dramagirl28

Prilosec is Omeprazole in a pretty package. Check the Active Ingredients on the various products to compare them, but I'm pretty sure Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexxium are all different but do the same thing. Some work for some people while others work better for other people. I've also heard that sometimes whichever one you're taking might stop working and you might have to switch to another one for a while. I just started Omeprazole yesterday and I think it's already working. Yay!

At two weeks out I could squeeze into an old pair of jeans. They were super tight, but they zipped and that was good enough for me to feel happy. That was also when a few of my friends said they could start to see it in my arms and face. I was almost 15lbs down. The first week is tough. It gets better.

I just started taking Prilosec this morning. It says it can take 1-4 days to kick in.

Egg salad has never tasted so good! I didn't really mind the three weeks of liquids because I was never hungry, but it's nice to have a different flavor in my mouth now! I mixed one HB egg with some low fat mayo and a bit of mustard... Yum!! I'm halfway through it and getting full, and I can't believe that I don't miss having large quantities. I love how easy it is to eat slower. I hope this lasts.

Woo hoo! Flirty Thirties!!

Just don't expect to be 100% yourself. You may be able to make it through but it will be tough for sure. Definitely listen to your body. You can always tell them you had surgery to remove an ulcer. From what I've read on here it's a similar recovery.

I am 16 days out and about three days ago I started getting heartburn at night while I'm trying to go to sleep. I asked the doc about it and she said to try chewable tums. They work fine, but I started looking at the Calcium content and they have 750mg of Calcium per tablet and I'm supposed to chew two of them. My regular daily Calcium chews only have 500mg in them each. So if I take my regular Calcium chews AND two tums, that's a total of 2500mg of Calcium, not to mention whatever I get from my milk and protein shakes. Is that too much? I'm worried about developing kidney stones.

Everyone is supposed to get 64oz of water in per day. Most people can drink a lot at once, so it's harder for us sippers to get that much in, so they push it. I have never consumed 64oz of fluid a day in my life and wasn't dehydrated before, so I'm not freaking out about it now, but I do try to sip all day to at least maintain how much I was drinking before. I was also told to drink lots of water with the liquid vicodin right after surgery because it can cause constipation. The main thing is to stay hydrated, whatever that means for you.

Don't worry about drinking too much. I promise THAT won't be an issue. lol I got little medicine cups to drink out of in the hospital and my NUT said to drink it in 4 sips over a 15 minute period. After that you just learn to take a sip every few minutes. Always carry something to drink, wherever you go. I personally find it easier or more encouraging to drink out of smaller glasses. If i drink out of something bigger like a gatorade bottle, i will occasionally absent mindedly take a big gulp and have to either swallow it in bits or spit it out. Don't worry too much. I think the sipping comes pretty naturally.

I did not have a catheter or a drain tube. I was happy about it going into it but that first night in the hospital was hell without the catheter. Being pumped full of liquid with an IV meant that I had to get up to pee every hour and a half. Hoisting myself out of bed, dealing with the gas bubbles rumbling around, having to have the nurse unhook me from everything so frequently, not getting to sleep through the night... it was awful. I wished I had a catheter at one point and seriously considered just wetting the bed. LOL I made a point to walk a lap around the hospital each time I got up though so that helped with the gas. I would also rinse my mouth out at the sink while I was up. I wasn't allowed ice chips or anything by mouth for 24 hours. They gave me a sponge to swab my mouth but that did NOT cut it. I was lucky in that I only had two instances of nausea. The very first thing I did when I regained consciousness was throw up a little blood. It didn't hurt at all though so don't be scared! And they said the blood was normal. I was too out of it to be too concerned. haha The other time I felt nauseated was right before I left the hospital. My potassium was low so they gave me some to drink in a medicine cup. It tasted like concentrated salt Water and I immediately felt sick and it took my full concentration to hold it back. Since it was in a big medicine cup I decided to break it down to two sips. After that first one and feeling so sick, I convinced my mom to pour the other half down the drain. I obviously don't recommend that, but I don't regret doing it. A lot of people said that they hardly take any pain medication when they get home, but I also took it for almost a week. I had to refill my prescription and started feeling a little self conscious about it, but as far as I can tell I'm healing normally. I had some pain around the one incision where they pulled my stomach out and I don't like pain so I took the meds. It wasn't excruciating or anything, just uncomfortable. I could drive once I was off the pain medication for 24 hours, but I wouldn't advise making long trips, just because you'll be really tired and your reaction times may be off. I went back to work on day 16 and I'm glad I waited. It took me quite a while to find a Protein shake I could actually look forward to and once I started getting in more protein my energy came back. I also got some depression after I quit taking the pain meds. It felt like PMS, like my hormones were out of whack. I cried a lot for really stupid reasons. It's totally normal and I kept telling myself that, but it doesn't help in the moment. The only pain I have now is a little muscle soreness and I have recently started having some heartburn/reflux. Just remember that everyone's experience is a little different. Read as much as you can so that if and when something happens to you, you'll know it's normal. Your experience won't be exactly the same as anyone else's.

This is very encouraging! I knew that this was a common side-effect of VSG and I decided beforehand that I'd rather deal with chronic heartburn and refulx than be morbidly obese my whole life, but it would be really swell if it was only temporary.

Thank you so much for the advice. I took two Tums last night and woke up in the middle of the night needing a third. I'm not sure it's going to cut it. I'll look for Gaviscon and Prilosec and bring it up with my doc next time around.

Welcome to the loser's bench!!

I think I might trust you MORE than my doctor, considering everything you've been through. Can you recommend something over the counter that I can use? The Tums work but if there's something that would be better for me I'd rather do that. I never had heartburn before so I don't even know what's out there.

You won't be hungry tomorrow! You won't even remember what being hungry feels like. lol Hang in there!

I juiced mine and had it on the liquid stage. I mixed in some peach protein powder and it was pretty good. I tried not to have too much of it though because it does have a lot of sugar. It didn't bother my stomach at all, but I didn't want to chance it.

I'm still on liquids so I have some strained Soup around 7 or so and then just Water or crystal light for the rest of the evening. The heartburn starts around 11:30 or so, like clockwork. I asked my surgeon about prescribing a ppi and he said he didn't do that unless it was a problem. It is weird to me that I only get it at night. I don't think it's triggered by what I eat.

I dropped 10lbs in a week on Atkins and it's not as hard as the liquid only diet. Good luck!

I bought a Fleexes tank top. According to the sizing chart it should fit, but it is SOOO tight. I feel good with it on because it holds me together and makes my clothes look better but after a few hours I can't wait to get the darn thing off. I think I will like it a lot better when it's not quite so tight.

Thanks to the Costco thread below I discovered Premier Protein shakes. They have twice the protein of the Atkins shakes and I may even like them better! They taste about the same but I think they're thinner. It's more like chocolate milk than an melted milkshake. I'm struggling to get the protein in so I'm glad to have something that's 30g and actually tastes good! I highly recommend them!

The only thing I would have done differently would be to exercise more. I'm only two weeks out but I feel really weak and I am guessing that if I had stronger muscles going into surgery I might feel a little better, but that's just a guess. The things that really helped me most were to do TONS of research on this site so that I knew exactly what to expect at each stage, from the possibility of tastes changing, to the emotional stuff, to the soreness, and the pains to watch out for. It's a lot to go through in a short amount of time and it helps to know that what you're experiencing is normal. The other thing I'm glad I did was to get small bowls. I know what 4oz of liquid looks like in my bowl and it helps to know that I'm eating enough and not eating too much. As for the Protein stuff, only buy samples and different ready to drink shakes. It's important to have some stuff at home to use after surgery, but you don't want to buy a big tub of anything until you're sure you like it post-op. There are tons of recipes on here and I wish I had tried more of them out beforehand so that I really understood that you don't have to just mix your powder with Water or milk.

Don't let them talk you into a surgery you don't want! Stand your ground. Do your research. The results of VSG are very similar to RNY in terms of EWL and long term success, except VSG is newer so "long term" is sort of relative at this point. I'm Kaiser too and what they don't mention in classes is that the malabsorption of calories in RNY only lasts for two years while the malabsorption of vitamins lasts forever. That was really the deal breaker for me.

Lisa, EVERYONE feels this way, so you're totally normal. Try not to get caught up in it and focus on the reasons you started down this path. Looking at before and after pictures really helped me. You'll probably freak out the worst in the days just before your surgery, but all that fear and anxiety vanishes as soon as you wake up. A lot of people then experience buyer's remorse during recovery, but if you'll look at posts from people who are farther out, everyone is so happy and thrilled that they did this and there's this resounding echo of "I wish I had done this sooner." Stay positive and hang in there.

Oh no! I hope my Costco doesn't change their formula! It would be my luck though...

I'm two weeks out today and I am going through the same thing. It started the day after I stopped taking the pain medication. I spent that whole day crying and sleeping and have been depressed since. It doesn't help matters that I recently went through a breakup with the man I thought I would marry. There's a pinned topic about depression. You should go through it. It made me feel more normal. I don't know about you but it kind of feels like PMS for me. I'm so sad and angry but I can't put my finger on what it is exactly. I know it gets better because I've seen so many people on this board go through this, and when I see them at or approaching goal they all seem so happy. Good luck.