supplies after surgery

respiratorygirl · 05-30-2005, 10:46 PM

Hi everyone, I'm preparing for my June 15 surgery. I was wondering what those that have been banded say is must have items at home after surgery. I don't want to have to be running out to the store to pick up something I had forgot. My Dr. also allows protein shakes after surgery. I have tried these before and gaged them down, I definately don't want to be throwing up from drinking a shake. What kind of protein shakes do you all recommend that is at least drinkable?

thanks
Sara

Shannon · 05-30-2005, 10:51 PM

Boost is pretty good. Don't forget jello, broth, crystal light (the to-go cl are great with bottled water!)

After a week or so when I was just sick and tired of broth, I blended some chicken noodle soup and some chili. It was fan-double-tastic! I also had egg drop soup and put small crumbles of the crunchy noodles in there just for a little texture...listen to your body and don't overdo it! You'll do great!

Good luck!
Shan ;)

the best me · 05-30-2005, 11:02 PM

I did Boost, they have a high protien version, 15gm or mg, whichever, didn't have on my reading glasses, which is not as much as some of the others but it was drinkable. I still do one for breakfast on Sundays and drink it in the car on the way to church. Chocolate or Vanilla, yummy.

Get a few containers of Chicken Broth, one of beef when the chicken gets old for you. Swanson's makes it. Gas-X dissolvable tablets. Antibiotic ointment for your incisions. Make sure you have a heating pad for your back/neck/shoulders or for your belly if needed. Gatorade or Propel went down better than plain water. Hot tea bags. Jello. That should pretty well get you through week 1. And then, Egg Drop Soup. Oh my gosh, I would NOT have made it without that on occasion. And it was a nice quick outing to the Chinese place up the road. And the price was right, $1.87 for a large which was 2 meals at the time. Now I can eat/drink and entire large and when I did that I quit eating it!! It's ALOT of soup. During week 2 I would add in the fried noodles and let them soak really well, and it gave me a little something to chew that was still soggy. I'm sure there are other items to be recommended, but that's about all I needed. I over-bought and still have stuff in the cabinet I never got to. It's amazing how long your leftovers will last compared to pre-banding.

Good luck!

DtDtKty · 05-30-2005, 11:25 PM

I would recommend having some children's Tylenol around, either the liquid or the melt-away tablets (since you won't be able to swallow pills). I had a low grade fever for a few days post-op and the Tylenol helped keep it under control.

I mainly lived on Gatorade, Jell-o, apple juice, and white grape juice for the first week after surgery. I also enjoyed Streit's Chicken Consomme. It had a really good flavor and was a little thicker than regular broth. It can be found in the Kosher section of the grocery store.

As far as protein shakes go, I too use the Boost with Protein shakes when I am on the go. For the rest of my shakes (I still drink a shake every morning for breakfast) I went to www.bariatriceating.com. You can buy a sampler pack ahead of time to try things out or buy individual samples. One of my favorites is Elite's Chocolate Mint.

Best of luck to you.

j. lynn · 05-30-2005, 11:55 PM

Don't get too much -- tastes can change after surgery. Plan for 4-5 days worth, by then you should feel okay to go back to the store if you need more stuff.

Get soup -- broth mostly or some cream soups if you're allowed full liquids.

My only pain meds after surgery was children's liquid tylenol. Since then, I've discovered that they do have an adult version of the liquid tylenol -- only place I've found it at is Wal Mart. Doesn't taste as good as the children's, but you have to take way less of it.
Get some Jell-o.
Get some sugar-free popsicles.

I don't do protein drinks, but when I was on my post-op liquid diet, I had 3 CIB drinks a day. Each is 20 grams of protein and 230 calories. What I did was:
1 packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast (get the blue box -- no-sugar added)
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup powdered milk.
Mix it all up and drink! I would have 1/2 of one every 2-3 hours during the day, for a total of 60 grams of protein, 690 calories. Since we can have more calories than that, I also had soups, koolaid (sugar free), whatever.