WARNING TO PRE-OPS AND NEW POST-OPS

[Guest guest]

Thanks ... I wondered if eating too much, too soon, would cause a leak.

Now I know. Thanks again..

Deb in IL

[Guest guest]

I for one will follow all rules when my turn comes to have the surgery.

Thanks for sending this post out . I am praying for this person as well

as all others.

in SC

Pre-op

386 lbs.

Waiting on ins. approval

If you see someone without a smile,

Give them one of yours.

If you and I should meet and

You forget me, you have lost nothing.

If you meet JESUS and you forget him,

you will have lost everything.

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry if this is preachy. I wasn't even going to say anything but I

just can't contain myself. This is too serious.

Names aren't important here, but I've been told by three sources so far

that a recent patient went out the day after getting out of the hospital

and had shrimp and chicken and then developed a leak, which required

emergency surgery, and of course, a goodly stay in the hospital. Even

though that's plenty bad enough, she's lucky that's all that happened,

because she had a substantial risk of dying!!

A " leak " allows bacteria from the intestinal track -- the most powerful

bacteria in the body -- to enter places it shouldn't go, including the

bloodstream and can result in a rapid and often fatal infection, called

sepsis or septicemia, one of the most common causes of death in

hospitals.

After surgery, your stomach has been cut, as well as your small

intestine, plus you have five holes from where the trocars where

inserted, called port holes. You'll see a videotape of what is done

inside you at the clinic visit.

As you'll see from the video, there is plenty of cutting done inside

you. You can see that it wouldn't be hard to damage either your stomach

or the connection to the intestines by eating any solids at all the

first two weeks. Eating solids can literally " bust something open "

inside, causing a leak.

After surgery, look at your port holes, for instance. You can't even

get the staples taken out of those for 7-10 days because they are not

healed enough to stay together without the staples. And those are

small, relatively minor wounds. What do you think that says about how

healed you probably are on the *inside* in the same amount of time??!

Please, please, please, resist the temptation to eat solid foods for at

least 10-14 days after surgery!

Your real family loves and needs you and your MGB family does, too.

Stick around to enjoy your new life.

Hugs,

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 7/20/00 2:48:14 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

lindat@... writes:

<< I'm sorry if this is preachy. I wasn't even going to say anything but I

just can't contain myself. This is too serious.

Names aren't important here, but I've been told by three sources so far

that a recent patient went out the day after getting out of the hospital

and had shrimp and chicken and then developed a leak, which required

emergency surgery, and of course, a goodly stay in the hospital. Even

though that's plenty bad enough, she's lucky that's all that happened,

because she had a substantial risk of dying!!

A " leak " allows bacteria from the intestinal track -- the most powerful

bacteria in the body -- to enter places it shouldn't go, including the

bloodstream and can result in a rapid and often fatal infection, called

sepsis or septicemia, one of the most common causes of death in

hospitals.

After surgery, your stomach has been cut, as well as your small

intestine, plus you have five holes from where the trocars where

inserted, called port holes. You'll see a videotape of what is done

inside you at the clinic visit.

As you'll see from the video, there is plenty of cutting done inside

you. You can see that it wouldn't be hard to damage either your stomach

or the connection to the intestines by eating any solids at all the

first two weeks. Eating solids can literally " bust something open "

inside, causing a leak.

After surgery, look at your port holes, for instance. You can't even

get the staples taken out of those for 7-10 days because they are not

healed enough to stay together without the staples. And those are

small, relatively minor wounds. What do you think that says about how

healed you probably are on the *inside* in the same amount of time??!

Please, please, please, resist the temptation to eat solid foods for at

least 10-14 days after surgery!

Your real family loves and needs you and your MGB family does, too.

Stick around to enjoy your new life.

Hugs,

>>

Hi Friends,

This is sad and scary, and in my mind speaks to the fact that food has had

such a strong hold over so many of us! Many post-ops have written

(eloquently) about how hard it is for several weeks after surgery as they

adjust and deal with old " cravings. " My heart goes out to this person and I

pray for her just as I pray for all of you (my friends) when your time comes

for this life-changing surgery. Let this be a lesson to all of us and let us

embrace our " sister " who made a bad choice, but is by no means a bad person.

I feel her pain!

Regards,

Debbie in IL

Daughter MGB 8/9 Cigna (3rd appeal)--BMI 45

Counting on Cigna for Debbie (BMI 40) ins letter re-sent 7/14

[Guest guest]

Hadjab@... wrote:

>

> Thanks ... I wondered if eating too much, too soon, would cause a

> leak.

> Now I know. Thanks again..

>

> Deb in IL

Right after surgery, you have *no* concept of how much your new stomach

will hold. Your brain still works on the concepts of food you have had

for all the years of your life before surgery. And you can't (or

shouldn't) test the limits of the new stomach those first two weeks

while it's healing, either. Assume you can't eat much at all, maybe

1/4th of a cup. Drink liquids and take them slowly. If you feel the

least bit full, quit for awhile, even if just a minute or two. Take

time to *notice* what you are feeling in your stomach while you are

waiting between drinks.

Right after surgery, you can't " eyeball " something and know it will be

" too much, " because you can't feel what is " too much " yet so you haven't

trained your brain to eyeball the right amount.

By the end of the second week, you can start trying foods, a little at a

time.

By the end of the third week, going into the fourth week, your stomach

will have formed some scar tissue and will be smaller than it was the

first 2-3 weeks. When you eat too fast then, or too much, you'll throw

up.

Thus begins the training process. But for the first 2-3 weeks, your new

stomach won't be as rebellious as it will later, though it will

definitely feel smaller, plus liquids can pass out of the stomach into

the intestine if you drink too much, instead of making you throw up, so

you may not get the hang of eating right away, until you are in the

3rd-4th weeks, eating solids, and your stomach has healed. That's when

you can *really* feel how much your stomach will hold.

In the 3-8th weeks, if you are a slow study like me, you will throw up

3-4 times a week, when you forget to eat slowly, shovel in too much food

too fast, or don't chew what you put in your mouth. It helps a lot to

actually pay attention to what you are eating instead of sitting at the

computer, watching TV or reading while you eat, at least until you learn

to eat slowly and chew well. Otherwise, without thinking, I'd shovel a

bite in, chomp it twice, swallow and immediately be sorry. You will

*feel* your new stomach rebelling.

But that's all in the 3rd weeks and after. Up til then, stay on the

liquids, to be safe.

Doc R says it will improve your weight loss if you stay on liquids 2

mos. Some people can do that, apparently, but I wasn't one of them. I

still don't eat the things I used to eat and prefer vegetable soup over

most anything, but the " all liquids " got to me by week three and I

*really* wanted some food.

Hugs,

[Guest guest]

> I for one will follow all rules when my turn comes to have the

surgery.

> Thanks for sending this post out . I am praying for this

person as well

> as all others.

>

> in SC

> Pre-op

> 386 lbs.

> Waiting on ins. approval

>

> If you see someone without a smile,

> Give them one of yours.

>

> If you and I should meet and

> You forget me, you have lost nothing.

>

> If you meet JESUS and you forget him,

> you will have lost everything.

Ditto!!!!

Dinah

[Guest guest]

You can't even

> get the staples taken out of those for 7-10 days because they are

not

> healed enough to stay together without the staples. And those are

> small, relatively minor wounds. What do you think that says about

how

> healed you probably are on the *inside* in the same amount of

time??!

>

> Please, please, please, resist the temptation to eat solid foods

for at

> least 10-14 days after surgery!

>

> Your real family loves and needs you and your MGB family does, too.

> Stick around to enjoy your new life.

>

> Hugs,

>

>

YEPPERS! Not preachy at all !

We all need to be reminded that this is serious business. It's easy

to get caught up in the brevity of the posts and each other's

emotions, but in the end, we each have to make our own decisions and

travel our own journey. This is life and death stuff, not a root

canal, folks. Dr. R. has a reason for EACH AND EVERY ONE of his

instructions, pre and post-op. We only hurt ourselves if we forget

or choose to do otherwise. I appreciate 's reminder, and am

speaking to myself as much as anyone.

Keep being there, !

ebbieday (taking off her nurse's cap) in VA