Nutritionist/Dietician

Hello again my fellow nutmegers,

My RNY surgery is just a few weeks away!  Yippeeee!  Yikes!! and all the other associated feelings, worries, concerns.

But anyway, I've been on the hunt for GOOD nutritionist.  I wasn't impressed with the person I saw for my pre-op requirements. I had 2 meetings with her and her information was accurate but basic and very disorganized.  I was not impressed and paying out of pocket so I want to get the most for my money.

That said, do any of you have a nutritionist/dietitian that you just love and would recommend?  I'm well aware of the guidelines, rules and requirements for post-op eating but would really like to have a pro on my my side to help put that all into practice and help me meal plan and monitor vitamins, etc throughout this process.  Like how to incorporate my requirements into meals for the family and such. 

There is sooo much information out there and can be overwhelming.  To have a trusted source to help me break it down, confirm that I'm on the right track, help  me avoid vitamin deficiencies, etc. would be awesome. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks again,  Joie

I love my dietician! Her name is Melissa Sullivan and you can reach her at 860-714-7447. She works in my surgeon's office, but I think she see's people who didn't have the surgery there. Congrats on your upcoming surgery date! We'll soon be welcoming you to the losers bench!

I don't have  a nut recommendation as I've never found one that was work my paying out of pocket for,  However, I do have a thought.  The problem that I see you encountering if you don't go to the nut that works with your Dr. is that of understanding.

Each different surgeon has a different protocol that they require their patients to follow post-op.  Therefore- if you went to a Nut associated with another Dr. they are not going to know what the protocol is specific to YOUR program. This will leave room for confusion.   I'd say that this is an important factor for about the first year.  After that, any Nut that is familiar with the surgery should be able to be helpful to you.

Just food for though.

Thanks for the info and thoughts on this. I've got the dr.'s program for post op so ANY NUT could help me with that during my 1st year.  While I most certainly will follow the program he's laid out I still want to make sure that I'm getting all the best food/nutrients for ME specifically.  If there's on thing I've learned so far in this life it's that everyone is different and you can't take anything for granted.  So mostly, I'm just covering all my bases.  And I;m sure there's a LOT of pre surgery jitters starting to kick in.  I have all this information and feel like when I get home I'll forget it all and not know what to eat.  Silly fear, I know but fear can be a funny thing.  Anyway, I'm going to write it all down in an easy to follow meal plan for the first few weeks.  That way if I'm doped to the gills my family knows how to feed and water me :) 

Thanks again,

Joie

One important thing to ask for is how much experience they have with bariatric patients.  If little to none, than look further.  Our eating requirements are differnt than the normal person and they need to know that.

paula

Paula,

I completely agree.  I've talked with several now who are more than happy to take me as a client but don't have any bariatric patient experience.  So, for now I'm going to keep doing my research, follow my dr's plan and work with my PCP for the nutrient labs. 

Part of me thinks it's silly to pay someone else so much money to help me with what I already know but there is also the part of me that would feel better with a professional nod of approval and a hand in helping me plan appropriately. 

Oh well.  So far there isn't much to worry about with just the liquids anyway.  3 days post op now and I feel wonderful.  Physically this is not going to be as hard of a recovery for me as my hysterectomy was so I'm feeling much more confident overall.

Thanks,
Joie