janep

I'm not as far out as you - almost 6 weeks, but I can only eat one small meatball at a time. I eat only about an ounce total at each meal. I'm hoping to increase it so I can get off protein shakes, but so far about an ounce is all I can tolerate. Peanut butter and smooth cheese like laughing cow go down the best. Most things cause me to burp a lot, but not those two. I'm looking forward and have faith that with patience and time I will tolerate more food and I'm sure you will too. Hang in there.

I know for me the decision to have surgery wasn't about losing the weight - I had done that many times, once losing 120 pounds - for me the surgery was about keeping the weight off. Every time I lost and gained I would develop a new health problem. I was very good at dieting, but was horrible at maintaining. The long term success for keeping significant weight off when you diet on your own is something like 10%. Surgery provides a way to get to a healthy weight and stay there. It is a tool, and I needed all the help I could get. My family accepted my decision when I explained it to them this way. I was on my way to diabetes, sleep apnea, had already developed high blood pressure, etc. I couldn't continue going up and down - so surgery provided the best solution for me.

This is totally different from mine!!! I am 5 weeks out and eating ham, beef, and pork - but we aren't allowed to add carbs for 6 months.

I order appetizers or soup too. It's interesting that I now leave something on my plate at every meal. Pre-sleeve I would eat every bite that was in front of me (and sometimes pick off other plates as well). It's sort of a victory to be able to walk away without cleaning the plate.

I had an overnight stay at the hospital and went home the next morning after the leak test. My surgeon said some surgeons were doing this outpatient, but he wasn't comfortable with that. As for alcohol, we were told that we should wait a year, but then we could have a little alcohol if we wanted. As for the other things, one of the best things about the sleeve is after the initial period of adjustment to your new stomach, there really isn't much you can't enjoy. You will just be eating a few bites instead of a lot of whatever it is you want. When I go out to eat, I order an appetizer or soup, and can't finish all of that.

Broth and water were my best friends. There was something really soothing about warm broth.

Chandra, I had surgery 4 weeks ago. I had such faith in my surgeon I really didn't have much anxiety. I arrived at the hospital about 6:00 am and waited until almost 10:00 am to go back to surgery. I was so full of anticipation that it really went pretty fast. I knew I couldn't have anything to drink so I just didn't think about it. Good luck to you.

All the post-op diets seem to vary a lot. My program has a staff nutritionist and our diet is as follows: (My surgery was 2 days after yours). Week 1-2: liquids Week 3-4: pureed and liquids Week 5-12: Soft (this includes a lot of different foods - just make them moist - like chicken salad is OK but put a lot of mayo in it) Then for the next 3 months regular - but don't add carbs yet After six months you can add two ounces of carbs per day. They stress that you eat Protein 1st, then produce, then diary and then if you still have room you can have a little bit of carbs later on. I don't have a menu - just serving guidelines. The guidelines for soft is two protein supplements a day. One to one and a half ounce of protein at meals. Three servings of fruits and vegetables. Two servings of dairy. A little fat. No starchy veggies or carbs other than those included in the supplements etc. At this point it's impossible to get everything in - but that is the goal to work toward by month three. Hope this helps.

My program was very specific that even with the sleeve we were at risk for some deficiencies - especially B12 and vit D - and they wanted us to take the bariatric vitamins. However, I happen to hate them, so I'm going to go with the majority and switch to the multi-vitamins which are much easier to tolerate. I'll see how everything looks when I get labs. As for the potassium, they also wanted us to take that because the amount of food we are eating is so small, they feel we are at risk for potassium deficiencies as well. That being said, I was one of the first sleeves, so they may be overly cautious. I'm going with the majority and doing only a multi-vitamin. Thanks for the input.

Judy, I still think that working with different blood pressure medications may be your answer. The one I took was recommended for once a day, but after experimentation with my doctor, I ended up taking two in the AM and one in the PM. That was the only combination that kept my pressure in the 120/130 range. Work with you Primary care physician to get the pressure under control. Once you have the surgery it will be much easier to control on less medication.

I would be concerned if you are not getting information on nutrition. Each bariatric program should have a nutritionist who works with you. It is such a different way of life and you need the support they offer. The diet program seems to vary a lot. The program I was given was two weeks liquid, two weeks pureed, two months soft - and starting three months out a regular diet. It also consisted of two protein drinks daily through the third month as well as two servings of fruit (juice is fine) and vegetables and two servings of milk a day. These are goals, it's actually very hard to get everything in. Did your doctor talk to you about vitamins. You will need vitamins for life. Optisource bariatric vitamins at Walgreens have just about everything you need. The other supplement you might need is potassium. Ask your doctor what he recommends. Good luck.

Judy, are you saying that you can't have surgery because of your blood pressure? Are you on blood pressure medication - you should be able to get control of it with medication. You may have to try different meds - it took me almost two months to find the right medication for me. Once I started my pre-op diet and had surgery I was very quickly able to get off the medication. High blood pressure is one of the co-morbidities that qualify you for the surgery.

It's interesting to see how different the diets are depending on the program you are in. I never had a clear liquid phase - I was immediately on full liquids including the protein soups and drinks. I moved on to pureed after two weeks and then soft from week 4-12. I'm just starting the soft diet - it's nice to be able to have actual food!!

I had the sleeve in Florida on 10/15. I've already lost 26 pounds, so I'm thrilled with that. I'm off my blood pressure medication already (actually I was able to get off of it immediately - the pre-op diet seemed to do the trick). I'm advancing my diet and things are going very well except for a problem with belching. I'm very glad that I underwent the surgery and I'm hoping the one issue I have with burping will resolve on it's own. I am having a hard time getting in everything I'm supposed to. I often don't get all the protein in - but I keep trying.

Congratulations. It sounds like you have a very supportive husband. I agree with him, the sleeve is the way to go - I had to be convinced - but I absolutely think you have made the right choice. Good luck.

I had to get a sleep study test, lab tests, a psychological evaluation, chest x-ray, and if I had a gall bladder, I would have needed a gall bladder ultrasound. For some patients they also required a pulmonary function test. It sounded daunting, but really it wasn't that bad, and it was well worth it.

It would be nice if the insurance companies were forward thinkers who understood that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!! If you get the sleeve at this age, it will likely prevent the inevitable complications of obesity down the road. They would save so much money if the prevented diabetes and high blood pressure which inevitably develop very expensive complications. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. Good luck - your life will change.

Congratulations. I had surgery 3 1/2 weeks ago. I'm 54 - I can't imagine how different my life would have been if I had done this when I was 27. My kids life probably would have been different too - I would have been more outgoing and willing to do more with them. It's not without problems - mine have been gastric reflux and belching - but it is still worth it. Just be prepared that you will have issues readjusting to food. Good luck - your life is about to change for the better. I also thought at first I would get the lap band, but it took very little research to convince me the sleeve was the way to go. I think you can tell by all the people that have had the band changed to the sleeve that the sleeve is a better choice.

My NSV is getting off of my blood pressure medicine and giving clothes away as I change sizes. Before when I dieted (I've lost 120 pounds and 90 pounds - gained it back each time) I saved the clothes knowing I'd probably need them again. Yesterday - they were donated to the Humane Society Thrift Shop. YaHoo.

What do you eat now a year out. I can barely get 2/3 ounce of protein at a month post-op and I don't see how I will ever get to the 3-5 ounces I need to get to before I can eliminate the protein drinks. It seems impossible that I will tolerate regular food with all the belching I'm doing on pureed. I'd love to hear your diet journey over the last year.

I don't understand how you can even tolerate those foods. I'm 3 1/2 weeks post-op and still have trouble keeping anything down. The quantities just sound like too much for this surgery. I don't see how you have the physical capacity for these things if the surgery was done correctly. I eat less than an ounce of food and have to stop, so I'm just wondering how you can eat three mini-candy bars. I'm sorry you're experiencing this. I'm one of the lucky ones - I don't have any hunger or cravings. I do have other issues though, I burp almost constantly which makes eating difficult and I am having a lot of trouble getting the protein drinks in.

I'm three weeks post-op and have extreme burping issues. No matter what I put in my stomach, liquid, puree, protein drink, whatever - I pay for it by burping for at least an hour. It interferes a lot with getting the required nutrition in. Has anyone had the burping issues, and what helped with them? By the way, I had the acid reflux at first, but my doctor gave me a prescription for protonix instead of the pepcid I was taking, and that eliminated the reflux. It hasn't touched the burping though. I'd sure appreciated any words of wisdom in getting rid of the burps. Thanks.