Newbie

[zh3n 4]

Hi all!

I am new here and I didn't' see a newbie section hopefully I didn't overlook it. I just had surgery Friday morning so, I'm 3 days post op. When I woke up, I wasn't in any pain but I was extremely nauseous. I was given phenegran but that also knocked me out, for the rest of the day. They got me up and walking 4 hours after the surgery which was fine because even though I was sore, there was no real strong pain. Using the incentive spirometer hurt more than me walking to and from the nurses station. I've been eating frozen sugar free popsicles and drinking Water. I haven't used any pain meds since leaving the hospital and haven't had to use the nausea meds either. Turns out its going better than I thought, for now. Still sore but its bearable. I was extremely nervous before the surgery so, much so that my BP was high and they needed to give me something to calm me down but, it all went well. When I get to the pureed phase, can I make smoothies and add blended or real pureed fruits to my Protein Shakes? Has anyone tried this, just to make things not seem so bland?

Edited July 17, 2017 by zh3n

[RedOrangeSunrise 53]

My surgery isn't until the 28th. I'm three days into my liquid diet, but I have big plans for soft foods including baked ricotta, refried Beans, and poached eggs. I'm also going to be giving my immersion blender a workout! We'll see how it goes. I would check with your dietician on the fruit question. I would imagine that you would still need to keep an eye on sugar and make sure you're getting enough Protein. My doc says Greek yogurt is good for protein. It's also one of the things I'm allowed right now, so that's nice!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using BariatricPal mobile app

[zh3n 4]

I will ask her tomorrow if I can add blended fruits. I just made chicken broth using the Unjury packets. Honestly, I haven't had an appetite but I've been drinking Protein Drinks and Water to not get dehydrated or lose anymore Protein. I lucked out and the unjury powder is sold in my hospitals' gift shop, where I work so, that's a HUGE help. I'm not a fan of Soups so, I'm struggling to eat them, but doing well with my intake and keeping ti down.

[Stephen2 20]

Zh3n, it sounds like you're coping very well, so keep up with that. My first couple of months (really much longer than that, and even now at 6 months) it's a daily struggle to take in sufficient amounts of Protein and liquids. The options that provide both were very helpful for me. Premier Protein ready-made shakes from costco, Bone Broth (more protein than normal broth), chicken broth with pureed chicken in it (bought an immersion blender for that), and Greek yogurt have all become staples for me.

The biggest challenge for me early on was that most of the options are sweet and I was craving something savory / salty. The pureed chicken in broth did it for me. Also, some mushroom Soup provided almost no protein on its own, but the flavor was pretty wonderful after so many sweet Protein Drinks.

Be well. Good luck. Hang in there!

[zh3n 4]

Zh3n, it sounds like you're coping very well, so keep up with that. My first couple of months (really much longer than that, and even now at 6 months) it's a daily struggle to take in sufficient amounts of Protein and liquids. The options that provide both were very helpful for me. Premier Protein ready-made shakes from costco, Bone Broth (more protein than normal broth), chicken broth with pureed chicken in it (bought an immersion blender for that), and Greek yogurt have all become staples for me.
The biggest challenge for me early on was that most of the options are sweet and I was craving something savory / salty. The pureed chicken in broth did it for me. Also, some mushroom Soup provided almost no protein on its own, but the flavor was pretty wonderful after so many sweet protein drinks.< br> Be well. Good luck. Hang in there!

Hi Stephen2

Thank you so much! My only struggle was that, my doctor had me do the pre shrunk liver diet 10 days pre op. When the time came post op and, really needed to drinks strictly liquids, I was already burnt out and didn't really care for the sight of broths or the protein drinks. I pushed through for the remaining days and, now I'm in the puréed phase. Honestly, the only puréed things I've have is: I let oatmeal overboil, to get extremely the, put vanilla Protein Shake in it. I did the same with cereal(let it sit). Mostly I've just been trying to get my protein in through liquids.
I'm still trying to understand what that "full feeling" is. Is it the pressure I feel? If so, I usually don't take anymore than two bites just in case bc I'm unsure. My first 2 wk follow up isn't until week after next so, I plan on asking.
Stay strong Stephen! We're all in this together. It can only get better! Thanks for the advice

[Sullie06 1,013]

During my pureed phase I loved refried Beans with a little cheese and salsa blended in and microwaved. I also blended chili which was great because packed a good Protein punch, my hubby made it with ground turkey and then we blended it until pureed consistency. The Ricotta bake is another good one to punch some protein in a more solid form. Once you get to soft solids/regular diet you should be able to get more protein from food if you make good choices. At my 3 month appointment my NUT wanted me to phase out shakes all together but I still have to drink one a day at almost 7 months to get my protein up near where it needs to be.