Daydra

Is it just mentally repulsed or are there any physical symptoms? Do you get any unpleasant sensations (not necessarily painful or uncomfortable) when whatever you swallow moves toward your stomach? Any nausea? Either way, you should call your surgeons office. Seriously. There could be something that's off just a little bit that could be addressed and make you feel so much better. Also, serious nutrient deficiencies/dehydration is nothing to play with. If you haven't had your gallbladder out, that might be something to investigate as well.

And really? 110 pounds in 5 months is "pretty good"? You need to give yourself more credit. That is freaking awesome!

Congratulations and good luck! I hope that you are able to get it figured out soon. You certainly can't safely go along as described for very long.

I must take up this Scottish/red hair issue with my family who has been passing themselves off as Indians all these years

Uh oh... you might have a "family secret"! :-)

Yep, totally possible, actually likely. So many others seem to feel that they don't seem to have problems getting in fluids. My recovery went so easy and well that I feel like I "should" expect to be more in that boat, save my scar tissue not playing fair. I expect that as my kink and twist (shouldn't there be a 50's dance move named after that???) resolves, my need to adjust to it should be eliminated.

Here's an interesting bit of information I learned from a pain management specialist. It seems that red heads require higher doses of anesthesia medication and pain meds. They are not exactly sure why but they see it in practice. My surgeon uses a combination of narcotic and non-narcotic pain medications (all given IV) which worked very well. I was able to walk around the entire unit twice the night of my surgery with minimal pain.

Bah! I had a physical therapist that told me that as well. He said that it wasn't so much red hair, but Scottish/Irish heritage, which he referred to as "Reds". I thought he was freaking cracked! (He was trained in Denmark, which I guess is neither here nor there, but he had some funky ideas about physical therapy. My doc pulled me from care after several months.) He actually sent me home with an article about it. Probably long trashed by now... But it totally explained my experiences. Even as a kid, codeine didn't even work for me for a simple ear infection. Morphine was worthless, Toradol worked for me in the ER when my neck seized on me (along with some Valium), but Tramadol was a complete joke. All the fuzzy, stupid head side effects with none of the pain relief. I only accepted that after I had a doc refuse to prescribe the Percocet I requested. (For reasonably minor pain. I broke my tailbone about a decade ago and it still hurts like hell when I have to cram my arse into an airplane seat.) Perc works for me for fairly minor pain, but it doesn't work as well or nearly as long as it's supposed to. They gave me dilaudid while I was in the clinic and I had liquid perc for when I went home (at my request, they usually prescribe liquid vicodin). Fortunately, I didn't experience much pain and didn't bother taking it after the first couple days.

Good luck! Hopefully you will have an easy surgery and very little pain afterward!

Yep, I agree with Lulubee and Vegasme... normal normal normal. Just hang in there, the scale will move (in it's own sweet time, of course...). Just pull a Bobby McFerrin and "Don't worry, be happy!"

Good work and good luck!

Crab cakes are not a slider for me, either! Do keep in mind that different foods "slide" for some and not for others.

Yes, mindful eating is important. I either take 15 minutes to eat or an hour. It's really hard to find that sweet spot. I, too, can eat a lot more over an hour. Unfortunately, it's the only way I can get to the halfway mark on my daily Protein. I am afraid of making this a habit so...

Ugh. Such a fine line!

I'm feeling in the same boat. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of going too low in calories and Protein for too long, so I've been breaking some of the rules, knowing that I need to think of it as a temporary action to address a difficulty until I can consume appropriate amounts. I tend to serve myself an appropriate serving size for a meal and it just takes however long it takes. I'm hoping not to feel like I need to do this for more than a few more weeks. We'll just have to see. I am doing it in a planned and conscious way, with the full understanding that it won't be appropriate behavior as I progress, so I'm not terribly concerned that it's going to turn into uncontrolled, unconscious eating. It is something I will have to carefully monitor, however.

I am so glad things are better! I was worried about you!

Thank you! I'm all good. It really is a fairly minor thing. I never had pain and only realized something was off when I called doc about dehydration and they were way more concerned that something was going on than I was. Sure glad the doctors know more than I do... Who'da thunk?! :-) I probably would have had increasing symptoms in the coming days if it hadn't been addressed (at least that was what I was feeling like last night). But even so, I hadn't thrown up because of it (came pretty close while brushing my teeth the last few days, though...), swallowing would just create this mildly nauseous, feeling that I was starting to do my best to avoid. I probably only got in about 300 cal/day for the last 4 days. Certainly not ideal, but I really wasn't in a ton of distress. Now I have a couple more liters of Fluid on board and feel like I have a good platform to go from. I truly was far more worried about the dehydration than anything going on with my sleeve. The only thing about that that truly scares me is a leak, and my symptoms didn't give me any reason to think it might be that.

Thanks so much for the caring and support!

Go to Sams, and get some Premier brand ready made shakes. Comes in vanilla and chocolate. They have 30 grams of Protein. I always buy them when I would do low carb/high Protein and I would actually have to hide them from my husband or he would drink them all up. Tasty!

Or Coscto...

Aside from the obvious Protein, Water, and exercise, one thing that I have found that works for me is getting enough sleep. If I can somehow manage to get myself at least 7 hours of sleep a night, I always seem to lose the next day, some days it is just a few ounces, but it is always a loss. When I get 5 or 6 hours of sleep, I usually do not lose anything or gain a few ounces.

Me three! Losing weight at any time in my life has been greatly affected by my sleep (or usually lack thereof)

FIrst: Congratulations!

Second: I have never seen any reason to invest time and effort to maintain a relationship that doesn't give you what you need. Life is far too short and we have far more important and rewarding things to spend our time and energy on. In your position, I think that I would step way back, at least for now. I think that you are right to continue to treat her with respect. Perhaps someday, she will realize what has happened and acknowledge it. At that time, you may or may not feel that rekindling the friendship is worth it.

Best of luck. I'm sorry that this friend has not turned out to be such a good friend after all.

Update: Endoscopy went fine. Doc was able to straighten tissue out mostly, but I have some torsion as well that he wasn't able to fix with the scope. Despite that, I feel loads better. Nausea seems to be gone and I feel like I can drink. I was just asked to pay close attention to how I feel and call right away if I start feeling worse again. I have a followup with my surgeon on the 9th if I don't need to be seen earlier. Even if it does get worse, it is not a horror story type of complication. Still could possibly do a balloon dilation if necessary or a pretty simple laparoscopic procedure to address. Healing/scar tissue caused the issue. Hopeful that I will maintain relief and this will be the end of it.

Thanks for reading!

Your numbers don't show anything to be discouraged about. Your resting metabolic rate should be around 2400 right now, so unless you were working out ridiculously hard and eating nothing, it would be impossible to run a 3500 cal daily deficit to lose 1 pound a day. You also need to realize that your body is periodically going to take some time outs to do some readjustments throughout the process. 32 pounds in 7 weeks is actually really good! I was at my 1 month post op and the nurse totally checked me for pooh-poohing that I'd only lost 16. Hang in there, you are doing the right things, the weight will come off. We really have a big tendency to be too hard on ourselves and expect too much, so be kind to yourself and take heart in the knowledge that you are doing the right things.

As far as the vomiting and having a hard time getting down food and Fluid goes... if you haven't called your surgeons office yet, I would really encourage you to do that. You really want to know if there is something creating this situation, particularly this far out, and if you continue to struggle with fluids in particular, you are eventually likely to end up with dehydration that will need to be treated. I'm at 5 weeks and just found out today that my difficulty getting any kind of volume of fluid/food down without nausea and the resulting dehydration is caused by a kink in my stomach. I'm going in for an endoscopy tomorrow, doc believes passing the scope through should straighten it out and solve the problem. Also had to get a couple liters of IV fluids.

Good luck! You are doing great and I hope that you are able to determine and resolve the cause of your symptoms!

I wouldn't think so... Even Ina Garten's recipe only calls for 1/2c bread crumbs and 1/2c mayo for 6-8 servings. The rest of the ingredients are crab (duh!), veg, egg, herbs, and seasonings. How long were you comfortable after eating it before you felt like you needed to eat again? That's probably the biggest tell. You might have started the 2nd crab cake and found yourself full or stuffed just a bite or two into it...

Thanks everybody! I have an answer to the mystery... Not a stricture, fortunately. I have a kink. Fluoroscope showed kink causing me to reflux and empty more slowly than I should. Certainly answers why I felt like it was impossible to get enough Fluid throughout the day despite always having a bottle of something with me. Doc said that usually just doing an endoscopy and passing the scope into the stomach straightens it out and solves the problem so I can continue on my merry way. Sooo... we scheduled my endoscopy for tomorrow morning and with any luck, my kink will not be a pain in the arse! They gave me a couple liters of IV fluids. I've peed a lot, have less of a headache, and feel slightly less fatigued, but am still having some nausea. Seems to flare when Fluid or food hits my sleeve or I'm slumped for a few minutes, so it's probably just sensation from my kinked sleeve. At any rate, hopefully starting tomorrow, I can start getting consistent fluids on board and can start having regular meals again!

Thanks again, all!

VSGJourneyGrandma,

If you are newly having trouble getting things down, definitely call your doc. They want to hear from you and want to make sure that it gets figured out. My doc said if I ever feel worse about something as time goes on instead of better, that is definitely the time to call. Even if it were to be a stricture, they can usually do a balloon dilation or something to stretch it out. If you are struggling with fluids in particular, you'll eventually hit a point of dehydration that you'll need treatment, so better to check it out early rather than late. I probably waited longer than I should have, but I didn't really realize anything was wrong until I got hit with the dehydration symptoms.

Good luck!

Yeah, I kinda miss that eating couch :-)

Thanks!

Thanks. The slouching thing was an afterthought, but yeah, it would fit. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

Sleeved 7/23. Recovery was totally fine, no complications, etc. However, I knew I wasn't getting enough fluids. Prior to surgery, I typically ran at some level of chronic dehydration, it would show up in my labs. So after surgery, I wasn't having any problems that I was aware of, and just kept chugging along, trying to sip fluids, but not tracking them meticulously. I figure I wasn't ever getting more than 40oz/day, likely less more often than not.

Over about the last 10 days, I started feeling pretty tired, but didn't really think much of it. Then, this weekend, I slept waaay in, feeling too tired to get out of bed and get moving (despite being on 2 different stimulants for a sleeping disorder, and I had taken my meds), so it was probably 12 or 1 by the time I got showered and got something to drink/eat. By then, I was feeling mildly nauseous and had even less appetite than normal since surgery. Tried to get in some fluids, but I'm not sure how much I managed. Certainly not enough at any rate. Sunday same story except add orthostatic hypotension (bp went from 124/77 to 109/71 upon standing (Normally my bp runs around 135/84) and I got dizzy and felt like I had to hold onto something), rapid heart rate (went from 69 to 109), and fast breathing. Again, tried to push fluids. Managed to get about 26oz. That's it.

Figured I would have a chat with our clinic nurses at work before deciding when it was time to throw in the towel and ask for iv fluids. This morning, I was feeling a little better, the dizziness didn't seem to be an issue, but I knew that fluids were still a big issue. Talked to the nurses and they thought that it was probably better to get some iv fluids in because it's hard to get on top of dehydration once it hits, particularly with surgery, so they told me to call the surgeon.

My surgeon had me go get some labwork done and wants to do a swallow test tomorrow and have me evaluated. Kinda feeling like this is a bit overkill. (Especially since getting there and back takes an entire day off work) I have no sense that there is really anything seriously wrong. No pain, no problem with foods, nausea only started over the weekend after a prolonged period of no fluids, etc. I just haven't been able to get much in. I don't like the way it feels when food or liquid hits the sleeve, but it's not painful or uncomfortable exactly. I feel like I can only get about an ounce in at a time. It was taking me hours to eat any reasonable amount of food. 2-3 hours for an 11oz Protein shake, or meats, or really anything. About an hour or so for a yogurt cup or some cottage cheese, or Soup or something. I did a calorie check on a dinner a few days ago. I figured I was full after I'd eaten about 40 calories... That struggle led me to either eat for a long time, taking whatever time I needed to finish my meal, or to drink with my meals, which of course flushed the food through a little quicker.

Anyway... way too much information. I'm not really worried about it. I'm seeing the surgeon tomorrow, so we'll get it worked out, but I was just wondering if anyone else was still struggling with dehydration over a month out.

Here's a thought... does anyone else have food/fluids get blocked if they slouch while eating drinking? I find that if I'm not sitting up straight, pressure starts to build until I straighten up so things can continue on down. Also, any more than a bite or two (maybe 3) and food or thick liquids start to push back into my esophagus, particularly if anything goes in on top of an air bubble. This amount of food would be maybe 1/8 cup or a couple tablespoons. No pain, no nausea when that happens. I don't get a full or pressure sensation before this happens. Is this consistent with others?

Thanks for taking the time to read this ridiculously long post containing more information than you ever wanted to know about me and any responses provided!

Hope everyone is having a good evening!

Whatever, I don't really care, so you're all wasting you breath whining to me.

Then why are you here? This whole exchange started because you made an insensitive comment and I called you out on it. I thought perhaps I could provide a different point of view that might cause you to at least rethink your judgement of others.

My mistake...

The 3 week stall.....If you just had surgery and your weight loss has already stalled, read THIS

I lifted this link from Butterthebean's signature (thanks for the lend!) If the link doesn't work, look for one of his posts and it's there.

I think you're right on the BMR calc. That lines up pretty close to where I'm usually at, and I wear a Bodymedia Fit, so I know how many calories I've burned each day. I don't believe that you have been on a very low calorie diet long enough to have had any major effect on your metabolism, though, our bodies do learn to do the work we ask it to do as efficiently as possible (with the least calorie expenditure). This is one of my biggest fears. I don't want to get down to goal weight and be forced into a 900 cal/day diet for the rest of my life to prevent gain. I want to be able to be healthy, train, and race, and not being a small girl, that's gonna take calories to provide the kind of energy I will need.

All that being said, sometimes the math takes a hiatus and doesn't line up for periods of time. I've been running an average of 1800cal daily deficit and over the last 10 days, I've only lost about 2 pounds, but according to the math, it should have been more like 5. We're going to have periods of time that are like that, but an 8 pound gain? I don't know, but that sounds like there's something else going on. I've never had a problem with sugar either, but most, if not all, of the surgeons recommend eliminating, or severely limiting sugar. I don't intend to go so far as to eliminate it, but I will reduce it significantly. I have to be honest, though. I haven't done a ton of research as to exactly what it does to the body, other than the effects on blood sugar, which can in turn create cravings. The good news about cutting sugar, though, is that many people will go through a short withdrawal phase, and then the cravings disappear, so it's a habit that is *relatively* easy to kick. Also, some people have allergies to sugar. Our bodies response to it might not be noticeable when we are heavy, but might be after surgery and we are trying to squeeze every pound of loss that we can.

Yeah, all calories are not equivalent when you consider the different effects the macronutrients play in nutrition, and about a zillion other variables that are only partially understood so far. They're really only all the same if you look at it from a purely physical standpoint and not a biological one. One Calorie provides the energy released from food that is equivalent to the energy required to increase the temperature of 1 kilogram of Water by 1 degree at 1 atmosphere of pressure. Doesn't really tell you a lot about how it interacts with the body...

Yikes... going too far again...

I think the most important thing for you to figure out is exactly what's causing you to gravitate toward selecting the sugary drinks instead of what you know to be healthier options. If you can address that part of the equation, you've got half the battle licked right there.

Good luck! Keep working toward the goal!

If that's bruising, it's waaay more than I had. If there's any chance that it might be redness and not bruising, you had better call the doc. My discharge instructions said to call if I was any redness around the incisions larger than a dime. Also to call if I had shortness of breath, fever over 101, rapid heart rate, anxiety, pus, or persistent vomiting.

I really hope that you feel better soon! Definitely don't just assume that it's okay. They would much rather hear from you than have something go wrong, or even have you worry about it if you don't need to!

It's not the raw number of calories. Even at 1250, OP is still running a significant daily deficit (I weigh about the same and burn roughly 2500cal/day on average, so OP would be running a similar deficit). I think it's far more likely to be the quality of the calories than the total number of calories. Could be partly some metabolic reaction to the sugar intake (speaking of which, OP, are the yogurts sugar free? Each one of those could add another tablespoon of sugar to your total), inflammation, Fluid retention, who knows? Plus, OP is right in that "3 week stall" window, where the body may be replacing released glycogen and Water. A lot of things could be happening, but my best guess is that cutting out the sugary drink and going back to basics will put OP back to the baseline. If there's still a problem, I would say it's time to talk to the doc.

Harsh, not really. The fact is, I'm getting sleeved because I can't stick to it either. I'm hoping the deterrents and benefits of the sleeve will help me to keep it under control post op and then after losing the weight, help me get a new start by changing my eating habits and adjusting permanently to the change. I'm hoping the memory and risks of what I went thru and the loss of 85% of one of my internal organs to get the weight off, will remind me every day. If it doesn't, I will have no one to blame but myself. Not harsh, just reality.

Wow, dude, seriously? Telling someone they can't possibly succeed, so why bother isn't harsh? I am really glad that the OPs struggling sister isn't the one who posted and had to read that. I'm sure she feels discouraged enough without having to see this kind of unsupportive and discouraging comment.

I think that we all have similar hopes to what you express, but your statement indicates that it's as simple as willpower. If that wasn't true before surgery, what would make it true after? It's way more complicated than simply calories in vs. calories out and is influenced by who knows how many different factors, only some of which we have good control over, or even realize exist. Lots of people regain after surgery and telling them it's too late, they've had their chance, isn't fair and doesn't help them turn things around and succeed. It's never too late to change your life.

So in comparison, my husband and I are eating 600 calories a day. And he's 6 feet tall and 248 lbs. AND even at that, we stalled for a week. 1200 calories is a lot. Some vets in maintenance can eat that, but most can't lose on that.

Moreover, we're keeping carbs under 50 all day. A Starbucks medium frappe into has 72 gms of carbs and 430 calories even before whipped cream. Just for comparison, many days I eat less calories and less carbs than that ALL DAY.

My advice to you is to not drink your calories. We all know that drinking your calories will make you put on weight as it is considered a sure-fire way to eat around your sleeve.

I'd suggest download something like my fitness pal and track everything you put in your mouth. Eat at least 70 gms of Protein, less than 50 gms of carbs, and drink 64 oz of fluids in a day. I think you will love the results!

Good luck and I'm sure you can do this!

Sorry about basically duplicating your advice... I was typing as responses came in, so I didn't see them until after I hit post...

I have body aches.. Is this happening to somebody else?????, down almost 40 pounds in two months but the body aches are etting worse

Yeah, actually. I'm only a month out, and have noticed my arms and legs ache for no good reason, as far as I can tell. I haven't figured it out yet, but 2 possible culprits for me *might* be dehydration or low Iron. I've not been getting enough Fluid and i've been terrible with my Vitamin compliance... I plan to work to improve both and see what happens before I get too excited about it.

Good luck!

I would recommend using a calorie tracking program such as Myfitnesspal, or whatever you find easiest to use. It will give you a better picture of your calorie consumption.

Using McDonald's medium carmel frappe as an example: 550 cal, 9g Protein, 23g fat, 79g carb (71g is sugar, and you can divide that by 12 to get the equivalent tablespoons), and no Fiber.

So, I'm guessing getting diarrhea was more likely due to the 23g of fat and roughly 6 tablespoons of sugar you consumed than drinking through the straw. My guidance is to aim for 25-30g Protein in each meal, and 9g just isn't enough. I would highly recommend you find a healthier alternative for these drinks if you are going to have something like this with any regularity. I'm not one to recommend cutting fat and sugar too far, but you are really not doing yourself any favors here.

WIth your described weight gain and diet, I would think that your sodium consumption would be an unlikely culprit, you are probably not exceeding the sodium recommendations.

Best of luck and congratulations on your weight loss so far!