BrownieUNC

I'm 5 days post-op. Is this infection? Pretty large area. any input appreciated.

No, not picky at all. Surprisingly co-operative.

Shawna at Dr Steinbergs office will get it thru RI BC/BS with no problem (as long as you see all the preliminary doctors that they set up for you). 40 will be fine, BUT, your primary DR may have to co-operate to the extent that he says that you have been at 40 for the last 5 yrs as opposed to just recently reaching 40. But, in general, Steinberg has the best insurance support operation going, AND, in general RI BC/BS is very co-operative compared to other insurance companies.

24 hours. I kid you not. The next day. Who's your Dr in Atlanta?

scrambled eggs ok, poached or fried eggs - no. chicken salad pureed or pretty well ground up ok, chicken breast - no.

too soon for tomato soup. Too thick. Don't intentionally vomit. Try to relax and walk it off. Movement helps.

what dont they tell you.....GREAT question! well, I've read the whole thread - which is 99% "food related". As for me, the unexpected "negatives" had nothing to do with food...I guess I would label them general "quality of life issues" for lack of a better phrase. So, here goes, I'm about to vent a little.... 1) my doctor simply wont permit me to take my other non-related medications (whether tablet or capsule form) no matter how small the pill may be. Yeah, yeah, crush them up, yada, yada...well guess what? they dont work the same when they are crushed up. Diabetes meds dont work the same, cholesterol meds dont work the same, and worst of all my BPH (I am a male patient) meds dont work the same. So, if I'm down a few pounds, what good would it do me if I'm dead from a heart attack, or if my blood sugar is yo-yoing, or if I need major prostate surgery?? By the way, I literally grilled the doctor on this issue before the surgery and the answers were "glossed over" every time. God forbid that I should come down with some other illness, cause I wouldnt be able to get any medicine in me - and obviously that will happen some day. 2) SEVERE constipation. Repeat, SEVERE. Artificial Fiber? Did not work. Prune juice? Did not work. Foods with high natural fiber? Not even close. Laxative such as "milk of magnesia"? Yeah, but its still very rough, and I really dont think its a healthy long term solution. 3) Problems with hair, scalp, and skin. Scalp and skin are very dry and itchy all the time. Texture of hair is TOTALLY different. Much thinner, much drier, not healthy hair at all. Probably losing hair. So there you have it. My 3 big gripes, and none of them have anything to do with food and eating - or lack thereof. Let me just close by saying that I'm FULLY aware of the need for Protein and good hydration, and I am doing eveything in my power to get the protein and the Water and the fiber in. I just dont want people to think that good intentions will always lead to the desired results. Some negatives MAY not be in your power to control.

God bess you. You're in a PERECT PLACE. Don't mess with it til necessary.

1. Sleep in a Recliner ! 2. Gas-X ! 3. Walk ! 4. Get off the hard meds ASAP !

No, but I LOVE Rhode Island now, cause Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island paid for this shindig! (and I'm in Atlanta :-)

Excellent ! But you may have eaten your last bagel :-)

well, this thread touches on my #1 gripe. I asked the doctor a thousand times about taking my meds after the surgery, and he just glossed right over it. Fact is, now he wont let me take any pills (tablets or capsules) no matter what the size...and the crushed up powder or capsule contents simply DO NOT WORK AS WELL AS BEFORE. They spike early, and then wear off way too early. (Not to mention that I am being forced to eat 2 small cups of applesause a day - that I dont really want to eat.) It was my #1 concern before the procedure, and its my #1 concern now. Yeah, I've lost some weight. But my cholesterol med isnt working as well, my blood pressure med isnt working as well, my diabetes med isnt working as well, etc. I just dont understand why I cant take pills the size of aspirins. Others on here say they have the green light to take aspirin size pills.

Its gotta be Protein deficiency. Gotta be. Good sources would be any fish (mushed up albacore tuna would be easiest to handle) and scrambled eggs. Also, knock down about 4 glasses of skim milk a day if you can...

If you follow the rules, you will soon swing from a diarrhea stage to a constipation stage. The Benefiber will probably help at that point. Right now you might be overdoing it at 6 tsps a day...you're already fighting dehydration as it is. Another thing is that if you're using childrens chewable Vitamins, a lot of them have castor oil as one of the ingredients. If you're using any kind of artificail laxative you kind of have to time it so that you're at home when it "happens"...

There will be some swelling. And it could last for weeks. At the same time, however, you will be losing weight...so it kind of evens out. I'd lay off the caffeine for a while though......

Recliner !!!

In my opinion, 7 calendar days for a desk job is realistic. People tried to tell me 3 or 4 days would be fine, but I found that was just way too optimistic. You start making a lot of incremental progress day 4 thru day 7...

Crystal Light makes an iced tea flavor pwder that has no caffeine and no sugar and absolutely ROCKS. You wont be able to stop drinking it. Its sensational.

my skin around the main incision site plus the mid abdomen area is turning yellow. At first I thought it was left over stain from the operation but no, it would have washed away by now (and doesnt appear anywhere else). Then I thought it was bruising, but everyone else has described their bruising as purple. If you press on the yellow areas with your fingertiips, then draw them away, it will momentarily leave imprints of your fingertips for a sec, then return to yellow. I'm concerned about infection??? Any input would be appreciated. Has this happened to anyone else....

I just read another similar thread where several people said that they were just told to go ahead and take their pills as usual and had no problems. I find that very interesting in that I was told the exact opposite. I'll be following up on this question tomorrow.

well, you just touched on my biggest complaint. I asked a MILLION TIMES about being able to take my other medications after surgery, and I was told not to worry about it - I could just crush the tablets and put them in liquid, and they would dissolve, and I could drink them. Well, it doesnt work! None of them dissolve in liquid...they just stick to the side of the glass, or sink to the bottom. I need these meds for other unrelated health problems, and they are not working as well as before. This was my biggest pre-op concern, not food. And I'm a little peeved that all the medical people downplayed and/or glossed over this aspect.

My best suggestion? Spend that first night in the hospital room with her ! She's gonna have needs and requests, and the hospital will be way understaffed at nite.

Crystal light works well. Skim milk works well. I couldnt find any commercial chicken/beef broths that didnt taste like crap, so I bought the store out of Campbell's Won-Ton Soup - which I strain thru a strainer to get it down to just chicken broth. The biggest problem for me is Protein. My doc doesnt permit Protein shakes for 3 weeks, and the clear liquid Protein drinks all taste horrendous even though they look pretty.

2 days post-op was my worst day. The IV which contained the monster painkiller was gone, and reality set in cause I had turned down the oral pain med prescription. Next day was a dramatic improvement. And then better each day afterwards. Its a gradual, daily progression. If you're trying to sleep in a conventional bed at nite, I'd swith to a recliner. Edited to add that Day 5 was a key improvement day for me, too. I'd been led to believe I could go back to work 3 days post-op which proved to be waaaay too optimistic. Also, those pain pills sometimes have a negative emotional effect on some people. Try to ditch them as soon as you can.

I had both of those symptoms (plus a mouth ulcer/canker sore on the same side as the painful lymph node). I was told to add a crushed up daily 100mg tablet of Vitamin B1 (thiamin) to my daily regimen(available at independent health food stores)- the B Complex vitamins were the size of horse pills and would not dissolve in liquid - and to start using a toothpaste called Biotene Dry Mouth - available at Walgreens. I feel like the B1 was helpful, but that the toothpaste was a disappointment - though other people swear by it.