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Post by aqua19 on Jan 22, 2012 21:03:03 GMT -5
Hello, I'm a very new DS'er and I'm officially 1 week post-op! I'm dealing well with the pain. But I'm feeling a little down? I've never had depression or felt this way before in my life. I'm not really sure why I'm feeling this now, I have a great support group around me, a loving fiance and friends etc. But, I'm just feeling a little sad and find myself thinking about my future alot and find myself crying for no reason. I know that I'm a really new post-op but I just want to hear from you guys if I'm the only one or have have any of you went through this as well? Also, I'm finding it hard to get all my fluids in and I can't eat. I do have a great surgeon and my 1 week post-op appointment is in 3 days. I will be bringing up my depression to the DR. I do have a great diet and nutrition guide that my surgeons office provided pre-op that I have been reading religiously. I don't know, just having a few questions and finding myself kinda alone. Thanks for reading  Also, if anyone has any foods that I might be able to tolerate in this full-liquid stage that would be great. I'm drinking water, G2, crystal lite, and thin cream of wheat. |
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Post by lovy19 on Jan 22, 2012 21:18:57 GMT -5
Just wanted to say hope you feel better soon  . The long term DSers will chime in shortly. |
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Post by Girlrocker on Jan 22, 2012 21:38:26 GMT -5
Awww, welcome, it's so hard to be brand new! Hi there, I'm fairly new too at 6 weeks out, a revision from an RNY to DS. The emotions you are experiencing right are soooo normal. You've just been through a giant, life changing surgery and life as you knew it is going to be very different, and great! But right now it's the unknown. You will be ok, but I think it's a good idea to have a support group, the people here, and if you need it, a therapist for some moral support to help you through the changes, and deal with whatever is underneath.
The first 2 weeks are the hardest in recovery, and the first few months overall the most challenging as I'm living at the moment :-) Right now it will be hard to get in water and protein; you probably have a weird metallic taste in your mouth, things will taste funny. Some times water at room temp is easier than cold. You can try Crystal Light too for fluid, or non-caffeinated tea. I have 24 oz water bottles which help me keep tabs on my amounts, and reuse them for my other drinks. I start sipping the moment I get up and keep it up all day long, a bottle always nearby.
I liked chicken soup, I ordered soups from my favorite Thai place (skipping the meat/veggies/noodles, I also tolerated tomato soup well, and pureed tofu into it which made it nice and creamy like without the dairy. You can try instant oatmeals, they're lighter than making quick oats or steel cut, and will sit better. You can cook eggwhites - either the real thing or the ones in the carton - doesn't change the flavor, just makes it thicker. Sweeten it up with splenda or stivia, honey, cinnamon or buy a box of mixed flavor packets. An egg in the chicken broth makes good egg drop soup. Sugar free jello and popsicles help the icky taste. Protein shakes - do you need suggestions for which type of protein? There are several good ones you can buy and just shake with water for easy drinking. Some good pre-made ones too like Pure Protein, Myoplex, just pricier. This part isn't fun, you are healing from major surgery, but it will get better, hang in there, page back on this board, read, you'll see a lot of posts from us new people with great advice from the vets here. And when in doubt, don't be shy, ask away!
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Post by Joanne on Jan 22, 2012 21:59:53 GMT -5
What you're going through is totally normal. You just had MAJOR surgery less than a week ago. I think there's a tendancy, since the surgery is mostly done lap, to think that it's not a big deal. But just because you dont have huge scars on the outside, your insides have been chopped up considerably. You need time to heal.
Lots of things could be making you depressed. General anesthesia, not eating, hormonal changes from rapid weight loss - these things all play a role. Lots of people also go through a "buyer's remorse" period, where you might be wondering what the heck you did to yourself.
I had a rough, slow recovery. I was basically a useless pile of goo for weeks. Just taking a shower would wear me out and there were many times I would lay soaking wet, naked on my bed after showering because I was wiped out. But you will get through this and you will get better.
Take your recovery one day at a time. The only important things for you to do now are to get in your fluids (64+ oz a day), and to walk as you can. The walking helps prevent blood clots. The rest of the stuff will come in time. You will probably feel this way for a little while longer, and begin to turn a corner around 10-14 days.
Hang in there.
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Post by Joanne on Jan 22, 2012 22:02:47 GMT -5
Also, it's normal to struggle to get in your fluids. I have to say, when I was a pre-op and saw people complain about how hard it was, I really thought they were a bunch of babies! But you really dont understand until you go through it yourself.
The first thing you need to do is to find something that you like to drink. Try different temperatures, some people do well with warm, like peppermint tea. Others prefer room temperature or cold. Find what works for you.
Then, the only thing that worked for me was to set mini goals throughout the day. For example, 20 oz by 10am, 40 oz by 2pm...that kind of thing. That was the only way I could pace myself, and make sure I was awake long enough to drink.
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Post by sandyv63 on Jan 22, 2012 22:03:55 GMT -5
You are dealing with the dreaded estrogen dump. Fat stores estrogen and as soon as you start to rapidly lose the fat, the estrogen gets released into your bloodstream and you start to feel, well, like the way you feel. Also this is why we tend to get our periods soon after surgery no matter where we are in our cycle (unles you are past menopause of course.) It will pass or at least get better over time and then you will adapt.
As for the eating & drinking, your stomach is still swollen and healing. Get fluids in you any way you can and if you start to feel tired & very nauseated, get to the ER for iv fluids because dehydration can get very bad very fast. Eating isn't as important as fluids right now so don't panic. Food might start tasting really lousy anyway and when and if that happens, it does go away. Trust me, your appetite will come back. Egg drop soup worked for me when I was early out but I could only do a couple of tablespoons full at a meal. It will get better!
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Post by hoosiermama on Jan 22, 2012 22:27:24 GMT -5
refried beans watered down with chicken broth went down well. If you surgeon is one that wants the soups strained even, this will have to wait. Yogurt goes down well for most. I drank a lot of tomato soup but became lactose intolerant (I think it was temporary), and had to mix the soup with lactaid.
The emotions go up and down like an E ticket ride at Disney. You are going to be all over the place and with good reason. It smooths out over time.
me
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2012 22:35:31 GMT -5
Hello, I'm a very new DS'er and I'm officially 1 week post-op! I'm dealing well with the pain. But I'm feeling a little down? I've never had depression or felt this way before in my life. I'm not really sure why I'm feeling this now, I have a great support group around me, a loving fiance and friends etc. But, I'm just feeling a little sad and find myself thinking about my future alot and find myself crying for no reason. I know that I'm a really new post-op but I just want to hear from you guys if I'm the only one or have have any of you went through this as well? Also, I'm finding it hard to get all my fluids in and I can't eat. I do have a great surgeon and my 1 week post-op appointment is in 3 days. I will be bringing up my depression to the DR. I do have a great diet and nutrition guide that my surgeons office provided pre-op that I have been reading religiously. I don't know, just having a few questions and finding myself kinda alone. Thanks for reading Also, if anyone has any foods that I might be able to tolerate in this full-liquid stage that would be great. I'm drinking water, G2, crystal lite, and thin cream of wheat. Welcome to a new lease on life! Egg drop soup, kefir and puddings were my friends in the full liquids stage. I drank a fair amount of broth, too. Regarding your mood: Consider that you have been drugged to the gills with many, many substances for anesthesia, pain, etc. Many if not most of them have psychoactive components. So of COURSE they affect your thinking and your mood in every possible way. You are also taking in the bare minimum, if that, of hydration and next to no nutrition. That ALSO affects your brain. You might be weird for a while. When I have anesthesia, I can count on being "different" for a good month, as in not quite right in the head. Sometimes it's minimal, sometimes it's horrible. The drugs take a tiny fraction of that time to get out of your system, but everyone reacts differently. It takes a while for balance to be restored. About the time that balance gets restored, you get to deal with the wild hormone ride from rapid weight loss . People call this a rollercoaster experience with good reason. Hang in there. You're going to be okay. If your mood gets darker, and/or if you have a history of mood troubles, get to your psych doc sooner rather than later. (Or get a psych doc if you don't already have one.) |
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supershae
Full Member
"You have come this far, Don't give up now." -The Notebook
Posts: 154
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Post by supershae on Jan 22, 2012 22:53:34 GMT -5
Congratulations on this awesome step in your life!! I am almost 4 weeks out (this wednesday) and I'm STILL an emotional roller coaster most days! Don't worry about that much, it will get better!! I think one of the hardest things for me was wanting to be able to eat everything else that everyone around me was eating. I wasn't hungry for it, I was just upset that even if I was hungry, I couldn't have it!!  My grandma reminded me of a quote that I live by everyday now, "You eat to live, not live to eat.". Take one step at a time and you will start to feel better soon!! |
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Post by aqua19 on Jan 23, 2012 11:19:22 GMT -5
thanks to everyone that replied I'm feeling better after reading everyones replies. I'm really struggling with getting my fluids in but I've found that ice cold drinks are the best for me. I'm really happy that I got the surgery at the age that I did I've never have surgery before or anesthesia either and I did get my period the night after surgery so I'm sure that all of that is tying into the way I'm feeling. I'm excited to see how things will be in the next few months!!! I'm really enjoying this site and I'm looking forward to this wednesday, I get to move onto the mushy phase and I think once I'm able to actually have something "normal" on my palate will make me start feeling a little "normal" idk, I'll wait and see, but I'm optimistic Can't wait to see what my DS brings! |
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. The long term DSers will chime in shortly.
My grandma reminded me of a quote that I live by everyday now, "You eat to live, not live to eat.". Take one step at a time and you will start to feel better soon!! 
