Newly post-op questions

Hi all, I am now 10 days post-op. I didn?t have the best experience because the hospital did not do a lot of things they said they would do (eg, no pain pump, no trapeze, etc). I am also having minor complications like thrush in my mouth and hives near the incision. The good news is that the surgery may have saved my life independent of weight loss. I had a small GIST tumor in the part of my stomach that was removed. I read some journal articles and, although this is a malignancy, others in my same situation were all disease free 30 months after surgery without further treatment. Whew!

Anyway, I have questions! My surgeon wants us to ask our PCP for Actigall or Urso to prevent gallstones, but when I did, she instead prescribed Welchol. Has anyone else taken this as a new pre-op? I am wondering if I need a second opinion from my surgeon, especially since Welchol treats glucose and mine was in the mid 70s before surgery, even though I was off the meds I take for borderline prediabetes.

I am having a terrible time getting down my crushed meds. I am mixing with an ounce of grape juice. Any other ideas to get those down with less bitterness?

My program said not to worry about calories the first six months, but I feel like I could already go too high if I am not careful. Does about 800-1000 sound close to what others have done?

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

Congratulations on your surgery. Rocky starts do happen but usually things stabilise and you find your feet in a few weeks.

I can't speak to your meds issue but I will say that once you are a few more weeks out you shouldn't need to crush pills. For now you just have to suck it up but that isn't too bad in the big picture.

It is so important that you allow yourself to heal and not overeat at this critical time. Weigh and portion your food as directed by your surgeon. The nerves are cut so you can no longer use fullness as an indicator to stop eating. Protein first and keeping hydrated are super important- calories not so much. I think the numbers you are quoting are high but every one is different and you'll need to figure out what works best for you.

Good luck. Stick around- there are lots of great folks here with loads of experience to help you along the way.

I was able to swallow whole pills (except for Actigall/ursodiol and those calcium horse pills) as soon as I got home from the hospital. The two exceptions I had to wait two or three weeks before attempting to swallow them whole - they were just too big. Of course, if your surgeon advised you not to (because of complications or whatever), then I would follow his instructions.

I was eating so little the first few months and so focused on meeting my protein goals that I didn't really need to focus on calories at all (although then - as now - I log all my food - so I always knew how many I was getting). After that, I started focusing on calories (in addition to protein) since I could eat a lot more.

First, Welcome Back!

Next, so sorry you are having troubles, but what great news about them finding the tumor.

I struggled with the meds in the first week I tried apple juice, applesauce and pudding. I really can only say the applesauce was the most effective. However, when I got my staples out I asked and they told me not to worry about it, just to take the pills. So my BEST advice is ask your doctor's office. They may have a solution better than anything anecdotal.

I know we did different procedures but I haven't counted a single calorie, I am logging all of my intakes but that's it. So I could know but I am just taking it meal by meal, and focusing on my H20 intake.

Are you back at work? I remember you said you did heavy mental lifting there... (impressed) I am curious to know how that is going.

Remember as our gal Gilda said, "it's always something..."

Hello and congratulations on the surgery! I would get a second opinion to make sure the medication your PCP gave you was okay, just because your surgeon did specifically tell you to get one of the two options.

I also had a hard time with the crushed meds, but it only lasts a week or two, so like another poster said, there really only is waiting it out.

Your program didn't even give you a range of calories to try for? Most people find 600 to 800 calories to be the best range for weight loss. Some can go higher, but usually that's much farther out anyways. But I wouldn't worry about calories until you are on "normal" foods, right now it is more important that you drink enough water.

Thanks for the great replies! Here are some responses...

I definitely don?t want to overeat which is why I am wondering about calories. I am on full liquids and consuming about 800 calories, 65-80 grams protein, and at least 64 oz fluids. I already feel like I could easily consume 1,000, but maybe I will try to stick around 800 for now. They definitely did not give us a range to shoot for.

We have to stay on crushed pills for four weeks, so I am almost halfway there. I will try applesauce.

Thanks for asking about work, it was difficult, but I made it. I teach online for a university and I made at least two really dumb and embarrassing mistakes. Hopefully, I will have a clearer head next week.

I thought I would follow up on my original post since I have searched this forum a million times for answers and somebody might search Welchol in the future. My surgeon's office did not say Welchol was bad to take after surgery, but they were concerned that it is more for cholesterol than preventing gallstones, so the surgeon called in the Actigall for me even though they originally wanted my PCP to prescribe it. So glad that I contacted them!

PS the applesauce was a winner in getting the crushed meds down. Thanks for the advice!