Bufflehead

Hi Breezy, I was not nauseous. I did not puke. I was very tired and slept a lot during the first week, and took pain killers (liquid lortab) for about the first three days, then only took them at night for another three days. The only pain that was really bothering me was at my drain site, that hurt a lot but only when I had to turn from side to side, stand up, sit down, bend over, things like that. I went home two days after surgery (standard for my surgeon). My friend dropped me at home and I didn't see anyone else for another week. I was fine on my own, looking after my two cats and my large dog, who enjoyed all the extra walks! I walked frequently, at least 3x per day, but they were short walks. I kept track of all the liquids, carbs, calories and protein I was taking in via MFP. I successfully got in all my liquids (64 oz) and protein (60 grams) starting the day of surgery and every day thereafter. I spent a lot of time reading and watching tv when I wasn't napping. So, basically, lots of tiredness and napping, not much pain. No nausea or anything like that. I stayed off the scale completely until my 1 month follow up appointment so I never stressed about how much I was losing or whether I was having a stall. Everything was good. Good luck to you!

Also the nerves in your stomach continue to heal for 8+ weeks after surgery, so your stomach isn't getting smaller, but your nerves can get better at detecting food in your stomach and relaying that info to your brain.

@@katanne that makes perfect sense! Of course you don't want to live through that kind of nonsense again.

Unjury chocolate splendor & chicken soup flavors, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey, Syntrax Nectar sweets, and Syntrax Matrix.

Same here, hernia was repaired and GERD eliminated at the same time as sleeve surgery. Unless you have medical contraindications, though, I would encourage you to revamp your thinking about gastric bypass. Obviously I chose the sleeve and I am happy with my decision. But if for some reason you do have to get bypass rather than sleeve, it is a great surgery and nothing to be afraid of. I know lots of people who have had it, and all are doing great -- healthy, happy, and slim.

I had no support person and did not ever need one. I just made sure that I had done all my household chores requiring heavy lifting and exertion before surgery, and had someone come to change the kitty litter for a couple of weeks (I wasn't allowed to lift anything as heavy as a bag of kitty litter). Frankly I would not have wanted someone hovering around me . . . plus being active and self-sufficient is good for recovery IMO.

My opinion: don't bother with shakes. They won't keep you full (or satisfied). Liquid goes straight through your pyloric valve. What causes fullness or satiety is having that pyloric valve closed with food remaining in your stomach. Your pyloric valve will close to allow your stomach to start digestion if you eat meat and/or fibrous food such as green veggies. So, if you are looking for healthy food that will keep you satisfied for longer periods of time, look at unprocessed meats (chicken breast, turkey, tuna, lean beef, etc.) and green vegetables. They are lower calorie, lower carb, and higher protein than protein shakes as well. Also, just from the mental aspect of things: you may want to think about "full" vs. "satisfied" and that it is okay to *not* be full, even for long stretches of time. It is okay to be hungry! Hunger is unpleasant, but it is not an emergency. I find it helpful when I am feeling hungry and miserable to remind myself, "it's no fun to be hungry, but you can wait until your turkey jerky snack at 4" -- something along those lines. I always plan my day of eating in advance so that I know how long I have to wait and it doesn't feel like such a crisis when hunger strikes. Good luck!

My team's plan is no snacking in weight loss mode -- except for protein shakes. It's acceptable to have protein shakes between meals if you otherwise would not meet your daily protein goal. Beyond that, their policy is that snacking leads to grazing leads to careless eating leads to eating to satisfy head hunger and cravings and inevitably to slow or stop weight loss.

I agree with the post above -- well, maybe not 10-12 days but the vast majority of people do need several days to get over post-op exhaustion, brain fuzziness, and pain. Plus what mental and physical energy you do have, you'll be spending on figuring out how to get your liquid and protein in. This is major surgery and a whole life adjustment -- treat yourself well and give yourself some room for recovery and healing.

3 ounces of chicken breast is my standard breakfast.

I don't believe in the supernatural, so living where someone died a natural death would not bother me in the slightest.

No honey per my guidelines -- way too many sugars. Splenda/Equal etc. was okay.

Humboldt Fog, but really anything from Cypress Grove.

I used Syntrax Nectar. But the truth is, unflavored isn't flavorless (it's just protein without vanilla or chocolate or whatever added to it), and you are going to taste it, particularly in something really bland like cream of wheat. You'd probably be better off with chocolate or vanilla protein powder in your cream of wheat, since the protein taste is masked. I know a lot of people love Genepro and swear it is tasteless -- I personally think Genepro is a complete scam and if a reputable, independent lab tested it they'd find it was made of talcum powder and ground up houseplants, so I can't recommend it.

I started with sriracha and other hot chile sauces as soon as I was cleared for puree. Never gave me a bit of trouble.

If you are not eating many carbs, you can go into ketosis (which is a good thing, it helps burn fat). Ketosis does/can do really weird things to your breath, your senses of taste and smell, your body odor, even what your pee smells like (sorry!). So that might be what is going on for you.

@@GSleeve822 most people are able to drink pretty normally after several weeks, and you wouldn't want to be doing strenuous exercise before then anyway. You don't need a bunch of extra calories to "fuel" your exercise or make up for what you burn (unless you are running a marathon, seriously training for an ironman, etc.). Your body has all the fuel it needs packed away in your fat cells. That's true for all of us, it's why we needed surgery! Even once you lose weight, you don't need extra calories, either before or after exercise (again, unless we're talking marathons or something). I've been doing strenuous exercise -- running, circuit training, interval training -- for a few years now post-op and I've never once felt weak, faint, or dehydrated.

I use an immersion blender -- that way clean up is even easier than any kind of Ninja/Bullet/whatever, and it doesn't whip any air into your shakes. No letting them wait in the fridge to settle or choking on foam. You can drink them right away

I only told a few of my closest friends and family beforehand. I didn't want to deal with being overloaded with questions and/or negativity as I was getting ready for my surgery. After surgery, when people asked me how I was losing weight, I told them about my surgery. The response has been just about 100% positive, but for me the big thing is not so much any reaction I might get, but just not wanting to contribute to our cultural myth that anyone can lose weight if they just eat less and move more. I struggled so long in my life with that myth. It made my life miserable and probably almost killed me. If I can do anything to dispel that myth a little bit by being honest in my life, I will. Already two people I told about the surgery (because they asked, I didn't volunteer it) have had surgery and are doing great! I'm glad I told them the truth.

My advice: --ditch the "sugary item." It will be hard at first but eating sugar is what is making you crave more of it. When you are hungry between meals, eat some turkey Jerky. Not to mention the extra calories are hindering your weight loss. --PB & J sandwich? No, no, no. Carbs and calories galore. Honestly this right here may be what is sabotaging your weight loss as much as the sweets. Switch to something like deli meat rolled in lettuce leaves, or chopped chicken breast with green veggies and some light salad dressing. --it doesn't sound like you are tracking your food intake. Try it at least for a couple of weeks. Don't eyeball your portions, weigh and measure them. --going back to liquids isn't going to help you unless you are willing to make changes after the few days you do it. That said, a couple of days of break from your regular eating patterns can be really helpful for lots of people. I would say, when you do it, stay away from artificial sweeteners as much as possible -- for many people, they cause sugar/carb cravings just like regular sugar does. It won't do anything to "reset" your stomach/pouch, but it can help re-set your mind, if that makes sense. Good luck!

@@Alabama sparkles if you track your daily intake on MyfitnessPal or a similar app, you can adjust your tracking to include fiber. I track fiber because it's good to have in your diet, but my dietitian says NO to using net carbs instead of simple carbs, so be sure to check with your own team before deciding to do that. Some allow it and some don't.

During weight loss, I weighed rarely (1x per month or so). My program wanted my main focus to be on how well I was complying with their eating plan, not how fast the weight was coming off. In maintenance, I weigh every day. The easiest way for things to get out of hand and re-gain to start is avoiding the scale.

Thank you for posting this. It sounds like you have a great attitude moving forward and your doctors are taking excellent care of you -- I hope everything gets resolved quickly for you.

The sleeve will seriously limit how much you can eat in one sitting. For the first six months to a year, for the vast majority of people, it also limits how much they even want to eat, by greatly reducing the production of ghrelin by your stomach. I think you are right to want a permanent modification rather than a temporary one -- obesity is not a temporary disease, you will have it all your life, and having a permanent tool is, in my opinion, the strongest method to put it into permanent remission. That said, you need to be 100% committed to eating carefully and on plan for the rest of your life. There will be a point when grazing, snacking, liquid calories, carb-heavy foods (like bananas and even protein bars, I suggest you stop thinking about those as something that will be big parts of your life post-op) and slider foods will make it quite possible for you to stop losing and even regain. There is no surgery in the world that will keep obesity in remission without real commitment and compliance for life from the patient. Bariatric surgery is definitely your best shot -- it was the best decision I ever made and I'm so glad I did it. I never, ever could have gotten to my normal and healthy state without it, and the surgery itself was not particularly traumatizing or hard for me. I'd do it again a couple of times each year if I had to!

Trauma and the hormones flooding your system (they are stored in fat cells and released into your bloodstream during times of rapid weight loss) can both but your cycle into complete disarray. Early periods, constant periods, and late periods seem to be more normal for the first few months post-op than just having your cycle stay regular. That said, in your situation, I would be making double and triple sure about my pregnancy status if that was even remotely a possibility.