Newbie With What Else-- Echo Questions

Hi everyone,
I posted in January,and you all gave advice to read and learn.   i've continued to lurk often, and last night I almost came out of the lurker's closet, but OH ate three of my posts. Thanks to punchynerd who saw one of my posts and responded.  I still can't find that thread!  

Anyway, you're all wonderful, and I'm sitting here giving you a standing ovation. ; )   By next Tuesday, I will have finished all my pre-tests, and hope to be on my way to a Feb RNY that is already tentatively scheduled.

Here are my 3 echo questions (you know, questions you don't hear just once, but that  come back regularly, over and over and over again):

1. The BIG (bad, not good) C. After taking pain meds for a broken foot six weeks ago, Mr. Constipation visited me for the first time.  At first I thought I would die, then I was afraid I wouldn't. Thank God for my compassionate husband who came home from work to wield multiple Fleet bottles. I won't go into further details, please insert your own imagined mortifying details, they certainly cannot be as bad as the reality. And remember to imagine the event with the broken foot that can't tolerate bearing weight. So...what must I do to absolutely avoid post-surgery visits from Big Bad Mr. C?  (We will speak glowingly of vivacious Mrs. C another time! )
 
2.  My surgeon requires a liquid diet the week before surgery -- for me, not him.   Someone gifted me choc and van Unjury protein powder, as well as some Fuzzy Navel stuff.  How do I use this powder stuff, what else should I get for the liquid diet week, and PLEASE tell me how to do a week on liquids when I can't seem to make it through mid-afternoon without some type of dietary porn star. 

3.  I hurt easy and I don't suffer well, and I am terrified of the first few post-surgery weeks. To help me find ways to calm my fears, can you offer me one or two of your thoughts, or mantras as punchynerd called them, that helped you through the I-can't-eat-my-feelings pain?  

Many thanks for a year of education.
RaggetyAnn (as in "I'm just a RaggetyAnn in a Barbie Doll world.")

You must be getting so excited about your new journey!! Glad you are no longer lurking...

1. Here are a few things I have been doing to stave off the big bad C. I now take colace. I didn't before and hesitated but to be honest...it works. Period. So, I take my morning batch of vitamins and take 1 colace. I add benefiber powder in my coffee in the morning. And throughout the day I take a few chewable benefiber wafers. Also, I have added papaya chewables and seems to help with gas and regularity. Remember to up your liquids like water, etc. Dehydration leads to bad C. Oh and one more thing I do regularly...pun intended...is to drink hot lemon water. Google it...I am a believer...it works. I do it nightly!! 

2.  You can mix your protein powder with water or milk. Get lots of broths and sf jello. SF pops also helped me. I was on for 2 weeks...

3.  If it weren't for the drains and scars, and the affects of the anesthesia I would not have known any difference. No pain. Just fatigue. As for the "I can't eat my feelings pain"...well, I my mantra lately has been why eat to cover feelings over things that I cannot control. Translation....I cannot solve what I cannot control and food certainly will not help either. So, keep your eyes on the prize. Also, there is this story I have shared before about being the driver of my own bus in my own journey. When head hunger lingers and tries to win...I think "who's driving the bus...it or me??"!!! 

So there it is and I am so excited for you!!! 

Hi RaggetyAnn and welcome back.

1.  This is a problem I've had since after surgery.  I use 2 stool softners(Walmart brand Colace) every day.  I also use 1 tbls of Miralax(Walmart brand) every morning in my Fuzzy navel protein drink.  When all else fails occassionally I have to use a suppository.  Just try not to let it go too long before you take something for it.  Once you find the right combination for you, it is not as bad.

2.  I had to do 2 weeks of liquids with 1 lite meal a day.  I used the Bariatric Advantage Chocolate and Vanilla(this was what my surgeon wanted us to use).  I mixed them with water to begin with and couldn't stomach it.  I switched to fat free milk and mixed it in a magic bullet with some ice and it was like a milk shake.  You can probably add fruit to it also.  I love the Fuzzy navel and mix it in 20 ozs of water with a stick of the Crystal Lite Early rise orange drink, mix really good and then I add ice to it and shake some more - I use a blender bottle for this.  You can get them at GNC or other vitamin stores.  They have a metal ball in them that help mix it better.

3.  I walked as much as I could prior to surgery to try and get in the best shape I could.  I think it helped me.  The eating right after surgery was not a problem for me.  I didn't want anything and had to just eat on a schedule.  It is a lot harder now because the further out you get the more you can eat and test the waters which is not a good thing sometimes.

God luck and keep us posted.

Linda

Welcome back, RaggetyAnn.

1) When I had my hysti I was told to take stool softeners to help with constipation. I really don't know too much about preventing it because I don't have it but I'm sure some folks will chime in who can help.

2) Just do the best you can with the liquid diet. If you have to eat something, make it low carb and of moderate amount.

3) I walked a lot and kept meticulous notes of everything I ate (protein, calories, carbs, etc), medicated, drank, weighed, measured and put out. LOL  I have a 3 inch binder of daily diary pages full of this stuff. Definitely a distraction.

Good luck!

--gina
 

1.  Most of my adult life I have tended towards constipation.  I started benefiber while I was on my liquid diet, knowing there was no fiber in it.  So far, that has been enough to keep me regular.  I think the important thing is to stay on top of it and don't let it get too bad before you use MOM or whatever.

2.  We had to do 4 weeks of optifast, 5 shakes, one small meal a day.  My Dr was very specific about it being optifast.  Do you have specific requirements or just "liquid diet"?  When we were on it, we could have celery and cucumbers free choice.  I would think no matter what, those would be good choices if you have to nibble.

3.  I was sore in the hospital but had drugs there.  Once home, I really wasn't terribly uncomfortable.  I did some of my pain meds to help me sleep better but it really isn't awful.  Getting up and moving is the best thing you can do to help with the gas pains you may have (not everyone does, I didn't).  Gas-x helps a lot of folks.  And getting in the best shape you can before surgery helps also. 

You will do fine but it is great that you are planning ahead so you can calm your fears.

You got some great advice here so Im going to skip the advice and just tell you that your post made me smile.  I love people with a good (and warped) sense of hunor. I hope you stick around and post more often.   Cindy