update and questions for other post ops

ok I am now roughly 4 weeks out post op. and though I can still eat very little I am fast approaching my limit on pureed food. I am sure I will be able to stick with it for 2 more weeks but it sure would be nice totry some real food for a change. I am a bit worried how I will react to real food as even now some pureed foods and soups dont agree with me. its not that I get nauseaus they just dont feel right so I stop eating them. The only thing so far that has really caused me any pain was when I tried a bit of tuna salad. went back to liquids after that event for 2 days. nothing has caused me to be sick , but a few things have caused some severe pain that lasted for 4 to 6 hours. So , I am curious as to what foods you post ops tried first when you could do real food? I still find it very difficult to get in enough protein a day, I manage one good double scoop shake in the mornings but it usually takes me a good hour to consume it and by then I am good till lunch or later. If anything the shake is over filling to me. I have tried eating before the shake but then I cant complete the entire shake . I manage to get in another half cup of chili or soup at lunch and again at dinner with some applesauce later on in the evening. but the sop and chili at half a serviing would barely be 9 g of protein. with the shake at roughly 39 g that balances out to only 56 g of protein a day ; a far cry from the 80 g I am supposed to get in. I also supplement it by drinking abot two cups of low fat chocolate milk for another 9 g of protein. I really like the chocolate milk and although it is not skim millk it is 1% with only 2.5g of fat. I figure I am taking in around 600 calories a day or less even with the shake and the chocolate milk. I should probably add another shake in the evening but then I would have to give up the soup of chili just to be able to get it all in. we wont even go to the water issue as if I get in 20 to 30 oz a day I would be very lucky. I try to drink as much water as I can but it never seems to be enough. Someone tell me this will improve with time! At my first post op Dr. visit I was down 33 pounds though if you had asked me I would have said I was not down anything at all. My next visit is not until 6 weeks out. I will be more interested to see what I am down then. I did make a visit to my pcp per my surgeons advice for a B12 shot which I will continue with once a month, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that I could actually weigh in now on his regular scale. for the past three years his scales would not go as high as my weight and we just sort of said not to bother weighing in. As far as how I feel after surgery, I am doing very well, no nausea, no real pain unless I eat too fast . My only real concern is my lack of energy after 6 PM. I do well up until around 6 then my energy seems to run out completely. I Know I am missing caffein and sugar to sustain me which is what I always used before. I have been considering adding some caffein back into my diet in some tea or something. I am sure my dietician , the protein nazi, will have a cow when I tell her this. Today was my first real day where I just did not feel up to par, I skipped my protein drink yesterday and figure this was the reason, at around 2.00 I conked out and went to bed for three hours. I dont nap so this was highly unusual for me. So post ops, here are my questions, when did you first try real solid food ? what solid food did you try at first? does skipping the protein shake deplete energy as well ? I did substitute more meals yesterday but know I was very low on the protein. and do you find yourself asking ok I can have this applesauce but what good does it do for me? I find myself asking that what good will it do me question all the time, then I just avoid eating the thing, which I presume is not a good way to go. lately if it doesnt have protein in it I am less likely to even make the attempt to eat it. and what vitamin are you taking? I started with the one a day things, they were of course all horse pills, then switched ot the ones sold at bariatric eating.com. but those require you to take 8 a day, I think the one a day even if bigger and harder to swallow is bettter. Just a bit curious as to how much we can absorb taking only one a day. ok enough rambling for now. I plan on returning to work next monday. wish me luck. my boss of course thinks I should have been out only for three days or so.

Hi Joe, it's great to hear from you. Losing 33 lbs so far is good. I just don't know it I would want to eat pureed chili. Doesn't sound appealing to me. The nutrionist told me that if I can at least get in 60 grams of protein during the 6 weeks, that would be ok. You have to remember, your body has been thru a major tramua. It requires rest even during the day. By resting your body will heal, and give you the energy you need. Best of luck going back to work. I wish good things for you. Hugs, Kathy

hi joe glad that u r doing ok and congrats on the 33pds but im with kathy the chili purred dont sound that great take it easy and dont push ur self to much and take care hugs kristie

Joe, You and i are just about the same place as post-ops. I went back Friday which was exactly 1 month post-op, or 4 weeks and 3 days, for me and had lost 35lbs. However, I have noticed a big change in clothes I can get into now. I started eating solids every early on due to my nausea and haven't had to drink the protein as it goes through my tube. I do well with everything I have tried with the exception of tune which almost killed me, so I haven't tried again. I do, however, do real well with chicken breast from the can with a lil lite miracle whip added for moisture. Other things I have done well with are refried beans and cheese, shrimp sauteed in some garlic with sliced steamed zucchini. I have had cottage cheese a couple times but don't find I have the love affair with it I had prior to surgery. String cheese also works; it has 8gr of protein in a stick and one stick fills me up. I still have my tube in and am taking one can of nutrition versus 4 cans/day now. As for drinking, I suck at it. I am lucky to get 16oz/day in, so I put the rest per tube. Dr. Wright said if I am still tube dependent in 3 weeks when I return, we are going to seriously discuss doing the scope to see if something is wrong or if I'm just some weirdo who is easily made nauseous. Hope all this helps and congrats on the weight loss; you are ding great. I, too, am returning to work Monday and am a little concerned cause I still get tired easily, but noone has checked my B-12 level to see if I need a shot, so guess we'll see. Kelly

Hi Joe, congrats on your weight loss !!! It all get's better as you go along, even if it doesn't seem like it !! I had problems with protein and still can't eat enough so I use the protein powder. I mix Unjury with water so it counts as both water and protein 20 grams in 8oz of water. the Choc is ok and I even put it in sugar-free hot choc in the morning. I felt really weak at 4wks out till I started getting 3 protein drinks a day and it really helped. I found a vitamin at QVC multi vit that is smaller than an M&M and my doctor said it was ok and to take two ( got tired of Flistone Chewables) I had my labs done about 2wks ago and everything was good. At 4wks my diet was only high protein foods, at 6wks my doctor let me start with some cooked veggies and fruit. Good luck !! HAPPYTHANKSGIVING Linda

Joe, I do the 100% whey protein shakes from GNC. You buy a big bottle of powder and mix one scoop with about 2 oz of water and then you drink it down. It's 20 grams of proteing and it's 130 calories. I do three per day and that gives me 60 grams of protein. I fill in the other 15 grams with food. When I first started out with more solid stuff I stuck with tuna and cottage cheese. Also, I found toast to be easily digested. I didn't do well with bread that wasn't toasted for a long time. I do the centrum adult chewable vitamins once a day and then take the B12 tablet once a day also. I also do calcium chews, two per day. I buy the calcium and the B12 at the GNC. I will be honest, I'm not always compliant with the vitamins like I should be and the weight loss is now lower than it was before. I only lose about 3 lbs per week and before I was losing 5-6 lbs per week. I know it's probably my own fault. Right now I eat almost anything I want as long as it's low sugar. I don't like the dizziness I get with the high sugar content foods, so I avoid them. I have lost over 70lbs in 4 1/2 months, and I get compliments daily. I love the way I feel and the way I look. Best of luck to you Anne