19 Year Old Male. Scoliosis Progressing.

[JDM555]

Sorry, John, didn't mean to give you the bad info about "Ensure". It just has high calories, vitamins and liquid. When I drink them I get really bad diarrhea, so that's why I don't drink them now for my low body weight. But, if you're having problems going.... Anyway, I suggested it because that is what my doctor had me do to get weight up. But if you don't like them anyway, you aren't going to keep it down. Sugar isn't always a bad thing. Your brain lives on glucose and water. It can't tell the difference between table sugar and fruit sugar once it is broken down and metabolized by the body. I don't buy into all that hype, but that's just me. Everything in moderation.

The most important thing is to keep yourself hydrated, especially if you are throwing up. All sorts of bad things happen when you get dehydrated. So plain old water is better than nothing. Sometimes if I'm feeling really yucky from dehydration I will drink pedialyte (but I think it tastes bad no matter what flavor - they have plain flavorless if you're worried about sugar). It restores your body's electrolytes. But it sounds like you are doing fine eating small amounts of food. I'm sure your appetite will return. You are still fresh out of surgery. I think the gist of everyone's advice is to eat things that are a power punch of nutrition in small amounts. Avoid foods that are constipating if you are having that problem. Hang in there, you'll be through this before you know it and you will be the one giving advice to those of us who have not yet had our fusions.

Don't apologize at all. I appreciate all the tips you guys offer. I do need a lot of calories because I'm not eating a lot. Being 6'5 when I tried to gain weight while weight lifting, I needed 3500 calories to "maintain" my weight of 195lbs and 4000 calories or more to gain. So basically, being such a tall guy, I need a lot of calories, and with the horrible appetite lately, I'm no where NEAR 3000 calories, so anything is helpful.

I do need to drink a lot of water. But the bloating feeling doesn't help lol. I think right after dinner, I need to slow it down a bit. It's been over an hour and I'm still a little on the full side, if I drink a lot of water I don't think I'll like the feeling of bloating in my stomach. I was fine in the hospital and up to Thanksgiving, I have no idea why yesterday, and today have been so slow in terms of appetite. Maybe I'm starting a flu or something and don't know it? Weird. And yes, I'm definitely having the constipation problem. Sorry to say, but my BM today was pretty damn painful. I'm taking a stool softner, but I guess I need to up the dosage and hope I get closer BM's because so far, it takes 3-4-5 days for a BM which is too long.

I hope the next week flies by and I get the staples out, and can start showering and feeling better. Then before I know it, can start swimming and I think that will help me dramatically.

Here is the X-Ray between surgeries. Check out the difference in the holes in my L2 and L3. Don't you guys just love loose hardware!?


http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../newspine3.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../newspine2.jpg

[rohrer01]

Oh my goodness that bottom hole is HUGE! I really hope the bone graft he put in there starts fusing right away. I'm sure it will with the concoction that he used.

Bananas are loaded with calories if you choose to make smoothies plus they are a natural sweetener. Be careful with raw eggs, organic or not, as one in three eggs carry Salmonella. That's the last thing you need is to get sick with that on top of everything else. Egg whites are a very pure source of protein and egg yolks, believe it or not are a good source of vitamin D, as I was told by my doctor. But I recommend cooking them however you like them if you are going to eat them.

[JDM555]

Oh my goodness that bottom hole is HUGE! I really hope the bone graft he put in there starts fusing right away. I'm sure it will with the concoction that he used.

Bananas are loaded with calories if you choose to make smoothies plus they are a natural sweetener. Be careful with raw eggs, organic or not, as one in three eggs carry Salmonella. That's the last thing you need is to get sick with that on top of everything else. Egg whites are a very pure source of protein and egg yolks, believe it or not are a good source of vitamin D, as I was told by my doctor. But I recommend cooking them however you like them if you are going to eat them.

Yeh, I was shocked to see how big that damn hole was lol. No wonder I was cracking and clunking all over the place. I don't like eggs and I'm allergic to bananas so I think I'm safe there. Had some fruit so that should help with sugar/calorie department. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day, but I'm tired and about to call it a night. Thanks for all the tips again.

[titaniumed]

So I ate a small piece of turkey, 2 pieces of salami, some lettuce, and slice of orange and within minutes, my body was like NOPE, when I say I'm not hungry, I'm not hungry and I threw it all up.

Salami is cured sausage which is meat scraps, blood, and fat, salted and stuffed into animal intestine. This was fine hundreds of years ago in Europe, and would last 10 years at room temperature. No wonder you threw up. I know, I used to slam everything that came across my plate in my time......I’m lucky I’m still alive! Boy, we drug our bodies to the hilt, cut it open, drill, grind and screw it together, sew it back up, and then we add salami. It truly is the most disgusting food man has ever devised. Bologna is pretty bad, but this is worse.

I think right now just grab a can of chicken broth or chicken soup from the kitchen and eat some of that very slowly. Tomorrow is another day. Eat yogurt if you have any, good for the intestines.

Oh, and pick up a bottle or two of Magnesium Citrate just in case.

If only your surgeon knew. If he ran blood work, salami would show up. (that’s bad) lol
Ed

[rohrer01]

Salami is cured sausage which is meat scraps, blood, and fat, salted and stuffed into animal intestine. This was fine hundreds of years ago in Europe, and would last 10 years at room temperature. No wonder you threw up. I know, I used to slam everything that came across my plate in my time......I’m lucky I’m still alive! Boy, we drug our bodies to the hilt, cut it open, drill, grind and screw it together, sew it back up, and then we add salami. It truly is the most disgusting food man has ever devised. Bologna is pretty bad, but this is worse.

I think right now just grab a can of chicken broth or chicken soup from the kitchen and eat some of that very slowly. Tomorrow is another day. Eat yogurt if you have any, good for the intestines.

Oh, and pick up a bottle or two of Magnesium Citrate just in case.

If only your surgeon knew. If he ran blood work, salami would show up. (that’s bad) lol
Ed

Does salami really have blood in it? GROSS! I don't like salami. I hope summer sausage doesn't fall into that category 'cuz I love the stuff. Bologna and hot dogs are really bad. I had a friend that was a butcher and he told me how they make it. For real, it's all the byproducts and no one here would really want to know what they are. I thought summer sausage was just really seasoned and smoked hamburger. Please tell me that's true!

And for John: If you are allergic to bananas and don't like eggs, I don't know what to say except take TiEds advice. He's totally been there done that. Rice is also good and easily digestible. I think I'm gonna quit making food recommendations. You know what you like and what works, you've been through this before. ;-) Take care and I hope you are sleeping better than I am tonight!

[jrnyc]

i guess you know by now what works for you...
if i have been throwing up, i am lucky to be able to handle tea and toast or crackers...
i know that doesn't put weight on anybody, but it will usually go easy on the stomach...
i kinda figured something like salami would be too hard to digest...
i would be careful with clam chowder too....
was there a food your mother used to make for you when you were younger,
whenever you got sick?
sometimes there is a food your mother knows you used to be able to digest after
being sick as a child...
if all else fails, sometimes adding vanilla ice cream to a smoothie helps...

hope you feel better soon...
remember how recent your surgery was....
you could try calling the doctor's office if things get bad...

jess

[mabeckoff]

Hope things get better soon You are in my prayers

[JDM555]

Thanks for the tip about salami Ed, I guess I'll no longer eat salami again....ever lol. This morning was a little better, had more of an appetite and was woken up at 9:30AM by a call from my aunt lol. Thanks for that aunt. I ended up going Church, it was rough to go on an empty stomach and just meds. I had a hard time breathing and my heart was hurting? Idk, just had a weird pain located near my heart when I would inhale and didn't feel good walking a lot, so I think it most likely was from lack of food. I had some cake after and now I'm working on a 6" turkey sandwich from subway, I think that should be pretty light for me. So far so good. I'll probably nap after as I'm a little tired. Thanks for all the help guys and I'll be more careful of what I eat from now on.

[Pooka1]

I had a hard time breathing and my heart was hurting?

Don't let that progress. Make sure you can breath deeply with no pain.

[JDM555]

Don't let that progress. Make sure you can breath deeply with no pain.

It's not related to deep breathing. Idk, it was really random. I can breath deeply just fine and what not, but I guess I get out of breath pretty quickly when it comes to stairs or long walks. I think it might be from blood loss, I'm anemic, so maybe that has something to do with it. But also lack of food/water this morning didn't help, so that could of been the reason for the pain. If it happens a lot, I'll definitely contact my doctor.

[jrnyc]

John, i don't want to sound like a worrier...
but are you going just a little bit too fast?
did you need to sit on a cushion or extra pillow at church??...those pews can be pretty hard if not padded....
i am just wondering if the breatheing thing was a little heads up from your body...to remind you
that it is so soon after the operation....maybe you could slow down just a little bit...
and see if you do get that pain again....
i would call the doc if it happens again...

hope you are feeling better soon...

jess

[JDM555]

I did sit on a pillow, don't worry. And I'm not sure how going to sit down at Church is any different than sitting down at home? Nothing different. The only difference is that I didn't get a solid breakfast. That's the only difference between this morning and any other morning at my home.

[titaniumed]

Thanks for the tip about salami Ed, I guess I'll no longer eat salami again....ever lol. I'll be more careful of what I eat from now on.

Great!

Many years ago, I was skiing with my dad in Utah, and at lunch I broke out a bologna sandwich. He then proceeded with the “rodente” jokes, and that was the last bologna sandwich I ate. Sausage jokes, salami jokes, were all in his rolodex......Read about these meats, and ground meats....between the fat and the cholesterol, you will have a different view.

If our car starts making a strange noise, we go running to a mechanic, slam something nasty for lunch, and pay him big bucks to fix the wrong problem! We are better off driving the car into the ground, (drive it till it stops) and paying more attention to what WE eat. While you are young, you should adopt healthy eating habits. Cholesterol is a never ending problem that starts from birth.

Start cruising the web and read about foods and diets. I took a look today at the “worst things” you can eat, you will be surprised how veggie subs and tuna can be made or prepared into unhealthy choices. Here is a site that is worth some time. The link starts with water of course! Sip it all day long.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
Ed

[titaniumed]

[QUOTE=JDM555;129719] it was rough to go on an empty stomach and just meds. I had a hard time breathing and my heart was hurting?QUOTE]

Opoids do contribute to respiratory depression....I remember feeling the same thing.

You shouldnt be on an empty stomach....Try just eating a strawberry or 3 blueberries.

You have a million dollar spine and your surporting that with cake? Bad kitty!

Ed

[jrnyc]

i am glad you were comfortable at church in the seats.....
i thought, the difference is, IF pain gets unbearable, or discomfort becomes too much,
at home you can just get into bed if that helps,lay down, put warm moist heating pad on, etc..
whatever helps the pain...cannot do that when you are out and about in church or anywhere
else...
what i was trying to say was, just maybe, it is too much out and around time so soon after surgery..

jess