PhatGurl80

Today is my first day on a full liquids diet -- Creamy soups, protein shakes, yogurt... -- And I was SO excited to be able to eat some NORMAL food. This morning I mixed a fruit smoothie and found that it was waaaaaay too bitter.. Was it the Straweberries? Banana? Or is this my tastebuds "changing" as I've see so many others post on this forum? But anyway, I got a whole 16 oz smoothie down in about two hours. No prob, bob. So, now it's lunch time and I wen to Whole foods for a tase of delicious Lobster Bisque...Mmmmmm.... My mouth watered all the way back to the office. I started eating and ....UH OH! 10 teaspoons and i'm already FULL????? Are you kidding me? So, I slid the bowl back away from me like babies do (they obiously know something we don't), but i've been pouting ever since lol. The soup was delicious, but I can't eat but a few spoonfuls. I guess this was the test to see if my Sleeve is actually working and I guess from this evidence i'm going to lean towards a "Yes". Good news is, i guess I have dinner tonight, and lunch & dinner tomorrow !

Hi there AnneAC, I've had the same doubts going into surgery. I really couldn't comprehend that this tummy would cease to hold the "normal" amount of food. Well, let me tell ya... I've been post-op for 3 weeks and NOW I can't even imagine ever eating a "normal" amount of food ever again. I watched my fiance down a 3 peice from Popeye's and my stomach ached just looking at it. Just be confident that your sleeve is a tool to help you undo years and years of programming. I am still learning the difference between what my eye/head want vs. what my stomach wants lol. Don't worry, y ou'll be okay! Good luck to you

I'm entering into my 3rd week of being sleeved and have done so well so far. I practically feel as 'normal' as I did the week before surgery. First week I was on clear Fluids, 2nd week, full fluids. The doctor said that in the third week, I should start experimenting...see what kinds of things I can tolerate..."even try mexican if you like mexican". Ironically the first day of my 3rd week, I felt HUNGRY like no other. It was like a fire that couldn't be smothered. So since the Doc said to experience, i figured that was my cue to do just that. Breakfast was a hot bowl of whole wheat cream of wheat. Tasted pretty good and it left me oh so satisfied, quelching that ravenous hunger that was growing inside me. So far so good. For lunch I decided to try a "cheese steak soup" from Whole foods. It has chunks of steak along w/ green peppers and onion. I chewed on little pieces of steak which didn't go down as well as I would have liked, but they went down. Overall I ate about a half a cup before I couldn't do it anymore. Success. Dinner was a whole 'nother story. For some reason I decided to accompany my fiance on a McD's run and ended up ordering a chicken nugget kids meal w/ fries. I got down about 4 fries and two chicken nuggets (although quite uncomfortably). But it went down and I thought to myself, " I would have never thought I would ever be full off of TWO chicken nuggets!" Then, on to bed.. So the next day. Breakfast again was a nice "soupy" cream of wheat. Delicous. Lunch was a kid's pack of greek yogurt. But then the inevitable happened. Leftovers from a meeting in the break room. They were mini deli sandwhiches, so I picked off the cheese and ham and munched on that. Then I tried for the rest of the day to get in my crystal light. Fastworward to after work. Fiance decided to cook some steak and chicken in the slow cooker. We both thought the meat woud be tender enough for my tiny stomach to handle so I had a little bite. Next, I thought about those left over chicken nuggets in the fridge. Tore off the batter and got that down w/ no problem. So what did I do next? Decided to take my left over cheese steak soup and warm that up and have a spoonful of that as well. Do you see where this is going? *gurgle gurgle* Oh no...the feeling in my stomach and in my esophagus was not pretty. I looked at my fiance and bubbled my cheeks as the universal sign that "I'm about to blow chunks" and raced to the bathroom. It all came back out..and oh ever so violently. Hovered over the toilet bowl, one eath shattering heave after another, every peice of whatever i put in my belly today came back out. Inside I'm saying "why meeeeee!" So, I guess i've learned the first very important lesson: Take it slow and easy. The ONLY thing I want to eat again for a while is that cream of wheat! I don't know why but somehow I thought that vomiting woudn't happen to me. I've been feeling so good, I couldn't possibly comprehend that my normal behavior from a month ago, cannot be my normal behavior now. What an eye opening experience. Maybe somehow deep down inside, i really needed confirmation that the sleeve was real. And it wasn't really real until I threw up like the many sleevers that have gone before me. I'm so NOT going to ever do that again lol! I swear!

Absolutely! I watched a few videos before my surgery. My surgeon also gave me a copy of my own surgery video and I watched that one about a week later lol.

Update: Current weight 245! Surpassed my Halloween goal! Still 29 days to go. I'll make a New goal to 230. Wish me luck!

I had surgery on Aug 14 and went back to work on Aug 21. I felt good.

Thanks, i feel much better. But it DEFINITELY scared me straight!

Been there done that. Don't over think it. If your Doc didn't require you to go on a Pre-op diet, then just eat how you do normally without going overboard. No need to have a "last supper" because you will be able to eat all your favorite foods again. It'll just be in much less quantity. I think this online forum helps as a counseling and guidance program. Really all you need to do is be able to share you experiences with people who are goign through the same thing. You may even find folks that are actually in close proximity to where you live and you can all meet up periodically. But either way, don't get discouraged. This is the decision you've made and rest assured that you've done the research needed to make this as smooth a process as you can. Good luck!

I paid $5000 for Dr. Fernando Garcia Govea. The only additional was for airfare for two, tips, and souveniers. Total I woudn't say more than $600.

Ha! I was literally presented with the same situation 1 day before i was flying out for my surgery. I kid you not. I thought about it for a second and thought, 'wow, that's a nice pot of money i coudl win!" Especially since we are planning a wedding. But I ended up backing out of the deal because really... it just wasn't fair. I told them, I wasn't going in on it because i didn't want to disclose my weight publically. I just said, every Monday I'd weigh-in and do the body fat calculator privately and play along w/ out getting a price. They seemed to understand. Now 3 weeks post op i've dropped nearly 20lbs! Good luck to you though!

I was a pretty avid coffee drinker before surgery, but I guess the Dr. sunk it into my head that It might dehydrate me. I haven't had a single cup since I got out of surgery and for some reason I'm not craving it. In fact, when i go into the breakroom at work, the smell of coffee is actually a little overwhelming. But just like all the other posts say, I don't think there's one answer on that. If it doesn't bother you, go for it. But, with anything, I'd use moderation.

I've been using Bio oil since around day 6. Now i'm 14 days post-op so i really can't give an opinion of it yet. I do have to say that my scars don't look nearly as bad as I thought they would. I'm very hopeful that they will soon disappear.

Lucky you, my clear liquids diet lasted a whole 3 days! As far as the Gas-x strips, make sure you ask your Dr. if you can use them. When my nurse saw me taking them, she slapped my hand and told the Dr. on me lol. He said, there was already gas relief medication in my IV drip and that the majority of the gas that I was feeling wasn't goign to be cured by gas-x strips, only by walking. I brought a heating pad w/ me that kind of helped when the gas pain hit my shoulders. chicken broth brought me some relief, warm stuff feels good going down. And that's about all the "necessities" I can think of. Once you get home, you'll be able to gauge what things you can tolerate. I have a hard time getting pure Water down...but for some reason can do a gatorade..lol. Good luck to you!

This may just be mental, but I used to drink at least two cups of coffee a day. I stopped drinking it when i was on my pre-op diet. But now that i'm 14 days post op, I swear the smell of it has repulsed me from wanting any. Weird. Been a coffee drinker since I was 10!

Hello all! I've decided to take the leap and scheduled for my surgery in Aug. Looking for some one to be my buddy or mentor throughout this process. Close proximity to NOLA would be best. Thanks!

Hello there. I"m 13 days post op and I feel great! I've actually connected w/ a few ladies in the area. We are planning to meet up every now and again. Thanks for your reply!

Today is day 11 since my surgery and honestly, i really can't see how i'm ever going to be able to eat more than just a few ounces of soup. This morning, I started out w/ an 8-10 oz protein shake and i feel like it's been sitting in my stomach aaaallll day long. I didn't even have any rooom for any liquids. I did try to sip sip sip some powerade, but it's been an all day battle and I didn't even finish half a bottle yet. I guess my sleeve has started to form a mind of it's own. Over the last few days, I have been obsessed with food. Looking at food in magzines, watching the Food Network, The travel channel. It's almost as if it's soothing to watch Man Vs. Food or Chopped. I go online and look up all kinds of recipes. Is this what food depression is? I definitely don't want to go down that slippery slope and eat everything in my sight once I'm able to eat food again. I do'nt know maybe the "food porn" is helpful in some way. Overall i'm still happy about the surgery and deep down I know things will get better. My fiance already commented on how he can tell I've lost 18 pounds My very first goal was to get from 269 to 249 by Oct. 31, and it looks like i'm about to blow that out of the water. I will continue with my 30 minute walks after work which I think has been really helping me get my mind off this food obsession. My Dr. says that I will be fine for regular exercise at about 6 weeks, so i've already signed up for a 30 day yoga class, a 5 K , and a fitness boot camp. I figure the nicest thing I can do for my body after butchering it, is to commit to a life of activity and exercise (not to mention eating well). I owe it that much. Well, i don't really have much more to say other than my scars are healing very very nicely, and overall I feel good. I know as time moves on it'll only get better and better.

Congratulations! I'm 11 days out now, and I still have a bit of trouble getting my fluids in. And you said when you were in the hospital you ate 3oz of chicken broth??? I could barely get down the blue liquid they told me to drink lol. I didn't eat any broth until day 3. Keep in touch with how you're doing!

I actually had to go to drinking a Dixie cup full of fluids every 15 minutes. I thought I'd be fine , when I went back to work I definitely wasn't even getting 10 oz in. The little cups every 15 minute helped to keep me on track.

Shalon, your surgery was 1 day before me! I do have to say i hyped myself up a whole bunch about how i'd feel afterwards. 8 days post-op, i feel pretty darn good! And i'm amazed at how little i can consume.... Best of wishes to you!