post op 4 days

Just focus on getting in as much fluid as you can. Ideally aiming for more than 1.5 litres but in the early days that's a major struggle. You have to sip literally every single minute and it's annoying and draining but you have to. Dehydration can be avoided it's just annoying his much sip sip sipping it takes! Pain wise it's normal to have aches and pains all over the place post surgery. For weeks they can come and go. ALWAYS call your surgeon if pain gets worse not better or if you're worried but honestly it's normal. If you had a dangerous leak you would know its painful and ominous and I was warned by a lady who had one I would know and boy she wasnt wrong.
Well done on the 15kgs.......huuuuge great start! Don't get worried when the dreaded stall hits especially after the early success. Pretty much everyone goes through that and that's normal too as your body adjusts and freaks out at the reduced calories,
Good luck
Xx

I don't know what the carb/calorie content is on those V8 drinks are (I couldn't tolerate them myself) but they are ok for the initial period when you are not getting much in, but later down the track when you are on purees etc it is very important you are not drinking calories :-)  Also if you get bad reflux, juices can be a trigger along with dairy.  You may find you become lactose intolerant which is extremely common.

I mainly had protein shakes with soy milk, peppermint tea and cordial.  Need to keep that protein up for energy!

I can't stand plain water either, so I have cordial in mine.  Not a lot. I've trained my tastebuds to get used to a much lower amount added to enjoy the flavour.  I can't stand the diet cordials and avoid aspartame products.  I try to have as much natural and raw as I can including raw sugar in my coffees.  My intake is under 1000cals per day (each day I vary the calorie count so my body doesn't adjust) and I'm losing weight weekly.

Peppermint & black tea also count towards your liquid intake.  I drank a lot of that initially post op.  Every surgeon is different and I'm surprised you were not already told in hospital... Try to drink 1-2L per day.  It will be hard so I always carry around my favourite bottle with me and am constantly sipping.  You can find yourself caught out and very dehydrated quickly, so remember to carry something around at all times.

The stitch part is completely normal. Mine was on my left hand side from memory.  Took a few weeks to go away but yes it is annoying especially when getting up/down, bending over.

Well done on the weight loss to date :-)

Thanks for the info especially the v8 drinks my dietician did mention these but I never had a taste for them since surgery savoury is what I am mostly going for so I will get some tomorrow..

Ginger- I started opti with one meal replaced first at the start of feb (breaky) then from beginning of march breaky & lunch with a sml salad by the time i had to do full diet i breezed thru..  sugar free lollies and jelly helped heaps

Hi Dan,

I had my surgery on Monday.  I specifically asked my surgeon how much liquids because I was worried I wasn't going to get enough and he told me 2L per day minimum.  I'm struggling with getting water down at the moment so I am doing a lot of V8 juice until it settles a bit. V8 juice is going down soooo easily.  I'm doing a similar thing to Nini with having a 600ml bottle by lunch time, combined with optifast breakfast and I feel like I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the day.

Hi Danielle76,

1. Most health professionals say to drink about 2  litres of fluid a day. To begin with this is a real struggle for a Sleeved stomach. So just keep constantly sipping and try to get in as much as you can. I found it easier to carry a bottle of water with me constantly. Mine contained 800ml. So I tried to drink one before 12 noon, one before tea and the third after tea. You will find that some fluids are easier to tolerate than others. Plain water is often difficult, if so add some diet cordial or change the temperature. To begin with I found my stomach liked hot peppermint tea better than cold water. 

2. I didn't have any right sided pain, post op. 

3. Yes, it is a great idea to add Beneful to your water. A lot of people suffer from constipation post Sleeve, so its a good idea to get in early to prevent it, I added a couple of teaspoons to my morning and evening bottles of water, you can't even tell it's there. You may very well have to take Coloxyl with Senna tablets as well. Lactulose is a good stool softener as well if things becomes desperate.

cheers Nini

Hi Dan!

Most of the surgeons and dieticians we have are a little different. Mine wanted me to be getting in at least 1 litre of fluids per day when I went home. I had the stitch pain for a few days, and it went away on it's own. Never did find out what it was!

Did you mean Benefibre or Beneprotein? Cos you don't want to be taking Beneful! I was given the go ahead to start taking both within a few days of going home. But I didn't have much luck with the fibre part. A few lovely nurses on the forum pointed me in the direction of Coloxyl with Senna tablets. My bum thanked them profusely for that!

Hi Dan,

I am not yet sleeved.... So have no answers for you sorry... But just wanted to say

GOOD ON YOU!!

4 days post op and no problems.... We'll done

And 15kg lost already. I commend you for starting opti early.
I have about 8 weeks until my op and really want to get a head start too. How did you introduce opti to your daily diet initially?

Will keep watching for your updates. And best wishes for the recovery stage.

Ginger

Hi everyone

Its been 4 days since my sleeve op and am quite surprised at how little pain I have
..
I have a few questions tho:
1 How much fluid intake should I be drinking?
2 did anyone have stitch like pain on right side of stomach away from keyhole entry?
3 Is it ok to start taking beneful?
I am so glad i have had this done Ive already lost 15 kilos since starting optifast gradually in february and im overwhelmed at how easy it the journey has been except for tuesday afternoon after surgery that was the only time i had doubted my decision...
Thanks in advance
Dan