Backc Home....

Got home about 6 last night. Feeling pretty good except for the big incision on my left side. hurts like heck but the gave me enogh meds to help with that. Thank you for all the well wishes that i recieved whil i was away. Ive been eating my 2 ounces like im told to. Today i had oatmeal and jello and i cant tell if im getting full or not. i guess its because of the pain that im in.....dont know. Finind it a little hard ot get my shakes down though...is there a site that lists recipes for them? St.V's is the best and they made it out to be as good as an experience that it could have been.

Welcome Home Loser!! Yeah...that left side will be the worst.......it does get better with time....the only shakes I tried were to mix 2 cups chocolate carb countdown milk, 2 cups 1% milk, and 1 cup powdered milk in the blender and drink all that each day...it will take you some time to be able to get it all in but do the best you can. This tastes pretty good like swiss miss hot cocoa. Take care and good luck on your journey! Marianne

Glad you're back home, Troy! That incision is the one that hurts the worse. It gets much better. The first few days were the worst, but I'm 2 1/2 weeks out now and I feel GREAT!!!! You'll make it. It'll take time to get that protein in, too, don' worry, do the best you can and set a bigger goal each day. You'll get there!!!!!!

Troy, Welcome home, and welcome to the losing side! Here's the recipe that is in the yellow sheets that I got from St. V's when I had my surgery (this is a quote from the sheets): ************************************************** 4 cups 1% Low-fat milk 1 cup Nonfat dry milk Flavoring (optional) The supplement provides approximately 65 grams of protein. The entire recipe should be consumed daily for the first 6 weeks. Sip slowly between meals. Flavoring Suggestions: Extracts Sugar-Free Flavored syrups/powders sugar-free Jell-O Sugar-free Kool-Aid Sugar-free coffee flavorings Decaf Coffee Blended fruit or baby food fruit Frozen 100% juice concentrate Artificial sweetener Sugar-free Carnation Instant Breakfast If you do not wish to prepare the protein shakes you can drink plain milk between meals. Six, twelve ounce glasses of milk provides 72 grams of protein daily. One percent low-fat milk and other low fat dairy products are preferred for the first three months after surgery. The protein supplements are to be sipped throughout the day and not consumed at one sitting as this may cause nausea, vomiting, gas, and bloating. You will generally begin to receive the protein supplements while hospitalized. The first few days you are home you may not be able to consume all of the protein supplement required; however, as you continue to heal it will become easier to do so. ********************************************* My added 2 cents..... There is no sugar-free CIB. There is 'no sugar added', but it isn't sugar-free. Myself, I thought the CIB was a horrible addition, regardless of the flavor. I did better adding 1/2 package of sf Jell-O. I preferred lemon or lime. Any of the other flavors were just way too sweet. Whatever you do, don't go buying a dozen package of anything. Get one of lemon, one of lime, one of what-ever else you'd like to try. Don't buy the economy size box of powdered milk. Start small and see if you can handle the taste or not. Just because you loved strawberry jell-o pre-op doesn't mean you will even like the taste now. Our taste buds go through a lot of changes. Myself, I couldn't stand anything peach flavored other than peaches pre-op. Post-op, I LOVED Crystal Light's peach flavored tea. Then I had a revision....could not stand it again! Then I had my hernia repair...eh? Take it or leave it. I had tons of this stuff so I donated it for the baskets (hint, hint...anything you find that just doesn't do it for you can always be put to use in the baskets!). If you find that this mix doesn't do it for you, try the milk. If milk doesn't, try adding some sugar-free chocolate mix to it. If not that either, there are ALOT of protein drink mixes out there. There are 3 that are my preferences...but no matter who you talk to on here, each will tell you something different. Our taste buds vary that much! Best advise, try some sample packs of different proteins till you find a few that your taste buds are happy with. You may need to experiment with how you prepare it. One of my faves, I originally diluted it with crystal light..one of the fruit flavors...after my revision? Water, jus****er. Good luck, and hope to see you on here often! Sherri

5 minutes after they took out my drain tube my left side was feeling great.. I couldnt handle the shakes I drank milk!!! Good luck and stay healthy!! Linda

HI Troy....welcome home!!! I have been feeling bad the last few weeks and have not made it to the hospitals for visits and gift bag deliveries But if you are NOT coming to the clothing exchnage this month in Beech Grove...would you please email me with your name and address so that I can get a post-op bag sent to you???? Although....the exchanges are a great informal support group meeting and if you can make it up here...it is well worth it!!!