3 Days Post-Op Question

Hello,

I'm 3 days out from surgery. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday on a full liquid diet. I am supposed to get 64oz of water a day and 60g of protein. How far out were you before you were able to do this?

I am trying my hardest. I woke up at 7. It is now 11:30 and I have had 16g of protein and about 15oz of water. It's so hard! My surgeon said he made my sleeve tight. I keep telling myself I will be grateful for that some point, but it's discouraging right now. All I wanna do is chug water and I can't. I actually only wan****er which is bizarre for me. I barely touched it before surgery. Nothing sounds good. The shakes I loved before surgery taste awful now. Ugh! I'm just ranting at this point. lol.

So yeah. When were you able to meet your surgeon's goal? I feel like I'm behind, and I really don't wanna end up back in the hospital for dehydration. :(

I got a lot of my liquids from hot decaf tea & sugar free pops early on.  It was very hard for me to drink plain water.  Do the best you can, it does get easier.  It took me weeks to actually make the protein goals.

Very glad to hear this is normal and it gets easier! The popsicles are also a great idea. I can get one down pretty easily without feeling gross, so that's good. I am not going to concentrate on water as much as I am liquids. Thanks for the advice!

I will be 3 weeks out tues.  The first week I did not make the goals.  I am just now making the goals only because I drink a premier protein first thing when I wake up.  I am adjusting to soft foods now and am struggling with over eating and then in pain cause I'm to full.  This is a learning experience.  Sip your water and get what you can I strained a can of chicken noodle soup and drank the broth it was wonderful.  You will feel so much better in a couple of days just hang in there!

I loved Premier Protein before surgery. I had it in my head that I'd only need to drink two of those to make my goals, and I could do it. The taste makes me so sick now! lol. I think I am adjusting to figuring out when to stop too. I take small sips and I feel ok, so then I think, "Oh, good! I can catch up!" and start taking bigger drinks. No good. Thank you for the encouragement. We'll get there!

At first, I focused more on timing than on quantity. I got those little 3oz paper bathroom cups, and I had to finish one every hour or so. I found it was much easier to have one of those on the nightstand or coffee table than a big water bottle, and a lot less daunting from a mental perspective! 

That's a great idea!  When I started, having the big bottle of water next to me at all times seemed a likely way to get it in but I find I am not really sure how much of it I've had to drink. It is VERY daunting when I fill up my 32 oz water bottle, drink barely any, look at it and realize I have to finish that one and another one. I am going to try breaking it down like you did to make sure I get it all in. Thanks!

Is your doc insisting on water, or just liquid?  It was easier to get liquids in with popsicles, fudgsicles in the first few days.  Otherwise, hot (like tea and chicken broth) worked better for me than cold, although I drank the protein shakes too.  Concentrate more on meeting your fluid goals than your protein.  Dehydration will happen a lot faster than anything else!

 It looks like just liquids. I think I imposed that restriction on myself at some point. lol. It's gone now! I ate a sugar free popsicle today and it went down pretty easy and looks like it counts as 2 oz of liquid. Fudgesicles are off limits in my surgeon's plan for some reason, but clear liquids still go down easier so I am happy with popsicles! Thanks!

My nurse told me to aim for 30 grams protein by 30 days post op, 60 grams protein by 60 days, and 90 grams by 90 days.  Unfortunately she told me that at my 2 week visit, after 2 weeks of total stress because I wasn't even coming close to 60-90 grams per day.  I felt much better after that.