traceyinflorida

Once all the carbs and sugar are out of your system you will start to feel a lot better. I think I had about four days of head aches and low energy. After that I felt really good. It still was not fun, but I felt like I could do it. Hang in there! Keep reminding yourself that it is only 12 days. Just a blip on the calendar really! YOU CAN DO IT!!

Bloomerific, ask away! That's what I love about this forum. Everyone is so helpful and supportive. I was so happy when I found this site. I have a couple of friends that did bypass years ago, and they are pretty supportive when I need it, but they seemed to have amnesia about what the first several weeks were like. It was so nice to find a group of people who were going through it at the same time, or who had just been through it, as well as all the veterans sleevers out there on this site who are so helpful and inspiring. It's so nice to know we are not alone!

LOL, Kathy! I am quite sure my sleeve could not have handled all of that in one meal either! I didn't realize I had written a novel until I went back and looked at it after your comment. I guess it was pretty long. Bloomerific had a lot of questions!

First let me say welcome and congratulations on your revision! Let me see if I can tackle some of your questions. 1. It's harder to tell when you are full when you are on liquids because they tend to slide through, just like they would have with your band. Once you start eating food you will definitely know! You will feel it and it happens with very little food at first, particularly dense Proteins. 2. It takes a while to feel better and everyone recovers differently. I was functional after my first week, but I was definitely not 100%. You have just undergone a major surgery. Cut yourself some slack and allow yourself time to rest when you need it. Also, I found I felt worse if I was not getting enough Fluid. Concentrate on getting all of your fluids in. Also, I found that as I was able to get more Protein in, I also started to feel much better. I found this really difficult in the beginning because mostly what I was eating was broth and I did not tolerate more than four ounces of a Protein shake at a time. I was told that it takes two weeks to a month to fully recover. 3. My first couple of weeks (mainly when I was on liquids only) food commercials, people in my house eating foods, signs for food would make me drool. Things that normally would not have even appealed to me (like a sandwich sign at subway) would jump out at me and make my mouth Water. As soon as I could actually eat food again, this went away (thank goodness!) Now I find that things that normally would have created a desire for me, such as the lady at our grocery store with big plate of samples of my favorite donuts, have very little effect on me. It's not to say that I never have cravings, but for the most part thoughts of food no longer consume me. Because of your body's limitations with food and having cut out a lot of surgar and carbs, you will find yourself actually craving things that are good for you. 4.Celebrate your great 20 lb weight loss! Don't panic and be patient when you stall. It happens to everyone. In two months since my surgery, I have experienced two stalls. They are never permanent and I have lost a total of 38 pounds post op. 5. At two months, I am still nauseous off and on. Some days I will have no nausea, some days I will experience it all day. I have read on another thread in this forum that this happens to many people. I see it as several factors. First, your body is still healing so some things or amounts will agree with your stomach more than others. Sometimes it may be a little dehydration. I always get nauseous when I have not had enough to drink and it tends to snowball a little if I am not carefull. Another factor may be acid. My doctor had prescribed Prilosec and it helped a lot. Finally, sometimes my protein shakes are just fine, other times they make me nauseous. I think it depends on all the other factors I mentioned. 6. I have tolerated sugar well. My family loves the new frozen yogurt place that conveniently opened in town right before I had my surgery. Sometimes I get a small amount of the sugar free vanilla with a little bit of the candy toppings. The best part is that I enjoy it as much as when I used to get the huge bowl. Please note (for those that may admonish me on this forum for eating off plan) that I have only done this twice in 9 weeks. I will occassionally have chocolate with no problems. But, I make sure that sugary treats are not in my house because I find a lot of those types of foods, like ice cream, are sliders (they go down easily and do not make me full). I know myself well enough to know that when I eat too much sugar, I start craving MORE SUGAR. I do not want to go back there again. 7. Ask your surgeon about exercise. I was cleared for all exercise at my 7 week visit with my doctor. I was allowed to walk to my heart's content before then. I wasn't in a big hurry to exercise, so I never thought to ask if I could do it sooner. 8. You are right, the liquid phase sucks! I was not really a big fan of the pureed phase either, quite frankly. The good news is that in the grand scheme of things, it is a relatively short period of time. (although it certainly does not feel that way when you are in it!!) I hope that helped at least a little. You will be feeling better and eating 'normally' before you know it!

When you start eating pureed food and then soft food, you definitely will know. When I first started eating pureed and then soft foods, I would frequently find that I had just one bite too many. It's amazing how much discomfort that one extra bite can bring on. Two things I figured out. The first is that you need to eat really slowly, take small bites and chew really well (of course your puree is already chewed up for you..) This was really hard for me since I tend to gobble down my food. Slowing down will help you to read your body to know when you have had enough. This led me to my second discovery which I learned on the forum. Many people will burp when their stomach is full. Once I learned to stop after the burp, I no longer had the problem of eating one bite too much. Often times I am stunned and dissapointed by how little food I got to eat before becoming full. That is where slowing down and chewing well helps too because it allows you to enjoy the little bit you are going to eat. Enjoy your pureed food when it is time! I know when I got to that stage, I was so happy to finally have texture and flavor! I was quite tired of broth and protein shakes at that point!

I was driving on day 4. I was off of my pain meds by the morning of day 2 and could have easily driven on day 3. I think it really depends on pain meds. You wouldn't want to drive when you are still taking them.

Well that's good then. You are following your doctor's orders. The reason I say not to worry about the scale is that right now you are mainly doing the pre-op to shrink your liver for a safe and easier surgery. I know it would be a great side benefit to lose a bunch of weight during this stage, but even if you don't lose a lot pre-surgey you will definitely loose it at some point. Eventually your body is going to register the reduced calories during pre-op diet and release the water you are retaining and also start burning fat. I used to join Weight Watchers with a friend and be so frustrated at the first two weigh ins where my friend would lose 6 lbs and I would lose one if I was lucky! Then eventually I would start to lose too. Hang in there! Good luck with your surgery!

That's a funny story! So far, I can't think of anything funny that has been said to me, but I have not been at this for more than two months. But I do get amused sometimes when someone notices my weight loss and then gets all awkward about complimenting me because they think I might have been insulted by the compliment so they say..."not that you weren't beautiful before..." I am glad all your funny didn't really melt off!

I agree, everyone is different. The main thing is to listen to YOUR body and give yourself permission to rest when you need to. Some days I felt great and other days I was exhausted. Some days I way overdid it and paid the next day. Other days I could go go go and was fine. I felt pretty normal by 2 weeks out. I don't think you need to lay around for the first two weeks if you feel like you have the energy to go. Personally, I found the busier I was, the easier it was for me to get through the first two weeks because then I was not constantly thinking about food. Just make sure you are taking your water with you! For me, on day 5, 6 and 7 I had to drive my son to Miami (2 hours away) sit outside in the hot sun watching his football camp all afternoon and evening, feed him dinner and then drive home. We did this three days in a row. I brought my protein shakes and water in a rolling cooler (since I couldn't lift more than 10 pounds per doctor order) and made the best of it. I survived and am no worse for the wear.

Totally normal and everyone goes through it. One thing I found that helped me through it was listing all the things I hated about being overweight (a very long list!) and all the reasons I wanted to get to a healthier weight and the things that would be great about being a healthy weight, like being able to shop for regular sizes, keeping up with my kids, being ALIVE to see my kids graduate highschool, college, get married, have grandchildren, etc. You get the idea. Whenever I would have second thoughts or get really nervous I would review my list. The list was also really helpful post-op during the first week when I was struggling a bit and wondering why I did this to myself. I also spent a lot of time looking at before and after photos of people who had the surgery. Not only was it inspiring, it helped to get me excited about it. The surgery is surprisingly easy for most. If you are worried about how your life will change afterward, I can honestly say that I do not miss eating what I want nearly as much as I LOVE the transformation of my body, my confidence, my energy and more.... and that is only two months in!

Make sure you follow your surgeon's instructions to the letter tomorrow as that is 24 hours before surgery. If you are to be on clear liquids only, then make sure you DO NOT CHEAT! I am not yelling, just being emphatic! Keep busy, drink lots of water and anytime you are tempted, just tell yourself, "it is only one day" and tomorrow it will all be over. Good luck!

That would have freaked me out. Glad the doctor said it was fine. At least you don't have to have it taken out now!

My incisions were lower than my bra line, so no problems there at all. The highest one is just below where TinaMari said, about an inch below the center of my bra.

Feelings are all normal and will get better day by day. I HATED water my first week and that is normally all I drink. I agree with DEZ1975, warm liquids were much easier. I drank a lot of broth (which I was thoroughly sick of, but at least it went down) I wish I liked tea, because that was soothing. The other thing that helped me with water was adding Crystal lite. This is something I normally hated, but suddenly liked for a short time post surgery. I read somewhere on the forum that the PH of water does not agree with your altered stomach initially after surgery, that trying different brands or adding flavoring helps. Someone posted that they were able to drink Smart Water when nothing else would go down. After the first two weeks, nice ice cold water became my drink of choice once again. Every day gets much easier. I am two months post op now and have no trouble with water anymore. Hang in there. The first few weeks are hard, but it gets much better. Try to take one day at a time, get rest when you can and get out and walk.

Just stick with the plan and don't worry about the number on the scale. (I know that is much easier said than done!) The most important thing is sticking with the plan. Also, you may want to consider a higher protein, lower carb/ lower sugar option though. Slim Fast Protein has 7 grams of protein, 13 grams of carbs and 6 grams of sugar. Ideally you should have a protein powder that has 20 grams of Protein, <5 grams of sugar and <5 grams of carbs. That may help. Your grocery store may have something that fits the bill, (ours carries one) If not, hit your local GNC, Vitamin World, Vitamin Shoppe or other nutrition store to find one since you do not have time to order online right now. If you can get something small, then do it because your tastes might change after surgery. In prep for post surgery, go online and order some samples of protein powders. Chike, Unjury, Nectar all have sample packs of their flavors. (all have the right combo of protein and carbs) If you are trying something else, make sure you read the label on the back because all protein powders are not created equal.

Going with OTRSLeever's theme, I was offered a donut sample in the grocery store by one of the very nice bakery workers. It was one of their yummy Krispy Kreme knock offs. I smiled and said "no thank you". Now that is not NORMAL for me! The old normal would have happily taken one and then looped back around the store for another and then bought the box. The new me actually had NO DESIRE to eat the donut. Post surgical, I felt pretty close to normal at about day 5. I struggled with liquid and Protein, but my body felt good. By the end of week 2, we had a big college tour to do with my son. It was a lot of traveling, driving and walking. I was completely ready for it and did great. Remember that everyone heals differently. Plan for time to take it easy. I was told to plan on a month. I have also read that the more physically active you are before surgery, the easier recovery is. If I had it to do over, I would have gotten out and walked or worked out on my eliptical machine before surgery. Good luck!

If you have to go back, consider taking a sleeping pill of some sort. This advice was given to me after I could not complete my sleep study. I left the center at 2 in the morning. I felt like such a failure. But I was so uncomfortable and miserable. I could not sleep at all. Luckily, the sleep study was not required for my surgery so I did not go back to try again.

Kathy, thanks. I do not like it mixed with Water either. But, I did try adding a little extra water to the too thick shake and it seemed to do the trick. It was not ideal, but it was better. Does it come in a chocolate flavor? Thanks everyone for your replies. I see that nectar has samples. I think unjury might too. I will see about trying some samples since it is so expensive to be out there experimenting with new powders. Luckily my family likes the ones we have so they won't go to waste if I find something new.

Does this help??!! I have never heard of this before? If it works, then I may rethink my rethinking of drinking my morning coffee! LOL I only started drinking coffee last week, and have noticed my potty issues getting a little better, but I thought that was just luck. Please enlighten me!

The first one is kind of high in carbohydrates. My NUT gave me the guideline of no more than 5 grams (mine has 7, which she said was OK) The second has higher Protein and lower carbs (but still 11 g) Both are low in sugar which is good. I would go with option number two if you like it because added to skim, you are getting even more protein. For me, I cannot get enough protein from food right now, so the higher the count in my shake (without having to drink more of them, because I am not a big fan either) the better. Good luck. I am also on a Quest to find a new Protein powder. I am looking for one that does not get so thick when mixed. Although I just added some Water to mine and that seemed to do the trick, without making it too gross tasting!

They will definitely notice the 50 lb weight loss! That is awesome! Even if you had not dropped to the next pant size down, I bet your uniform pants fit MUCH better than before. The thing I noticed is that my pants size did not drop right away with the weight loss. Then I would hit the dreaded stall, and a couple weeks later, WA-LA I was in a different size even though I had not lost any additional weight. I have gone from a size 22W to a 16W or size 18 regular (you know I will never buy another 16 W again, now that a regular size fit! LOL) but I lingered in my 22's and 20s for quite a while before the sudden drop to 18.

I just got to the exact same sizes! In my case, I happened to be still trying on plus sized pants and the dressing room on that side of the department store was closed. The lady in the regular department was helping me and brought me some size 18 pants from her department! They fit and looked better than the 16 W from the plus side! It was OFFICIAL! I am never shopping the tiny, lousy selections of clothes in the plus sized departments again! I was grateful to places like Lane Bryant that at least had stylish clothing in my sizes, but I am still so happy that I do not need to pay those prices ever again!! Shopping is becoming fun again!!

My cellulite is getting better, but at the same time my skin is getting looser. I guess it's a trade off! As you lose weight it is easier to hide with clothes because pants do not fit as tight.

Congratulations on reaching all your goals so far! It sounds like you are determined enough to reach your final goal weight and maintain it by October too! That's awesome! To add a picture when you are posting a topic from the computer, scroll down to the bottom of the post and click attachment. Then you can add your picture.

At eight weeks my surgeon gave the okay to coffee, but warned that some people do not tolerate it well. I have done fine with it, but I find that it has changed some of my habits in a negative way. Before coffee, I would get up in the morning and have a water and a protein shake. Now I get up and have a cup or two of coffee. By the time I get to my shake, it is late morning (If I drank my shake first, I would be too full for coffee) which delays or replaces eating lunch, which delays eating dinner which often means I do not get enough protein during the day. And it throws off my water drinking. So I am reconsidering whether my morning cup of coffee is really worth it.