GoState

I just had some runny, wholesome refried Beans from the local Mexican place. With cheese sauce. I've had 3 teaspoons full. I think this is the BEST thing I've ever put in my mouth!! Right now, I'd say these beans are better than sex (well that's b/c I can't have sex right now, but I CAN have these wonserful, delectable smushed beans that I generally glance over at the restaurant. If I could have $1000 or more beans, right now I'd say more beans. YUM! I am going VERY slowly. This is the first thing I've put in my stomach other than broth, juice and Water in 10 days. I feel like I can eat another spoon, but will wait 5-10 minutes or so before trying. Maybe not. These are GOOD! It's funny how we take the small things in life for granted until we don't have them, huh?

Yep- I've laid off the juices today. In the hospital, they brought me apple and grape with every meal, so I kept it up. But now, I'm just using a shot of Mott's low-sugar apple juice with my daily dose of Protonix and trying to dilute the juice more and drink less of it and more broth & flavored H2O. Thanks for all the feedback. Come Tuesday, I get to advance to Stage 2, where I can have cream Soups, thin oatmeal, grits, mashed potatoes and refried Beans. I'm really appreciating the small things in life thanks to the pre- and post-op diets LOL!

I am beginning my 6th post-op day and am on the clear liquid phase. I'm writing down what I'm drinking (cups, ozs, etc) I did some calculations and came to the conclusion that I am drinking 100-115 ozs of liquids daily. Basically 3 - 5 cups of broth from chicken noodle Soup, 2 cups no-sugar added grape juice, 2 cups no sugar-added apple juice and 1.5 bottles of Water. I figured out most cups (coffee mugs) were 8 ozs or so. Is this too much? My dietician said that I likely wouldn't get down 30 ozs. at first, but to force myself to a little more day to day. Since I'm not on real food yet, I don't know if this is good or bad. I'm nervous about streching things, but am not having pain, and know liquids empty quicker than food. Have any of you experienced the same thing?

They told me that long term 60 oz was minimum goal. I noticed that my sleeve feels full today after taking a protein soup mix. Was more filling than the broth alone. I have not noticed sleeve really feel full when drinking juices.

Well, had surgery yesterday morning. Thankfully, no more stones, Recovery room was rough, but everything has gotten better from there. Just had first liquid meal. Lzuri, how was your surgery?

last night. Thought might be having gas pains, but for 3 days they wouldn't go away. I went to give my urine sample and POOF- out pops a kidney stone. That was my first and I'm SOOO thankful this happened the morning before surgery vs the morning after LOL! I have several more they say, but all 2MM or so. Surgeons office says I'm still ok to go so long as I son't start having pains again as if another is passing. I hope and pray the pain from the surgery is nowhere near the pain from the stone!

They are literal stones formed in your kidneys from excess Calcium or uric acid. Some look like cuckleburrs, others (like mine, thankfully!) are smooth. I think mine is around 2 mm, but some people have them the size of marbles and even golf balls. 6mm and under can generally pass; anything larger requires surgery or lithotripsy to break them down to a passable size. This is the closest a man will ever come to childbirth LOL!

Thanks, Kathy! I've come to the conclusion it was probably gas--- VERY bad case of gas LOL!- I hope and pray the surgery itself is nowhere as bad as that was! Congrats on your success!!!!!! I hope to be there soon!!!!!!!!

The liquid diet has not been that bad, BUT last night I had SEVERE abdominal cramps (so bad I feel sore/bruised this AM). Mainly was my lower abdomen. First thought is gas, but I also have been wondering for a while if I might have IBS or Lactose Intolerance issues. I did drink Lactaid Milk for the first time yesterday, but woudnt think it would cause this. Has anyone else experienced this??

I'm being sleeved Tuesday. What helped me to get over this same feeling is research. The fact is a lot of our weight problems is due to gut hormone levels, which we have ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OF! There are studies where healthy lab rats were divided into 2 groups. Half the rats were given the Ghrelin hormone (produced in the fundus of the stomach) and the rest were not. EVERY rat that was given grehlin gained weight! Ever wonder why some people can't gain weight? Almost every American makes very poor eating decisions daily. I know skinny people who do not exercise who can eat pizza, burgers, etc EVERY day of the week and not gain weight. Much of this has to do with metabolism, gut hormone levels and other things science has not yet uncovered. So many of our foods (healthy foods) are engineered by man. In many "low fat" foods, the fat has been replaced with carbs and other things. And portion sizes have skyrocketed over the past 50 yrs. Remember when all coke bottles were 10-12 oz's? I understand the feeling. I have felt the same way. But the fact is everyone's body, mind, etc is different. My parasympathetic nervous system ( the body functions we can't control) tells my heart, lungs, liver, etc. what do. Our metabolisms and hormone levels are controlled this way. This does NOT mean you are a failure. Actually, it means you are intelligent enough to look at facts, realize where you need help, and seek that help to reach your goal. Reaching out and getting the help you need actually sounds pretty smart to me! Good Luck!!

Thoughts and prayers go out to you. Good luck with the steroids!

I'm convinced I'm making the right decision to have surgery although I'm researching just to make sure for myself the sleeve is better for me than Roux-N-Y. I'm the type to over-research and laughingly ask myself "are you SURE you know what your about to do to yourself?" My PCP is well versed and Mayo trained. He went to a Harvard Symposium last Summer that really focused on long-term gut hormone changes w/ RNY as well as long-term safety data, which leads him to recommend RNY whereas my Surgeon feels Sleeve would be a good fit for my specific body type but will do whatever I am more comfortable with. (FYI I'm 38,M, 6'2" and 298 with sleep apnea and edema in my legs). My research and meeting w/NP at bariatric clinic indicates the Sleeve is pretty comparable to RNY when it comes to hormonal changes and the Sleeve seems to make better sense than rerouting all my internal plumbing and dealing with nutrient deficiency, although I am concerned with the lack of long-term data for the sleeve. I was wondering: How many of you have heartburn? Was it only short-term or is it a case of being on a PPI for life? Do any of you have dumping syndrome with the sleeve? (some research says it's possible) Have any of you had any complications out of the norm/ not easily resolved? IS anyone aware of any studies with Long-term efficacy of the sleeve (5+ years out?) I'm excited about having surgery, but it's a life-altering experience and I want to make sure I'm making the right choice with the sleeve over RNY. Thanks for any input you can share!

Thanks for all the input! I agree, Michelle, I don't want to look like skelator, either, LOL (one of my questions last Dr. visit was can you really lose too much with this). The Dumping Syndrome scares me the mose with RNY, moreso than the potential of heartburn with Sleeve. The whole malabsorption element is a big detterant to RNY (although studies I've read theorize THAT component is what appears to help w/diabetics). Also- CONGRATS on the success! I hope I'm on the way to weight loss this time next week (I'm scheduled 7/31).

Congrats! I'm on the 31st. Good Luck!