7 wk post op update

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I havent been on my PC much since my DS Lap on June 27th with Rabkin

and Jossart so I wanted to give an update ... better late than never!

My surgery took a bit longer than expected due to previous adhesions

and an umbilical hernia repair from lap gall bladder surgery. Other

than that my surgery and recovery have been unremarkable. I had

surgery on a Wed and was Ok to leave by Sat but hadnt made post op

hotel confirmations yet.. so I did get out on Sun. I stayed locally a

week after my surgery before my husband drove me home which took 7

hrs.

I was pleased to find out my common channel is 90 cm as I do have a

lot to lose (starting BMI 68). At 7 wks post op I have lost 51 pds

plus the 15 I gained in the hospital. I knew many put on weight in

the hospital but I had no idea it would be that much!

Post op pain was very tolerable with the meds which I used without

hesitation... I got up and sat next to the bed in a chair the night

of the surgery and walked twice a day til released and used the lung

expanding insentive spirometer every time I woke up and every time I

thought of it.. (although they suggest once and hour I did it more).

I drank as much fluid as I could... so it all went well. The Dr told

me I was a model patient <G>.

Suggestions for immediate post op .. first 3-4 weeks. I wasnt too

adventurous with what I ate. I started out eating what I had in the

hospital to be safe. ... jello, mashed potatoes, cream soups etc and

that worked well for me.

My stomach was much more tender and overly sensitive than I expected.

I had to be careful of foods that were too warm, too cold and eating

too fast. I suggest not using a big container with a wide straw to

drink... allows for taking in too much air and gas results. Drinking

something very cold then eating hot food didnt sit well either.

Eating slowly was a must.

After the first month I had a hard time getting the 60 gms of protein

in so I have been supplementing with protein drinks. I got a sample

of most of the protein drinks on Vita4life at a very reasonable

price to see which ones I liked. I also purchased some ProCel

protein powder which adds 5 gms of protein a scoop to liquids and

mixes with soups, gravies, mashed etc and other foods.

I learned a trick to get over the boring protein drinks.... I would

use a stick blender, crushed ice, a teaspoon of diet choc pudding or

pistachio pudding plus the vanilla protein powder and water....

blended into a nice milk shake consistency drink...with no aftertaste

that many of the protein drinks had.

Things that go down well for me are waterpacked tuna with mayo on

tortilla chips, creamy peanut butter on saltines, chef boyardee mini

ravioli with meatballs, garden soy burgers with chedder cheese and

advacado and bacon, Mcs Sausage McMuffin with egg .... thing is

I eat very small portions ... a few tablespoons is all that I can

take. I eat an oz of pistachio nuts or Dannon lite lemon yogurt (no

whole fruit in it)for snacks.

I am disappointed in that I am not experiencing the feeling of

fullness that some have reported. I am very dependent on having to

gauge the size of what I am eating very carefully ... or else it

comes back up. I also found if I wait too long in between meals that

the acid builds up and makes keeping a meal down harder. So I have a

saltine in between or take a tums with calcium.

I found I can drink more Crystal lite in a container without a straw

than caffeine diet coke with a straw....and its more comfortable.. no

gas.

What I was pleasantly surprised about was how nice my scars look,

small and thin and not very red. The surgical incisions caused much

less pain than I expected.

I am experiencing soft loose stools, with some increase in odor but

not that bad... I do have a citrus scent spray that takes care of

that, its not a big problem. There is some diarrhea but thats to be

expected.. none of it is intolerable.

All in all the recovery has been less arduous than I expected but I

also feel I have been very lucky too. I did go into surgery without

major comorbs so was in relatively good health. I am pleased with the

rate of weight loss and as others have said... seeing the scales go

steadily down is a real high at what ever rate it happens...

thats all for now... hope that give some of you pre ops a view of how

it can be.

mary t corona, ca

- starting BMI 68

post op DSLap June 27th Drs R & J San Francisco

-51 pds at 7 wks