July 2022 peeps!

[Caybot 26]

2 hours ago, KevinS62 said:

Cay,

Sounds like you are doing well, as am I. You are one day ahead of me, and I'm jealous of your diet plan. I met with my surgeon's group's dietician and she wants me to follow the plan to the T and it's super conservative. When I questioned anything on the plan, she told me to stay off the internet. Yeah, right. The only soft food I graduated to today (week 3 plan)is I can have a half banana, cream of wheat, and oatmeal. In week 5 I can finally have Cottage cheese, cooked Beans and soft veggies. Scrambled egg in week 5 and baked fish and tuna in week 6. Ugh.

You know, the stricter they are with these things, the more patients are going to "cheat".

Oh gosh Kevin, you definitely have a firmer set of rules! One thing I was surprised at is how different the pre and post op diets are. For example I had a low carb low fat liver shrinking diet but I did not have a liquid pre op diet, I just had to stop eating at midnight the night before surgery. Some people are on weeks of liquids. But also, there may be something to be said for that for folks with higher BMI for surgery. I did read a post of someone whose surgeon went in and back out again because liver was too big. I’m generally a rule follower but I agree, if I was told I couldn’t even have cottage cheese until week 5 I might cry! And cheat a bit.
I hope the next few weeks for you pass quickly and you’re back to eating real food soon!
Cay

[MrsPinedo 30]

Hey everyone, I’m finally post-op. Surgery was Wed 7/27, everything was textbook.

I have to admit, I’m in a lot more pain than I thought I’d be experiencing. Got rid of the gas okay by day 2, because I walked around a lot and did a lot of deep coughing. I haven’t taken any pain meds, only Tylenol the whole time. And I haven’t drunk anything but Water.

I’m on the evening of day 2, and my abdomen still hurts a lot. Definitely the big incision on the right side, but also my lower back and side. I feel like I have a stitch in my side almost all the time.

Also on day 2, I vomited, I think after the last dose of Zofran wore off. A wave of nausea just came over me really hard, and I threw up. No water, just mucus type stuff? Gross, sorry. It was too late to talk to the surgeon bc it happened after 5pm. I felt better, and haven’t thrown up since. From what I’ve read, it’s pretty common in VSG patients, especially women and those who have severe motion sickness (which I do). Hoping it’s gone away for good.

[Brennanfan 32]

I'm 3 days out post op and I'm feeling better still have that strange feeling when I drink and sometimes when I move. sleeping on my side has a very strange feeling now. I'm going to try a Protein Shake today ok'd by my surgeon. My punctures where the tools went in still are still very tender but I'm getting there. I have not stepped on the scale as of yet...my stomach is still bloated

[Grace1234 5]

I’m 3 days post op still have some gas pain. More soreness than pain and nauseous. Still have only drank Water but only getting about 24oz in a day getting nauseous with ever sip but I go to work Monday so I hope I keep feeling better every day.

[Brennanfan 32]

On 7/28/2022 at 8:06 PM, Caybot said:

Oh gosh Kevin, you definitely have a firmer set of rules! One thing I was surprised at is how different the pre and post op diets are. For example I had a low carb low fat liver shrinking diet but I did not have a liquid pre op diet, I just had to stop eating at midnight the night before surgery. Some people are on weeks of liquids. But also, there may be something to be said for that for folks with higher BMI for surgery. I did read a post of someone whose surgeon went in and back out again because liver was too big. I’m generally a rule follower but I agree, if I was told I couldn’t even have cottage cheese until week 5 I might cry! And cheat a bit.
I hope the next few weeks for you pass quickly and you’re back to eating real food soon!
Cay

I agree surgeons all have different pre and post op instructions. I also only had to stick with low carb low sugar on my pre op and clear the day before...now in post op when I was leaving the hospital he said I could go to phase 2 including cream of Soup and cream of wheat sugar free puddings etc...we are all different and we all had great surgeons so no one plan is the right way.

[Bridge1967 42]

Oh, Grace, that's so short of time! I hope you have a desk job! I'm lucky, I have a little more than a month from surgery before I have to go back.

[Grace1234 5]

I teach so my first couple of days are meetings and I will not have students until Thursday so keeping my fingers crossed I’m good to go by then. I then all my moving and physical getting ready before surgery so I hope it all works out

[Bridge1967 42]

I'm a teacher too. Had surgery on July 12th and return on Aug 17th. Kids on Aug 22nd. I tried to get as much summer for my surgery as possible. Surgeon's office was real good working with me.

[Caybot 26]

On 7/31/2022 at 7:52 AM, Grace1234 said:

I teach so my first couple of days are meetings and I will not have students until Thursday so keeping my fingers crossed I’m good to go by then. I then all my moving and physical getting ready before surgery so I hope it all works out

Good luck Grace! I was back to work after 7 days and probably could have gone in after 5 so sending good thoughts for a smooth recovery!

[MrsPinedo 30]

Day 5 post-op over here. Getting a lot better every day, still a lot of pain around one of my incisions, which is causing some back pain too.

Why is the food part already hard, guys?? 😫 Why am I sad when my family eats without me, sad thinking about all the stuff I’ll never have again, wishing I could go back to being fat and eat whatever I want.

I’m a mom of 3, all 5 & under, so I’m the chef at least twice a day, sometimes 3x a day. I have cooked at least 4 meals since surgery. It’s hard every time. Why? It’s just scrambled eggs? Why is it so tough.

I’m not even hungry, I don’t think? I just miss eating. And I miss not hurting.

[Caybot 26]

5 hours ago, MrsPinedo said:

Day 5 post-op over here. Getting a lot better every day, still a lot of pain around one of my incisions, which is causing some back pain too.

Why is the food part already hard, guys?? 😫 Why am I sad when my family eats without me, sad thinking about all the stuff I’ll never have again, wishing I could go back to being fat and eat whatever I want.

I’m a mom of 3, all 5 & under, so I’m the chef at least twice a day, sometimes 3x a day. I have cooked at least 4 meals since surgery. It’s hard every time. Why? It’s just scrambled eggs? Why is it so tough.

I’m not even hungry, I don’t think? I just miss eating. And I miss not hurting.

@MrsPinedo I’ve definitely been going through grieving for the ritual of dinner. I can say that it DOES get better. The first two weekends post op I had to just watch my husband eat and though I wasn’t hungry I was envious. I felt like I had lost my best friend. I had.
Although I still can’t eat much, this past weekend I was able to enjoy dinner for the first time with him and it nourished my soul! I love to cook and I’m trying to only eat “real food” so I’ve been able to pass the time making different recipes from scratch for my different stages of post op. Now I’m finally on something resembling “normal food” stage, I was able to have sushi (four pieces) one evening and a Parmesan garlic chicken/zoodle dish the other evening. Again, tiny portions, but I was full and satisfied!

I am a boredom eater, too, so I have to keep that in check. I’m clean and sober and this post op time is very similar to when I first stopped drinking many years ago. I’m trying to find something to fill the hole. And then getting annoyed. If that makes sense.

Now this isn’t my first rodeo with WLS so I’m sure some of my experiences are different but I just wanted to witness and validate your feelings!

I hope the pain from the incision is improving, too.

cay

[MrsPinedo 30]

Thanks @caybot it’s nice to hear someone understands. I’m a big food lover, too, cook almost everything from scratch. My kids and husband are all used to it, so I don’t think I planned well enough for them to do things differently.

And yeah, food has been my lifelong friend. More than anyone/anything else. I know brighter days are ahead, but it’s tough to have to walk away after cooking a delicious meal. That’s my only coping mechanism so far, and it’s not great. Leaving my 5 year old and 2 year old twins at the table with my husband isn’t a great long term solution!

[OtterBot 3]

Hello! I had my surgery 7/29. Still having trouble getting my full liquid/protein goal met. Pain seems to be related to gas or just random twinges here and there. I didn’t expect how different it would feel to consume Water. I still have to remember to sip, not gulp. That air does NOT help the gas. I’m getting more and more every day, but having bad muscle cramps in my calves. Whole system is out of whack. So, I still haven’t had a bowel movement. No trouble passing wind. Anyone else have a delayed toilet issues post surgery?

[Kbennettaz 2]

Man I totally understand. My surgery was July 21st. I struggle everyday hitting my Protein goal. The Nausea for me is just unbearable. Im calling the dr tomorrow looking for a support group of some sort. Also asking for some tips. Everyday I struggle I try and be so tough but I naturally have a weak stomach as it is. I know once I get to have normal healthy food Ill be okay but thats not until August 11th. Sometimes I just cry because Im struggling.

[KevinS62 73]

16 hours ago, MrsPinedo said:

Why is the food part already hard, guys?? 😫 Why am I sad when my family eats without me, sad thinking about all the stuff I’ll never have again, wishing I could go back to being fat and eat whatever I want.

I feel it. I'm sitting here working in my bedroom office and adult son is making Spam and eggs in the kitchen. It's like torture. I end up eating my Soup or broth at the table by myself, while wifey is cooking something nice for her and the son.

I guess, I hope, I'm sure, once I get on my regular diet after another month or so, it will be easier. I will be able to eat with them, just smaller portions than I used to put on my plate. My hope is to get them to eat a little healthier as well.