Hello, fellow June 2013 sleevers

[Jozefina]

How long have you been on pureed,what have you actually been eating,I start tomorrow & looking for idea's rather than mashed potato

I know you were asking AE not me but he and I are at the same stage and following a similar plan, so I can share what I'm having if that helps?

I've been on purees for a week and have a further week to go. I'm steering clear of anything carby (like mash) and going for pureed protein and veg (for fibre, to help with the dreaded need to land the eagle) when possible. Greek yoghurt (more protein than "regular") has been a real lifeline and I use a spoonful in most things to add to the pureed nature and add some protein.

Yesterday I had a cauli and broccoli cheese - heated it up, then added some GY and pureed. Very nice. I've also found that adding GY to a chunky soup and then pureeing it works well. Baxters do a salmon and broccoli one which is part of their "feel fuller longer" range and that's delicious; one tin does me 3 meals.

I'm also having the small individual pots of Muller Greek yoghurt as a snack if I feel I want one. Today I'm going to make a turkey (lower fat than beef) mince bolognaise in the slow cooker and puree a bit for me so that my H can have his as a regular sauce over pasta (luckily, I'm not a fan of pasta or potatoes so I don't miss them).

I've also done white fish fillets and spinach (the latter for iron and fibre) in cheese sauce very successfully - the stick blender is getting a good work out at the moment!

HTH
J x

 

[Jozefina]

Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well.

Hie Jozefina, I'm down 18lbs, trying to get my energy levels up. Drinking is still not at ideal levels. But happy with my sleeve.

Wow - great losses, you must be feeling fab, no wonder you're happy!

Really glad for you xx

 

[muhsi1]

Shall we have a thread of our own in here?

My op is on Thursday 13th June in London and I started my pre-surgical regime on Thursday 30th May - 7lbs down so far although I'm ravenous!

Looking forward to meeting you in here and to us suporting each other in the coming months.

J xx

I shoud be having my op mid July, could I join the group, it really is a great idea to have a thread for folks that are more or less on the same point in the journey.

 

[Jozefina]

I shoud be having my op mid July, could I join the group, it really is a great idea to have a thread for folks that are more or less on the same point in the journey.

Welcome!

You'll get lots of support and understanding here

 

[AlphaEcho]

Leave your scars ALONE, AE!

I'm a bloke - that's what we do touch and prod things. But your right I will stop, have been applying a bit of Bio-Oil to them to keep them soft and they look pretty good right now, the one just below my breastbone is hardly visible already.

You've got your follow up appointment with MR far sooner than I have - I'm not booked in to see him until the end of July. Say hi from me (!)

Had a phone call last Monday and said there was a spot available to see him on Monday 1st so I took it. They seem surprised when I asked them where the appointment was because I've seen him elsewhere apart from at Parkside.

I'll say Hi for you - that will confuse him, I will say you are the one who was disappointed not to get a DVD when he did your op a couple of days after mine.

Hope your stall shifts soon - as you know, the last two weeks have been up and down for me too and I am currently in a downward trend but I know that could stop at any point. But I'm just trying to stick to the food and water plan and trust the process ...

Cheers and good luck - J x

Exactly, we've had a great big chunk or stomach removed and our input levels are right down - so your body has to use reserves from elsewhere eventually. As you say trust the process.

I seem to have got into a bit of a bad habit recently as well - I've started eating to quickly. I never used to do this was always the last to finish but since going onto pureed food I'm eating to quick and suffer for it a bit later. I even eat with a teaspoon to try and force myself to go slower. Maybe it's because I'm not enjoying this stage as much. I got on fine with soup and shakes, so much so that I've reverted back to them a little bit. I don't mind pureed veg so much but pureed meat just doesn't cut it for me.

Take care.

AE.

 

[Jozefina]

I think I'm eating too quickly too - have also reverted to a teaspoon! I seem to get hiccups when I do eat quickly, so I'm trying to do the 20-20 thing and count to 20 between mouthfuls. WHEN I can be fully in the moment and really focus on my food, it helps so I know that's the way forward. I'm also not keen on meat, although am having a go at turkey "bolognaise" later on <fingers crossed>. It smells OK, LOL.

I'm still having shakes for breakfast, but then I did that pre-op too.

I really (really) hope my energy levels come back up a bit this week, as I'm allegedly due back at work next week and I can't imagine being lively enough for that at the moment ...

 

[AlphaEcho]

I'm not the worlds greatest meat eater myself for the majority of the time at home prior to surgery I eat vegetarian but have been trying to get a bit more meat into my diet to try and get the protein levels up a bit whilst I recover.

Quite a few people don't like the smell of the ready mixed Slim-Fast shakes, but I really like them and lived on them for my pre-op diet, so don't mind them now either and they're pretty well balanced and as a plus they are currently half price at Boots so just ordered a load on-line.

I seem to have more energy than you which to some degree is frustrating because there's lots of things I need to do, but for the sake of not injuring anything I have currently put them off.

All the best when you go back to work, hope you can ease yourself back into it slowly.

AE.

 

[Jozefina]

I'm not the worlds greatest meat eater myself for the majority of the time at home prior to surgery I eat vegetarian but have been trying to get a bit more meat into my diet to try and get the protein levels up a bit whilst I recover.

Quite a few people don't like the smell of the ready mixed Slim-Fast shakes, but I really like them and lived on them for my pre-op diet, so don't mind them now either and they're pretty well balanced and as a plus they are currently half price at Boots so just ordered a load on-line.

I seem to have more energy than you which to some degree is frustrating because there's lots of things I need to do, but for the sake of not injuring anything I have currently put them off.

All the best when you go back to work, hope you can ease yourself back into it slowly.

AE.

Have you tried cottage or ricotta cheese mixed in with your veg puree of choice? Or Greek yog, of course. All good sources of protein if you don't fancy meat (at all, or all the time). How are you re fish? I've pureed smoked salmon bits and GY and dill to make a really nice pate. I also have some white shredded crab to try.

Re work - hmmm. Am anxious; I have quite a "big" job IYKWIM and it's rather full on, with implications if I mess up (and it's year end, alas).

Still, hopefully another week off will help!

Jx

 

[ThinnerJemima]

Wow AE that is early for your follow up appointment. I'm a couple of weeks ahead of you and mine is also in mid July.

Puréed and mushy food..... you are making me salivate, am STILL on fluids :cry:

 

[Jozefina]

Wow AE that is early for your follow up appointment. I'm a couple of weeks ahead of you and mine is also in mid July.

Puréed and mushy food..... you are making me salivate, am STILL on fluids :cry:

Oh no! Is the fluids an open ended thing for you? How difficult x

 

[AlphaEcho]

Have you tried cottage or ricotta cheese mixed in with your veg puree of choice? Or Greek yog, of course. All good sources of protein if you don't fancy meat (at all, or all the time). How are you re fish? I've pureed smoked salmon bits and GY and dill to make a really nice pate. I also have some white shredded crab to try.

Re work - hmmm. Am anxious; I have quite a "big" job IYKWIM and it's rather full on, with implications if I mess up (and it's year end, alas).

Still, hopefully another week off will help!

Jx

I never realised just what a fussy eater I am until I had to sit down and go through what I was and wasn't allowed to eat after surgery. I have never had a sweet tooth so will never miss chocolates and the like, my problem was always quantity because I always felt hungry, even the dietician I saw before invoking on the surgery route said my diet was pretty healthy. Since surgery though I have not felt hungry at all - I hope it continues that way, MR was right when he said removing that bit of your stomach stops the brain receiving erroneous hunger signals.

I cannot abide soft cheeses the likes of Ricotta and Cottage cheese makes me want to heave it's just so wrong, cheese should be like Cheddar and other hard cheeses. Sea food is another thing I'm not to fond of, give me a piece of cod or plaice and I'm happy, put legs / claws or shells with it and it's not for me, maybe I got put off on a holiday one year when I ate curried conch! Who in their right mind wants to eat a giant sea snail. But with only another week of pureed foods to go I will easily survive.

Hopefully the other week will give you a bit more energy before you go back to work. I don't have that worry anymore as I took early retirement from a job I had been doing for 30 years and one that I loved. The reason was down to my weight that made it harder and harder to pass routine medical examinations. The only really good thing that came out of it was the means to get my surgery done.

Wow AE that is early for your follow up appointment. I'm a couple of weeks ahead of you and mine is also in mid July.

Puréed and mushy food..... you are making me salivate, am STILL on fluids :cry:

Don't know why my appointment is so soon but happy that it is because if anything is wrong I'm still covered by the hospital under my package. Maybe it's because I paid what I consider to be a hefty amount of money for the privilege of having it done privately because my CCG wasn't interested or because my surgeon likes me. Either way I'm glad I did because I like my surgeon and have total faith in his ability.

How come your still on fluids? I guess every provider is different Jozefina and I have the same one so with ours it's 2 weeks on fluids, 2 weeks on pureed and 2 weeks on soft foods before back on normal food. To be honest, personally I was happier on fluids than cat food - I thought my days of dishing that up were over a few years ago after my last cat passed away, god knows why he loved it so much though!

AE.

 

[ThinnerJemima]

Had a few problems so have only had 1 300g ready meal since surgery

Am waiting to hear back if I can move onwards and upwards.

Soul destroying as have been on milk for about 12 weeks :cry::cry:

 

[AlphaEcho]

Had a few problems so have only had 1 300g ready meal since surgery

Am waiting to hear back if I can move onwards and upwards.

Soul destroying as have been on milk for about 12 weeks :cry::cry:

Sorry to hear you had some problems, I hope when you hear back from them it's going to be good news and you can move on from the liquid stage.

Will be thinking of you, all the very best.

AE.

 

[ThinnerJemima]

I can only dream of cat food at the moment and it seems very strangely yummy. Last wls the novelty wore off remarkably quickly but even a sachet of real Whiskers would be tempting at the moment :wave_cry:

 

[AlphaEcho]

ThinnerJemima & Jozefina,

Just got back from seeing Mr R at Parkside, he was also surprised to see me so soon, but we had a good chat about how things were going. He was happy with everything and made my day when he had a prod at my scars (how come he's allowed to do that and I get told off if I do it) and said my trousers looked a bit too big for me I guess it must be a bit obvious, I noticed it when I put them on but thought I'd get away with it. I'm now cutting out the mid morning and mid afternoon snacks at his suggestion so that I don't get used to them in the future. Sounds very sensible to me even though I was only having half a bottle of SlimFast at each one.

I am apparently a "model patient" after not suffering from any pain or other affects following surgery. Mr R is now my new best friend

I mentioned that I had met you on an online forum site and he thought it was a really good idea for people who had had their surgery done by the same surgeon to compare notes to see how each of us was doing.

Jozefina - I said I had been chatting to you and that he had done your surgery as well. He said he remembered because you were so troublesome and demanding when you were in hosptial Only joking he said he hoped you were doing OK and not all hospitals had the facilities to record the operation but that he always likes to give patients a copy when he can. He seemed quite impressed that I watched mine as soon as I got home he felt most people left it a few weeks before normally watching them.

Anyway, will have another follow up in 3 - 6 months and he said if I wanted to see him before then to either call him or just make another appointment. Such a nice man.

Hope you're both OK and enjoying the warmer weather.

AE.

 

[Jozefina]

ThinnerJemima & Jozefina,

Jozefina - I said I had been chatting to you and that he had done your surgery as well. He said he remembered because you were so troublesome and demanding when you were in hosptial Only joking he said he hoped you were doing OK and not all hospitals had the facilities to record the operation but that he always likes to give patients a copy when he can. He seemed quite impressed that I watched mine as soon as I got home he felt most people left it a few weeks before normally watching them.

Anyway, will have another follow up in 3 - 6 months and he said if I wanted to see him before then to either call him or just make another appointment. Such a nice man.

Hope you're both OK and enjoying the warmer weather.

AE.

Cheeky! I was - and indeed am - also a model patient. Not to mention one who wouldn't have WANTED a DVD even had it been available

Really glad your meeting went well, though, you must be pleased on a number of levels, not least that we chose such a great surgeon!

Re the weather - I haven't actually been that warm and am actually layering up and feeling chilly! I suspect I'm in ketosis (haven't checked) and so feeling a bit nippy for that reason.

 

[ThinnerJemima]

I'm one of his as well, but I am not a model patient. I've now had four procedures with him and my husband just the one. Not that we are keeping score of course

 

[AlphaEcho]

Cheeky! I was - and indeed am - also a model patient. Not to mention one who wouldn't have WANTED a DVD even had it been available

Really glad your meeting went well, though, you must be pleased on a number of levels, not least that we chose such a great surgeon!

Re the weather - I haven't actually been that warm and am actually layering up and feeling chilly! I suspect I'm in ketosis (haven't checked) and so feeling a bit nippy for that reason.

I think you really wanted the DVD but are just putting a brave face on things. After all, who doesn't want to see their insides being chopped up and removed, this was my reaction when part of my stomach disappeared :wave_cry:

I do think we are all very lucky to have had our surgery done by him, I've not heard from anyone who hasn't got the highest of praise for him, and deservedly so in my opinion.

Is that a side effect of ketosis? I haven't really looked it up, but normally I'm not one for really hot weather but ever since my surgery I haven't felt overly hot at any stage, even yesterday which was apparently the hottest day of the year I didn't feel that hot!

I'm one of his as well, but I am not a model patient. I've now had four procedures with him and my husband just the one. Not that we are keeping score of course

You must be taking up all his time as I am still waiting to hear back from him !!

Oh Jemima, :jelous: jealousy is such a wicked thing. I'm not sure it's me taking up all his time, as he said today, "I'm just given a list of places and times where I have to be".

Maybe you should give his secretary a ring or drop her an e-mail she has always been extremely helpful when I have [STRIKE]taken up all her time[/STRIKE] contacted her, but then again as you're not a model patient like Jozefina or me you may not get anywhere

Tomorrow I'm off to see my GP (if that's ok with you, ) as Mr R and him are friends, hence how I first got to meet him.

I'm now keeping my head down awaiting the reply

AE.

 

[ThinnerJemima]

:needhug:

 

[Jozefina]

Jemima, I've got emails and phone numbers for MR - can't you contact him directly if you need/want to? Assuming AE has left him any free time, of course ...

Also - will I meet you tomorrow, J? Was thinking I'd come along to the Wallington meet. How many of you tend to go and how will I find you?

AE, are you going too, given it will be a local chapter meeting of the MRAS?