I should have asked about....

[sue_t]

Hello,

I am am still going through the evaluation and I have been reading through all of the posts, which are extremely helpful.

I know from past experience there is always something that we realize after the fact that we wish we would have asked about before hand. So that's my question for everyone.

I'll give you an example - we many years ago I had surgery. I was so focused on the end result that there were certain tidbits that were never discussed such as that I would have a urinary catheter inserted or would have drains inserted or how it would be extremely painful for the first couple of days but after that it was just a dull pain.

So i pose the question to you... What do you wish you would have known about?

I hope that makes sense.

 

[StinkerBelle]

I was well prepared for it all. Then again having an active medical professional in the house and a retired one it helps a lot.

What bothers me the worst is the constipation.. I now know and understand why constipated people are frantic about their BM's... LOL

 

[sue_t]

I have issues with that now, I guess it will probably get worse with surgery.

I'll be sure to talk to the nurse about this.

Thanks,,

 

[StinkerBelle]

I take fiber everyday with all of my supplements.. It does help and I am allowed to use Senekot which helps as well... LOL

BTW The iron supplements do not help either.. But it is definitely a must take...

 

[dancinbr]

I have issues with that now, I guess it will probably get worse with surgery.

I'll be sure to talk to the nurse about this.

Thanks,,

Since you will be mostly protein post op and not very much of it I might add, constipation is something we all deal with.

I used stool softeners every single day, in fact 3 pills each day when the dose was recommended from 1 to 3.

Even so, the BM occurred about every third day. You simply do not go everyday. There isn't much waste on this program until you get to the point 1 to 2 months out where you finally are eating a lot of soft foods and even then not much, but it does become more regular.

I recently discontinued my stool softeners and I have returned to my trusty 5 prunes in the morning routine, which prior to surgery made me quite regular. We will see.

Many folks use Miralax. I have done so on a couple of occasions to get things moving.

Ralph

 

[Karenina]

I wish that someone would have told me that the post nasal drip from allergies would hit my little stomach in the morning and give me morning sickness. Fortunately it was fresh on my mind and during an appointment I asked the nurse about it and she suggested that I take my allergy medicine at night instead of in the morning.
I also wished they would have told me that I'll have to stick to 1200 cal a day for the rest of my life in order to maintain. I kept getting clues about that, but couldn't pin anyone down on the particulars. Like it was a big secret or something.

 

[dancinbr]

I wish that someone would have told me that the post nasal drip from allergies would hit my little stomach in the morning and give me morning sickness. Fortunately it was fresh on my mind and during an appointment I asked the nurse about it and she suggested that I take my allergy medicine at night instead of in the morning.
I also wished they would have told me that I'll have to stick to 1200 cal a day for the rest of my life in order to maintain. I kept getting clues about that, but couldn't pin anyone down on the particulars. Like it was a big secret or something.

OK Karenina, so now you know it is 1200 calories for the rest of your life. Would that have changed your mind? I see you are 85 pounds lighter now. I bet you have had difficulty even getting up to 1200 calories.

That is the goal for all of us. Perhaps it may be more and maintain. Perhaps it becomes net calories instead of absolute calories. What is net calories? It is amount of calories consumed during the day minus the calories burned via formal exercise.

You might even find that you can maintain at perhaps 1500 calories per day. This varies by individual. I remember I read somewhere that an inactive low metabolic person burns 9 calories a day per pound to exist. So, if you end up weighing 130 pounds then you are right around 1200 calories. Actually, it is 130 tims 9 or 1170.

Now if you are active, I remember a number like 11 calories a day per pound or at 130 pounds it would be 1430 calories. There is wiggle room. Once you get to goal and have to maintain you will find out.

For me prior to surgery if I stayed at 1500 calories or less I maintained or perhaps lost a little. If I went over 1500 I gained weight. Now at 200 pounds times 9 it should be 1800 but I couldn't go that high.

Also, as you get leaner and build muscle, you will burn more calories. It is muscle that uses the calories.

I hope I have helped you with this one. Try google and see what kind of topics come up with weight and maintenance of weight.

 

[dancinbr]

Just a quick follow up Karenina.

Google with this phrase "how much calories should i eat a day"


Lots of good information

 

[Karenina]

OK Karenina, so now you know it is 1200 calories for the rest of your life. Would that have changed your mind? I see you are 85 pounds lighter now. I bet you have had difficulty even getting up to 1200 calories.

That is the goal for all of us. Perhaps it may be more and maintain. Perhaps it becomes net calories instead of absolute calories. What is net calories? It is amount of calories consumed during the day minus the calories burned via formal exercise.

You might even find that you can maintain at perhaps 1500 calories per day. This varies by individual. I remember I read somewhere that an inactive low metabolic person burns 9 calories a day per pound to exist. So, if you end up weighing 130 pounds then you are right around 1200 calories. Actually, it is 130 tims 9 or 1170.

Now if you are active, I remember a number like 11 calories a day per pound or at 130 pounds it would be 1430 calories. There is wiggle room. Once you get to goal and have to maintain you will find out.

For me prior to surgery if I stayed at 1500 calories or less I maintained or perhaps lost a little. If I went over 1500 I gained weight. Now at 200 pounds times 9 it should be 1800 but I couldn't go that high.

Also, as you get leaner and build muscle, you will burn more calories. It is muscle that uses the calories.

I hope I have helped you with this one. Try google and see what kind of topics come up with weight and maintenance of weight.

Thanks for the info and the google link. The point of my post was to answer Sue-t's question about "what do you wish you had known about before surgery". I didn't get any information on maintenance pre-op. In fact, I'm going to get my first lesson on maintenance at my 6-month appointment when I am at or near goal weight. If it wasn't for this site and all of you, I wouldn't have a clue about maintenance. Just sayin'. The bariatric centers could do a lot better about providing information on the whole picture.