MegInNOLA

And sometimes things change--I could eat potato chips at around 2 months out, but I can't tolerate them any more. Ditto chicken nuggets--tried one at around 8 weeks out, chewed well, and it was fine; tried one at 4 months, and it was one of the more painful episodes of a bunch of episodes. LOL So what works today might not work tomorrow, and what didn't work yesterday might work today. Some things are 100% reliable friends--you'll get to where you know what those are--and some things are just not in my repertoire right now. I have "slider" foods--cheese, believe it or not, and nuts! What a weird sleeve I have. I just have to limit myself to small servings and not keep the jar right by my chair. I slice just enough cheese for a meal. The sleeve is a tool, but we still have to use the tool properly. I'm thrilled about this because even when I need to limit my portion sizes, thanks to my sleeve, I don't feel hungry or deprived.

I agree with the above--much younger-looking now! Really pretty, too. :-) Keep up the great work!

I can't do scrambled eggs, either--and I've been too chicken to try eggs any other way. I definitely get "the slimes" when I eat something my sleeve doesn't like--and I also got them a few months ago when I was still learning how much I was able to eat. I do eat a lot of soup still--it just goes down comfortably, and I can kind of gauge how much I'm eating by both how I feel and by volume.

Hi! My surgeon didn't put me on it, either, and I took 20 mg every night for 3 months or so. It worked like a charm. You do need to switch to a calcium citrate instead of calcium carbonate, since the stuff in Prilosec makes it hard for your body to get the calcium out of the carbonate formulation (so I've read). I took myself off of it about 3 weeks ago and have been fine.

Good going!! Congrats!

Congratulations!

The "best" one is the one that works. :-) I tried a couple before settling on omeprazole (generic Prilosec), but bodies are different, and happily, there are different types of medications so you will hopefully be able to find one that works for you. Sometimes it takes a combination of types of antacids, but I haven't seen a lot of posts from people who were unable to get it under control. My acid issues lasted from right after being sleeved until about a month ago, when I weaned myself off of the omeprazole. I no longer take it--I have some around here, just in case, but things seem to have settled down in that department. I didn't have acid issues before surgery, and I'm pretty glad I don't have them any more.

Congratulations! Your posts were some of the first ones I came across when I first started visiting this site--you were having some problems back at the beginning of your post-surgery journey that you evidently were able to overcome, which I thought was terrific. Yay for being down 120!

Congratulations all around!!

Congratulations to you on such a big milestone!!!

I agree to call your doc, but also, if you're not taking a PPI (antacid, prescription strength), you should. I have posted this numerous times, so I apologize if anyone is tired of me saying it, but I had these issues for the first 7 weeks after surgery until some folks on this forum suggested that I take Prilosec (omeprazole is the generic). It made a huge difference. Some sleeves just heal slower than others--you may need to just slow down advancing your diet--the "typical" diets that folks can eat post-surgery don't work for everyone. Since you can tolerate some types of Protein, focus on those for now and allow your sleeve to heal entirely. I'm 5-1/2 months out from surgery, and I still can't tolerate roast beef, eggs, or baked/broiled chicken (except in soup). I still eat a lot of soup. And I've lost a little more than 85 pounds since surgery. Best of all, once the Prilosec kicked in, the only times I've been sick have been because I tried to eat a new food that my sleeve didn't like OR I accidentally over-ate. Keep us posted--I really hope things turn around for you soon! I've been where you are, and it is not fun at all.

I threw up every day for the first seven weeks because I wasn't on a PPI (acid reducer). Are you on an antacid medication? Also, you may have to take things VERY slowly--some bodies are much slower to heal than others, and mine (and maybe yours) took a lot longer to tolerate everything. What I might suggest, in addition to talking to your doctor, is to focus on staying hydrated; sip constantly, but not too much at one time. Try warm Fluid as well as chilled (sometimes people can tolerate warm fluid better). Weak tea, chicken broth, Protein Water, etc. If you're allowed full liquids, add a Protein shake to your repertoire--keep it iced and cold, and sip. Alternate sips of the Protein Drink with sips of water. If your doc doesn't start you on an acid reducer, I would recommend Prilosec (omeprazole is the generic)--it saved my sanity. I could IMMEDIATELY keep things down more easily and started feeling better as my energy level rose. Keep us posted! I hope everything gets easier for you--I've been where you are, and it isn't any fun at all. On the bright side, congratulations on your loss!

Wow! You look fabulous! Congratulations on getting those jeans on--and I don't think that's your last stop, either. Way to go!!

What a terrific accomplishment! Congratulations to you! You're rocking your sleeve--keep it up!!

Y'all: EBAY. You can get brand new clothes for a fraction of the original price, and if you only wear them a couple of times, re-sell them! I agree with Soup-a-woman, it's a hassle to replace each and every item of clothing, but in another way, it's a blast, too. I have become very good friends with Ebay, as we don't have any thrift stores around here that have nice clothes, and I can find tall-length pants pretty easily.

I totally agree about enhanced senses--I think it's a mechanism our bodies use because they think we're starving (and in a way, we are, but for healthful reasons). It seems like post-surgery, my senses of smell and taste are super keen, and they were great to begin with; it's like my body is saying, "Hey, doesn't that smell good--go eat something!" I seem to recall reading at some point that our bodies want to hold onto all the excess as a form of protection against starvation during times of famine or adversity. It's not very useful now, of course, in this age of plenty, but those old physiological triggers still kick in when we start losing weight. I definitely notice flavors and scents now with much more detail. I wrote in another post, and it happened again this morning, that when I walk my dog, I can smell my neighbor's coffee brewing (and we're running the air conditioning down here in south Louisiana, so it's not that the smell is blowing out their windows). I can't tolerate having trash in the trash can or dirty dishes in the sink, because I can literally smell them. On the plus side having nothing to do with food, I have re-ignited my love of good perfume. And my husband's cologne smells super fantastic!!

I drink iced coffee twice a day, every day. And--brace yourself--I put a little chocolate syrup in there, too. I know, I'm bad. That's the only sugar I allow myself. The caffeine keeps my brain sharp and the milk gives me some extra protein, which I need, since my sleeve is so darned picky. I started back up with coffee practically the day I came home from surgery, but my doc didn't have a rule against it (happily). In my "new normal," the iced coffee is a familiar friend that my sleeve tolerates well and my brain appreciates. In fact, I'm in the middle of my "afternoon" iced coffee right now--since being sleeved, a small (16-ounce) iced coffee lasts several hours.

Hang in there, y'all! It really does get better, not fast enough, but pretty quickly in the long scheme of things. Just rest and take care of yourselves--sip, sip, sip!! Focus on trying to keep water in your hand so you can remember to sip it. You will feel better soon, I promise. Meanwhile, welcome to the losers' bench!!

Congratulations on your success so far! You look fantastic!

How fantastic! Congratulations to you and continued best wishes as you keep losing!

Nom, nom, nom.... this sounds fabulous! And easy! Thanks for posting.

I'm on board with the "no Protein shakes," too. In fact, I never did regularly have them--can't tolerate them at all. I take B12 in liquid form, so no shots here, either. There are things I know I will never have again, but it's not because of some kind of rule; it's because either they're not good for me and I choose not to eat them or because my sleeve doesn't really like them (and strangely, most are both!)--fried foods, sugary foods, foods with little or no nutritional value. There's just no room for that kind of thing any more, and that's 100% okay with me! Before surgery, I was totally prepared to do whatever it took to get the weight off. I didn't drink soda much before surgery, so giving that up wasn't a biggie. I would have done a lot more if I needed to.... honestly, at this point, I don't feel deprived, hungry, or hopeless--I feel happy, healthy, and so much better!!

Soup is still my favorite meal--quick and easy and very friendly to my sleeve. :-) Now I get to make my own, so we keep a few containers in the fridge for fast heating. One quart of soup seems to last forever these days!! LOL I know it's rough right after surgery. For me, it was watching television--suddenly, there were hundreds of commercials with food that I couldn't have, and I was really feeling sorry for myself!! Your body right now thinks it's starving (because in a way, it is), and your brain is going to heighten your senses in order to help food look and smell more appetizing to you so that you will want to eat. That's normal. Frustrating for us post-sleeve, but normal. It will also go away eventually. My sense of smell became so incredibly keen after surgery--when I went to my car in the morning to go to work, I could smell the neighbor's coffee brewing, and we live in south Louisiana with a/c practically all year (no windows open!). At this point, my sense of smell is still even more keen than before surgery, but either it has calmed down or I have learned to live with it, because it no longer bothers me. I still notice smells of food, but they don't matter and they don't trigger any feelings of deprivation. You will soon be able to eat more normally. Right now, the situation just stinks. Don't worry about missing out on family stuff--because you've had this surgery, you've increased the chances that you'll be around to see that cute granddaughter graduate, get married, have kids, etc..... It's a trade-off, sure, but you decided ahead of time that it was worth it. It does stink now. It will get better so very quickly!! Hang in there-we're all here, and we've all been there.

Yes! I have been having so much fun getting a new wardrobe! I used to only shop at Lane Bryant and Silhouettes (online plus sizes). I'm now addicted to Chico's--LOVE their cute jackets and "girly" details, lots of animal prints, "bling," gleaming fabrics, beautiful statement jewelry. I used to tell my DH that I just wasn't a "girly girl." He recently said to me that I obviously had been all along but just didn't feel comfortable/wasn't able to indulge my style preferences. Yep, he knows me pretty well. I also have taken to purchasing and wearing high heels, and at 6'2" barefoot, that's a big deal--before, I hated feeling like I took up all the space in a room--I know with my head that I wasn't taking up all the room, but I felt HUGE and not very feminine. Now, I don't mind feeling tall, because I don't feel huge any more. I love being able to wear my heels without my feet and knees hollering by the end of the day; I'm a teacher, so I'm on my feet all day long! I now absolutely refuse to wear any pants with an elastic or drawstring waist--I wore those for 20 years, and I'm just not going to do it any more. I also don't wear baggy tops or untailored things except for sports jerseys (which, here in N.O. Saints and LSU Tiger land, are important!). No more "bags" for me...now my clothes fit my body, look cute, and make me feel good wearing them. I enjoy it when my students compliment my "look," and I really look forward to getting dressed in the morning. I can attend meetings with administration and feel professional and comfortable. None of this would have happened without my sleeve. And let's face it, we eat so little that the food budget has dropped substantially, leaving more for fashion!! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.