pmoore

I could take maybe 3 bites of a sub. The bread takes up too much valuable stomach real estate . . So I will always pass on bread. I am not pushing volume of food. Too big of a decision to have surgery to risk stretching anything too far. I use to love really good coffee. Now I can barely stand the smell. I'm 12 weeks post-op. don't think the coffee is ever coming back which makes me sad but it was a comfort beverage for me.

I am 13 weeks post-op & went to my 1st yoga class last week. Prior to surgery, I worked out HARD 6 days a wk with a trainer on 3 of those days . . Super high impact cardio, weights, biking, running, on & on & on & barely lost weight. I have zero metabolism. Hence, surgery. I am consistently losing weight now but miss the muscle tone. I never did yoga because, frankly, I felt I couldn't get enough calorie burn from yoga. My 1st yoga class was Devine. To think I may be able to slow down a bit & actually enjoy something relaxing like yoga is a gift. My goal before was to burn as many calories as possible . . My goal now is to find exercise more rewarding & enjoyable. It's like a whole new world that I still don't really believe is "my" world now.

Since I have been every size over the years, I've kept the nice clothes in variety of sizes. Everyone tells me to go shopping & I say "I'm shopping in my own closet for now". I can't shake the "tricks" to hiding your weight when buying clothes . . You all know what I'm talking about . . The big linen shirts over a tank & yoga pants to camouflage the rolls . . Ha, ha. It's been hard to actually look at shorts & other clothes. BUT boy is it great when you realize . . Life is going to be different now

I am not able to tolerate protein powder post-op (whey, soy, etc). I was lactose intolerant before surgery & that has not changed. Each am I blend 1/2 c unsweetened plain (or vanilla) almond milk with 1/2 c plain Kefir, lg TBSP Greek yogurt, 1/2 banana, & chocolate sugar-free Carnation instant breakfast. This is getting old. I added a spoon of peanut butter once but it was too rich for me. Any new smoothie suggestions that does not include protein powder? I am always trying to get as much protein in this smoothie as I can WITHOUT protein powder.

The only food "change" for me has been coffee. I LOVED coffe before surgery. Drank it every am & knew exactly what was "good" coffee. Now . . CAN NOT tolerate the taste. And I am still grieving. I miss that warm, bitter morning tradition. Actually, I am completely caffeine free . . Probably haven't been caffeine free since I was 14 years old . . Ha, ha.

How are the central Texas sleevers doing? I am 9 weeks post-op. I'm doing g8t . . Down 25 lbs & have finally braved most foods I wanted to try. I had my gallbladder removed at time of sleeve. Had to stay in hospital for 2 nights, 3 days. Major pain & nausea issues. Tube made my esophagus RAW so sipping water felt like finger nails down spinal cord from inside. It was AWFUL & MD had to give me pep talk I was so regretful in hospital. Dr. Sherrod was SO good to me though. A life saver. I had terrible hematoma (bruise) at incision site of stomach & gallbladder removal. I could hardly walk it hurt so bad. That alone slowed my recovery by 2 weeks. I didn't feel "better" til week 5. It was a much longer road than I anticipated. Had to take 3 weeks off work, half-days 4th week. But I can finally say at 9 weeks that it was a good decision for me. But, boy, please set some time aside for yourself. It is an emotional & physical shock at first.

I am 9 weeks post op & started noticing the excessive hair loss about 2 weeks ago. I heard the hair loss really kicks in about week 8 & continues for a few months. I hope it slows down as my body adjusts. Taking a sublingual b12/biotin from wonder labs.

I am 9 weeks post-op . . Drink 64 oz water per day . . Eating fine . . Weight loss steady . . BUT no one told me to watch constipation. Has continually gotten worse. Had 2 very close calls with impaction in last 2 weeks. I know this may be TMI but I wish some one would have informed me. The problem is NOT peristalsis (urge to evacuate) . . So Dulcolax suppositories or pills to stimulate bowl movement will not help you. Problem is hard stools. My theory is that we are eating TBPS of food that may take longer to initiate peristalsis. During the wait, water is being removed from the stool. If you get in trouble, Fleets MINERAL OIL enema is your best friend. My sister has been a nurse for 30 years & she saved the day! I can provide a few more pearls of wisdom for anyone interested. I have started taking 50 mg colace a day for stool softener. Going to work on adding some fiber also.

Laxative info Laxative -Saline - Magnesium citrate , Magnesium hydroxide (Phillips'® Milk of Magnesia) - onset of action- 30 min to 3 h - site of action- Small and large intestine - mechanism of action - Attract/retain Water in intestinal lumen increasing intraluminal pressure; cholecystokinin release ;Sodium phosphates (Fleet® Enema) 2-15 min Colon Irritant/Stimulant - Senna (Senokot®) 6-10 h Colon Direct action on intestinal mucosa; stimulate myenteric plexus; alter water and electrolyte secretion ; Bisacodyl (Dulcolax®) tablets, suppositories 15 min to 1 h Colon ;Castor oil 2-6 h Small intestine Bulk-Producing - Methylcellulose (Citrucel®) , Psyllium (Metamucil®) , Wheat dextrin (Benefiber®) 12-24 h (up to 72 h) 24-48 h Small and large intestine Holds water in stool; mechanical distention Lubricant - Mineral oil 6-8 h Colon Lubricates intestine; retards colonic absorption of fecal water; softens stool Surfactants/Stool Softener - Docusate/senna (Peri-Colace®) 8-12 h Small and large intestine Senna – mild irritant; docusate – stool softener ; Docusate sodium (Colace®) Docusate Calcium (Surfak®) 24-72 h Small and large intestine Detergent activity; facilitates admixture of fat and water to soften stool Osmotic Laxatives - Glycerin suppository 15-30 min Colon Local irritation; hyperosmotic action ;Lactulose 24-48 h Colon Delivers osmotically active molecules to colon ;Polyethylene glycol 3350 (GlycoLax™, MiraLax™) 48 h Small and large intestine Nonabsorbable solution which acts as an osmotic agent ;Sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate, and magnesium sulfate (Suprep®) 24 h Small and large intestine Hyperosmotic action ;Sorbitol 70% 24-48 h Colon Delivers osmotically active molecules to colon Combination Laxatives Sodium picosulfate, magnesium oxide, and citric acid (Prepopik™) 3-6 h Colon Sodium picosulfate: Direct action on intestinal mucosa; stimulate myenteric plexus ;Magnesium oxide and citric acid: Combine to form magnesium citrate, which exhibits hyper osmotic action Miscellaneous Laxatives Lubiprostone (Amitiza®) 24-48 h Apical membrane of the GI epithelium Activates intestinal chloride channels increasing intestinal Fluid

Ok . . Beware TMI before you read BUT having been close to an ED visit . . I feel your pain . . Literally. So I'm going to pass on what my sister advised . . She's been a nurse for 30 years. Buy 2 Fleets MINERAL OIL enemas & 2 Fleets saline enemas. Get on all fours & drop your elbows down onto towel on floor so your butt is higher than your head. Use the oil enema & lay on your left side. Keep the oil inside for at least 30 minutes but longer if you can. I held it for about an hour. NOW here is where it gets . . Ummm . . Interesting. Double glove & SLOWLY use your finger to hook & remove small fecal pieces. The stool is hopefully soft so you can remove some stool & maneuver the rest into a shape you can pass. PLEASE be very careful & SLOW. My sister said your heart rate can drop & cause you to pass out. If you can't deal with this . . & luckily I didn't have to go this far . . Go to the ED. They are going to give you an oil enema or soap suds enema & then manually remove impaction. Some people use the mineral enema & hold it overnight. The enema will NOT stimulate a bowl movement . . Just soften the stool. Please plan to be at home the next day if you can. The oil will continue to leak over the next 12 hours. I had to go to work the next day & placed a pad in my panties. Was still a mess & I only made it to 2 pm before I just had to come home to clean up. You can use the saline enema to clean the mineral oil out but I wanted the continued lubrication. Sorry so graphic but let's face it . . This situation can be so bad that we have to talk about it. Remember, you have to be very careful if you try to manually remove some stool. This can be dangerous so if the stool is still hard, go to the emergency room or urgent care or your doctor. Not sure a physician's office will remove impaction. I wish you all luck.

I am planning to use Southwest Bariatric Surgeons' Dr. Mark Sherrod in Austin, TX. Any information on this group or others in Austin, TX?

I am from G'town & sleeved April 1st by Southwest Bariatric . . Dr. Sherrod. This is my 6th wk post-op. Surgery was more involved than this site leads you to believe. Was No walk in the park for me. I'm doing well but it is a big adjustment. Still very weak.

I am in my 5th wk post-op & will take a 12 hr road trip Mon to see my parents. Suggestions for eating on the road?

I had to take 3 weeks but 4 weeks is ideal. You will be VERY weak in the 1st few weeks so beware.

Hospital gave me a stack of medicine cups to sip from. They r a life saver. I still use them at 4 weeks post op. I just wash them. 1st day home I was lucky to get 36 oz fluid down. That is minimum to prevent dehydration. Just do what u can. Take it slow. I took 3 weeks off work & needed every day. Was so tired from anesthesia, stress, pain meds, & soreness. Developed hematoma at one incision site which took 2 weeks to get better but still not gone. Made walking hurt.

I would see your surgeon. I am a firm believer in having the surgeon follow-up on anything directly related to a surgery he/ she performed. I think they owe it to the patient to take care of you until surgery related issues are completely resolved. These poor PCPs are getting hammered to do surgeons job & they don't even understand procedure . . They are not surgeons. This is why so many PCPs dread to see us walk into their office.

I had a bruise at one incision site that increased to size of softball. Spoke with surgeon's RN on ph post-op day #3 & she called back to say MD called in RX for Levaquin (antibiotic). RN said MD felt it was nothing but would treat. She acted like I was a whiner. I saw MD a week later for my 2 week follow-up & he said "man you have a bad hematoma at this site". I just blinked & said "we'll yes that is what I told your RN". He just gave me this look like "she didn't tell me it was this size". I was NOT happy with RN. It has delayed my recovery SO much. It is still super tender & makes it hard to twist or walk all day at work. I can't WAIT until it is resolved. I received Lovenox injections for DVT prophylaxis x 3 days. But I don't think the Lovenox contributed. I just think it was the nature of the surgery since its the site where MD removed my gallbladder & stomach.

I mix a small amount of plain humus in cottage cheese.

My periods are like clockwork but I started my period 4 days early which was post-op day #6. My nml periods are only 3 days but this one was 7 days & I'm sure it's from stress. I had to learn quickly to cut Tylenol 500 mg tablet into chunks for pain relief. Was hoping to give my liver some recovery time from the anesthesia but it couldn't be helped. Just made sure I stayed under the 3 grams of Tylenol in 24 hr period rule.

I was sleeved April 1st & start puréed food Mon (week 3). I tried Unjury (whey) & soy protein powders. Became super nauseated so my surgeon said just to forget it for now & focus on protein from food in coming weeks. I do have a liquid pre-digested protein that is unflavored (but tastes little like honey to me) that I put in crystal light. So I may get 30 gm protein/day & I just deal with it until puréed (I can have yogurt with puréed). The nausea from protein powder lasted for 4 hours & put me behind on fluid intake. Sometimes you just have to do the best you can & pick your battles. My surgeon agreed that fluid was more important for me in 1st two weeks.

I am 10 days post-op & Unjury whey and soy protein powder makes me extremely nauseated. Thought it was the whey but soy did the same today. Now I'm at a loss to why.

I am 8 days post-op & on clr/full liquids. able to get about 50 mLs of water & about 20 gm protein ea day. However, from time I get up (7 am) until 11 am are horrible with feeling faint. BP is low @ 103/60 & I know I have 2 get fld in me. I tried drinking more later in pm in hopes to carry over to am . . No luck. Got up x3 last night & took in a bit of fld . . No luck. Will this just pass once I move on to puréed or is there something else I can do to make the am better?

I had my gallbladder removed due to stones along with sleeve on April 1st. My gallbladder lap incision has some increasing redness & exquisitely tender. Have call in to MD. Anyone else have this issue with any lap incision or have both done at same time?

I am 5 days post-op & my stomach gurgles and growls constantly. It has actually kept me awake at night. Have you experienced this?

Surgery date is Dec 28th. I have VERY painful periods but manage with extra strength Tylenol every 6-8 hrs for 1st 2 days (4 grams/day). Liquid Tylenol is 160 mg/5mL. How in the world am I going 2 b able 2 swallow that many teaspoons of Tylenol for 1st few months post-op? I've read/heard differing comments on whether sleevers can eventually take pills.