2 1/2 week Post Op Check Up....Trial and Error

Well I went in for my 2 ½ week post ops check up. Apparently I missed the boat and have been eating wrong and too much. I found out having 15 bowel movements a day is not normal and apparently I’ve been dumping for the past couple of weeks and didn’t even know it. You can only imagine what my rear end feels like…ouch! I was originally told to eat until I felt full….the problem, I have no feelings of hunger or fullness. I’ve been eating shredded turkey/gravy 4-6 ounces, Salisbury steak 4-6 ounces, and 6 ounces of yogurt at a time…thinking eating wet meat was a good time, didn’t know those few carbs would affect me the way they did in addition to the dairy from the yogurt.  I was told I should only be eating 1-2 ounces. Yikes…..hope I didn’t hurt myself. SO…..I invested in a food scale, best $4 I could have spent. Wow, I can see what I difference I should be eating…2 ounces is not much but its fine. I also bought some grilled fish fillets to try out, low carbs, etc. Easy enough…each fillet is 4 ounces so easy math, I can eat half. (Granted I had to call my mother in law to find out how to bake fish). I normally hate fish, but actually enjoyed it. So, I’m back on track, just hope I didn’t do any damage in the mean time. I feel good and still have some weight loss, hopefully now the weight will come off a bit quicker. Blood Sugars have been now in the low 100s which is fantastic. I see the shrink tomorrow, hopefully that will help with some of these weird emotions I have been having and plan to attend my first support group since surgery in a couple of weeks. I really am running out of options of what to eat and hate pureed foods, any advice on how to get in more protein? The shakes are terrible. Is there a flavorless protein I can sprinkle on stuff that is decent?

Your doc's office did not send you home any info on what to eat or not eat the first few weeks or months?  You did not feel any pain either in your pouch or behind the breastbone?

Turkey and gravey and salisbury steak is covered in gravy that can give you the squirts.  Future reference get gravy, salad dressing and the like on the side.  Hope you did not hurt your surgeon's handy work by over taxing your pouch.  

Now that you are back on track stay there!  Going to the shrink is a good thing too.  The WLS journey not only puts you on a physical roller coaster but a major mental one as well. 
 

 Do what Don said and also practice Mindful Eating.   That is chew each bite until it is the consistancy of mush, put down the fork between bites, don't drink any liquid 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after your meal and you should do fine and start to feel full.  Your meal should take you no less than 30 minutes at this point in time.  If you spread that 1-2 ounces out for that period of time you WILL feel full.    As for shakes to supplement the protein I love the EAS Myoplex Lite (Chocolate is my favorite).  I keep these stocked in the fridge and with me in a cooler whenever I travel or go anywhere where I am unsure of the food situation.  Good luck and don't forget your supplements...  They are equally as important.

They did send me home with a booklet on what I can and cannot eat in addition to classes. I “thought" I knew it all.  I guess what screwed me up a bit, it says to use fat free gravy to moisten meat just be careful of carbs, so I assume a little would be ok. When I complained of the pureed food, I hated it; she suggested lunch meats, cottage cheese, yogurts and emphasize the small bites of “wet meat". I guess at my 1 week post op appt I was told to stop eating when I felt full….I guess after that I “forgot" or disregarded amounts and was waiting for that “Full" feeling that never seemed to come. I just ate slow and soft foods.  Yogurt sure goes in easy and I could pick at that 6 ounce container over a period of ½ hour. No I felt no pain at all overeating, I feel no hunger, and I feel no sense of fullness. SO, I assumed everything was ok. Dumping was explained to me, but I had no symptoms that were described to me and the non-stop diarrhea I assumed was just normal and never once associated it with dumping until the surgeon said so.  Nothing seems to be going or feels like the texted book says. Granted, I literally only ate 4 ounces of fish yesterday and I still have the non-stop diarrhea. How can I have anything left in me? Even during my days of “overeating"….it was still not THAT large of amounts….even at the highest, maybe 12 ounces in a day….how can I crap what seems like 10 pounds a day??? It’s not like I ate 6 ounces at every meal….some were only a few spoonfuls of cottage cheese.  I definitely feel dehydrated but am sipping the H2O non-stop and I’m at least drinking twice that is recommended, and yes sipping. Actually I take that back about pain…..if I drink too fast or take a gulp, yes THAT I feel, hurts like hell and get major heart burn feeling. SO I learned the hard way just to sip.  I even stopped drinking the decaf coffee and anything with artificial sweeteners…will stick to jus****er and 2 ounce servings of fish for the next few days. I’m also dropping everything associated with diary (cheese, yogurts, etc) for a while. I’m taking all the vitamins. Energy level is low, but luckily off work for another 3 ½ weeks so I can sleep whenever I want. Overall though, this entire process is not as bad as I thought it would be…..a few whines from me here and there, but overall, just not as terrible as I was anticipating. Thanks for letting me rant guys and for the advice, it’s greatly appreciated. I woke up today and weighed 286….wow, amazing! I scheduled an appointment with the personal trainer from the bariatric center, maybe once I’m working out again (it’s been years) energy level will boost! I do love my walks and up to 3 miles. Granted I just need a long nap afterwards!

We haven't mentioned this in awhile, but stored in your fat cells are different hormones.  Including in these hormones is estrogen...Yes estrogen.  During rapid weightloss it gets released.  Men who have never been really emotional before all of a sudden become unhinged...actual PMS.  We are not use to this...We have no idea why our emotions are flying all over the place..."The world is falling apart!!"  After a while it becomes easier, but that may very well be the problem.  Exercise for me is a real stress reliever...Get those endorphins working for you.
Meat can be hard to digest early on.  Beef is harder than chicken, tuna, or turkey.  Wild meat, pork, and lamb can be even harder.  Boring simple stuff to begin with...

 

What an excellent point about the hormones being released. Wonder if I can use that as an excuse for awhile should I act like a crabby jerk at home! J Went for a 3 miles walk today with my dog and five year old daughter, I love going for long walks with my children and just talking, something I have missed for such a long time…..exercise sure does make a difference and what a relief that I can actually walk without my back and everything else hurting me. I love getting more active and spending more “active" time with my family…..guess this is what this was all for and is all about…living again! The less food intake and measuring/weighing my food has sure made a huge difference and boy am I a bad judge of portions….I guess the food scale will be my new best friend for awhile. I’m so grateful that I didn’t crap 15 times today! My 2 weeks of dumping is over…yea! My wardrobe is quickly expanding….been pulling out old clothes that I have not worn in years. Best feeling ever….destroying one of my fat shirts….just because…..hated that shirt but for awhile there this summer, was one of the few that actually fit.   One thing I have noticed lately, minor really…..but I really get the chills. This is from a guy that can sweat when its 10 degrees outside…..now I’m sleeping with a ho****er bottle and bundled up….I just have a hard time warming up. I suppose a lot is going on inside my body and this will pass eventually?

Mike take responsibility for what you put in your body.  First step is to READ EVERY FOOD LABEL.

Thanks Robert, yes I have learned that the hard way...definately a label reader, afraid to eat any carbs for the time being.