Vixynne

Sending encouragement and good wishes to all of the sleevers setting out on their new sleeved life tomorrow! Good luck, July 8th'ers!

You will be wrapped in the thoughts and prayers of a whole lot of people. It's all going to be okay--we'll see you on the sleeved side, don't forget to post and let everyone know how you're doing!

I have had the most horrific diarrhea for three days straight. Today I removed all dairy based foods (no pudding, no milk, no dairy-based Protein powders/drinks) and voila--no diarrhea. Apparently it's fairly common for VSG'ers to have some degree of lactose intolerance post-op. I'm going to talk to my doctor tomorrow at my first follow-up appointment, but from the sudden improvement in bowel habits, I really think dairy is going to be an issue for me--do you think your tummy troubles might have anything to do with dairy? I'm able to actually swallow normal sized sips today, too! What a great feeling, isn't it??

Are these enzymes a liquid with a dropper or a liquid in capsules? I'm only 6 days out from surgery and not cleared for swallowing capsules yet.

Here's a dumb question--if it turns out that my digestive distress (we'll call it that to avoid getting into truly gory detail) is caused by lactose intolerance, does that mean I have to stop using whey-based Protein powders? LipstickLady, can you tell me more about Levsin? I might want to ask my doc about it on Monday to stop the wrenching cramps.

I had nausea when I first tried to stand up from my hospital bed. Luckily, it didn't progress to vomiting, and I was given both Zofran in my IV and an anti-nausea patch to wear behind my ear. That took care of it for me. I TOTALLY understand the squeezing pain every time you swallow. That's been the biggest obstacle for me so far. Well, that and the constant bathroom trips. I would love to be able to take a baby size sip of ANYTHING and have it just slide down without pain. It's slowly getting better, though. Plain water is the hardest to get down, including ice. Broth and warm Soups seem to work slightly better. I've been running a low-grade fever since coming home, and the only thing that kills it is liquid Lortab, but I'm trying to avoid using it too often. Liquid Tylenol doesn't cut it for me, either. *Hugs* to you---you're not alone! It's going to get better.

Hi, Autumnrain---do you mean the oxygen tube? I had one right after surgery, to keep my blood oxygen levels up. It just sort of sits at the front of your nostrils and gently blows oxygen. By the third day of my hospital stay, I was allowed to stop wearing it.

This sounds SO good! I can't wait to be on "regular" foods instead of full liquids!

I have yet to find a brand of coconut water that doesn't taste...well...spoiled.

...not so much jiggity-jog, but it's still SO GOOD to be home! Stomach is still gurglebubbling with every baby sized swallow I take. Really hoping that stops soon--it's uncomfy! Gas-X hasn't touched it, so I'm trying to keep sipping and keep moving to work all those gas bubbles out! Other than that, I feel fantastic, very confident that it's only gonna get better. I'm not even upset about gaining 10lbs in fluids, and I have the forums to thank for that! All the education and info about the sleeve that I've gotten here has been spot-on and really helpful!

I, too, have become a mistress of gaseous emissions. I'm pretty sure that the methane I'm generating may be accelerating global warming by several years. The up side is that I can get revenge on my dogs, who--although quite small--are experts at the SBD stank bomb. Now they leave the room because of ME. I teach middle school--my street cred is about to go THROUGH THE ROOF, for I shall crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and hear the lamentation of their women.

It's frustrating, but the more I learn about VSG the more I learn how different the *rules* are for every surgeon and every patient. I had NO pre-op diet at all. When I asked why, the answer I got was, "At this practice, we don't believe the benefit of a pre-op diet outweigh the punitive aspects of a pre-op diet--your food intake will be so restricted after surgery, why prolong the agony?" Interesting answer, right? That being said, I DID change my diet on my own, pre-op. I cut out all caffeine. I stopped drinking all sodas and all coffee. I gave up processed junk food and processed carbs, and I lost 16 pounds over the course of two months. Now I'm post-op, and for the next two weeks, all I can eat are Clear liquids and full liquids. Nothing else. It's not easy, but y'know what--swallowing liquids is a big enough challenge for me right now. I know that if I even tried cottage cheese or egg whites, I'd be running for the loo faster than you can say "gastric sleeve". So, yeah. I wish it was all one rule for everyone, too. I'm jealous of my sleeve sisters who get to eat Cream of Wheat and cottage cheese when we're all on Day 4 of the post-op diet. But rather than throw the plan out the window, stomp my foot and flounce off, I'll just square my jaw and follow the plan, whether I agree with it or not. After all, in MY case, doing it my way is one of the reasons I needed this surgery. I relinquish control over my diet for a couple of months in order to regain control over my LIFE. For me, that's more than a fair trade. But I sure would love a dollop of cottage cheese right now. (I'm weak!)

CorvetteGirl, how much liquid do you need to braise chicken? If there's too much, I'd be boiling it, right? LOL

I'm on day 4 of the post-op diet--and I'm not lovin' it, I must admit! Ah, well! This is what I signed up for, so I shall tough it out!

I actually like Stevia---but it's common knowledge that I'm a weirdo.

I was sleeved on Monday (July 1st), and when I was finally allowed Water and Clear liquids, you'd think I was being offered prime seating at a royal banquet. I've since progressed to full liquids. The trouble is, when I swallow anything (except Jell-O, which seems to go down more easily), I can *feel* the sip traveling down my esophagus and landing in my sleeve. Like clockwork, every time, my sleeve goes into yoga/acrobatics. It seems to twist, bubble, gurgle LOUDLY, and it hurts! I've tried warm liquids, cold liquids, sipping teeny tiny amounts of liquid--it doesn't seem to make any difference. Help me out, surgery veterans--should I be worried? Will this feeling of twisty gurgling subside, or is this my "new normal"? I discussed it with my surgeon, and he just wanted me to keep doin' what I'm doin'...but he didn't offer any guidance or advice beyond that.

My local Chinese restaurant doesn't offer a seafood soup, but they do have a vegetable soup! I'm going to try it and see how it goes with the veggies removed. *fingers crossed*

My NUT's guidelines say unsweetened NO PULP juice is okay if you don't drink more than 4 oz. a day (probably due to the acidity and the natural sugars). *Editing to add: the above guideline is part of my NUT's stage 3 diet, which is labeled "full liquids".

My surgeon's NP was able to point me in the direction of Prevacid Chewable tablets--two of them each morning is my new antacid routine. Hopefully they will be as effective as the tablets were, pre-op. Today is my day 4 post-op. I'm able to get a little more fluid in today than I have been so far; my fever returned as soon as I stopped taking liquid Lortab--so I asked and got permission to take liquid Tylenol instead. Fewer side effects. I'm blaming my sleeve's noisy racket on a tiny, angry dictator who lives there. He likes to wear pointy metal cleats, stomp around when throwing tantrums, and tie my sleeve into complex knots to punish me for overly-large sips of anything at all. (Picture Sasha Baron-Cohen in "The Dictator" and you have the general idea.)

I've heard a lot of sleevers say that chicken is tough on their sleeves. One idea (although it may be waaaay too hot to do this at the moment) is to cook it in broth, in a slow-cooker. That way it's super-moist and may be a little easier to digest.

If at day 4 you're still on any type of narcotic pain relief, you can't drive--not without being dangerous to yourself and others, anyway--and if you're still on narcotics, you may be too sleepy/groggy to concentrate well in classes anyway. I'm on day 4 today. I'm a little sore, slightly feverish (keeping a close eye on that), and struggling to get all my liquids in. I took a brief walk earlier, but other than that, I'm laying low today. As Joatsaint said--everyone's recovery is different. You might be one of the lucky ones--but plan well, just in case you're not.

I'll tell you what info I have from MY surgery team--keep in mind that YOUR surgeon/NUT's advice may vary. 1) I was told that protein is good to get in your early post-op days, but NOT the main focus. The main focus is LIQUIDS. Sip, sip, sip till you feel like your eyeballs are floating. Then go pee, and sip some more. Protein counts will not kick in until you are on more solid foods/regular diet. So for now, think this way: Liquid is top priority; protein is a nice bonus if you can get it. 2) I am directed in no uncertain terms to hold off on vitamins until one week post-op. (Again--fluids are the priority.) 3) Once you start supplements, the 2-hour delay is to be used between your multivitamin and your calcium --ONLY IF the multivitamin contains iron. Otherwise the iron will mess up your calcium absorption. B12 and any other supplements can be taken at the same time as your multi, or spaced apart if you need to, but it's not mandated. 4) Don't worry about calorie counts right now. You WANT your body to go into ketosis mode so that it starts burning up fats. Once you move to mushy/soft foods, you can track calories; my NUT recommends a range of 600-800 calories to begin with in weight-loss phase. Your results may vary! 5) Symptoms of dehydration: Thirst. If your mouth feels dry or sticky, you are already becoming dehydrated. Dry/chapped lips. Urine that is along the darker end of the scale below. Headaches. Dizziness. Dry skin, or skin that doesn't "bounce back" immediately when you pinch it. Hope this helps!

Sleeved 7/1, gained +9 lbs. of fluid post-op. As of today, I've lost 6 of them. The scale is moving in the right direction! Took a 20-minute walk to CVS to get my system moving along. Still very swollen internally, making it hard to get liquids in at a fast rate; but day 5 has been the best day as far as pain management and overall alertness/energy levels. I'm hoping it continues to improve daily. Today I had my first bites of applesauce--I feel like I'm eating haute cuisine! Oooo la la!

http://bjsbariatrics.com/product/synSamplePack.html That link will take you to a site where you can order Syntrax nectar samples!