AmMatthew

So, I'm four weeks out today. And I'd say that I'd do this again in a heartbeat. I am THRILLED with how I look, and how much better I feel to be thinner and able to move my body better. I miss this body (I've now lost 5 years; i.e. pants that I last wore 5 years ago). I love dressing well again, and taking care of myself.... ...But eating it a chore. A lot of foods that are good for me don't slide, and I feel lousy afterwards. I'm not drinking or eating enough of the right things. There's time when I'm out and about and crave the simplicity of a quick piece of pizza. I really miss the way that I could satisfy my hunger easily. It shocking how much of our modern diet is junk carbs, for example it's almost impossible to eat 4 weeks post op in an airport terminal. But I always remember Tiffany's rejoinder that there's nothing that you can put in your mouth that tastes as good as feeling thinner feels. So, while its not all roses all the time, its way more good than bad. And getting a bit better daily. Matt

Just a quick note to the board. Tomorrow I fly to LA for my tenure track interview. I was worried about having this surgery only three weeks before the interview. Wow, I'm really glad that I did it. Just like you all said, eating won't be a problem (and no one will even notice that I'm hardly eating at the faculty dinners), and the extra confidence that comes from being almost 30 lbs lighter is going to make a huge difference. I wouldn't have taken this leap without the information that's on this board, so I want to thank you all for your posts.

Guys, so interview was a success. I don't think that anyone had a clue about the surgery, or at least if they did it wasn't so obvious that they needed to mention it. I did have to explain that I didn't eat breads and carbs, but I guess that they took it with ease (it was LA, after all). I was able to buy a suit at Nordstroms for the occasion (size 50, I think that they go to 52 there, and the guy told me that there wasn't a ton of selection at that size). But the suit looked great on, and gave me a lot of confidence. It was very, very hard to get enough Water, enough food, and certainly enough Protein given the 14 hours per day of interviews or social events. We sleevers eat SO slow, and everyone assumes that you're done, when you are actually just taking a break so that you don't overfill. And honestly, I think that I got quite sick because of it, but the interview went excellent, and I don't believe that 30 lbs. heavier, that it would have gone as well. So, thanks again.

So I was on these interviews on a college campus last week, and a faculty person would be charged with taking me to breakfast, which meant a coffee shop with pastries. I tried to just have tea once, but I was getting so few calories in I switched to a non-fat latte. I seem to be ok for it. Now back at home I've stopped, but I think I was up to as much as two of these non-fat lattes per day while there. I was just over 3 weeks out. I could see how coffee could be a gateway to soda though!

I'm three weeks tomorrow. And my doctor is the opposite of conservative (but he's done these since 2005, so perhaps he has a better feel for things). Anyway, I've been on soft meats for a week. I just broke through my stall between yesterday and today. I should note that yesterday my pregnant wife have cravings for Desserts, and I ate three bites of a passion-fruit mouse and about 3 heaping tablespoons of full fat, full sugar ice cream, with about the same of NS/NF ice cream in the night. So, as several have noted, shaking up your diet helps (or perhaps it was the NS/NF ice cream that prompted my first bowel movement in about 4 days!) Anyway, down today over a pound, and over the 20 days since surgery, down a bit over 20 pounds. I may be the scientist in me, but I like to experiment with my sleeve. And I find meats much easier, and certainly more filling than liquids. I recall that when I was on full liquids, I was consuming more calories during the day, and feeling less full. Now, three bites of leftover turkey eaten out of a Soup, and I'm full. Repeat that 15 minutes later and I don't/can't eat for 4 - 5 hours, and I'm well satiated. The advantage of bird meat is that it is relatively low in fat, easy to get down, and almost pure Protein. My only vegetables are collateral damage from the Soups that I tend to eat. My hunch is that the milk and stuff that are in most Protein drinks are high in lactose, which is after all a sugar.

I am two weeks and two hours out of surgery. And honestly, until I saw your post, I forgot that I had the drain removed 8 days ago. It sucked for the 5 days that it was in. I caught it on things walking around a few time, and pulled some stitches. And I think that it amplifies the gas and abdominal discomfort that you feel after surgery. But think about it, 14 days and I feel 3 years younger, at least. And my doctor said that I was one of the biggest whiner and wimps that he's had go through the procedure! You have to realize that you will feel so much better so soon that it's honestly a miracle. I know it won't last forever, but my ability to control my cravings and not feel hungry all the time is the best drug I can imagine. Even if the drain and the bloating and the incisions hurt more than they do, I'd still say it was totally worth it.

Dawn: So you're doing better, that's great. I'm doing pretty good too, though eating is still a bit of a chore sometimes. I see my doc tomorrow, so I expect that I will get to eat eggs too. I can already chew pieces of chicken from my Soups. And you got cleared for the gym....I'm ready to get back into exercising. My daily weight loss is slowing, and I think that I need some exercise, I've basically lost these 22 pounds without a sweat (literally). Are you allowed to lift weights or just do cardio? Matt

I have something like a side stitch on my left side too. I feel it most when I bend over to pick something up. I wouldn't call it extreme though, and every day it gets better. Do you have a two week check-up that you can ask your doc about it?

My doc says I was left with a 3 oz stomach. Not everyone starts with the same size stomach, so in order to be sized to the relatively standard 32f or 36f bougie, then it would be a different percentage for everyone.

I wouldn't tell anyone before. You'll get negative Nancys (including my cardiologist for my pre-check who said that I wasn't super heavy and should just diet). I've started to tell folks afterwards, one, because they were worried about me, and perhaps more importantly for accountability. As the motivational speaker Zig Zigler said, you want to share your "Give Up" goals with the as many people as possible to keep you honest. I'm only 2 weeks into this sleeve, and I'm already pretty sure that I know how to beat it with milkshakes and ice cream if I wanted to (thankfully I don't have those cravings). But I think that by telling more people, I'll have more support. I told my boss over the weekend and he was EXTREMELY supportive, since he had started razzing me about my weight gain. I'm not sure that he would have been as supportive beforehand. But after it's done, you can't go back!

Dawn: I started to slow down a couple of days ago, too. I think that the first week the weight loss is SO fast and so easy because of the extra Fluid, from the surgery etc. And then when the drain is out, well that's like a pound almost. I'm at the beach now (yes, one of the benefits of living in Panama), and so I didn't weigh myself this morning. I also think that full liquids, especially if they are creamy Soups, can be more calories than we really want. My doc wants me to focus on healing now, and at my two week checkup, tomorrow, we'll focus on learning how to eat really foods (soft). I'm pretty sure that with soft foods, (fish, chicken) I'll be able to get my Protein. I've also found that I'm better without dairy, and better if I'm away from my desk at work, because I had some unhealthy stress-related eating habits. I also know that it's ironic but you'll lose more if you force the Water...at least that's what we did when we had to cut weight for wrestling in college. It's probably time to switch to weighing ourselves every few days, or else we might get neurotic. I certainly can see it in my clothes, as I've put away all of my XXL shirts and am working on the XLs. My wife also says that I'm snoring less.

After a week I could sit and talk to my staff, catch up on paperwork, etc. And 8 - 9 days I felt like I had more energy than before, in terms of walking fast etc. But, if you don't take time to eat or drink, like I did yesterday (I'm 10 days out), you crash, and then I tried to eat too quickly.....wasn't a good night. So, you have to schedule a lot more me time during the day than most of us are used to at work.

Your post makes me laugh because i went through that 2 days ago. I was sleeved 1 day before you. I was able to sip Clear Liquids really quickly. As soon as it thickened, i had to slow down. And so 6 oounces is WAY too much. You might be able to do it in two or three bouts; like 3, 2, 1 ounces. But youll feel lousy afterwards I still have those same side stiches when i get up, but each day is better. It seems like recover occurs at night. I suffer from a super sore throat with all these purees. Not sure why. But scratchy. Today i was bored with food. Had to run errands and didnt eat until about 4pm. And then eating was a chore becuase i was ...i dont know how to explain it because it wasnt old hungry but instead....empty? Then i wanted to eat more quickly than i can, and that sucked too. I know i should eat and drink, but im not feeling it. Sorry for the sloppy typng, im on a mobile device.

Dawn: Congrats! It's sounds like you and I are in the same boat. I was worried too that getting the drain out was going to hurt, because I read on here that I did. My surgeon says that I read to much. I told him there is a reason I have a PhD.... When he tied me up with the stiches that I guess had been inside, that did hurt. I figure that that big ass drain just gave me another pound or so lost. I'm on track. 15 pounds down, too. And he wants me to lose AT LEAST 20% of my excess weight in the first month, so only 7 more for that goal, but I'm hoping to get to at least 30 pounds in the first month. Clothes are already fitting better.

So, I was sleeved last week. I had your same thought, and bought a bunch of broths and stuff. The thing is, I don't think that pre-op most people can visualize how little food you will be eating. There are a couple of exceptions: Crystal Light powder and SF popsicles. Everything else, I've got too much of: broth, etc. By the way, mushroom broth by itself tastes horrible -- like dirt mixed with mold. So, if you live a bit far from a Wal-mart or a costco, maybe it makes sense to get Crystal Light or SF popsicles. Though honestly, if you don't have them post-op then you have something do do those first days where you have some minor aches and pains --- walk around the supermarket. You need to walk post-op, so it might as well be in the grocer's Also, as much as I try, my family doesn't want to touch what I'm eating. So it's not shared, and after doing a low carb pre-op diet, my taste for sugar went down dramatically. Now sugary things are repulsive. So your tastes are going to change. My whole approach to food is different. Out with bulk, in with tiny portions and the most expensive gourmet items that I can find. I'm just not consuming enough for it to matter.

Dear all: Today is my first day of full liquids, after 1 1/2 days of post-op IV fast and 3 days of Clear Liquids. So, in earlier days I was drinking as much as I wanted, but today, I've been trying to limit the "food drinks" i.e creamy Soups and Protein drinks to "meal times" I guess the concern that I have is that if I was just sipping my Protein Drink that I could end up with 2000 calories in a day. I had 1 cup of semi creamy Soup twice today (so about 400 calories) and I just finished a relatively big Protein drink (in about 10 minutes, which seems fast, but my dad is nagging me to help him so I gulped it down.....now I'm feeling bloated). I guess that in some ways I'm answering my own question....as the food gets thicker, it doesn't transit as fast, and so it shuts me down. But I could see how you could beat the sleeve with a lot of mocha lattes or whatever. But, I'm worried that my transit is so fast that I won't get the full effect.

So clear liquid transits fast, but anything with heft and I'm slown down, down for the count after tiny portions. Just two ounces of greek yogurt in about 20 minutes, and there was NO WAY more was going in. I also HATE sugar now...but I want to lick the chex mix...go figure. I still did less than 700 calories today, and I'm quite full.

I can take full sips. Probably 1/2 an ounce per sip. I realize that it's a lot, so I'm worried a bit. It really not that the sips are so large, but the wait time between doesn't need to be that much. I can finish a 6 oz of clear liquid in 10 minutes. I was told by the doc that I could do 1 ounce per 5 mins rather than the typical 1 ounce per 10 minutes because my swallow test showed a really fast transit time.

The bleeding stopped, and the drain is still in, but it freaked me out. I was in a cafeteria with my dad and saw blood on my shirt. When I got out of the car, I had caught the drain on the door handle a bit. Second time it's happened. Should I bother my doctor on a Saturday evening? I'm not bleeding any more. It was only two quarter size stains.

Thanks. The doctor said the same thing: "Don't worry".

Tim, I was sleeved on Tuesday. It wasn't quite the walk in the park that I thought it would be, but every day is better. There are several men with prominent youtube series on the sleeve. It's nice to have a man's perspective.

I'm four days out, and straws and sippy cups give me a panic attack. Remember that you had or will have a tube down your esophagus, etc. Sipping from a spoon feels the safest to me; when I sip from a glass sometimes I have to spit some back in because I took too much. My guess is that it's a very primal thing that you don't have to think about much. I expect to use a straw at some time in the future.

Yeah, I'm craving food more today too. I think that it's in my head, like a habit, rather than in my stomach. But I haven't been avoiding temptation much: went to the grocer's today, for example. And the worst is hi-def football games...that pizza food p0rn is too much! I want it. But I won't give in, WAY too scared. Looking forward to full liquids tomorrow. I never thought that cream of chicken soup could be so appealing!

I was done on the 16th. And I'm drinking a lot. I was thrilled to go to the movies last night and not really want any of the stuff from the concession stand. I even went and ordered for my wife. I told her after the movie that I wasn't hungry at all, but I felt a stomach signal that was telling me empty. I've read others talk about that here. I also know that it won't last for ever, perhaps just 6 months....but I'm going to ride the wave as long as I can. I went home and relatively quickly ate a hole preparation of diet Jello. Probably in a half an hour. It didn't hurt, but I think I did it too fast. As I said before, I have really fast liquid transit out of my little banana, so that means that I can drink a 12 ounce glass of clear liquid in about 30 minutes. The doc told me to try for 30 cc every 5 minutes, so I'm going a little fast. But it's only clears, and I take it with a spoon, and I get up in between. I have a morphine patch on my back, that might be helping with the pain, but the truth is that I feel very little. I was able to sleep on my side a bit. sleeping is very comfortable. My stomach feels swollen still, but my wife says that it's gone down. I've lost 6 pounds since surgery on Tuesday so thats a bit more than a pound per day. I take a Nexium dissolved in Water every morning, baby antibiotic in liquid twice a day, a blood thinner in a shot (last time is today), and I still have the drain in. It's coming out on Monday during my doctor visit.

I was done on the 16th in the evening. I would recommend getting up and walking...it seems to help with the gases. I'm still sore, and I avoid coughing. I find broth easier than water, though every clear liquid is really easy too. I just had my first bowel movement -- yea!