clairec

Hi, Thanks Zoe, I have never seen them here, but they sound good. Hope you are doing ok. I am finding all the posts really helpful. That cheese/egg recipe looks good. I have really only been having soups so far, but must succeed with more textured food soon. I found the fact you are aiming for 2ozs in more solid foods a really important message because I am coping with more than that in liquid soups. Erin I am so sorry yesterday felt so hard for you, and I really hope that today is much better. I hate throwing up so much so I will try to avoid that as far as possible. So portion size and getting things stuck seem to be the real problems. It is such an uphill battle I think in so many ways. I am missing doing normal things which involve food and the impact on my social life, more than foods themselves at the moment. Though cheese would be good! I am also struggling to eat things, I think because I am trying to avoid making myself ill, and because I really am not at all hungry. We will all get there I know, but anyone who thinks that this is the easy option!..... Take care Claire

Hi to you all, I really hope that all your surgeries go well this week. Mo and misst86 I will e thinking of you, I know how scary this pre op period is. You I am sure that you will be fine and soon joining us all on the post op thread. Rearae, I am so sorry that it is all becoming so much harder for you. It must be so difficult knowing which to have first when you are in so much pain. Take care all of you Claire

Yes I had to take mine for 10 days after I got out the hospital. Today was actually my last day of them! Yes me too, i have 14 days supply of something similar that are anti embolism shots. A few more days to go

Great news, I am really pleased for you! Do stay with us all on this Feb thread and on the other Feb post op thread, so that we know how you are doing. You are one of us! Not long now Claire

This sounds great Janie, I will try them in due course, once I get that far!Things sound like they are going really well. I was the same day as you and I am not managing purees yet, but am meant to be on my regime. Soups and smoothies are going ok and I am also using Protein shakes to increase my protein, though again these are not normally used by my nutritionist. I am focusing on protein and fluids at the moment. Glad your pain is subsiding, mine was fine really from the start, so I am lucky really. Take care and thanks for the update and the recipe Claire

Hi, I am just over 2 weeks ahead of you. I did a 3 week pre op but not liquid diet. There are pros and cons i think, I wasn't hungry on mine but it did go on forever! I honestly didn't find the surgery recovery bad at all and it was only last Tues and I am fine, just a bit tired and lightheaded. The pain was fine after the first couple of hours. Everyone is different and so are their surgeons but I had no catheter or drains and I think that helped. Now trying to build up my fluids and can only really cope with soups and drinks, but more of a choice every day. Just keep going and your surgery date will soon be here. Everyone feels anxious as well as excited. Carry on posting on here and on the Feb post op thread and you will get a lot of support, I know I have. Take care Claire

Hi Zoe, So you came home the same day! I have heard that gas pain can be really painful, i was lucky I didn't have any. You wil be shattered I am sure but it sounds as if you are tolerating the soup you had for breakfast.You sound like you are doing really well. Take care

Hi, Patti, really thinking of you on your surgery day. Looking forward to hearing from afterwards. So glad everything is ok with you zoe and ncbabygurl I know what you mean about soups and liquids. I am fine with that at the moment, possibly because I know that I can have more but my body won't cope with it yet. Expanding my range of soups and trying to reassure myself that I don't have a problem with seafood and other things (at the moment anyway) is great! Take care Claire

Hi, Nikki, it is soo hard to eat isn't it! I can't manage pureed foods, although I have tried, and I am not good with milky/yogurty things either. Soups work well as do warm chocolate Protein drinks or frozen choc protein. Anything else is beyond me.It doesn't hurt though, like it does for you. Zom, I know i is a constant process of drinking or eating when you really don't want to. I am more worried about getting enough protein and fluids than having too much but I think I am doing ok. I spoke to my NUT yesterday and thought I would get told off but she was ok about it all and just said step up the textured food as soon as I could. So it doesn't sound as if you are setting up bad habits at all, far from it, but what do I know! Claire

Hi, Well I am glad that it is only because it was too dry Tkauhi. I tried lobster Soup tonight too and am aiming for Hawaiian crabcakes by when we go in May so that is looking good. Kim, Slimming World has a few branches in the US but a lot of branches here in the UK. I have been going for almost 4 years and tonight I lost 22lbs in 2 weeks ( the op was last Tues) ! It is a very healthy eating plan with no limits on fruit etc and you are never hungry and can always have something more if you are. It works very well, but I was plateauing and slowly gaining again despite my best efforts because of my hormonal problems. I will carry on eating according to those principles once I am able to again. They have been so supportive of my Bypass as well. Hope all is going well with everyone Claire

Hi Sammy, Well done on your weight loss so far. It is really good to see you on here. I am a week post op and feeling well and starting to try foods. It can be a bit unnerving beforehand as well as exciting. You will get plenty of support here I promise, I know that I did. I am sure that you will do great and there is another thread for Feb post op people when you get that far. Take care and welcome Claire

Hiya, I have never come across this in the States, and we go to various places very frequently. We have never come across it on the East or West coasts or Hawaii. So thanks for enlightening me. Do you think that fish generally will be a problem, or was it in the way it was prepared? I tried prawn chowder the other day, and although it felt too early because it was a bit thick it didn't upset me. I hope that bodes well for seafood, and hopefully fish in the future. I hope that you haven't discovered a new allergy/intolerance, and if you have I hope that it is in the preparation and does not transfer over to other fish and seafood. That would be a real pain! Thanks for letting me know and I hope that everything else is going ok. Claire

Hi to everyone, Welcome to FAB and Rickie. It is so good to see you here. FAB, I can't manage potatoes yet but I could if I wanted to. Erin, you sound as if you are going great on potatoes though and you are only a week ahead of me. Milky stuff still a problem but thiner Soups seem to be fine. Kim and Zom you seem to be doing so well in your weight loss, as does tkauki, what is tilapia though, so I can avoid that! Hope it didn't last for too long, you poor thing. Spoke to my nutritionist today and she seemed to think that going with what my body wants is the way to go, so that is fine. I am going to Slimming World tonight and after not being able to go last week because of the op the weight loss looks more than it is. I have lost about 14lbs since the op but it will look like around 21lbs lost tonight! That should cause a stir! Has anyone heard from Ken, because his op was last Friday? I hope all went really well for him. Take care Claire

Hi, I didn't need to do any bowel prep at all. I think I have been lucky all round with various pieces of this puzzle. I was meant to be on Weetabix , yogurt and purees from the start, but my body can't seem to cope with that. If I have breakfast I can't eat or drink for the rest of the day. So I am just having protein mix ice cream style plus soup x2 a day. That seems to work at the moment. Take care all of you Claire

Hi, Lynn, I am not having to start my Vitamins again yet. The pain meds were making me feel this way, so I am so glad that I was able to stop them so quickly. I think sharing recipes is a great idea. So far I have had lentil Soup and a prawn chowder type thing. I can't manage anything else as yet, but I do have plans! Wind not too bad either end but it seems to need come out quite quickly when it needs to! Hope all is ok with all of you Claire

Hi Erin, I thought that was pretty normal, and it sounds good to me. I have lost more than that this week, because I have not been eating and it is the week of my op but 14lbs in a week sounds unhealthy to me, and I am little concerned about that. You are doing so well, I think that you need to congratulate yourself, it might be more next week though! Claire

Hi, Welcome Patti, come on in the water's fine! I think it would be unbelievable if you weren't nervous. I think we all were. Rightly so too, it is a big change. However, my surgery was only on Tues and I have no pain at all and have succeeded with a chocolate protein mix made into an ice cream today. That seemed to work for me. Yesterday night was not good, diarrhoea and felt really sick. I don;t know what that was really but I only managed half a Weetabix in the morning and that knocked me for six all day, couldn't drink anything else, just a few ice cubes. So today I am trying to follow a bit more of all your regimes. I have had no breakfast but have been managing to drink which is great. I haven't been told to have protein drinks but have had some chocolate flavoured one delivered today and have made it up into an ice cream consistency which I have had for lunch and that seemed to be ok. It slipped down and it tasted nice and gave me 19gms protein. Brilliant! I feel better about that really. I have lost 14lbs since the op which seemed a bit too much and wasn't drinking enough or having enough fluids so I am now hoping that this works better for me. All your ideas are excellent on here, I do hope all the surgeries planned in the next week go really well - dorisd, dellieflower, autumnbreeze, zoefruitcake, soontobestacy, sunandocean, misst86, pattit, mrsharkness, sallyrants and nataliem in Germany. Take care Claire .

Hi Janie, I hope the pain is improving. I have been really lucky and really have have had only mild discomfort and no gas pain. I am struggling to eat and drink but then my regime seems much faster than all yours. I started on Weetabix and yogurt which I can't cope with now. At least the fluids are going much better today and I have abandoned foods so far today. We are also looking at recipes, it is so good to hear new ideas, so please do share them when you are ready. Take care and hope the pain eases Claire

Hi Zom, I don't need to have protein shakes with my regime but I was looking in an American bariatric cookbook and they suggested using Protein powder as an ice cream with milk. Apparently it makes it less sweet and tastes nice. i have ordered a chocolate one from Amazon which will arrive tomorrow. Would you be able to try that do you think? Claire

Good idea Kim, We have just looked at the sugar content of baked Beans and they seem fine so that seems a good thing to try. Sounds great. How fantastic that you went out and managed some curry, there is hope for all of us! What a positive step! Still not managing more than weetabix in the morning, flavoured ice cubes and a tiny bit of jelly at the moment. Strange how the regimes differ, Weetabix was the second thing I was given in hospital. Thanks so much for the idea Claire

Hi to you all, When I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all last night you all really helped. Thanks so much. Hang on in there kdiden and Canadianchick, it is so good to know that we are all in this together. I do hope your pain improves and the head hunger gets better. I hope that Ken is on here soon to tell us how he is too. Erin's hummous sounded a good idea, what about edamame Beans I wonder? We don't have refried beans over here. I am struggling with food and even fluids but I am managing flavoured ice cubes now. No head hunger, or hunger or any sort, which I thought might be my problem. Weetabix for Breakfast and nothing since but I know a lot of you are only on clear or maybe milky fluids so I think my surgeon is ok with things earlier than most. I will keep things slow and try to step up the fluids. Take care, and thanks for all your support Claire

No I haven't I was wondering how she was doing. Sorry both of you, I have been posting but on the post op thread. I am fine and the post op recovery from surgery itself has gone really well. Struggling to eat and drink today but it is only day 4 and I think that I am a little overtired having not rested at all really. So everything is fine but I couldn't find my way back here as well as to the other thread in between visitors etc. Sorry to worry you but you can see how positive things have been on my other posts. I do hope that everyone else is ok because it is important to still be on here because there are so many of us still here. Really sorry! Take care Claire

Hi, Zoefruitcake, it really is normal to feel that way. I certainly did! I think I might have been overdoing it a little, more tired today and that has affected my eating and drinking. Having had cereal this morning have managed nothing since in terms of food and am struggling to drink. I feel a little queazy, not sick, just not wanting to have anything, so I am now trying ice cubes. Not a particularly nutritious day really but such early days, it is only day 4. I hope that Ken is on here soon and that he is ok. Hope you are all ok. Take care Claire x

Hi to you all, Nikki i hope your incision pain feels better soon. Janie and Pescarena i hope you are feeling a bit better now and others are too that have had your surgery this week. I feel so sorry for you Jeni to have a postponement at the last minute. I know it has happened to others but that is so hard. Stay with us and keep us updated because we do care about you. I hope that Ken does ok today, i am thinking of you, and Pam who is supporting you. Kim and Erin you seem to doing so well, i am so pleased for you. As for me, i am doing really well in terms of post op recovery. I didn't have a drain, catheter or staples to be removednd i came home yesterday afternoon. Alan made me a cheese, egg, bacon and potato puree last night which was very nice. It went down in a more reasonable length of time, i think because it was warm. However it filled me up so much for the rest of the evening that i couldn't drink so i think i need to try to manage that better. My meds are so filling too, i am on Ibruprofen and Paracetamol which are really thick and gunky and are horrible and fill me up for quite a while. Pain not bad at all and i even managed to sleep on my side last night which was great. Just feeling tired really, i have had so much support from family and friends which is just so great that i am always texting or on the phone, i must rest more i think. The supportin here is absolutely great too. Take care all of you, terrible storms and floods here in the UK and i know snow storms are bad for a lot of you just now too. Claire

Hi to you all, Hope jeni and Ken that your surgeries go as well as mine has so far. I am glad Jen that Pam has her date now too, as you say she will be a professional by then via you. Zom , Sally and Nikki i am glad that you are doing well too.i am sure that we will have difficult days in the coming weeks months and years but i have to say that my surgery has been so much better than expected. I had no staples, catherter or drain and i was glad to get rid of my appendages. Drip down last night so free at last, just mild discmfort around the holes but i even managed to sleep a little on my side on night 2 which i was not expecting. I had a quite acute lower abdominal spasm earlier in the night which felt like i needed to have diarrhoea, but nothing happened but am parping which a good sign. Dull abdo ache so i think i am starting to feel constipated. TMI i know but we need to share these things. When i get home later today i will start to take Benefiber which was advised by my variatric nurse. You just add it to any Fluid and it is colourless and apparently tasteless and it keeps you regular and sorts out constipation. I got it on Amazon before i came in, something you might want to consider. Erin i can see what you mean about new job and new start. They are only expecting you to eat what you do now, not what you did before. It sounds like you are really enjoying it too which is great. At the time it felt so brave to go back to work so soon but it clearly worked for you. I am sure that you ate missing eating with your family but hopefully the variety you can eat will increase soon and you will feel more able to. Kim you sound like you ate doing great too. Nnegrete, i do hope you feel more positive soon, strange about the avocado fetish, i suppose we will all have them. I think that is why i was struggling before the op, it felt like a permanent bereavement of things i couldn't do again. I was so sad when we were in Key West for a few days at the beginning of the year because every day felt like that. I am hoping that was my way of preparing myself and that those feelings will not be as strong afterwards. Stay strong, you HAVE made the right decision and things will feel better, in time you might even manage those avocados, and you are losing weight! We are all there with you, just hang on in there. Take care and be careful out there, we are flooding big time over here, worst floods for decades and you are in the middle of terrible snow storms. Claire