Home from the hospital - 4 days out and doing ok

I'm so happy to be done with this and home!  I was at Kaiser Sunnyside with Dr. Leger.  Had surgery Wednesday afternoon and was home Friday night without any dressing on the open incision!  I was kind of surprised by that - still am! I had trouble swollowing pain pills and now it's better since I got the meds in liquid.  They want me to drink nothing but Carnation Instant Breakfast and after 31/2 days, I couldn't do it anymore.  I had bought a sample pack from Bariatriceating.com, so I tried the fuzzy navel with water and ice and it was just fine - nice that it wasn't so terribly sweet.  Then I tried tomato soup this evening - went just fine and I'm full.  It was great to finally have something that was not sweet at all.  So far, so good.  so I think I will continue down the road trying different protein things - while trying to still stay away from dairy.  I would love some other suggestions! My incision and whole belly iches and is very sensitive.  I'm also not sleeping more than about 1 1/2 hours at a time at night - is this normal?  I'm getting everything in I'm supposed to and taking my temp every day - all seems fine, but man, I am exhausted. Would love any advice you might have - favorite protein with water sources and where in the Portland area you have found them....?  Thanks in advance!

Hi, Congrats on your surgery!!! Looks like you are doing great.  I liked the protein bullets when I was a new post-op. They advertise them on this web-site. I know there is more than one brand. I ordered  mine on-line at bariatriceating.com, but you could call your local health food or nutrition stores to see if they carry any. They are also popular with weight lifters. They come in a few different flavors. Try them to see which one you like best. I liked the fruit punch the best, there was also orange, and grape. Sometimes I would drink them straight over ice tjis way I could get the whole 3 oz. in. Other times I would dilute them with @ 8 oz. of water and sip on them. I liked the diluted flavor better, but if I wanted to get it in quicker I wouldn't dilute it. Try it both ways and see what you like best. I hope this might help! Take care of yourself and sip, sip, sip, sip LOL Christina 

Glad to see that you're home and recovering nicely! "My incision and whole belly iches and is very sensitive." Looks like you could use some kind of anti-itching cream.  Call your surgeon's office and ask for a prescription or a recommendation of an over-the-counter one.

Congrats on joining the loser's bench.  :) My RNY was done lap, but my hysterectomy (1.5 yrs ago) was done open.  My surgeon did not want the incision covered either.  And it did begin to itch a few days after surgery but it continued to look okay (not infected or opening)  so I took the itching as a sign of healing.  I think anytime a procedure is done 'open' it's pretty taxing on the body.   And my sleeping patterns were definately messed up after (hyst) surgery due to the major pain meds I was on and the fact I slept alot after taking them.  Before RNY I loved the sweet protein drinks.    However, after RNY my tastes changed and the sweetness drove me crazy...still does but I drink them anyway or have a protein bar instead.  I had a lot of soup at first too...actually looked forward to it for the salt.  Here are my current favorites for liquid protein....  * EAS Carb Control.  Ready to drink chocolate flavor. This has dairy though.   I pour it into coffee.   (Fred Meyers).     * Isopure Zero Carb ready to drink bottles.  All are fruit flavors and can be mixed with water to tone down taste or sweetness.   (GNC).    * Matrix protein powder.  I mix it into coffee.  (bariatriceating.com)     

congrats on you surgery and new journey keep it up tomato soup is fine its the nectar of the gods in first few weeks protien,and  water are a must just like in hospital drink milk and protien drinks your bodys gonna change trust me, "but you can do it" just move alot then try short walks read alot and keep focus on the great change coach

The itching gets better, drove me nutty for a couple days. V8 is great.  It gets better I swear. I am 2 weeks out and already feel so much better.

Congrats on making it through to the other side!  Since I had lap band I can't offer too much advice but I've tried the flavorless protein powder (add it to soups and such) from Trader Joe's.  GNC and Fred Meyers have some decent (not necessarily the best) protein drinks so you could check the out as well as Whole Foods and Wild Oats... Lori

My favorite protein to mix with water is Designer Whey Pomegranate Fruit.  You can get it at GNC.  Have you been walking alot to get the gas out of your body?  Do they put gas in you if you have an open procedure?  Anyway,  I hope eventually you'll be able to get more sleep.  It really helps you to heal. Linda