drysdale

I have had the wildest, most vivid dreams ever since I had my surgery which was 7 days ago. For example...last night, I dreamt that this procedure was only available in Viet Nam. There was a group of us from the USA that flew over and had to cross from north to south or vice versus during the war in order to get the procedure done. There was a van that would transport us and the van driver was Ellen DeGeneres. That was about the time I woke up. So I was curious if anyone else has had totally crazy dreams?

It is gas but not from eating. The surgeons inflate your torso with CO2 to help them see better and get around easier inside while operating. For whatever reason, it takes about a week for the CO2 gas to dissipate and leave your body. It typically travels up your left side and your left shoulder will hurt more that your right. It takes about 2 days for the pain to subside or all the gas to exit your system. Anyway, based on the type of pain and the timing, this would be my guess. If the pain doesn't go away soon, then I would maybe call your dr. I hope this helps. Take liquid tylenol or a pain pill to get past it.

I am a patient of Dr. Nick and he is fantastic. FPMC is first class. IT is really nice....more like being in a hotel than a hospital. I stayed one night. I maybe should have stayed a 2nd, but I had a daughter at home that I wanted to get back to. I wanted her to see that I was fine. I just had my 6 wk check up today. I have lost exactly 20 lbs. At first, I was a little discouraged at my progress until my appt today. I don't have as much to lose as some of the others on this board. I need to lose a total of 60-65 lbs. The nurse reassured me that I was one track for someone my size. If I look at the % lost, I am at about 33% lost. I would absolutely choose him again. There are drs in town that will perform 10-14 bariatric procedures in ONE day. Dr Nick doesn't do that. He limits his procedures to 5-6 per day. How would you like to be the 14th patient going in for surgery? I initially chose him from a billboard and then researched everyone. He was the second dr that I saw. The first dr scared me so bad that I almost didn't go to a second dr. Dr. NIck just made me feel so comfortable and his office is sooo nice!!! If you want to know more, I'll be happy to speak with you by phone or email. I'll see if I can figure out how to private msg you on this thing so you have my contact info.

I went back to work after a week for half days. I was back full time after 2 wks. I was a little tired that second week back, but that was it. I am 6 wks out and have felt completely fine to do whatever since about wk 3.

HI there, I am only going to answer the questions that apply to me, so hopefully, they will help. I'm married, so #1 is out. I'm am too early to know about #3 & #4. 2. I'm only 6 wks out so I haven't lost any hair yet. Hair loss is attributed to 2 factors. One is an avoidable and one isn't. Any time you have surgery with a general anesthesia, you will lose hair between 3-6 months. Don't know why but it happens, so no control. The other factor (controllable) is hair loss due to lack of nutrition. If you take your Vitamins and eat your Proteins, then you can avoid some hair loss for this reason. Now, there is no way to prevent it from falling out, but you can promote new hair growth before you start losing yours so it's not as noticable. I take Biotin, zinc and Iron which all promote hair growth and I use nioxin shampoo. It's kind of pricey, but this is what I am doing to help generate new hair growth which can take up to 2 months before it starts. 5. AS soon as I started the pre op diet, I started telling everyone who asked that I was going to make 2011 the yr of health....weight loss, exercise etc. I was a soft drink fanantic and gave those up. People really didn't notice my eating habits changing because they just thought I started a diet. About 4 wks into it, people started noticing the weight and were actually encouraging me on my diet and telling me to keep up the good work. 6. I had one complete total pity party about day 8 when I just didn't think I could stand one more liquid. That was it. I don't regret one minute. Now, granted, I have only done this for 6 weeks and am down 20 lbs. But I just love it. I love the restriction. I don't miss the food and I don't miss or crave soft drinks which was my fear. I am 48 yrs old with an 8 yr old and I am going to put on a swimsuit and go swimming with her this year!! I wish I would have done it sooner. Good luck to you. I know it's a hard decision with a lot to think about, but I definitely think it is worth it. And, my husband is very happy that I did, too.

I'm so sorry that you had a bad day. I completely went through the same thing. Believe it or not, tomorrow will be so much better. As for sleeping, I slept in a recliner for about 10 days. It let me sleep propped up which helped and it was easier to get in and out of. I was really sore, so to lay flat and use my stomach muscles to get in and out of bed hurt. If you don't have a recliner, try sleeping propped up on the couch. I feel like the 2 week mark was a turning point for me. I wasn't really sore anymore. Sometimes, I would have a pain here and there, but nothing like week one. As for liquids, I went on full liquids on day 8. Creamy Soups helped so much because they gave me more flavors than the clear liquids. So here is something to look forward to....yesterday (7th) was my official one month. I have lost 17 lbs and I started at 202. This week, several people in my office noticed my weight loss. And my last win, I went shopping last nt and am down one size!! Hang in there!! It definitely gets better!!

I get mine at Kroger and live in Tx. It's what I survived on for the first 2 wks!! Love this stuff and has 13 grams of protein once you mix in the skim milk.

SN............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.........Lbs to Goal Avilda..............275.................187..............177..............10 Brendasgonnalose..335.....236.............225...............16 Cwalker..........250.................180..............170..............10 Ibejjo...............249..................249............229................20 Juliarh.............230..................230..............215...........15 Kimmes............239..................222..............200............22 Kgremmy.........225.................210..............199..............11 LeslieH...........212..................212.............199..............13 LilMissDiva.......235..................235.............220..............15 Mommy2Girls....275.................240..............228..............12 Moni luv..........190.................190..............178..............12 MRSKOUBIK....317..................283.............267..............16 pattimomof3nj..203.4..............167.1..........155...............12.1 Sailorgirl...........240.................220..............200..............20 Sleeve 4 me...166..................166.............154..............12 Yolanda240.....236.................203..............170..............33 Drysdale .........202.................186..............174...............12 PamelaAM . . . .250. . . . . . . . 200. . . . . . .190. . . . . . . .10

SN............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.........Lbs to Goal Avilda..............275.................187..............177..............10 Brendasgonnalose..335.....236.............225...............16 Cwalker..........250.................180..............170..............10 Ibejjo...............249..................249............229................20 Juliarh.............230..................230..............215...........15 Kimmes............239..................222..............200............22 Kgremmy.........225.................210..............199..............11 LeslieH...........212..................212.............199..............13 LilMissDiva.......235..................235.............220..............15 Mommy2Girls....275.................240..............228..............12 Moni luv..........190.................190..............178..............12 MRSKOUBIK....317..................283.............267..............16 pattimomof3nj..203.4..............167.1..........155...............12.1 Sailorgirl...........240.................220..............200..............20 Sleeve 4 me...166..................166.............154..............12 Yolanda240.....236.................203..............170..............33 Drysdale .........202.................186..............174...............12 PamelaAM . . . .250. . . . . . . . 200. . . . . . .190. . . . . . . .10

My answer is this...if I could have done it the natural way, then I would be thin by now. Surgery isn't a cure. It is another tool in weight loss. I want and need to be thinner for my health, for work, for my family, etc. All the same reasons that almost everyone else has had surgery. Once sleeved, you still have to follow a diet and exercise program. The surgery just makes it a little easier to control the diet part. Just know that you are doing this for your present and long term health. This is a tool that will last a lifetime so you can be healthy for a long, long time!! I hope this helps. You are on the right track by starting the process.

Day 3 & 4 were my WORST days. I didn't anticipate how much pain I would be in because everyone told me that I would just sail through this procedure. I agree that you need to keep hydrated. I slept in a recliner for a week because it was where I could get comfortable. It felt better for me to be a little propped up instead of laying completely flat. I'm sorry that you aren't liking chocolate. I drank the Carnation Instant breakfast with skim milk for a protein shake. As for vanilla, I think that the Atkins protein vanilla tastes the best. Get your fluids in and try to get at least 2 protein shakes in so you can get 30 grams of protein. You are still weak from surgery and now you have a change in your diet as well. It will get better. Day 7 was my turning point and Day 14, my side wasn't even sore anymore. Hang in there and keep coming here. It helps!!

I was sleeved on Dec 7th and I went through this too. I can't remember what day...maybe day 6. But, there was a day that I just couldn't stop crying. The next day was better. I'm about 25 days out now, have lost 15 lbs and feeling fine emotionally. There were days when my brain wanted food but my body wasn't hungry. When this happens, I go read these boards to try to change my thoughts and it does pass. It will and does get better. It also gets better once you get to go on mushies. It will only take you a couple of bites to get full, but just being among those eating helps alot. I even went to a Mexican food restaurant this week, ordered soup and did not have one chip with hot sauce. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Hang in there. Come here for support. I've only been here a month, but this cyberworld is terrific and will give you so much!

I was sleeved on the 7th and have lost 16 lbs. I have a total of 72 lbs to lose, so I think that is a win. Try and look at the percentage you have lost. I've lost about 20% of my excess weight. There are 2 things that I have noticed about getting sleeved and this board. It seems that the less you have to lose the slower you will lose. I'm not sure why, but that seems to be the case. People who have more to lose tend to lose more right off the bat. Also, the WLS diet is heavy Protein and very Atkin's Diet like. The Atkin's Diet is high protein/low carbs and throws your body into ketosis. All this means it that your body uses fat for energy. When you are in ketosis (there are urine strips you can purchase at the drugstore if you want to know), you can lose between 2-4 lbs a week. The Atkin's Diet limits you initially to only 20 grams of carbs per day. So, yes, everyone is different. Low calories can stall a weight loss, but it will get going again. I'm not sure what you are eating, but I would limit your carbs and keep your liquids up. It might help.

It's this ball of medicine that is attached to a tiny tube and the tube goes under your skin and down to the staple line. It releases pain medicine to help with the internal pain of your sleeve. That's how it was explain to me. The tube is much smaller that the drain tube. It's a little bit of hassle because you have to carry it around with you everywhere and make sure the you don't catch it on anything. Some people go home with a drain which I didn't have to do. The pain ball tube didn't hurt to remove, but I thought the drain removal was pretty painful. Anyway, it's a ball of pain medicine for your insides..

SFO....it took me a week to go poo....6 days to be exact and then I became pretty regular. Brownbear....I did have a pain ball of meds. I went home with it and they said it would last about a day. Once it was empty, I was suppose to remove it myself and throw it away. I guess mine worked because it was deflated the next day when I awoke in the morning. And, I also notice more pain when it was gone, but that could have been psychological...who knows. But yes, I did have one. I just wish it would have lasted longer. Glad you are feeling better and things aren't so 'sleepy' anymore.

yep, it's the IV. You will eliminate the fluids in the next couple of days. I waited a week to weigh because of the IV fluids and was down almost 8 lbs from my hospital weigh in. Just keep sipping your fluids and try to get your protein in. Those lbs will go away. And congrats on getting sleeved. I'm 3 wks out and have lost 15 lbs which I consider good. I started at 202. Good luck!!

From my research, I found that leaks were caused more by the patient than the dr or the procedure. There is a reason there is a strict diet. My dr has one of the more strict diets from what I have seen on these boards....1 wk clear liquids, 2 wks of full liquids, 3 wks of mushies and by wk 7 you can start eating small portions of other food. My dr told me that as long as I followed the diet, then I shouldn't have any leaks. But, if I ate foods to early, then I could pop my staple line and land myself in the hospital with a leak. He told me that he had one patient try and eat a hamburger in wk 2, popped his seam and went back in. So, I am at day 24. I just started my mushies and I have not had any problems, but I am a rule follower. I also haven't had any problems staying n the diets once I got past the clear liquids. You just aren't that hungry and when you do have a protein shake or soup, it takes a long time to get it down. Hope this helps.

I was a diet coke addict myself. I would get a route 44 diet cherry coke every morning on my way to work. I bought my last one on Dec 6 the day before I was sleeved. I actually cried on my way to work because I was in mourning of my daily routine. I went cold turkey on Dec 7th. The caffeine withdrawls weren't bad for me because I was on my pain meds for surgery, so I missed all the headaches. I have to tell you. I don't even crave a soda now. It's weird. To have had the same habit for DECADES, and it's over in just a matter of weeks. Bizarre. Hopefully, you will have the same reaction and not have the craving at all.

I've heard that some people received a card that you can give the waiter that will allow you to order smaller meals or off the kids menu. Where did you get this card....from your Dr or your NUT? I didn't get one and wanted to ask about getting one. Thanks.

It seems that every NUT is different and everyone is on a different diet schedule. So, my question is when did/can you start mushies and what are your mushies? I am at day 18 (sleeved 12/7) and I can start mushies on day 22 or starting my 4th week. My mushies are puddings, jellos, mashed potatoes, deli meats, yogurts, scrambled eggs, etc. Anyway, I am just curious because I am dying to take a bite, but I am such a rule follower. Thanks for any input. :confused_smile:

I was sleeved on Dec 7th too. We are almost the same. My starting weight was 202 and I am at 187. I'm down 15 lbs. I say congrats to us! Here's to a skinny 2011!

Thanks for posting this. You look wonderful and it gives us newbies such hope and motivation!

Thanks everyone. I really like the idea of getting the to go box upfront and putting it off to the side.

Yay for you! Tomorrow I am 3 wks out, am down 15 lbs and it's the best decision that I have ever made. I was worried about getting through all the Christmas dinners, but it was much easier than I thought. Can't wait to hear how you are doing!

While dieters do experience hair loss due to lack of nutrition, your hair loss is probably due to your surgery. Anesthisia cause hair loss about 3-6 months post op for all surgeries. So the sooner you can get a jump on new hair growth by taking biotin, zinc and using hair products, the better.