Friday, March 26, 2010

The Rules (according to my RN)

The Bariatric Nurse at my surgical clinic is very blunt and to the point. I think it's safe to say that by now the info she's given out has been drilled into my head.

But for reference sake, after surgery:

  • 24 hours clear liquids only
  • 2 weeks full liquid diet
  • 2 weeks of mushy/puree foods
  • slowly introduce regular foods
  • 1 multi-vitamin daily on empty stomach (still trying to find a non-pill I can tolerate)
  • 1 Calcium Citrate + D daily on empty stomach (still looking for this in non-pill form too)
  • plenty of water but stop drinking from 30 mins before a meal to 30 mins after
  • must consume a minimum of 80 grams of protein daily
  • must not exceed 5 grams of sugar in 20 minutes
  • consume foods in the following order: protein, vegetable, carb/starch
  • No carbonated beverages, no drinking with a straw, no alcohol, and don't get knocked up
  • Do not put anything in your mouth that is larger than a pencil eraser.
  • Eat carefully, things like whole nuts and gummy candies can create a blockage if accidentally swallowed whole.
After a fill: (to help reduce potential swelling)
  • 2 days full liquids
  • ease into regular diet

Out of all that, the points that I think I'll have the most trouble with are the no drinking straw thing and figuring how to stuff 80 grams of protein in. I guess I should put more effort into protein shake and bar shopping. Wouldn't it be great if the nutrition stores had little samples to try. You know, individually wrapped like the fun size candy bars. Of course, it might reduce overall sales. Cause it sucks forking out a pile of cash for something that tastes like fish and garden rocks. Of course you don't know that until you get home. Oh, and what's with the GIANT tubs of the protein powder mixes? I guess they're great if you love the stuff, but what I want is an individual sized packet to buy so I can find something I like.

I wonder if anyone else has noticed their breath smelling like a formula fed baby after taking in a protein powder drink. Today I mixed an unflavored protein powder into a SoBee Fuji Apple and Pear Lifewater. It wasn't bad tasting at first. I couldn't get through the whole bottle in one go. When I came back to it about an hour later, it had this aftertaste that was reminicent of infant formula. My breath smelled like that too until I could get home and take care of it. YUCK.


8 comments:

  1. I still have yet to try them out, but Unjury sells sample packs. Even though Unjury is pricy, I am thinking the unflavored kind is a great way to load up on protein in something other than a shake!

    And I totally get you on the formula breath. I also have cottonmouth like whoa! I've been chewing gum and drinking water like it's going out of style!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i'm going to call you cheeseburger, because those are my favorite! in fact that was my "last meal" before my preop diet :-)

    when i started the shakes, i don't know if my breath smelled like them. but i couldn't stand the taste! i constantly chewed gum for the first week, then weaned myself off it because I didn't want to be hooked on gum going into surgery! getting stuck on gum was not something i wanted to encounter! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I didn't even think about gum! Gah, and I can't even count the number of times I've accidentally swallowed a piece. Thank you, Carmen! I will add that to my personal no-no list.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't know if you have a Wal Mart by you, but I bought their 2 lb container of the chocolate Body Fortress protien powder for $15 and it really isn't that bad when mized with milk. It's loke a melted frosty. It helps get 26 grams of protien in a serving. I have found that if I am low on my protien at the end of the day, I have one of those shakes with a dash (a very small dash) of Baliey's Irish cream liquor and it is heaven. I've given up alcohol since January, so having a teaspoon or less of Bailey's feels like a treat.

    It's just so funny how everyone's pre and post op diets are so different. I never heard the no straw rule (or maybe I just overlooked that!) Don't fret about not drinking with meals. I haven't had any issues with that and it was the one thing I thought would be the worst. Nice to meet you by the way, Cheeseburger!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! I just started following your blog. I have a no straw rule as well. I was banded Wednesday and I am on the full liquid stage. Good luck on your journey and I look forward to reading more!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yep. See my blog post (twosticksandalighter) where I mention my fear of halitosis. Love that you posted the instructions. My docs instructions are all over the place so I'm kind of see what other people's doctors tell them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I found Viactin Calcium Chews and Viactin Multivitamin chews too. Not bad at all However my nutritionist said to take an iron pill because the vitamin doesn't have it. They are very small so you can swallow.

    ReplyDelete