MinaT

Congrats, I'm 5 weeks out and it's been a bit rough, but today I was able to drink out a water bottle and it not hurt me. For some reason I take in too much air and today I passed a huge hurdle. It's hard to go out in public carrying a one ounce med-cup and I thought I was going to be on those things forever.

Sending prayers up.

I took a nap every day for almost 12 days or more. I drank, I walked, I pottied, showered, and I napped and walked some more. I'm 5 weeks and I just slept on my stomach for the first time, I started going in my pool at 4 weeks out, I have days I'm a little tired but I'm doing more and more and I'm starting to feel like me. I did not take any pain killers, I was only allowed chopped up tylenol and I felt like I was always whacked out for the first 2 weeks. Almost like I wasn't quite there. Give yourself some time to heal and go with it, walk, sip and nap.

Exactly!!!! Great video.

The one pound gain is absolutely normal. I gained a pound today and in the next few days I'll probably lose 3 or 4. It's normal, it's natural and it may be sodium, it may be hotter out by you, (sometimes heat causes Water retention). Sometimes it's your body catching up, it's also the time of day you weigh yourself. Lack of normal bowel movements is a big issue. We had water in and water out, and now I take metamucil and prescription amitiza and still need a suppository to go potty. It's as though I forgot how to poop without it being water. Relax, there are hundreds of posts regarding 3 week stall. This is normal. I stalled presurgery on 800 calories a day 80 grams of Protein and 45-75 carbs a day. On the days I ate LESS...and my exercise pretty much covered my food I would have a 3 pound INCREASE....then I'd be ticked off go out to Red Lobster, overeat and lose that 3 pounds plus another 3 pounds. It's perfectly normal.

Nobody ever talks about beef, I guess beef is the hardest thing to eat and unfortunately, I'm a cave woman because I crave beef, steak etc. My families favorite beef sandwiches is Pepperoncini Beef. I usually make it on the oven on low, I throw a jar of Pepperoncini's over a frozen or thawed slab o' beef, cook or I throw it in the crock pot. I then go through it, pull out the pepperoncini's cut them up to take out the seeds and put on the side, I cut out all the fat, and then shred add the pepperoncini's back in (I started buying unseeded pre-sliced jars recently. I did this during six months pre-op diet. The guys ate Italian beef sanwiches, I threw a piece of cheese on mine and ate over lettuce. I love rotisserie chicken but do not have a rotisserie myself. I start soft foods on Sunday and this is what I am going to be trying next week: Crock-Pot Rotisserie Style Chicken. http://www.food.com/...-chicken-448861

I only lost 26 pounds since the day I had surgery - but then again when I weighed myself 6 days after surgery I was up 6 pounds so it's 32 pounds. I'm 5 weeks out. I think our bodies also need to get to used to the "new stages". I am behind most people on the food stages, I just hit pureed phase Monday and I'm not doing as well with it because I guess I got used to liquids and Pureed is a little harder on my body. I'm suppose to hit soft foods come Sunday and it's causing me anxiety. Good luck, it will come off though, I promise you, and trust me as positive as I try to sound, I still cuss under my breath when I read the scale and see no drop. Since this morning the scale was moved out a bit (my husband likes to stub his toe on it in the bathroom - or my son moves it) I internally blame it on it being out of whack. Of course, there are days I am tempted to reweigh myself throughout the day, after a heavy exercise, but when I do I am normally frustrated because I seem to gain a pound after lots of exercise. I need to just weigh myself after the first morning piddle or throw away the scale or hide it. The thing I normally do when I have this issue is measure myself. Seeing the inches melt when I measure myself makes me feel so much better.

WOOPS - posted in wrong thread! <3 good luck again everyone.

Good luck to all those being sleeved today. Sending prayers.

I was on 3 shakes a day for a total of 600 calories a day during my 14 day pre-op shake phase. Prior to that I had to have a six month - monthly weigh ins before the doctor got approval from my insurance company. my doctor had me on 800-1000 calories a day (I always stayed under 900 calories, 80 grams of Protein and 45-75 carbs (I tried to stay under 50) carbs and I lost weight each month persistently even though I had fun days. 1200-1500 calories a day seems very high to me for a pre-op phase. It seems like a good amount of calories for maintenance phase especially if you are exercising. One thing though, everyone picked their surgeon for a reason and I think listening to your surgeon's advice, but did your surgeon set you up with a nutritionist first? My suggestion, which cannot hurt you and will give you the results you want would be: Drink 64 ounces of Water a day - Walk as much as you can and the most important thing is to avoid as many carbs as you can. Keep carbs under 6-7 grams of per serving and as high a protein as possible. Why not try TWO Protein Shakes a day, sugar-free popsicles & sugar-free Jello as Snacks and eat a sensible dinner - "protein - plus vegetable". The shakes & vegetable and sf stuff will give you the amount of carbs you need for energy and the least carbs you have the better your liver will be for surgery. Best of luck. Sorry I had to edit this I hit send too fast.

Good luck to all those having surgery today.

I am 5 weeks out and I'm doing one egg, a Protein Shake, with a little Isopure thrown in, 1.5 ounces of tuna and maybe a sugarf-free pudding and 1/2 cup of skim milk and I'm hitting about 400-450 calories a day and I been the same for a week. I have been walking 1-2 miles a day, water walking 1-2 hours a day and lifting weights or doing the gazelle. Yesterday I did the Firm interval training (not at the same impact as on the dvd) and I did not do the stomach exercises, plus swimming and I was up a pound today. I also am having issues going potty, though I started back on metamucil. It happens, not happy about it, I'm hoping that in the next day or two I'll experience the nice 3 pound drop that I have been getting accustomed to. I usually stay the same a few days, and then struggle up and down a pound then I have a significant 3 pound drop then go back to the same old same old. It seems my body is doing the same darn thing it was doing pre-surgery when I was on on the high protein- low carb. Eventually my body is going to have to let go because there is no natural way for me to maintain my weight on less than 460 calories a day.

The mistake made by the anesthesiologist definitely yes, but regarding food, I was never a big eater, I was just a big girl. I never ate Breakfast, lunch or Snacks, just dinner and I had zero metabolism. I also just moved to purees so instead of starting with light things, I went right to Tuna and Mayo, which is a lot denser, so it's a learning curve. I should have started with a few teaspoons of refried Beans instead of a heavier meat. I would still do the surgery again, my surgeon was awesome and even with the complication it was worth it.

I was on full liquids until 5 weeks out. On Monday I was 5 weeks out and started pureed. I had a Syntrax nectar Fuzzy Navel shake today, and I used 4 ounces of orange Isopure & 4 ounces of Water & ice to make it. I had 1 medium size egg for lunch (scrambled egg) with like 2 tiny drops of ketchup (not suppose to have food too acid. I had a sugar free pudding cup for dinner I had about 1/2 cup Mrs. Grass chicken Noodle Soup (I skimmed around the noodles) 1/2 cup of skim milk --- Yesterday I had the same thing for Breakfast and lunch but for dinner I had 1.5 ounces of pureed tuna with 1tbs light Mayo and I couldn't eat it all - and I had 3 teaspoons of 1% cottage cheese - I didn't have a pudding cup. I think avoiding the sugary things like sherbet may be a good thing for a while.

I am 5 weeks out and I can barely get in 1/4 cup of Soup, and I can get in about 1 to 1 to 1.25 ounces of Tuna with ff mayo & 3 teaspoons of 1% cottage cheese. I also had hernia repair, adhesion removal and some serious complication that caused my surgery to run to 7 hours, when the anesthesiologist dropped the esophageal tube into my stomach while the doctor was stapling and it got stapled in me. It took 5 hours for them to remove it and I think there was some compromise of the size going from my esophagus into my stomach, though I was told there was none. I just started pureed foods so it's definitely harder to tell. I was only able to eat 1/2 cup of sf pudding at a time, but I did get an entire pudding cup down, so that's a big improvement for me. I have Lupus, so I think I'm a slower healer also.

9 days out and 3 pounds is very good. I had surgery June 4th, I weighed 229. On June 9, I was 235. Most people gain weight right after surgery due to swelling, the IV's, gas, etc. Follow your plan, drink your Water, take your Vitamins, and follow the plan, low carbs, high Protein and you will lose. Congrats on being on this side, 3 pounds is nothing to sneeze at 9 days after surgery, you probably gained 5-6 after surgery.

All doctors are different, I have an extremely conservative doctor, I had a few complications with surgery but this is what he expects from all his patients. Clears - 1 week - broth, Isopure, decaff tea, sugar-free Popsicles, Sugar-free Jello Full Liquids - 5 full weeks - Protein shakes, Syntrax nectar, unjury unflavored Protein added to Soups, skim milk, Low Fat Creamed Soups, or strained creamed soups like Cream of Asparagus, cream of chicken, broccoli cheddar (strained) Healthy Request Bean & Bacon Soup - completely pureed, then add Water to it, so it's fully liquid, some people are allowed cream of wheat - I wasn't allowed that also anything from the clears section allowed, Sugar-Free pudding, Plain Greek Yogurt - not allowed Cream of Potato (too many carbs) Tomato soup (too acidic) strained vegetable soup, etc. Pureed - 1 week or until you think you can handle soft foods Tuna & ff mayo - (must be very moist), instant mashed potatoes with added Protein powder, poached eggs or runny scrambled eggs, canned chicken pureed with ff mayo, refried Beans with ff sour cream, cooked white fished, pureed add ff tartar sauce, 1% cottage cheese, (once on pureed, watch how much cheese you take in, because constipation is an issue) Soft foods - 1 week, meat that you cook in the crock pot and you can cut with a fork and falls apart, no nuts, no seeds, softly cooked vegetables, tuna, fish, etc. Regular foods - or anything off the other lists. This is all subject to how well you do on each phase. We are not to advance until told to. My surgeon seems to have one of the longest full liquid phases. Pureed foods (tuna & chicken) are not going down too easy on me. I can get it down but only about 1 ounce along with maybe 3 teaspoons of 1% cottage cheese, but then I have a heavy feeling in my chest and stomach, not sure if it's been too dry. Today I went to broth for dinner because I have a migraine and I feel nauseated, due to the headache. I will go back to purees tomorrow and hope for the best.

Sometimes the tightening, and weird pain (that may actually feel like hunger) is acid or it could be healing pain. Hunger, being overly full, gas, acid and healing pain all feel the same. When I was in bed at night it would do that for the first 2 weeks, but I knew I wasn't hungry so I assumed it was just adjusting and healing.

Many hospitals are now requiring this test to be done before any sort of stomach surgery. I had to have the test before surgery and they wanted me to do the breath test (results take 2 weeks). This was just 2 days before I started the 14 day shake pre-op. liquid in-liquid out during this phase usually and the antibiotics also can cause liquid out. Luckily they switched it to the blood test. You are lucky they did this testing before pre-op. Luckily I didn't have it, but if I did have it, my surgery would have had to have been postponed. Good luck to you.

I coughed and there was blood, I also blew my nose and there was blood and this happened about 4 or 5 days after surgery, I did not throw up blood though. I hope when the doctor's office they can assure you. BTW, did you have a drain and if so do you still have it?

I was given hand-outs recommending low carbs, 80 grams of Protein, 64 ounces of Water a day, 30 minutes of exercise 3 - 4 times a week, recommended signing up for something like myfitnesspal.com and I had to bring my food, exercise and water log with me to each of the 6 monthly appointments. I was told I needed to attend one of their "WLS - Is it right for me" seminars, I had to attend one group meeting. I had to meet with their psychiatrist, which gave me a tested exam and then I had to go to a follow-up to discuss the results. I met with a nutritionist. At about 5 months I again met with a nutritionist and their nurse. At 6 months I had my last meeting with their doctor. Then scheduled a meeting with the surgeon. They finally put everything through to the insurance. Once it was approved, I had to attend two - 2 hour meetings with a nutritionist to go over the surgery one more time, including getting my boxes of New Direction Pre-op shake mix, the clears, full liquids, pureed, soft and regular were explained. The hospital was explained. The Drain was explained. I was sent for more blood work and an upper gi. I recently had an ekg so I didn't need another one, I had a colonoscopy within the past two years, didn't need that. I then needed to go have more blood work and an H-Pylori test (during the 2 week pre-op shake phase). A week before surgery I met again with a nurse who measured me once again and weighed me and we went over my prescriptions so she could have the prescriptions ordered for me and ready to go after surgery. I was told to go off all my Vitamins and most of my medications including my much needed plaquenil. I did fine for a week without it. This is through healthy4life out of St. Mary's / Community in Indiana I honestly cried when I found out I would have to do the 6 month pre-approval phase and I dreaded the seminar/group meeting, I wanted this done and over with. I know now, that this worked out best for me. It got me in the right frame of mind, and it allowed me to gradually go into this decision knowing this was what was best for me. I lost 70 pounds pre-surgery and knowing I put in 100% makes me proud.

Are you on shakes, purees, softs or solids? I just started purees and I'm 5 weeks and yesterday and today I noticed that I can only get a few teaspoons in and it's feeling like my esophagus and the top of my stomach is a bit tighter feeling. I haven't thrown up but I do feel weird. After 5 weeks of full liquid, they have me on purees one week - then sunday I start softs for a week then regular food. I think I'm going to be moving a little slower, because purees aren't going down as smooth as I would like. I hope you feel better soon.

Yikes, I hope someone has some words of wisdom for you. I was calm throughout. I kept everything inside and kept repeating that this is the right thing, and it's all going to be okay. I dedicated myself since day one - during the 6 month pre-op phase. My family was behind me....and then started freaking out closer we got. My father started panicking as did my son a bit. For them, I had to be strong and I had to be committed. I kept a smile on my face and said it's going to be okay, I'm doing the right thing. Even the night before I had to wash my bedding and take a shower with some special soap, I went to bed and didn't even think about the surgery. I got up in the morning with my husband and son, took my shower with the pre-op soap and went to the hospital with a smile on my face. Not sure how much time you invested into this decision, but food to me is nourishment, it's not my friend, I have real ones, it's not my comfort, I have a hug pillow, a dog, friends and my husband and son for that. It's part of life, but it's not life. Live that and learn it. You may actually end up learning to enjoy food more in the long run. I say think of a theme song for yourself and hum it when you get nervous. Mine is the theme from Sanford and Son. I hummed it when I got nervous, I had my husband and son humming it (playing on the cell phone) as I got wheeled onto the elevator, I made the nurses hum it and I hummed it as I was wheeled into the operating room. Best of luck.

Oh what I would do for a nice fart. It goes away. Take your Gas-X and make sure you are taking something for acid reflux. I would also kill for a liquid in and liquid out. I miss that too. I'm at 5 weeks at it does go away. It gets replaced by other things. During the 3rd week the liquid in and liquid out stopped on me and farting seems to have to be forced. For the burping though, are you drinking out of a Water bottle or are you using a med cup (or something small like a shot glass?) We were given med cups (one ounce cups). I take in a lot less gas and feel less bloated and feel so much better when I drink out of that than a water bottle or regular size glass. Being 5 weeks out, I need to get off my little one ounce shot glasses, but there is a HUGE difference sipping out of them and sipping out of a water bottle. Best of luck to you.

If you are that freaked out and not sure you can do it, I would definitely post-pone until you are physically, emotionally and mentally ready to handle the commitment. Continue your research until you are sure. Why not start working on the issues now. Sign up for myfitnesspal.com - try to stay at 800-1000 calories a day - change the settings so you are getting only 45-75 carbs a day, up your Protein to 80-90. Drink 64 ounces of Water a day. Try setting a goal of exercising or walking 30 minutes a day. Chart your food. Take a Vitamin. Stop drinking fluids with your dinner and wait 1/2 hour after dinner before you drink. Stop your caffeine - stop your carbonated beverages. I was forced to do this pre-surgery during the 6 months pre-approval phase. I lost 60 pounds during this time and then I lost 10 during the 2 week pre-op shake. I thought wow, if I could lose 70 on my own, why have surgery. Well, because I want this to be my last diet. I want this to be a way of life. The sleeve is only a tool. It's how you use it that counts. You are worried about hair loss? I have Lupus, it comes with the territory and I am blonde and I'm very very vain. You aren't going to go bald, you lose some hair...if that happens, I'll get my hair cut so it looks thicker for a while, and whatever, I'll wear hats, but I'm going to look good no matter what. If you feel that you are worth putting 100% effort into your health for the rest of your life, then go for it, if you feel that this surgery would cause you too much stress, anxiety and affect you negatively than hold off on your decision and think about it. If you are in a program, the surgeon isn't going to force you to have surgery, you can tell him I need another month - and continue doing your pre-approval stuff. This is a one way ticket though, once you have the surgery there is no turning back. Go into the sleeve 100% committed and it makes recovering, the new stuff you need to learn about eating so much easier. Best of luck to you.