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They let me go after only 24 hours! 'Course it helps that both my husband and I are nurses. The morphine PCA gave me a headache, so I gave that up quickly and switched to Lortab. OK, so how exactly are we supposed to get 70 grams of protein when we are only drinking two ounces at a time? I mixed half pack of CIB with half pack of unjury and half cup of skim milk. That made two servings with about 10 grams each. I'll never make 70 at this rate!!! The water is no problem, though. I have such cotton mouth... Glad to be home! Bonnie B

Welcome home, Bonnie!!!! Don't worry, it takes a bit to get into the swing of things with your protein. Just be aware of that point when you're able to get more food in, and use that advantage to add protein supplements. Good luck! Julie

Bonnie - the CIB is not a good source for protein and milk has a lot of sugar. If you try a good whey protein powder (i.e. Champion Pure Whey Stack) and mix it with less water it is easy to get in more protein. As you get further out remember that we only absorb about 30 grams of protein at a time. The Nectar proteins (usually various forms of fruit flavors) are considered whey isolates and they are the one form of protein that evidently can be mixed up for the day in something like crystal lite, etc. I don't do well with them so avoid, but many really like them especially the fuzzy navel (it was my favorite, but I can't handle isolates without dumping symptoms). I primarily use the Champion pure whey stack in chocolate since I like chocolate. The whey blends require that whatever you mix up you drink within 30 minutes. But the good thing is you can measure out your scoop for the amount of protein and mix up smaller amounts at a time while you are in the early phases of post-op life. I think one scoop has around 23 grams of top quality protein for your body. I mix mine with water and drink. Nutrition Warehouse does carry the Champion Pure Whey Stack. Vitalady sells samples of various types of protein and this is the way most post-ops end up deciding what they like best. Did I ever offer or send you my CD of all sorts of documents that are WLS related to help you learn more about what we need? If not, let me know and I will send it. Check out the FAQ section on vitalady.com as well for more information about what we need. That is amazing that you are home so quickly. Good going. Hope you continue to do well and have an uneventful healing period. Sandy

Sandy's advice is excellent. Get a bunch of protein samples and go from there. It's the only way you can even approximate enough protein early on, but it pays to get it in so you can heal fast and keep your energy up. The thing I liked most about the Nectar products was that I could mix them with a fork and relatively little water and get them down without a lot of drinking involved. They're very good when you're travelling for the same reason. - Stephanie J

Welcome home!!!! Glad surgery went good and you got released quick. Must've been a good patient! Don't worry about getting all 70g of protein in right now. The first week or two you are healing and eating teensy portions, so do what you can. Worry about 70g down the line. For now, get some rest, get in protein as much as you can, and walk, walk, walk!! And remember, milk is high in protein too, so add that in with your figures. But you will not be able to get in 70g of protein or 800+ calories right now. At least i couldn't my first couple of weeks. Took me a good month to get up to 800 calories in a day. I had Dr. Fang at St. Luke's - same program you are on. Congrats on your surgery. Sounds like you are doing great! Trisha

Bonnie, Welcome to the losing side of life. You won't regret it!! Glad to hear all went well. Hang in There!! It get easier as time goes by. Don't start fretting over anything. Just do what you can & it well all fall into place in a few weeks. Keep drinking tha****er !!! With being this HOT, the water isn't a problem (lately) for me. Keep yourself surprised. Don't weigh yourself till you get to your post-op appt. It will give you a real big smile. Marilyn, the Bearlady

Bonnie; You lucky gal. leaving the hospital that early! I simply just hated being there. Home to rest was wonderful though. Here is the trick I used to get my protein in after surgery. First off I added skim powder milk to every thing I had. 1/3 cup has 7 grams of protein. I bought the GNC unflavored protein powder. It has 26 grams for 2 smaller scoops. So 8 oz of 1% milk= 7 grams, 1/3 cup powerdered milk-7 grams, 2 scoops protein powder=26 grams. I would add vanilla for some flavor. This gives you 40 grams of protein. I would just drink it real slow. I sometimes would add some ice to make it colder. That is more then half of your daily allowance. I would have yogurt and cream soup to get the rest of it. I would have pop cycles to help with the cotton mouth. Jello is good for that. Maybe some propel. Hope this helps. Cynthia