orthoman

I must say, it's really wierd to NOT care that much about food! I've never experienced that before. I am now 12 days out and not eating much at all. The protein shakes to me are just gross and I can't make myself do more than one a day. I had regrets too just a few days ago when I was sick to my stomach all day but it does get better. I told myself preop that I was going to try very hard NOT to have regrets because that emotion truly is a waste of time now. I'm just focusing on doing what I'm supposed to do so this all turns out ok.

I'm now 10 days out from surgery, started off at 257.5 lbs, and currently I'm only down about 11 pounds (246.4) - I'm 5'10". I must admit that adhering to this liquid Protein diet is really, really getting me down. And I have absolutely no energy today at all. And with all that I am wondering what the heck I did to myself. I know, I know, everyone on here goes through that a little bit, and it helps knowing that, but sometimes I don't know how in the heck Im going to get through this next week at work feeling like I do right now. This all makes me wish I could crawl into a cave and hibernate for a month or two! It probably does not help that I was a Diet coke addict prior to surgery, and I guarantee that I am suffering from caffeine withdrawals to boot. My doc says that I can have coffee or tea, but I never liked either one of those as much as I did my Diet Cokes. Anyways, this is a sucky day. I hope it gets better. Thanks for letting me vent.

I appreciate that very much - thank God for this forum where you can talk to so many people who have been through this! For most surgeries, including the ones that I do for people, I'm afraid patients often kind of suffer in silence without the great benefit of communicating with so many other people with experience! Surgeons and doctors are great, but they have one crucial piece of information missing from their repetoire - they have not actually had the surgery that they did on you, and that's a big information gap! Also one more thing - does anyone else suddenly develop "cold nature" after surgery? I have been a hot-natured person all my life, even when I was thin. When I was a baby my parents said that I would always kick the covers off, even in the winter. I have always been a person who sweats at the slightest provocation. Now, I can't get warm! I'm wearing jackets inside the house all the time. It's really strange.

I'm 4 days postoperative and I was just able to eat 4/5 a can of chunky Soup that I blenderized first - chicken rice gumbo. A can is 24 ounces. Does this seem like too much to u guys? I think my surgeon uses a pretty big boogie in men and I think he said size 40? Just wondering some of your thoughts

I'm only 5 days out but I find it no problem at all to get in 600 calories and I could do more but I have to stop in the interest if losing weight. Is this normal so soon after surgery? Most immediate postoperative patients here I see are struggling to eat more than a few hundred calories a day. I'm worried I'm going to stop losing!

Cat tracks and vsginnj, why would you guys be so far out and still counting things? I mean, I would think by now you could eyeball a portion of food and tell whether or not your body could handle it? This worries me because it doesn't seem like any kind of life at all counting Freakin' tricuits or almonds, for God's sake! I'm just sayin'.

I don't know what happened to my hospital weight - I weighed 257.5 at my first surgeon conference on December 11, then was sleeved last Friday the 28th. They took my weight the day after surgery and it was 267!! (Must be all the fluids and gas). I'm going to assume my REAL surgery date weight was 257.5, and today 5 days out, my scales said 248.3 so about 9 pounds in less than a week I'm thrilled .

My doc is pretty adamant that all the talk about stretching the sleeve is bunk. He says maybe a tiny amount, but nothing that would be statistically significant. He basically says with a clenched fist, this is how small your stomach will be for the rest of your life. If that's true, I'm not sure how people start out only able to tolerate 400 calories, and then later they note they are taking in 1000 to 1400 calories a day? By eating constantly all day long? idk.

Well I was just sleeved on December 28th, and I have to say, the first two days were awful. But you know, the third day was like so much better. I agree with others on here who said that maybe getting off the meds would help. I really have not had any pain meds since Saturday (postop day one). Once I went off all the narcotics, my nausea was so much better. I guess I just cant take narcotic pain meds. Same thing happened with morphine after a back surgery. Hope you feel better.

Then I got up this am and was down another 2 pounds! I'm excited.

No I appreciate it - this am I had only half a shake and it felt better and didn't hurt as much

Ok thanks ladies I feel like I have like 10 wives now but that's okay we guys need wives to keep us in order and to keep society civilized. Thanks.

Yeah I was sleeved Friday and I've already lost. 7 pounds!! I am Soo thankful for that because I couldn't lose that kind of weight on my own in two weeks before!

Well he did say limit meals to 4 oz but I briefly forgot that for a sec while I was watching television

Oh I see- that really is a small amount of volume to be able to tolerate - with that small volume my biggest concern would be the risk of dehydration - hope u can tolerate bigger volume soon, for your own health...

My doctor told me to not try more than 4 ounces an hour after being sleeved last week, so 12 ounces at once seems like a really large amount...try backing that down a lot and see what happens.

I think that 34 pounds in two months is an incredible amount of weight loss!! I don't know about others here, but I personally have never been able to come close to that number with any other diet I've ever heard of ! If your caloric intake is steady and your ratio of protein/carbs is stable, don't worry about it, you'll start losing again. Hang in there

All I know is, thank god I stayed in the hospital an extra day - I had my sleeve on Friday, and Saturday, I just felt to nauseated to do anything - every time I got up I felt sick. Turns out I was drinking too much and I needed to learn this from my surgeon. Anyway I felt much better this am and I'm home now. Hope things get better for you!!

Just had my surgery today and everyone has been so caring and so wonderful Pain has been a little more than I thought and gas has been a problem. But I just got dilaudid injection so I'm gonna try and sleep.

I was prepared for that thanks to this forum. It was pretty rough there this afternoon but better now. It's wierd being on this side of the bed for a change. Hopefully make me a better doctor

I told a person who was not supportive, who I think was and is simply worried about me, that a life without risk is usually less than it could have been. There are many times in life when we come to a fork in the road. And there are many times when we are called upon to make a choice. A life that is always played safely is usually a life that never lived up to its potential. Calculated risk is what makes it fun to wake up in the morning. This is something that most people instinctively know when we are young, and we seem to forget for some reason when we get older... Live life and take a reasonable risk once in a while! I'm getting this done this coming Friday.

Well i am so glad everyone is being honest, because I have been having a hard time imagining the postoperative period where I am going to be eating like a bird. So I have been having a food Funeral lately just like you guys!!!! This will really screw me over if I happen to chicken out of the surgery! Oh wow chicken.... I'm off to Babe's Chicken dinner House!!!

Ive been "lurking" on this forum for weeks, and I appreciate all of the input from all of the great people out there. I have been through it all trying to decide on the right procedure. At first I was all about the lap band, but through lots of research I've decided on the sleeve, and mine is scheduled for three days after christmas. I'm 5'10 male and weigh 256. Ive had a lot of trouble with my weight over the last 5 years or so. Oh, and I happen to be a doctor. I guess the thing that is bothering me the most is the fact that I have always had a very large appetite, and I simply can't fathom the change that is supposed to happen there and I can't quite get my mind around the change that my surgeon is saying will happen after the surgery. I can't seem to imagine a time where food is no longer a driving force in my life? So my first question is this : for all people that have had the sleeve at least three months, are you finding that your changed relationship with the way you think about food - is this at all a source of sadness in your life? Do you look at what other people are eating and wish that you could go back to enjoying food like that (and occasionally in those quantities?) Do you sit down to a restarant meal with friends or family and wish that you didn't have to eat in such a "wierd" manner that surely must draw attention to you? Do other people find that the way you eat now is strange? Does it in any way affect your dining experience? The way my surgeon says it, it's like a switch goes off, and food just simply is not as important to you as it once was. He told me it's like trying to tell a guy (sorry if this is crass, ladies) that after a surgery he is simply just not going to be nearly as interested in sex any more - it's such a natural part of our lives and thought processes, that you simply cannot prepare for how your mind changes after the surgery. He says that you simply wake up after the operation a different person when it comes to food. Do you guys find this to be accurate? I know that was actually a lot of questions, but I have not seen these types of subjects on this forum. The most important preop question of all in my opinion is, For all of you who have had the surgery at least 6 months ago, would you really, truly do it all over again?

Well thanks everyone for all the great posts. It sounds like pretty much everyone is glad they did it. I really need to lose some serious weight, and I know there's no way I can do it without some major help. My date is scheduled for December 28th so Im pretty excited, and pretty scared too. This forum is really great and a really wonderful resource, and I know I am going to use it again and again over the next year.

Giselle, I really really liked your very wise comment about how we mourn past relationships, even the ones that are not good for us! So, so true!! I think I am already mourning what is about to become my past relationship with food. 80 pounds gone since July - that is simply incredible. That is undoubtedly a very wise comment that I will take with me in the coming year. Thank you!