What to expect the day of surgery

My surgery is scheduled for 4/17 and was just curious what to expect when I get to St. Vincents.  I am having the Ds

Didn't get to you pre-op, so by now you have the most powerful weapon against  severe morbid obesity there is!

I'm sure you know Dr. Inman and staff very well.  She is the best, and so are they!

I hope you enjoyed your eery two hour "walks"!  When I was there, the nurses were on me like clockwork and cut me no slack!

A few words about the NUTs at St. V's:

"Smile and nod " with your NUT, then come to  the OH DS board to learn the *real* care and feeding of the DS.

The NUTs at St. V's are myopic with regard to bariatric nutrition, they counsel DSers the same as RNY's   using a "one plan fits all" mentality. Our nutritional needs are so much different than RNYs and so much greater because our malabsorption is massive compared to the RNY.

Do *not* use Flintstone Chewables as your multivitamin!  There is simply not enough to meet the needs of DSers.  I cannot beleive that they are advising this.  I take "Centrum-Type" multivitamins (walmart store brand).  They also have Calcium Citrate+D in a large quantity bottle.  Whatever the brand, it *must* be calcium citrate.

Once you get back to solid food, which was about 4 weeks for me,  it may be different for you, do *not* go low-fat!  Fat is now your friend, and the DS malabsorbs 80 percent of all dietary fat that you take in, so low fat  actually translates to fat-free for DSers, since most of it ends up in the toilet.  You may see"oil slicks" with your BM's if you eat foods with a good amount off fat. This is just the fat that you didn't absorb, and shows you that your DS is doing what it's supposed to do. We do, however need some fat (lipids) for body processes, so low fat/fat free is not a good thing to do with this surgery.

If you have difficulty eating (keeping it down) when you get back to solids, let  Dr. Inman or Karen (her nurse) know right away!  I had to go back down and get "stretched" a little.  I've been eating like a champ ever since.  This may or may not be the case with you, but if you have that issue, let them know  immediately.

The only things that DSers absorb 100% of are simple carbs (white flour, white pasta, heavily processed foods) and simple sugars ( like the sugar used to sweeten drinks, white and brown sugar (brown sugar is simply white sugar with molasses added!) turbinado sugar, etc. Find an artificial sweetener you like, and use that. 

When you're further out, If you want bread, look for 100% whole wheat.  It is a complex carb, and you will only absorb 50-60% of that, along with 50-60% of your protein.  Choose whole grain breakfast cereals (Kashi in the red box is my go-to for breakfast *and* crunchy snacks - it has 13 grams of protein per serving. I also enjoy Aunt Millie's 12 grain wide pan bread.  Only takes a slice for me, and a loaf lasts me  6-8 weeks, refrigerated.

Prepare to be amazed!