Vixynne

I'm 4 days out and the pain is much better now, Shanny. Does your doctor have you on any kind of liquid pain medication? I was sent home on day 2 after surgery with a prescription for liquid Vicodin, and it made a huge difference in my pain levels, although I'm trying to only use it when I absolutely have to. Where is your pain located and what triggers it? Is it constant or only when you move too quickly? Definitely talk to your surgeon so they can help you manage your pain. There's no need to suffer--they don't hand out medals for bravery in the hospital.

MrsPierre--take a look at this chart, it will help you see how dehydrated you are (based on the color of your urine).

I'll be thinking of you, MrsPierre! Drink as much as you can...and then drink a little more.

The only fruity flavor I like so far is the Caribbean Cooler, but yes, I agree. The sweet flavors (vanilla bean torte, double-stuffed cookie, chocolate truffle) all seem to go best with milk or almond milk. The fruity ones are better in water, or blended with ice to make a slushie.

Try your best to at least get fluids in--or you will end up hospitalized too. I understand how upsetting and stressful it is to have your mother in the hospital, but to be able to be there for her, you have to take care of you. Carry a Water bottle, or grab a premade Protein drink and sip at it constantly. A dry mouth means you're at least moderately dehydrated--what color is your urine? The darker it is, the more dehydrated you are. Please take care of yourself before you land in a hospital bed too.

See you on the Losers' Bench in no time, Twsport! You're going to do great. Please check in here when you feel up to it!

I will double check on the pepcid--thank you for that info!

Let us know what you think of them!

Melanie, do you have a nutritionist? Usually, things like applesauce are part of the pureed or mushy food stage, which doesn't come along for a week or two post-op. I can send you a copy of what my nutritionist has her patients do, but I don't want to contradict what your own NUT might say.

Is the soreness over an incision site? My biggest incision is also the most painful--but mine is on the right, and diagonal to my navel, about 6 inches apart from it. If I had to guess, I'd say that might be the spot where your excised stomach was drawn out of your abdomen. If the pain's not connected to an incision site, you may want to give your surgeon a call and see what he says, just to play it safe.

New Bedford, MA Dr. Kruger (not Freddie) at Tobey Hospital, July 1, 2013. Recovering and trying to acclimate to the demands of my new sleeve!

I agree with you 100% on the vanilla bean torte! Their double-stuffed cookie is pretty dang yummy, too.

The one that really repulsed me was the Crystal Sky. It's ELECTRIC BLUE and tastes like the south pointing end of a northbound cow. Bleah!

I'll betcha the bland stuff I had was non-fat/low sodium. It didn't taste bad--just plain. The good thing about plain foods is how adaptable they are to adding other flavors in. Before surgery I used to love the Breakstones snack packs with cottage cheese and fruit preserves (strawberry, blueberry, pineapple). I'll definitely be going back to cottage cheese when I graduate to the soft foods stage.

I just did a quick web search and found guidelines from Cornell University. Granted, they are for RNY patients, but it said: 2 Months Post-op: Diced Poultry (no skin), vegetable burgers, soft cooked vegetables, soft fruits (watermelon, honeydew, peaches, plums). (Check with your surgeon for best results.)

I think WalMart may carry a limited selection (just make sure you get the sugar free kinds)--and you can order them online too. http://www.lollicupstore.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=torani+sugar+free&x=0&y=0 <---Click there!

Here's the post from Laura-ven, she's quoting another forum member: _______________________________________________________________________ Ok this is from member maharet111 I always like her answer so I copy and paste it to these questions. Okay a little science here as told to me by my surgeon. Water has a high surface tension, meaning that its barrier to allow it to be broken down is hard. Think of a steel paper clip that floats on the surface. Now your stomach is like the size of a coffee stirrer at this point due to swelling etc. because of the high surface tension it is hard sometimes for the Water to be absorbed and gets kind of backed up if that makes sense. So when you dilute Water or mix it with something if breaks that high tension and thus can be absorbed faster. Not everyone experiences it but it is one of those side effects that can happen.

Did your doc give you some Zofran or other anti-nausea medication? That has helped me immensely with the queasies. While I was still in the hospital, I had Zofran in the IV, and a motion sickness patch behind my ear. Those totally resolved the horkiness for me. Laura-ven posted a great explanation for why Water sits SO hard on our new sleeves; I'll try to find it and cross post it here. Another helpful trick, besides flavoring the water (I'm sipping at a teacup full of spring water that I dosed with Torani Coconut sugar-free syrup, and it goes down great)--if the flavoring doesn't help, try this. Draw a small sip between your lips, and hold it in your mouth for a moment--don't swallow right away. While holding on to the sip, exhale through your nose. This takes most of the air in your mouth and throat out of the equation, and leads to much less bubblegurgles. When you swallow that way, you'll notice it is a much quieter swallow. Less air, less ouchie!

I was sleeved July 1st and I started running a low-grade temp as soon as I got home on the 3rd. I called my surgeon's office and was told the same thing as Ruthie. As long as it doesn't go above 101, don't panic. Meanwhile, I take the liquid Vicodin my doc prescribed, to keep the fever at bay and take the edge off my incision pain. I'm trying not to take it very often, but once or twice a day is still necessary for me.

Instead of the iPod Touch, mine is very much an iSleeve DON'T TOUCH. Healing not yet complete, LOL--coming through on the next patch/system upgrade.

I found another use! If you run out of Mio or Dasani Flavor drops, and your sleeve isn't doing well with plain water, the flavor syrups work great! I just made coconut flavored spring water, and it's really delicious and refreshing.

Don't forget Sleeve Irwin (Crikey!) and Sleeve Carrell, and Sleeve Jobs! I think I'll call mine iSleeve.

It sure sounds like it--you might be a bit dehydrated, too. Give your doc a call if it persists!

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-gastric-sleeve-surgery-thread/ If you go to this thread, there's a document attached to the very first post that will help you plan what to take with you to the hospital. Your nutritionist/surgeon should provide you with a list of post-op things to have on hand at home.

Awww, that's disappointing--why did they reschedule you?