lizv123

I saw this in two forums so thought I'd say something I had a pre-op diet but some on here had diets MUCH stricter than mine. There are even some who had no diet at all. Those cases make me raise my eyebrow. Not for the patients but the doctor. The low sodium diet most patients are on is to shrink the liver. If the liver is too fatty during a laparoscopic procedure there's a chance they may have to do the old school big incision. Even if you're not on a pre op diet I recommend watching what you eat and the sodium in it. It's also a good time to start practicing! Chewing 20+ times with each bite, eating without drinking, and waiting between each bite

I had to have extensive weight records, too. I went to my PCP and what we did was send my highest weight of the year for the last five years. (maybe 7, I don't remember) good luck! If you really need this you'll find a way to make it happen.

I haven't had this problem but just saw a commercial for a vaginal moisturizing suppository that works for 2-3 days. Check your pharmacy!

I have a problem with constipation. I tried dulcolax, benefiber, prune juice, and even stoppe my iron supplement. The nurse in my surgeon's office had RNY 10 years ago and turned me to flax seed. Works wonders! Whole, not ground. I put 2 spoonfuls in oatmeal or with yogurt. The texture takes some getting used to but the effects are entirely worth it. They taste kind of nutty.

I didn't have pancreatitis but a leak. I HATED the NG tube. It was one of the worst things about being in the hospital. I'm telling you the removal was the best/worst 3 seconds of my life. Like you, it made me gag so much. I was in zofran, phenergan, toradol, and a scop patch just for nausea. And the morphine. Strict npo for over a month. If there is any advice I can give you it's this: DO NOT let them send you home without tapering off your pain meds!!! I got 1mg morphine every 6 minutes for a month and they sent me home cold turkey. Almost ended back in the hospital because I was so sick to my stomach. Good luck! Keep us posted! And soon enough this will all be a thing of the past

^ it also has a TON to do with the high levels of estrogen. Too much estrogen=nt enough hair. Your fat cells store estrogen and when they're being shed, especially rapidly, your hair will thin. Luckily as far as my hair is concerned, I'm a slow loser and haven't lost any. I also switched to a low/no estrogen birth control pill. There are plenty out there. They're only 98% effective while pills with estrogen are 99% but you should use a barrier method the first 18-24 months anyway to avoid pregnancy while you're in the super fertile zone so 1% shouldn't matter.

The surgery bag is a must. But I wish I had packed a "just in case" bag. I had complications and went to the emergency room twice before my big leak fiasco. It wouldn't hurt to have a secondary bag at home just in case you need to make a trip back to the hospital for fluids or anything. You don't feel like packing after surgery and what's it hurt to keep an extra bag sitting around for a week or two? Good luck!

I had my sleeve in November and sometimes my stomach still makes noises. As long as its not nausea, I think it's normal

And don't count on the ghrelin thing. My sleeve itself is textbook now and I still get hungry. Some of us just still get that way. Now that I'm post op though, my hunger shows itself as nausea and not the previous growling sensation.

I'm going to briefly piggyback. My leak was a fluke. Not the surgeons error or mine, just an almost deadly random occurrence. And to the OP, sorry if this is redundant. I had complications and for that, and the effect it has on me still, I regret this surgery. I don't regret the positive aspects. I know longer have dangerous drops in my blood sugar, my blood pressure is normal, and I've lost weight (albeit slowly.) I'm on the fence when it comes to the question "would I get it again?" I still vividly remember how scary the leak was. And of course the first place I lost weight was my butt. What tiny cushioning I had for my tailbone is gone so I sit on bone...or a super unsexy cushion that at least makes me sit a few inches taller in my car I vomit randomly from esophageal spasms, and I still am not even close to having my strength back to normal. My godson is a year old and I can barely hold him standing up. I researched my surgery years before I even pursued it with my insurance company. I was completely confident in my knowledge of physical and mental changes. I have no intention of scaring you. I want to remind you that ANYONE can get a leak. I followed the rules to a T and still got one. It happens and it's awful. But when it comes to people regretting this with no complications the numbers are growing. More people regret surgery now than when I joined this site. The surgery has also gained TONS of advertising. I would bet most people who regret their surgery and had no complications are those who didn't do enough research and/or saw this as a magic obesity cure. They see people who lost 100+ lbs and assume it was all the surgery. Not true. The sleeve helped but it was their dedication to a lifestyle change that made them lose so much and it didn't happen overnight. Or they've heard "I know so and so had it done and they look great!" This isn't cosmetic surgery and people think it is without researching. It's not a way to drop 30-40 lbs easily. It's a big commitment and more people are getting it without realizing that massive truth.

I'm back and 5 months post op. Hello men's room! I'm a slow loser, only lost 50lbs do far but I will take it with a smile (and after a leak) grateful to be alive! I haven't lost any hair, I can actually fit in my fiancé's boxers and get back in some cuter clothes and my sex drive is.... GONE! Completely! What the crap?!

Can't we all just praise nothing and get along And just my feelings on the matter, if you don't like what's being said on a sub forum or specific thread, it's a big site. Shuffle around. After all, there are only so many ways your religious affiliation or lack there of can be related to your research for this surgery.

I had no problems on Prilosec. But if Dexilant isn't working you should maybe ask your dr for an upper GI? Also, sleep propped up! Makes it much harder for the acid to fight gravity (I use 4 pillows)

Jerky is packed full of protein! It's a good snack. And the turkey jerky and chicken jerky doesn't have a high sodium content. Yogurt and cheese are always good.

Honestly, its very hard to say if it changed the flavor of things during puréed stage because after surgery everything tasted and still does taste a little different than before. But by the time you hit puréed diet, you'll be elated with anything that doesn't taste like broth or jello

Been awhile since I weighed myself and have been on here. But after a hellacious 24hr stomach bug I'm at 219. -55lbs!!

Hello sweet Sannah! Thinking of you darlin'

I had a leak. They did 2 leak tests before closing me up but none before releasing me and my doctor told me its because theyre pointless so soon post op due to the swollen tissue. I was unsure of this reasoning until I was admitted into the hospital a second time. I went to the ER twice with chest pains. The first time we all thought it was a flare up of costochondritis because I've had it before and it goes hand in hand with fibromyalgia (which I have.) The pain was almost identical until my second ER trip. It hurt to breathe, no pain medication or hot/cold compresses helped and I started vomiting. Gagging happened constantly for me post op. But the number one symptom NEVER showed for me. I NEVER spiked a fever! My second ER trip they did a CT scan and found a small abscess and admitted me. The next morning I had exploratory surgery where they tested for a leak with air, water, and dye. No leak was found. They put in a drain and an NG tube. Hooked me up to fluids and TPN, and I was strict NPO. A fee days later they did an endoscopy and it didn't a leak. After just over a week (about 3 weeks after surgery) they did a barium swallow and that was the first time the leak was visible. Due to the swelling, even with surgery so soon after the initial operation it couldn't be seen. I was in the hospital for a month. 27ish days of which I was strict NPO (not even water or ice chips.) My abscess tested positive for hemocratic strep and later I tested positive for MRSA. You'll know if you have a leak. Its not a pain you can ignore. I'm grateful my suture line had a month to heal without anything in my stomach to digest, but it's caused my sleeve to relax sooner than most. I can eat way more than 4oz. But I'll take it It's made me a slow loser, and because of that I haven't lost any hair yet either I've never slimed, dumped, or over indulged. I've been sick when eating ground beef, I'm just intolerant to it for now. My leak was very close to the esophagus/ top of y stomach, and it was 1 suture that had slipped. My surgeons said it was no fault of my own. Either a shotty staple or a tear from the intense esophageal spasms I had post op. Don't worry darlin' you'll know if you're leaking. And this early on, dont hesitate to call or see your surgeon. Better safe than sorry. But as long as you follow your diet, measure diligently, and don't over do it on exercise or daily activity you should be fine!

When I puréed mine I ran is through a strainer to keep some of the bean skins out. It worked fine!

I have no problem with bread crumbs whatsoever. But I try to incorporate some nutritional yeast if I'm using panko just for the added protein

Nausea is your stomach's way of expressing pain. The stomach has no pain receptors so nausea is the closest signal it can give your brain. At 5 weeks I'd say it's still some pain from healing. But I'm glad you're going to see your surgeon! Keep us posted!

That IS a nightmare The crazy dreams are a prolonged side effect of anesthesia. I had such vivid dreams in the hospital my nurses would come in and wake me because my pulse and Oxygen levels would change. They said its normal. And I don't have those dreams anymore