11 days post-surgery and I feel a little lost

Thanks everyone for the advice and letting me know how you handled your situations.

In regards to my little rashes, today it's been better. The past few days I've been using betadine on them. Rash is still there but less itchy and red, which is good news.

I don't know how I'll react if and when anyone asks me directly if I've had weight loss surgery. I'm not at all ashamed of my decision to have the surgery or that I want people to think I'm so incredible that I've done nothing but diet and excersise, but I still don't want people to know. I'm a terrible liar but maybe in months to come I'll be more open about it.

In the meantime I think I'll use "I'm on a diet" excuse when eating out with other people. I think if I say I'm unwell it may bring up more questions. 

I'm going to try and organise myself to make some homemade stock. All of you had some great ideas, I really appreciate it. Bring on puréed!

Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and support. Really helps!

(Please note: I've never been a forum user so please excuse me if I'm not doing something right! I'd reply to each of you but that's a little out of my legue atm!)

Or the other option is to make your own chicken or beef stock.. which is what I did. Much yummier!  Or mushroom soup, use dried and fresh, blitz it heaps, then strain any too big bits and water down if needed.

Check with your doctor if your worried about the rash, or try bepanthen or something on it and see if it clears.  A couple of mine got inflamed from the glue on the 'band aids' (I don't know what there called) they used to cover them for the first week.

Re food after surgery.  I hadn't told anyone about my surgery either.  In the first month afterwards when I went along to different functions I just told people I was doing optifast and either had that or had nothing.  I did drink lots of coffee/tea/water.

If I went out I ordered soup (easier in the winter months obviously).

Or if there was high protein soft food (after the first 2 weeks), I just ate that.  I remember going to 5 yr old birthday party about 3 weeks out.  I 'shared' a plate with my 6 yr old nephew to hide the fact I wasn't eating much.  I did take some protein shakes in the car in case there wasn't anything suitable, but in the end I ate some quiche (the filling part) and cthe filling from a cheese and spinach triangle and just moved the food around my plate a lot.  People are too wrapped in there own stuff to notice usually.  Especially at the start.

I was also worried about people noticing.  I found I got hammered about my eating a few months later when it was obvious I had lost weight.  By then I was eating more normal food.  So it was easier.

I know everyone experience is different.  Its been just over 6 month since my surgery, and the last 2 months for me have been the worst regarding people watching my eating and hammering me for it.  In a couple of cases I have been totally shocked by what people have said to me about it.  I think at the start I was more worried about it, and so prepared myself mentally to answer any questions and I didn't really get many.  I got complacent.  So when it did happen in the last two months I was not prepared, so just sat there with a shocked look on my face.

HI Melly88......

I too am newly sleeved 13 days ago. Still on liquids. It was driving me bonkers.....so this is my day;
Optifast with extra scoop of protein and benefibre in a shaker with lots of ice
Water
lunch - cauliflower soup
water
glass apple juice
dinner - pumpkin or cauli soup
water
supper - yoghurt and sometimes i add a teaspoon of milo for flavour.

I find that adding the savoury makes me feel like im having meals. 

I too havent told anyone about the surgery and have been to some recent functions. I chose a big salad with avocado and hummus. I mashed the avo and just ate that and the hummus...no one really notice the salad didnt get touched. 
ANother event, I just said Id ended up eating before and was just going to have a drink and mingled!
Ive told family that Im dieting and that at Xmas Im sticking to my regime,.....they are all very respectful and think ive got the most amazing will power! Kinda funny!

Youre so close to starting purees....which im planning on;
Spinach curry sauce
refried beans and salsa
mashed seeet potato
hummus and avocado


Hope this helps! And I wish you all the very best ! X

Hi Melly88

I found it a bit of shock at that stage and to be honest it was pretty hard for the whole of the first month. I had to go to a kitchen tea with relatives who did not know about my sleeve at this time. I just sipped hot tea. If you are offered food, take a small portion and then just say nothing more, it is nobody's business. If you are offered more food note you haven't finished what you have and simply say you have had enough. 

No offence to Jen.p, but prior to my sleeve I took advice from the forum and got some consumme ready made at the supermarket, I tried it once  about four days posts surgery, it was disgusting and I left the rest in the panty for cooking. Can I suggest the following, in a sauce pan melt a little butter add some ground garlic concentrate, some pepper and any other spices you are fond off, as that warms pour in some real chicken stock (check the package don't buy products that are 'like' stock), add a can of tomato puree and if you want dropp in some bacon rashers, bring this to a simmer for about 20 minutes. When finished cooking strain out the solids through a fine strainner or a linnen tea towel.  Spray some cooking oil on a muffin tray and fill the muffin spaces with your liquid and freeze into portions. This tastes much better and you can vary the recipe to suit your tastes. When you are ready for puree, cook your favorite flavours into a casserole with plenty of veges and enough liquid stock that it is not too thick, puree this thoroughly and again freeze it into portions in your muffin tray, you can freeze up a couple of different recipe batches so that you can vary your puree meals and it tastes good even if it looks like poop. Once you get futher out to introducing cruskets or a bit of toast you can dipp the toast in the puree and each meal takes less than two minutes to defrost and reheat in the microwave. 

I work in a very public position and my sleeve has been kept quite a closely guarded secret so getting through and answering questions without telling the world has been something that I have had to deal with. When you go back to work you will be able to take your puree in a little container and heat it up. 

For what it is worth, I am seven months out now, and although the first month was a lot more difficult than everyone had made out it would be, I now understand why they forget how bad it was, because they are right, it is absolutely all worth it and I wouldn't go back now for anything.

Good luck, take it easy and expect it to take a month to six weeks before everything starts to settle down. 

May9

Hi Melly

I've just been sleeved, and although quite a few people know about it, there are a lot more who don't. As for Christmas parties, for me, I will tell people that i'm happy to come, but that i'm not feeling well, so I don't think I'd really eat much more than some soup. That way they get your company, but know in advance that you're not going to eat, or if it's a spur of the moment thing, you can always just say that you ate before you got the invite...

With your incisions, if you are worried about them, head to your GP. They'll be able to tell you if there's anything you need to worry about...

With the extra protein, I found that rather than a cup a soup thing, if you go to the stock section in the supermarket, and get the beef consume, it has more protein, and it's something savoury for you to cut the sweet.

Good Luck :)

Hi everyone.

I had my sleeve done on 2nd December. There's a few things I'm wondering about, I hope someone may be able to shed some light.

First thing: My incisions, they look like they are healing fine but since my dressings came off, the two main incisions near my belly button have developed a red itchy rash around them. Has anyone else had this? My mum thinks it's possibly a heat rash from when the dressings were on, I've also read it could be a reaction to the glue they use to close the incisions. I'm getting a little concerned as the rash is getting a little bigger each day.

Also I'm struggling with my liquid diet, trying to get enough protein as there's only so much milk and optifast I can take. I've had some homemade vegetable soup but I want something more protein rich. In a few days I'll be on puréed foods, so any tips for that too?

My other main concern is: Very few people know about my surgery. Obviously Christmas is coming up, and I have other things I need to attend. How do I avoid eating if I've been asked to dinner or lunch? I can't keep using the excuse that I'm unwell and can't attend, can I? What do you do  when those situations arise? Particularly early post op.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to help me.