Wanted: Post-Surgery Tips

I am scheduled for surgery April 6. I'm wondering if any of you who are post-surgery have any tips or tricks for getting through the initial hard months. For example, what pureed "recipes" worked well for you---I still can't fathom the idea of pureed chicken tasting good! I did buy a hand blender though. How are the laparoscopic incisions healing? Are you absolutely exhausted the first few weeks? (should I make no plans to leave the house?) I have two young children, 8 and 5, and I'm wondering if I should get additional help with cleaning, shopping, for the kids, etc....Any advice appreciated!

I had a Lap RNY and am 7 weeks post op Except I had a surgical complication of an infection in one of the incisions I was doing laundry in a few days but if you have to do it all yourself you might want some help--at least gathering it. Driving at about a week, Maybe housework you could use help on. The kids are a bit big to have to pick up so that shouldn't be a problem and they are not so little that they cannot pick up their toys. I ate baby food chicken and turkey. Used a mini food processor and ate hard boiled eggs mixed with a tsp mayo. Mashed potatoes, fine ground oatmeal. If you have a baby food warming tray that would be handy. Because you have to eat slow and the food gets cold. For crunch factor--I ate sugar free popsicles and still do--and they count as fluids. I'd get twice as many as you have children who will want them too. One thing that might be hard is getting out of bed. I slept semi sitting for a while but I cannot tell how it would have been if I didn't have a wound infection. But once that was drained I didn't have too much problem getting up but sometimes a helping hand is nice. My energy level was really the same as pre-op. Once I was up I was up for the day and didn't take naps. Good luck.

Hi Christina - I'm Lynne I'm south Near Delavan -- I am almost 3 years post op - I didn't have a LAP tho I had an open RNY -- depending on your level of pain tolerance - I 'd say most definitely you want to have help -- esp with the children - the house can go for a few but I didn't do any real housework for at least a month - as for pureed foods - well I made things like steak and put it in the food processor with some bbq sauce or made sloppy joes and ate oatmeal, egg beaters, and yogurt - lots of yogurt and jello - and of course I wasn't too worried about food at that time - so I concentrated on my Water - Protein Shakes and Vitamins. I began working out about 4 weeks after surgery and worked out 6 days a week faithfully. I've lost about 215 pounds now - and just had my tummy tuck done Jan 26th and I'm back on the losing mode it seems -- cuz they tightened my abdominal (sternum) muscles so tight my pouch can't open lol...... Good Luck to you and write if you need help -- oh and if you want a good Protein Shake - and believe me I"VE TRIED A TON OF THEM -- I like Matrix Perfect Chocolate best and then Lemonade from Syntrax. There are some other ones at Syntrax I thought I liked and bought (very berry, carribbean something or other) and then omg I got them home and they were horrendous - I use them in yogurt now just to use them up cuz I paid like $26 a container for them. But the PROTEIN IS SO IMPORTANT -- and remember when you get your vitamins calcium carbonate cannot be absorbed by RNY patients you need calcium citrate and you can't take the calcium within one hour before or after the other vitamins or it diminishes the ability of your body to absorb those other vitamins. Lynne

Hi Christina. I would puree chicken in some no added sugar spaghetti sauce (Hunt's makes it, quite tasty) and melt some cheese on top (if your doc allows the cheese at that stage). It was recommended to me by my bariatric nurse who also had the surgery several years ago! And I would make salmon salad, chicken salad, and tuna salad by pureeing and mixing with a little ff mayo. I'm 4 months out and my incisions are really fading away nicely. I was pretty tired the first week or 2, partially because I caught a cold the first week I was home. I walked around Target, , the second week, and the grocery store. My "exercise". I live alone and my mom stayed with me 3 or 4 days when I first got home. But I really was able to take care of myself. Kathy