peeking in to say....

Hi ya'll!!!!         



I have missed coming on here.  I have so many questions but no stamina to search for answers...so im gonna throw a couple out here for my "experts" to help me on....

1). Whats the first thing im suppossed to do in the morning? well, after i Pee....lol

2). Is it take my vits or drink water or drink protien or eat my breakfast?

3). After i take meds or vits am i suppossed to wait like 30 minutes to drink so i dont wash them away?

I know and understand that im supposed to wait 30 minutes b&a eating to drink, but when i do start drinking i feel like i just washed it all away and feel empty,  kinda hungry again...

ive been drinking water, splenda tea, diluted juice from the hospital and thats about it....i need suggestions on something thats not overly sweet tasting....everything is like syrup....bu****er is almost hurtful to my pouch it has to be room temp or ice chips

I came home with a gastric tube, its way bigger than a jp drain, its like a cigar, not the big full size ones more like the ones the rappers smoke these days...lol  you'll hafta watch a video to see what im talking bout....lol

It hurts, it is getting better i guess the nerves are dying more each day...but it still hurts, to the point of frustration more than anything....i feel like if i didnt have it i could run a mile....it oozes ucky stuff from around it, which being a nurse i know is normal until it starts stinking or gets feverish....

My bowels are doing good so far, at first everything was watery, but i had my first formed stool yesterday, i have lots of gas....

I am having a hard time getting a  schedule going with all the vits and shots and fluids....i do make sure to take my prevacid every day and inject my lovenox every evening....the rest i**** or miss....i know it will work itself out eventually but........... help!!!!!

this could get long so i'll stop now....it is so awesome to be on this side of the bench....ive lost 18 lbs so far, i havent updated my bar yet, so it dont show it, but im so happy i could spit...

Welcome to the Losers Bench! So glad to see you back!

Right after surgery it didn't seem like there was any way I could ge****er, protein and vitamins in, much less in the quantities the Dr. wanted! But it does get better and easier.

1. My pouch still doesn't like really cold anything. It will tolerate cool water, like cold tap water, but no colder. But it has always loved warmth. So the first thing I would do, after the potty, is take a few sips of nice warm water. Then by the time I got my vitamins out I had room to take them. Start out with as many chewables as you can, it helps when you fill up so fast trying to swallow water AND pills.

2. After about a week I discovered Unjury's chicken soup mix. So I started mixing a cup of that to drink with my vitamins....two birds with one rock! Also, it's not sweet! By the time surgery got here, I was so sick of sweet shakes so this chicken soup was such a blessing. My first breakfasts were Cream of Wheat...very neutral tasting. So I would mix either vanilla protein powder if I was in the mood for sweet, or a bit of chicken soup for savory. I got over wanting the typical breakfast foods very early on!

3. No, it's fine to drink right after taking your vits. They aren't absorbed in your pouch but in your intestines. You WANT them to get down into your system quickly so they can start getting absorbed. It's only food you don't want to wash out quickly, you want to stay full as long as possible to avoid getting hungry and eating too often. That may not be an issue now but when you progress to more solid food it will.

Working out a schedule for water and vitamins and food was the hardest part of it all for me. Then I came across a schedule I could live with on Pam T's blog. I adjusted the times a bit for me because I'm still sleeping at 8am! Once I started following this schedule, I've been able to get all my water in, I haven't forgotten any vitamins, and they are all spaced out properly for best absorption.  I hope it's as helpful to you, too. You might want to go to Pam's Blog and just read the whole thing! She's got some fantastic info there about vitamins, recipes (I lover her hot protein chai tea!) and just every aspect of this whole journey. I learn something every time I go there! pamtremble.blogspot.com/

Pam's Schedule from her blog....

8:00 - 8:30 -- Breakfast (meals take no more than 30 minutes to eat)
9:00 - 10:00 -- Water - 8oz.
10:00 - 11:00 -- Snack (protein shake)
11:30 - 12:30 -- Water - 8oz
1:00 - 1:30 -- Lunch
2:00 - 2:30 -- Water 8oz.
3:00 - 4:00 -- Snack (protein shake)
4:30 - 5:30 -- Water - 8oz
6:00 - 6:30 -- Dinner
7:00 - 8:00 -- Water - 8oz
8:30 - 9:00 -- Snack (protein shake)
9:30 - 10:30 -- Water 8oz.

Eventually I added my vitamins into the routine. So if everything is scheduled and needs to happen at a specific time... it's easier to remember. This is the schedule I follow today:

7:00 a.m. --- Breakfast #1 (usually a protein drink) -- Calcium +D
8:30 a.m. --- Water
10:00 a.m. -- Breakfast #2 -- Morning dose of vitamins
11:00 a.m. -- Water
1:00 p.m. --- Lunch -- Calcium +D
2:30 p.m. --- Water
4:30 p.m. --- Snack -- Calcium +D
5:00 p.m. --- Water
7:30 p.m. --- Dinner -- Calcium +D
8:30 p.m. --- Water
11:00 p.m. -- Bedtime (no food) -- Evening dose of vitamins

Hi Tara - welcome to the loser's bench!

The first thing I do every morning after I pee is jump on the scale LOL.  Some folks only weigh once a week but I like to weigh every morning after I pee and before I dress or have had anything to drink or eat so it is consistent.

Then I stagger into the kitchen and pour my coffee so it can cool down a bit while I take my vitamins.  I couldn't handle plain water early on and tended towards some of the tarter crystal light type packets to cut the sweetness.  The heightened sense of taste will probably dull after a few months - it did for me anyway.  I chew, drink and swallow my vitamins (some are chewables, some liquid and some tablets) with my flavored water and fix my breakfast and eat (usually cottage cheese).  Before I leave I add milk to my coffee and stir in some protein to take to work with me - or back to my bedroom if it is my day off.

So, I guess the do-not-drink-30-min-before doesn't apply to my morning vits because I don't have time to wait.  I don't pay much attention to the "before" rule but I don't drink with my meals or after for about 30-40 min afterwards.

Congrats on the 18 pounds - you are on your way!  Glad your recovery is going well, too.

I'm so happy to see you posting.  I can't answer your questions as far as RNY (I had sleeve) but I can tell you it gets easier to get everything in.  Have you gotten any bullets to try (New Whey) they look like test tubes and have 25-42 grams of protein?  WalMart has another brand of bullets but I never tried them.  Ya know, some protein really tastes like crap, but I always look at it that it is something I really need and if I need it, I can get it down.  I know you didn't say you don't/won't like, but just thought I would add that in.  I would just open a bullet and take a swig, put it in the fridge and next time I went past the fridge hit it up again.  Some people mixed in a bottle of water to sip all day long.  Whatever it takes to get it down :).  I agree with Dee on the Unjury chicken soup.  It was good and a nice change of pace from the sweet protein drinks.  Soon you will be able to do purees and you would be surprised how delicious a bowl of Wendy's chilli is processed in the blender!

Take care,

Kat

Kat...have you checked the type of protein in those bullets? Most of them are collegen protein or at the best a combination of whey and collegen. I don't know about the sleeve but for RNY we don't absorb the collegen and whey isolate is the best for us. I got several of the bullets as samples when I started and you're right...the taste was very crappy! So check it to make sure it's the right stuff!

Dee,
i said I don't know about RNY :)....I don't use bullets any more but they were handy to begin with when I was having trouble getting enough protein.  I agree collagen isn't the best source but some protein is better than none......I also liked Isopure RTD, but I seem to be one of few.  I guess it is one of those things that should be guided by your doctor.  Thanks...

Well, I'll be right there with ya because I love the Isopure RTD. Funny though my pouch didn't like them until I was about 4-5 weeks out, it was even worse if I'd added drink mixes to it. But they are fine now. The Grape Frost is my favorite!

And I agree...everyone should follow their Drs. plan over anything they read/hear on OH.

My favorite was the Passion Punch...I thought the alpine punch reminded me of drinking Christmas Tree juice!  I like Click now...I'm addicted to it.

Kat

Hi Tara, glad to see you post, and welcome to the loser's bench.

As a new post-op I'd take my vitamins first, just getting those down filled me up.  Some people can't take them on an empty stomach though so if it's necessary eat first.

Each day gets better, just keep trying to get the fluids in and follow your surgeon's post-op plan.

Hi and welcome!

I'm out over 2 years now, but my schedule hasn't altered much in all this time.  My day's look like this:

5:15 am - Thyroid pill (have to wait at least an hour before taking anything else)
6:30 am - at desk at work - gotta seriously have my morning coffee; usually 2 cups
7:30 am - banana & vitamins (I really don't do breakfast well since surgery)
8:30 am - for the next hour'ish i work on getting first 20 oz of water on board
9:30 am - or 10, I normally have a small packet of oatmeal
11:30 am - lunch (protein & veggies, varies)
12:30 pm - begin working on addtional water intake, sometimes with caffine free tea
2:30 pm - snack if hungry, string cheese or some other form of protein
4:30 pm - protein shake and getting ready for workout
5:30 pm - heavy water intake until dinner, normally 40 oz on workout nights
7:00 pm - dinner - again heavy protein with veggies, sometimes carb, depends on daily intake
8:00 pm - more water

Weekends are not as organized, but this is a look at my normal schedule :)  Good luck!