Pre-op and Post-op food shopping

I've been approved for WLS and now I'm just waiting to set the date. I'm shooting for mid to late April for surgery.  I'm getting overwhelmed with the idea of going to an all liquid diet for a bit...

What should I be ordering now to be prepared for the 2 week pre-op diet as well as the 6 or 8 weeks post-op?  I have to get things in order cos I will be in Houston for the surgery and the 2 weeks afterwards...so I need to order things now and get it all in place.  I live in Austin.

What did you do to prepare for the "journey"?  Cases of protein mixes or what?  How much did you consume in a day before and after surgery - how many packets of mixes? What else should I pre-buy and how much?

Thanks!

Be careful buying to much pre-op!  My taste changed after surgery, and from what I here, thats pretty common.  I don't like the same things that I used to like!   ESPICALLY protien shakes!!!  My taste completely changed!

Hope that helps,
Jess

Don't go out and buy large quantities of protein mixes - buy samples and wait until after surgery to decide which ones you like (they may ALL taste awful for a while).

I recommend to all pre-ops to get some Unjury chicken broth protein mix for the 2-week liquid diet.  It was a life-saver for me because I got so sick of the sweet shakes.  It gave me something salty to have for dinner and it felt more "normal".  It is good for after surgery also.  You can only order it from www.unjury.com so I would order it soon.  They have sample packets of their other proteins mixes also.  I also liked their unflavored protein for mixing in soft foods such as cottage cheese and mashed potatoes for the mushy stage.

I would stock up on SF pudding and jello, Fage yogurt, SF Popsicles (for pre-op diet for something crunchy).  By stocking up - you don't need a lot of any of it compared to what you eat now.  You are going to be amazed at how a few spoonfuls will fill you up at first after surgery (doesn't last, dang it!).  You should have your post-op diet progression from the nutrition classes so look over that and buys some of the things on the list.

The Dr. Davis' recommends the Bariatric Advantage shakes for the pre-op diet but they were my least favorite - I liked the Unjury better.  I think I figured on 4 shakes a day pre-op x 14 days and bought whatever quantity that worked out.  It has been a while, but seems like I had 4 containers that I didn't use up so I had different flavors to choose from - 2 BA and 2 Unjury plus the chicken soup.

Get some packets of crystal light or other brands for your water - you need to stay hydrated and it made the water easier to go down when it was flavored.

also make sure you have all your vitamins and meds stocked before your sugery.

the all liquid diet is not bad after the first day or two. if you can start changing your eating habits now and attend any support groups you can! This was advice given to me pre-op and it helped immensely!

Meggie

I've only found one support group here in Austin and they meet one day out of the month. If something comes up then I'm  out of luc****il the next month. I was out of town for Feb's meeting...wish we had more choices here in Austin but it is what it is!

I've already started changing my habits. Gave up Cokes about 6 weeks ago. It was really hard on me about the 3rd week but after that week it got easier.  I've started adding Propel powder to my water...and I've always loved water so that part is easy for me.

I've even learned to eat SF pudding - I usually do not like any kind of pudding so it has taken a while to get used to it.  Jello creeps me out so not sure I'll ever be able to eat it but guess if I get hungy enough I'll eat it right? LOL

I've also cut way back on breads - there are none in the house at the moment.  And for now I do drink  Glucerna shakes - I love the vanilla ones.  It's made for diabetics so it's low in sugars...
would love to find something similar as it tastes good to me...

I'm worried that surgery day will come and I will have nothing on hand to eat afterwards and no backup plan at this point.  I do obsess about meals...LOL

I'll go order the Unjury stuff too.  Thanks to all!!

If you like the Glucerna, get some of the Unjury unflavored and mix with it for extra protein. On the Clinic's recxommendation I got 2 big tubs of the BA meal replacement stuff. It was OK but not something I looked forward to! I still have a full, unopened tub of Vanilla that I'm not sure I'll ever use!

Like Sarah said...the Unjury Chicken soup saved me. I still eat it at least once a week now, I just add some diced grilled chicken to it...yum!

Start now getting in 80+ g. of protein a day. It will really help you heal faster if you go into surgery full of protein! I also started my vitamins about 2-3 months pre-op, surely can't hurt. I did everything I could to convert to the new way of eating while I still had some leeway to get off plan if I needed to. I really think that's part of what made the transition so easy for me.

You really don't need to 'stock up' on things. You'll be eating such small amounts if it's something you ordered online you'll have plenty of time to order more. The cottage cheese, greek yogurt, cream of wheat, etc. that I lived on those first couple of weeks were easily available any time. I think it's just in our brains to stock pile it so we don't go hungry!

PamT has a great list of links for samples. pamtremble.blogspot.com/2009/04/protein-trying-samples.html  While you're there, bookmark her blog...I promise you'll learn more there than you every thought you'd need to know!!! Her recipes are to drool over!

Be sure to let me know when your surgery is and where, I'll come visit!

There is also the Isopure drinks that some people like (I wasn't crazy about them) but if the creamy whey taste of protein shakes is gagging you after surgery, the clear Isopure might go down easier, especially if you dilute them with water a bit.  You can get the individual bottles at Vitamin Shoppe.

As for the pre-op diet - like Meggie said, after the first 2-3 days it isn't so bad.  Try to stay away from the smell of food as much as possible and TV can be a killer with all the food commercials.

Get used to throwing out food if there isn't someone else around to help out.  If you make up the smallest packet of pudding it will last 5 or 6 days - I am not kidding - and you still may have to dump some of it.

Unless you have some major issues, you will be able to run to the store to get whatever you need after the first few days home anyway.  You won't have a drain - at least none of Dr. Davis patients I know of had one.  Dee went with me to Dallas for the OH Convention last year and she was only 10 days out from surgery!  Of course her surgeon was speaking there so he was handy if anything happened LOL.

Good luck!

 

I suggest buying only samples of protein shakes AND vitamins!  They sell the Isopure in small bottles. I suggest buying one or two of the regular bottles if you can't get that small a quantity of the small, and trying a couple of flavors. I could never stomach them, not pre-op, not now.

My tastes changed after my surgery, and I've really struggled to find vitamins I can stand. I've finally found a combination that works for me, but it took me 6 months to do that! The chewables that were fine pre-op were disgusting post-op. But, again, at 6 months out, I'm starting to be able to tolerate some of those that I couldn't before.

My doctor had me start my vitamins a month before surgery.

Again, your stomach will be smaller and you won't eat as much. For example, they gave me SF popcicles in the hospital, the same Blue Bell ones you can buy in the store. Pre-op (and now, at 6 months out), I could eat a whole one. I couldn't eat more than half for awhile, and once I was out of the liquid stage, I didn't eat them at all because they tasted so sweet to me. I have one maybe once a month now, but it still takes me about 20 minutes to eat one.

I kept expecting it but my tastes never did change after surgery except for the first couple of months things tasted a little sweeter. But I still liked and disliked the same things. Even the sweetness thing is pretty much over now.

One problem I did have, and am still dealing with, is my pouch doesn't like anything cold. That makes drinking cold shakes really hard to do. Luckily I found out about Pam T's hot protein chai tea. I have a mug of it every morning and it really gets my pouch awake and ready for the day.  Now at almost 6mo out, I can do cold stuff as long as I don't eat it too fast. I put SF popcicles in a bowl, mushed up and eat with a spoon. I may put it back in the freezer twice before I eat a whole one!