Quote:
Originally Posted by KiwiSteve
Hi, I've been told my op will be done around Xmas or early new year. I asked the surgeon for info regarding what, if any foods or drink are definite no no's after the op because I thought that, in order to make things easier on myself I'd start getting used to not having certain things now rather than having to put up with a whole bunch of sudden 'withdrawals' at once but he has said theres no need. This seems odd to me because the way I see it if I'm to suddenly going to have to avoid say, sugary things, white bread(as I've heard), red meat etc etc I am going to miss those things so I'd be better off getting used to it now because getting over the op is enough to deal with. So if anyone can tell me what things do not go well with the op I'd be gratefull. Now I have a rough idea when it's to be done I'm really looking forward to it. Steve
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Hello Steve!
Congratulations on a new life decision! I will be 4 weeks post op on Tuesday.
I will just give you the run down of what I have done so far, I hope it helps you with ideas and maybe with what to expect. Remember every Dr's method's are different! The Dr I work with suggests doing a all liquid diet for the 2 weeks before surgery. I didn't get a chance to do that I found a little less than 2 weeks before surgery what the date was. So I basically ate all the things I would never eat again. Don't get me wrong I wasn't eating boxes of anything but like I had the meals I loved that I knew I wouldn't get for a while or ever again. The day before surgery was complete liquid diet and no liquids after midnight. My surgery was at 1000 the next morning. It only lasted 2 hours, I had some scar tissue on my gallbladder so the Dr just removed it while he was in there. He said everything went great. For me I got up and moving around about an hour and a half after getting back from recovery. You want to avoid blood clots as much as possible so moving is the best way. I was up about every 3 hours after the first time, I did the same thing through the first night as well. I don't sleep well away from home, so I walked here and there. The next day I was about to drink some protein shake we are talking about 3 ounces and that was all day long. I had a hard time with the pain pills being whole so I had to break them in half and by the time I got to day 3 I was breaking them into 4's LOL I think my throat was just to dry and they kept getting stuck. My surgery was a Tuesday and I was off the pain pills by Saturday Morning. I had an IV in the hospital but on Wednesday it started leaking out so they had to remove it and just give me the pain pills. Our Dr requires you to take in 90g of protein a day. Of course it takes a bit to work yourself up to get it all in. I was able to do it by day 5, so don't think you have to get it all in right away. I was on a liquid diet for the first two weeks after surgery. We are all sent home with a feeding/drain tube that goes right into your old stomach. So if you were unable to stand the taste of the shake or unable to get your water in for the day you could just put it right into that tube. The Dr's most concern is that you stay hydrated that first 2 weeks. We are required to get at least 90g of protein and 8 glasses of water in each day. As for the liquid diet we were able to have beef broth, chicken broth, yogurt no sugar added no seeds or chunks I stayed with Vanilla no sugar added and sweetened with Splenda or artificial sweeteners. We could have sugar free popsicles, I found some sugar free frozen fruit bars so I thought at least I was getting some fruit in! I couldn't stand the taste of the broth so I would buy chicken noodle soup and just drain out everything but the broth of it and drink that. We could have sugar free pudding and jello as well as yogurt smoothies. I pretty much filled up on yogurt and chicken noodle soup broth. I could also have skim milk, tomato soup, and of course protein drinks. They recommended ProComplex because it's a very well balanced mix. They said to stay away from anything that had more than 3-4g of carbs and 2-3g of sugar. There is also a company called Smart Forme that has specially made things for Bypass patients. Their Hot Chocolate is good! It's 15g of protein per cup! Big things to remember no gulping and go extra slow! Take small sips wait between sips you will feel air coming out of your new stomach between drinks if you don't wait and go to fast you will get sick feeling. Ok once I was passed the first two weeks I had my check up and feeding/drain tube removed and was ok'd to start the soft/puree'd diet which can go from 2-4 weeks depending on how you are doing. That is what I am doing right now. The Dr said as for your meats as long as you cut them to a pencil eraser size and chew them to the point of paste you don't have to puree them. I can eat fish, chicken (is sometimes dry and hard going down), turkey, and beef tenderloin, also lean pork chops(any lean meats). Cottage Cheese, low fat cheeses, skim milk, yogurt, same things in the liquid part, I do eat some veggies like spinach, the Asparagus spears, baked red potatoes, mushrooms, and I stick with the sugar free fruit pops for fruit. I can have sugarfree no sugar added applesauce. Oh and you can have eggs just not hard boiled ones, refried beans and fat free mayonaise. I just make sure everything I eat is chewed past chewing lol... Also you need to take your time eating solids that air still tries to escape your stomach and it's a bit harder when you eat more solid foods. So go really slow tiny bites and give a minute or two between bites, it will allow the air to escape and your body time to feel full and not overfull. Once you feel full stop no matter what! Initially you will probably only get in an oz at a time eating small amounts every couple of hours. My Dr said during the initial start up don't worry so much about drinking while you eat the no drinking while eating is a long term rule. The fluids wash out your food faster and make you hungry sooner. He recommends drinking 15 min before and 1 1/2 to 2 hours after. If you try it right away you would never be able to get your water requirements in ever so he makes exception for that. I found that in the soft phase if I drink while I eat I get too full so I will wait till about 30 minutes after I eat to drink again.
From here I will go into what they call the progression diet. I have figured the best way to describe it is eating Low fat Low Carb and High protein forever. We were told stay away from Rice, Fresh baked breads, cakes, and bakery goods, hard boiled eggs, skins and seeds of fruit, some people have a hard time with the pulpy foods like sweet potatoes and the ends of asparagus and potato peels. All carbs must be eaten after all protein is met, then you can have veggies or fruit. Remember whole grain nothing white or refined. The top things to always remember are: Always eat your protein first at every meal if that is all you can get in thats fine. Always chew your food really well and take small bites. Never graze between meals. Stay away from breads, pastas, rice unless you eat whole wheat in small amounts occasionally. Remember Low Fat Low Carb High Protein! Make sure you get your water in as well! Don't drink while you eat in the long term. I don't know if I hit all the points or not but if you need anything at all just yell! I hope all this helps you out at least to see what I have been doing will maybe give you an idea of how you want to get ready for it all!
Melody
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