Things to stock up on before surgery.

I was just wondering if any of you guys have any special ingredients that you rely on for extra protein or taste etc... or your fav meals for all the stages, liquid, mushy and solids. drinks, anything that you think it would be a good idea to have in the house. Also any OTC meds and the like would be appreciated.

I am a planner and I feel the need to buy some things I'll need.

Thanks
~Emily

Hi Emily

congrats on your upcoming surgery :o)

First find a protein you like now . I went through several brands before I found one that I could get down. Most of them I gagged on and if I had to drink that many of them I wanted to make sure I got one that I could drink lol.

I prefer the Muscle Milk light chocolate one . To me it didn't leave a bad after taste and it was actually quite good .   I found out by testing the more protein you have in the drinks the nastier they are it leaves awful after taster .

During the liquid stage on full weeks. I ate alot of broccoli and cheese soup with added cheese to it .   Lot of yogurt, pudding and jello the first couple of weeks after surgery .

Mushy stage , I refused to puree meat. I think that is just gross and I personally could not handle getting that down without gagging lol.  I ate alot of mashed potatoes that week and refried beans with salsa , cheese and sour cream.   It seems like alot of carbs but the main thing at this point is healing not sodium, not carbs and not calories just healing.

You might even gain some weight during this stage also.  I ended up gaining like 6-8 pounds but it came back off so dont get upset if this happens .

Your doc should give you some pain meds but to be honest I used them for two days and that was it .   You might find you might not need any pain meds and then you might need them so make sure your doc gives you some.  I also kept some Tylenol around also just in case I needed that .

Get a heating pad also for the gas pains if you get any.  I did not get gas pains some people do and some people get it extremely bad.  Best advice as soon as you get back to your room get up and start walking. I walked from 3 pm to 7 pm that night and rested every 20 min for 10 min and back to walking again .  That is the only way to get the gas pains out and you do heal faster when you are up and walking around.

The  heating pad comes in very handy if you still have periods with cramps. I use mine every month for that and I couldn't live without it now lol.

My husband stayed home from work for the first week but I was back up on my own feet on day three. I was slow but I could by then get up and out of the chair and the potty by myself .

Keep plenty of soups, yogurt, sf pudding, sf jello, to get you through the first couple of weeks.

I was back to driving about 48 hrs after surgery and was back to sleeping on my tummy 8 days out .   Sleep in a lazy boy chair the first 72 hrs.  It is very uncomfortable sleeping in the bed the first three days. It helps to sleep in the chair at the start.

if you have pets make sure you put a pillow down across your tummy so they dont jump on your tummy .  Mine love to sleep on my lap so be careful there.

I did not have to spend the night in the hospital usually its a in and out.  If you do have to stay . I would take a pillow,  chap stick is a must even if you go home the same day,.

I cant think of anything else right now . Just make sure you sip your water, walk walk and walk even when you get tired of walking keep walking

If you have any questions let me know and good luck !!!

Thank You for asking this! I have my surgery 5/24 and I'll be watching this thread to see what all is said! 

Plan that you will do anything possible to succeed and you will.

I found that the sweet protein drinks that I enjoyed before surgery were nearly disgusting after. For that I turned to Unjury's Creamy chicken soup. I got a lot of broth, Crystal Light, s.f popsicles, s.f. jello and pudding (for mushy). During the liquid phase I found that Campbell has a Beefy Mushroom soup that I took the mushrooms out of and it was quite hearty. I also drank some of my Crystal light warm like tea because hot drinks were soothing.For mushies I did a lot of cottage cheese, fat free refried beans, and Quaker Weight Control oatmeal. It has added protein. You can add non fat dried milk to about anything to add protein, too. I also ate hummus. No crackers, though.

Take that pillow to the hospital, with out a doubt. You will need it for the ride home. I just wore the loosest clothes I had and took nothing but a book, but I was out patient. I really only read before I went in, but I wanted the option. Get your prescriptions filled at the hospital pharmacy before you leave or ask your surgeon to call them in to your local pharmacy the day before. Be sure to ask for something for nausea. I had no trouble with that but I keep it around in case I get a flu bug. They absolutely do not want us vomiting. Especially early on. I also bought Gas-Ex strips and they helped somewhat with the gas. Others have found they didn't help. Be sure you have plenty of really loose clothing (looser than normal) because you will be very bloated for a while and anything snug will not make you happy. My neighbor came to my rescue with some larger draw string shorts. Saved my life. It was cold then, but I wore them anyway.

I was able to sleep in my own bed the first night, and even on my side. I woke about 2 am in a lot of pain but the liquid pain med took care of it quickly. Develop a roll to get out of bed.

Your surgeon will give you a list of things you can eat at each stage. Stick to it. I was starved from day 2 but kept with it. At each phase I felt fuller for several days then back to hungry until I got to real food. Even then it isn't easy, but hang in there. I got by by telling myself that I could hang in there for just one more day. Each one became the next.

I am so thrilled with how I have done and the gift of a chance at a new life. It was not and is not easy. This tool has just given me a fighting chance to make it. With out it I would have given up a long time ago. Good luck, Sue

I drank grape Isopure as my protein drink.. it was the only one I liked AFTER surgery. I would add a sugar free grape flavor single serving packet of whatever brand was on sale to the Isopure to add just a little more flavor for it.

But I got most of my protein from food. My surgeon said it was a habit he wanted me to start out w/so that it became natural to me. So mushy stage was refried beans (that I would regrind with a baby food grinder) warm & then out with sodium free or low sodium chicken stock & then topped w/low fat cheese. That was my favorite...and I probably ate it every day, LMAO! I also had instant potatoes that I would mix w/a can of low sodium cream of chicken. Mix & then run thru the baby food grinder to grind up the chicken. Baby food grindered cottage cheese.
I preferred the baby food grinder to a bullet because I could instantly see the texture of the food & make it work for whatever stage I was in. I even babyfood grind tofu dogs - lots of protein in them & then used organic low sodium chicken broth to thin them out to an eatable stage.

But the biggest thing... and it has nothing to do with food. I got lots of tanks tops with bra/shelfs in them because for about a month or three after surgery having that extra pressure of a bra pushing on where the band sits (just right below you left breast bra line) was greatly annoying.

But diffently get in the habit of getting protein from food instead of drinks... it's a good habit to start into.

I'm a planner, too...

Here's the list I used for things I didn't already have:

OTC items:

- BENADRYL!!  (Was not on my original list, then needed to help with allergic hives reaction to Vicodin...)
- Sensitive-skin lotion
- Colace 50 mg (have not needed it)
- GasX Strips
- Zantac (or Pepcid, Prilosec, etc.)
- Curad Non-Stick Pads (3 boxes of 2x3, 2 boxes of 3x4 to cover incisions - invaluable!)
- Liquid Centrum Vitamins (have not used this yet)
- Sublingual B Complex
- Chewable Calcium Citrate (w/ Vit D, Magnesium)
- Liquid Tylenol (on my list, but I wasn't able to locate it locally)
- Crystal Light
- Isopure Zero Carb drinks (40g protein per 20oz bottle)
- Unjury Chicken Soup Flavored Protein
- Lactaid 100 (chewable... wasn't sure what my lactose reaction would be post-op)

Other items:

- Travel pillow
- Sports Bras with front closure (really helped the first few days)
- Rolling Laptop bag (perfect size for surgery day & when I came back to work)
- Plain white cotton wash cloths
- Baby Wipes
- Blender Bottle (tm) - (already had one, got another... saved time)
- Journal (nurses notes, also documented everything ingested - came in handy after allergic reaction)

Hope this helps... good luck~!

Thank you all so much for all the responses!!! It has really helped me a lot and given me a good place to start!! Thanks so much everyone!!

Can't wait to hear more.

~Emily

During the mushy stage i ate everything as long as it can be mushed.
 This may sound silly but not everyone has this. Get a magic bullet or any  food processor large or small. It was a life saver. 
This gave me the opportunity to eat everything i made for the family. 
Wendy