SMO

I have a desk job. I took off 15 days. My first day back, I was tired before the end of the day. But the last two days, no problem.

Rub, rub, rub with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball or cosmetic pad.

I have noticed in the last three days (15-17) that I have pain on my left side where my spleen used to be. I had a splenectomy in 2006. My sleeve surgeon told me he had to remove a moderate amount of scar tissue from the prior surgery. Since this pain feels so similar to the pain I felt after the splenectomy, I can't help but think it might be from the scar tissue removal.

Pre-surgery, I took Ambien and slept like a baby all night long. Since the surgery, it does not seem to work. I am lucky if I get 4 hours of sleep and most nights it is broken. Sometimes I awaken at 2am and cannot get back to sleep. Awful.

My husband teases me that I am now a burper. I never was like that before. I have the same feeling that stuff takes a little rest stop just behind my breastbone, then goes on down. I do seem to be swallowing a whole lot more air than I used too. I am 17 days out so I don't know if this will improve with time.

Do you think sodium is an issue in our liquid diets? I don't think that protein has much. I started worrying about that and after a few days drank an ounce of tomato juice sprinkled with a little salt.

I think it is normal to believe that this will fail if you have suffered failure before. It seems too good to be true that you can really lose all that weight. I can tell you that I am 16 days out from surgery and hunger is not an issue for me anymore. And hunger was the primary enemy in my past weight loss attempts. Depriving yourself can only last so long and then something snaps. There is no deprivation here. I could go for a whole day not eating and I would not suffer hunger pains. I eat because I have a protein goal to reach. I CANNOT overeat. Today I ate 2 TB cottage cheese, 2 oz chicken deli meat and 1oz cheese. I made up the rest of my protein with shakes. I was stuffed. I don't have head hunger. I have been overweight for 25 of my 47 years. This is just different. It is not a diet. Your body will not work the same way. You are transformed. Tell your voice to shut up. You can do this and be successful.

Also, I am off the CPAP machine! I was sleeved 2/4 and have lost 34 pounds. 16 pre-op and 18 post op. Apparently that was enough for the apnea because within 8 days of surgery, I no longer needed it. That is awesome!

You win, Moe. That does not sound fun. I am now in the 3 month soft period so I am in a better mood than I was on limited liquids. I kept trying to get my husband to agree that Campbells Green Pea soup was in substantial compliance with the list. My arguments that it couldn't be worse than tomato juice fell on deaf ears. Contrary to my usual behavior, I caved to his arguments. I think it must have been the drugs.

I am 16 days out. I lost 18 lbs in 14 days, then I have not lost anything the last two. I do notice that my body seems to be contracting. I am down a size. I am not freaked out yet.

sr910, I did a telephone job interview 2 days after getting out of the hospital. My husband drove me to my office and I was there for a couple of hours. I was tired but it was doable.

I am 14 days out so I cannot tell you much. I do think that each stage you move through will have a new challenge. The pre-op diet is hunger, then surgery and the pain and gas, then trying to get in you minimum liquids and protein and find a good routine, then figuring out how much food is the right amount of food, etc. I just started softs and I have been nervous about how much to eat and hoping I wouldn't have any trouble with keeping food down. That being said, I have friends who were sleeved three to four years ago and they live what you probably would consider "normal" lives. They are not fixated on their food. It has become second nature to them. They eat small portions of normal food, including wine and candy.

What a jerk. Let him think that shirt you are swimming in is a small. Then tell him that you should have listened to him after all.....turns out you were not a small after all, you were an EXTRA SMALL.

Too true, Laura! My first thought was, silly woman, I can "cut" fritos and reese's peanut butter eggs with a plastic fork if I try hard enough.

I am on softs now and my doctor considers deli meats to be soft. I talked to the NUT this morning and she said anything soft enough to cut with a plastic fork was ok.

Ok, here it goes: I confess that before I started to consider WLS for myself, I held the surgery in contempt. I bad-mouthed it to the point that my best friend felt like she could not tell me she was going to do it. Of course, by that time, I had begun to consider it for myself so when she finally called me and told me she had been keeping it a secret from me, I felt like a total ass. I confess that I also held the pre-op diet in contempt. During my six month diet, I gained a pound in month one, stayed the same in month two, lost 4 pounds in month three, lost half a pound in month four, stayed the same in month five and gained two pounds in month six. I confess that my husband and parents were adamantly opposed to me having surgery. My father told me that the surgery was only for REALLY fat people. I told my sweet daddy that that is me. I weighed 250 lbs on a 5'2" frame. Do the math. My husband finally asked if I would still have nipples after the surgery. When I assured him I would, he came around. He has a strange sense of humor. The main reason I married him. If I hadn't met him, I would have been a dog woman the rest of my life. I confess that deep down, i don't REALLY believe this will work for me. I just can't wrap my head around it. I was sleeved February 4,2013. I have lost 18 lbs since surgery. Whew. That felt nice.

I was sleeved Feb 4 and I have been advanced to softs! I have never been so happy to see a tablespoon of cottage cheese in my life. Mr. Scrambled Egg, you are my bi$ch today! Sorry for my outburst by those protein drinks have drained the will to live out of me. I go back to work tomorrow and I did not know if I was going to have the stamina - or the mental power to handle it on the protein drinks alone. And I have lost 18 pounds since surgery day, 34 pounds total. I am able to wear clothes that did not fit two weeks ago so I am a happy girl today.

What a wonderful way to look at it, Gamer. Can you give us more information about the loss? Did it come out all the way to the root, leaving a bald area or just some strands that came out a little at a time making it thin for a while? I love my hair but like you, am willing to sacrifice it to the greater good - at least temporarily.

It amuses me how many different post op diets there are. I was on 2 weeks of very limited liquids - protein, water, clear broth, crystal light and tomato juice - followed by three months of "soft", followed by the lifting of all restrictions.

I have to confess that it pisses me off when people refer to this surgery as "the easy way out". And it isn't just callous people without a weight problem who say that. Even other overweight people say that. I have not yet had it said to me and I am not sure how I will react when it inevitably does.

Probably this is a silly question, but don't you have 5 years of accurate weight records to go back to the insurance company with now? Or are you just so ready that you don't want to mess with the 6 month thing again? I totally get that. It is great that you are so committed to have this done. I am 13 days post op. I had to wait two years from when I decided to have wls for my insurance to start covering it. It was very hard to wait.

I did. It was nothing compared to the sleeve. I had it done as an outpatient. I barely have a scar.

I was sleeved 2/4/13. I started softs today. I ate 2 TB of cream of wheat, 1/2 a scrambled egg, 1TB cottage cheese and 1oz avocado, 1/2 oz deli chicken and 1/2 oz provolone cheese. That was spread over a 12 hour period. I was able to keep it all down and none of it disagreed with me. I am highly motivated to wean off the protein drinks. Familiarity has definitely bred contempt. Looks like a lot on paper.

Laura, you slay me.

I was home 5 days and hadn't gone. I got Equate Chewable Fiber Supplement fruit flavored tablets. I chew two of them every day and I have been going every day or every other day since.