Eureka-C

I still maintain that getting 64 oz of fluids (not necessarily water) is a good goal. There are many people that become dehydrated right after surgery because they don't drink enough especially if they are nauseous. I also have found that it makes a big difference in my bm's. Interesting article though.

You are barely a week out. Be gentle on your new raw tummy. I just look at my wounds on the outside and imagine what it must be on the inside. I am terrified of getting some food stuck in that wound and eroding a hole. Drink constantly. Find safe compromises, soft and gentle. You can do this.

You are barely a week out. Be gentle on your new raw tummy. I just look at my wounds on the outside and imagine what it must be on the inside. I am terrified of getting some food stuck in that wound and eroding a hole. Drink constantly. Find safe compromises, soft and gentle. You can do this.

Have you tracked your food intake lately to see exactly what you are taking in, not just calories, but Protein, carbs, Water etc?

That short out, I was still on liquids. How about some egg drop or miso Soup?

I would keep the light butter, put the walnuts in the freezer for a good Protein snack down the road. I know we don't need the starch, but the saltines with some baby food meat (salt and garlic powder added) saved me from chewing off my own tongue at the end of full liquids. Throw the rest out or donate anything unopened to a local food pantry.

The first few weeks were hard for me and I didn't have a revision. Also if the surgeon repairs your esophagus, it could be slow going. 6 weeks should be enough to feel better, but there are no guarantees, and I wouldn't want to chance missing my child's wedding because of some complication. My surgeon had me replace two meals with Protein Shakes and start eating high Protein low carb about 4 months before my surgery. I lost 20 pounds with just that, and I also had a healthy liver for my surgery. Best of luck. What a difficult decision.

After my initial bad experience about 11/2 weeks post op, I began adding benefiber to my drinks 1-3 times a day. I now go regularly every 2-3 days w/o pain. I also found it was important to get 60+ oz of fluids to prevent painful bms.

Hi Everyone!

I am having my sleeve surgery on Januray 3rd and my nutritionist told me that for the first 10 days after surgery to drink one Isopure Protein drink a day. She also said that the taste isn't too pleasant, but I will put on my big girl pants (no pun intended) and tough it out....

My question is....What flavor is the least gross??? Do you have any other suggestions for a clear Protein drink??

I liked the cytomax brand better than the isopure brand. The tangerine flavor reminded me of tang. It wasn't too bad. I also like the cherry twist Syntrax powder mixed with 20 oz of Water. it is 24 grams of protein.

Thanks all for your advice, kind words, and concern. I'm doing a bit better physically but still on the downhill emotionally. I can't believe I did this to myself. Trying to stay hydrated. Maybe getting 5 grams of Protein in a day. I can start on purees on Wed. Looking forward to some Beans.

one of the things that i added was baby food meats. I added a little salt and garlic powder and dipped a saltine cracker in it, then let it melt in my mouth. I also mixed it with the broth to make a thick Soup.

A friend of mine with adhesion said she took a wooden rolling pin and rolled it over the area twice a day and that it helped tremendously. She was told to do this by a PT friend. It might be worth the try.

For me it could be anywhere from a mild discomfort and tight feeling in my chest to an intense pain. At one point it was so bad I was having pain under my right shoulder blade.

I too am just starting this process so I am also looking for tips/suggestions on how to navigate the process. We have a similar story though as i am knocking on the door to 44 and work in child protective services in the midwest. I believe surgery is the right choice for me but i am having trouble reconciling myself with the idea of having the majority of my stomach cut out because i can't lose weight on my own. i struggle with the idea that i didn't get to this point in my life by having a healthy relationship with food and what will i do to address those issues to be a success with the sleeve? My insurance only pays for lap band or bypass, neither of which i am interested so i am considering self pay in Mexico. The thing that worries me with that is that there are no required pre-testing, no pyschological meeting etc. What if I can't do it? Will I know how to live life as a skinny person? Anyways, I would like to stay in touch and share the journey with you.

Is the reason your insurance doesn't pay because it is an investigational procedure? If so you might want to try and appeal. I did and it worked. I know others have done this as well.

I have been noticing in several posts that people report feeling colder after this surgery. Some people attribute it to the weight loss, but others say they have lost large amounts of weight before and not had this effect. I decided to do some research. There are several articles that say increasing ghrelin increases body temperature. This article suggests that rats that don't produce ghrelin have trouble regulating body temperature in cold environments. They also have less nonREM sleep, (more dream time, less deep restful sleep), but they stay awake better during the day. I guess what is interesting to me is this hormone is a big player in sleep and thermo-regulation. I was wondering what others have personally noticed about their changes in sleep and ability to adjust to cold or hot temperatures.

Personally. I have noticed I sleep less, 6-7 hours at night. I feel awake but tire easily (which I think is more related to surgery recovery). I have definitely felt colder and always have a blanket over me.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/08/03/0903090106.full.pdf

I was sleeved on 11/22. I lost 15 lbs up to 12/1, then stalled for 14 days. I increased my Fiber with benefiber, was able to start on mushies, increased my calories to 700-900, and am working hard on getting my liquids. I have dropped 2 lbs in the last week. Hang in there. I also take my measurement every Sunday, and even when I wasn't losing weight, I still lost about 1/2 inch all over.

I was not told anything. Though my baratric coordinator told me that I would never enjoy a meal again but my NUT told me absolutely nothing. I wonder why there is such a difference between everyone's Dr's and NUT. You would think that they would be pretty much on the same page.

Really??!! Never enjoy a meal again. What a horribly negative and I believe totally false thing to say. There may be some people who's tastes change to find they enjoy different things, but to never enjoy a meal again?

The feelings you describe are indicative of serious depression, please think about seeing someone to addresss it. Often it can seem that one miracle like weight loss will make us feel better when in reality depression is usually more complicated. Good luck

So undecided right now about this. My surgeon's office just called and offered me a surgery date of Dec. 22nd and I am just so not sure I want to do this so close to Christmas day. Mostly because I have two small children at home and one of them is a four year old who is beyond excited about Christmas. Anyone have experience with recovery, or hospital stay?

That close to Christmas and there is always the chance that you will be in the hospital. Also, you never know how you will feel after surgery. Some find it a breeze after 3 days and others are barely starting to recover. what a difficult decision. I would call and see what your other options are. If there is one right after Christmas, it would not be so bad to wait another week, but if the next available time is February... then you may not want to wait that long. Good luck.

I got some Lactaid-type pills at GNC today. I'll give 'em a whirl. Where can I find nectar?

they also have it at the vitamine shoppe. Lots of people say to get the samples on the website so you don't have a big jug of it to get through. I just typed in "syntrax nectar Protein samples" and got lots of sites that offer it.

That was beutiful. It brought tears to my eyes. I can't tell you how much I needed to hear that.

I haven't decided my goal weight yet, but have been considering many options. At first I just wanted to get down to my marriage weight about 220. Then as I learned more, I thought, I can get down to below 200 and I will be happy. I saw others my size getting down to a size 8, and thought. Wow, could I do that? The smallest I have ever been was a size 10 in 10th grade at 155 pounds. I looked at the BMI charts and thought I might make it to 150 or if I am lucky 140. The other day I was visiting my nutritionist and she had a scale that measures body fat. It said I am 48% body fat and 140 pounds of everything, but fat. If you take that 140 and add about 20% body fat... I think that is what she did. I come out to about 165-175, which is what I weighed in 11th grade as a size 12. I looked good. I could live with that. Now with how hard and slow it all seems to be going for me, I don't know. I did this to get healthy. So I guess, I will take tiny bites and aim for 250 right now. (thats only 8 pounds to go), and when I get there, I will see what the next step for me is. I still can't wrap my mind around a small me.

Someone else I know takes the bullet and cuts them with Water and a koolaid packet, no sugar (not the sugar free with sugar substitute, but just regular koolaide pack,no sugar added.) I tasted it and it wasn't too bad. Personally I mix nectar cherry with crystal light lemonade or Vitamin water zero lemonade 20 oz for one scoop powder.

That's terrible. keep sipping so you don't get dehydrated. Hope it turns around for you soon, meanwhile can't they give you an anti-nausea med to help?

I wasn't interested in food at all for the first two weeks. I finally started wanting to eat in the third week. I was definitely ready to get off of liquids at the end of week three. I can finally eat this week and am interested in food when I am hungry, in fact I kind of use that as my gauge for hunger as I don't ever feel hungry like I used to. After eating a little, then I start becoming disinterested, sometime before I feel full. I usually quit at this point. I throw away food every meal now. I never used to do that. I am only 3 1/2 weeks out so hopefully others further out will respond as well.

Thanks for letting us know. I can feel the pain and frustration in your post. I only had to go through one appeal over five months and it was pure torture. My heart goes out to you. Hang in there.