TiffanyC

tnttransplant, I can relate to what you said. I was the same way. I used to enjoy the full feeling too and still crave it. The feeling is lessening and I expect it to go away one day.....

I had a 1 week pre-op high Protein low carb diet that I did not follow very well, and even that made me constipated. Now 4 weeks post op I am constipated again. I am eating mostly protein with a little snacking I can't manage to nip in the bud. (Popcorn mainly which is high in Fiber right?! I eat alot of meat, cheese, eggs, yogurt and Protein shakes. I never have room for more than 3 oz at a meal - and I usually make it all protein - so I am not getting much veggies and forget any fruit. Oh how I miss those things!!! I bought some metamucil powder and add it to my shake or a small glass of OJ in the am but it hasn't helped. I imagine I am not the only one with this issue, what have you found to work? I really don't want to take a laxative but I guess may have to.....since reducing protein and adding fiberous veggies and fruits isnt really an option as far as I can tell....

Against my Drs orders, I have been eating popcorn nearly daily since about a week after my surgery. You can eat alot more popcorn than other foods since it squishes down real small when chewed up good. I am probably only eating 4 oz, but it seems like alot!! I find it to be a very satisfying snack. Never bothers my tummy.

Ok, I am just curious how my weight loss compares since surgery on 10/25 I think my weight the day before surgery was 254. (I need to confirm this with my surgeon!) My weight now is 236 18 lbs. What are your stats if you had surgery about the same time? OR if you have a log book that you wrote what you were at 4 weeks -post op, refer to it and tell me

My Dr said quit looking at the forums to find out if you are average He said really this will just frustrate you. So I have backed off.

Some people just are not rule followers, but then those of us are also the ones who are not as likely to be successful with the dramatic weightloss- because we do not follow the diet prescribed by our Dr or Nut. I am not loosing and I am only 8 weeks out. I havent lost weight in a month. I think not sticking to my Dr orders from the get go set me up for failure. I recommend you try harder to stick to Dr orders just on the premise of being a success, not because it might cause a complication. If it DID cause a complication, how would you feel?

It is like a diet to me. I don't like that part of it. I cant change my frame of mind. Maybe in time.

I drank alot of Water pre-sleeve and was VERY frustrated after surgery that I could not drink more water. Now at 6 weeks out, I am able to drink water alot better tho nothing like before surgery. But it is a satisfying amount. The reason I could not drink more water is due to restriction, my water did not slide right thru, I must have a tight duodenum. ( the muscular stricture that lets food go to the intestines after the stomach) I did drink with meals after surgery - just a few sips - I do not think it makes my food go thru faster but I do notice that it limits how much I can eat. Since it takes up space in my sleeve I can fit much less real food in if I drink at the same time. I still do drink a small amount when I eat most times. Its the only way I can get in all the water my body needs. I do stop drinking 15 or 20 mins before meals if want to be able to get a good amount of food in. If I drink right after a meal, and I filled my sleeve with food to the top, then when I take a few sips of water they sit in my esophagus and I have to burp them back up over the sink because it is uncomfortable. I have never had this happen with food, which i think is what people mean when they say "the slimes"- because even when I spit up just water - alot of saliva comes up with it and it is very gooey and slimey!! Yuk.

I think many of us who say we feel hungry are not feeling hungry but experiencing too much stomach acid. I do feel a strong twinge of emptiness in my tummy after not eating for a few hours, but it doesn't last long. If I skip a meal my stomach does not complain. I do not feel hungry like I use to. I never get an achy grumbly gurgly stomach with a headache like I used to from being terribly hungry. But like right now, I just ate a meal, which I did feel full from --and here I am 20 minutes later and I have an achy feeling in my tummy. I know it can not be hunger but it does feel sort of like a hunger pang I get when my sleeve is empty. My guess is it is stomach acid. When I get full with my sleeve it is what I think a normal feeling of being full should be. I just get a sign a in my brain that I have had enough to eat and a tight feeling in my tummy. Now I do sometimes mentally want to eat more and it sometimes is hard to not let myself keep eating in that case, but my sleeve stops me from going overboard. Before sleeve I would eat so fast til I was totally stuffed and miserable with stomach pressure and pain. Now I just eat till there is no more empty feeling. Sometimes I do feel physically full after eating when I push it, when it is something really yummy and I feel a little nauseous from it so it deters me from overeating the sleeve.

Unless it is low like period cramps it is not the cysts causing the pain. If you thought it was a leak then the pain is likely not that low. Is the pain all the time non stop? And is it up under the bottom edge of the ribcage? That is where the stomach is. Gas is fierce after surgery - for me it lasted non stop for weeks and even now 6-7 weeks out I am still way more gassy than pre-surg on a daily basis. YUK. Could it be gas pr constipation pains?

I feel a bit of discomfort when I eat certain foods - but not nausea. Right after my surgery I could only eat 2 or 3 bites too. Now I can eat about 8 or 10. It added up to about 2 oz at first and 3 to 4 oz now - about 1/2 a cup depending on the food. Alot of times I take to much and cannot eat but a few bites. It seems lately things are not agreeing with my sleeve that I could eat fine at first....

Congrats to all of you and thanks for replying. Alot of variance I see! Monisue - I am able to eat more than I would think I should be able to as well - of some things - but I do feel very restricted. I can eat almost 3/4 a cup too - and I find that to be about 3-4 oz. which is actually pretty typical my Dr. said. I am having trouble staying away from junk food and stopping myself from grazing and snacking especially in the evening. I finally got rid of most of the junk food in my pantry just 2 days ago and that has helped. I am still snacking on things like popcorn, ice cream, popsicles (not always sugar free). I suppose if I got rid of those too I would not snack on them... I had not had any of the nauseau or vomitting others claim - so I am not limited in what I can eat at all. Although for the last 3 days, when I ate my regular scrambled eggs for Breakfast, i got horribly nauseaous. Very tickly mouth and salivating profusely- ran to sink - but nothing happened - weird..... OK - I am making a commitment to myself - today I will throw away ALL the NOT SF popsicles, all the icecream and all the popcorn in my house!!! And all the cake batter too!! (yes, I will make a small bowl of it mixed with just Water to eat like pudding!! UGH, the horrible habits of fat people right?) And the package of cookie dough in the fridge too - its going in the trash..... (Whew- admitting I was snacking on this crap still has really made me accountable) ****. I really thought the sleeve was going to be 'magic' and make it easy - but this is just as hard as any other diet I ever did. I sure hope that once I loose the weight the sleeve keeps me from gaining it back. Maybe that is where the magic lies? Does anyone know if the sleeve can be revised to a bypass of any kind?

I was on a rebound form a weightloss attempt - so I had lost 60 lbs on my own last year and gaining it back - at the end of that I was getting approved for surgery, so yes, I gained like 30 lbs while trying to get approved for the surgery. I also cheated some on my 1 week presrugery liquid diet. But my surgery still went ok.

Well, how long ago did you have the surgery? I noticed today that several things I ate made me feel like vomitting, got the watery mouth feeling - stood over sink - but nothing. I have not gotten sick at all in the 5 weeks since my surgery. And these were things I have eaten before, oatmeal... Maybe something is stuck?

Cons of the sleeve- It does not make you magically get skinny with out any hard work. Booo. I was dupped!! You still crave junk food and you still have to fight the urge to eat it. it is true you cant eat a whole box/bag, but you can still eat more than you should. You can't drink liquids like you used to so it is a struggle to stay hydrated.

I eat too fast I take too big of bites I drink with meals My Snacks are not always healthy I don't exercise I know if I want to loose weight as fast as all of ya'll have I better get on the band wagon. I can't believe I spent over $5000 to have the sleeve and I am letting it go to waste by not controlling my eating better. I really thought it would be easier. I thought the sleeve would make me loose weight like magic and I wouldn't have to do anything difficult like *DIET*. I better stop kidding myself and get serious. Sleeve 4 me - you are so fortunate to have lost so much without exercise and with those bad habits! How long ago were you sleeved and what do you attribute to your success?? Do you just not eat much at all?

I was feeling thirsty real bad too the first few weeks and now at just over 4 weeks out I can take bigger drinks. I dont have to sip. Therefore I am able to get more fluids in over time. If I take big gulps I do still get a stomach ache but I can take a pretty decent sized drink with out any discomfort. Just keep trying. You will get there. Don't give up drinking fluids or you will end up in the ER. Sometimes we have to suffer a bit of discomfort to keep ourselves healthy.

I have been thinking about my family's Thanksgiving meal all day. I can't decide what I am going to do, a bite of several things, or 3 oz of my favorite thing. I am leaning towards just eating 3 oz of my fave - Aunt Bonnie's macaroni n cheese casserole. It has a lot of Protein - along with many calories n carbs but what the heck, it's still only like 400 calories- instead of the 5000 I would usually eat this day!!! Maybe I will even have room for one or two bites of pecan pie later in the day. What are you going to eat? Are you going to stick to your protein 1st rule? Are you going to splurge? I will probably do the chew n spit trick in order to get to savor the taste of a few favorite things like the rotel cheese dip they always have, and maybe I will do that with the pie too in order to limit calories. I am grateful (and yes also a little sad) that I will not be able to eat my normal amount at my first ever sleeved holiday meal. How do you feel? HAPPY TURKEY DAY TO YOU ALL!!

My plate was very sparse and my family marveled at it!! LOL - I actually decided to taste everything rather than just eat mac n cheese I went off my low carb, Protein first rule and did not count calories- just for the day. When I arrived I had 3 small frito scoops with rotel cheese dip. Like broken in half sized scoops. About an hour later we ate dinner and on my plate there was one teaspoon of each: stuffing, turkey, glazed carrots, corn casserole and there was about 4 teaspoons of mac n cheese casserole (my fave). I did not get a roll or mashed taters or gravy or candied yams. I did not eat all the corn casserole or stuffing. I went back and got a second spoonful of mac n cheese and could only eat one bite of it. about 30 minutes later I had one single bite of the 3 kinds of pie- apple, pumpkin, pecan - right out of the pie tin (did not make a plate for fear of eating too much) - oh and I had about 3 more bites of pecan pie through out the rest of the afternoon (nibbling) over the course of 2 more hours.....as I drank my Water.... I made a to go plate of my faves that will last me a week, and I didnt get any pie to go. I was not at all upset that I did not get to eat more, I was VERY pleased that I was restricted to eating a small amount, and I was very full and very satisfied. Thank goodness for my sleeve!!!

Wow, you polished off a good serving size! I can't imagine! I should have taken a pic too! My plate was very sparse and my family marveled.... When I arrived I had 3 small frito scoops with cheese dip and Water. I would normally eat a HUGE amount of this 'appetizer' plus a couple dozen sausage cheese balls too before dinner. About an hour later we ate dinner and on my plate there was about 1 teaspoon of each: stuffing, turkey, glazed carrots, corn casserole and there was about 4 teaspoons of mac n cheese casserole (my fave). I did not get a roll or mashed taters or gravy or candied yams. I ate almost everything, making that one normal bite-sized portion into about 3 bites for a sleever - I did not eat all the corn casserole or stuffing. I went back and got a second spoonful of mac n cheese and could only eat one bite of it. I cant even describe how much mac n cheese I would have eaten with out the sleeve not to mention all the other food, but I am sure you all know what I mean!! about 30 minutes later I had one single bite of the 3 kinds of pie- apple, pumpkin, pecan - right out of the pie tin (did not make a plate for fear of eating too much) - oh and I had about 3 more bites of pecan pie through out the rest of the afternoon (nibbling) over the course of 2 more hours.....as I drank my water.... I made a to go plate of my faves that will last me a week, and I didnt even get any pie to go, it was not that pleasing to me. I was not at all upset that I did not get to eat more, I was VERY pleased that I was restricted to eating a small amount, and I was very full and very satisfied. Thank goodness for my sleeve!!!

You look gorgeous and YES SOOOO PERFECTLY THIN!!! Congrats to you! I bet your hubby is thrilled HAPPY BDAY too and happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, thanks, great advice, I will go get Miralax tomorrow!

I do not cook either. I find that Protein shakes are great for an easy meal when in a hurry. I keep peeled, sliced, ripe bananas in a ziploc in the freezer and use these instead of ice to make a frozen smoothie with high protein mix (either choc or vanilla). I eat alot of yogurt, and find the greek types ot have more protein per serving. I really really love plain greek yogurt or vanilla, with honey drizzled on it. It is delicious! You can microwave eggs BTW, just spray a small bowl with Pam, use a fork to scrample the eggs right in the bowl, and nuke for 1 minute or so- be sure to take it out and mix it some more every 10 seconds to keep it cooking evenly. Egg w cheese in it is a great easy high protein meal. Boiling 6 or 8 eggs is also easy and you can either make egg salad or just save them in a ziploc whole and peeled. Another easy thing is tuna - either eat it right out of the can or make a little tune salad. I eat it plain, with a bit of light mayo, with out crackers or bread. Same with eggs salad. Just portion a few spoonfuls into a tiny little bowl and eat with a spoon. (So thankful to not be craving or missing bread at all since my surgery!) I also eat cheese sticks or sliced cheese as a snack or even a meal. And yes you can eat tv dinners - just be sure to get all your protein in either thru shots or shakes, or by eating only the meat in those tv dinners. I also find that frozen pre-seasoned seafood Entrees (not fried) are a great easy dinner choice. Talapai fillets are my fave along with shrimp scampi. I do not eat anything with them usually but sometimes add a few bites of cauliflower or broccoli (also frozen, single serve, w/ cheese on it).

I started trying to get approved by my insurance in January and finally got my surgery Oct 25th. I only had a 3 month diet counseling requirement. They are just slow as heck.

I am 4 weeks post op and had no complications, very little pain, was able to go back to work in just a few days, have been eating normal foods for 2 weeks, can eat anything I want with no change of taste (though some things arent quite as yummy and satisfying as I remember) and have never had any nausea or vomiting. Always got enough protein which my NUT says is the reason I felt so great. Only issue is I wish I could drink more water but it appears I am able to take larger drinks just lately - I probably am hydrated enough - but I personally like to drink more water than I have been able to. I feel very blessed that it has been so easy and feel badly for everyone who has trouble of any kind after the surgery. I do not think it is abnormal to be problem free after surgery, I just think we don't post about it as much as people with problems who are seeking answers. That is why you see mostly complications and problem posts. Glad you are doing so well!