Almost 3 weeks out!

So I thought I would stop by and give you guys an update. I had my surgery April 10 to a ds revision. My cc is 120cm. I was not resleeved and the surgeon was very "impressed with my insides"! NOT following that god awful "liver shrinking diet" did wonders for me I guess. I was horribly nauseous post op and ended up in the PACU for a few hours. I, of course, remember none of this. I stayed in the hospital one night and went home early. Pain is gone. Scars look great. But because I didn't get sleeved, I have had no problems handling all kinds of foods. I haven't tried heavier meats, like beef or pork, or even dry meats but nothing has given me problems. The white/yellow poops were a bit shocking to see and so were the oil slicks, but I guess that's the new norm now.

I am, though, very tired still. I'm glad I took four weeks off from work. I have managed to do a few things around the house, have run some errands and made it to the gym twice. However, these activities really take it out of me. It will be interesting to see how I can manage with 12 hour shifts in the hospital....

I have only lost 8 lbs since surgery. I have stayed the same weight for almost a week now and hoping the scale budges soon. I'll keep you posted!

White poops aren't normal. Be sure you mention that to the doc. When returning to work, hydration is most important. 64oz should be met during your shift easily if you're sipping with every pause. Spend next week getting yourself on some kind of workable schedule.

Hi Valerie!

Thank you for taking the time to write a reply. I will definitely bring up lighter stools to my surgeon when I see him tomorrow. I would have called him as soon as I saw your post, but they have gotten to be a lighter brown since I wrote the post. Sorry...tmi.

Thanks for looking out for us newbies!

Mind posting what your doc says about the lighter poops? I will ask mine at my follow up, but I've been told by a few veteran DS folks that the lighter stools are to be expected, especially at first. It makes sense to me that with the drastic changes to our intestines that there would be changes to our stool.

No need to apologise about TMI out here :). We all live it, so it's cool. Your stool colors will change, however white is cause for concern, so don't forget to bring it up. Here's what I found on Mayo Clinic's site:

White stool isn't normal and should be evaluated promptly by a doctor. White stool is caused by a lack of bile, which may indicate a serious underlying problem.

Bile is a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Stool gets its normal brownish color from bile, which is excreted into the small intestine during the digestive process. If the liver doesn't produce bile or if bile is obstructed from leaving the liver, stool will be light colored or white.

Often the problem occurs in the tube (duct) that delivers the bile to the small intestine. This tube can be squeezed shut or blocked -- for example, by a tumor or a gallstone -- which prevents the bile from entering the small intestine. Liver diseases, such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, also can sometimes cause white stool. Now, yellow, orange and green on the other hand, are result of what you eat (likely vitamins).

So I saw my surgeon yesterday and I asked him about white stools. He said that he has heard of of that before from other DS-ers with the first stool or two post op. However, Val is right. It's not normal longterm. Mine transitioned to light yellow pretty quickly (or green if I take a lot of iron). They continue to be light in color but no longer white. And there you have it. You're dose of TMI for the day!