Initial Impression and Question

Kellye,

HUGE congratulations on all of your successes!  You should be so, so proud of yourself!  Getting out of the bad marriage, finding a great and supportive guy now, doing all of the work it takes to reach for the stars (and catching them) with your nursing profession, and for losing so much weight.  I can understand how you'd feel like you failed when you needed the revision, but I like what you said about it teaching you to listen to your body.  You also didn't fail because you didn't let it rule you.  You took control over your body and fought back.  That's pretty incredible!

Thank you so much for your kind words, for sharing your story, and for some gentle advice (I already clicked on the link to the blog so I'll be reading that later).  I don't like BS either, but being overly-sensitive it's hard for me to "take it straight."  I'm sorry to hear that you gained weight back, but it's a journey and we all have to cope.  I had a friend who had incredible success with WLS and a few years later went through unspeakable trauma and gained most of it back.  I think (although I may be wrong) that we are all - at least most - emotional eaters.  I know I am - 100%, although I would find any reason to eat.  I started seeing a therapist for only my weight/food/eating issues; I have another therapist for a variety of other issues.  While our journey has just started, I pray she can help me work through some or all of that.  I also suspect that what you said is SO true - that there is part of us which will always fight with the head hunger.  Getting it under control is going to be the key for me.  I hope my food therapist (LOL) is one of the keys to open that door to freedom from this illness.

Ahhhh, the liquid diet... my surgery is next Tuesday, so I've been doing liquids since last Tuesday.  I'm cranky... my poor husband.  Things got slightly better when I realized that my doc allowed Jell-O so finally I had something to CHEW!  When I had my initial consult with the dietitian, I asked about adding extracts (almond, mint, etc) into the liquids and she said yes, which thrilled me!!!  A couple of months ago, my husband and I found sugar-free coffee syrups at Target.  I have toasted hazelnut, creme brulee, and caramel.  I also throw in the almond extract every so often, too.  My Mom had given me some she found at Home Goods (so that'****or-miss), so at that point, before finding the Target ones, I was using mocha and vanilla almond.  She gave me a mango one; I didn't even open that because it sounds disgusting to me.  Thank you so much for suggesting them.  Had I not known otherwise, that would have made an enormous difference!

I have heard a lot of people who have to fight to get themselves to eat or drink after surgery.  I know I'll be having the swallow test the day after surgery and that I'll be discharged as long as the test comes back normal and I can keep down liquids.  With surgery on Tuesday, I should anticipate being back home on Thursday.  I'll be super excited to see my "kids" (2 kitties, 2 pups).  The doc's office said I'll be sent home with some sort of thing that will help remind me to keep from bending over, etc.  It'll be a matter of keeping the one dog from jumping.  Hubby may have to stand guard.  We can be outside for 10 minutes and when we walk in the door, he acts like he hasn't seen us in a week.  It's wonderful, but I'll have to be extra careful!  If you have dogs (mine are 90 lbs and 40 lbs), did you have to find a way to handle the jumping.  My big guy is going to want to give me kisses right away and I can't bend over to get to him and can't, of course, have him jump on me.  It's one of the things we have to figure out...

I'm trying to get in my 64 oz of water, but even now that's a challenge, and I carry my water bottle (32 oz, so less daunting that I can say I only have to have 2 of these than having to have 4 bottles of water) everywhere!  I find that having a straw built in the bottle vs drinking from a cup is easier to sip.  I had heard mixed things about straws, but when I asked, they said that although different programs have different restrictions, they hadn't seen any studies to indicate straws were problematic.  I first went to Wal*Mart (because that is where my food therapist got hers) and found it, but the seal broke within a couple of days so it no longer kept it cold for extended periods.  I went to Eastern Mountain Sports and flat-out told them I needed a really good, sturdy insulated water bottle.  It wasn't cheap, but I finish the water while there is still ice in there, so it keeps it awfully cold since I'm trying to adjusts to sipping.  I wind up a few oz short of the goal, but pretty darn close!

Do you take meds outside of the supplements and vitamins ordered by your doc?  Even with what the surgeon has me taking, it's hard to get some of those pills down in one sip, so I'm a bit nervous about that.  I also take a ton of other meds, some due to co-morbid conditions so I hope when the weight starts coming off, those meds will come off my routine!  I'm just curious about your experience with that.  I bought 2 oz cups for water/food/whatever.  They were inexpensive on amazon and they can't hurt.  Funny - my Mom told me about them because she uses them for Jell-O shots (she's almost 70 if that puts it in perspective).  And you wonder why I have 2 therapists?  

On that note, I'll stop rambling.  Surgery next Tuesday - ahhhhhhh!!!

Thanks again, Kellye!

Well I can definitely relate to the cranky part - I wasn't so much pre-op because I didn't have to do liquids (it varies from surgeon to surgeon -- I just had to eat like I would post-op -- high protein/low carb & not go overboard *lol*).  But post-op yes, I definitely got cranky.  Now I admit my first time at this, I really had a hard time and went through a mourning period for food - I can remember sitting on the couch in front of the TV and being in tears crying because it seemed like every other commercial was about food and I couldn't eat and I missed food SOOOO much.  This time around,  it hasn't been as bad and I simply think that's because it's something I've already gone through before.  Be prepared to go on some emotional roller coaster rides post-op.  Because you're an emotional eater (as am I - plus I eat just because I'm bored), when you can't reach for food to deal with whatever crap it is that you've buried inside or haven't dealt with in some other way, you'll find that junk will bubble to the surface and you can basically lose it for a while and not really even understand why.  I highly recommend a support group (local one if you can find one) where you get together with other people who are going through or who have gone through what you're experiencing.  If there isn't a WLS support group close by, check into Overeaters Anon or something like that - and of course these boards are always good as well.

Clear liquids -- basically that is anything you can see through - so Jello is definitely an acceptable item to consume.  Any kind of broth, juice, tea, water, etc.  I'm surprised that they didn't tell you that.  You will have a dietary progression post-op that I hope they give you instructions on:  clear liquids usually x 1 week, then full liquids, then semi-soft/pureed foods, and then regular foods -- progress as your body tells you to.  Yes they may say one week for each type of food, but if your body isn't ready for it - LISTEN to it and stick with what is working for you.  Just be sure to stay well hydrated.

My surgeon said no to straws - his reasoning was that you can swallow too much air or swallow too much fluid and it can cause pain.  So I haven't used a straw since I had surgery and just try to take small sips.  Even if I sip too much at one time now it can hurt or just make my tummy feel a bit queasy.

I typically buy my flavored syrups from www.torani.com -- they come in 750 mL bottles (small wine bottle size) and about $7-$8 dollars/bottle.  And if you order so much the shipping is free.  My hubby and I bought a small wine rack that holds 12 bottles and we put the syrups there - it looks like a Starbucks but hey, it helps me keep a variety of things around and boredom with food (at least for me) is one of my triggers for wanting to eat/binge.

I typically use a Tervis double-insulated cup for my drinks -- they don't sweat if you have ice in there and they keep drinks cold or hot for long periods of time.  You can find Tervis tumblers everywhere, but Bath & Body Works usually has a big selection of them. 

We have two small Dachshunds (one is 9 pounds the other 16 pounds) so I had to just put a pillow across myself to keep them from crawling on me.  Jumping on me isn't an issue because they can only jump up to my knees when I'm standing   They seemed to understand that I was a bit under the weather and didn't try to jump up on me or crawl on me too much.  They've been quite good.  I honestly think our pets can sense things so they may know that they need to be careful with you.

I get my vitamins from www.celebratevitamins.com - now I know a lot of people talk about bariatric advantage and those may be all good and fine, but their company isn't focusing on the vitamins as much as they are the foods they are making now (I work with someone who used to be an office manager of one of the local bariatric surgeons so she's really knowledgeable about a lot of the supplements & post-op experiences etc as she's had an RNY several years ago).  Celebrate only does vitamins - and they taste better in my opinion if you are going to be using chewables for a while.  Celebrate brand is the only brand I could/can tolerate in a chewable form that doesn't make me sick to my stomach.  They are NOT cheap (fair warning) BUT.... because you need vitamins because of your surgery, you can use the cost of them as a tax write off at the end of the year - hell any of the protein supplements, etc. you get can be used this way because you NEED them to stay healthy & meet the guidelines of your surgeon recommendations.  When you get to a point where you can swallow pills better, Celebrate does offer other forms of the vitamins - chewable (like tums consistency in different flavors), soft chews which are like starburst consistency (also in variety of flavors), capsules, and a powder form you just mix in water.  You can also look for over the counter varieties - just be sure to look @ the ingredients and compare them to make sure you're getting the vitamins you need. 

I use small containers for a lot of things too - I bought the small 1/2 cup size glad-ware that I use all the time to make jello or pudding because it's a perfect serving size.  I use smaller plates, bowls, etc when I eat so it doesn't look like I have nothing on my plate (mind game but it does work).  My hubby is on board eating a high protein/low carb diet so I don't have to worry about buying groceries for him and for me - we'll be eating basically the same things (plus he could stand to lose a few pounds). 

Finding something to occupy your time post-op will help as well.  I exercised a LOT but at that time I wasn't working and so I just got on the treadmill and did what I could, lifted weights, did walk away the pounds DVDs, whatever.  I read a lot, got back into cross-stich and needlepoint, did a lot of writing in my journal - find something to keep you busy.  And remember it's a life-long journey not a sprint - it's one day at a time.

For those on PPI's long term -  CNN today:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/14/health/proton-pump-inhibitors-kidney-failure/index.html

Just a thought from a certified nephrology nurse -- I work with dialysis patients in the acute setting full-time and many patients still take these meds.  However, most developed kidney failure from two other major diseases -- High Blood Pressure and/or Diabetes.  Now, that's not to say that these other drugs, PPIs do or don't play a significant role in damaging your kidneys because there are a TON of drugs out there that are nephrotoxic (bad for kidneys).  However, if you are taking these meds, either over the counter version or something that is prescribed, make sure you get yearly labs drawn -- especially a basic chemistry (BMP or CMP) because these two lab panels will include specific labs that can show kidney function (primarily speaking of BUN & Creatinine -- creatinine is the one we look @ the most in my line of nursing/medicine).

It is very difficult.  In that you're not unique.  Changing our eating habits to live on that liquid diet is one of the first big changes in your life.  I am one of the many who opted to follow this path.  I do not regret it one bit.  Persevere and you will get where you want to be.  Patience.....there are a lot of good people here.