I am doing sooo much better now! I'm losing weight and feeling great. I got my g-tube out last Tuesday, so I'm now officially tubeless! I am a little bad, though, because the week I got the drain out, I did clear liquids, but after that, I kinda skipped to regular foods. The puree wasn't appetizing. However, the doctor said that I'm okay as long as I'm tolerating things.

Now my problem is getting enough protein. I'm not even close. I'm also not getting enough water. Add that to having low blood pressure to begin with, I'm always feeling faint. A big problem is that I was never a meat eater. And, I can't tolerate plain milk. My hair is falling out and my weight loss has slowed. They said it was due to protein deficiency.

Anyway, I'm working on it, and I know I'll be alright. But, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for talking me through this ordeal, and to give you an update. I'm now down 84.2 pounds!

Hi all! I am Sarajane. I had the RNY June 22 (12 days ago). I have had no complications but you guys could scare me to death! Do more people than not have complications? I am too having trouble getting the protein. I TRY to drink 3 Advant Edge drinks a day to get 45g... but it is hard. It is like you spend 30 minutes on water, 30 minutes on mushy food, 30 minutes on water, 30 minutes on protein... and then you start all over again. I feel like all I do is eat and drink. My doctor told me to get Nioxin (sp??) the shampoo that cancer patients use, to keep my hair from falling out. Has anyone used it? Any good food solutions would be helpful. I have had about all the refried beans and lowfat cheese I can take. I am about smoothied out as well.

Any and all advice will be great!

Have a wonderful FOURTH!!

Mandy Lynn - I am so glad to hear that you are doing so much better...fantastic!! Stick in there!
To all of you chickies celebrating your independence from us bad guys...HAVE A GREAT DAY!!
Love from Bonnie Scotland
Heather

Mandy Glad your doing so much better. Hang in there and it will be okay. I've never had surgery by my DH ole Alvin had it in April 2002 and then in August he developed complications, but got over them and he's really a new man. While the bad times are happening, you do have doubts, but once they are over, you realize that yes, it was worth the trouble.

To you and Sarajane, just wait until Jiffy reads you post about having trouble getting your protien in. That's her

Hope everyone is having a great holiday

ok ok ok . i'm here. congrats, mandy, on turning this corner. it's been a long long haul for you and you can finally see some hope. and sarajane [did you know my parent's ALMOST named me sarah jane????] most people do quite well.. these comlications ARE NOT THE NORM, but they DO happen... and no one knows who it'll happen to, so it's real important that we stay aware of them.

and now, you two. let's get to the protein topic.

have your docs cleared you to eat thinly sliced deli meats? how about high protein soups like lentil or black bean [not the kind with pasta]. or [my favorite] chickarina? we have to separate liquids from solids, so i fished out the cute little meatballs from the chickarina soup and ate them, along with the soft cooked veggies. it worked great.

cottage cheese
eggs
the egg nog protein shake [3 servings of egg beaters, 3/4 c skim milk, vanilla extract, sweetener to taste, nutmeg/cinnamon to taste]. you can also dump this whole thing into a baking dish and bake it at 350 for about 30-45 minutes to make an egg custard.

thinly sliced deli turkey or chicken. yes, even the flavored ones.

anything ground. ground turkey. ground chicken, ground beef. whatever works. that means a hamburger/turkey burger or meatballs

finely chop some chicken with gravy

fish. soft fish. canned tuna. flounder catfish canned salmon [mix some canned salmon with a little cottage cheese and some seasonings, and bake for a decent salmon cake]

watch the carbs. don't eat anything with more than 15 grams of carbs at first. this reduces the risk of dumping. some folks can tolerate more, but most can't., don't push.

or chili. chili works great.

eggs
tofu

try another protein shake. i like the nectar proteins. kind of like crystal light with protein. other folks like isopure.

mandy: don't worry about the milk. but DO drink your water. it's really important. there's no reason to be dehydrated. yes, it takes work, but you can do it!!!!!

hope this helps!!!!