Worried about intake

[rsbirmin 8]

Hello all,
I had my surgery October 1st, so this is day 10. I spend the first three nights in the hospital, and went home feeling pretty good. By afternoon the following day I was nauseous and I began to vomit. Because I could not keep Water down I was re-admitted to the hospital. I struggled with potassium and magnesium, and my blood sugar straddled the line of low (68). We got the nausea under control and I have been home for two days without problems (yay), but I am still on clear liquid until I see my doc on Thursday. Before the complications I was advised to wait a week before starting supplements (I think partially to avoid sickness).

However, my current diet is 60mg Protein (320 cal), Soup broth, sf Jello and Decaf hot tea with powdered nonfat milk. Naturally I feel no hunger, but how long can one sustain with such a low intake? Any suggestions for boosting those calories while avoiding dumping would be helpful.

Thanks! Rachel

P.S. For context my surgery was a revision from sleeve to bypass due to GERD. The first surgery was six years ago and I lost 120lbs. After a concussion in 2019 and 2020 Is gained about thirty back. I say this because I wonder how it might impact things….

[vikingbeast 987]

60 grams (not milligrams) of Protein is 240 calories—there's 4 calories per gram of protein or carbohydrate, and 9 calories per gram of fat, regardless of type.

I spent four weeks (one pre-op and three post-op) on basically that diet and did fine. Dropped two and a half stone in three weeks.

[Arabesque 7,197]

I was only consuming 200 - 300 calories a day to begin but I was a low calorie eater most of the time (about 900 by goal at 6 months & 1200-1300 to maintain now) - you can only eat what you can eat. The number of calories you consume will increase as you heal & are able to eat more. How much were you eating after your sleeve surgery? Did your surgeon or nutritionalist give you a caloric goal for this surgery or just Protein & Water? Are you following the eating plan you were given? (Same old basic questions. 😉) Have a chat with your nutritionalist &/or surgeon if you are concerned or to reassure you that you’re on the right track.

Out of curiosity why are you using powdered milk? My dietician did suggest I add powdered milk to my milk when I started maintenance to boost my protein & calories but I found it too sweet. May be give some lactose free milk a try just in case you are sensitive to it at the moment?

Glad they got the post surgery issues under control & you are feeling better.

[rsbirmin 8]

Thanks both. The 60mg was a typo, yes I am getting 60g. You raise an interesting point about why Premier Protein lists 160 calories and 30g Protein though.
I am following a modified blend of clear and full and two until we know I’m stable enough, nausea and vomiting-wise, to consume other foods listed on the full liquid guidelines.

I did have trouble with the sleeve, but still was able to meet 800 pretty quickly.

The powdered non-fat milk was a tip from the nutritionist (add a tbsp to boost protein by a couple of grams), so I take some in my tea.

I reached out to both surgeon and nutritionist this morning :-)

Thank you! Rachel

[ms.sss 15,495]

15 hours ago, rsbirmin said:

but how long can one sustain with such a low intake? Any suggestions for boosting those calories while avoiding dumping would be helpful.

Well, i averaged 300-400 calories A WEEK for the first two weeks. Then 300-400 cals A DAY for the first couple months (i went through a serious case of food aversion)

I *think* this is “sustainable” (for lack of a better word) for a small while in the beginning because we have LOTS of fat storage that our bodies can use for energy. If I did 300-400 cals a day for an extended period of time now, I’d probably be in the hospital.

As for boosting cals, others have already mentioned above: healthy fats (avocados, nuts, nut butters, olive oil, etc.). I personally relied on chicharron (i.e., cracklins/pork rinds), as its high in cals and protein…but i realize its not for everyone and the high fat content may cause dumping in some.

Good Luck! ❤️

Edited October 11, 2021 by ms.sss

[lizonaplane 1,612]

49 minutes ago, rsbirmin said:

Thanks both. The 60mg was a typo, yes I am getting 60g. You raise an interesting point about why Premier Protein lists 160 calories and 30g Protein though.
I am following a modified blend of clear and full and two until we know I’m stable enough, nausea and vomiting-wise, to consume other foods listed on the full liquid guidelines.

I did have trouble with the sleeve, but still was able to meet 800 pretty quickly.

The powdered non-fat milk was a tip from the nutritionist (add a tbsp to boost Protein by a couple of grams), so I take some in my tea.

I reached out to both surgeon and nutritionist this morning 🙂

Thank you! Rachel

30g of protein X 4 calories per gram is 120 calories. There's some other stuff in the Premier Protein drink, but most of the calories come from protein.

Hope you feel better soon. Did they give you Zofran (ondansetron) or a scopalamine patch?

[rsbirmin 8]

So I’m going to just do the calculations on the Protein based on nutritional info. Thanks for the clarification. I’ve got scopolamine, zofran, phenergan and a fourth in case none of these work pill. Now that I’m back home the zofran is keeping it pretty well in check.
I got the ok to proceed to purée though so it will open a whole new world of options. Fingers crossed the nausea doesn’t make an appearance.