Questions!

Thanks again for all of your love and support. I am one week out and doing better. I still feel like crap and hurt everywhere but I am in a lot better place than I was a week ago. I am having some issues and was going to ask y'all for help 1. I hate all my chewable and liquid vitamins. The best I could do is blend the chewable in come SF pudding. I have tried Bariatric Advantage and Burried Treasure. Any other suggestions? 2.I have been sleeping in bed on my back. Is this ok? I have not slept on my sides or stomach obviously. But the chair is killing my back so I have managed sleeping on my back? How do you all sleep the first few days/weeks? 3. I have Open RNY and the top of my wound has been a tiny bit leaky..is this ok? It is just a bit. Thanks for all of your help!!! Love, Kim

Hi Kim I can't help you with this all but I can give you a few suggestions. As far as the vitamin...there is a vitamin for woman called Viatmist. You might have seen the add here on OH. It is a great vitamin which all you do is get 8 sprays a day. One bottle last 30 days. As far as your sleeping, well we are all different right out of surgery. My DH would not letsleep with me for a while cause he thought he would hurt me right after surgery. I found comfort though sleeping on my couch. Maybe try you a body pillow by your side to help keep you company...or to train yourself from not rolling over just yet if that is what you are trying no to do. And as far as your open RYN...well I would think as long as the wound is not getting *****red and irritated like it was getting infected then it is ok. But dont take my word for it if you are really concerned then call your surgeon and let him know what is going on. You dont want to go back to the hospital just after getting out. Becky

Kim, I had trouble swallowing pills after my RNY b/c I couldn't take a big enough gulp of water to wash them down. I took them with a spoon or 2 of unsweetened applesauce and they went down fine. I've also used applesauce to disquise the taste of meds when my boys were young. Worked like a charm! As for sleeping - I know it is miserable not being able to sleep in your normal position so try to make adjustments so you can sleep on your side if that is normal for you. I used a long body pillow and "hugged" it & put the lower part between my knees to keep me from rolling over too much. Try experiementing with pillows and / or rolled up towels or blankets. Good luck. Just remember that this too shall pass and will soon be a distant memory. Vickie J.

Hey Kim, So glad you are doing better. You will start feeling better each day! I have had luck with Flinstones Chewables and Viactiv Calcium after many bouts with others I didnt like. It is kind of trial and error with vitamins, just like protein shakes LOL. I still have bottles of ones I didn't tolerate. I also slept with a long body pillow and that allowed me to kind of sleep on my side while cushioning my tummy. It also helped me when I needed to roll over to get out of bed. I wouldn't have survived without it! I had a small open part of my incision too and as long as the leak isnt ooozing gross stuff and excessively, I think you are OK, but if you have doubts call the doctor. Keep us posted, Amy

1. I also hated my liquid vitamins in the beginning, but I put mine in my G-tube. If you don't have a G-tube, then you're just going to have to try something else. I remember how awful the liquid tasted and I don't recall if pudding was allowed in the first week or two, but follow your surgeon's instructions. Vitamins are one area that I think are very important and where Amy and I don't agree. I personally don't think Flintstones are good enough vitamins and my surgeon doesn't recommend them for proper nutrients. If you don't find a good vitamin you could start on the road to malnutrition not to mention having some bad hair loss issues. Susan Maria from BariatricEating tells the story of how much hair she lost until she found a better vitamin. I have thin hair anyway, so I got myself some good vitamins right from day one and haven't had a problem and all my labs are on the high end of normal, so my surgeon is happy. 2. Sleep any way that's comfortable to you. It's just going to be a pain (literally) in the beginning. It took a few weeks before I could sleep on my left side a little and I still had the G-tube over there! It's just a challenge in the beginning. 3. Watch the wound for signs/symptoms of infection. Check for the color of the drainage, smell, redness, swelling, heat, etc. Call your surgeon if you're at all concerned. That's what they are there for!! Jan

Vitamins are so important, and like you I went through alot to find something I could tolerate. I started with the chewable and after surgery about gagged on them.(check my profile) Went to bariatriceating, and got the liquid calcium and vitamin, and that was tolerable. I mixed them in drinks or smoothies, or just gulped them down fast. Now I am using the pill form from that same site. Vitamist doesn't have the high amounts we really need, neither do flinstones. The chocolate flavored over the counter vitamins, viactin, isn't good for us either, again absorption and quality. Not to mention it has sugar in it, and any bit causes me to dump. Vitamins we don't absorb just sit there, and do nothing for us, then we lose hair, get weak, and have bad labs and we wonder why? We have to keep ourselves healthy and good quality vitamins that our bodys can absorb is essential. Not to mention helps keep hair loss at bay. Read what Susan Marie has to say at bariatriceating.com, she has good comments about vitamins. I started taking the prepackaged vitamins she has, vista vitamins, and noticed a great increase in my energy. I slept on the couch for a little while. Still used my pillow to protect my tummy and used on on the side so if I did want to sort of roll to the side I could, just to get a position change, but wasn't putting much pressure on my side. Could not sleep on the left side for a few months, due to tenderness. Again, check for redness, swelling, foul smell at the incision line. Tenderness, or puss. Watch if you get a temp, but why don't you just call the doc and let him know, just to be safe? Glad you are home! Blessings, Tami

1) I am still on Flinstone Vitamins. They worked for me. I had a big problem with taste after surgery. I still cannot tolerate the protien drinks and I get my protien from food, meat, cheese, eggs, etc. At first, right after surgery, my doctor was more concerned about the liquid intake and to make sure I was increasing my intake every day and going from liquids to soft foods. Also my doctors office was calling my daily to check on me and I could call them anytime I had a question or concern. If you have the avaliable to you, do not heistate to use it. 2) as far as sleeping, my recliner was my best friend. I could sleep there with no problem and did not have to worry about turning over. I stayed in the recliner well past getting the G tube removed. 3) when I first came home from the hospital, all my meds were crushed and went thru the G tube. Prior to getting it removed, 2 weeks later, I would cut my meds into 1/4 or 1/2 depending on the size of the pills. I still do that on the larger pills. The dr told me if they got stuck, do not worry, they will dissolve eventually and go on down. Now that I am over a year and a half past my surgery date, I still have problems with taste and smells. I cannot handle the artificial sugars. So I use splenda and do not eat anything low-carb. I eat real food in smaller doses. I still cannot tolerate the smell of pork or heavy fried foods. Therefore I do not crave to eat them. (Which to me is a good thing.) We are all different. Bottom line, find out what works for you and do it.

Hi Kim, I was sleeping in my recliner for 4 weeks after my wls. My back became a bit sore also. I could not sleep on my side for awhile. The top of my incision started leaking about a week after surgery. It leaked for a good 3 weeks. My doctor said that was normal. Just keep a eye on it. I wish you luck, Debra