Aurora

I want to share some of the things that I've figured out during this two weeks of eating liquids only.

First of all get a Magic Bullet! You've probably seen them on an Infomercial. It makes pureeing soups so easy. The blending containers are microwave safe and can be your dish for blending, heating and eating. They come with lids so you can also store in the same container. You can order it at Amazon or on the official website http://www.buythebullet.com/ or get it at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $50. (The one on the official website is $99 and has a lot more than what I got at BB&B.) One of the great things about the Bullet is that I can make very small portions and still get them sufficiently pureed. Something I was not able to do with the standard blender.

It also makes a great sorbet from frozen fruit you can buy at the grocery store...a few frozen strawberries and a few Tbs of juice...all fruit, no fat and YUMMY! It also makes great fruit smoothies with a scoop of protien powder, fruit, yogurt and juice...then you can store it for later too. A scoop of chocolate protein powder, nonfat milk and a few ice cubes in the bullet and you have a delicious milk shake!

It will surely be just as useful during the mushy food stage as it has been in the liquid.

I quickly got tired of the Campbell and Progresso soup choices and found some really good soups at Trader Joe's. The Creamy Corn and Red Pepper (already pureed) is great and so are the Sweet Potato Bisque, and Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper. TJs also has small single serving size drinkable yogurts that are great for on the go.

Stay away from a pureed Clam Chowder....uck! Too fishy when pureed...was like fish paste!

Counting down, only 6 days to go on liquids only!

I'd love to hear from others about what they've done to make the post-op diet work for them.

To the three others who had plications Nov. 29....I'm wondering how you all are recovering and would love to hear about your experiences this week.

I'm feeling really good but have had some minor ups and downs mostly due to having to relearn my stomach and the new sensations it produces. On Wednesday when I traveled home I felt slightly weakened, but made it home without incident. I was very tired but felt fine. The following day I felt AMAZING! As a nurse I should have known better...but I went ahead and overdid it. I worked (from home) all day, walked my dog twice (1 mile each time) and completely misinterpreted the stomach sensations as hunger. Needless to say I paid the price the next day with sharp stomach pains and spasms. My biggest mistake was that I thought I needed something more than clear fluids because of all of the stomach gyrations. I ate some pureed "cream of..." soup and a bit of drinkable yogurt....went back to clears the next two days. Yesterday I had a bit of pureed soup and drinkable yogurt in the evening and felt fine.

I'm still experiencing sharp and pinching pains in my stomach and the gyrations that feel like hunger. If I sit down and rest the sharp pains go away. I wonder how much is actual stomach pain and how much is abdominal muscle pain due to the laparoscopy...time will tell. The gyrations, I have found, pass fairly quickly with patience. They seem to be occurring less frequently and with less intensity each day.

I begin four days of traveling cross-country tomorrow and am concerned about what I'll eat. I'm going to take my immersible blender with me. The inability to carry liquids from home onto the plane presents a problem for my all day flying tomorrow. The good thing is that I certainly don't require much volume so should be able to figure something out.

I'd love to hear from you and hope you are recovering well!