KittyKat848

14 days out and my breath is horrendous. I don't have gum disease -- recently had my teeth cleaned. I know gum is out. What are others doing??

Just wanted to give a welcome. Pre-op dieting is the hardest part. :-)

Are you on Pepcid for acid? I've never had GERD, but they still put me on it for the first six months to prevent ulcers. Maybe it would help you?

I was also 4 days in the hospital. I think largely due to the snow storm and living two hours away.

I just wanted to pipe up and admit that I ate like a jerk a few months before my surgery. I had lost about 20 lbs and then around Halloween I went nuts. I went through a lot of food funerals and guilt while gaining back 30 lbs. :-). Anyhow, during this time I was avidly researching everything about post surgical eating. I paid attn to my binge eating classes. I had planned on my surgery being in early December, but my insurance approval took too long. I'm a college teacher, so I had time off for over a month into early January. knew I couldn't take time off again until May, so I'd comfortably resigned to postponing surgery until then. I ate like a jerk. Imagine my surprise when the surgeon called and fit me in on New Year's Eve!! -- I was supposed to start the pre-op diet the very next day. How could I not have a chance for one last stuffed meal??!! I started a day late -- really saw how addicted I am -- and committed. I didn't cheat once pre-op after that and lost 20 lbs in two weeks. Since surgery, the greatest gift I've found thus far is a break from constantly wanting and thinking about food. When people day over and over that this is a tool -- I really get what they mean. This must be how typical people feel about eating -- and that tool makes making good choices a lot easier. I'm using this time to really learn how to eat and to develop a healthy relationship with nourishing myself. I guess my long winded point is that you're not alone. A lot of people here have suffered the same way and have come out the other side.

Thank you. I am working with a therapist.

My first week post op was pure liquids, too. I certainly did not meet my protein at first. I used medicine cups to sip from and worried most about getting my fluids up. The synthrax nectars in fuzzy navel and strawberry kiwi mixed with Water were my best protein bets. I swear it gets better and easier each day. Do you have zofran to help with nausea? Maybe you could ask your dr? They helped my first week out :-)

It's beyond weird!! Lol. I'm ashamed to admit that I remember secretly eating two quarter pounders, 10 nuggets and a supersize fries in my car and still had room an hour later to have dinner with my family. Omg?!? How sick is that? Now I worry that 1/3 c of ricotta cheese is indulgent? Thank god for this surgery.

I could have written the same post. Last night I felt extreme guilt for eating 1/3 c of ricotta. Wth??

Sounds yummy

Good luck to all of you going in soon!

I'm 18 days post-op. I haven't moved to soft foods yet -- just recently moved to pureed. The most I can take in is about 1/3 of a cup. It's shocking to me because I used to be able to eat more food than anyone I know.

So, my surgeon and NUT strongly discourage caffeine post surgery for at least the first six months. I wasn't strongly addicted to caffeine, but I've missed the taste of coffee. I can drink decaf, but I find that it fills me up and id rather get Protein in than fill up on something with no real value. On a lark, I bought a Protein powder called Click decaf mocha http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007VC6TXC This morning I mixed it with Water and ice and blended. Omg!! It's great-- tastes like a coffee shop frap! The coffee taste really disguises the protein. Best part? 15 easy grams of protein with only 100 calories!

I am sick of sweet too -- and also prefer broth. I've been especially find of the more highly seasoned ones like Swanson's chicken tortilla (11 calories). I started adding a Tb of either powdered low fat milk or a half scoop of unflavored protein powder to my broth. I've found that this is an easy way to add protein and it adds up after a bit. Hope this helps you.

I was told that it can put air into your stomach, produced saliva and is bad for the jaw. Also, swallowing it (accidentally or otherwise) can be a real risk -- especially early out. I am sure there are a lot of people here that chew it without issue, but I am a rule follower. I haven't done so well with my health/eating habits so far in life, so I am trying to do what the experts tell me. :-) I just don't want to kill people with my breath while I do!

I just wanted to second and third some of the other posts. I gained nearly ten pounds from the surgery and fluids after. Don't worry. You're normal! I sure hope you get up and around better very soon. :-)

Have always been hot-blooded -- rarely even using covers in the winter. Now I am so cold!! Am I the only one? Why?

Here you go!

Here you go!

The levonox injections truly are not big deal. They are a lot like the insulin injections. :-)

They repaired an umbilical hernia during my RNY. It hasn't been any issue at all. :-)

Don't know but you aren't crazy! I have the same issue and it IS a lot like early pregnancy.

I wore something loose and comfortable to the hospital and wore the same outfit home. They gave me a bariatric gown and skid socks -- and frankly, it is just a lot easier to wear their stuff. The IV and monitors really would have made clothes from home and a bathrobe more trouble than it's worth. I really needed very little from home.

I too, was a high insulin producer. It started with my pregnancy with my son and never really rectified itself. I had done a good job at keeping my A1c at around 6.5, but that required 2000 mg of metformin and two large dosages of novolog (fast and med acting insulin) per day. The insulin and my resistance made it very difficult to control my appetite and of course my weight. In the pre-op work-ups, I learned that I also suffered from fatty liver disease. Ironically, I have low total cholesterol. However, my trigycerides were always seriously elevated. Fatty liver is reversible. However, they did take a biopsy during my RNY and found that I also had mild fibrosis. This is scarring due to the fatty liver and it is NOT reversible. So I am very thankful that I did this before my liver got worse -- which it certainly would have. My kidneys have also suffered due to my diabetes/obesity. I have chronic Protein in my urine. So far, I have been lucky not to have kidney damage and good function -- but it would have only been a matter of time before I entered the realm of chronic kidney failure. I am not on puree yet. I am still on full liquids. I started the pre-op diet around December 15th which consisted of Clear Liquids and 4-5 Protein shakes per day. It was really hard at first -- the first three days were really tough -- but it became easier as time went by. I think being through Christmas was definitely a bit harder, but I learned a lot about myself during that time and really set my mind to be prepared for the post surgery period. I didn't cheat once during that time -- I really wanted my liver to be as small as possible for my surgeon. Like yourself, I wanted to be healthier and not have complications. Directly after the surgery, I was on clear liquids for a week. It didn't must matter -- it's a full time job learning to get in the fluids that are necessary to stay hydrated with your new pouch. I stared full liquids upon coming home. It hasn't been bad and I have been easily meeting both my liquid and protein requirements. I am allowed to slowly add pureed foods come Tuesday (my birthday). I have been pureeing Proteins as I have cooked for my family, portioning into 3 oz servings, and freezing.

I was very scared -- even wrote goodbye letters to my family the night before surgery. However, my risk if dying from obesity was greater than my risk for surgery. My husband was very worried -- he's been supportive AFTER the surgery. I have told very few people otherwise. I had diabetes (controlled by insulin and pills), high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and high tri with stage 3 fatty liver. I followed the pre-op diet for two weeks without cheating. My liver was still fatty. My surgery was a lap RNY 13 days ago. I didn't die. They also repaired an umbilical hernia while they were in there. So far I am down 37 lbs -- and am completely free of ALL diabetes meds and HBP meds. ????. Thus far I am complication free.