Post by velvetsky on Mar 17, 2013 21:05:00 GMT -5
Greetings & Happy St. Patty's Day! I'm going to share my thoughts on my personal journey in the first month after having the RNY and now a DS revision. For me, the DS is truly a dream and the RNY more of a nightmare in the way you must totally baby yourself and everything you intake. I'm just at the 1 month mark since having the DS revision with Dr. Roslin. My hospital stay was 10 days because I had a large hernia that had to be dealt with along with the DS revision and I live about 3-4 hours away from NYC so we took the cautious route. My main piece of advice for anyone having surgery @ Lenox Hill Hospital is that if you are a bit hot-blooded or get heated rather easily, bring a fan. All I did for 10 days was literally sweat, sweat and sweat some more. That was my misery, I hate being hot and sweating day and night.
As far as eating and swallowing things, such as pills goes... when I had the RNY I was unable to swallow pills. All meds had to be in liquid form for at least 2 months. While I was in the hosp. this time around, on day 8 they began giving me pills I could swallow and I had no bad reaction to that. Thank goodness cuz many meds are absolutely nuggets of nasty if you have to mush them up and drink them (& keep them down - potassium is one of the worst).
Food (RNY): the first month into 2 months I was on mushy and pureed food along with protein drink mixes since I had many issues keeping things down. Yogurt, broth, and protein drinks were pretty much all I could handle. At some point they recommend egg beaters and I was so excited to eat something. But even with taking teenie li'l bites and eating a small amount, they didn't sit well. I also want to say that with the RNY when something doesn't "sit well" in your pouch, it can be very painful. It almost felt like someone pushed a fist into my upper abdomen and the only relief is to have the food come back up again. Sorry for being gross, but this was reality. You don't vomit, it's more like a bird in that you regurgitate what you ate, however, you may have mouth foamies first and start to feel dizzy or weird. Afterward, your body is exhausted and all you can do is rest. It can also be the same type of effect when you "dump" from over doing sugar / carbs.
Food (DS revision): About week 3, I began to experiment with more substantial mushy foods that were a tad thicker than say yogurt. The first week I was NPO, ice chips only! Second week I moved to broths, jello, sugar free pudding with some redi-whip to lighten up the texture and get rid of the aftertaste. Mashed potatoes thinned with broths. I tried oatmeal but it didn't feel right so after one small bite I haven't gone back to it. Greek yogurts with a li'l fruit mixed in. Protein shakes with soy milk, though I feel very bloated and gasy after having one. During week 3 I introduced poached eggs with cheese melted on top. That was heaven. I mush it up real well and I eat one of those almost everyday without any issues. I toast a thin & small piece of rye bread with mayo, ham, and cheese and eat half of it for lunch but in 2 hrs i'm hungry again so I finish it off after a few seconds in the microwave. Warmer food just feels good for whatever reason to me. I have eaten canned ravioli and added a real meatball to it for a touch more protein. As far as quantity, it's about a quarter to a half cup of food and i'm full, yet in 2 hours i'm very hungry again. Reminds me of hobbits... lol. Basically if the source of protein is tender, juicy, and easy to adapt then I have been able to eat it. Fish, steak, and even chicken breast meat with some gravy have stayed down and did not make me feel sick. I chew it real well, eat slowly, and always give it my fork cutting test to make sure it's doable for me. My hubs is astonished that I can actually eat and enjoy food so soon. I am as well. It's awesome! Right now i'm drinking a coffee with a 1/2 scoop of unflavored protein mix and half and half. Surprisingly it's not that bad, I think I can adapt to it. I have a confession, I ate a peanut butter egg. The whole darn thing! It was a wonderfully rich and decadent treat. I didn't get sick or any foamies etc. That's weird too since I keep expecting that I will need to run for the bathroom, so far, so good.
Healing: For me both surgeries have similar scars & related issues. At first I needed help with toileting and cleansing but now I can pretty much do it all for myself. I do get tired quickly so I've been sink bathing. Next week I may try a real shower. I have a vertical 18" scar from the open hernia repair next to where my old scar used to be. 5 lap scars and a few drain holes that are healing up nicely. My last drain was removed on Thursday @ my follow up appointment. Sleeping is difficult since I never was a back sleeper. Typically I sleep in a recliner because the bed just doesn't always work for me. Some nights are rougher than others and I so want to sleep on my side but it hurts too much for that at this point and I don't want to damage myself either.
Toileting: Don't read if you are cringe prone
While in the hosp I had so many IVs hooked up to and I was hard stick so was to keep my arms from moving much. Anyway, I needed help wiping. Didn't like asking or needing the help, however, tuck your pride aside and get the help you need when required. When I came home, I was very sore in my mid-section. Bending, twisting, stretching, etc all caused pain so I had to ask hubs for help. Ugh.
I recommend having wipes vs. toilet paper. I also recommend a product called Poo-pourri (http://poopourri.com/ ). You spray it on top of the toilet water before you go and it really works. It's made of natural oils and I find that you can also squirt it in the garbage disposal or a few spritzes in the air if you enter the throne room after someone who didn't spray first. They mostly have a lemony to citrus scent which I like. I don't work for or am associated with this company in any way whatsoever beyond being a happy customer.
This is a lot longer than I anticipated lol ... sorry but hoping someone finds this worth their time! Stay well in mind & body!
As far as eating and swallowing things, such as pills goes... when I had the RNY I was unable to swallow pills. All meds had to be in liquid form for at least 2 months. While I was in the hosp. this time around, on day 8 they began giving me pills I could swallow and I had no bad reaction to that. Thank goodness cuz many meds are absolutely nuggets of nasty if you have to mush them up and drink them (& keep them down - potassium is one of the worst).
Food (RNY): the first month into 2 months I was on mushy and pureed food along with protein drink mixes since I had many issues keeping things down. Yogurt, broth, and protein drinks were pretty much all I could handle. At some point they recommend egg beaters and I was so excited to eat something. But even with taking teenie li'l bites and eating a small amount, they didn't sit well. I also want to say that with the RNY when something doesn't "sit well" in your pouch, it can be very painful. It almost felt like someone pushed a fist into my upper abdomen and the only relief is to have the food come back up again. Sorry for being gross, but this was reality. You don't vomit, it's more like a bird in that you regurgitate what you ate, however, you may have mouth foamies first and start to feel dizzy or weird. Afterward, your body is exhausted and all you can do is rest. It can also be the same type of effect when you "dump" from over doing sugar / carbs.
Food (DS revision): About week 3, I began to experiment with more substantial mushy foods that were a tad thicker than say yogurt. The first week I was NPO, ice chips only! Second week I moved to broths, jello, sugar free pudding with some redi-whip to lighten up the texture and get rid of the aftertaste. Mashed potatoes thinned with broths. I tried oatmeal but it didn't feel right so after one small bite I haven't gone back to it. Greek yogurts with a li'l fruit mixed in. Protein shakes with soy milk, though I feel very bloated and gasy after having one. During week 3 I introduced poached eggs with cheese melted on top. That was heaven. I mush it up real well and I eat one of those almost everyday without any issues. I toast a thin & small piece of rye bread with mayo, ham, and cheese and eat half of it for lunch but in 2 hrs i'm hungry again so I finish it off after a few seconds in the microwave. Warmer food just feels good for whatever reason to me. I have eaten canned ravioli and added a real meatball to it for a touch more protein. As far as quantity, it's about a quarter to a half cup of food and i'm full, yet in 2 hours i'm very hungry again. Reminds me of hobbits... lol. Basically if the source of protein is tender, juicy, and easy to adapt then I have been able to eat it. Fish, steak, and even chicken breast meat with some gravy have stayed down and did not make me feel sick. I chew it real well, eat slowly, and always give it my fork cutting test to make sure it's doable for me. My hubs is astonished that I can actually eat and enjoy food so soon. I am as well. It's awesome! Right now i'm drinking a coffee with a 1/2 scoop of unflavored protein mix and half and half. Surprisingly it's not that bad, I think I can adapt to it. I have a confession, I ate a peanut butter egg. The whole darn thing! It was a wonderfully rich and decadent treat. I didn't get sick or any foamies etc. That's weird too since I keep expecting that I will need to run for the bathroom, so far, so good.
Healing: For me both surgeries have similar scars & related issues. At first I needed help with toileting and cleansing but now I can pretty much do it all for myself. I do get tired quickly so I've been sink bathing. Next week I may try a real shower. I have a vertical 18" scar from the open hernia repair next to where my old scar used to be. 5 lap scars and a few drain holes that are healing up nicely. My last drain was removed on Thursday @ my follow up appointment. Sleeping is difficult since I never was a back sleeper. Typically I sleep in a recliner because the bed just doesn't always work for me. Some nights are rougher than others and I so want to sleep on my side but it hurts too much for that at this point and I don't want to damage myself either.
Toileting: Don't read if you are cringe prone
While in the hosp I had so many IVs hooked up to and I was hard stick so was to keep my arms from moving much. Anyway, I needed help wiping. Didn't like asking or needing the help, however, tuck your pride aside and get the help you need when required. When I came home, I was very sore in my mid-section. Bending, twisting, stretching, etc all caused pain so I had to ask hubs for help. Ugh. I recommend having wipes vs. toilet paper. I also recommend a product called Poo-pourri (http://poopourri.com/ ). You spray it on top of the toilet water before you go and it really works. It's made of natural oils and I find that you can also squirt it in the garbage disposal or a few spritzes in the air if you enter the throne room after someone who didn't spray first. They mostly have a lemony to citrus scent which I like. I don't work for or am associated with this company in any way whatsoever beyond being a happy customer.
This is a lot longer than I anticipated lol ... sorry but hoping someone finds this worth their time! Stay well in mind & body!
