Can you help me with my Protein and Calcium plan?

My DS surgery is coming up on September the 21st. I am working on a plan to get in as much protein and calcium + some vitamins as soon as I came home from surgery. I know water is most important and I am going to try to incorporate some unflavored protein powder into flavored water or juice. The protein water is SO expensive (what I looked at was $4.99 for a 20oz bottle) and I have read a lot about people not being able to drink the shakes soon after surgery. I have several single serving packs of protein plus I have a small can of soy protein in case I cannot do the whey all to see what will work for me.

I have experimented a little with dissolving the calcium in water and milk, I hope to be able to make some sugar free Jello and pudding and mix in some of the calcium into it. I know to wait 2 hours between my vitamins and the calcium but could I mix BOTH the calcium and unflavored protein into the instant pudding, cottage cheese etc? I can't mix the protein into the Jello because of the ho****er..............
  I love garbanzo beans & refried beans so I hope to still like them after surgery and maybe I can mix some of that unflavored protein powder in with them along with something so that they are not so thick.

  I am looking for suggestions along these lines, I love beef and pork but don't care for chicken at all. What are some simple things to put together for the few weeks out of surgery while you are on the blended and then the soft food diet?

Right out of surgery the only thing you need is HYDRATION. Don't worry about supplements just yet. If you can get any of them in and they don't gag you or waste space needed for hydration, that's a bonus. But do NOT sacrifice even one ounce of water for supplements at first.

Your idea about the powder in the beans is a good one. Use a little beef broth to thin them. But if the powder gags you, just eat the beans. They have a bit of protein.

I was on full liquids at first, which meant anything smooth that was originally pourable. Yogurt, pudding, soups (egg drop was my go to soup for a LONG time and still is when I'm not feeling well) and the like. My first soft foods were things like a bit of scrambled egg, a scallop, a bit of some soft white fish like cod or tilapia, the insides of a Taco Bell taco, etc. Also more soups with substance, and stew type stuff.

Beef and pork did better for me sooner than chicken did, but I still had to be careful. The first beef that worked well, besides the Taco Bell taco stuff (and it had to be Taco Bell), was shredded ultra tender pot roast with gravy.

 Like En said just start out focusing on fluids. You DO NOT want to become dehydrated. I didn't start any vitamins until about 3-4 weeks out and I went very slowly. I'd swallow a pill and wait 15 minutes and swallow another one. You just have to work your way up. 

Some other food ideas for protein is cottage cheese, egg salad, tuna salad....make it really moist and just take a bite and wait a bit....see how it sits...then another bite. One of my favorites early out was ricotta cheese mixed with a beaten egg and some parmesean cheese. Bake it till it's warm and then add a bit of marinara sauce. You won't be able to eat much but ricotta cheese has a lot of protein in it. The egg drop soup was also one of my major go-to foods. I also loved tomato soup with added shredded cheddar cheese or cream cheese and a can of crap meat. It made it more like a bisque.

There is also a powdered form of calcium citrate called Up-Cal D. It easily dissolves in liquid or any moist food. It's basically tasteless. It's a good starter until you can swallow the big pills.

Definitely follow any advice from your medical team.  However mine told me not to worry about vitamins and protein until I could get my water down.  I'm now 8 days post-op and up to 46 oz of water and 75g of protein a day.  Still working on upping both those numbers.  I'm supposed to start my multi-vitamin this weekend, but none of the other supplements for awhile yet.

I found the best way for me to tolerate shakes was to order a bazillion types and flavors from Vitalady.  The same shake every day from the pre-op diet got OLD.  Also, make your shakes with water at first.  I tried making mine with milk and it made me sick.

Cottage cheese has been my LIFESAVER.  It was my first food and has 13g of protein per 1/2 cup.  It probably sits the best of all the food I've tried.  Mashed potatoes didn't sit well... I think they were too dry or something.  Next time I'm going to make them thin, add some unflavored protein and a spray or two of 0 calorie butter spray.

Good luck!  It is so worth it!

I don't need to repost what everyone else already put but way to go on making sure your stocked up. I bought 30 boxes of SF jello and pudding and about 30 boxes of the natural Crystal Light. I still have the jello lol and the Crystal Light is about half the way gone.

Two things. Make sure you sign up for all the free samples you can. Places like Bariatric Choice sends you out free samples for protein pudding and protein soup. Bariatric Advantage will send you out some calcium powder and such.

Be prepared for the things you like now to be hated and not tolerated post-op. Also be prepared for things you hate now to be loved post-op. I used to LOVE cottage cheese so I had my wife buy a bunch before I came home from the hospital. I ended up giving it all to my dad because I couldn't even stand the texture of it. Same for most soft cheeses including Ricotta. It's different for everyone.

What I will repeat because it's the most important thing. FOCUS ON YOUR FLUIDS. Water, and then protein. You will have to really work on sipping those fluids post-op, you think its easy now but you have no idea lol.

Oh and Egg Drop soup will save your life, I swear by it. Both for my pre-op diet and for post op, although post op I couldn't eat the egg chunks right away, that part had to wait.

I up'd my protein with 2 double protein shakes daily before surgery.  Lots of water after surgery.  I had a problem w/SF products after surgery and a whey intolerance to go with my lactose intolerance.  Don't over buy stuff. 

Soft foods with lots of mayo/mustard were my early foods out - tuna/egg salad, ricotta fluff.  Mostly, keep those fluids in.  I didn't do vitamins until 3 weeks out.  Added them in slowly as I'd fill up and not have room for protein and fluids.