pookybear

I was surprisingly not at all nervous the day of surgery. I had no port and hardly any pain. A little nausea and discomfort, but the nurses kept it well under control. I was on the morphine pump but I stopped using it after the first day because it was contributing to the nausea. The catheter was painless and only the slightest pinch when removing it. I was more uncomfortable because I had my period while I was there and couldn't use a tampon. They sent me home with nausea medicine and pain medicine. I used the nausea stuff but never once opened the pain meds. At home I just used liquid Tylenol.

It may. It depends on the surgeon. My surgeons office was more prone to do open surgery if you had previous abdominal surgeries.

You can also get a veggie burger or a turkey burger with a 'lettuce bun'. I like how much you can customize their menu.

A stall when you change phases is perfectly normal. Your body got used to liquids only. Now it is adjusting to more substance. You'll probably experience a stall when you progress to solid foods as well. Remember that the stalls are normal, they are expected, and they are TEMPORARY.

Try sleeping propped up a little on pillows, maybe with some pillows on the sides of you. It helps for support. I don't think there's anything abnormal in feeling hunger. I think it's a good thing. It's your body's way of telling you it needs fuel. As long as you can control the head hunger and what you actually put in your mouth. You're only getting liquids right now. Nothing of substance and the liquids leave your stomach quickly. You'll notice a difference when you start taking in more substance.

It won't hurt. I think isolate is a more concentrated protein, so it's a higher quality. But regular whey protein is certainly fine. I use the regular whey protein.

I lost in the hospital. At my one week appointment I was down 15 lbs. They said that was a lot for one week though. Definitely not a standard amount.

This is so true. My bf feels bad when he eats foods in front of me that I can't have. I remind him all the time that my decision to change is mine alone and that doesn't mean he has to change. If he chooses to do so then great, but it needs to be his choice and not strictly a result of mine.

I'm so so sorry

I didn't puree anything. I picked things that were already soft enough for me...yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna, eggs, hummus, etc. I was never told I should puree anything. I was told as long as I could chew it enough where it could pass through a straw then it was fine. I ate a lot of ground turkey with tomato sauce. It was pretty much my go-to meal. Also Wendy's chili.

We went on a few day trips where we did some walking, but nothing out of the ordinary. We were house/dog sitting for his brother and sister-in-law. We ate the food provided there. Nothing extremely bad, but usually eat healthier at home than what was provided to us for the week. I am looking forward to getting back to my daily salads and green drinks.

My bf and I have been on vacation all week and have been eating crap for the most part. I weighed myself this morning (I'm 17 months out) and I expected to have gained a pound or two. I lost 3 pounds. What the heck? Lately it seems like the worse I eat, the more I lose. I feel so backwards.

I went back after 2 weeks. I probably could've gone back after one week but I had already arranged for 2 weeks off so I took it anyway.

I was mildly lactose intolerant before surgery and still am. I can have yogurt and cheese. I use milk in Cereal very sparingly, and I have to take a lactose pill if I eat frozen yogurt. I use powdered Coffeemate in coffee. It's very common to be lactose intolerant post-op. I was kinda hoping my intolerance would go away post-op, but it didn't.

Hmm. Well maybe it'll work. I never really had issues with mood swings, other than a few meltdowns over food. But that's to be expected lol. I started the ring about 3 months after surgery, so maybe it does work.

I'm almost a year and a half out and I still have trouble with any red meat. I try to avoid it completely. Pork also. For the most part, all I eat for meat is chicken, turkey, or tuna.

From my understanding the mood swings are because of estrogen being released which causes a small overload. I would think adding hormonal birth control would only make it worse.

This is how my program was. I didn't have a 'puree' phase, I had a soft foods phase. I was allowed tuna or canned chicken if it was moist enough. My nutritionist told me I could eat pretty much anything as long as I chewed it to the consistency of applesauce.

After awhile it becomes second nature. And believe me, you learn to accept it after a few swallows of food that hasn't been chewed enough.

I was cleared for everything, weights included, at 4 weeks.

You're welcome! Let us know how it goes!

It's quite possible that your bp meds need to.be adjusted.

Coffee won't dehydrate you, but you do metabolize things differently now. That's why they tell you to be careful when drinking, you can get drunk off just a few sips.

Really? Did you let your surgeons office know? I have no idea what would cause that. Let us know how it goes.

It may be that you have a very high pain tolerance, but your body will still feel the effects of that pain. If you're not in much pain, try taking some liquid Tylenol. It might help relax your body enough to lower your blood pressure. I had virtually no pain and never even opened my pain meds, but at any sign of even the slightest discomfort I took liquid tylenol (for the first couple days anyway). You will heal better and faster when you have minimal pain/stress.