Jellyfish

Firstly, I had surgery 8 weeks ago. My highest weight was 338 last year November-ish. I weighed 333 before my 1 week pre-op liquid diet. I weighed 316 the day before surgery. I now weigh 273. I've lost 65 pounds. I'm expecting to hit the 260's in the next 4 days. I am expecting to lose 70 pounds in the next 7 days. I want to Celebrate this but it was such an unhappy unpleasant process to losing this weight. Let me break it down: Week 1 post op - I was sore but recovered very well. I was always exhausted and I slept a lot. I was on a 0 sugar liquid diet. Keep in mind I was also on a 1 week pre-op 0 sugar or low sugar liquid diet the week before. Week 2 post- I was weak. I could barely walk around. I gave up on the 0 sugar or low sugar part of the diet. I did not care what my doctor's nutrition plan said. Gatorade was my savior! Powerade was my friend! 0 artificial sugar added apple juice diluted with Water got me through the week. On top of that, I was starving. I tried to eat a spoon full of tuna on Wednesday but I threw it up immediately. I thought about food a lot. Someone told me i need counselling cause it was "head hunger". I actually collapsed one morning when I got out of bed and fell into the wall. That's when I knew It was not head hunger. I couldn't leave the house. I wasn't fit to drive. Weeks 3 - 4 - I began to eat which was amazing. I was on a soft food diet. I didn't eat everyday because i couldn't. I couldn't always hold food down. I vomited occasionally. However, I was happy I could eat at all. It had been 3 weeks without food. Yogurt was like a blessing. Still I didn't eat daily and mostly drank cranberry juice and orange juice all the time with chew-able multi-Vitamins. I began throwing up pills. I think inflammation was making it hard for me to swallow anything solid. My throat was very inflamed so i switched to chewables. Week 5 - Horrible. I was stronger thanks to the juice. My wounds were healed but I threw up fairly often wether I had eaten or not. I began spitting up mucus. I had Nausea all the time. I developed severe Acid reflux. I took chew-able tums. Itwas trying really hard to not let it interfere with my life and relationship but I had to stay home alot. I really wanted to be working out but i wasn't well. I found temporary relief in slushies and slurpees and began having one everyday from juice shops, cafes or 711. Some days I had 2. They just went down so easy and the ice particles felt amazing against my throat. Much of the inflammation went away. I was eating pho Soup and thin slices of meat in the beginning of the week but by the end of it, Slushies were my only thing. Food, just brought on too much acid reflux. Week 6 - to now (week 8) - The acid reflux intensified to the point where I needed something better than tums. It was horrible in week 6. I started taking Zantac. Slushies and ice slushed drinks are still the only thing that go down easy. Most juices are intolerable because they are too acidic. By the end of week 7, the acid reflux calmed alot and I just had occasional heart burn. I take less Zantac pills now. . I either spit up or vomit up mucus almost every day for the last 2 weeks. Decongestant pills work for a day or two but makes me throw up horribly soon after taking it. I was throwing up bile. I started using therflu drink. It was working but now the taste is intolerable. Last time, i even threw that up. So I'm avoiding medication. I spit up everyday, all day, throughout the day. I keep a bottle in the car to spit in. I sometimes throw up mucus while driving. I felt strong enough to exercise so last week I went to the gym and jogging outside a couple times. I wanted to do more but then spitting up mucus became constant. I had to spit every few minutes. I had to stop jogging or walking sometimes to throw up. I spit when i'm out with friends. It happens even when I don't eat. I'm spitting into a bottle as I type this. It will go away eventually and it isn't getting any worse than it is but it is definitely a burden. It doesn't hurt but It's gross. I usually eat once a day but not everyday. I didn't eat anything yesterday. The spitting makes eating too tedious. I ate alot on Sunday though. I ate like 6 or 7 bites of food that whole day because i was vacationing but i still spent the day spitting. Now, 2 days later i'm still full and haven't eaten anything. I drink milk, slushies and vitamins. Surprisingly, I lost 5 pounds in the last 2 days. The eating may have actually boosted my metabolism. Makes sense given how little I eat. Is there anyone with this spitting problem? Is their a temporary solution? I've lost weight but in a very crappy way. I've been unwell most of the last 6 weeks. It's affected everything. My relationship, my social life and my career moves have mostly been on pause. I believe that this is just a temporary problem and that the body will recover from it eventually. I just wish i had a temporary solution for this one. In any case, I plan on working out this week. I really expect to lose alot of weight by the Friday of next week. Atleast 10 pounds is my goal but we'll see .

I was told by the patient liason that the spitting is normal and not to worry about it because it hasn't yet been two months since I had the surgery. As of today, I'm 1.6 pounds away from 70 lbs lost. I'm not content so I'm calling back today to see if there is any kind of medication to help.

You're not suppose to submerge yourself in water for 6 weeks or so my doctor said. I really don't think 10 day is enough but you can absolutely go and walk through the shallow part of the water. That might be fun too.

Thanks. I'll try to hydrate more. Unfortunately, searching that term in the search engine forums content only brings up your comment in my blog.

Thanks. I don't have any allergies. I never tried a nasal spray because my nose isn't congested and I didn't know if that would work on chest. Decongestants do in fact work though. I'll probably force down some theraflu later but as someone said above, I actually might be dehydrated. I don't consume alot on a day to day basis. It didn't occur to me until someone pointed it out because I don't feel dehydrated. I feel normal and I drink but I'm looking at my drinks and I actually don't finish alot of my drinks. I usually never finish a bottle of Water. I generally sip on it slowly all day. So i'll try drinking alot more today.

Oh boy. Here we go. 1. I haven't spoken to my surgeon. I intended to go to the doctor until next week. 2. No I wasn't suppose to have tuna until week 3. I was just really hungry in the middle of week 2. 3. I have no idea what PPI is? 4. I think I said this in my post. I stay away from juices because they are usually too acidic. It's usually spit. Occasionally its mucus or "slime" or whatever. I don't keep along of how much I drink but I'm drinking a slushy right now. Well actually its more crushed ice and a small amount of very watered down juice and a bottle of Water. I keep a bottle of water with me cause i am not a fan of sweet things. Given that my diet is mostly liquid, its odd to think i'm dehydrated but now that I think about it, I don't drink a lot. I guess I should drink more. I have no problem holding down fluids.

I'm aware that my liquid diet has me incredibly moody but everything I said is still how I feel. Maybe the way i said it could of been nicer. WHen you saw the email of my comment, you had the option of ignoring it and chose not to. Funny enough, you told me to ignore circa and just like you, I chose not to. I called circa some names. You called me some names. I think all is fair and done. I have no regrets. I stood up for myself. I'm vindicated in the fact that I say I'm a strong willed person who doesn't back down. Then I follow through with my actions. I don't tell people to ignore comments they don't like and then respond to comments I don't like. I would never tell someone not to call another names and then call them names. The case is resolved. In the future I'll do my best to adhere to the appropriate language but, I truly have no regret. Circa has been told and so have you. Good luck with your weight loss as well!!

Divorcing food is as difficult and emotional as divorcing a person. I am serious. I don't regret having this procedure done because I've lost 30 pounds and I'm 1 week post op. However, seeing delicious food in front of you and knowing you can't eat it because you're fresh out of surgery really burns. In fact, knowing I can't eat it because it'll make my stomach hurt and I'll probably throw it up is what really burns. I've been watching videos of food recently because I haven't seen solid food in pretty much 2 weeks. It's probably not a good habit but its already a habit so the way I see it, I can't eat but I can at least look at it. I thought that my stomach is healing fine and faster than usual, so the other day I had some tuna. It was about 1 spoon full of tuna. My bodies reaction wasn't pleasant. Long story short, my stomach is 100% not ready for solid food or even soft food but that doesn't stop food from looking good. I want to lose 100% of my excess weight. At this point in time, The reason I want to lose weight the most, is so I can eat. Is that weird? I want to eat lasagna one day and with absolutely no thought of my weight in my head. I want BBQ porked. I want to have Georgian, Armenian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese, Caribbean, Italian and more in my regular life. Obviously, not all at once. I'm very scared by love of food. People say you have to reset your mind with this surgery. I feel that, although i don't mind giving up sweets things like soda, candy, Cookies and deserts (not a fan of sugary things), I don't want to give up meat and carbs. After I reach my goal weight, I'm really hoping that I can find the perfect balance of eating things I love and maintaining my weight loss and health. This has just been on my mind all day. I think this is my initial shock to realizing that the sleeve is permanent. Unfortunately I have been feeling hunger as of late but It's definitely a lot more manageable than in my pre-op diet. How do you people feel about food? How has your day to day diet changed? What do you eat when you eat out? What foods do you find affect your weight the most? I know the VSG allows one to eat what they like in the end but I know many people cut things out completely because of the fear for weight gain. How do you guys feel about food?

I don't mind if you close the thread because It is obviously not going well but I can assure you the name calling is done. This situation where Lile gets involved makes no sense to me. It just got out of hand.

Jasleeve, I hope that your only going through a short period of suffering for a lifetime of happiness. Your situation seems to be pretty bad. Did you feel any symptoms with your leak? Did your stomach feel funny or did you feel fine and were surprised when the doctors told you? Is your insurance covering the ER bills and stuff?

What do you eat ? What's your normal dinner?

My post specifically asked, "What do you guys eat when you go out? What foods affect your weight the most? How do you feel about food?" I even gave circa an example of the type of information i was hoping to get. She ignored it. After reflecting on the conversation, I stand behind what I said. You chose to get yourself involved for no reason. In the process of telling me not to call people names, you called me immature, nasty and suggested i delete my account. SHe said something I found offensive. SO I responded. You felt that was offensive so you responded. Isn't that the EXACT same thing? So it's OK for you to call me names about a situation but not for me? Your doing exactly what your telling me not to. I find that hypocritical. Frankly, the whole dumb hoe thing would not have come up if you didn't get involved.I think my and circa's conversation actually ended before you added your last comment. By getting involved, not only did you make the conversation worse but you also made it longer. I may be immature but I'm honest, very strong willed and I stand up for myself. I am who I am. Not everyone is going to like it or how I express myself. So I told her what I needed to say. I regret it not. I don't think you are being any more mature by getting involved and taking sides. I think the case is resolved now.

No. She's being rude and she deserves to be told she's a dumb hoe. I don't start fights but I will finish one.

I am normal. I have a perfectly normal feeling towards food. If your trying to make me feel bad cause I had 1 spoon of pureed tuna on my second week of being post-op, you can hold your breathe because I don't feel ashamed at all. I simply tested where my stomach is at. I will be allowed to have pureed meat in 3 days anyways. I am honest about it. I'm honest about my feelings. I'm not going to let you or anyone tell me there is something wrong with me when I followed my nutrition plan so well. You have no right or place to tell me I have an obsession. You are not a psychologist. I haven't eaten in two weeks. I watched some food shows. I miss food. I should miss food. I think that's healthy. I want to lose weight so I can eat without shame. It makes perfect sense to me. You're being fake and unrealistic because IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE that one day when we are all thinner we will feel alot less shame having a piece of white bread with our meal. As a heavy person, I often feel bad when I eat certain things because there is a voice in my head saying, "You should be on a diet." I feel bad if I drink the sweetened ice tea or eat the roasted pork but I believe when I'm thinner and in control of my weight, I'll be able to eat and have a normal relationship with food. That's my prerogative. That's what I said in my first post which maybe you didn't real. It makes a hell of a lot of sense and I'm sticking to it.

I don't drink Protein shakes at the moment. My nutrition plan says not to have them until next week when I begin soft food. At the moment, I only have Clear liquids. My apple juice ran out and at this point i do not like apple juice. So I've been on Water and sugar free popsicles. I'm now down to 20 calories a day but its just for 4 more days. I'll survive but obviously, I'm looking forward to eating again. Like I said before, I don't like deserts. I don't hate ice cream. I just don't like it. The last time I had ice cream was probably, a year ago. (It's that serious) but I don't stand that some food are high calorie in small portion. I realize we are going to eat smaller portions but when I posted my comment i was thinking about the things worth having and things worth avoiding.

This isn't about you. You came unto MY THREAD and told ME I need to go get counselling cause my situation is bad. I've was watching cooking shows and food shows alot yesterday. I don't normally watch TV. My tv doesn't even have the cable plugged into it. Yesterday I found myself watching food shows online cause I was home, I was bored and after two weeks of not eating, I'm a little hungry.You are trying to make me feel ashamed of that but to me, I don't think I did anything wrong that warrants me have a obsession that needs therapy. So anyone who watches episodes of Iron chef online needs to see Doctor Phil? This isn't about you or your situation. I don't care about your situation. I made my post so I can have a forum on something I WANTED to talk about and not be insulted or told I need help by someone like you.

You completely missed the point of my post. You ignored the questions I asked and now you are now projecting your issues with food unto my posts. If you need counselling, you can go an get it. I love food. I don't think the love of food is unhealthy. I don't think it's sabotage. I simply need to find the right balance of healthy choices. I never said anything about a big juicy hamburger. That was all you. You're doing the same thing you've probably done every single time you've gone on a diet which is to say, "This time I'll stick to it." This is not a diet. This is a life change. Eventually you are gonna have to eat and you are going to eat some of the foods you ate before surgery. Be realistic. It's just a matter of eating the right portions and enough healthy food to maintain your weight and health. This is not a diet you can sabotage. This is a life style we are building. Mine will have lasagna and BBQ in it at some point because this isn't a fad. This is what your diet will be FOREVER but if you want to tell me your going to eat salad for the rest of your life then go ahead and lie to yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that someday you will have a hamburger again.

I don't see what this has to do with the question I asked you. I am glad you have a therapist. I don't need one. All I need to do is be HONEST and admit that if I live another 60 years, at some point I will eat BBQ. That realistic. I specifically pointed out that I'm gonna work to lose 100% of my excess weight so that I can eat something without feeling bad. That's me being realistic. I was just asking people who are sleeved, more about food and how they go about eating the things they want and still maintain the health and weight management aspect of it all in a normal, realistic way. You didn't address any of the questions I asked. I was already referring to long term diet.

Lol. Exactly but I don't think their is anything to howl and cry about. I don't understand why anyone is mourning food. I don't think anyone has sabotaged their diet by breaking the rules. I think we sabotage or diet by saying we will never eat ___________ again. For me, I know I'm gonna eat the foods i love before I die unless an accident happens because it's not realistic to think that in the next 50 years, I'll only have _________. We need to lose this weight. Then develop a healthy relationship with food. A normal relationship. It seems many people on this thread are pretending, as they have done in every diet they've probably been on, that this time their gonna stick to their nutrition plan for life. I think NO ONE can live the rest of their life on a nutrition plan. If the diet failed in the past, its cause it wasn't realistic. It's ok tho, I've found people on youtube who have had the sleeve, lost the weight and are HONEST about what they actually eat. Many of them eat much healthier for the most part but they do go out to eat like normal and order delicious foods. That's the reality of this thing as a long term tool. 10 years After you've reached your weight loss goal, what do you think your diet will look like?

There is nothing wrong with loving food. I think we often fail in our diets because we make food our enemy and we attempt to remove food we enjoy completely from our lives. It hasn't worked in the past. I don't think carbs or lasagna is death. I love lasagna but I've only had it once in the last year. I want to have a normal relationship with food. I want to eat the things i like. I just want to find a balance between eating stuff I like such as greek food and having good health and normal weight. I think both can exist at the same time. Maybe I should point out I never liked sugary foods. I hate donuts. I don't think hamburgers are especially delicious unless they are made fresh. I like eating things like Vietnamese baquettes, caprese sandwiches, BBQ, Lasagna and so on. I know that many of the sleeved people out their eat the things they love in some kind of moderation and maintain their weight loss and health. I wanted to discuss that. Not this fear tactic of a heart attack or diabetes because I have a very healthy heart, normal cholesterol, normal blood pressure and no other health related issues. Thanks for commenting tho. I get where you're coming from in the pre-sleeve aspect of it but I'm on my second week of the sleeve and I'm thinking about what my eating will be like 6 months from now.

It isn't practical to think you won't be hungry forever or you're going to be on this vertical sleeve diet forever. So I wanted to be REAL and just talk about food. I don't think I have head hunger. I haven't eaten solid food in two weeks. I'm not dealing with head hunger. I'm dealing with actual hunger. Our bodies are actually in starvation. That's where the weight loss is coming from. Therefore, my body is in fact hungry. Thanks to the sleeve I don't feel the hunger as severely but I am in fact feeling a small amount of REAL hunger. As for this ending really bad, what are you talking about? I had one spoon full of pureed tuna and all of a sudden my situation is dire? Because you just had your surgery and your dreaming of being thin, I understand that your hell bent on being against food but food was never my enemy and I don't want to live with food as my enemy. I just want to live with food in some kind of reasonable balance and I wanted to see how other people feel about food. That was the point of the original post and you didn't really have much to say. You had surgery on the 27th. I didn't feel any hunger at all on day 4 because of the IV drip i had in for 2 days. My body felt very satisfied. However I had surgery on the 24th and I've been on Water and sugar free apple juice. I consume maybe 100 calories a day thanks to the apple juice and so my body has kind of gone back into starving mode and so I don't think it's unreasonable for me to think of food.

Cheer up. It's only been 6 or 7 days since your surgery. The mistake your making is worrying too much and rushing yourself. You will get better at this. You just need to be calm and rational. Follow your doctor's instructions as best you can. Always hop back onto the band wagon and just have patience. You'll be fine.