Home from the hospital and feeling lousy......

Hi everyone! I got home from the hospital on thursday after being there for 4 days. I should have been out sooner but I was unable to get in all the fluids they wanted me to drink. I wasn't throwing them back up, I just wasnt getting enough in, so they kept me there on an IV. Now that I am home I feel a little less like a piece of roadkill everyday but still in rough shape. I can litterally hear the air in my stomach and bowels bubbling through several times a day. And I cannot push enough to get a good bowel movement on the toilet. (Sorry if TMI). I pray that I could have something other than a CIB or water. I did have an egg once and that was just okay. I want soup, tomato soup, or chix noodle. Why is that such a bad idea? I am calling my nutritionist on monday. I am having a tough time getting all my fluids in still, I dont think I am getting dehydrated but I know I only take in just over half the fluid I should. I just cant force anymore in, its painful. Anyone else with these issues? I want to chuck the CIB's and have four small meals like, yogurt, soup, applesauce, etc.. Why is that bad if it has protein, low sugar, and is mushy. Can I get some feedback, I am feeling pretty anxious and grumpy.

I think we had our surgery on the same day - Monday the 12th. I am lost. I'm home since Wednesday, my pain is minimal but all I do is cry. I want food! I'm not sure what a CIB is but if is those gross protein shakes, I just can't do them. I'm up all night wandering the house because I can not get comfortable anywhere. I'm grumpy and sad and basically miserable.

sounds like we are in the same boat. So what have you been taking in? Are you able to get in all the water? I cant even come close. And my stomach and abdomen is killing me, the gas is really painful. Let me know if you have any tips.........I need all the help I can get

My surg is Monday but I was told to buy some gas x and that would help.

Hi...sorry you're having a rough time. My surgery was Feb 5th and I totally know what you're going through. The good news is, it DOES get better. Have someone go get you a package of the Gas-X strips. They saved me those first few days home. I swear half of my pain was from the gas pressure. As far as your diet goes, it seems that every surgeon has a different opinion. I left the hospital after 2 days on a full liquid diet, which I think is pretty typical. Did that for 10 days and am now on the pureed diet. I actually like the CIB but it does get old. You should be able to do broth. I would definitely call that nutritionist. Good luck!!!

Hi, I'm 9 days post op. My Doctor had me on liquids until this Friday. Then I went to pureed, but my stomach hurts. Anyway, my NUT said that jello, yogart, pudding, and cream soups are all acceptable on liquid phase because while some of it is solid it becomes liquid in your stomach. Also, I made myself some homemade potato soup. (Hey you aren't getting a ton of calories yet so potato soup is ok.) I made it thick enough to be like a running milkshake. That made all the difference, it filled me up and made me feel less sore. Basically, I took 4 potatoes, boiled the crap out of them threw in some finely minced onions and chicken stock. I pureed the potatoes and stock and kept adding little bits of stoc****il it was the righ consistency. Also, if you let it cool some you can put the unflavored whey protein in it and it will remain stable. I seasoned it with some salt and pepper. I am now using Carnation Instant Breakfast (CIB) along with a scoop of protein powder for my shakes. Hang in there, and see if your NUT will let you have some potato soup.

So glad to glance in the lives of others who are in this too. I had my surgery the 12th too. I am having a rough time also. My doc said that early on - worry more about getting in the protein and less about the fluids so I have been trying to make everything I take in have some protein in it. The CIB is better than the shakes and if you add a scoop of Beneprotein - it doesnt affect the taste and you get 6 more proteins. I am a little bored with the monotony of the food but my pain is getting me more than anything. I am so sore still and having a rough time, esp at night. I havent had too much gassy issues but had a bad am Sat with diarrhea (sorry) and I was praying almost to die already. It passed and I was afraid it was a lactose issue but I seem to be doing OK now. Let me know how you are doing with pain at this point. I was expecting more rapid improvement and am discouraged.

Hello, Heidi! I'm sorry you are feeling so lousy. The first few weeks are hard to get through. But, it does get better, really it does! I had my surgery on September 12, and am 5 months out now. I've lost 71 pounds already. I can eat practically anything (although plain milk and few other things don't set too well, so I stay away from them.) You, too, will be at this point soon. Don't rush your diet progression. Give yourself and your new stomach time to heal. Here's a few suggestions for you to try to get through the first few weeks: 1. The Gas-X strips are wonderful! They got me through my bout of bad gas right after surgery. Try them and see if they work for you. Try to find a comfortable position to lay in to expel the gas. You will hear and feel a lot of movement of things in there for a while. I thought mine would never stop, but it did. It will get better. 2. If you cannot stomach the CIB (and I couldn't, either...I thought it was nasty), find a protein shake or product that you do like. There are some brands that are very good, low in sugar and carbohydrates and calories, but high in protein. Go to www.bariatriceating.com and look at the RTD protiens. I found that the ones that come in cans are better and tasted better to me than the mixable powders. I still drink a shake in the morning for my breakfast, because it is convenient. I get mine from a local GNC store now. The brand I like is called WorldWide Protein and it comes in a lot of different flavors, such as banana, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. The banana is my favorite. It has 35 grams of Protien in it, only 160 calories and only 1 or 2 grams of sugar and is low in carbs. Also, at your local GNC store, you can pick up a drink called Isopure. One whole bottle of this stuff has a whopping 50 grams of protein in it, and absolutely no sugar, no carbs, nothing at all in it besides the protein. It is good to start out with right after surgery. It comes in a variety of flavors and some are better tasting than others. You have to try them, becuase your taste buds will have changed. Anyway, if you try/use these products, you get your protein and your liquids in at the same time. Each bottle is a 20 oz. bottle. Another thing to try from the bariatric eating website is a tube of liquid protein called NewWhey. These also helped me out. In one 2.9 oz. tube, there is a whopping 25 or 40 grams of protein (available in both sizes of amount of protein). These will help you get in your protein and liquid intake, too. I also heated some of these drinks up slightly in the microwave, for about 25-30 seconds. I found that luke warm things went down better than cold things at first. 3. Take the diet slowly. Right after surgery, I did get tired of the liquids, but kept pretty much to what the NUT told me to do/eat and I have had no problems at all. Don't accelerate your diet too quickly. If you do, you will have further problems (getting your stoma clogged, throwing up, etc.). Your new stomach/pouch needs time to heal. It has been through a lot and is in a state of shock. That's why they don't want you jumping right to the mushy stuff like applesauce, yogurt,the noodles or chicken in the soup, etc. right away. Stick to warm liquids (beef and chicken broth) and try some of the other protein drinks mentioned above. Take it slow and move slowly to your next step in your diet. When you get to the full liquids, you can have the creamed soups. They are yummy! I also found that I had problems with milk, but I could eat cheese. So, I decided (after about 2 weeks out) to try some string cheese. I took a very small bite and chewed it up really good. At first, I could only eat about 1/2 stick, with very small bites and chewing the heck out of it, but it tasted good. You might want to try that in about a week. 4. Your bowel movements will change. You may not have a move every day. You're not eating that much, so it may be a few days before you have one. At first, I was alarmed about this, too, but gave it some time and then it was fine. You won't have as many moves as you did before. Don't push so hard to force it. There may not be enough accumulated in there to have one yet. Give it a few days. If you haven't had one in about 4-5 days, then I would ask your surgeon's office what they recommend to help the constipation. Every person is different, but I found that I had a move about every 3 days at first. 5. You will be tired. You just had major surgery and your body needs the recovery time. I was so fatigued the first 2 weeks, I couldn't hardly even move. Your body needs time to recover, adjust and heal. Your energy will pick up, especially when you get the go-ahead to start taking your vitamins again. Until then, rest if you need to. At first, I slept quite a bit and did feel like roadkill. The first 2 weeks really suck, but it will get better. I did a lot of reading and watching movies, and made sure that I did something for myself that would "pamper" myself. Take the time to care of you first. Good luck and I hope this helps some. It does get better, honest!

That was some good sound advice. I took notes, I am having surgery on 3/19 and don't really know what to expect yet? I will keep on reading.