July 2021 Surgery People!

[Bluebonnetgirl 63]

3 minutes ago, DeenaP said:

I separated it out into small bathroom cups that are a few oz each and try to drink 2 per hour. It’s a challenge

At Deena did you drink one cup at once or sip it? I can't getuch in with these baby sips

[DeenaP 1]

@Bluebonnetgirl it really is trial and error on what a sip is for you. Sometimes I try to drink and forget about my new baby stomach and it hurts 😱 I have to be mindful. It isn’t super fun right now

[Bluebonnetgirl 63]

5 minutes ago, DeenaP said:

@Bluebonnetgirl it really is trial and error on what a sip is for you. Sometimes I try to drink and forget about my new baby stomach and it hurts 😱 I have to be mindful. It isn’t super fun right now

Thank you for replying. It really helps to hear how others are getting their liquids in.

[Dayana Luque 5]

Hey everyone! My surgery is scheduled for July 26 one week left I’m having crazy amounts of anxiety and cold feet, I’ve been contemplating the surgery for 2 years but this past weeks have been crazy stressful 😭 I fear the anesthesia and complications, I don’t know what to do… 🤦‍♀️

[Ready21 34]

Yes!! Just got mine done on the 15th!

[Peytonlouise 1]

5 hours ago, Ready21 said:

Yes!! Just got mine done on the 15th!

How are you feeling?

[Candace76 212]

7 hours ago, Dayana Luque said:

Hey everyone! My surgery is scheduled for July 26 one week left I’m having crazy amounts of anxiety and cold feet, I’ve been contemplating the surgery for 2 years but this past weeks have been crazy stressful 😭 I fear the anesthesia and complications, I don’t know what to do… 🤦‍♀️

@Dayana Luque

Congratulations on your upcoming surgery. I will have mine on that day also! Surgery is also always a little scary for me, too.

When I start to worry, I remind myself that I am confident that this is the right thing for me & know the risk of complications is very small.

Wishing you luck & hoping your fears stress & anxiety decrease before your surgery.

[Mama Des 12]

Hi I had mine on the 14th and I’m struggling with pain and also hunger. Is there a good snack out there ? Besides Jello?

[Maribelle76 82]

11 hours ago, Dayana Luque said:

Hey everyone! My surgery is scheduled for July 26 one week left I’m having crazy amounts of anxiety and cold feet, I’ve been contemplating the surgery for 2 years but this past weeks have been crazy stressful 😭 I fear the anesthesia and complications, I don’t know what to do… 🤦‍♀️

When I got a little nervous, I read back though the April, May, and June surgery thread, and I noticed that the surgery seems pretty safe. Reading story after story about good itchiness was reassuring. Did you know it is more dangerous to have a C-section than the sleeve?

Edited July 18, 2021 by Maribelle76

[Maribelle76 82]

Hi everyone! Just checking in five days post op. I've been feeling pretty good! My 3rd day after surgery was the turning point when I started feeling better. I think that was when all the surgery meds were out of my system. The nausea went away at that point and I didn't have any real pain just a little discomfort.

I have been doing fine getting my Water in, and today is the first day that I think I'll be able to do all of my Protein Shakes. I am also allowed to have some pureed food. I had a few ounces of pureed cream Soup two days ago and it was good. Yesterday I tried pureed refried Beans and those were satisfying.

I haven't had any problems with my sleeve hurting when I eat or drink. I am pretty cautious in my sip/bite sizes, probably from my years of terrible experiences with my lap band.

I had no interest in food whatsoever for the first few days after my band, and I really haven't felt hunger yet. I have noticed myself paying more attention to some foods on advertisements or when I am cooking and serving my children their meals. But overall it has been very easy to control. I think part of it is knowing that I can have any food I want eventually in small amounts at some point in the future. That makes me feel less obsessive about it.

This week I want to work on getting my calories up a little bit. I think I've only been around 200- 300 calories a day, and I had a dream last night where my hair was falling out, so I think my body is telling me to get a little more nutrition in there.

My main issue now is a lack of a BM. I hadn't had one for at least a few days before surgery and I haven't had any since then so that's like seven or eight days. I've been taking Miralax since before surgery and every day since then, so I don't think it is a water issue. I think I have motility issues with my actual intestines, and I'm sure the tiny amounts that I'm eating aren't helping that. I'm feeling a little bit bloated but not any pains. I probably will call my doctor on Monday and see if I need to add some sort of Fiber supplement to help.

Anyway things are good so far. I hope everybody else who still recuperating is doing well, and good luck to those of you who are having surgery this week!

[Ready21 34]

I just had my VSG 3 days ago. I’m starting to feel colder like I need blankets around me. Anyone else experience this?

[Ready21 34]

@Maribelle76 Glad you’re feeling better. The bowel movement will come. It happened to be today, 3 days post op. Go ahead and do the Milanta if you’d like. Like you said…getting the calories in gas been a huge task. I barely got in 350 yesterday but reached my Water goal.

[lunadreams 22]

On 7/15/2021 at 6:39 PM, brightly said:

Hi All, I'm new here. I still have to figure out how to enter my "stats" . I'm going in for vsg on July 28th. I have zero reservations, but this preop diet is killing me. I'm really failing at it. It's constipating and giving me severe GERD. (broth helps) I reached out to the dietician for insight on alternatives to the shakes because the Calcium is so high w 6 shakes (3900mg) and she told me to have three shakes and 3 egg whites total in a day. So it went from 1000 cals allowed to ~500. !!!??? I asked for the math on the diet--- and if the fact that it is liquid is most important and she didn't answer. Does anyone know? I'm wondering why not 9 egg whites to replace the Protein in the shakes. ? She said no steamed chicken. Isn't the point that your calories are low enough that you lose weight but keep your Protein up? If so, I do not understand why they don't give patients the tools to customize the preop diet to their medical needs, or at least offer suggestions that align with the preop diet's number of calories. The preop diet seems shrouded in mystery for no reason. It's infantilizing. It would help to know the science of what the preop diet is aiming to do. I'd love insight from veterans. Thanks!

I had something similar happen...I have a hard time with Protein Shakes, and was just told to do protein waters instead, but not adjust the calories. Honestly, my dietician seems pretty useless. Thankfully, I was able to find some protein shakes that were tolerable, because I could not function on 500 calories a day!

[lunadreams 22]

On 7/16/2021 at 10:45 AM, brightly said:

The other bit about it, unfortunately, is the usual infantilizing of overweight people thing: "to get you used to how you will have to eat post-surgery!". I don't know about anyone else, but I don't need to "get used to" drinking artificial shakes. The less I have to be on a shakes diet, the more committed I'll be to the necessary time I have to do it. After surgery, no one even wants to eat a bowl full of broccoli rabe or a fistfull of spikey toast and sharp pieces of metal, or so I've heard. It seems that drinking Water is a challenge at first, and that most are not interested in eating for a while. I'd prefer to go the math/science route and be told exactly what the breakdown of the diet is and why, so I can customize according to my own body's medical needs. But preop, it seems that patients should be armed with what will help them succeed at the objectives. If the dietician can't offer true individualized help, and can only communicate in condescending 3-word emails, then they need to print out the diet's actual parameters in the $350 packet of 6 sheets they hand you when you have the all-important "dietician consult". Mine was a joke. The dietician read the packet to me basically. I'm serious. Is this worth $350? I can read. I'm not sure why the parameters need to be so mysterious. Maybe to justify paying a dietician in the first place? An insurance thing like the psych consult? (also a hoop jump for insurance only)

For real! My session with the dietician also consisted of her just reading through the packet to me, and her being unable to answer any specific questions. I'm pescatarian, and don't consume much dairy, so the only animal Proteins I eat are fish/seafood and some eggs. She had no idea about recommendations for non-dairy Protein Shakes, and no ideas about customizing the puree/soft foods phases to be things that weren't all ricotta, cottage cheese, and yogurt. This is a major university bariatric center. Asking about plant-based alternatives shouldn't be so befuddling. I'd love some specific recommendations and recipes, but yeah, if you can't do that, give me the info to do it, myself, and don't charge me hundreds of dollars for a service you aren't really providing.

[Iowa_Boy 3]

7 minutes ago, lunadreams said:

For real! My session with the dietician also consisted of her just reading through the packet to me, and her being unable to answer any specific questions. I'm pescatarian, and don't consume much dairy, so the only animal Proteins I eat are fish/seafood and some eggs. She had no idea about recommendations for non-dairy Protein Shakes, and no ideas about customizing the puree/soft foods phases to be things that weren't all ricotta, cottage cheese, and yogurt. This is a major university bariatric center. Asking about plant-based alternatives shouldn't be so befuddling. I'd love some specific recommendations and recipes, but yeah, if you can't do that, give me the info to do it, myself, and don't charge me hundreds of dollars for a service you aren't really providing.

I’m currently doing the pre-op diet and reading these remarks makes me really sad but great fun for my team. I’m not getting this kind of run around and would be very angry if this was the case. I hope things get better for you guys!