Some concerns!

[Suziegirl]

So I have picked a surgery date my mom and I are doing this together. But I have some questions that I have yet to see answers for. 1st how difficult is it to follow the diet does your brain automatically know that you can't eat as much or is there a lot of will power to this? 2nd how painful is it? Like I have a high pain tolerant so I should be good right? I think a lot of my concerns are due to nerves and I tend to over think things lol I can't wait for all your feed back wish me luck

[RubbityDub]

Hi Suzie, The post op pain thing varies from person to person. I thought I could expect to be in terrible pain but apart from the very predictable windy chest pain (which is indeed horrible) I suffered no pain from the wounds at all. Hopefully it might be the same for you.

I think that the best advice anyone ever gave me (I think it was someone on this forum) was to always "listen to your sleeve). I sometimes am enjoying the taste of something so much that I eat more than I should. I know I am full and have had plenty but I will say to myself "just one more spoonful". Big mistake that can cause me to spit up most of what I have eaten. I haven't learned this lesson really well I'm afraid but I am working on it. So listen to your sleeve and when it tells you that you have had enough, then stop right there. It is very challenging getting all your protein in for the day when you can only eat such a little bit, but you will make your protein intake even less if you eat too much and then bring it all up.
Good luck and listen to your sleeve!!!!

[Kindle]

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[Ima Fox]

Welcome Suzie! I agree with Kathryn. You most likely won't have excruciating pain, but you will have restriction to eating which is very strange & takes a lot of mental & physical adjustment. You won't need much will power to not eat. If you try to overindulge you may not like the consequences. The pre-op largely liquid diet that turns into the post-op liquid diet was hard for me mentally because I got very fed up with soup. Many people are fine with it. Maybe you will be. I'm not a lover of dairy, but that's something we are encouraged to eat. Many people are very creative with the foods. You can find lots of recipes on the internet which you won't be able to eat until you get off of the soup. Drink as much water as you can & eat/drink as much protein as you can. Like the rest of us, you will be fine. Good luck to you.

[Shalon]

there's not a lot of willpower involved, there's a lot of discomfort involved, until you get it sussed how much your new tummy will take and how much is more than it takes. but that's after the progression up to fully solid foods is over. when you're doing liquids it may take some willpower, but It didn't for me. It was all about drinking slowly and dealing with finishing the shake later instead of drinking it all in one go like I did before. The pain also depends on your body. I had to use the meds they gave me the first night and was off the pump by breakfast( My surgery got pushed until 11 AM because of an emergency) They sent me home that day with a prescription for 11 oxycontin and I didn't need it until it was time again for bed. I was tired mostly, but the pain only hit when I tried to move in the bed, until I got used to moving a little differently to account for the stretchy pully pain sensation in my belly. After the third day I stopped taking the Oxy altogether and ended up having a few pills left over that I used a few months later when my bad tooth got infected and had to be yanked.(There was a bare nerve there and the roots were completely dead.)
Anyway, I would say if things go well you'll be able to handle it without a real blip. On the other hand, My friend had the surgery 2 months after I did and had a murphy's Law kind of experience. She had a lot more pain than I did, and got an abscess, and had a pulmonary embolis(which can be avoided if you GET UP AND WALK like the surgeon tells you to) and ended up staying a couple months in a rehab center until the abscess fully healed. But she's doing fantastic now, and has lost more weight than I have (the meaniehead!)

[Shalon]

As for eating, I'd say the same thing....it varies. Some people are eating cookies 1 week postop. Personally I had no desire to eat anything but what I was supposed to. .

I'll agree with that. After the surgery I had to set a schedule to make sure I even remembered to eat that MUCH! Hunger is back now, so it's up to willpower to keep me from eating Nachos 5 times a week. The thing is, I didn't spend $3000 of my money just to waste it by going back to the old way of eating. Especially when that old way can no longer supply all the nutrients I need. But even now, I still find it harder to get in my full 1000 calories/70g protein than It used to be to say no to that extra box of chocolates.

[Suziegirl]

I agree I don't want to put out all this money to go back to old habits as stupid as it's sounds I was a little scared that there was the possibility of not ever getting to eat some of my favorite foods. All I want is to just have a taste every once in awhile