Things I have learned the hard way!

I learned yesterday and today I am not as young and invincible as I thought. My VSG was April 2, 2015, I am barely 2 and a half weeks post-op. I have tried to do too much thinking I felt great. I had convinced myself the surgery was not a big deal, it was lap. afterall. It is a big deal, 3/4 of my stomach was removed and major manipulations of the organs surrounding my stomach took place. Just because the bruises have mostly faded and the pain is movement related doesn't mean I can drive anyou where I want and be active as I was pre-op. I have been trying to eat too solid food too soon also. I'm not ready for all of that, there is a reason the doctors have time tables and guide lines for recovery! 

I don't consider my revelation a set back, I was moving too fast anyway. I am just glad I realized how much more recovery I need before I did any serious damage to my success and recovery. Any one considering vsg or a recent post-op needs to remember feeling good doesn't mean you are ready to rock and roll! 

As far as solid food is concerned, a helpful thing to keep in mind is what two surgeons told me:

Most leaks happen during the first four weeks after patients leave the hospital. 90% of the leaks are caused by patient non compliance.

That was enough to keep me from progressing food stages at an accelerated rate!

What you're going through is perfectly normal. I didn't start to feel better until I started solid foods 6 weeks after my surgery.

Reading that you're about 3 weeks out and are trying to eat solids is a bit concerning. I started soft solids (cheese, yogurts, eggs, etc.) 3 weeks after my surgery, and even then it was only about a teaspoon at a time, gradually increased to a tablespoon at about 5 weeks. I had a lot of trouble keeping even the tiniest amount down. Please make sure you follow the diet set forth by your doctor. Someone had the procedure done at the same hospital as me (not with my doctor) and tried eating Chinese food a couple weeks after surgery. It led to serious complications and she unfortunately passed away as a result.

Hang in there, you can do this! Wishing you the best of luck.

Thank you for that wonderful advice.  Having my surgery on Tuesday.  This was a real eye opener.

grandkids3

Keep us all posted! I hope everything goes well and that you have a speedy recovery.

This is good to know, I am having surgery in July and as a nurse, I was hoping to be back at work about a week later....

The eating and drinking schedule is enough to keep you off work.  Trying to get in 60+ protein grams daily and 64 oz of water is hard, especially when you consider your stomach is going to hold about 2 ounces at best. A couple teaspoons is good to get down. Just be patient and listen to the doctors, they have their policies for a reason.

The best advise I can give is to be patient with yourself and your recovery.  I was one of those who had a leak and I had followed my doctor's instructions TO THE LETTER, so I am proof that it can happen even if you DO NOT OVEREAT.  Give yourself a fighting chance for recovery and be good to yourself.  You are correct, we need to remember that we just had major surgery and our innards rearranged, that would be difficult for a person of normal weight.  You are smart that you identified your issue early and did not let it go.  Good for you and good luck, you are going to do just great.

Ellie

My Dr's diet advancement schedule is very conservative amd I was told why, which made me want to help obey. He said that the reason they do pureed for 6 whole weeks is because if you advance too soon your stomach has to work extra hard to break that too solid of food down and it stretches the sleeve out too early on and they found that it encourages the success in the long run to stick with the fluids and pureed for so long. So you may be sabotaging yourself and screwing your long term success by cheating. That was encouraging to me to be good lol. Good luck! 

The point of the post was I figured out I was trying to move too quickly and I needed to go back to pureed foods as well as take it easy because my whole body is recovering from surgery not just my stomach. I wanted to warn others that feeling good doesn't equate to being healed. I've had less rumbling in my tummy and quieter bowels since I went back to the soft foods for another week or so. Not only is the texture important, the amount is important also, so I measure, measure and remeasure!