New Member in Need of Help! - ThinnerTimes

Lyrikah · 01-30-2005, 09:18 PM

[font=Lucida Console][size=5][color=Plum] I'm a new member to this group. Even though I know a couple of people in my "offline" life that have had surgery, I figured a bigger forum would help w/my questions & any issues I may have.

I had the lap surgery on 1/6/05. My 1st 2wks home I did the liquid phase absolutely fine. I'd say I wanted food, but the craving wasnt there. I was content drinking liquids & slurping on my yogurt.

3wks has hit & now I'm in a craving phase. I want this I want that. I know I'm supposed to be eatin pureed food, but I couldnt bring myself to bring out my mini chopper. So instead if I ate anything, I'd chew & chew & chew & chew til my mouth got tired then would swallow. Some things this worked fine on, some it didnt.

Last nite was the kicker tho. My cousin had a bday party & my old self kinda took over

. Instead of drinking my usual mixed drinks, & instead of drinking juice or water like i should've, I had red wine. It took me an hr just to get half of the glass & that was filled w/ice (*I know I know..what the hell am I doing drinkin..*). Then on top of that. .with all of the delicious food, I took lil bits of this & that & tried to eat. I think i took a nibble of macaroni & some lean poork & called it a day. 20min later I was in the bathroom "dumping" (this is my 1st episode doing this). I know with the drinking & the food & not waiting the 1/2 b4 & after all contributed to this, but I'm feeling so weak now. I dont know if I should just stay to liquids til I get to the "regular" eating phase or what. Pureed food looks absolutely horrible to me (I pureed some food 2nite...tasted the same but the visual was oh so unappealing). I'm at a loss here. My next Dr's appt is on 2/1 so I'm going to tell my Dr & of course hear the consequences of my dirty duties.

Can anyone help me with suggestions? I'm getting my mind back on track, but as for food.. what to do, when can I start eating "regular" Should I do puree or just stick to liquids (broth, yogurt, etc)? When is the "correct" time to once in a blue moon have a drink? How soon can I start going to the gym?

Help is appreciated & I apologize in advance b/c I know ppl ask these types of things everyday & it's probably repetetive.

Dara · 01-30-2005, 10:20 PM

Lyrikah:

Welcome to our forum. You can always feel free to ask questions. Those of us who have been through GBS and weight loss will try to answer your questions and give you our opinion. If we don't know the answer, we'll also tell you that we don't.

You didn't say if you live in San Diego and if you're a patient of Dr. Callery or Dr. Potts. I can only tell you what I know from Dr. Callery's protocols for two to six weeks post-op. If you're not one of his patients, you should definitely also check with your own surgeon and follow his/her post-op protocols.

As far as Dr. Callery's protocols, he recommends that patients eat puréed and very soft foods. Try very soft beans and peas. You don't have to necessarily purée them, but they need to be very well cooked. Soft-cooked eggs are good. I'm not sure if you like liverwurst, branschweiger or deviled ham, but meat spreads are good...maybe on nonfat, low-sodium crackers. Peanut butter is another good choice. Soft baby shrimp are acceptable, maybe with some mild cocktail sauce. Mild, soft fish is okay, but you should be careful with tuna...some people can't tolerate it that early. Soups are wonderful--some of the post-ops have mentioned straining won ton soup. Of course, cottage cheese is great. I ate lite peach slices with my cottage cheese, after I rinsed all the syrup off.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't have pulverize your food until it looks like barf. There are food options there.

As far as alcohol advice, hmmm....I don't really have any great advice for you. I've never been a real "drinker." Before surgery, I used to have a margarita or a couple of Bailey's Irish Creams occasionally. Post-operatively, I had two Bailey's on an empty stomach while in Las Vegas and I dumped BIG TIME...only the second time I've officially dumped in nine months. It was horrible...sweating, palpitations, and feeling really ill. I finally went to my room and slept it off. My last comment about alcohol would be that it is basically empty calories. I've counted all my alcoholic drinks in my daily caloric intake and they cost a lot! There are other people on this forum who can give you much better advice about alcohol.

I can't remember much about when to return to the gym. My first choice was to start walking post-operatively, so I didn't really pay attention to the gym restrictions. I'm sure some of the other forum members can also help you on that one.

This surgery is life-altering, but we must also alter our life. As Dr. Callery has reminded us...he operated on our stomach, not our head. He gave us one tool. We have to fashion the other from our head. This is a big learning process. I've learned that my head is sometimes my worst enemy. If your goal is to truly change your life and your lifestyle, then you will. Good luck!

watergirl · 01-31-2005, 09:02 AM

Dara said it all.

Check with your doctor about food. I would like to suggest two soups that got me through it - strained wonton and egg drop soup! These tasted different from everything else, so I felt like I was getting some variety in an otherwise dull and boring food stage.

Welcome to the forum, we're here for you!

bridgetgirl · 01-31-2005, 10:47 AM

There is abook called OVERCOMING OVEREATING and it helped me immensly. I was having struggles with head hunger vs. actual hunger as well. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Also if you feel as though food is always going to a battle for you, I suggest you try to join overeaters anyonymous, if your schedule will allow it. I went to meeting once and felt very comfortable there, however my mom was in town and I was able to have a babysitter to attend..... at this time Im leaning on the good folks here for support.

Your not alone, we will always have this struggle with food because unlike other addictions to things like alcohol or drugs, we have to live with food. We cannot rid ourt homes or offices of it... we just need to LEARN how to live with it, and make the right choices. Get back into the routine set fourth by your surgeon and start practiting good habits now! Good luck sugar pea!