What was ESSENTIAL Post-op - Comfort and Food wise

[pmommy 0]

Hi there,

I am getting banded in a week (soo excited) and want to be prepared. What items were essential to your recovery - both comfort wise and then also for food (liquid and mushies stage).

I need to make sure I'm stocked and prepared...

[LIslandGirl 0]

I stocked up on my Protein Shakes, low fat cream Soups & sugar free popcicles :wink2:

[LeighaMason 19]

If I had it to do over, I would have ordered the Unjury chicken Soup Protein Powder, by the time I discovered it in my post op freebie package, I was almost through with the liquid stage. I was sick of cold Protein Drinks and it hit the spot.

[carmen74 10]

As far as food goes it all depends on what your doctor allows you to have...for the 1st week my doctor put me on Clear liquids, ex. Water, crystal light, sf Jello, ff broth, and a mandatory 1/2 bottle of Isopure Protein water/drink daily

Comfort wise: For sleeping, if you can try sleeping in a recliner, I've been propping myself up in bed and getting out of bed is a little painful. It feels like I've done about a billion & 2 crunches! One thing that I saw a lot of people recommend that I didn't do but wish I had was get slip on shoes!

Good Luck!! :wink2:

[altopower 1]

Ditto on following the doctor's instructions on what you can eat - I was on Clear Liquids only + a bottle of Ensure/day, and that was IT for 2 weeks. No Jello, Soup, Protein shakes, nada. So I stocked up on my favorite flavors of Crystal light.

For sleeping, I used firm but not hard pillow snuggled up to my tummy for support when sleeping on my side. Slip on shoes would be great idea if you can get them and you're not snow-bound having to use boots!

Good luck with your surgery.

[BetsyB 9]

Comfort-wise, a filled pain med Rx, Gas-X, and lip balm.

Food-wise, it will depend on your doctor's recommended eating plan. I was advanced to pureed Protein on Day 3, but was glad to have Protein powders (chocolate and unflavored--for the latter, I use PURE from Bariatric Eating--it can be added to foods and liquids) on hand as insurance for getting all my protein in.

Beyond that, I just needed a lot of broth and easily-pureed protein: chicken, ground beef, tuna, etc. Stock up on bottled Water, too, if that's what you drink. If you like it, Crystal Light is nice to have. sugar-free Popsicles are good for getting Fluid in at the beginning, too. (SF Jello was too sweet for me--which blew my mind, because I used to have a major sweet tooth!)

[sawyer77 1]

I want to just add some "dittoes" to further recommend these items:

- carmex/lip balm/chapstik: A MUST! I was slappin' that stuff on constantly at the hospital and upon returning home.

- a sturdy pillow. My surgeon gave these out pre-op. It was very helpful to hold against my stomach in the hospital and upon returning home.

- Slipper sox. Definitely great! I wore them at the hospital and upon returning home.

Also, if you have pets, it would be nice to have someone there to tend to them, even after you return home. That helped a lot here.

I also had Protein shots stocked at home, as well as the food others have mentioned. I was really not hungry in the first week after surgery, not at all. I needed those Protein Shots -- 3 oz = 20-40 grams of Protein, depending on the brand.

[Bree99 1]

For comfort nothing beat my heating pad. Take it to the hospital. Slip-on house shoes are good, hydogen peroxide to wash your incisions, and a body pillow for side sleeping. The food item I have used most beginning the day after surgery is Special K Protein Water mixes. They make it easier to meet your protein quota. Good Luck, you're going to love your band.

[Cocoabean 430]

The recliner is a GREAT idea.

I got stuck in my bed the first night. After the pain meds wore off, I woke up and was stuck. If not for the DH, I don't know what I would have done. He got me some pain killer and helped me to sit up.

Also, heating pad. A must have.

I stocked up on post-op foods. But don't over-do it. I discovered too late that my surgeon doesn't want me consuming liquid calories as part of my normal diet. I had read of so many who use Protein shakes, I assumed I needed boodles of the stuff. So, there it sat in my cupboard.

[atgoalgal 0]

Hi there,

I am getting banded in a week (soo excited) and want to be prepared. What items were essential to your recovery - both comfort wise and then also for food (liquid and mushies stage).

I need to make sure I'm stocked and prepared...

Great suggestions on this thread. First and foremost, your doctors instruction must supercede anything we post, so share what u learn here with your surgeon. You may want to also check out my blog at: http://www.bandedliving.com and download the 7 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Lap-Band surgery (below my before and after picture). You can also look at the "preparing" section for a list of things you may want to stock up on before surgery.

Good luck on your journey. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

[giggles&curls 0]

I used an ice pack for my stomach instead of a heating pad. It helped tons with the swelling and kept me cool at night. My hubby had ankle surgery and we ordered this cooler that wrapped around his foot. I just layed it out flat and it was marvelous! But I did get the disposable heating pads for my shoulder and the gas pains they had. My post-op nurse recommended them to me and they have worked so great!

food wise I got creamed Soups, sugar free popsicles, pudding, Jello, and broth. Along with my Protein shakes it's going really well.

Good luck with your surgery, you're going to love it!

[adagray 1]

The surprise must-have for me was a heating pad. When the shoulder pain would come on strong, I'd roll it up and shove it in the crook of my neck for instant relief. Even though I was taking the max dose of the Rx pain meds, I would still get sudden sharp pains in my left shoulder and the heating pad was the only thing that would calm it down.

[onyah 0]

I, like Mary, found that an ice pack worked better than a heating pad for my incision pain.

The best thing I found for the liquid diet phase was Bariatric Eating's PURE powder. It's an unflavored Protein that you can mix in to anything and it really is tasteless, odorless, and doesn't change the texture of your food. I ate blended Soup with PURE powder two meals a day for two weeks.

And finally... my doctor told me to take a stool softener if I needed it. So I waited for a few days after surgery before I started taking it, and by then, it was too late. I'll spare you the details, but this caused me to experience some of the most uncomfortable hours of my life. If asked for my advice, I'd say just go ahead and start the softeners the day after surgery.

[chinchilla mom 0]

Lots of great ideas so far! I'll add nice cozy slippers you can step into, water bottle to keep near your bed, mouthwash was great for the dry mouth post-op and soft comfy clothes.

[tanqueray 16]

I have to echo Onyah's response about stool softener!! This is something often NOT discussed by your doctor or their team and I don't understand why. After surgery, I too waited way too long to take this comfort measure and I was mightly uncomfortable. Also, you can buy stool softener or a laxative, but liquid laxatives are hard to find and I ended up having the Pharmacist help and she found pediatric laxatives and converted the dosage to adult use.

You can also use prune juice but I wasn't sure how much to take and didn't know if I wanted to introduce that to my system so I opted for the laxative.