Gottajustdoit

KAT1234--OK, so I'm day 2 on purees and I am disappointed. I was looking forward to this and even had cravings. I'm finding this to be a very slow process as I'm nauseated with the pureed food. I may stick to protein shakes and water as my main diet for another week so I may be with you froufrou! I start work again next week so it may be tough. Tonight I mashed up a deviled egg and ate that with about 2 teaspoons of lowfat cottage cheese. I just feel ick. I also do not have an appetite.

So, I was really excited to start my purees only to find out that I have NO appetite. I had a few bites of the ricotta bake yesterday, and it did taste good, but I wasn't really hungry for it. Today I'm like, "whatever, I'll just go back to my water and protein shakes." I just have no appetite. I found an article online about this that I wanted to share--here's an excerpt (sorry so long). I'm 16 days post op and wondering if anyone else has no appetite (nothing sounds good): A loss of appetite after weight loss surgery can be attributed to more than just losing taste and smell. The communication between the brain and the intestines when food is digested is disrupted after weight loss surgery, researchers believe. “Current research is showing that when you take away a lot of your stomach and reroute your intestines, the food is no longer hitting nerve receptors that signal to the brain to make chemicals and hormones that regulate blood sugars, blood pressure, hunger and fullness,” Rene explains. “These are the metabolic changes patients experience after surgery. The downside is that it’s quite a challenge to find foods and fluids after surgery that you can tolerate and eventually like.”

First day on Purees and I just finished about 2 Tbsp of the Ricotta Bake. I have to say, it was tasty, but my tummy is all gurgly and a bit nauseated. I spent about 20 minutes eating it and chewed it to death. It tasted like lasagna, so I got my cheesy fix. I'm attaching a few photos here. I am just happy it has stayed down as I just wasn't sure how I would respond to having more substance to what I'm putting into that little pouch. I wanted to have water with it, but will wait the 20 minutes before it's "allowed."

Welcome Rocketman! Glad to hear you are feeling relief from GERD. When I took my endocrinologist's advice and made a consultation with a bariatric surgeon, I was hoping I could have the sleeve version--but no. With a long history of GERD and gastroparesis, I was told that gastric bypass would alleviate the GERD and the sleeve might make it worse. I was disappointed because I wanted the less-invasive surgery, but decided to go ahead with gastric bypass on Feb 13. I've been taking Protonix for 20+ years and now. Post-surgery my surgeon prescribe more Protonix twice a day (crushed). I'm not sure how long I will have to be on it, but I'm hoping to say goodbye to GERD for life. Allow me to ask: Are you currently on an acid reducer after surgery? If so, how long do you need to take it. I do have some heartburn post-surgery but I'm hoping I won't have it for long.

I'm officially on pureed foods tomorrow, but I just had one wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese (white cheddar). For all the cheese lovers, its very creamy, more like a cheese spread. I put one wedge on a spoon and ate it off the spoon very slowly. I am now waiting to see if there will be any nausea with it.... Here's the nutrition info: 1.3g fat (.08 saturated fat), 25 calories, 1 carb, .05 sugars. I think it only contains a trace of protein. I enjoyed it very much! I may try it with mashed avocado later in the week.

Brittmar--I crave cheese too! Tomorrow is the day I can start pureed/soft foods and I'm going to make Shelly's Baked Ricotta as found on the Internet. I. Can't. Wait.

Pureeing Wendy's chili--great idea!

I had my first post-op visit with my surgeon today and I get to start my smooth foods on Thursday. Thank goodness! I am feeling hunger for "real food" now. I will beginning week "3" (two weeks after surgery) and was told I could have cottage cheese, a very runny egg (not dry scrambled yet), and like consistencies. I'm going to make the ricotta bake on Thursday night as my first "meal." So tired of the full liquids.....

Hi Everythinganna, I can only say what my experience was, but I did not have a lot of pain that was directly related to eating or drinking. I took the approach of sipping water and protein shakes all the time rather than setting an alarm and ensuring every 15 minutes I drank 2-4oz. Any pain I had was the sharp, tender pain in my left abdominal area and a sort of heartburn tight feeling in the center of my chest near my solar plexis. If I take too big of a sip, I still have that tight pain. I do seem to burp a lot. I would call your doctor, especially before moving on to eggs--just to be sure!

I wish! I was told zero alcohol for at least 6 months. I am not a huge drinker, but I used to have martinis once a week.

I have my post-op tomorrow and I'm SO hoping I will be allowed to start pureed foods. I want cottage cheese and eggs too!

Wow! Two hours after surgery? I haven't heard that, but then again I had gastric bypass and not the sleeve. Sounds like you are one of the last being at the end of February. Hopefully you have gained a lot of valuable post-op info from this group.

Well said, Sheribear--we are here for you Emzbee. I have heard that depression is often associated with this surgery after the surgery has been done. I have no understanding of that, but I can relate to depression and the glum feeling of just lying in bed feeling blue. If you don't take medication for depression, it might be worth discussing with your surgeon or your primary doctor. The chemical balances of our body are all whacked and given your history, you want to give your body and brain the best fighting chance you can so your stomach can heal.

Sorry to hear this Everythinganna, especially since you were going into the surgery with such high spirits and optimism. I eased into my vitamins and, although you should seek your doctor's or NUT's advice, I would wait to start your vitamins until you feel better. I've heard that sometimes people wait two weeks to start the vitamins. But again, don't go by my word alone. There may be a reason you have to start your vitamins now. I have my first pre-op tomorrow and I stopped my calcium and iron chews because I am so unbearably constipated. I have colace but I want to ask them if I can swallow them before I take them because they are gel capsules (I will ask tomorrow). And yes, you definitely could be still sore! I started feeling better around day 6 post-op, but pain still came and went. You might try adding unflavored protein to your bone broth if you can. Yesterday I added just a wee bit of PB Protein (peanut butter protein powder) to my chocolate sf/ff pudding. I found it super sweet. Who would have thought. Be assured that not feeling well--even 5 days post-op--is NORMAL. My surgeon's office stressed that I should call them about ANYTHING I felt was off but I'm the type that says "Oh, I don't want to bother them with that...they will think I'm a hypochondriac," but I did call. They repeated to call anytime. I'm hoping you're getting the same advice from your team. Good luck! Hang in there!

I'm also on Protonix. I have gastric bypass. Because I have a history of gastroperesis and GERD, my surgeon would not do the sleeve.

I also felt nauseated. In fact, on day 2 of my pre-op clear fluids diet, the nurse told me to go into the ER because I was vomiting. They gave me fluids as I was dehydrated. My white blood cell count was elevated so my diagnosis was an intestinal bug. Hmmmmm.....I still find that suspicious because if it was, it was only a 6-hour stomach bug that my kids and husband never caught. I think I was having a panic attack over the upcoming surgery and how bad I was feeling. Still not sure why my white cell count was up, but it was down by day of surgery. If you can't get in enough liquids, the nausea might be dehydration? Just a thought....

Thanks, Gabybab. Good news! I'm off Metformin too! I hope you can get off your oral meds too. 🙂

Was your sick feeling headaches? Lightheadedness? I was feeling rotten on pre-op too (with diabetes). Please find some comfort in that you will not feel hungry for a few days after surgery and managing clear liquids is much easier.

As a Type 1 diabetic, I am finding that the most difficult thing to manage post-op is my blood sugars. If I crash, I know I have to take a glucose tablet, but I fear that jolt of a sugar rush will cause me to dump. From what I've read, the symptoms of dumping feel similar to how I feel when my blood sugar crashes (nausea, sweating, shaking). Since I've been out of the hospital, I've had only one low--71. Not too low, but enough to feel the symptoms of low blood sugar (the lowest I've been is 38--horrifying!). I started sipping slowly on a protein shake and that brought it up. So I haven't had to take a glucose tablet yet. If I do, well, it is what i need to do, but I am terrified of dumping. I also take Lantus--long-acting insulin--morning and night. But. Hallelujah! I'm taking only 12 units each time instead of 40. THAT is an awesome feeling. As you know....insulin is a miracle worker, but it does store fat. My #1 reason for doing the surgery is so I can drastically reduce my insulin intake. I will always have to take insulin, but I love taking less!

In the hospital I Owas given a sugar-free (sf) popsicle, sf Jell-o, and a very gross chicken broth that was clear (too gross to eat). On day 3, when they discharged me around 7pm, they changed me to "full liquids," which included fat-free milk (gag), a sf popsicle, and more broth, but this time it had what looked like solids in it (imagine chicken and stars Campbell's Soup). I looked on the "receipt" and it said "pureed soup." I knew I couldn't have pureed food for two more weeks so I asked the nurse to see if they brought me the wrong thing. The doctor on call came in, looked at it, and said "that's fine, you can eat it." I had a little bit, but wasn't quite what the heck was going on..it was obviously chunky. The food service also brought me chocolate pudding, even though they told me the kitchen was out of the sugar-free pudding. I doubted that too so I didn't eat it. Also, my blood sugars were in the 200s the entire time I was in the hospital, which seem to mystify the nurses, even though they only gave me 1 our 2 units of insulin at a time (uh, maybe more insulin?). Finally, not one nurse encouraged me to get up and walk--ever. I knew I had to walk so I started moving as soon as I could. They never told me not to, just never told me I should. Don't get me wrong--the nurses and the patient care staff were super nice and helped me when I needed it, it's just that I was surprised at some of the issues. The hospital is top notch in Northern Virginia, not one I would every question. It has bariatric patients on the floor I was on every day. I am convinced, though, that whatever hospital you are in, you have to be your own patient advocate and just ask if you aren't sure about something--not in an acusatory or bossy way, but in a way that shows you have some concern. I've had other instances in the hospital where they've attempted to give me medicine that was clearly labeled as an allergin on the bright red bracelet I was wearing at the time. If something seems fishy, ask. They have a lot of patients with various issues and may get distracted. 🙂

Godspeed to all who will be in the operating room tomorrow. Sounds like there are a few of you. I know there are others this week as February wraps up (and at least one trailer on March 4). You got this! Let us know how you do when you are comfortably able.

Yes! I bought an entire container of Unjury Chicken Broth (not bad) but realized I could just strain my favorite soups. I strained all during my pre-op and am continuing to strain on my post-op full liquids. In fact, I was able to go out to Noodles & Company after church today with my family and brought my strainer to strain a side of their Chicken Thai Soup. It was so good! And the meal only cost me about $1.45. Bonus! Just be sure to use a tight wire strainer and not a pasta strainer. Enjoy!

Hey Marine, I haven't cheated and here's why. I was told that any pulp or even a small bit of food could get snarled in the staples that are trying to heal. The thought of that happening scared the dickens out of me so I'm staying the course. I definitely am getting my appetite back, and my cravings for something cheesy is fierce, but I figured if I could make it through the awful clear liquids phase of the preop, I can make it a few more days until I get to the pureed stage. Are you still on full liquids? Have you tried sugar-free pudding? Cream soup?

Don't spend time worrying about the food aspect as you will not feel hunger for at least one week post-op and when you do, you will only need a little bit of full liquids to feel full. I found the pre-op diet a LOT harder than the post-op diet. As for pain medicine, I was sent home with liquid prescription pain killer. See what works in the hospital for you and ask for a prescription when you go home. The post-surgery pain is usually not unbearable so hopefully you won't need too much of it. Not sure about your other pain, though. The nurses will want to work with you on pain management during your stay so be sure to tell them what your pain needs are.

I can assure you there is nothing to be afraid of. Once you are in the hospital in pre-op, if they don't already, ask them to give you something in your IV to calm you down. It helps. Are you a Type 1 diabetic? I am, and want to drastically reduce the amount of insulin I have to take. Post surgery I am down to only 12 units of long-acting in the morning and at night (down from 40 units each time!). That. Is. Amazing. You can do this...many of us in this group were in the same fright stage as you (including me!) and we all made it through. You can too!