educationrulz

Sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time. It sounds like you are bouncing back each time a problem occurs. Did you have a hernia repair with your surgery? I did and it caused me to have the worst pain when I swallowed ANYTHING for the first couple of weeks. The pain slowly started to subside around the third week. This was the reason I got dehydrated - it just hurt too much to swallow. The only advice I can offer is to keep something liquid in your hands as much as humanly possible to remind you to drink. I tended to forget about it when I put the drink down. At least when holding it, I had to slowly force some liquids down. I started keeping a container of Water or gatorade sticking out of my purse at the store, in my hand while driving (or in the cupholder when necessary), and in my lap while watching tv. It used to take me forever to drink 8 ounces of water. Now, I feel like I can gulp with no problem. Time makes a big difference in the process, so it will get better. Just stick with it in terms of drinking. If you have to drink all of your Protein, then so be it. The eating part will follow.

This is the nutritional info for an 8 piece nuggets from chickfila. (?) Nutrition Facts Calories 267(1117 kJ)% Daily Value 1 Total Fat 11.4g 17% Sat. Fat 2.3g 12% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 70mg 23% Sodium 989mg 41% Total Carbs. 12g 4% Dietary Fiber 0.7g 3% Sugars 2g Protein 28.1g Calcium 26.7mg If this is one of 3 or four meals per day, you can balance it out by watching the sodium and cholesterol in the rest of your meals for the day. But, it's not like eating a whopper or big mac. I don't think we should beat ourselves up about our food choices if we are aware of what we are doing and take steps to create balance. BTW, I used CalorieKing to get these stats. It gives info on regular grocery store items and lots of fast food/restaurant options. It was a lifesaver during my low carb preop diet. I still use it every now and then and will probably need it more when my weight loss slows down. Keep up the good work and keep your head up! :001_smile:

My post op instructions didn't mention straws at all so I asked at my two week followup. The nurse said it depends on the person and it's ok to give it a try. I waited another week or so to try a straw. My first few sips were a little wierd, but I soon discovered that I drink a lot better with them. I can also drink faster without any discomfort. I soon realized that I was getting more air in when I drink without a straw as one person's doctor said. I wish I had tried it sooner and maybe I wouldn't have gotten dehydrated. I use them with almost every drink now.

I started off with the chewables like everyone else after surgery. But, I didn't like taking them and started being inconsistent with the Vitamins. ( I didn't really want to do the gummies.) So, as soon as I was cleared to swallow large pills and felt comfortable doing so, I got some regular Multivitamins. The first time I took one, it made me so nauseous that I freaked out a little. I thought I had done something to my stomach. But, it passed after about 30 mninutes and I knew I was ok. Same thing the second time I swallowed one. After that I went back to those nasty chewables. Two weeks later, I had had enough. I decided to try the regular ones again. Low and behold, I was only nauseous for a couple of minutes. The next day, I didn't feel a twinge. I am now happily swallowing all of my supplements and being very compliant with them since I don't have to chew and taste them. So, give it another go in a couple of weeks and you'll probably notice a major difference in your reaction to swallowing the Vitamin. BTW, I'm currently taking a multi, B12 (swallow this one too), and Biotin with lunch, sometimes with Breakfast. In the afternoon or evening I take a Caltrate "petitie" and another biotin. I'm trying to add a fish oil pill into the mix. Took one today, and so far so good. :w00t:

I got dehydrated post op and it's NO fun. Try different temperatures of Clear Liquids to find the one that's easiest for you to drink. For me, initially only warm/heated liquids went down well. Then I went through a phase where room temp worked well. Now, the colder the better. I think it's fairly common for early sleevers to do better with warm temps. Congrats on the surgery determined!

I forgot to take some Gas X with me. The gas pains were bad at times. For some reason, they wouldn't give me any at the hospital and I just stopped fighting it. The doc suggested gaviscon when I got home so I don't know why they wouldn't give me something in the hospital. They did give me Prevacid though.

One good thing about working in a school is that you tend to settle into a routine once the dust settles - whether you have morning hallway duty, P.E. at 9am, homeroom then transition to 1st period, morning announcements at 8am, etc... Even administrators are able to establish some sort of pattern to their day due to typical lulls in activity in the building. Once this pattern is established, you can build your eating/drinking routine around that. That's what I did anyway and it's worked out well enough for me that I can get my fluids and Proteins in during the day without thinking about it constantly. And of course it will get easier as your swelling decreases and your sleeve loosens up a bit. I can't eat much at all for Breakfast and I've decided to stop forcing the issue. I eat a tiny bit of Protein for breakfast and then an hour or so later (when the morning rush has calmed down), I have a high impact Protein shake. That keeps me from feeling weak or deprived until lunch, when I am able to eat more. It feels pretty normal now and the people I work closely with are getting used to seeing me with my little bottle of protein shake in the morning.

Well, it's been a whole month since I've weighed myself. After my three week stall, which broke with a measly one pound loss, I was getting very frustrated. I took one member's challenge (I think it was Lisalu) and decided to stay off the scale for a month. For someone who doesn't own a scale and was fine with a weekly weigh-in, I thought it would be a breeze. Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought. But, my clothes fit was changing so much along the way that it kept me going and I was able to resist. I went in for my 6 week followup a couple of days ago - it had actually stretched into a 8 or 9 week followup - and was excited to find that I had lost 11 pounds since my last weight check a month ago. What a confidence boost! My goal was to weigh 230 at the docs office but I weighed in at 228. Yeah!!! I've gone from a size 22 pants and 2X top to a very baggy 20 pants and 1X and some XL tops. My pants were so baggy this last week I went and bought some 18s. I'm going to have to wear them close fitting for a while because the saggy look ain't working for me. :lol0: I'm making my way out of the Women's section and back into the Misses section. I'm looking forward to the clothing options that will open up for me then. I'm happy to say that I'm finally settling into a good routine and feeling good about having had surgery. It's still difficult sometimes having to think so much about what and how I eat, but it gets better every day. I actually feel normal most of the time. Of course, the minute I sit down to eat I get a dose of reality from my stomach. But, it doesn't seem like such a big deal now. I know the scale strike won't work for everyone, but it helped make this past month so much less stressful for me. I just stopped worrying about my weight and focused on getting my Proteins and my clothes fit. I don't know if I'll stick with the monthly weigh-ins. Once every two weeks will probably be more realistic for awhile, but I don't feel like I have to decide now. I do plan to get a scale as I get closer to goal because it will be more important to monitor those last few pounds that come and go. Until then, I guess I'll keep sneaking onto the display scales at Wal-Mart. :thumbup: Best wishes to anyone starting this journey and empathy to anyone struggling with their scale. I feel ya!

Thanks Stacey. It is weird to think about my 18's getting loose. I just bought those from the JCPenney outlet so I didn't pay more than $15 per pair of pants, but I'm a little worried about having my wardrobe turn over too fast. But, it's a consequence that I'll happily deal with. Moving down one more size will put me in the smallest size I've been in since about 6 years ago when I last lost a significant amount of weight. That was with the aid of diet pills and almost obsessive exercising. It's kind of strange to know that this time my weight will keep going down instead of stalling out and going back up. As for the scale thing, I agree with you about how being tied to the scale can affect your mood. Now that I've somewhat committed to not weighing myself too often, it really doesn't seem like such a big deal. It's like I"m kind of free from worrying about how much I lost because I don't plan to get on the scale anytime soon. It's definitely easier having made it through that first month. I really have no desire to get on the scale right now. I'm too excited about my new clothes to give it much thought! I'm trying to decide about buying a new suit or waiting to go down one more size. I've been applying for some new jobs lately and I might need something for an interview in the near future. I'm going to try to hold out but if an interview presents itself, I'm running to Macy's. I don't have anything really good enough right now for a big interview. I guess I need to find out how much it costs to have a suit altered and then I can go ahead and buy one and have the size adjusted later. Happy VSGing everyone!

This sounds like a really cool procedure. I was really interested in that part about removing the fat pad from inside the abdomen. Good lord I wish someone would remove my stomach fat pad! :lol0: I also thought it was cool as an option for revising VSGs - not that I've really heard of more than a couple of folks who might need their VSG revised vs the many bypass and band patients who need revisions. I'm very intrigued by the fact that it's actually "old" info and that he doesn't seem to be promoting it. I wonder what has ended up being the "catch" to this procedure that has possibly caused it to fade out.

Sheryl, I need to do better with my exercise too. It's been sporadic lately since I went back to work. I work in a school and the beginning of the year is kind of crazy for me. But, I've been easing back into my Pilates so I hope to get a routine going with that soon. A typical weekday for me is: Before breakfast - I drink about 20 ounces of Water while I'm getting dressed. Using straws has really helped me up my liquids. Breakfast - sausage link or bacon/egg/cheese from a biscuit (i eat less than half of what's there) or some left over protein source from the fridge. (I'm not a morning person so getting up and cooking food before I leave for work doesn't fit well with my morning grumpiness. I have to keep it quick and easy in the mornings.) My sleeve is pretty tight in the morning. Midmorning - Isopure RTD 1/2 bottle or a Jay Robb powder shake. This gets me 20 to 25 grams of protein in one punch and some more liquids. Before lunch - I try to drink at least 10 more ounces of something for Fluid intake. Lunch - chicken salad, tuna, chili, leftover steak/hamburger. I use the little glad mini containers to take my lunch to work. I can't eat a whole mini container of anything that I take. In terms of the chicken salad, I know it's a little less than 1/2 cup. Sorry, I don't do well with guessing ounces. I usually take a Multivitamin, Biotin, and B12 after lunch. After lunch - Another 10 ounces of water. Late afternoon - I try to squeeze in another lite meal or snack here to get some additional protein but I don't always make it. I usually do a lighter meat like shrimp or fish. Maybe like 3 ounces or so. This is when I take a Calcium citrate pill. dinner - This is usually when I can eat a more normal looking serving size. I might do half of a baked chicken breast and try to eat a few sprigs of broccoli. After dinner - my plan here is to drink 1/2 an Isopure but I usually don't make it. If I don't feel up to the Protein Drink I just take in some water or other clear liquid. I always follow the "wait thirty minutes after eating to drink" rule and almost always "wait 30 minutes after drinking to eat". I do occasionally get off program with a half a cookie or a small scoop of ice cream. Luckily I'm not lactose intolerant post op. I definitely have not found that giving in to a craving once in a while is disastrous. It's been easy for me to cut it off pretty quickly. I hope this helps.

It actually is kind of funny sometimes. My daughter probably thinks I'm nuts cuz I keep looking at those scales and don't ever buy one. :thumbup:

Hey ken, it's good to hear that things are still going well for you. You're right about how much better this makes us feel. I'm down 2 sizes and was in the mirror a little while ago dancing and grinning from ear to ear in a new outfit. I'm moving around so much better and not self-conscious about how I look all the time. I can tell that my confidence is showing to other people and they are looking at me differently because of it. It's great!

Hey m, I struggled with this too because I gained weight between my first consult and my preop appt. Luckily it was about 10 pounds and I was able to lose it by going on my preop diet early. Tell your daughter to go high Protein low carb and the weight will come off. When I stepped on the scale for my preop I was 1 pound under my consult weight. I almost fainted from relief because I thought I was going to have to come in there and beg for my surgery. I suspect that if your daughter were closer to 10 pounds gained you might have a shot at convincing him. But I certainly know what it's like to lose and gain 30 pounds so I sympathize. Worst case scenario would be to take your 6 months insurance requirements to another surgeon. The insurance company isn't going to care if you switch surgeons. But, I hope she's able to loose enough to convince him to do the surgery. I think she can do it in 3 months with the low carb thing. Good luck!

I'm just over two months out and can finally say that I'm doing great. My reasons for not saying that before were simply the regular effects of the surgery: difficulty getting in fluids initially, struggling with the restriction and not being able to eat much, lacking energy. Those are things everyone can experience and all have resolved. I'm very pleased with my surgery and with the stomach Dr. Macik gave me. Because of how my eating has progressed and how my restriction has changed, I get the sense that he did a really good job of creating a stomach that would allow me to loose weight but also allow me to eat regular food. I don't know if that makes sense because it's hard to explain. I'm not totally sure how I feel about the aftercare from this office just because I've had a couple of episodes of not being responded to the way I should have been. But, luckily I'm a very independent person and I just did what I needed to do to resolve my issues, whether it be nagging until I got an answer or going out and doing the research myself. Although other people have posted better experiences with aftercare, mine has been shaky. But the fact that the nurse doesn't return calls or followup on questions and requests may not be a good way to judge the care you will receive. However, I would still highly recommend Dr. Macik because of his obvious experience, thoroughness, and skill level. I would just say that the more dependent types should have someone to follow up on things for them after surgery because it might be hard to do for yourself when you're weak and healing.

I've been doing Isopure RTDs which I tolerate fine. I'm now loving the Jay Robb powder mix. I can control how many ounces of fluid I have to drink to get the 25 grams of protein from each serving. It's also whey protein isolate, like Isopure, which I hear is the best form to use.

Try some Pilates stomach exercises - either from a DVD or you should be able to find some examples online. They can be modified for intensity as you get stronger. This really shapes up the entire tummy area.

Are you sure watermelon is OK? I think it's considered pretty fibrous. My postop diet was pretty liberal but I wasn't cleared for watermelon until after 8 weeks.

I've also been taking small pills whole since in the hospital. I questioned the nurse about it when they first gave me one on day 2 post op. She said it was in my orders and it was fine. I've had no problems. I struggled with the chewable Vitamins and when I asked about regular ones the docs office said to try them when I was comfortable swallowing them. The first time I tried a large Multivitamin (a few weeks ago) I got really sick. I tried them again last week and no problems. I am so much more compliant now that I can swallow everything. Someone here said we're supposed to always take chewables. That's the first I've heard of that. Anyone else get that info from a NUT or doctor? As for my regimen, I take my multivitamin, Biotin, and B12 right after lunch, or sometimes after Breakfast if I remember. I put some extras in a medicine bottle and keep it in my purse so it's with me at all times. Otherwise, I get off schedule. I take my Calcium citrate with an afternoon snack or with dinner. Sometimes I take a Viactiv at bedtime just for extra, since I spent the money on them. By the way, Citrical makes cal citrate minis that are not as huge as regular calcium. They're still a good size and kind of square but go down easier. I need to add an extra citrate and some Iron in my schedule but haven't figured that out with the spacing required between the iron in multivitamin and the calcium. I'll get it together eventually. It is a bit much sometimes...

Sounds like you are right on track for 3 days out. Your ability to eat will increase gradually over the weeks. Just focus on getting your fluids in. Don't get dehydrated!!!

YES!! YES!! YES!! My PMS cravings are definitely worse now than before surgery. I'm wanting ice cream, Cookies, chips, etc... Luckily, after a half of a cookie or a baby scoop of ice cream, I'm satisfied. So, for now, I'm not worrying about it too much.