Newbie girl

I started my journey about 2 years ago at the recommendation of my new physician at my first physical. Didnt even know the guy and he recommended it. My sister in law has gastric bypass 15 yrs ago and still has problems, but things have come a long way. I asked my doc what the biggest regret was among his patient pool about wls and his answer was "not having it sooner". Then I went out to my car and cried for quite a while. I knew I was big, but never thought I was big enough to need it. My medical issues were starting to interfere with day to day life. I tried loosing first with medifast (just one more attempt to add to the list), but I was always hungry and once I stopped I gained it back. I was going to do the band last year, but because of back issues could not do it since I need anti inflamatories (which destroy the band). Then once I decided on the sleeve, the insurance approval testing and 6 month weigh ins took me almost a year. FYI - in retrospect I should have seen the nutritionist before the 6 month weigh ins. My day came 7/16/12. Recovery was tough the first 2 weeks, still not ready to run a marathon, but it does get better each day! I am in the mushy food stage and can't seem to get in enough food or liquids yet. Went to a graduation pty on Saturday and it was rough. Didnt bring anything with me to eat and kept walking around the pty with Water and trying to figure out if I could make anything work. I am pretty strict about following the food guidelines because I don't want to risk getting sick. I couldn't eat one thing at the party, but several people did tell me how amazing I looked; which made it worth it. I also felt much more comfortable in my skin, since finding a cute outfit to wear wasn't so hard! Not being able to have a glass of wine did suck and next time I will need to plan a food choice a little better! This is a major life change, but I'm not ever hungry and so far it doesn't seem I will ever be able to get that much food down. Portions were a huge issue for me and now they are not because your sleeve will fight back right away. I've even managed to introduce a few healthier options to my girls (like cream of wheat with cinnamon and truvia sugar so delicious! I feel like I have control back over my life so I agree I really do wish I had done this sooner, but it's never too late to start living! Good luck!

I'm down 46 lbs (15 before surgery and the rest since 7/16) and I feel the same way. My clothes are definitely looser and I like how I look in them better. Ironically, its hard for people to tell how much weight I've lost because I always wore baggy shirts. However, when I look at myself without the clothes I still have major body image issues. This has been a problem for me my whole life ( even when I was only 20 lbs overweight!) and at some point I will probably need to address it. Hopefully once I can start exercising I will feel better about the naked me!

The nutritionist should really be guiding your choices. I was looking for more info myself, but I will share some of what I was told 6 meals a day spaced 2 1/2 to 3 hrs apart ( I have not managed to get this much food down yet) No liquids 30 min before or After; rest of day shoot for 48 oz or more low fat, low sugar liquids; no carbonation ( again I have a hard time getting that much liquid down) 2 oz protein; 1 oz carb each meal 1 meal should be 8 oz Protein liquid supplement ( I use mostly muscle milk light - 20 gm protein; 100 cal) Avoid: Nuts, seeds, whole grains, fibrous meats, fresh fruits and veggies, bread, Pasta, and rice Sample proteins; ( 2oz) at one time Soft cheese; American, munster, feta, cream cheese, small curd low fat cottage cheese, part skim ricotta cheese Dannon light and fit yogurt Jello non fat sugar free pudding made with skim or 1% Skim or 1% with no sugar added carnation instant Breakfast Soft biled, poached or scrambled egg Tuna, egg, chucked or egg salad made with low fat mayo - avoid celery and onion Flaked fish - avoid shellfish Ground beef, chicken or turkey Peanut butter; natural creamy and low fat Soups ( low fat) puréed if chunky) I was also told baby food stage 1 or 2 chicken, beef, etc. I tasted it when my children were babies and I thought it was gross; so I'm going to take a pass on this one! Sample carbs: (1 oz) Crackers, plain saltine Hot Cereal, farina, oatmeal. Cream of wheat Soggy. Cold cereal (2 Tb Cheerios w/ 1/2 cup skim) Skinless mushy fruit; applesauce, banana, baby food fruit, Mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes (real potatoes not the processes instant kind) Hope this helps. I also have sample menu plans.

Hi. After 44 years of trying everything under the sun, I'm 4 days postoperative and finally home. I started this journey almost 3 yrs ago. I changed from my childhood family physician to a dr closer to home. At my first physical, he told me I should have gastric bypass surgery. I was ready to bawl right there, but managed to ask a few questions. I personally knew 2 people who had the surgery about 12-15 years ago and had major complications. I also had not yet thought of myself as being "big enough" to need such drastic measures. He quickly set me straight when I asked about the biggest regret coming from patients of his that had the surgery. His answer was that they regretted not doing it sooner. I went to the car and cried for 20 minutes. A few months later I decided to consult a surgeon. My plan was to have the band, but shortly after the consult, I really messed up my back and discovered I have lumbar spinal stenosis and several bulging disks. I had 3 spinal injections, physical therapy, massage therapy and now 2 years later I am still on Vicodin and Valium (both only at night) for the pain and muscles spasms. I was also on Celebrex, flexeril and tramadol during the day. No longer a candidate for the band, my dr started selling Medifast and suggested I try it. So like everything else, I did, lost about 15lbs and then gained it back. I did some research and went back for another consult. After at least a year (or more) of jumping through insurance hoops and going for tests, I finally had the surgery this past Monday. Now along with dealing with the postoperative pain, multiple pills and trying to keep the shakes down, my back is so messed up. They gave me Percoset, but to be honest, it's somewhat helping the stomach pain but not doing anything for the major back pain. Hope no one thinks I'm being a baby, just exhausted from the constant pain!

4 weeks out was the guideline he gave me. I would also go doggie style with pillow for support!

I had the same issue! We had a scheduled camping trip July 7-10. My surgeon wanted to schedule right before the trip and I made him reschedule. The kids had really been looking forward to it and I didn't want it to be a drag with me not feeling well. We rescheduled to 7/16 and I am sooooo glad I did. Unless you are a miracle healer, there is no way you will enjoy this trip. The first few days are rough. You will be surprised just how hard it is to move when your abdominal muscles are not working great! Getting up and down off the air bed and camp chairs is going to hurt like hell! Add in the drains, having to cover your dressings with plastic before showering, bathroom issues and not being able to swim. Trust me you will want your own bed and bathroom!

I had the same experience. Slept with the Cpap a few times; also hated it and put it to the side. I did not use it prior to surgery, but was told I had to bring it for surgery and would be using it in the hospital. In recovery, they asked me if I really used or needed the machine. I said no and they gave me oxygen instead - just the small tubes they put in your nose and hook around your ears. No mask. Very comfortable. I think the whole sleep study ( had to go back 2x) was a huge waste of time and money. However it does help you get approved because its a co- morbidity! Hope this helps.

Hallelujah 8 days post op and finally! I feel so much better; was starting to get worried there was a problem.

I agree with many of the other posts. I'm married almost 20 years and we've been together close to 25 years. The truth is you can not control the actions of your souse; only your reaction. With the hormones and all the meds, you can also get a little wacky. I have a 4 year old, 10 year old and a husband who works outside all day. When the family comes home, they want to eat so we have all the same food in the house and Im the one who needs to deal with it. I will also say that my husband is very supportive in his own way. Most of the time, he's like "suck it up", although thankfully he hasn't said that yet! Look for support wherever you can get it. This board has been great. Try holding off on reacting to anything for a few weeks and see how you feel then. Good luck!

Funny how something you take for granted before seems so important now!

Hi Tameka, I'm 6 days post op and it is difficult to get everything down. Are you still in the liquid shake phase or on to puréed foods? I'm definitely not getting in as many shakes or liquids as required by my plan, but I decided to go at my own pace rather than risk anything coming up. Make sure you take the reglan (if it was ordered for you). It helps the naseua, and helps to keep things moving down when you swallow. I also make sure I'm sitting as upright as possible and I take about an hour right now to finish 8oz. I'm sure it will get better! Good luck!

I'm day 7 and still nothing. Just started taking stool softeners. Did it hurt?

Hi Carol, I am 6 days post op and also had a fatty liver. I did a lot of "last dinners" in the months leading up to surgery. My dr put me on a 4 week pre-op diet, but I didn't really buckle down until the last 2 1/2 weeks. During that time we even went on a family vacation and I allowed myself one real meal a day. The rest were shakes. Somehow I lost almost 15 lbs during this time. We all have our turning points when we decide how bad we want this. Mine was on the way home from our trip. We stopped at a dairy queen ( which I love and we don't have any near where we live). I wanted A huge ice scream sundae so bad, but opted for my protein shake in the cooler. Thankfully the 15lbs was enough to shrink the liver and get the surgery. I'm now down 28.5 lbs and still recovering. It's easier to follow the plan now because it's hard to finish even one shake. I wish you the best of luck!

Thank you to everyone for such quick replies! I guess I should have clarified that I stopped taking all of the pain med prescribed to me post-op. the only thing I take now is my high blood pressure med (norvask), reglan ( for nasea and peristalsis), protonix (to help with the acid) and just started the percocet ( for pain post op). I was regularly seeing a pain mgmt specialist prior to surgery and she deferred to the surgeon post op. I am very careful to never combine pain meds (even with cold medicine). I have two young girls and a husband I adore, so I am terrified of an adverse reaction or overdose. I was more convinced than ever to get this surgery so that I could hopefully get off of all the medication. Honestly it is hard enough to get down the regimen of pills I was given. Tried crushing them, but found it worse. But as kypeach mentioned, when my back needs a muscle relaxer, it's bad and the longer I wait the worse it gets. When i was in the hospital, i got a lot of "helpful" replies from nurses who had never had surgery or back pain, like - you need to walk it off. I know that moving around is important for this sirgery, but try doing it with your back so tight you can't even move! I tried the old heating pad last night, but no relief. I will definitely call my dr today. Any suggestions on meds to discuss are greatly appreciated. I hadn't even thought about the fact that long acting medication may not work as well.