Questions for post ops

I will be having my surgery at the end of July or first part of August. My question is how much did you lose in that first month? How did you feel 1 month out? Were you able to eat soft foods yet? What did you do to get your water in? Reason I ask is we are going to the annual Fire Convention September 6th and 7th. This year it is to be held in Vinton, IA. I have no idea where that is exactly..lol. Anyway, I am trying to figure out whether or not this will be a good plan for me. How do I get all the fluids in? I can carry around bottles and such. Does lemonade count toward the water intake? The question about the weight lose is because we will be seeing people we only see once a year and I am wondering if anyone will notice any changes. There is one person in particular that I can't wait to see. I worked with him for a couple of years and I miss him terribly. Thank you for any input.~~~~Amy

Hi AmyLynn, I will try to answer some of these... just remember that it is different for everyone and I did not always follow the advice of my dietician and doctor. ~~~I lost about 37 pounds in the first month, I was feeling weak but no pain, I had started walking on a track outside at 5 weeks, about 3/4 mile. I was stapled and my staples came out at one week and at 2 weeks. I was eating solids in the hospital 2 days after surgery and went home eating solids, but mushy worked well for me. I bought bottled water to make sure that I was getting enough and worked on it all day long. You really have to be vigilant about vitamins, food and water, it seems like you are eating or drinking constantly. I think you should be fine to go to the convention- bring your own meals and water just to make sure you are covered. They sell little tuna and cracker meals, I would take those with me places that I knew would not have food I could tolerate. They do not need to be refrigerated so they were perfect to throw in a purse and go. I think there is too much sugar in lemonade to be drinking that, but iced tea is OK (some dieticians want you to be caffeine free and aspartame free too so talk to your about this) ready made Crystal Light is another thing that might work for you- the powdered form has aspartame in it so my dietician says it is a no-no. Mind you, I drink Diet Pepsi constantly but I am just letting you know what a professional said- others disagree with the aspartame free suggestion. I would take lots of bottled water. Hope this helps!! Any other questions, please ask! ~Julie

I agree with Julie...I just wanted to add that freezing a bottle of water... and sipping on it while it thaws works well for a couple of friends of mine that are post op. I also want to stress something that I have found out by comparing others that have had the surgery....YOU WILL LOSE AT YOUR OWN PACE...some will lose faster.. some slower. I know a lady who lost only 17 lbs the first month and was DEVESTATED....but now, 1 yr post op..she has lost a total of 110 lbs!!!! Don't be discouraged if you dont lose as quickly as you'd like. ****ep telling myself that..but i know it's easier said than done). I Also recommend sugarfree Country Time strawberry lemonade.. it is SOOO YUMMYYY! I drink it all the time NOW... im sure I will after surgery to help take the edge off of the "POP" addication that I have. I, myself, have decided that because of my hair (long and very healthy) that I am going to MAKE myself suffer through the protien shakes for a month, and then at least 1 a day for a year.. so i get all that protein that I need with the least calories. I dont want to lose my hair.. that is a big fear of mine. Hope some of this helped.. Hang in there kiddo! We are all in the same boat! ~~~Dawn~~~ weight: 304 Surgery Date Scheduled: July 10, 2003

Hi there. I am post-op (5 weeks) and this is my first time posting so please bear with me. I had my surgery and the BTC in Belvidere, IL. The BTC has a pretty structured post-surgical diet. #1 - How much did I lose in the firmt month? -- Well I don't own a scale so I have been going by what the doctor's say. At 2 1/2 week out I had lost 14 pounds. Now mind you the amount you lose depends on how much over weight you are (I was a little over 100 pounds. #2 - How did i feel 1 month after surgery? -- I felt great 2 days after I got home. My belly was tender but other than that I had no problems. #3 Were you able to eat soft foods? -- The BTC diet does not allow soft foods until you are 5 weeks post-op. My 4th week out I was on pureed foods (baby food consistency) #4 - Does lemonade count towards fluid intake? -- Yes it does. Just make sure it is sugar free. I found that I really like the Crystal Lite lemonade

I was on soft foods one month out, but it depends on the surgeon. Also, getting water in shouldn't be a problem. Just keep a water bottle filled. Lemonade has too much sugar in it, so go with sugar free. As far as it counting towards water intake, no; liquid intake, yes. Here is my theory and biased opinion. I think a person needs at least 8 8oz glasses of water. That is plain ordinary water, not tea, not coffee, not SF pop, koolaid, Crystal light etc. But that is just my opinion .