizza is a favorite for me! In 6 months, I'm going to let myself try to make a bari friendly pizza with thin crust & turkey pepperoni. I don't think I could ever give it up completely and thank goodness I won't have to long-term.

Have you noticed that some of your tastes have changed already? I tried orange sugar free Jello today and it tasted like hairspray. Aquanet to be exact. Ick.

1 hour ago, Kimpossible00 said:

Have you noticed that some of your tastes have changed already? I tried orange sugar free Jello today and it tasted like hairspray. Aquanet to be exact. Ick.

OMG, YES! Water is the first thing I noticed. I had a sip of coffee today... tastes like poison. That makes me sad.

Coffee seems blah now. I've started to drink Green Tea (lemon & Ginseng) again. Seems to taste better.

10 hours ago, Kimpossible00 said:

Pizza is a favorite for me! In 6 months, I'm going to let myself try to make a bari friendly pizza with thin crust & turkey pepperoni. I don't think I could ever give it up completely and thank goodness I won't have to long-term.

Have you noticed that some of your tastes have changed already? I tried orange sugar free Jello today and it tasted like hairspray. Aquanet to be exact. Ick.

Pizza is my favorite food too! When I was able to eat purees, I made the ricotta bake with pizza sauce and melted some mozzarella on it. It helped relieve some of the head hunger/craving that I was having from seeing all the Pizza commercials.

Pizza is my favorite food too! When I was able to eat purees, I made the ricotta bake with pizza sauce and melted some mozzarella on it. It helped relieve some of the head hunger/craving that I was having from seeing all the Pizza commercials.

Thanks, Naynay77! I will definitely be searching for that recipe as soon as I hit the puree stage. Just 9 more days.