Good evening I am 4 nights away from my gastric sleeve surgery. I am most nervous about the 3 weeks of liquids after surgery. I’m worried that I may get dehydrated or that I won’t get enough protein in while I’m recovering. I know everyone says use a timer but I still feel like I am going to need to rest during the day time from the anesthesia.

1. How do I keep up with the fluids and get in enough sleep/rest?

2. How do people tolerate liquids for so long without feeling like they are starving?

3. Provide 1 inspirational phrase or a positive statement

If you are one the majority of us who lose our appetite & interest in eating, you won’t care about drinking the shakes, soups, bone broths, etc. or not think you’re eating g enough. I only drank two ‘meals’ a day during that stage , consuming about 200 calories. Remember your body has a lot of stored energy to keep it functioning effectively. The shakes, soups, etc. also count towards your fluid intake so that makes it easier to get your fluids in.

I did things like diluted my soup & shakes, so more fluid & just sipped until they were finished. Drink during the night too. I still drink every time I get in or out of bed (which is often because you know you drink you pee ?)

If you do feel hungry, it may be head hunger not real hunger coming from the stress & emotional effects of the surgery especially if you ate to comfort or sooth yourself. Find something to distract yourself: read, contact a friend or family member, craft, play a game, do a puzzle, check your socials, go for a little walk, sip a warm drink like herbal or green tea.

Don’t worry if you don’t hit your fluid & protein goals straight away or even every day. It’s not easy at first. As long as you’re close to your goals & making an effort you’ll be okay.

The first 24-48 hours after surgery, I slept a lot. After that not much. Slept pretty well at night & then maybe a little nana nap in the afternoon was all. Really just rested with my water, shake, etc, beside me. Many people are back are work after a week or two.

Write down why you decided to have this surgery & what you hope to achieve. Create a list of small wins you can achieve a long the way (each time you need a smaller clothing size, first time you can walk up stairs without puffing or discomfort, not needing an extender on a seat belt, etc. what ever is applicable to you). Put these in prominent places around your home - on the fridge, pantry, bathroom, etc. and read them whenever you need a reminder to stay on track.

You’ve got this.

4 hours ago, Donah C said:

Good evening I am 4 nights away from my gastric sleeve surgery. I am most nervous about the 3 weeks of liquids after surgery. I’m worried that I may get dehydrated or that I won’t get enough Protein in while I’m recovering. I know everyone says use a timer but I still feel like I am going to need to rest during the day time from the anesthesia.

1. How do I keep up with the fluids and get in enough sleep/rest?

2. How do people tolerate liquids for so long without feeling like they are starving?

3. Provide 1 inspirational phrase or a positive statement

Heya!

I can imagine you are probably feeling all kinds of nervous right now which is completely normal!

When I went home after 2 nights in the hospital, I was definitely tired so I prioritised my rest if I am honest!

1) To be honest, I didn't! I drank as much as I could but I know I was under my 2l target, and honestly at that point so soon after surgery, it is really hard to drink ? Well, for me anyway! Just remember that it is only temporary and as the weeks go on, it will get easier to reach those targets! Prioritise your rest if you need it, and then every time you wake up, have some sips of water.

2) Genuinely, I didn't feel hungry at all post-surgery, and even now I feel only vaguely hungry and that has only just started returning. As @Arabesque said, it will more than likely be head-hunger so finding a distraction will be ideal!

3) You can do this Just remember your reasons why and the rest will follow.

Not everyone gets to their protein goal right away and that’s not the end of the world so long as you are trying Your protein shakes count as both fluid and protein though and they usually have 25-30g each so it shouldn’t be as hard as you think with the shakes. Fluids are the mist important thing immediately afterwards. For most of us, drinking gets easier by the hour as swelling goes down. I actually had no issue drinking from day one. I also wasn’t in any pain and was off all pain meds before I left the hospital. I did need a little more sleep than usual but it wasn’t like other surgeries where I needed pain meds and I was more groggy constantly. With those surgeries I woke up to my alarm to take meds or whatever and had no problem going right back to sleep though so you should be fine either way. As far as hunger your hunger hormone is reduced. Most of us do not feel hungry at all. But as you should see on the pre op diet. The protein in them shakes is surprisingly filling anyways. Also, if you were not getting a little bit nervous by now you would be the exception and not The rule. Just try to keep your eyes on your goals. If you haven’t set one check out the “weirdest non scale victories” thread. There are some pretty good ones that you may not have even thought of yet.

like others have said, a majority of us lose our appetite and desire to eat for a while after surgery. It can take up to a year to come back, although with some it's a few months (mine came back at five months out). So the liquid diet AFTER the surgery is way, way easier than the liquid diets some of us have to do BEFORE surgery.

As others have said, I felt absolutely no hunger after surgery. I got a little tired of the same flavors every day and kind of missed chewing, but I wasn't hungry. I even had to go back on liquids for a few more weeks because of some vomiting issues and it was fine.

For resting, the first couple days home I rested a lot. I would bring a big tumbler of water and a premade protein shake into the living room and just sit and watch TV and nap when I needed. That passed quickly and the pain was mostly gone within a few days.

You will be amazed how quickly you are feeling back to normal. You've got this!

3 more days!!! Today I had a surge of energy. Probably all the naps I had the past few days. Did my last minute grocery run. Even though I already have tons of broth, power aid zero, jello, pudding, popsicles, I grabbed more. ? I also grabbed gas X just in case. Tomorrow I will get my bag ready. Started the miralax regimen today per doctors orders. I do have to say the Advanced Impact AR drink from the doctor is so disgusting. I have to chug it and rinse my mouth with mouthwash. Anyone else have to drink this for a few days before?

Hey Donah C… we are all very excited for you to embark on this journey. You are almost done with the “hard” part. Be proud of yourself. Not many can say they can do what you are just about to finish.