11 Days Post-Op - Need Support

[jgriffin]

Hello, I'm new to this forum, but think that this is a wonderful thing for people to be able to support each other online and give experiences they have been through or are going through.. I'm 11 days Post-Op and am gradually getting my strength back. I thought I was on the road to recovery but had a set-back yesterday. I am drinking about 48 oz of liquid per day, but the last couple of days I have started running a low grade fever in the evenings. Has anyone else had this experience? It hasn't been over 99.5 but just enough to make me feel lousy. I go back for post-op doctor appt on 8/14 so I will be asking about this then, but just wondered if anyone else has had this issue?

Also I was wondering if anyone has any other gas remedies? My back and chest hurts all the time from gas. I walk at least 4 times a day for 10 minutes and have been taking Gas-X but that has not helped at all. Any suggestions?

Thanks again for contributing to this forum. It has made a big difference in my life!!

 

[Pat99]

Jgriffin-Welcome to the forum. I just posted something about "gas control" the other day and will post it here for you. I use a generic Gas-Ex gel cap. I let it soften a little in my mouth then chew it until the gel cap dissolves and swallow with a few sips of water. Although it isn't sweetened like the Gas-Ex strips it still has a pleasant mint taste. I also use Charco-Caps (WalMart) which is a homeopathic charcoal capsule with a few other natural ingredients added. Do not chew these capsules since they contain ground charcoal and would be gritty and unpleasant if chewed not to mention it will turn your mouth and teeth black. The instructions say to take 2 capsules but I only take 1 along with the generic Gas-Ex. If I eat dairy I add a generic lactase tablet which I also chew (Costco). This is the best combination of OTC gas control I have found so far. The reason that these "remedies" are not 100% effective is because our digestive system has been altered which causes a LOT of bacteria to form in our colon which is causing the excess gas. I can tell you from experience that the gas problem will improve in a few months but will probably never go away entirely.

 

[TwoMas]

Hi JGriffin, Welcome. This has been a great place for me to come when I need a little support or just want to check in and see how everyone is doing, we are all here to help each other out. Tom

 

[Welchen]

Hi,

Yeah, the gas is horrible when you first get out. Are you by any chance using any milk products? I found that after surg. I was lactose intolerant - I'd get horrible gas pains. Have you tried Beano? You take that before you eat and it's more preventive. I'm not sure how that would be for a newbie...when I first had the surg. I used liguid stuff for babies - it took less time to break down like a pill would. It will be trial and error as you add stuff back into your diet - even some whey protein shakes were horrible at first. I actually only found one I really liked and now that I'm trying to get back on track they don't make it anymore - grr. Finding the right protein shake is key too - you can go to some sites and order single sample sizes to try. Vitalady.com is usually my go to site (she had surg. like 20 years ago and she's like the Yoda of RNY...she's also really great about answering questions and trying to help).

Okay....not to gross anyone else out but I found that not only did I have bad gas after surg. but sometimes it reeked to high heaven. I know there are pills that you can take to help limit that issue. I took them but they didn't really work all that well. I used to carry a small spray bottle of lysol or something close if I had to use a public bathroom. Eventually this problem went back to normal when I watched my milk product intake (although I'm okay with cheese) and my stomach healed.

I also used to use a magic bullet to mix my protein shakes. I'm not sure why it happened but that too could cause belching and what I called "foamies' (my stomach would get upset and I'd vomit up foam). Not sure if anyone else had this happen to them. I think that the mixer might have increased the air or something.....I've also heard of people having trouble because of the way they drank/ate and breathed at the same time.

Hope this helps. What you'll find is a lot of trial and error. Not everyone reacts the same but posting always gave me comfort one I found someone experiencing the same thing. .

Deb

 

[TwoMas]

Hi Deb, milk product were also very hard on me at first so I ended up getting protien powders that I didn't hyave to add milk to, I like ChocoRite, it is made for us bariatric eaters, others here recomend Unjury protien powder I havn't tried it yet though. The gas has tappered off a bit but it is inevitable with a high protien diet, I do fine with cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese but I still avoid milk. I hope you are starting to get back on track, I am sure it will be slow going but it will pay off. Tom

 

[Welchen]

Tom,

Thanks for the advice. I used to use Champion Whey Stack - it was the only one I could really stomach but after 3 years of drinking it 3 times a day it got old. I'm going to order a bunch of samples and see how it goes. Wish we had a live meeting we could have a protein party! lol.

You might want to be careful about drinking the protein using milk. Milk had a lot of sugar in it. I was told to avoid sugar at all costs and use water for my protein. You can't absorb calcium from it so it's like a wasted food. But everyone does stuff different. I've been told that using soy milk or almond milk is good too....maybe I'll check into those to see what the calorie count/carb count is.

When I first had the surg. the protein in the protein shakes was the only protein that I counted for the day. Between all the rules about waiting a half hour before eating/without drinking, then eating w/o drinking anything, and then waiting an hour before drinking, AND then trying to get in all my water for the day it was kind of tough. I even think I kept to the low 20's when it came to total carbs for the day.

But from your profile stats looks like you're doing great! Good job!