I DID IT!

Hey OH Family, Just wanted to let you all know that my surgery happened last Friday and I'm home now. I was so glad to come home! The bed at the Hospital was so uncomfortable and the nurses kept coming in every 2 hours, so I didn't feel like I was getting much rest. They gave me some protien drink to take home. It's called BOOST. Yeah, it boosted me all right....right to the bathroom! lol-Before I left the Hospital, I asked them about the sugar content cause it had like 16 grams of sugar in it for 8 oz.s and they said, they give it to everyone and others haven't had any problems with it.... uhhhh, well I did! So, for now on, I will make my own judgements on what I eat or drink. Other than that.... I'm a bit sore and tired but I know this will pass. My insicions look great. Dr. Jan said that my surgery was the quickest one he's ever done. He said it was because I followed the liquid diet like I was supposed to and it made it easy for him to operate. This made me feel so good because that liquid diet was hard to do! Anyhoots, I just wanted to stop by and let you all know that 'I'm doing well'. Oh yeah, Jeremiah Tyler was there too and he is doing well and looks great! He was very nice to talk to while I was there. Good job Jeremiah, I am sooooo proud of you! Keep in touch! Take care. ~Melody~

Glad to hear you are doing well! And it'll keep getting better. As for Boost.....those dumbasses should have never given that to you! Some people can't even tolerate 2 grams of sugar, let alone 16. They should have known better! I wonder if they forgot you should have little to no sugar intake and just won't fess up. My SO surprised me w/a Jamba Juice quite awhile ago and I didn't think anything of it....started drinking away. Then I started feeling really bad. Once I looked it up online, it was 78 grams of sugar....just about did me in! I've figured out my limit is about 20 grams, but everyone has different levels of tolerance for everything....fat, sugar, etc. I've always just been on the cautious side of everything and figured it out very slowly. Best of luck to you! Michele

Yeah! Dumbasses is what I say too! My DH and I are still trying to figure out their post-op program. Like, when I was there, they gave me; Grape Juice! =I didn't touch this. Apple Juice! =I didn't touch this either. Cottage Cheese= Pureed! I thought this is second stage? I did eat like a 1/2 tsp. Apple Sauce= Sweetened! I did put a dab on my tongue to see if it was sweetened. Milk= I'm not sure what %. I wouldn't touch it! Boost= We already figured this one out! The hard way And they had like 3 of these things on a tray, each meal, with a note that said.... "it should take you 4 hours to consume these items". On the white board in my room it said 2nd day 2nd stage food. My DH said, but that is pureed food, why would they be giving you that? I asked, and they said, this is what all of our patients get. The RN kept coming in to see what I had eaten off of the tray so she could write it down... I just kept telling her that nothing sounds good but SF Jello and water and besides, all of these things have way too much sugar in them. She said, "but they are all watered down!" I don't care... I am not taking any chances! I thought for sure that we are supposed to continue on a liquid diet (not clear) for two more weeks after surgery? I'm all confused but I told my DH that I was going to stay on liquids. I can barely keep them down as it is anyways. I am consuming 1 0z. at a time of Chrystal Light or soup or jello. I don't feel hungry at all. I tried the protien shake with unsweetened soy milk but right now it feels too heavy for my stomach. Anyways, I think that Good Sams needs to review their menu for new post ops! Thanks for your reply and I'm sorry for all the *****in'. I'm just in disbelief I guess. 250- goal 125/130 ~Melody~

Congrats Melody......fellow Oregon Clinic mate! Hang on because you are in for the ride of your life!!!! All in a good way If you ever have any questions feel free to ask me! Hope to maybe meet you at a get together! Take care, This is such a wonderful gift and you are such a pretty girl, the results will be well worth all the yucky things right now! Hang in there! Hugs, Nadine

Thank you Nadine. You are a very sweet. I am 10 days post op now and my family say's that they are already noticing a difference and can see that I'm losing. This of course makes me feel good! I can't really see a difference except for maybe in my face a little bit....wi**** was my butt that was losin'! lol Yesterday my DH had to take me back to the Hospital because I was in a lot of pain. It's been bothering me since surgery but was hoping it would get better. Found out that I have a torn muscle on my left side of my stomach where they blew the air in there to provide more room to operate. Man, it hurts so bad and coughing is a major killer! It's going to be a while before it heals the doc said. Yeah, it would be nice if a bunch of us could get together sometime. Maybe before the big holiday**** us? Anyhoo...take care and thanks for the nice post Keep in touch! ~Melody~

Hi Melody, Congrats on your surgery going well and keeping to the liquid diet even though the hospital menu was of no help. Before I got to the part that said which hospital it was, I thought to myself, that sounds EXACTLY like my menu last week! Sure enough...Good Sam! I did mostly the same as you did; never drank the grape or apple juices, barely tasted the apple sauce, never drank the milk (mine did have 2% written on the lid). I was shocked at the portions. They seemed huge! I also got Boost and did mix a bit of it with my crushed meds. Fortunately, that didn't bother me. I only got Boost twice and I was in for 3 nights due to a minor concern on my doctor's part. Usually I got a protein drink that was in a green box and was for WLS post-ops. I didn't see the name as I never wore my reading glasses and the writing was small. It came in several flavors, but my favorite was Caramel because it mixed really well with my bitter pills and made them go down much easier. I take 6 non-chewable pills twice a day, plus pain meds right now which are slowly tapering down. I'm so sick of the drinking bitter meds! I need to get some Carb Countdown tomorrow!

Good Morning Darla! So glad to see you are doing so good! Who was your Surgeon? Mine was Dr. Jay Jan. He's a pretty nice guy. Yeah, the menu at the Hospital was wacked! Glad you didn't get sick on any of it. Your tapering off of the meds? That is so great! Congratulation on your surgery and your good health! Take care and have a great Holiday. Keep us updated! ~Melody~

I don't recall seeing you here before Darla - welcome! Definitely get some of the Carb Countdown milk. It was a lifesaver for me. Especially the chocolate! Dina

Hi Dina, Yep, I'm a newbie to the board. Thanks for the welcome! Great minds and all that, heehee...I got Carb Countdown Chocolate today and boy did my pills taste 100% better! Since I got home from Portland on Saturday, I had been taking all my meds with either Crystal Light or Nectar which are both water base and thin. I needed the thickness and richness of the Carb Countdown to cut the bitterness. I'm 5 days post-op and feeling better each day, but have pretty intense pain near the 2 incisions on my left side. My doctor (Emma Patterson) said that one of those is the one the stapler went through and the muscles were cut and then stapled, so the pain is not unexpected. At this point, I really wish we hadn't given our nice recliner away in 2001 because sleeping has been a real hassle! I REALLY hate sleeping in my bed right now and have tried all the other options in the house. It's not the actual sleeping I hate, it's the pain I feel when I get in and out. I actually did get 8 hours of sleep (longest since pre-surgery) last night so I am feeling rested for the first time in almost a week. *~*Darla*~*

What is Carb Countdown milk, Dina? Thank you for the friendly advice on the eating of soft foods.....