BarrySue

Protein yes. Protein always!

Honestly, I have had some complications with my surgery (bad fall, incisions tearing a little), and I still would have been okay to start school after a week. Work is another story entirely, but for school I would have been fine. I'd definitely email your professors NOW before classes start, because if for some reason you need a little extra time, you want to make sure a particular professor won't be a jerk about it. Don't tell them you are getting WLS, just mention that you will likely be having abdominal surgery.

On my doc's nutrition guide, he wanted all protein shakes. But when I had bloating/nausea with them, he said greek yogurt was okay. Generally, carbs should be under a set amount for a day, but realistically, it is okay to have a few if it helps you meet your protein goals. Eventually, you will have to integrate healthy carbs back into your diet, so I wouldn't get this rabid NO CARBS EVER mantra stuck in your head. I value learning to have a healthy relationship with food over religiously sticking to a diet that might not be working for me.

I was discharged from the hospital yesterday, and day 3 post-op. However, the tylenol with codeine I was sent home with didn't do anything for my pain. During the night I slept upright on a couch, but around midnight I started to slide off and couldn't straighten up due to the excruciating pain. I ended up stuck on the floor and the fire department had to come in and get me up to bed. It was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life, and I'm terrified it's going to happen again. I'm just in so much pain that I can't even get myself into a good position to sleep. I never imagined it would be this bad, because I have a very high pain tolerance. Heck, when I go to the dentist, I refuse novocaine and just let them drill away! I take care of my own cuts and wounds instead of going to the hospital. I can't believe that a VSG is giving me so much trouble when people twice my age are already out and about, totally fine! Has anyone else experienced severe pain post discharge?

It literally just happened again, tried to get off the couch and ended up on the floor. My sister and her husband were on the way over to help, but after about 30 minutes of wiggling around, I finally got to the stairs and pulled myself up (my house is tiled and nothing is bolted down, so I was unable to get any traction). It's official, I can't sit on any couches if I'm alone. Yikes.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, guys! I think I need to accept that this is a painful process and keep walking/put ice packs on before I drive myself nuts.

I know it isn't gas pains, it is directly tissue-related. Today I also realized there was a tiny amount of clear yellow draining from one of my incisions. I really, really hope it is typical discharge and not the beginnings of an infection. It isn't the one where the drain was placed, so it's concerning me that it is the one causing most of my pain.

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I did call my surgeon as soon as the office opened, but was only instructed to double up on the tylenol with codeine dosage. I will definitely try the ice pack and keep walking around, as well as pay attention to any signs or symptoms of a leak or something more serious.

Just finished up my pre-admit testing, lost 18 lbs from the preop diet so far! Six days to go!

Yes. It counts!

Hahahaha, fantastic!

The very low carb thing is required to shrink the liver. If your doc says low carb, definitely go low carb! Mine basically has me on a three week modified atkins: two shakes, and a lean protein for dinner. I cheated with a banana today and will again tomorrow for breakfast, only because I want to make sure my potassium levels are good for my pre-admission blood test tomorrow (gotta stay on that potassium and calcium!)

Oh wow, are you with Dr. Jawad as well, or did you go with Florida Hospital?

I missed 4th of July AND my birthday I've had a turkey burger almost every day!

Haha, I spent last summer in Europe, and couldn't believe how it could be under eighty degrees in July! I would live there in a heartbeat (if only to see snow). You're talking about celsius though, right? If so, that sounds BEAUTIFUL!

I feel you! I feel so restless/idle all the time. I moved my laptop upstairs away from the kitchen, and on my days off, I get out of the house. I work constantly and also go to school, so the boredom is what's killing me. When I have five weeks off after surgery with no school OR work, I have no idea what I'm gonna do. I'll be clawing at the walls going nuts. I may just buy a season pass to Disney just to have someplace to walk around!

Orlando here!

@@justajackie @@doubledinfla Where in Florida are you folks from?

I hate the shakes so much I prefer not to eat vs suffer through any more whey protein (I am not and will never be a shake/smoothie person). I'm surviving off my snowcone machine, lol. A scoop of unflavored unjury protein mixed with water and sugar free drink flavor, freeze it into ice cubes, run it through the snowcone machine, BAM! That's the story of my life right now. Days off are getting hard because I'm not used to inactivity, so most of my challenge has been staying busy and battling head hunger. 11.5 days!

Go for it! If you sign up for the email list for bed bath and beyond, they will send you a 20% coupon via email the next day, and you can save yourself a little extra! Amazon also has a alot more sugar free zero calorie flavors if you wanted to give it a try.

You are allowed to have rice and beans?!!? That is awesome. No carbs at all for me My friend's kid was eating a plate of mac and cheese in front of me, and I wanted to snatch that fork out of her hand so bad!

In your nutritionist's defense, bread has a minimal amount of sugar, but the refined white flour used in it is chock full of simple carbs, which react essentially the same as sugar in regard to fat storage and blood glucose. Unless you are eating a special flavored bread, standard white bread has almost no actual sugar in it. Even if it is on the ingredients list, it is typically under 2-4g.

Have you tried unjury's chicken soup flavor and unflavored protein powder? They are awesome. I dislike shakes, so I'm using those.

I totally found my new favorite pre-op food today: 30 dollar snowcone machine, sugar free zero calorie cherry or blue raspberry syrup, and a handful of ice cubes. Totally hits that dessert craving I've been having!

Yes, exactly! I got terrible headaches from carb withdrawal for the first 2-3 days, then I felt much better. We'll just be a few days ahead of you, whining nonstop!