Gene1970

I love hearing what everyone else has lost. It's amazing to see what the sleeve has allowed us to lose. There are things that I have lost that I would not have even though about losing before, but I'm glad they are gone. I'll add one of Wheetsin's to my list... "the sense of shame and failure". I lost that as well!!!

Finally something I'm not upset about losing!!! It will be a month this week since I was sleeved and here are a few things I have lost already... What about you... what have you lost? one shirt size (down from 3x to 2x) Pant sizes (down from a 40 to a 36) A LOT of my chin and neck... I actually have a chin!!!! amazing The need to stop at the top of a flight of stairs to catch my breath. I actually ran up one flight the other day and was amazed at how easy it was. The urge to constantly have a snack in front of me. Seeing the weight come off truly helps you keep your goals in focus. The pain in my right side. I used to get horrible pains in my right side under my ribs which I have attributed to my fatty liver... No more.. they are GONE. An impending sense of doom. I used to feel so bad physically that I was sure I was going to have a heart attack any day. Those feelings are gone, I feel great and can't wait to hit that goal weight. 50 pounds - that's 5 ten pound bags of potatoes, 10 5 pound bags of sugar, 44 bags of Oreos, any way you want to look at it, it's pretty cool to not have it around any longer. I can't wait to lose even more things from my life. Can't wait to hear what you have lost. Happy Monday!!!

What you are feeling is fairly normal. It sounds like your sleeve could be still a bit swolen and therefore it's hard to get water in and the hunger feelings are not there. I had this pretty much for the first week and it started getting better week 2 and even better week 3 post op. Make water your priority for now so you don't get dehydrated. Small sips of water will help, just remember to drink every few minutes. I would stick to your Dr's diet, but I know they are all different. Mine brought me up to solids at day 7 but they still recommended soft/moist food like deli chicken and turkey, soft cheeses, etc.. Give it another week and you'll feel a lot better, hang in there!!!

As much as it hurts to cough right now that's what you need to do... BIG coughs to clear your lungs. I had to hold a pillow tight around my stomach to do it so that it didn't hurt but it helped. Angelakay2 is right, you have to keep those lungs clear or you could develop pneumonia. Keep up on the breathing exercises too. I hope you are feeling better soon!!!!

Sounds like you have done great so far!!! I was sleeved on the 13th, I was 295 lbs going into my pre-op diet and now I'm 255 lbs as of this morning. I lost 15 on my pre-op diet and 25 since surgery. My Dr ramps up to a solid food stage fairly quicky so I've been on solids since day 7. I only have a couple of restrictions at this point like red meat, pork, pasta, rice, uncooked veggies and potatoes.

I wish I would have lost my appetite, but at least my sleeve keeps me in check.

Drinking will get a lot better over the next few days and the nausea will start to go away soon. At the one week mark you will start to feel MUCH better. Hang in there.

I totally agree, a saline rinse is the perfect thing. You can even make it yourself at home. 1 tsp pickling salt (it's so fine that it disolves quickly in water and it has no additives), 1 tsp baking soda and 1 quart of luke warm water. If you want to get more aggressive you can increase the salt and baking soda. I personally use 1 TBSP salt, 1 heaping TBSP baking soda and 1 quart of luke warm water. Use an ear or nasal syringe to flush it up eas nostril. The larger the bulb the better. I have been doing it for years and it works wonders for opening you up and cleaning everything out. It will burn for a few seconds if you have an infection but it will be completely worth it. I've had two sinus surgeries and this was how the surgeon told me to make the solution.

I would say 90% of the people here felt the same way as you did... heck probably more than that. Like everyone is saying, get the information and take it from there. For me I really had to reflect on how many times in the past I had tried a different diet or excercise and remember what the result was.... always a fail or a small loss and a larger gain. If I didn't get the surgery and just told myself that things would have changed... they wouldn't have. The decision is not easy and should take a lot of self reflection to see if it is truly what you want. In the end for me at least I KNOW it was the best decision of my life.

1 week out

Sleeved on the 13th and doing great. Like Karen74 I was losing a couple pounds a day up front but that has slowed as I expected it would. I'm still losing although slower which is fine for me. I know i'm dropping weight and that's what's important. I didn't gain 2lbs a day so I don't expect to keep up that pace in losing it. Between pre-op and post op I'm down 46lbs which is a ton more than I could have done on my own in this period of time. I'm seeing plenty of NSV's and couldn't be happier.

While the sleeve's popularity is fairly new, the procedure has been around for several years now (8 - 10 years). Some of the long term studies are exactly why many surgeons are now pushing it so much.

Before being sleeved I talked to my Dr and he said that he has observed better long term success with the sleeve. He has seen a lot of people with the bypass lose a lot of weight up front but a few years down the road they seem to gain a good chunk back.

It's a non scale victory. Climbing a flight of stairs without getting out of breath, fitting into an old shirt that hasn't fit in years, having someone comment on how good you look, having the energy to do something that you haven't been able to do in years, etc... all non scale victories.

I wouldn't say it hurts, but it's a weird uncomfortable feeling as they pull it out. My nurse gave me some pain meds just before doing it but I think I could have done it without the meds.

I had one and had been previously told that it was pretty small and not worth fixing by another Dr. I had horrible reflux for years!!!! My surgeon fixed mine during surgery and said it was pretty huge. I have had absolutly no issues with reflux since surgery. I used to sleep with 3 pillows just to help keep reduce the reflux, now that is no longer necessary. Best thing ever!!!!

Congrats!!! Welcome to the other side It only gets better from here.

I think you will be happier with the sleeve. If you have every know anyone that has had a band you will hear them talking about getting "stuck" a lot, which is usually from not chewing enough or eating too fast... well that usually leads to them throwing up. If you enjoy that type of thing then the band is for you. If you enjoy eating and keeping the food down then go for the sleeve.

I've lost 20 pounds post op. I lost 15 on the pre-op diet and another 10 prior to that just by cutting soda out of my diet. so in all I'm 45 pounds lighter than when I started this whole journey.

Hang in there. Know that it get's better!!! Every day from here on out will get just a little better. Focus on getting some water in and don't worry about the calories. In another week or two you will have no regrets. It's a major change but your body will get used to it faster than you think. I'm 2 1/2 weeks out and feeling great!!! you will too!!!

HI Ssilian, Yes, I have been eating food since day 6. I was supposed to wait until day 7 but I was traveling back to see my Dr on the 7th day so I didn't want to risk getting sick on the road. My Dr has a very agressive ramp up on food which seems to work well. I was on clear liquids for 2 days post op, then 4 more days of soft foods like applesauce, yogurt, cottage cheese, thinned oatmeal, etc..., on day 7 post op I could add things like seafood, deli and canned chicken, deli turkey, soft cooked veggies, light or free mayo or salad dressing, canned fruits,string or babybel cheese, hot cereals and eggs. At two months I can add everything else like all meats that are lean and tender, raw veggies, raw fruits, potatoes, pasta or rice, breads, cereals and salads. So far I'm doing fine with everything I eat.

Don't back out... I think we all had some last minute thoughts like you are having, but going through with it is the right thing to do. You've obviously researched it, you have thought about it and I'm sure you have failed many times like the rest of us on a regular diet. It's life altering...but in a GREAT way... I want to be healthy and I'm sure you do too. Best of luck with you surgery this weekend. I'm 100% happy with my decison to have it done and now 2 weeks post op don't regret my decision one bit.

Congrats first of all!!!! You have a date set and you CAN do this. I think most of us went through a period where we amost chickened out. I can say personally at 2 weeks post op now that it's the best decison I could have made. I have tolerated all food very well... and yes I am on solid food already and doing fine with it. I used to have horrible acid reflux and that is completely gone now that I am losing weigh and the surgeon fixed my hiatal hernia. Unlike the band you really don't get stuck with the sleeve... you have no restriction point like you did with the band. Don't chicken out... you won't regret the surgery. Best of luck!!!!

I'm just past 2 weeks out and have to say that I still enjoy food. Granted I get full extremely quickly but I am taking smaller bites and I enjoy every bite that I get. Food tastes the same to me and everything has agreed with my sleeve. Obviously by the responses to this post everyone does not fare as well, but at 1 week out it's too early to tell that. Just a week a go I was still haveing cramping in my sleeve when I ate and always felt full, in just the few days since I have made dramatic improvements and don't even think about the fact that I had surgery just 2 weeks ago. That is until I start to eat and even then It's just a matter of me getting full quicker... isn't that the point of the surgery ?