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4 Weeks Post-Op - MAJOR WARNING

Today I am 4 weeks post op and down 15 pounds since surgery and 39 total. I lost 1 whopping pound this last week. I was expecting it (thanks to this site), so I wasn't too upset.   I have been going to the gym a lot the last couple of weeks. It feels great to workout, enjoy it, and push myself. There is NO way I could do as much or as long as I have been at the weight I used to be. That is the best reward ever!   Tuesday, 3 weeks 1 day post op- I was sitting in a chair and picking up my 4 month of niece up from the floor... when I heard a POP. To me it felt like when the underwire of your bra snaps... but I knew it wasn't because I was having burning in the area of my large incision and it hurt there to bend. I called my doctor and they said I probably popped a stitch. SCARY! It hurt for a couple of days to bend, so I avoided it. It is still sore if I do a very tight bend, but is mostly better. Please please, people, do NOT bend too tightly after surgery. It is not worth it!!! I never heard of this before and it makes sense... there is a lot more pressure on your stomach when you are bent tight like that. Just be warned...
blessedw2

blessedw2

2
 

Lesson Learned- Sliming/Vomiting (My gross story)

I had my post op appointment today at exactly 3 weeks out. It was really nice to hear them tell me how great I was looking and that I was doing everything right!   Unfortunately, on my trup home, we stopped at Arby's and I got a Ham and Cheddar sandwich. I took the bottom bun off and began eating. I think I was too hungry and probably ate to fast... also, I might have not chewed it good enough... or it could be the fact that I had bread... Not sure what exactly, but all the sudden I got EXCRUCIATING pain under my ribs and back all the way across (same area as in front) and in my left shoulder. My husband asked me to rate the pain and I said 8/10. It was horrible!!! The pain continued for an HOUR almost. I began burping almost immediately, and soon, my throat felt like it was full. I was "sliming." I've heard about sliming, but it wasn't something I understood. It didn't make sense to me... It still doesn't really. All I know is that it is weird. After about a half hour I finally threw up a couple times and felt some relief, but was still about a 4-5/10 on the pain scale. I continued to burp... I suppose, making the bubbly nastiness that I threw up. I ended up throwing up 2 more times and all the sudden I felt completely better. I couldn't resist and looked at what I had thrown up. Surprisingly, there was't much food in it at all. It was slimy (hence "sliming") and foamy. Gross!!   As my doctor reminded me today at my appointment, if I were to ever throw up, I need to go to liquids for 24 hours so my eophagus can unswell and recover. Spiffy.   According to my Wii Fit weigh in, I didn't lose any weight. Sounds like that is pretty normal and my doctors were not concerned at all, so I'm happy. It will come.   I went clothes shoping for Christmas picture clothes and grabbed sizes 3x, 2x, and 1x. I skipped trying on the 3x in hopes I would be out of that size. (I can't stand tight clothes at all so I bought bigger clothes) The 2x's were too frumpy looking and fit funny, but the 1x's actually worked for me!!! I was SHOCKED!!! Depending on the shirt, I would still like to lose more weight to fit in them comfortably, but most fit great. That was a mini-success!   My birthday was yesterday so I feel this surgery was the best gift I could have ever gotten!! I got my life back!
blessedw2

blessedw2

5
 

Questions Answered About My Diet

Since I had such great results at my weigh-in on Monday, I decided to weigh myself again on Tuesday... gained a pound (almost). In hopes of seeing the scale go back down, I weighed myself again on Wednesday... gained another pound (almost). Starting to worry, I weighed myself again today... gained ANOTHER pound (almost)   In 3 days I GAINED almost 3 pounds! WHAT THE!?!   I was seriously concerned that maybe I was doing something wrong so I called my bariatric doctor's office and spoke with the nurse... who told me some information that made me feel like I was able to eat far too much soup/protein shakes at a sitting. She said she was surprised I hadn't thrown up or felt uncomfortable. I told her I haven't had any problems at all and don't feel overly hungry ever or overly full either. She decided to have the nutritionist give me a call.   First off, she told me STOP weighing myself daily. I knew this but was concerned after I gained at only a couple weeks post-op. She said that it is physically impossible for me to gain 3 pounds in 3 days and that it had to be water weight. Cool. Good to know! I haven't heard many say they gained so early on. It really had me freaking out!   She also moved my diet from Stage 2 foods to Stage 3 foods. It is CRAZY how many choices I have now just moving to this stage. It is almost fun to plan my meals and making sure they are balanced. I can't wait to be able to make the same things I eat for my kids too.   My sleeve can hold 3-5oz she said. For EVERY meal I need 1 oz protein, 1 oz fruit or vegetable and 1 oz starch. No more soup or protein shakes for meals.   I got my pep in my step back! I hope the scale moves in my favor next time I weigh in!
blessedw2

blessedw2

1
 

Sleeve Side Effect

My breath is absolutely horrible!!! My mom calls it "ketosis breath". It's bad! I can't wait for the bad breath to go away! I hope it will be soon!!!
blessedw2

blessedw2

1
 

Weighing In

I weighed myself again today just for the fun of it... NOT a good idea. I gained a pound and now today I want to eat anything and everything.... of course I'm not doing that, but I WANT TO! I'm trying not to get down about "gaining." I hope it disappears and takes some more weight with it!   I'm still trying to exercise more, but am having a hard time just making myself do it. I don't know what my problem is... Any recommendations to get my butt in gear?!
blessedw2

blessedw2

2
 

Stage 2 Food And 11 Days Post-Op

I'm getting sooo sick of stage 2 food. SO, tonight, I took some of my husbands tomato juice and added some chili powder to it, warmed it up and YUM!!!!!!!! It was a really really nice change. Healthy too! I normally do not like tomato juice, so getting the nutrients from it.   I gulped milk accidentally today. Not recommended... OUCH!   I am 11 days post op and have lost 14 pounds since surgery (38 total) and have met my first goal! I'm not sure about rewarding myself... I think my reward is that I am losing weight and feeling better!   I can tell I'm losing weight in my waist, but my top seems to be staying the same. I'm impatiently waiting to start changing sizes.   Today I signed up to become a member of the new Anytime Fitness that is going to open in my town next week. We got a good deal and I can't wait to take full advantage of it! I just hope my excitement doesn't wear off as quick as it has in the past.   I found out that the liquid omeperzole they gave me to take can be taken in the pill form. I think it is horribly cruel that they gave my a prescription for the liquid. I do NOT recommend it unless you are having a really hard time swallowing anything. I didn't have any problems and wish I would have known. I could not choke that stuff down. It is the nastiest medicine I've ever tasted in my life! To top it off, you have to "sip" it so it fills your mouth with its grossness about 5 times. I couldn't do it! I was told the Prilosec OTC can in a capsule and if you broke the capsule open it had a pill that was small enough to swallow whole. I got Prilosec OTC and it didn't have a picture on the box so I assumed it was the capsule... it wasn't. I just broke it in half and had no problems at all. Totally love it!!! I threw away the $30 bottle of liquid. Sucked to waste sooo much money, but my tummy needs to be protected!
blessedw2

blessedw2

4
 

2 Weeks Post-Op Update

I am 2 weeks post-op today. I'm feeling pretty good. I am starting to want to try new foods, but am scared to. I will wait until next week when I see my doctor for my post-op visit.   I weighed myself this morning and have lost 14 pounds since surgery. I'm happy with this amount, but of course always wish it was more. A pound a day... can't complain. I also have lost over 5 inches.   I have lost a total of 38 pounds since dieting and surgery... I still can't really tell that I've lost any weight other than my face is getting a little thinner and pants are getting a little looser than normal by the end of the day. That part is still so frustrating to me. For crying out loud, I just lost the same amount and my daughter weighs! A whole human being!   I'm not going to allow myself to become discouraged. I always remind myself that it took me 24 years to gain the weight, so I need to be patient and know that it won't al fall off overnight. I can't wait until things really start changing though!   I can finally pick up my kids. I LOVE it!!! They are the sweetest kids ever! They are my everything!   Things with my husband and I have gotten better (although they were never bad). He was so concerned about me going through with the surgery, but very encouraging. He is an excellent cheerleader and has helped to keep me on track a couple times that I wanted to stray. We went for a nice walk this afternoon and it was nice to just be together. I'm VERY blessed to have the most amazing family ever!   Life is good.
blessedw2

blessedw2

2
 

I Declare...

Wow! Today has been a 180 from yesterday in terms of how I'm feeling about myself and the surgery. I am not down in the dumps. I kept super busy most of the day, but when I was able to wind down, I had some time to think about some of the things I was told in my pre-op class... My dietician told me that she likes to listen to audio books while she walks on her treadmill or exercises.   There are a few reasons why this is an awesome idea... 1. Watching TV while exercising you have 1/3 commercials... most commercials are of fatty, delicious food. Seriously, NOT what I need when I'm trying to lose weight and break bad habits! 2. Music is a good option too, but after a week, you've heard them all and it doesn't really appeal anymore. 3. If you are like me and enjoy books but don't have time to sit down and read in the peace and quiet... kill 2 birds with 1 stone! Knock out my exercising and feed my brain all at the same time!   I thought, well, I will give that a try. Looking into it, I found that it is really expensive to download books... goodness gracious! After some researching and confusion of what their "deal" was, I found that I like audible.com best. I got the app for my iPod touch and download a few books.   I found some good inspirational books by Joel Osteen... How? I'm not sure... I have NO idea how his book got brought up. Thank goodness it did though! It was just what I needed and I didn't even know it.   So, I downloaded my book, ran downstairs, and fired up the treadmill... for the second time since surgery. (I've been walking, but more aimlessly around inside buildings and even my house.) I haven't had the motivation to really get into exercising yet for some reason. I got excited about the audio book thing though and was eager to get going.   I hopped on the treadmill and next time I looked down I had been on for 10 minutes... like nothing. I only ended up walking 15 though. I didn't want to overdo myself because I'm still pretty sore at times.   This book (so far.. I had to stop myself after the intro, before he got into "Day 1") talked about how your words affect your future. If you wake up tired and say, "Oh, man. I'm just so tired. It's going to be a horrible day." It will be. I've been told that a million times... blah blah blah. I know. I needed a reminder though. If you're feeling tired, say outloud, "I feel great. I'm healthy. Today is going to be a great day!" It will be a good day!   Also, it talked about how no one believes the things you say about yourself quite as much as you do. If you tell yourself enough that you are beautiful, happy, blessed, radiant, soon enough you will feel like you are... and you will be!   I needed these words (although I paraphrased A LOT from what the book says) I hope that they help someone else through their time of difficulty too.   Today truly has been a great day for me. I hope it has been for you too!!   I HIGHLY recommend considering listening to an audiobook while exercising. There are soooo many out there that there will be something for everyone to download.
blessedw2

blessedw2

2
 

1 Week Post-Op Update With Picture

Attached is a picture from yesterday 11/25/12 after an 8 pound loss (33 total).   Today I am 1 week post op and feeling blah. I want to eat things today... I'm not sure if this is because I'm starting my "time of the month" or if I'm just getting sick of stage 2 food. I'm still trying to figure out the hungry/full feeling. I'm having a hard time getting all my liquids down. I think I'm not being strict enough on myself... which is not like me. I don't know what is going on with me. I kind of forgot that I was supposed to be drinking protein shakes and stuff because I didn't feel "safe" enough to drink anything with any substance to it.   I weighed myself on my weekly weigh in on the WiiFit. It said I've lost 9.8 pounds since last week (before surgery obviously) I'm happy with this, but I guess discouraged that only 5 people have said anything about my weightloss or even that I am looking good.   I am gassy too. Burping feels weird because it's not like a burp; it's like air just kind of bubbles its way up and it hurts. When I yawn I can tell that I suck down a lot of air because it hurts like crazy in my chest area. Sneezing hurts my incisions still even though I continue to hold my stomach/incisions when I do sneeze.   I was prescribed a laxative, but I have not had any trouble with constipation at all. I'm sure this is because of the liquid diet though. When I use the bathroom, it is watery and embarrassingly enough a lot of gas is released at that time. I HATE it. I'm hoping that doesn't last forever. I suppose it is something I will have to get used to if it is though...   I am unable to pick up my children (ages 20 months and 3.5) so my parents have been helping me while my husband is at work. It is a lot to ask them, and I know that they are happy to help, but it is really hard for me to be so reliant on someone else taking care of my kids. I feel like such a burden to everyone. I'm slowly starting to be able to do more though.   As of right now, I am mostly wishing I didn't have the procedure done. I had a rough day with a lot of negatives in it so I'm feeling pretty negative... I had to try on 5 different shirts this morning because I haven't changed sizes at all and wanted to wear something a little different today. I thought some of my "tight-ish" shirts would fit nicely after 33 pounds lost, but nope. Discouraging... My "fat," loose shirts are definitely too big now, but that's about the only change I've seen.   My 2 week post-op appointment has been changed from December 5th to December 10th. I had it changed so I woudn't have to make a special trip (2 hours) just for the appointment. I needed to go on the 10th for a mandatory work meeting anyways so that works better for me. More time to shed the pounds... and be on Stage 2 foods... I will survive!
blessedw2

blessedw2

8
 

5 Days Post Op

I'm feeling pretty well. I did quite a bit of walking today. I haven't taken any pain meds since last night and I didn't take very much then. I am still a little sore. I slept in the bed for the first time last night instead of the chair. It was pretty good. I used a pillow against my stomach and laid on my side and even mostly on my tummy for a little bit too. I did still have pain when I moved around some. Also, getting up and down from chairs and bending still hurts. My incisions are healing nicely. They are starting to itch. I have a pretty gigantic bruise around one of the incisions too. My daughter was horrified to see it, but she insisted... haha   I haven't stuck to my "not weighing myself until the 2 week appointment" thing. This morning I was down all my surgery gaining minus 4 more pounds. It is really exciting! I want to get a daily planner and start tracking how much exercise I do and also my weight. I'm questioning the weight thing though... I don't want to be soooo focused on weight that it's almost an obsession. I just want to be healthy. Maybe I will do weekly weight and measurements? I'm not sure... I for sure want to track how many minutes I'm exercising and how often though.   Today I've kind of had an issue with getting enough water in. I've been keeping busy so kind of let it slide. Now I'm to the point where I'm feeling thirsty... which makes me want to take big drinks of water and make the thirst go away. HA, not cool. It hurts and gurgles and bubbles on the way down. It's so strange!   Also, I ate two "bad" things since my surgery. Both caused me to get pretty bad diarrhea.   The first was a cheese soup with sour cream and Velveeta in it... which is fatty and not a good choice, but it did fit under my category so I had a few bites. It was SOOOO good too haha.   The second one was the Jell-O/cream cheese part off the top of a pretzel salad (last night). Jell-O is on my list so I thought it would be ok even though I knew cream cheese wasn't a good choice.   I don't mind that I got bad reactions to both. I have learned my lesson and that will help me from making those bad choices in the future.
blessedw2

blessedw2

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