ErinEllen1

Hey Gopheritgirl, You will do fine. The key to success with the DS is to get your Vitamins in order, then it is Protein, protein, protein and Water, water, water. That site is dedicated to the DS and you will get lots of good advice from veterans there. In the meantime, remember that you have to be dilligent about your labs and stick to your Vitamin regimen.

The best advice that I can give you is to get your Vitamins in order, and then it is Protein, protein, protein, and walk and sip. Make sure you are dilligent with your labs and know your numbers.

Heather, I had the DS (lap - DaVinci). I was back to work in 15 days. I could have gone back sooner, but my job had a restriction for major abdominal surgery and I had to abide by their policy. No regrets for the DS, I would do it again every single year to see these results.

I had the actual DS three months ago. I am restricted on the amount that I eat (about 4 ounces at a time), I have trouble with some vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli. I have heard from other vets that say this eventually passes. The thing about the DS is that you have to be diligent with your Vitamins and supplements and your lab work. We don't absorb vitamins like the normies so Vitamin deficiency is a real possibility. I take a handful of vitamins every single day and will for the rest of my life. The vitamins that I take will be tweaked each time I get my lab results (still waiting on my first complete labs). My diet is high Protein and high fat. The only carbs that I get are in fruit and vegetables. I take in between 120 - 150 grams of protein every single day, and I try to get about 70-80 grams of fat. I feel awesome. I am 1000% glad that I chose this surgery, and I recommend it. My surgeon was Dr. Margaret Inman in Indianapolis, IN. My insurance paid for the entire thing.

Then I will see you there tomorrow. It will be a party!!

I hear all these tales about what other surgeons do, and that makes me even happier that I chose inmann!!.

Awesome!!! Have you had your pre op nutrion class yet? Mine is the 7th.

April 22nd, is my big day. I am so excited. I have all of the approvals, the Leave of Absence paperwork has been turned in, the Short Term Disability has been filed. I am raring to go! Dr. Inmann at St. Vincent's Carmel is my surgeon and she is the best. SO FREAKING EXCITED!!! That is all!

Awesome!!! Keep me updated please.

I haven't got my surgery date yet. There was some concern about my white cell count when I did my pre-op testing so we had to wait 30 days and retest my blood. If everything goes well, I will be in within the next 30 days. For those of you that just had it, how are you?

What about drinking out of straws? I drink all my Water out of a straw now. I have heard that straws are frowned upon after surgery. Is that true?

Can someone tell me what your diet was like the first two weeks after surgery? What did you eat/drink? Did you use nutrional supplements like Power Milk or Boost? What about Vitamins? I know that I am supposed to take them, but what kinds/brands did you take? Did you use the liquid ones, or were you able to take the pills? I have the information from the surgeon's office, but I keep hearing about "Real World" adaptaions of the program, and I would like to hear from some people that have had the surgery about what they did. Thank you!

In the case of my uncle, he lied and said that he quit smoking, but hadn't quit. He had a cigarette just an hour or two before surgery. This affected his oxygen levels and caused his to aspirate into his lungs during the surgery. I quit smoking in March in anticipation of the surgery and my surgeon says that I will be just fine.