What was your "best friend" post op?

Hello everyone! After surgery, what item was your "best friend" or something that really helped you get through the first week or 2 post-op? Also, any good food ideas would be super...(broth makes me gag...always has)
Its comin down to the wire now...waiting for ins. approval...but Dr. is pretty sure it'll go through...I'm so nervous/excited/scared/happy...pretty much every emotion you could possibly think of...

humm well first off let me say that no matter what you like now - your tastes will change post op. Things that I relied on in the first 2 weeks, ice pops, crystal light and protein powder. Don't stock up on any flavor - you may not like it post op. Also be willing to experiment. Things might sound gross, or you might not have liked them before - give it a whirl again, this is a whole new phase in your life!!

Remember to walk walk walk, sip sip sip. The more of both you do in the first few weeks the better you will feel. Decaf peppermint tea is high on the list too -this helps immensely with gas and nausea.

Best of luck with getting your approval!!

Liz

Liz is right - don't stock up now on items that you may hate post-op. Sugar-free fruit pops were one of my staple items - they lasted a long time and took a long time to eat. If you don't like plain broth try what someone suggested to me - buy a good lo-sodium canned soup and strain the broth from that - it has much more flavor than just plain broth which makes it more tolerable (I'm not a broth person myself). And lastly, your water bottle will be your best friend - getting proteins in those first couple of weeks will be difficult, but try as much as possible to get your fluids in - that will help in so many ways.

Good luck on the insurance approval - the insurance companies do seem to be coming around and acknowledging that this is a life-saving surgery - I had to go thru some processes before I was approved, but it did happen for me. It will for you, too.

Best of luck to you!!

Kathy

Good Luck with your insurance.

So far I've found no favorites.  Everything taste wise changes on me daily.  I'm not liking protein drinks very much although I did very well with them the first few weeks. 

Crystal light has become too sweet to me so I've been experimenting with adding more water to it.

If anything, it would have to be Hormel Chili w/NO Beans and melted shredded cheddar.  I seem to have that the  most.

Let's see....week one on clear liquids NOTHING was my friend.  I hated it all.  However...

Week two (full liquis) dannon lite and fit became my best friend.

And to this day....Greek yogurt w/ sf davinci syrup and ricotta cheese sweetened w/ splenda and cinnamon are seriously my best friends...I don't leave the house w/o them most of the time.

Oh...and these boards.  I stayed glued to them because it teaches me things, reminds me of things I may have forgotten....and gives me support through the times I need them the most.

Everyone else is right - do NOT stock up on absolutely anything....your tastes change big time.  And make sure you walk walk walk and sip sip sip after surgery along with deep breathing exercises.  It's a pain in the butt sometimes, and hurts sometimes (the deep breathing, anyway) but certainly helps you heal SUPER fast.

Pam

Since I hated eating or drinking *anything*, I'd have to say it was my abdominal binder.

Of course, I had the open RNY procedure, so I don't know how much pain and discomfort it would cut down on with the lap. procedure.

But anwyay, yeah, for those 1st few weeks, I wore my binder as much as possible.

Best of luck to you :)

**hijack**
Shan your new avatar is awesome...You are looking good! 

Aww you're pretty rockin yourself there, Beth :)
thank you

The toilet.

I wish I were kidding.

Not to sound stupid and mushy but it was my husband. There was just no way I would have made it  thru that time without him. He never left my side. He took care of me with everything from getting up off the chair and into bed, to making me something to eat and making sure I was drinking, to keeping me company so I wasn't alone. I was sooooo scared right after surgery and all the chicken broth and jello in the world couldn't equal up to half of what he did for me. I honestly believe I would have emotionally fell apart if it wasn't for him. I was very lucky.

As far as my 1st foods - I'm not a big fan of broth either so I bought soup and strained it. I was allowed cream soup so I had that as well but made sure there were no chunks in it...SF Popsicles, crystal light, etc etc nothing fancy.

Like others have said though, you do not want to stock up on anything that you like right now because there's a very good chance you won't like it once you're home...Just be sure to follow your nut's guidelines and if you're ever unsure of anything, no matter how stupid or silly you may think it is, give them a call. It's always better to call and ask then to take a chance with something and end up suffering because of it.

Good luck to you!