darbypc

I never thought this would happen but one year and one month after my surgery I am four pounds below my goal weight. I never even thought the goal weight was doable! I have gone from a Size 22W pants to a 6P. I have so much more energy and work out with a personal trainer twice a week. I have to believe the working out has helped with the loose skin. I still have plenty of loose skin, but I'm sure it would be worse without the exercise! Good luck to everyone!

There is definitely a huge difference in shakes out there. My RN recommended a few that you can only find on-line: Unjury, Chike and Big Train. These are so much better than what I could find locally and I actually drank them! Also Jay Robb Tropical Dreamsicle (available at Vitamin Shoppe and GNC) is very good.

I'm still taking Vita Fusion MultiVites Gummy Vitamins that I bought at Sam's Club. Not bad at all and much better than any of the chewable ones I tried before.

Ditto on lip balm! I had someone bring me a tongue scraper while I was in the hospital. Granted I had to stay 4 days instead of 2 due to complications but it made my mouth feel cleaner.

I detest most Protein shakes, but have finally found a few I like. Jay Robb (available at Vitamin Shoppe and GNC). The Tropical Dreamsicle is great when mixed with light OJ and milk and tastes pretty much like an Orange Julius. Really great because chocolate and other "desserty" flavors were really starting to get old. unjury Chike (available on-line and recommened by my bariatric nurse) and my favorite Big Train (available on-line). The bariatric nurse recommended Big Train and, although I know we are supposed to watch or avoid caffeine, these are fantastic. It is actually a protein, coffee powder and can be drunk hot, over ice, or blended like a frapacinno. I would have never guessed it was a Protein Drink - it tastes that good!

I was sleeved on 1/14 and had some complications and stayed in the hospital twice as long as expected because no fluids would go down. What saved me was popsicles. I had a very hard time drinking a sip of anything every 7-10 minutes but found that sucking on a popsicle worked like a charm because it was so slow going down. My doctor told me one popsicle equals 2 ounces of liquid. You might want to try that until it becomes eaier to drink!

I was frustrated with my weight loss each time I visited my doctor. He told me in many ways he wished he was able to keep people off the scale until 6 weeks post surgery. He told me I needed to remember there was a lot going on in there with the body attempting to heal and that fluids were very easily retained during this process. Give it some time! Your body is going through a lot!!!!

It's hard to meet all of those goals particularly with such a small stomach. I try to eat a babybel light cheese with each meal to help with extra protein. Unfortunately, I have not been a big fan of any of the protein shakes/drinks. Just make sure you take your vitamins and work towards those goals.

I'm 6 weeks out and although my doctor will let me have more, I'm still only eating about 2-3 oz of food at a time and that completely fills me up.

Congrats on your progress!

I had a few complications and stayed in the hospital 4 days. I had the barium swallow the day after my sleeve and the barium just stuck there due to swelling. Repeated x-ray twice the next day and the barium was still not moving. By day 3 they let me start having liquids and I only got down 12 ounces in 24 hours but luckily was released the next day. I am two weeks post-op now and still battling to get down Water. It is definitely a different feeling to even have it be difficult to drink water. But I am down 15 pounds since I started the pre-op diet on 1/4! I was allowed to start pureed food today and am a bit nervous since getting water down is difficult. Just remember everyone's journey is different. You are taking a wonderful, bold step in the right direction! Good luck!

Hello all. I am new here and had my gastric sleeve last Monday along with a hiatal hernia repair. Had a lot of swelling and stayed in the hospital four nights because barium would not go down. Feeling much better since I am out of the hospital but having a hard time getting in enough liquid/protein!

Really enjoying Big Train and Chike. Both available online and recommended by a bariatric RN.