joatsaint

Here's a link to Eggface - http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html She has a big following and has recipes for all stages of WLS.

Don't beat yourself up too much. I backed out when I started to make my 1st dr. appointment. It took another month before I realized my life was only going to get worse if I didn't go through with WLS and I just made up my mind to do whatever I had to do to get through WLS. When making a big decision like this, I ask myself: 1) Do I want to be in this same situation or worse a year from now? 2) Is the pain of staying in this situation worse than the pain of the change I need to make? So far, answering those 2 questions have given me the clarity I needed to make any major decision.

I never really had incision or stomach pain. It was more of an intense pressure. When I woke up in the recovery room, I knew exactly how the guy in 'Alien" felt - right before the critter popped out of his chest! But I'd do it all again in a second!! Gastric Sleeve Surgery Recovery - Post Surgery Interview Gastric Sleeve Surgery Recovery - 5 Min. Post Surgery

Sometimes I drink drink diet Sprite or Miller Lite beer. I drink it really, really, really slow. I switched to Crystal Light, so I don't drink carbonated beverages on a regular basis. You will have to experiment to find out how much you can safely drink before needing to stop. I found it is really easy to drink too fast and the carbonation leaves me feeling very uncomfortable.

Sounds like one fantastic NSV to me!!!!!!!!

I told only those that had to know - my best friend, my mom and dad. That was it. I wasn't ready to deal with negative people or those that might try to talk me out of it. I always figured I could tell later if I needed to, but I could never untell anyone.

I think a meetup would be great. I've not met anyone in person since my surgery 2 years ago. Although I work M-F, I am free after 5:30pm M-F and all day on Sat and Sundays. @@MamyBeth @@ucjes

I am a lifelong side sleeper and for 3 weeks or so after, I could not comfortably sleep on either side. I'd feel an uncomfortable "pulling" sensation in my stomach. My solution was to sleep propped up, on my back, like in a hospital bed. I rolled up a comforter like a log and put it against my headboard. That provided enough of an angle for me to sleep comfortably. Sometime during that 3rd week, the pulling sensation went away and I resumed sleeping on my side. Now the only problem I have side-sleeping is having to keep some comforter between my knees - I lost all the fat in my legs and know my knees hurt when they touch. I rank that as one of my top 10 NSV's!!!! So you get to look forward to THAT!

I'm a Premier Protein fan myself and they have stored fine in the fridge. Just shake them up a little before drinking. I like mine a little thicker, so I toss in a scoop of powdered chocolate protein as well. I would not feel safe leaving an opened shake in the fridge more than a couple of days. I don't know how fast they go bad, once opened. If you go with a powdered protein, I highly recommend spending the $7 dollars it costs for one of the Bottle Blenders (at Wal-Mart or Sam's Club, I've seen them at many stores - be sure to get the one with the "ball" inside) - they make things soooo much easier and truly mixes the powder completely. And you can leave the mix in the shaker bottle, put it in the fridge for later, take it out, shake it up again. As an added bonus, while using the Bottle Blender, you get a Shake Weight workout.

I can vividly remember how angry I was at the world, those 2 weeks after surgery. I wanted to fight everyone... good thing I live alone! And I was having weird apocalyptic dreams for several nights as well. I was dreaming I was in a post-apocalyptic world and I was trying to join a group of survivors. Weird huh?

Our sleeves can be weird at times. For example, I can eat Old Elpaso salsa with nary a grumble, but try eating Taco Bell taco sauce and Frankensleeve will seize up and feel like I'm trying to digest rocks!!!!

Welcome aboard. And congrats on joining the Loser's Bench. Things will get better, I promise. My 1st 7 or 8 days, I ate nothing but sugar free Popsicles and drank Crystal Light. On day 11 I was able to tolerate Cream of Mushroom Soup and lived on that for a few weeks. No matter how bad that sounds, it was worth every minute of trouble I went through.

This is a link to my favorite Mexican food recipe. It got me through the puree stage and beyond. I wasn't able to eat full foods (even though I was allowed) for weeks - Frankensleeve didn't approve. My Favorite Mexican Food recipe http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-31168-my-favorite-mexican-food/ Here is one link to Eggface's ricotta bake http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/01/ricotta-resolutions.html And here is a link to other puree safe recipes on Eggface's blog. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html If you find her recipes useful, please let her know that Frankensleeve sent you.

Wow, that's a long pre-op diet just to lose 10lbs. I lost that much in the 1 week pre-op diet I had to do. Just to be certain, I'd call my doctor or NUT and verify they really wanted you on a pre-op diet for so long. When I was first starting this "adventure", there was so much info coming from my doctor, the hospital and his assistants, that it was confusing and I forgot anything I didn't write down.

Welcome to the forum. I've never noticed how many teens are on this forum, but I wish I had been able to get WLS back then. It would have saved me years and years of misery. Welcome to the Loser's Bench. You have any NSV's yet?

I had to drink barium. I don't know if that is the standard for a leak test. But it was served to me in one of those paper cups they use when bringing a patient their meds. It wasn't very much, maybe a tablespoon or 2. I had to drink it in 2 swallows. I drank the first bit, had to wait a few seconds and then drank the other half. It was tough, but I got it down.

Did they say why they wanted you on such a long pre-op diet? And how much do they want you to lose pre-op? Hopefully, they have a good reason.

Refried beans were my soft food of choice. Everything else, besides Cream of Mushroom soup, would make Frankensleeve very cranky.

My new sleeve was so swollen, that there wasn't room for water. I drank 1 or 2 ounces right after my leak test and threw up immediately - that was the only time it happened. There just wasn't room for that much water.

Quite by accident, I found that writing a letter to the person (I never sent it!) outlining how I felt and how I felt I was wronged made me feel much better. Once I had released it into the universe, much of the anger and frustration went away. I got past the need to repatriations and I no longer cared about what had happened. I'm now trying to live by this motto: Lessons from my dog - When life gives you hardships, just kick some sand over that sh*t and move on.

It took me quite a while to really see the weight loss... even though my friends could see it right away. I think I was at least 60 lbs down before I could really see a change.

A few things it would have been nice to know. 1) I had to sleep propped up, like in the hospital bed. 2)Sleeping on my side was OUT, for the 1st 3 weeks. 3) I hated the world for that 1st week. I wanted to fight everyone and everything! 4) It's going to be a struggle to drink enough. Just keep sipping all day. 5) Wear the elastic support band, all day every day. I wore mine for the 1st month - I was just a little OCD about it. 6) By day 10 most all discomfort was gone and I was out and about. Went back to work on day 11. 7) And most important - I no longer had food craving or really even cared about food anymore! Goodbye head hunger!

Hang in there. All the hassles, trouble and pain is worth it to get a 2nd start on life. After just 6 months, I had gotten past all the initial adjustments - gas, diarrhea, constipation... ect and it was like I'd been living this way my whole life.

Thanks for posting the link to your new blog. I'm looking forward to reading your posts. I've been watching a twenty-something girl on Youtube and she is fun to watch and has a way of putting what I'm feeling into words. You should check her out. Tell Clusie L that Frankensleeve sent you! Clusie L https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJGHPqGhf1TOLpJ4hUVF08w

Thanks for posting the link. I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.