Hi I would like to know a...

Hi I would like to know about first week after surgery. What kind of stuff did you eat .

Hey Ann, Let's see....the first 4 days I was on clear liquids, then when I went home I was on liquids. About 4 days after that I was able to go to pureed foods. This is what I ate.... Clear liquids - protein shake (without milk), crystal ligh****er, chicken/beef broth, sugar free popsicles Full liquids - fat free sugar free pudding, protein shakes (with and without milk), cream soups, sugar free popsicles Pureed foods - refried beans w/cheese and light sour cream, scrambled eggs, tuna w/light mayo (tuna went into food processor) I'm bad that when I find one thing that I like and doesn't upset my pouch, I'll eat it for 2-3 days before trying something else...so I'm still learning what I can and can't eat!!! Good luck.....it can be a little frustrating trying to figure out what you can eat (especially when you aren't hungry), what a payoff!!! Hugs, Dianne

Hey there, Just wanted to drop my 2 cents worth here too. It wasn't the eating (or lack there of) that bothered me the first week out. No one and I mean NO ONE could prepare me for the emotional rollercoaster that I went through that week. Just rest assured it is only 7 days and it too shall pass. I just wanted to give you a heads up to try to be emotionally and mentally prepared for the first week post-op. --Kelly

SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOU WENT THROUGH THE EMOTIONAL UPS & DOWNS RIGHT AFTER SURGERY, MS KELLY ... BUT, GOOD TO HEAR THAT THEY PASSED AS WELL. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY EMOTIONAL ISSUES UNTIL JUST LATELY AFTER ABOUT THE 6th STALL & TOTAL F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N SET IN. WE WERE TALKING LAST NIGHT & MS CHERYL SAID THAT SHE DIDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE "THIS HARD" ... &, I GOTTA ADMIT, I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS MANY STALLS ALREADY. SO, SHE & I ARE GONNA BE WEIGHT LOSS BUDDIES FOR EACH OTHER TRYING TO HELP ONE ANOTHER THROUGH THIS STALL THING TO OUR 6 MONTH 100 # GOALS. IT HELPS WHEN YOU HIT A WALL TO HAVE A CLOSE WLS FRIEND WHO UNDERSTANDS & CARES! I ALSO EXPERIENCED SOME OF THE MOODINESS ASSOCIATED WITH RAPID WEIGHT LOSS ... BUT, THAT SEEMS TO BE SLOWLY CALMING DOWN ... HOPEFULLY! SO, YOU ARE SO RIGHT ... THOSE EMOTIONAL UPS & DOWNS WILL CLOBBER US WHEN WE LEAST EXPECT IT ... JUST KNOWING THAT IT'S "NORMAL" FOR WHAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH DOES HELP ... IT ALSO HELPS TO KNOW WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES! THANKS FOR POSTING ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE! GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK

Hi Ann! You know all docs are different. But I am sure you know that you are on the pureed and pudding type foods for the first 4 weeks after surgery. The first week wasn't hard it was the third and forth weeks. Because you get tired of the same things over and over. My mom made me some chicken and rice and I chopped it up really well in my mini-food processor. But now I wouldn't eat chicken and rice for anything, nor apple sauce. The good thing now is Dr. Byrne doesn't require you to crush you meds. He told us that at January's MUSC meeting. He said if you can swallow them, then by all means do it. Good Luck, Britt -99.5 lbs

LET ME ADD A LITTLE BIT TO MS BRITT'S POST ... I'M WITH HER, CRUSHING YOUR PILLS IS NASTY ... OH MY GOSH, THE TASTE WILL BE ENOUGH THAT YOU NEVER WANT ANOTHER PILL. GET A PILL SPLITTER AT WALGREENS, WALMART, OR JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE. IN THE BEGINNING, WHEN YOUR POUCH IS SWOLLEN, YOU DON'T WANT TO SWALLOW ANY PILL BIGGER THAN AN M&M, SO SPLIT THEM IN HALF OR THIRDS & SWALLOW THEM INDIVIDUALLY. AFTER THE SWELLING GOES DOWN, YOU CAN TAKE A COUPLE OR SO TOGETHER AT ONE TIME & THEN LATER, YOU CAN TAKE A HANDFUL & THEY WILL GO DOWN JUST FINE. BUT, IN THE BEGINNING, NO BIGGER THAN AN M&M. REMEMBER, AFTER SURGERY, YOU CANNOT HAVE TIME-RELEASED, ASPIRIN PRODUCTS, CAPSULES OR NSAIDs SO YOU MAY HAVE TO HAVE YOUR MEDICATIONS CHANGED OR DOSES READJUSTED. BE SURE TO GET WITH YOUR PRIMARY DOCTOR OR PRESCRIBING DOCTOR WITHIN THE 1st MONTH & GO OVER YOUR MEDICATIONS WITH HIM/HER. YOUR SURGEON WON'T CHANGE YOUR MEDICATIONS ... GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

EATING & FOOD ARE SO DIFFERENT AFTER SURGERY, MS ANN. WE ALL WORRY ABOUT WHAT TO EAT BUT THE TRUTH OF IT IS THAT WE WILL EAT SO LITTLE, THAT IT REALLY ISN'T A BIG DEAL ... A FEW BITES ... A FEW SPOONFULS ... A FEW SIPS & YOU'LL THINK YOU'RE GONNA POP YOU'RE SO FULL. IT'S HELARIOUS CONSIDERING THAT BEFORE SURGERY WE COULD EAT A COW & STILL WANT MORE. YOU PROBABLY WON'T HAVE ANY APPETITE ... NO CRAVINGS ... & COULDN'T CARE LESS IF YOU ATE OR DRANK ANYTHING FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. I'M STILL THAT WAY. I COULD GO UNTIL ABOUT 7:00pm & NEVER PUT ANYTHING IN MY MOUTH, BUT I KNOW THAT IS DANGEROUS SO I EAT BY MY SPREADSHEET NUMBERS ... IN OTHER WORDS, I KNOW I HAVE TO HAVE NO LESS THAN 64 OZ OF FLUIDS, ABOUT 72 GRAMS OF PROTEIN & ABOUT 800 CALORIES AT THIS POINT, SO I ENTER MY NUMBERS IN A SPREADSHEET TO KEEP ME ON TRACK OTHERWISE I'D STARVE TO DEATH FROM NOT EATING. IT'S A WONDERFUL FEELING NOT TO WANT TO EAT EVERYTHING IN SITE, BUT IT'S HARMFUL HEALTHWISE NOT TO ... SO, YOU HAVE TO FIND A BALANCE. AT FIRST, YOUR POUCH WILL BE SWOLLEN, THEN WHEN THE SWELLING GOES DOWN (YOU'LL KNOW IT), ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU CAN EAT TWICE AS MUCH & DRINK MORE NORMALLY & YOU'LL BE ON THE BOARDS ASKING IF YOU STRETCHED YOUR POUCH ... NOPE ... THE SWELLING JUST WENT DOWN SO YOU HAVE MORE SPACE, NORMAL SPACE. YOU'LL BE EATING ABOUT 200-300 CALORIES FOR A WHILE ... THEN, ONCE YOUR POUCH SWELLING GOES DOWN, YOU'LL GO UP TO AROUND 400-500 CALORIES ... THEN ABOUT 3-4 MONTHS OUT, YOU NEED TO MAKE YOURSELF INCREASE TO AROUND 700-800 & EVENTUALLY, YOU'LL KEEP YOUR DAILY INTAKE UNDER 1,000 - 1,200 AFTER YOU ARE AT GOAL. NOW, COMES THE HARD PART (DON'T EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THIS IS EASY - IT'S EASY TO LOSE WEIGHT BUT IT'S THE HARDEST LIFESTYLE & EMOTIONAL CHANGE YOU WILL GO THROUGH) ... ANYWAY, TO THE HARD PART ... NOW, YOU HAVE TO WATCH NOT ONLY WHAT YOU EAT, BUT HOW MUCH & HOW FAST & HOW WELL YOU CHEW YOUR FOOD. YOUR POUCH WILL GET CRANKY & HATE SOMETHING IT JUST LOVED THE DAY BEFORE. YOUR MOODS WILL SWING LIKE A MONKEY ON A VINE & YOU'LL BE A SWEETHEART ONE DAY & THE WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST THE NEXT. BUT, ALL THE WHILE YOUR WEIGHT WILL BE FALLING OFF. THEN, THEN, THEN ... YOU'LL HIT THE DREADED STALLS & WANT TO KILL SOMETHING JUST FOR SPORT. AM I TRYING TO SCARE YOU? NOPE ... IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S KINDA FUNNY, CUZ WE ALL TURN INTO SKIZOIDS & WONDER IF WE ARE THE ONLY ONE ... WHAT I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU IS THAT ALLLLLLLLL THIS IS VERY NORMAL FOR THE SEVERE STRESS & CHANGES GOING ON IN OUR BODIES. NORMAL, NORMAL, NORMAL! BUT, WARN YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS THAT IF YOU ARE DR JEKYL & MR HYDE, THAT THEY SHOULD JUST IGNORE YOU FOR THE FIRST 6 MONTHS, THEN THE "REAL" YOU WILL EMERGE AGAIN ... THINNER & HEALTHIER! SO, WHAT YOU EAT IS THE LEAST OF YOUR WORRIES ... CHECK YOUR CALORIES, PROTEINS & FLUIDS RELIGIOUSLY & TAKE THOSE SUPPLEMENTS LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, BECAUSE IT DOES. THEN, EXPERIMENT WITH WHAT YOUR POUCH WILL TOLERATE. THAT PROCESS WILL GO ON FOR A LONG TIME ... I'M AT 4.5 MONTHS OUT & AM NOW ON SEAFOOD & PRE PACKAGED PROTEIN PRODUCTS LIKE BARS, PUDDINGS & PROTICA BECAUSE MY POUCH IS BEING CRANKY ABOUT HIGHLY TEXTURED FOODS LIKE BEEF & PORK & CHICKEN. NEXT MONTH, IT MAY BE JUST THE OPPOSITE. THIS WILL BE THE BEST THING YOU'VE EVER DONE FOR YOU OVERALL HEALTH & OF COURSE, WEIGHT LOSS ... BUT, IT IS A WILD, WILD RIDE, SO HOLD ON & ENJOY! GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK