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My best advice to you would be to try a bunch of different recipes to see if you can incorporate more "good foods". My boyfriend swore up and down he didn't eat seafood and never would. Now he will chow down on salmon, it all depends on how I prepare it. I had to do the same thing with certain veggies like broccoli. I HATE broccoli but I've found that if I add some different spices and seasonings, I could tolerate it. I've also tried taking things that I like that may not have been healthy and try to make them healthy. For example, you said you only eat the maple and brown sugar. Instead of using sugar to sweeten it, use Splenda, and if you make it with milk, use fat free or 1%. I've noticed, and from what I've read from other people, that my tastes have changed and that might happen with you, too. So your body just may adapt to healthier food. Good luck!

I get hunger pains, but for me, they are not as strong as they were pre-op. It's kind of like the first rumblings of hunger when I had a bigger stomach, but instead of intensifying to the point of getting irritated and all shaky and feeling weak, it stops at the rumblings. On a scale of 1-10, the strongest it gets for me is about a 3.

I know, I know. I've said this before, but I thought by this time I would be over it. I'm not. I'm still annoyed with not being able to eat. I don't really know how to describe it. The best way to say it is I don't feel like I'm enjoying food anymore. I know it's not going to be the same as pre-op when I could stuff myself to the gills with awesome food and that's okay. That's not my problem. My problem is a take 2 bites and I'm done but I've hardly even tasted the food. Am I making sense? I guess I just miss it..... I'm not missing the volume of food I used to be able to eat or the fact that I can't grub on a delicious box from Taco Bell. For example, during lunch I had chili. Two bites and I felt like I was going to throw up. The other night, I had a baked potato. Two bites, same thing. The only thing that hasn't made me feel sick this whole time is crackers. Once cannot survive on crackers alone. And don't get me started on Protein. Sigh. Is it next year yet? Sorry for whining, but thanks for listening.

I do feel like I'm going to throw up a lot of times. Before, it was a 24/7 feeling, but now it's usually only when I eat something. I have to really concentrate on not throwing up because it hurts when I actually do it. If I didn't try to stop it, I'm sure I would be throwing up a lot more. I talked to my surgeon about it but he didn't seem too concerned. He said that the nausea is something many people go through and that it should ease up, but if it doesn't by next month, then we should look into it further. I also had a hernia repaired at the same time, which my surgeon explained was having two major surgeries at once and it's probably why my recovery was a little more rocky.

Um, I think missed the secret. I'm not entirely sure what it is you're trying to say. I actually do talk to someone about food and my relationship with it. But is that going to change overnight? No. So it's okay for me to still feel like this; it will take time.

I'm pretty sure what they mean is that I won't always feel like this. Whether that comes from me getting used to this new life and not missing the old one or because I'm able to go back to enjoying food. Perhaps not in the same capacity as before, but at least I will enjoy it a little. Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I thought I said it had less to do with the TYPES of food I'm able to eat and more to do with not really being able to enjoy whatever it is I'm eating. Just because I'm fat doesn't mean I only ate McDonalds. I love salad, too, and I can't enjoy that right now, either. Wanting to enjoy food is not a sin. Skinny people enjoy food; they just enjoy it in moderation. But part of my point is also that almost everything makes me feel like I'm going to be sick. When you feel like everything you eat is going to make you throw up, it kind of gets rid of that enjoyment, as well as the urge to eat. Not good, especially since you need to at least be getting in Protein to help with healing. Like you said, you're not sleeved yet, so you may not fully understand what I'm trying to say. It's one of those things that can't be explained; it's something you have to experience.

I am doing SOOO much better, thanks for asking I think most of the nausea I was having was form the reflux, too. I still feel a little queasy sometimes but the reflux is no longer ruining my life. My reflux stopped pretty much the morning after my first dose and I haven't felt it since. I hope things go well with getting your prescription tomorrow. It make such a big difference!

Initially my doctor didn't put me on a PPI. He gave me Pepcid Complete. I had never experienced reflux or heartburn before either and it exploded after surgery. I had to ask my doctor for a script and finally got Protonix. It started working the first day and I'm just sad I didn't ask for it sooner. I was MISERABLE for about a week before I got it.

I found out on a Friday that my surgery would be two weeks later on a Monday, so that weekend I ate my face off. Every single thing I wanted, I ate. Taco Bell, Coldstone, Friendly's, nothing was off limits. I knew it would be a while, if not forever, that I wouldn't be having these foods again so I indulged. Initially, I thought that maybe I should use that last weekend to prepare and maybe not pig out, but then I decided it was okay. Afterward, it was hard to not swing through a drive-thru but I kept my mind focused on the bigger picture. The last thing I wanted was to get to surgery date and get opened up, only to be closed and told they would have to wait another week because my liver was too big to see around.

I got an odd (and almost annoyed look) yesterday at dinner. I just started mushies but my boyfriend wanted a steak so when we went out, I just got a baked potato. The server said "a baked potato annnnd?" And I just looked at him and added "and a fork." Sometimes I feel like I should explain that I just had surgery but I usually don't. Let them wonder. Just give me my food. LOL

Hey Susie, I was the same way. For most of weeks 2 and 3, I ate crackers because they were the only things that didn't make me want to throw up and since I wasn't eating anything else, I didn't worry about the carbs. I was pretty much living off of saltines and tea. I explained that to much surgeon and he didn't seem too worried about it either. The carbs part, I mean. However, my tastes are starting to adjust. Pre-op I LOVED sf Jello but post-op, it makes me sick. Mashed potatoes were making me sick, but then I had some of a regular baked potato today and it was fine. From what I've heard, this is a normal occurrence. If your stomach is upset, I would suggest tea. That's always helped me. And I've been told that even though my tasted are off now, they may switch back to how they were before, so to keep trying things a couple of times.

I will say that I am rarely hungry as well. I sometimes get a little rumbling reminiscent of when I had a bigger stomach, but my hunger level doesn't get to the levels it got to pre-op. It stops at the rumbling and usually if I don't pay attention to it, it goes away.

Sidenote: I was just talking to my mom about this recipe and she suggested peeling the eggplant. I personally don't mind the skin, but if you're not a fan then you'll probably want to do that. This also works well as a casserole of sorts. Instead of making the individual pizzas, layer the eggplant in a dish, cover with sauce and cheese, repeat until dish is full, and then bake it.

No sugar added yogurt was on my full liquids list, but I don't think it's necessary to drink it through a straw. I was just told to make sure there were no chunks of fruit in it. Other things that I could eat were cottage cheese, pudding (sugar free) applesauce (sugar free), grits, oatmeal, and cream based soups (with no chunks in them). I tried most of these and for me, they weren't okay but I was also pretty nauseous this entire time.

How long is your pre-op diet? Mine was 2 weeks before surgery and I just stayed away from all things bad for me. It might have been easier since I don't work and could stay in the house all day where I wasn't tempted by anything. I cleared out all the no-no foods and basically forbid my boyfriend to bring an in the house. If he wanted ice cream, he had to go out and buy a cone. I also kept reminding myself that the last thing I want is to get to surgery date, get opened up, then be told by my surgeon that, sorry, but my liver is too big for them to see around.

Jordien: That's a good question. I didn't even know that about tomato sauce. I haven't tried any marinara or tomato sauce since surgery so I'm not sure how it will work out. Hopefully the meds will help because I LOOOOOOVE marinara. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm feeling that way right now. I'm about 3 weeks out from surgery and every time I see a commercial for a food that I used to love, I catch myself thinking "man, I can't have that anymore." Especially now that Taco Bell has the XXL chalupa. LOL. But then I just try not to dwell on it and move on. I'm sure I'm still going to get those longing feelings but I've decided to start going back to OA meetings because even though my stomach is smaller, my mindset needs to catch up.

Sounds like you had a rough time But hopefully you are starting to feel better. I had a little bit of the same experience as you. While I wasn't in a whole lot of pain in the hospital, it got worse once I got home. I couldn't stand laying the hospital bed either and luckily there was a chair in the room that I slept in sitting up. LOL. Trying to get in and out of my parents' king sized bed wasn't easy for me either, and I'm 5'10. I didn't have a drain so I was thankful for that. I was given Loritab for the pain, but mostly it just made me throw up so I didn't really take it. Most of my pain were gas pains and those hurt like hell. They also caused me to burp a lot but I guess it was good for the gas to escape. I didn't have a BM for about a week, not even liquids. It took about 2 weeks for me to start feeling better, but the second week was really tough. I had reflux so bad, I felt like I could breathe fire. And I was nauseous so I wasn't eating and barely drinking. Once I got meds for the reflux though, things got a lot better. For the past few days I've been able to go out without feeling like I'm going throw up and/or pass out.

I'm sleeping longer than I used to. Even though I'm not currently working, my body's alarm clock always went off at 7am. It didn't matter what time I went to sleep at night; when 7am rolled around, I was up. Now I'm sleeping until about 10am and I notice that I don't wake up as much during the night.

You should definitely check with your doctor as far as being concerned about possible damage. I started mushies a week earlier than I was supposed to, but not on purpose. When I went for my week follow-up, my surgeon told me that it would be okay to go ahead with that. However, I was still really nauseous most of the time so I didn't really do any eating. Maybe one or two days of trying cottage cheese and grits but because it wasn't working for me, I stopped. Also, I talked to my nutritionist who told me I should still be on full liquids, so I went back to that (so I've been doing 2 weeks of full liquids, as opposed to 2 weeks of clear and 1 of full). I should be starting mushies on Monday, but yesterday I had less than half of a meatball. I'm sure it won't kill me, but I'm also not trying to push it for the rest of this weekend. My two pieces of advice would be 1) check with your surgeon and 2) listen to your body.

I can relate on the sickness feeling. We're about the same amount of time out and it wasn't until the end of this week that my stomach stopped feeling queazy all the time. It made eating pretty much impossible, as well as drinking, but I just kept telling myself to take a sip. Even if it was only one or two sips an hour. Hang in there, it'll continue to get better!

I didn't have BP issues until after surgery. While in the hospital, it kept going higher and higher, like 162/90 range. So now I'm on BP meds, but my surgeon says that should go away. I sure as hell hope so.

I feel like I am. Well, not eating too much because I can't really since I still feel pretty nauseous, but I feel like I'm drinking too much. I feel like I drink all day and am never full. I know the purpose of drinking is not to be full, but I would think that if my stomach is so much smaller, I should only be able to drink a small amount at a time. But really, I can drink a cup of tea the same way I did before being sleeved. I don't have to sip it for 20+ minutes. Does any of this make sense? Does anyone else feel like this?

Nina: LOL. Don't be jealous. I'm sure it's due to my nausea that I've lost a little more. I'm not even exaggerating when I say for about a week, I ate 3 crackers a day. And that's it. I'm finally starting to get over it. I actually managed to finish a 4oz cottage cheese today. Yay! Wannalise: Thanks! I didn't even think about it as my swelling is going down; I just assumed I was failing already.