Sydney Susan

I didn't have a balloon belly and not did any of those I was in hospital with (7 other sleevers). I didn't have any gas pains, although I seem to be in the minority on this forum. But I'd get that balloon belly checked out.

As you can tell, the surgery and life long changes you make are not easy. If you can lose weight without surgery I'd suggest you did - be tougher on yourself than ever before, because that is what the surgery does to you... But if you feel you need to do something drastic to safe your life, then surgery is something you should consider. I have no regrets although I can see my life ahead will be v different to my past life, and in ways I'd rather not have it change. But my life was very much at risk... And I'm just glad I have this option.

One of my regular pills is a bit of a horse pill, and i was allowed to try to take it with minimal Water on day 2 - no problems. I felt it in my chest (???) and it was a little uncomfortable but that's all. I believe if it had got stuck I'd have vomited it back up - not great for day 2. A week later I have no problem - take multiple tablets, one at a time, pacing myself quite slowly. Of course we're all different, so you have to work out how you will manage it, carefully. I bought chewable Vitamins and haven't opened them - plan to go back to my usual one. Will sell the chewables on eBay.

To not be hungry, head-achy and grumpy got to stay in ketosis which is v rigid adherence to it. I'm done it with as little "cheating" as low fat milk in tea and coffee and found it tough, but cutting out the milk has made it much easier... Because (I think) I was properly in ketosis. Maybe get some ketone strips from the pharmacy and use those to check your urine for signs of ketosis. I can tell because my urine has a distinct musty smell when I'm in ketosis. Post op you can have milk, soup, lattes etc. Much nicer than pre-op!

I'm assuming this is a ketosis diet like Optifast. If so may I suggest that you stick to it absolutely to the letter - no milk in tea or coffee, no sugar at all nor sugar-free stuff, and definitely no "cheats". I have been on the Optifast diet many times over the years and many times "tweaked" it a little, thinking that could do no harm given the very low calories of the diet (800 per day). For my pre-op diet I absolutely did it to the letter and from the second day on it was easier than ever before. I went into and stayed in ketosis easily. I was bored with my food choices but not hungry. And like others, 10 days after surgery I'm yet to feel any indication of hunger. Wasn't allowed to even drink Water till day 5 and other than having dry lips I wasn't bothered at all (I was on a drip so couldn't get dehydrated).

Misty, what is the name of the protein powder?

Don't know what time it is where you are Sophia, but it's a little after midday here so I thought it time to send some good vibes your way.

I'd put in a call to your doctor, at least. The incision to the R of my navel has always been waaay more painful than the others (I was on the table at this time a week ago), and my dr says this is where he withdrew the discarded part of my stomach. Due to its size it can tear the muscle a bit on the way out, and I had to have a couple of internal stitches... perhaps everyone does. I didn't ask.

Agh can't see that on my phone but it seems I need to go to the PC version. Thanks for the tip.

I'm using MyFitnessPal but it has preset amounts for daily protein, water, fibre etc goals. Has anyone found a simple daily food and exercise logging app that allows you to manually set these variables?

Agree with others - Water intake up as a priority. And talk to your doctor. We each have "a book" that tells us what we can eat and when, and they're all different. Which means that no one way is right for everyone. I'd stick to Protein shakes sipped all day for a while, and perhaps a bit more watery than usual. Unless you really want it forget other stuff that you might not be ready for yet. On the Optifast program it says that it can be safely used for 3months (3 shakes a day) because it has a lot of Vitamins and minerals in it. An awful lot of healing can go on in that time. Good luck.

Benefiber and Water, agree with stool softeners (but no senna or other laxatives), Movicol and perhaps even Microlax (5ml enema) will help get things started. Aside from the small amounts of food and water you are eating in these early days, you are less active, have had at least some painkillers (which are notorious for slowing the bowel down) and just having surgery at all affects some people's insides. It will get better but keep on top of it. I earned myself a large rectocele after severe constipation following a huge abdominal op (for cancer) 6 years - I'll have to manage that for the rest of my life. But no one told me anything about how to safely address constipation post-operatively and how damaging it could be... just "more fibre, no laxatives". For the record, and because this is an important topic we should all talk about much more: 1. Once you get constipated "more fibre" harms more than it helps 2. Water is ALWAYS your friend 3. Stool softeners without senna or other laxatives are safe to use frequently and long term (my bowel surgeon says "daily" but always wise to check with your bariatric surgeon) 4. The lower end of your bowel dries out and even if you've managed to soften the rest of it, a gentle 5ml enema or suppository can help get things started. It doesn't cure the constipation though, so needs to be combined with something else.

Sooo relate to this. Thanks for putting it out there.

No log for me though I add up protein and fluid numbers in my head. Sounds like a great idea.

Soda, pop, fizzy drink! You're all wrong... DownUnder we call it "soft drink", as in, not an everyday drink (despite how frequently one may drink it) but not hard liquor (alcohol) either. And like the rest of the world we say "Coke" for any version of that brown coloured soft drink and "Fanta" for any orange coloured soft drink.

My shoe size hasn't changed with my weight. Has yours gone down with all the weight you have lost so far? Congrats on that too. Perhaps you can estimate from your experience so far.

Kelliv, this may sound odd but it was years before I noticed my brother was wearing glasses. He is always my brother and I love him just the same at all weights, with any haircut (even the uniquely Australian mullet he sported in his younger days... we are both in our 50s now) and regardless of his eyewear, apparently. I looked at his eyes plenty in those years, just not at the frames around them (this was in the late 70s I should add... "Owl" frames were in abundance). Could your friend simply be like me... not noticing fluctuations in your weight because she focuses on you as a person, not external factors? She sees you every day, it seems, unlike others who might only see you every few weeks or more.

I was sleeved last Monday - had great post op care and felt I needed it, though no complications. It's not a barrel of laughs but better than childbirth IMO. Have a bit of a support team lined up - if not at hospital ... if you are one of those discharged after one or two nights (I had 4 nights in - standard for my dr)... then be sure to have some girlfriends and/or hubby around at home to help you and just take it easy. Morphine and painkillers with codeine in them cause constipation and you need to manage that carefully - I ended up with a permanently damaged bowel following cancer surgery 6 years ago... and am now the queen of constipation management. It's not a job everyone wants to take on bit hey, I'm good at it because needs must. Keep fluids up as best you can and put a teaspoon of Benefiber in everything you drink (no taste, no grit). If you can go without painkillers or just use Panadol you'll be better off, but you don't want to be in agony as that is an unnecessary misery. Just try to reduce every now and then and see how you feel. And lastly, I can't believe how much better I feel every day. By Monday the 13th you'll be writing a post to some other anxious pre-op'er. I wrote a post very similar to yours a couple of days before my surgery - in fact I think I said I was scared I might leap off the table just before they wheeled me into theatre and do a runner in my hospital gown and paper knickers. Good luck. I shall think of you tomorrow and look out for a follow up post.

Hi Susan from Sydney here. Sleeved last Monday 29th April, and doing ok so far. I'm on the north side of Sydney (mid north shore, sort of) and went to the OClinic at Crows Nest. I'd love to meet up with others - especially veterans but I'm happy to share my experiences with the pre-op'ers too. Like others here I've found it hard to navigate the Aus forum, though it looks good. They need an app for those of us who use the phone for this sort if thing. BTW v happy so far with OClinic/Dr Craig Taylor. I feel I received excellent surgical and post-op care (Mater Hosp) that focused on me leaving the hospital in v good shape. Four nights in and home on a Friday, so hubby could care for me on the weekend. Felt perfect. I'm in awe of those who came out of hospital after only a couple of nights - made of tougher stuff than me! Re Optifast, I've been on it sooo many times in my attempts to lose weight. I hate that it is all sweet stuff plus a very "lame" Soup. What is wrong with some savoury options? A tip: follow Optifast instructions to the letter and you'll feel less hungry. I have kept putting milk in my tea and coffee at times, figuring it can't do much harm on such a low cal diet. Pre-op I ditched the milk and found I went into ketosis v quickly and hunger pains were kept at bay. And I think it really does make a difference to the size of your liver. I don't lose heaps of weight on it, but I am always slow at weight loss. Good luck to all! I haven't yet made it through all 87 pages of this thread, but I'm sure I will. It looks great.

Laparoscopic. And my stay was the same as the 6 others sleeved by my dr the same day.

OPs, there's an awful lot of wisdom in these posts and I'd like to second some: 1. Get to a dr and talk about both depression and dehydration 2. Get some action on both - not "if you can't do this we'll do that at some future time". You need help NOW. Say it over and over again to your dr. I'd suggest rehydration and anti-depressants at a minimum, but I'm not a doctor. 3. Have faith in those on this forum who tell you they went through dark Patches and came out the other side. They are not lying to you. 4. Personally, the cute clothes angle doesn't take away dark feelings, but knowing I have an increasing number of weight related health problems and a family history of death around the age of 60 (I'm 52), really does. I want to eat and drink more and more easily too... But I want to live more. 5. Remember, people experience huge losses in their life - stomachs to cancer, limbs and sight to accidents, fertility, children, partners - and 99.99% of them find a way forward. Even if you never stop regretting this decision, you will too. And I bet you do stop regretting it. 6. You made your decision on reasons that were important to you. No one else's reasons or decisions matter, and even if those reasons don't seem as valid now it's no one's business but yours. Don't let others beat you up. Good luck. Laura-ven and Gmanbat, would you please marry and adopt me... Your wise counsel is superb. I come with health insurance and superannuation.