Fiber during post-op

[pinkfordyone]

I am on day 6 of post-op...the wonderful juice, Gatorade and broth stage. Did I mention juice and broth.

My question is...Do I need to be concerned about fiber. Was taken fiber before surgery, but wasn't sure about after surgery. Thanks for the input, Juicy

[funmama707]

From what I can tell fiber isn't important and is not necessary during this stage. Maybe even should be avoided?

I'm interested to see what others have to say.

[bogiesmom]

Just letting you know that fiber is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT on 3 levels:

1. Fiber (like Protein) controls hunger

2. Fiber is a nifty little trickster in the most naughty of ways that appeals strongly to my bad girl sense of being - Lets pretend you are eating 2 slices of bread that have a total of 90 calories and 5 grams of fiber (2 grams is considered fair, 3-good, 4-high and anything above that-excellent). Even though the bread has 90 calories, the high fiber content makes your body think it is only consuming 50 calories (sneaky, sneaky, sneaky)! This is because your body absorbs fiber immediately.

3. Fiber keeps the pipes active

For reason 2 - this is the principle behind Weight Watchers - Calories, Fiber, Fat. If you consume something high in fiber yet low in fat you pretty much have more of it with fewer points. The bread I used for the example is Sara Lee Delightful White or Wheat Bread (1 WW Points for 2 slices) whereas most breads on the market you have to count 4 WW points for 2 slices due to the low fiber.

The fiber chewables that Dr. Miranda recommended pre-op were for a reason...to keep your hunger at bay during the pre-op diet phase. She recommended that I keep chewing away during the post op diet phase as well. It did not end there though. I also use Benefiber drink mixes in my water AND used Benefiber tasteless, disovable powder in my broths. I also really like the Active Lifestyle gelatin cups that have 4 grams of fiber per cup! They taste better then Jell-O brand too in my opinion. One of those with fat free cool whip and you are in heaven. (Now I have to go get some for a snack)

You should try to shoot for 35 grams of fiber a day. I know that is A LOT. But anyone who can consume that much fiber is losing more weight and quicker than those who do not. On a good day I can consume about 25 grams.

[pinkfordyone]

Thanks! Girl, you should write a book, I would buy it! Thank you for all the info. you share, it is one of the reasons I love this place. I have all that fiber stuff at home, but wasn't sure if I was supposed to be doing it in this phase. Watch out fiber, here I come!

[GoingForIt]

Hi, I had my surgery the day after you. I asked Dr. Miranda 2 days ago about this fiber thing and she said no Benefiber.

She suggested I drink prune juice or take a glycerin suppository. The problem went away on its own, thankfully, and I think during this liquid phase I will just have to count on a bowel movement every few days instead of once a day.

Hope that helps. I think they have changed the recommendations for post-op since some people have had their surgeries.

Anna

[bogiesmom]

Hi, I had my surgery the day after you. I asked Dr. Miranda 2 days ago about this fiber thing and she said no Benefiber.

She suggested I drink prune juice or take a glycerin suppository. The problem went away on its own, thankfully, and I think during this liquid phase I will just have to count on a bowel movement every few days instead of once a day.

Hope that helps. I think they have changed the recommendations for post-op since some people have had their surgeries.

Anna

Hmmm, very interesting since benefiber is a powder that completely disolves in water and is tasteless and odorless, I wonder why Dr. Miranda would have something against shakable fiber powder but not a sugar substitute that you put in tea or Crystal Light On The Go? As far as the benefiber chewables, did Dr. Miranda say you could not have a chewable daily vitamin as well? Just wondering since she told me both Benefiber and a chewable daily vitamin were what she recommended. I had my surgery 11/13/09 which was only 2 months ago, surely things could not have changed that much.

[macleay]

I emailed Dr. Miranda to see what the scoop is and here is her response:

"If you are hungry after the surgery during the post-op liquid diet you can have a metamucil capsule with plenty plentu of water.

Dr. MIranda"

[bogiesmom]

I emailed Dr. Miranda to see what the scoop is and here is her response:

"If you are hungry after the surgery during the post-op liquid diet you can have a metamucil capsule with plenty plentu of water.

Dr. MIranda"

Thanks, I learned something new today. I did not know that Metamucil came in a fiber capsule (although come to think of it I have seen generic fiber capsules before).

[pinkfordyone]

Thanks guys... I wonder if it is because fiber may swell. Just a though.

I did Benefiber one day, hope no harm done.