Mews

I'm in the same boat you are and I had my surgery on 3/15. I'm feeling very lightheaded and almost "stoned" (it's the only way I can really describe it). I'm still on Clear Liquids and I'm making sure to get in 65oz of Fluid a day. Hopefully once I get on full liquids this feeling will go away, especially since I can't afford to take any more sick days.

I'm still very sluggish but I'm on two weeks of clear liquids so my energy level is next to nil. I can't wait until I hit the full liquid/puree stage. I am very sick of clear liquids right now. My only problem so far is that one of my incisions did not close fully and I have a lot of fluid draining from it. Besides that I'm doing fine.

I second the small sips part. The first few days were the roughest for me in that I could barely drink anything. Taking small sips really helped.

I was under a no straw restriction myself because of the amount of air it supposedly puts in your stomach. However, yesterday I had a drink with a straw and didn't have any problems (I'm 9 days post-op). There were no restrictions on gum from my doc but I don't chew it so I can't help you there.

I've been lucky in that almost everyone I told has been incredibly supportive of my decision. The only person who was against the procedure was my father-in-law in that he was worried about the risks. It really is a personal decision on whether or not you tell people. I'm incredibly open and tell people because I believe the more people know the better the person they can become. I don't let the downers get to me. If someone said "oh you're taking the easy way out" I would respond that "ya, getting 80% of my stomach removed and not being able to eat a 'normal' meal for the rest of my life is the easy way out. Usually that shuts them up. If not, I just ignore them. Hang in there.

To be honest, I didn't have that much pain. I only had a few morphine shots while I was in the hospital over three days and I've only taken two Percocets since my surgery on the 15th. Mind you, my tolerance might be a bit higher than most people but I was pleasantly surprised at how little pain there was for me. As for the nausea, I had trouble even sipping Water for the first two days. It wasn't so much wanting to throw up but rather I was repulsed by the idea of eating (if that makes sense). Gradually I started sipping water, broth, and some Gatorade and it wasn't too bad. Just do things in small sips and you should be fine. The fear and anxiety that builds up prior to the surgery can be paralyzing. Just think positively and while the first few days are the roughest, you'll be rocking your sleeve in no time.

Hehe. In the two weeks prior to my surgery (I didn't have a pre-op diet), I basically enjoyed what I could. I didn't grossly overeat but I treated myself out to a few dinners and ordered dessert just so I would get my "fix" in. Ironically, I ended up losing about ten pounds doing that. Don't know why but I'm still laughing about it.

Make sure you have all the foods that the doc recommends you eat in the first two weeks after surgery. For me, I'm on a clear liquid diet so I picked up a ton of broth, clear juices (apple, cranberry, and grape), sugar-free jello, Gatorade, and sugar-free popsicles. Try to get everything set for a week of taking it easy. Other than the food, I didn't need anything special.

Grats! You provided more inspiration for those of us still early in our post-op period.

I'm 6 days post-op and still a bit bloated. Remember that the docs had to pump your abdominal cavity fill of air for easier access. It does go away with time.

I'm six days post-op and I've noticed that the past few days I've been suffering bad insomnia. This is quite the opposite of the first three days after surgery when I could barely keep my eyes open. Now I'm barely sleeping at all. I wake up in the middle of the night and my body is just incredibly restless. Mind you I am tired but my body just doesn't want to sleep. Is this something that is normal? Could it be that I'm going through some type of food withdrawal?

Ironically I'm already taking Ambien, which makes this even more baffling to me.

I'm six days post-op myself and I'm in the same boat (ha!) as you. Brandimarie is right as it has to do with the fact that all you are consuming is liquids.

Oh ya I can sympathize. I was sleeved on the 15th and am already sick of the clear liquid diet which is two weeks long as well. One can only drink so much broth and juice. Full liquids seem like heaven to me.

I was told no soda too. I'm a diet Pepsi junkie myself so this is going to be a hard habit to break. I have heard that some doctors allow you to drink it but only when it's flat. Personally I'd rather not take the risk so early in the sleeving process.

Grats! Good for you!

I'm only on day three post-op so I can't really comment on some of the other things but I'm glad to hear that you made it through the rough spots. There was times on day one and two where I thought "why the heck did I do this to myself?" Now that I'm feeling a bit better I'm reminding myself that I did a Good Thing by having this surgery. As for the other stuff, I'm on clear liquids for two weeks so I can't help you there.

My doc said that protein is a must after week two. Until then I am to concentrate on clear liquids only. There is a protein clear liquid that I could get from their office but I was told it really wasn't necessary the first two weeks.

You're doing a bit better than me. I had my surgery on 3/15 and haven't left the house since I got home from the hospital yesterday. I'm definitely not having hunger pains. Too many other pains to distract from hunger I guess. Good luck to you and hang in there.

I'm not up to protein shakes yet as that is my post two week diet. I feel much better today (third day post op) and I am downing a significant amount of clear liquids. If you stomach is tolerating that then I guess it's a good thing. My doctor basically told me that if you're not throwing up then you aren't eating too much.

I would definitely stay with Clear Liquids for the time being. I'm day three post-op and I'm not even allow to do full liquids until the two week mark. I've been drinking Gatorade and that seems to be OK for me (as it seems to be different from person to person). I got these 1oz cups at the hospital and I try to drink one of them every 15 minutes in order to get my fluids in. Hang in there. I know it's rough as I'm going through something similar myself. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It gets better. I'm three day post op and have found it's easier for me to drink Gatorade than just plain water. I think everybody is different so try to find something you can stomach over the next day or two. And don't worry about walking the mile. I was looped up on pain meds and could barely walk to the bathroom nonetheless around the hospital wing. I'm off the meds now and am walking around my house a bit, but a mile? I think it's going to be a while before I do that. Also, I was in some serious pain after the surgery so my docs didn't want me walking too much if it hurt me that badly.

I am so thankful that I found this forum! I've gotten so much information from all of you that I was able to make a well-educated decision in chosing the sleeve. I'm having surgery this Thursday (3/15) and I am a bit of a nervous wreck, so much so that my stomach is all wonky (either that or my stomach knows what's going on and is rebelling LOL). What is interesting though is that my doctor did not have me on a liquid diet before surgery. Is that normal or does it depend on doctor? I know I'll be doing two weeks of Clear liquids and then two weeks of full liquids after the surgery but no liquid diet requirement beforehand. I'm not complaining as I've done liquid diets before and know they are rough.

Hi all! I just found this group. My surgery is TODAY in about five hours! I am a nervous wreck to say the least. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. As for the liquid pre-op diet, my doc didn't require one. He said he wasn't worried about liver size as he's done the surgery so many times with so many different sized livers. I guess each doctor is different.

We're sleeve buddies! My surgery is today as well and I'm not too far off from you (Hackensack University Medical Center). Good luck to you and keep us posted!