MinaT

I am 5 weeks out Monday. Until a few days ago, my stomach was 2.5 inches bigger than it was pre-surgery. The swelling takes a long time to go down. It's still 1 inch bigger, (though the sides of my stomach went down so much. You have a drain. The drain tube is pretty long on the outside and on the inside. That adds weight too. I know you feel disappointed but you still are smaller than if you didn't have surgery. I can visibly see that my stomach is still swollen. They cut your tummy in 1/2 and added titanium staples...the swelling is big inside your tummy and outside your tummy so that is going to take a while to go down. When you start feeling like you aren't progressing, start measuring yourself. It does come down. At 9 days post-op is when the emotional turmoil comes into play. Not sure why it happens, but it seems to happen to everyone. I cried for no real reason, it's part of it. Some people say it's the medication leaving your system, some say that as fat starts burning, it releases stored hormones in your fat cells. Whatever the reason it happens. Cut yourself some slack, as long as you are doing what you are suppose to be doing the weight will come off. Best wishes.

My biggest suggestion to you is work on your 80 grams of Protein now, and cut out as many carbs as you can BEFORE you do the pre-op liquid diet. Start doing a shake every morning for Breakfast now, buy a 100% whey Protein Shake (maybe something you will be using when you get into the liquid phase of your diet) . Quit caffeine now, quit carbonated beverages now - withdrawal for both of those will suck if you have to do it during the pre-op shake phase. Do NOT have your "big last dinner" the day before you start. Do it a week before or several days before, but make sure there isn't too many carbs. LIMIT YOUR CARBS - this is for life, if you carb overload you will suffer more. There are posts of people that cheat that got into surgery doctor goes in, and doctor closes up and says - sorry no good, you cheated and your liver is too big. It has happened, read them here and my doctor has told me straight up he's done it. First four days are tough, but you decided to have the surgery and the sleeve is still only a tool, it's up to you to use it correctly. Have the courage and patients with yourself to do it right. If you allow the excuses, I just couldn't help it, or I can't do it, it will overwhelm you. Stop the negative self-talk. You are psyching yourself out BEFORE you have to do it. Good luck.

The first two days I had a headache, diabetic too, day 3 & 4 are all pure head hunger, stay busy. If you keep telling yourself you can't do it, chances are good you are making it harder on yourself. Did you go have a huge dinner the day before you started the pre-op diet? If so, you found your culprit. If you have Carb Overload days before you start pre-op shake you are going to suffer way more than the average person. Find something to keep yourself occupied. I did 14 days shake diet, 3 shakes a day and really didn't bother with the sugar-free Jello or popsicles but like 2 of the days. I drank plenty of Water and I kept busy. I exercised a lot. If you tell yourself you are worth putting 100% effort into the diet, and that you can do it - you will be able to do it, you need to work this out in your head. Not sure how long your pre-approval time was since your first appointment and this pre-op shake, but now is the time to work hard. I had diabetes, i was on shots, other people were too, and we all made it past it, you can too. First 4 days are the roughest, it gets easier every day, especially if you stop telling yourself you can't do it, and it's too hard. You aren't going to starve to death, you aren't going to be malnourished and truthfully you will probably have better & more complete nutrition during this period than you had in a while. If you decided to spend the week before the pre-op phase enjoying "last dinners" with lots of carbs or calories, give it two more days to get over the carb or caffeine or carbonation withdrawals you are going through and you will be fine. Good luck. We had to do it, it wasn't easy, go clean out your closet & drawers and get your biggest winter clothes ready to be packed away, you won't be using them, look for smaller clothes, write a list of WHY you are having this surgery and keep busy.

Sounds really good, can't wait until I'm far out enough to try that.

Be optimistic, happy and go into the surgery with a big smile on your face. It's okay to be nervous, but for my family I acted calm, cool & collected and hummed all the way into the surgery. It did me well. Sometimes the world is indeed a stage and we are merely players....assuring my family I would be fine and being positive and being brave made me positive and brave. Attitude is 1/2 the battle. Best of luck to you.

I was in the hospital 5 days. I had a drain taken out 9 days after the hospital. Are you doing to be having a drain? What are you going to be sitting on. Getting in and out of bed was tough for me. I had a hernia repair and adhesion removal and a complication. I couldn't get on the ground for the first two weeks, even if you paid me. Sometimes guys do have an easier time. Their insides are different, I had a c-section, a complete hysterectomy, several laparascopies and my gallbladder out prior to vsg. All people are different, but take it one day at a time, I wouldn't push it, I would hate to be back in the hospital for dehydration. I am sure you would be disappointed if you couldn't go, but perhaps playing it by ear and realizing your health is more important than a once a year concert. Oh yeah, at first, liquid in - liquid out, going potty in a port-a-potty a few days out, probably not too hygienic for someone that just had surgery. Just my opinion.

Right after surgery you won't be getting in 80 grams of a Protein a day. If you are going to buy Isopure, ask GNC if they have a bogo - 1/2. If they don't have a sign I ask about it and they give me 2 bottles for $8.59 I think when they are normally about $5.89 each. I am not fond of the taste of Isopure, but I found that if I used grape mio to put in the grape, orange mio to put in the orange or lemon mio to add to the Green Tea with Lemon, it was doable. I still buy a few here and there to get in 4-6 ounces once in a while to up my protein count. When I got to full liquids I was having a serious problem with my shakes, one day I tried Tropic 50 orange juice and added a packet of unjury unflavored and 2 teaspoons of fat free cool whip to it and it was not too bad. I since switched to Syntrax nectar "Fuzzy Navel", which is a powder you mix with Water. Good luck to you.

Good for you huny!!! It sucks I know, I wanted to cheat too, but I just kept saying it's not worth it. Last summer I was 330. I am great at going from 300-200. I am not great getting under 200. I've done it back and forth. I got under 200 and kept it off for 5 years then got sick again. I have several health issues that are not weight related, Lupus, Glaucoma, a small brain tumor on my trigeminal root entry, a neurological condition, degenerative disk disease, diverticulitis, polyps and serious problems with adhesion regrowths inside. I swell up, end up on steroids, I hurt so bad and then I stop walking and working out and my eating is not an issue, my lack of eating Breakfast, lunch and eating once a day is my biggest issue. My metabolism sucks, and the less I move the less I can move. This is the one and only way to ensure I have no choice but to eat breakfast, lunch, Snacks and dinner a day, this is why I chose to go through with surgery even though I lost 70 pre-op. I'm also losing a lot slower post-op than those that didn't lose a lot of weigh pre-surgery but then again, even when you factor in faster weight loss, I am way ahead of the game in my eyes. I never thought I would be where I am today. I got into a size 18 bathing suit I had stored away for years, and last fall I had to go out and buy a new one size 32. Good luck to you and remember cleaning out your closet and drawers before surgery also something that helped with hunger for me was Bigelow Peppermint Decaff Tea with Truvia (I can't do artificial sweeteners) they cause migraines. This is something I brought with me to the hospital. It was my saving grace in the hospital. After I passed leak test, I tried Water and it literally hurt. They brought me a tray and the hot water served in a coffee cup smelled like coffee and was disgusting. I couldn't even think about Isopure or the sf Jello or sorbet they served (strange color - unnatural pink crap). I asked nurse to get me some hot water and I made my tea. I made myself two a day and though it would get cold in the middle the night I would sip it when I got up to potty and it felt good cold too. If you like tea, perhaps find something soothing that tastes good. The Peppermint Tea & Truvia totally got me through my caffeine withdrawals when I stopped that before my pre-op diet and it helped during the pre-op phase when I got stressed and it helped me right after surgery. Good luck to you! Keep the faith that you can do it, and if something happens and you slip, dust it off and keep at it. Nobody is infallible, just remember the reasons why you are doing this.

Haha, thank you. I am blunt and tell it like I see it. If you want a reality check I'm the go to girl, if you want a hug and a pat I'm sure there are other's out there willing to give it. The pre-op phase sucked. I got a headache and day 3 & 4 were the worst, but I did it. I sat there during 3 & 4 thinking oh my gosh, I hadn't had a Giordano's pizza in a year....why, why did I not make that 1-1/2 hour round trip drive to get one to bring home before my pre-op diet lol. I have worked my ever lovin' butt off since I made my appointment with the surgeons office in October and lost weight before my first appointment on November 16th. I treated' myself once in a while, but I invested a lot of time and effort and money into this surgery. It hasn't been easy. I had serious complications. I'm 5 weeks out and I know there are people that are doing much better than me physically. I have lupus, I had hernia repair and severe adhesions and cooking dinner (that I love) sucks, but it doesn't do any good to focus on it, because that's what gets you into trouble. I'm one that believes in sucking it up and moving forward. If you cheat, suck it up and don't mess up again. I think about this...85% of your stomach removed, replaced with staples and think, isn't that alone worth me putting 100% effort into it? The answer is yes. With all the complications, I would do it again! Good luck to you in your pre-op phase and will keep you in my prayers

All patients of my doctor's office are in 3-4. I was in 5 days because of a complication during surgery. I also had hernia repair and adhesion removal. I can't imagine going home after one or two days. I needed that time there.

I was 229 the day I had surgery on June 4th. On Saturday June 9th I was 235. I gained 6 pounds. I lost weight at the rate of 1 to 1-1/2 pounds every other day for the first few weeks. I have lost 23 pounds since June 4th or 29 if you count the fact that I gained 6 pounds in the hospital. My weight loss is slowing down a little bit now. I lost 60 pounds pre-surgery though at the rate of about 10 a month and in the 2 week pre-op I lost less than most people and that was 10 pounds and I didn't cheat and I had 3 shakes a day for 14 days and only had a few sugar-free popsicles and like 2 sugar-free jellos....if that. Since I dieted the entire pre-approval time I had already lost my water weight. Good luck to you on your surgery in a few days. Sending you my thoughts and prayers.

@ huny - Pre-op, it's not worth cheating. You are going into the surgery to have 85% of your stomach removed. The sleeve is only a tool and how you work the tool is up to you. Pre-op is your time to prove to yourself that you are 100% invested in this. If you want to cheat, go for a walk, brush your teeth, write a list of all the reasons you are having surgery, brush your teeth again, have a sugar-free popsicle, brush your teeth again. Go clean out your closets, find all your biggest clothes and move them to one side, if you have larger winter clothes, start packing them away, you aren't going to need them come winter. I got rid of all my 4x & 3x winter clothes I found some XL, I don't have any 2x or 1x so I know I need new winter clothes and a new winter coat. I went searching through clothes I saved because I loved that were too small and I have a lot of 8's and I found an 18 bathing suit. My last swim suit was a size 32 from Woman's Within that I purchased in the fall last year but didn't wear. I can now wear the 18th bathing suit. Don't cheat, it's not worth it. Other's will say they cheated and it's fine...if you cheat, that's between you and yourself, but this is your time to shine. I say go into the surgery with 100% dedication and be strong. I did it, and I am so proud of myself. @Toni - congrats on your loss, and yeah, cheating isn't worth it. I'm at 5 weeks on Monday and I'm still on full liquids because that's what my surgeon's office calls for. It's easy for me to sit here and read others that had surgery after me and the same day talk about being on purees or soft food or read the weird posts about someone less than 2 weeks out eating a bag of potato chips and saying hey if they can do it, why can't I. I can't....after this surgery there is nothing else. At 5 weeks out my stomach is still swollen and I still have some pains (not a lot) I do feel great but I want to give my stomach 100% chance to heal. I love tomato soup, I see people here are allowed tomato soup, I'm not because it's considered too acid. Sometimes I feel sorry for myself for a second or too because I feel like the odd girl out it's like everyone is eating, when I get overwhelmed (I have a family I have to feed) and I cook sometimes my favorite food, I drink 1/2 cup of skim milk and I feel full and I am getting through it. I am going to work the tool that I decided I needed. Good luck to you. At 9 days out, there's so many emotions that start coming out. I think that's when I became emotional and cried and I'm not even sure why. Happy Healing to you

I have only tried Fuzzy Navel, it's a white powder, but I add Water then shake then I blend it in my magic bullet for a second. It becomes all foamyish at first. I throw it in the freezer for a few minutes, and the foam settles down and it calms down (sorta like a guiness) but it turns peachy/orange in color. It tastes somewhat like a Fuzzy Navel and it's like a juice. They have Ice Tea, Lemonade and other flavors, and I have only tried the Fuzzy Navel so far. I'm on full liquids and this would be considered clear, I believe but I can get this down easier than regular shakes. Every few days I will try the shake to see if I can handle it again. I think as I get different things in I will be able to handle the Protein shakes again (chocolate). Unfortunately, I spent so much money on different types of shakes and clears that I have to try to choke down some of the stuff I have here before I go out and try new things.

When I get low blood sugar I drink a cup of skim milk and it brings it right back quickly. It's liquid and it has enough carbs and it has protein so I get extra protein in.

I had to drink 3 New Direction shakes, which were mixed with Water. I was allowed sugar-free popsicles, sugar-free Jello, but I tried to avoid them because of all the artificial sweeteners. I was allowed crystal light (too much artificial sweeteners causes me serious migraines). I drank decaff peppermint tea with Truvia and drank water. That's it. I didn't like the taste of the shakes, they didn't mix well and I was lucky enough to be able to bring 2 boxes of the chocolate back to get the strawberry. 14 days and I didn't cheat. 5 weeks out from surgery come Monday and I'm still on Full liquids. (strict surgeon). Hopefully I start Purees then.

How many days will you be in the hospital? I was in 5 days many people are in for 1 - 4 days. I didn't need that many many days of clear. Isopure Green Tea with Lemon is not that bad, but I added Lemon Mio. I only needed 2 bottles. I couldn't get that much Protein in and I mostly concentrated on my Water intake for the first week or two anyhow. Purchasable at GNC. They have different flavors (most Isopure I don't like) but it's easy to choke down 8 ounces with ice cubes to get extra protein in. I normally add MIO to it to make it taste better. They have grape, alpine punch, orange and a few other flavors. Cost is about $5.85 and they usually have a running discount, so it costs about $8.50 for two bottles. You can call Syntrax and order 14 variety sample packs for $14.00 - no shipping & handling charge to find something you like first. 866-333-7403 ext. 803 *if they don't answer, leave your name and number and they call you back. At this time I was desperate because though I'm on full liquid, I couldn't handle my normal Protein shake any longer, and I found out that Vitamin Shoppe sells the nectar and there is one in the next town. A great suggestion is to find a Vitamin Shoppe near you. http://www.vitaminsh...tent/en/stores/ I never heard of the place, but we have one in the next town. I purchased Fuzzy Navel because so many recommended it. It cost $33.49 for a 2lb tub - compared with buying it directly from Syntrax Nectar which is over $59.00. I bought mine at Vitamin Shoppe (look up for the closest in your area because I never knew there was one near me and there is one in my next town). It cost me $33.00 for a 2lb. tub. The most important thing is never to buy too much of anything until you see how well like you like it. It is always good though to have a clear form of liquid to get down when you are low on your Proteins. Remember at first, you aren't going to get 60-80 grams of protein down. I was 3 weeks out and was still trying to get down 20 grams a day. For full liquids I went back to the shakes I had 7 months prior to surgery and that was Pure Protein 100% whey Protein Frosty chocolate 2lb tubs I purchased from Target. 25 grams of protein - add skim milk to make 33 grams. As much as LOVED them pre-surgery the chocolate and the thickness and everything about it was rough on me. I thought it was lactose intolerance but it's not, I can drink skim milk no problem and it actually soothes my belly. Even the smell of chocolate bugs me. Lucky for you not everyone has this issue Good luck.

I'm so sorry, I had the adhesions issue also and I love your list. I can't see a massager on my belly, but my shoulders and neck - and I seriously want eucalpytus spearmint stress relief lotion right now. What a great list. I hope you feel better soon, and good luck with healing. Monday is 5 weeks out and every day is better than the day before

I'm 5 weeks out and on Full liquids still....you may want to speak to your doctor about that. I was craving pickles the first week and still haven't had one though. Try a few sips of skim milk oh how about sugar-free vanilla pudding?

Sure beats my pureed, strained & watered down Campbell's Healthy Request Bean and Bacon Soup lol.

Stalls aren't fun and it screws with your psyche, but we ALL knew that it would happen. I have done the 2 lbs up 1 lb down 1 lb up 3 lbs. down routine myself. Measure yourself, that's all I can say because I seem to lose the most inches during the times I stall. I was 206 this morning, but I'm not even going to bother changing my profile because tomorrow I may be 208. I look smaller, I know I'm smaller the stall sucks completely, but I will get up pee and hop on the scale. Funny thing though is I used to weigh more when I did that than if I had my morning shake and my morning poopy, but I rarely poop anymore and that's one of my biggest issues. I now do my morning pee and hop on and let it go. I had a day that I weighed myself like 8 times and I was like why am I doing this. I like to weigh myself every day though even if it's discouraging, because not weighing myself daily helped contribute to me going over 300 lbs in the first place. Oh another thing regarding stalls, the heat. Heat will cause you to retain Water. It's been 101 - 107 here lately and hopefully I can get out more and exercise once this heat wave slows down. Good luck everyone

I'm doing great, the pain is normal for someone who had such extensive adhesions and hernia and the complication. I am not stuck on Full Liquids because of the pain or complications, this is what my doctor's office has for all his patients. The do not want to risk a leak and err on the side of caution. On Monday I go. I can only get down at the most 1/4 cup of soup and often times not even that much. I can get down 1/2 of a small dannon light & fit or healthy & whatever yogurt. I just keep craving pickles and Tuna. I cannot wait for Purees and on Monday they better advance me lol.

Is that decaff? I almost bought some but caffeine causes dehydration, especially when you are newly out. To help me be able to get liquids down in the hospital I used Bigelow Decaff Peppermint Tea & truvia. The warm liquid at first helped, especially with the new stomach. Since I was trying to get water & the tea down the tea would really cool off during the night and I found it tasted good cold, where I couldn't get cold water down. Eventually the cold tea made it so I could tolerate colder water. I think drinking out a small one ounce cup or a shot glass works better because I also take in less air which allows me to feel more quenched.

I had hernia repair, adhesions and I had a serious complication because the anesthesiologist dropped my esophagus tube down into my stomach right as the surgeon was doing his 2nd to last staple. The tube was then stapled between the stomach. After almost 2 hours of surgery already, it took an addition 5 hours to find a way to un-staple the esophageal tube without trying to mess up my esophagus. I'm 5 weeks out on Monday and I still have pain and brusing. I went into the surgery 100% dedicated. My cardiologist and pulmonologist and neurologist were all for the surgery. I still hurt, I'm still only on full liquids. I would still do it again, though I would make sure I didn't have a moron for an anesthesiologist. Good luck, it does get better every single day. I'm not dying in pain, but I hurt, but with all my issues, I'm sort of used to pain lol.

That's the best thing to do. My surgeon/nutrition office is very conservative. I'm still on full liquids and I'll be 5 weeks out Monday.

I'll be 5 weeks out on Monday and I'm still on full liquids. I am looking forward to pureed food. I'm so tired of Soup, sugar-free pudding, shakes, nectar. I have been living on pureed and watered down Healthy Request Bean Soup. I puree it before I add the Water so there are no chunks and then water it and cook it. I can get almost 1/4 cup down. I was told to go ahead and try cottage cheese 1% by the nurse then I got told by the nutritionist I should not be having it because I still need to be on liquids until I see them on the 9th. I know this...on the 9th I'm trying pureed Tuna whether or not they say I am allowed to have it. I'm sitting here now, after making sloppy joes for the family pondering what soup I shall have tonight, yesterday was chicken broth, day before pureed and strained Cream of Asparagus....5 weeks of Liquids is getting a little tiring.