draikaina8503

Home from my post-op appointment.
I can start purees tomorrow, as well as my Vitamins. All of my staples are out and the incisions look great, but it does look like I started having contact dermatitis with the staples. But the doctor reassured me that it was not infection.
10 days ago I had surgery, and I have lost 26lbs. I can't remember the last time I was under 300lbs. I still feel like crying tears of joy. I was so worried that I was going to do something to screw myself up, even though I knew it was just anxiety. And this was the first real tangible thing for me.

Home from my post-op appointment.
I can start purees tomorrow, as well as my Vitamins. All of my staples are out and the incisions look great, but it does look like I started having contact dermatitis with the staples. But the doctor reassured me that it was not infection.
10 days ago I had surgery, and I have lost 26lbs. I can't remember the last time I was under 300lbs. I still feel like crying tears of joy. I was so worried that I was going to do something to screw myself up, even though I knew it was just anxiety. And this was the first real tangible thing for me.

Well, today I go for my first post-op appointment. Thinking I may be on a liquid diet just a little bit longer. I met my Fluid and Protein goals on Monday, but then yesterday I did not because I was so sick I was in bed for literally the majority of the day. We'll see what happens. I think I may have gotten overheated because we went out yesterday morning so that I could get a haircut after my husband's doctor's appointment, and while he was in his appointment I did walking laps around the parking lot. And we have a heat wave striking again.
But we'll see what happens. I'll try to post an update after I get home from that.
Oh, I did remove the CGM sensor that had blisters forming around it. Well, they also formed under it. And... it wasn't pleasant. I essentially have a large hole in my arm now from where it took quite a bit of skin with it.
I have also had an uptick in pain the last few days. I had taken myself off my pain meds completely, but I've had to take one a day since Sunday. I'll be discussing that with the doctor today too. Has anyone else experienced that?
Also, real talk - Cottage cheese has always disgusted me because of how it looks. So someone please tell me what it tastes like, since I'm probably going to have to learn to like it.
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@ShoppGirl
I am allowed to use milks (lactose intolerant so non-dairy milks). I've just been adding Water to the one shake because it's super thick. Like, imagine drinking a milkshake through a tiny straw. That kind of thick. I'm less worried about protein on that one because it's 32g per bottle. I just have to be able to drink it for it to matter lol.
I am sooooooo sorry about your a/c. I can't stand heat and I would probably be living in a hotel if ours went out right now. But I do know what you mean. I can't do much of anything right now still. I've been pushing myself to at least do dishes when I can, but even that is a bit much for me sometimes. But we're gonna get over this hump and then we're going to get our houses back in order! I do hope your a/c is fixed quickly and cheaply.
Update - Glad to see your a/c just randomly decided to start working again. Any chance that the outside unit had frozen?
Splenda is a Godsend, honestly. I've had to be on it for years already with my diabetes. I was told I could use any artificial sweetner as long as I didn't go overboard with it. So that is good to know for when I start the puree stage!
I'm curious to see how much my taste buds have changed since surgery. I know a couple of people who can't stand even the smell of eggs now. I really hope that's not me. I love me some eggs. I was also told post-surgery, fish is going to be a go-to meal once I can get there. Like at least once a week, kind of thing.
As someone who used to work for an allergist - the prick test is just for contact items, like fur and dust. If you are concerned about food allergies, that would be a multitude of appointments for each one you ares scared of. Because they have you actually eat the food while you are there in the office, and then you have to sit there and wait to see if you have a reaction.
"It's just me and my hubby and if it bothers him then he is perfectly capable of doing it himself." This, 100000000%. lol. Hubby has asked me what I'm cooking for lunch/dinner, and I just stare at him for a long few seconds before it clicks what he just asked me to do. Then he's like, "Oh, nevermind."
I do need to be better about limiting my bending and such. I'm obeying the weight guidelines, but I'm also of the opinion that if I can do something, I should do something. My husband has a stressful job (911 dispatcher) with crazy hours. And he has taken over a lot of the things that I was doing pre-surgery. So I feel like I have to do what I can to help him out too.
I've been on Pinterest a lot lately, saving recipes for me to try later on. I am going to probably have a fight with my husband on certain things - like ground turkey for tacos, I already know he isn't going to be on board with. But that might be a thing where I make my food ahead of time and am like, "Okay, this is what I'm having on this night. If you don't like it, you're on your own to figure out food." But that skinny scampi sounds like it might be delicious! You'll have to let us know!
I hope the eye appointment wasn't too terrible for you.
Kudos to you on making plans for a healthy rest of your life. I need to really sit down and start figuring that out myself. My fear is that I work 3 jobs. While I'm off for 2 months for 2 of them, I worry that any kind of set schedule I make for myself now will get thrown out the window when those get added back. Right now, I'm trying to walk in the mornings before the heat gets too bad. And I have a cycle machine that fits under my desk, so I use that throughout the day. Once they let me, I definitely need to figure out how to get some weight training in.
I'm still pulling sticky stuff off of me after multiple showers. It's not just you. This stuff just doesn't want to go away, which was good for surgery. But now it needs to go. LOL
I definitely do not like the sleeping the majority of my day and night away because it's preventing me from having a schedule.
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@Onemealplan
You said you can only eat 2oz of food every 3 hours. Are you meeting your protein goals with that? My nutritionist said that even at the puree and soft food stage, I'm expected to supplement my protein goals with Protein Shakes still. I'm still in the liquid stage, but it takes me an hour to finish an 11oz Protein Shake.
I have yet to feel 'full' but I do know when I've pushed too far because I start to feel kind of sick. The lack of feeling full terrifies me, honestly. Which, I know it's just my anxiety but at the same time I'm like, "What if I have already screwed my stomach up because I didn't feel full????" Hopefully I get some reassurance today at the post-op. But I do get that mental hunger thing. It's been particularly bad lately because I just want SOMETHING that isn't liquids. Hopefully as I progress, I can start kicking that to the curb.
I have a vacation coming up in October that I'm trying to prepare myself for. I should hopefully be on soft foods by then. As for the servers, one of the audiobooks I listened to in order to prepare for surgery suggested heading that off immediately. Just telling them up front you recently had a surgery so you will not be able to eat while you are recovering. One of my husband's coworkers who had the RYGB just orders water when he goes out with his husband. Sometimes he'll sip on it, sometimes he just leaves it sitting there. All depends on when he last had a protein shake.
They offered you a surgery video? I haven't heard that. I would be interested in watching it if that's an option for me, but it may not be.
How big of bites are you taking at this point? I'm just curious so I can start mentally planning for that vacation in a couple of months. (Man, am I so ready for a vacation, even with the dietary changes.)
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@Pepper_No_Salt
I've also had extreme fatigue. If I was dishes, I'm having to rest for an hour. I'm not doing anything more than that right now because I just physically can't handle it. But yeah, there are lots of long naps during my daytime, which is also affecting my abilitiy to get fluids and protein in.
Glad to hear that you've gotten better! I know yesterday was a bad day for me out of nowhere. I'm blaming heat, but I don't actually know what the problem was.
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@RRenaeL23 and @Pepper_No_Salt - Good luck at your next appointments! I hope you do get moved up to pureed foods!
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@Hiddenroses
Interesting! I was told they would not move me on to the pureed foods until I was regularly hitting 60g of protein daily. They said nothing about whether or not I was active. I'll be curious to see what is said when I go to my post-op today.
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@Meme Campbell
I hope your surgery went fantastically and you are recovering well! I know that liquid stage sucks, but it's for a good reason. Just keep reminding yourself of that.

Home from my post-op appointment.
I can start purees tomorrow, as well as my Vitamins. All of my staples are out and the incisions look great, but it does look like I started having contact dermatitis with the staples. But the doctor reassured me that it was not infection.
10 days ago I had surgery, and I have lost 26lbs. I can't remember the last time I was under 300lbs. I still feel like crying tears of joy. I was so worried that I was going to do something to screw myself up, even though I knew it was just anxiety. And this was the first real tangible thing for me.

So glad you got the answers you were needing to reduce your anxiety! You got this!

So very happy to hear that things are looking up for you. Each day it has gotten a little easier for me.

I wanted to pop in and say life literally got better the next day. I don’t know what was going on Sunday but I was absolutely miserable. Monday was a different story. I’ve learned that I’m okay with straws. This made me so happy because I get an ick from drinking out of cups. It’s made my Water intake so much easier. Yesterday I got a smoothie from Smoothie King and it was like the sun came out lol.
Ive also been able to tolerate the Oikos Triple Zero. I weight everything and can eat about 3oz before I start getting the burps. Each day it gets better. I’ve gotten a bit more energy which is nice. Thursday I should get advanced to purée/soft foods!

Really starting to feel like I am in a groove getting in all of my fluids, Protein and Vitamins. It’s no longer a huge struggle I have to constantly think about. I take my Calcium with my morning proffee that I drink first thing that gives me a really good start at 20oz Fluid, 30g protein and one Vitamin down. (Just take the vitamin with the last sip as opposed to the first if your vitamin has a lot of iron) and I mix in a spoon of soluable Fiber so I get that over with as well. While I’m drinking it I get out my three calcium’s for the day, take my stool softener and take my daily rx meds.

The rest of the day is pretty easy. I don’t get up at a set time so I just make sure to wait at least two hours to take my calcium’s and just fit in all three like an hour before I plan to go to bed at which time I take my second stool softener and the magnesium she added for muscle cramps.

If i am going to be out for the day I will set alarms for the calcium’s and put them in my purse during my proffee. . A long time ago I created alarms for every half hour of the day so that it’s super simple to just toggle on whichever alarms I may need in the morning and when it goes off I just have to figure out what I’m forgetting 😆 You may have to turn off the ”everyday” function so when you turn it off it’s really off but doing that has helped me with everything I have to remember since I get distracted pretty easily. This would be way easier if you get up at a set time because you could turn on that everyday function and set the alarm once and it’s done from then on.

At this point I’m only reminded of the pain a handful of times throughout the day. The only thing that is still not easy for me is the 30 minute rule. I know that I was supposed to do that forever after my sleeve but around the time I gave up hope on that I started back with drinking while eating and it’s a really hard habit to break. I do find that if I brush after meals and swish Water around and spit it out it helps some.

Next step is soft foods I am so looking forward to this stage and at the same time anxious I will overdo it too fast. I believe I mentioned before I am a rule follower and prefer more structure “soft food” is a bit vague for me. I survived it last time, though so I’m sure it will be okay

I really hope everyone else is recovering well if early out and starting to get in their groove as well if they are a little further out. Any tips that you guys have worked out to remember it all?

Is anyone else still discovering stick stuff on their bodies? I will be three weeks post op tomorrow and I just found some this morning. I swear I have showered. 😆

Ooh I’m so glad to hear you have some guidance now that makes you feel confident that you are doing what’s expected of you. That makes all the difference in this journey

I am doing really well. Tonight is my first in person support group meeting and I will be three weeks tomorrow. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the purée diet now and i get to move to soft foods on Monday. That’s a little more scary for me with being a revision that didn’t not involve them operating on my stomach because I do not have the feeling of that was not a good call like the rest of you do to slow me down. Yet at the same time my intestines still need time to heal so I’ve got to be disciplined and return to food slowly. I am pretty anxious so I may end up getting there a little slower than the rest of you but I guess that’s better than too quickly.

Hi hi okay so regarding the protien shakes yes like below 200 cals less than 2g sugar
And as for food qty or drink qty, my doctor said that to eat as tolerated which obviously won't be too much but this month till my app is like a testing month.. so if I can eat 2 eggs then I should go ahead but of course I should watch out for cues of fullness to avoid vomiting. I understood what she needs from me till I c her mid September so I'll follow the file they gave me and explore. I have started pureed stage slowly and I've been doing well especially my 1 egg every morning so yay.. anxiety has reduced!

How r u doing!

Wow @Hiddenroses you have just been cooking away in that kitchen it seems. Thanks for the details for the cabbage rolls they sound lovey. I’m going to try them on the soft food stage as soon as I’m allowed since after the purée tuna I just can’t do purée meat. I know that lettuce can give some people issues so i wonder if cabbage will. Although post sleeve I was fine with lettuce pretty early out. Hopefully this time it’s the same.

On a SADI specific note do you find it really odd that we do not have diarrhea. So many people warned me about his terrible diarrhea that lasts for like 3 months and even kept one Person from work and that has not been an issue for me once aside from just after the laxative. I mean, I guess it’s a good thing but it’s so weird that it was the most recurring thing I heard from anyone who had the surgery. Maybe it’s because we are eating so good now and it comes later when we have something not so good for us?

There is this heat/ ice pack thing for lower back pain that is pretty cool I bought on Amazon that works great for the intended purpose called Magic Gel But I just asked my husband for an ice pack and when he grabbed this one instead of my usual I thought hey, worn backwards that may actually work for the belly too and it does.
It comes with a warm pack and an ice pack and the band that Velcros around your waist has a mesh pocket for an ice or heat pack. Most of my incisions that are painful are lower and this doesn’t cover the entire belly all the way up for the incisions under the breast but it can be used without the belt for that if need be. It does cover the lower incisions quite well
For size reference I am currently at 229 pounds and have it loose and have about 4 extra inches. It fit with room still when I was 258 too. I just didn’t measure how much extra at that time. It’s neoprene Tao it does have some stretch as well. Just FYI if you do get it, I was warned by my NP no heat on the incisions themselves and ice for only 20 minutes at a time. Like set an alarm it’s that important. But it feels really good while it’s on there and this one can be worn while walking around even. Just passing along anything I find that works ❤️‍🩹

If anyone on early purée stage is having a hard time with scrambled eggs try “egg beaters” mixed with small curd cottage cheese. It makes them cremier than normal eggs. Also mix in puréed salsa when it’s almost done to heat and it makes them even wetter. Almost tell wet for me but it’s better than going back to liquids if your struggling.

So as I’m looking at these healthy recipes I am thinking that my food choices will be more quality over quantity In the future. I know that some generic products are exactly the same but for those that aren’t I am splurging on the better brands and thinking of using fresh products more often. Instead of grated Parmesan cheese in a shaker I plan to get the chunk of Parmesan and grate it fresh for instance. I know that for my broccoli cheese Soup I use fresh grated cheddar and it makes a huge difference so im hoping that’s the same with Parmesan.
I’m going to try the cheese grater I already have to see if that works but if not the rotary ones are pretty inexpensive. I’m also going to do fresh vegetables and herbs. I may even experiment with making my own sauces and dressings eventually. Hopefully that will infuse better flavor to the healthy stuff. I also have a store near me that has a lot more healthy options and really good produce but I never go because it hasn’t been important enough to me in the past. I am like 10 minutes away once a week for my crochet group though so I figured I can at least go that often to start and more often if necessary. It’s ironic because I don’t want to go because it’s “too far” yet I wouldn’t think twice about driving that far for an unhealthy restaurant or just about anything else to be honest.
My plan is to prioritize my health and that begins with the food I am putting into my body. Now I just have to figure out a plan for the exercise and actually follow through on all of it. . Anyone else have any ideas to get us on the right track?

Yes. I am 2.5 weeks post SADI revision surgery. The majority of us on this thread have already had our surgeries since we are getting to the end of August.

I Definitely will. So you have already had your surgery?

3 Days, consider yourself. Lucky. I did two weeks of two shakes and small low carb dinner and then two days of all liquids. It’s perfectly normal or common to be a little nervous but it’s A pretty routine thing nowadays. Good luck tomorrow and come back and let us know how it went.

My surgery is set for tomorrow morning. I’m nervous and excited all at same time. This 3 day prep all liquids is for the birds. I really didn’t know how food was such a big part of my life.

Well I have an eye appt today and they are notorious for making me wait for like an hour or longer just to be seen and then there is the hour or so in between while you dilate. It’s usually a half day experience that I dread on a normal day but one I am really not looking forward to today being worried about not being comfortable and possible bathroom issues. I will deal with it and be fine I’m sure but for those of you who haven’t had your surgery yet it is something to keep in mind. If I had realized it in advance I would’ve pushed it out a bit longer since it is just routine.

The unstuffed cabbage rolls sound good. Believe it or not I’ve never made any type of cabbage roll. I have however been using deli roast beef for my cheese steak for a while. I just get the really rare meat and then heat it for a few Seconds in a skillet. I’ve never tried mixing cream cheese in it though. That sounds interesting. I like to make Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers when I trying to be good. I bet the cream cheese would sorta hold the mixture down into the pepper better. I wish I could try it now. I suppose I could make it for my hubby and puree mine.
My AC miraculously came back on last nigjt after two hours of flashing an error code and not working. It just started back up- so weird. We don’t dare touch it because we don’t believe it’s fixed but it’s cheaper to have someone come check it during the week. My husband is going to tell them the error code it was giving tomorrow and just see if there is anything they need to do. Maybe it is fine. That would be a nice break since it’s just barely out of warranty now plus I won’t habe to deal with the workers being here.
I’m still thinking about them cabbage rolls. After the purée tuna was gross to me I kinda thought purée meat was gonna be a no go. Was it good? I’m sure iit helped that it was in the sauce and all that too. I was looking at another ricotta recipe that had chicken and spinach that was a casserole with cheese as well I was considering for my early soft food stage. I think it had artichoke hearts too. It was on Pinterest. They actually have a-lot of recipes under high protein low fat and high protein bariatric recipes.

One thimg I forgot about is adding to the plain Greek yogurt. The ranch or French onion Soup mix or PB2 to make dips. I added that and some peeled apples and a seedless cucumber to my shopping list for soft foods with the ranch and the PB dip in mind. I think the dry onions should wait for regular foods but it is really good so I mentioned it.

Hello! Short update from my phone --
@draikaina8503 - 60g of Protein is what they told me to aim for once I'm active, and yes - the more the better, but they said during this stage it's better to not push my stomach and to still focus #1 on hydration. Since I got the GENEPRO it's been a lot easier to hit between 50-60/day, for sure. Mind that it states on the back that for macros you should treat it as 30 (or 35, not looking ATM - per scoop) even though Nutrition Facts read as 11. Oh, and the 1-2 month timeline - Yeah she said it would lessen between 3 wks and 1 months but the fatigue and occasional tenderness with certain movements does last up to another month for some.
@ShoppGirl - That recipe sounds great, thanks for sharing! I may try that in the morning. I've also had luck with egg drop Soup (added a half scoop of Genepro to bulk the protein), I did add a little bit of crumbled ground beef to my ricotta bake for more protein (made my own marinara out of garden tomatoes from a recipe I found) and today made Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, which was basically shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, diced onion, and ground beef simmered together, seasoned with salt and pepper. Oh, and I had success as well with pureed roast beef lunch meat, cream cheese, and sauteed bell peppers and onions as a sort of pureed Philly cheese steak filling. Wish I'd had mushrooms to add! So sorry about your A/C!! I hope it gets fixed swiftly!

I just came up with something else. Well an update to the egg salad purée. Instead of mayo I used 3 eggs with one big spoon of nonfat yogurt and 2’ big spoons of hummus. I got the dill pickle hummus since it doesn’t have chunks. It has to marinate overnight but I tasted it and it seems like it’s going to be pretty good. Now ti figure out what ti do with the reduced fat cream cheese that was on my list. Thinking maybe mix into some mashed cauliflower.

Thank you!

Thank you @shopgirl this sounds amazing!