2 Weeks Post Op

[Danielle1]

Hi everyone I am two weeks post op from having bariatric surgery and I am from Harrisonburg, VA.

[Melissa Parish]

Hi Danielle:

We're sure glad to see you here on the message board. There's all sorts of info and if you can't find the answers you're looking for, just ask. We work with surgeons all around the world and if we don't have the answers for you we certainly know the people that have them. This is a safe place for you to share your thoughts, your triumphs, your concerns or just to hang out. We welcome everyone, including your friends and family . . . so they can learn what it's like to walk in your shoes to and how to better support you. Whatever we can do to make this journey a success for you is what this is all about. The one thing we can't stress enough though is staying connected. Too many think support is only for the early post-op days but it becomes even more important the further out you go. Make it a regular part of your success story so that's a long term one that others can learn from as well.

We're as close as your keyboard. Feel free to post or even email us directly. Support is a family and you're part of that family now.

[pie4]

welcome Danielle

[Kim Ruez]

Hi Danielle... You should be about 4 weeks out now. How's it going for you ? Hope everything is good.

[Melissa Parish]

Hey Danielle . . . where are you? Inquiring minds want to know? Time for an update!

[Melissa Parish]

Hi Danielle... You should be about 4 weeks out now. How's it going for you ? Hope everything is good.


That's our ever encouraging Kim .. . . checking in on the brood. We're going to make you head cheerleader around here! You're setting a wonderful example for others to follow. So caring!

[Danielle1]

Thanks Melissa and Kim for checking in on me. I am 5 weeks out. The first couple of weeks I was doing pretty good, but emotionally not so good. A lot of my desires have went away. The third week, I started having some problems. From the beginning it would hurt to take my vitamins, pills etc and I couldn't seem to drink water like I thought I should, but I thought it was just because of the surgery and my stomach needing to heal. The third week, the situation got worse. It really hurt when I took pills...the pressure in the chest etc. I started have severe lower back pain after eating soft foods. After two nights of this, I called my doctor and he made an appt for me in two days, by the two days I couldn't drink very much etc. On the phone he thought it was my gall blader, but after seeing me, he said it was a stricture. I had the endoscopy done and the opening of my stomach was .5cm, they opened it up and put me on IVs for hydration and I am doing so much better. I am struggling with what to eat, everything seems so boring right now, also getting the protein that I need and fluid intake...sounds like everything right? LOL I do worry about these things, because I want to stay healthy. I would love any suggestions or advice. Also, the reason I have not been posting anything is because I returned to work a couple of weeks ago and getting used to life of work, kids etc and still recovering...it just takes some getting used to.

Danielle

[Melissa Parish]

Hey there Danielle:

Oh sweetie, it shouldn't be boring for you! Bless your heart, the stricture had to be frustrating but now that you have that corrected you should be able to move ahead and make good progress.

Tell us what kind of things you are eating right now or the things you are allowed on your plan. Maybe we can help with some suggestions so you don't feel so bored. I can tell you, for us, by the time we were at your stage we were having things like delicious soft grilled fish and shellfish (excellent protein sources). So many ways to fix fish and shellfish and boy did it ever taste good. Those are still our favorites. Funny, Dan didn't even like fish before surgery and now he eats it almost daily. There are so many little things you can do and baby steps you can take to keep it interesting so you aren't bored. I know it's a lot of changes to get out of the old habits and develop the new ones and sometimes that can seem overwhelming on even where to start. We're all here to help you. :0)

[Danielle1]

The clinic I go to states I can eat finely shredded lunch meet, for instance Boars Head, soft cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, jello, pudding, tuna and fish, shell fish, dark chicken meat, green beans, asparagus tips, squash, fruit that does not have a core, only canned at this point. I can drink water, water with crystal light, sugar free kool aid, sugar free tang and decaf tea with no sugar or 1% or skim milk. I did ask my nutritionist if I could occasionaly drink a diet soft drink that I have let go flat and she stated for me to brace myself that I can never have soft drinks again because it gives no supplement to the body. I realize the carbonation could hurt me or not help me, but harm is an occasional flat diet soda? I was told not to eat potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, red meat, corn or any fiberous vegeatable or crackers. I fixed a chicken in the crock pot this week with a bunch of herbs and it was practically falling off the bone, I tried to eat a small piece of the thigh and I felt I chewed for quite a while and it did not settle with me, my stomach and back hurt for a couple of hours, not nausea or the feeling of eating to much, just hurting same thing with a chuck roast that I fixed, it was super tender, but with the first bite it got stuck. I know it was red meet, but I thought since it was so tender it would go down good. I do not like cottage cheese or yogurt. I used to, but I don't care for it after the surgery. I'm tired of jello and pudding because I ate so much of that during the liquid stage. I do eat fish and I do like that. I have challenges during the day of what to eat for breakfast and lunch etc. Mainly I have been eating tuna fish or chicken salad on whole grain crackers, yes I said crackers and I know I have been instructed not to eat crackers, but they have 1 gram of sugar and 1 gram of carb for 4 crackers and I eat 2, it helps with eating the boring tuna every day. I did try deviled ham and that was okay and I have been eating small portions of mashed potatoes or baked potatoes and I again, not supposed to eat, but I do and it goes down well. I can't drink milk because it makes me go to the bathroom all day.

[Melissa Parish]

That not settling well feeling is just one form of dumping. You're way too early to have things as dense as chicken and chuck roast. I know some say otherwise but just like with a baby, you wouldn't rush to give them dense foods. This is a baby pouch and you want to ease the textures back in. Chicken is the #1 dumping offender! Even when you're months and months post-op you may still find it's an issue. Some find they can tolerate it better but at 5 weeks, what you're doing now is pushing it so fast that you're not giving yourself anywhere to progress to. See what we mean? That pouch needs time to adjust and so do you and that new system.

I'm concerned by a couple of things you're saying in your post. You're already veering off from what you know you shouldn't be having and trying to legitimize it. There really are reasons you shouldn't have crackers and don't need them. There really are reasons you don't EVER need sodas again, even flat ones. Think about this . . what helped get you in a position of being morbidly obese in the first place? Things like sodas and crackers and poor food choices! You've just gone through major surgery . . . the biggest change ever to finally lose the weight, right? You've tried every diet imaginable, probably multiple times. Odds are you've yo-yo'd so many times, lose, gain, lose, gain, lose, gain until it kept adding on more and more pounds.

So here you are, 5 weeks post-op after having this great procedure that can change your life, BUT it takes making changes on your part too. It takes a commitment now that is going to pay off long term. Part of that commitment is going to be changing the way you eat and the way you look at good. Crackers, pasta, potatoes, pudding are all carbs, carbs, carbs and not doing anything for you. You mentioned eating "boring tuna" everyday. Why are YOU choosing eat the same thing everyday? There are so many great choices you could be making. You don't have to eat the same thing! There are so many amazing proteins. Fresh tuna, any fish or shellfish are terrific proteins for you right now. A small crab salad would be quick and delicious or a shrimp salad. How about a piece of grilled tilapia? Or some seared scallops? They literally take only a couple of minutes to cook in one small pan! Same with any fish. You can pan sear a piece of fish in minutes and it's fantastic. It gets that nice crispy edge to it and is so flaky and juicy and tender. Or cook it on a grill. YUM! You also want to make certain you are pairing the right amount of healthy carbs with your protein. Your body needs the right balance. By the way, you mentioned chicken salad . . that's usually high in carbs and if it's one you bought at the grocery, you don't even know what all is in it! All that mayo, etc. You want to be able to control what is in your food.

Are you weighing and/or measuring your portions too? Keeping a food log or journal? You should at least for the first few months. It's super important while you're developing your new habits so you can get a good picture of what foods are working for you and to keep track of when you're eating, how much, how often, the nutritional values, etc. so you know what to adjust where to maximize your weight loss and to get the right eating patterns in place for you. This honeymoon phase is a critical development time you will never have again.

You've gone the distance to have major surgery, now take the extra steps to relearn about the new ways of eating that you'll need to make this work for you long term. I tell you this now because I don't want you to be one of the ones that emails me 2 years down the road that says "I wish" I had done this right back when because now I'm not at goal, plus I've gained weight and now the weight isn't coming off fast like it did during that first 12 - 24 months. It happens all the time. The way we see it, you make the effort now to put the changes into place and to ease the right foods into your routine and then it becomes a habit soon. Then you're on autopilot for years and years and years to come to maintain your weight loss. Otherwise, you're still in bad eating cycles which will just come back to haunt you and I know you don't want that one!

We'll help you any way we can.