Roo101769

Think I know what I want from Santa this year..I will be far enough out by Christmas. I can start have visions of sugar plums (or pig parts) dancing in my head!!!

Cream of wheat is a winner for me. Takes me 3 hours to eat an entire bowl. ( one prepared package) Make it a little thin, and use skim milk for extra protein. I like plain with sweeter and pumpkin pie spice for flavor. Hope you find it enjoyable!!

I was sleeved same day as you. While I have not tried anything like ice cream, if I did it would be something like SF vanilla. Full sugar/fat ice cream with nuts in it is begging for trouble. But if you can from here on out, pick another option. I know you didn't go to this extent to keep on the same path and not lose the weight. I am sure there will come a time when you, I , everyone will test their sleeve in one way or another. But not this soon. Please be careful and let yourself heal. Revisit your NUT or doctors post op lists of foods to eat. While most would still be on full liquids, my doctor did tell me I could start on purees. Honestly, I haven't yet. I am not ready. I can handle cream soup (no chunks) and yogurt. Even had some cream of wheat. Just take it slow and steady...And good luck!!!

I was sleeved 10/21. My pre op appointment on 10/17 I weighed 283, my post op appointment on 10/29 I was 273. My high starting weight ( As of 8/1) was 316lbs. But I am still trying to get all my fluids & protein in daily.

Won't lie to you folks, first week is probably the hardest. (unless there are complications) Nothing you won't get through, but it is tough. I was sleeved 10/21. I started feeling somewhat better by 10/24. Still have occasional left side twinge and I'm tired. But I am back at work and dealing with it. Just take one day at a time and do what the doctor says!

I am on lifelong blood thinners from repeated DVT / PEs. (blood clots traveling into my lungs) I had to stop taking my oral blood thinners and start SELF INJECTING Lovenox ( same basically as Heparin) before the surgery. Then was supposed to continue injections for four days post op. Well..My only real issue from blood thinners was at the site of one of my incisions. It bled and oozed severely post op until they finally glued it shut. As I was told by the surgical resident. Because I am on blood thinners the subcutaneous tissue there was "mush". All my other sites they were able to stitch a few layers to close, but that one only the very top layer was able to hold. After the glue no more bleeding. I do have nasty bruises on me because of the blood thinners. And the nurses, who are trained professionals, still managed to create some HUGE bruises and a big ole' knot that hurts to this day!! So I admit I skipped the final day injection because I had no where to put it between their boo boos and my incisions. But over time it is all getting better. I wish you well and hope you heal soon!

I am feeling completely blah today. In no way does it reflect my continued happiness with getting my sleeve, nope. Just life in general. The same things that were there pre op are lingering post op. I was sleeved 10/21. No complications. No real issues. I will admit I had rose colored glasses on going in so I did not give the idea of MAJOR SURGERY enough credit. So, the ensuing recovery period has been maybe a bit tougher than I gave credit to. But all in all it has been ok and yes, I would do it all again. I am healing well, lost 10lbs since my pre op appointment (4 days prior to surgery) and I am moving along. Today I returned to work. That could be a large portion of my negativity today. Yesterday, when all was said and done, when I was cleared and planning my return to work, when the surgery was water under the bridge and no take backs....I was informed I was not being paid for the time I took off! Not that it was a complete surprise. I work for a company that can only be said to be un employee friendly. The fact they even covered WLS in the insurance still blows my mind. The company does NOT offer any form of sick time. You get 10 days vacation annually- period. ( I have been here 18+ years) And, to be very blunt, my pay STINKS. I literally make a few dollars (per hour)above minimum wage after all this time. And for the record I am their accounts payable department. I'm it-period. It is a multi million dollar manufacturing company. Needless to say I have chose to stay here so it is much as my own fault as any. ( I have looked elsewhere in the past with no luck) Anyway, I just think how they handled this stinks. I was off a bit earlier this year for a DVT/PE. I worked from home for several weeks to continue my income, until I was cleared to come back and work in full. ( I was only paid part time though) It really is no surprise they decided to pay me nothing for the week and two days I took off. But I think someone should have said something BEFORE it happened. They knew for months (since August) I was doing this. I could have planned my finances around the time a bit better had I been forewarned. Instead I sort of assumed I would be paid since nothing was said. Guess I learned what happens when you assume!!! And to add insult to injury..I come back and there is a mound of work left on my desk to do. Very little was actually done during my time off. So I do not get paid because I wasn't here, yet I am expected to do the work anyway. Needless to say I am cranky. I am tired, my back and head hurt, and I have a real attitude about being here. Well here is my little secret. Once I lose the weight. Once I am more "marketable" because I am no longer obese, I will be seeking greener pastures. I will repay their years of concern for my well being (NONE!!) in kind. See ya suckers!!!!!!! Ok- sorry to vent/ rant. Needed to unload.

I am just south of Dayton OH. I forgot to mention one little tid bit. Sunday is my daughter's 5th birthday. Timing is everything!!! LOL Oh well, I vent then move on. What else can I do? I prefer to laugh instead of cry....

I think it is completely normal to have doubts. Second (third, fiftieth) guesses to if this surgery is really what I want & need. Be honest with yourself is all I can say. It is forever. If your weight will never go down, continue to climb, and hinders your life in any way....Well you know what I mean. Is it possible to lose weight by diet and exercise if you really, really try? Well yes it is. And what are the REAL chances you will try that hard? I am a single mother to a little girl who is turning five this weekend. Trust me, I thought very hard about this. I have a history with blood clots and embolisms, so dying was a very real fear when I was considering. But every precaution was taken. No stone was left unturned. I had my affairs in order. I made a will. I prepared for the what ifs....And I had the surgery. Because at the end of the day the "what will be"s if I didn't have the surgery far and away outnumbered the "what ifs". I plan to be here for my daughter, until a ripe old age. The only way I knew I could better guarantee that, and also be an ACTIVE part of her life, was to have the surgery. Search your soul and I think you will have your answer.

I just had my first post op check today.( sleeved 10/21) Doctor said I am doing great. I have lost 10lbs since my pre op check on the 17th. (Down 40 lbs from highest weight) He told me to go ahead and start incorporating purees into my diet. I can't do much at all, but that little bit does help with the "tired" feeling. I came home and made a bowl of "cream of" soup..Cream of chicken, cream of potato and cream of broccoli. Mix all together then put a couple spoonfuls in a blender with equal parts milk. Blend then heat and eat. The combined tastes are great. And it will last for a while. Anyway, good luck on your post op!

I was sleeved 10/21 as well. They did what they could to prevent nausea, but I ended up throwing up the same evening. After that they gave me a lot of meds to fight it. ( not good to do that right after surgery). Every time they gave me pain meds in the hospital they had to do an anti nausea chaser. Since I have been home it is less. My stomach is trying to "kick start", sometimes I'm not sure if I feel hunger or nausea. Today I have been trying hard to get in my fluids and my vitamins. Pain is better tolerated so I am not taking so much of the pain meds. I burped a lot in the hospital, but didn't do the rest (to relieve gas) until I was home. Now it comes and goes fairly easily. My added bonus was my sinuses were a mess pre op. While they were not bad enough to reschedule surgery, the post nasal drip certainly has helped nothing. And for some reason no one thought to put the bubbler on my oxygen while I had it so it dried the sinuses a lot. Been dealing with bloody nose issues for days now. I do feel a gradual progression back to "normal" with each day. But I do have to admit I didn't know exactly what to expect until I got here. It has been hard, but I still feel worth it.

I was sleeved 10/21. I had some minor complications, but nothing really dramatic. My surgery got bumped into later in the day, ended up being done at 2pm instead of 10am. So that evening was shot. I did have trouble waking up fully from it. They sort of held back pain meds due to this so I was super hurting by the time it was worked out. I also had terrible nausea. I actually did throw up a bunch of blood (sorry-TMI) before they could get me setteled. I think I got stronger anti nausea stuff after that. I had one incision that was oozing LOTS of stuff. I had a drain on left side, this was the right. The surgical resident who was in during the surgery said my subcuteneous tissue was "mush" due to being a blood thinner user. They really didn't have anything to stitch together there, so it was sort of open. At the end of day two they came in, cleaned it well and then applied a LOT of pressure. It hurt, but ended up working. Then the put derma bond over it to glue it shut. Having the drain pulled did not feel good, but help ease the left side pain a bit when gone. So far at home I have had trouble with fluid intake, but getting better. I have to give myself Lovenox injections thru tomorrow and can't wait for those to be done. I didn't get one in deep enough and now have a sore spot on my already mangled tummy from it. And I have been having stomach spasms. Nothing terrible, just a very weird feeling. Think it is just trying to restart and will take some time to smooth out..That is all for me. Nothing earth shattering by any means, but I will be happy when I am at the end of the surgical healing process!

I can say pre op wasn't easy, but it wasn't too bad. Especially when my body started burning fat for fuel and my hunger level dropped. But now I am two days post op and I can see where it is going to be hard for me. My stomach doesn't want anythng and I am still feeling nausea. I will have to force myself to consume anything for a while, until this part passes. But everything does get better in time, so I am sure I will make it past here too!

First official "after" post! I made it through surgery. I was told it was a total success. After surgery not so much..(but this is me-everyone is different) I had a hard time waking up, and when I did I hurt! (They were with holding some of the pain killers until I came out of the anesthisa well) Left side is the achey side, either from where they take the stomach out or the drain. Right side incicion has been bleeding heavily. They are sort of concerned, but no panic buttons being hit yet. ( I am on blood thinners for life. While I discontinued before surgery it could be effecting it) I have been up to the potty and to walk a couple times, so most gas pain is minimal. Just taking it moment by moment with my new best friends-ice chips! LOL In the end this will all be a memory and I will be so glad I endured it.

Less. Than 5 hours until surgery time. I have been fighting a cold or sinus infection, yesterday it was winning. But last night it started clearing up and today it isn't that bad. So I think the surgery will happen. Wish me luck and see everyone on the "other side" soon!

I am scheduled for my sleeve at 10am, but. I am having doubts if it will happen. I have a cold that is causing me a bunch of head congestion, post nasal drip and coughing. I should be having nerves about it, instead. I am worrying it won't happen. I am trying to stay positive and pray I feel better by morning!

I have been fighting it ever since last Monday. I have bad allergies and when they flare I usually end up getting sick. Well that happened and today I feel like crud. Have head full of junk and a cough. Unless I clear up drastially I do not see them doing the surgery tomorrow! I have gone through so much to get here. I have had to switch from oral warfarin to Lovenox injections (self administered!) for two days now. I am ready mentally and emotionally. I just pray and worry my physical catches up!!...

I have been practicing deep breathing, as they suggest to do pre op to avoid pneumonia. My lungs don't feel bad, it is mostly post nasal drip cough. I have been getting out all I can. Also used my Netti pot which helped a little bit. I will just get up annd go tomorrow and see what happens. I've come too far and I am too close to not try. Maybe a new day will bring better health.

My biggest concern right now is allergies. I have some post nasal drip making my throat scratchy and I have a cough. I do not need full blown pneumonia post op! I really hope it doesn't effect surgery. I am so ready for Monday at 10am! Just hope I feel better before I feel worse!!!

I think southernsoul nailed it. Quality instead of quantity when choosing to use food for celebration or a treat. I am on day 7 of the 10 day pre op diet and I can say I honestly look forward to eating something I can CHEW! ( scrambled egg sounds heavenly right now) I also understand I am a few weeks away from that, but will get there in time. It is such a life long ingrained habit to eat when we celebrate (or have social gatherings) that it is often something we cannot turn off. So the decision has to be made to choose the best possible option for our new bodies. I think fine dining that costs more for less is a great example. Fast cheap food is a huge cause of the national obesity problem. Maybe paying more for less will give us pause to really think about what we are doing. And by the way congrats on your weight loss! I "officially" loss 21lbs at my consult today...(since I saw them last) But I had already lost some from my highest before my first appointment, so I am sitting at about 29lbs total loss. I look forward to more loss and a healthy new body!

Today is day 7 of my pre op liquid diet. Today is also my birthday. I have actually had little appetite the last couple of days, so I thought I would get through pretty well. Sure, there is a small side of me that misses being able to celebrate my birthday with food. But I have had 43 birthdays that were celebrated that way, one without will not kill me. ( next year I plan to EAT-just healthy!) Anyway lunch rolls around and I am starting to be a bit peckish. It is raining and cold here and my co-workers did not want to go out for lunch. I was prepared with a can of cream of chicken soup, but I have had that quite a bit this past week. They decided to order in from a local restaurant that delivers. I had them check what soups they had and found they had a roasted squash that was creamy. When asked if it was good, the girl on the other end of the phone said it "tasted like Thanksgiving". Mouth watering I ordered a bowl of it. My co-workers ordered chicken wings, loaded baked potato soup and salad. ( This place has the BEST salads!) When it came we dug in and I couldn't wait. Until I opened the lid off my soup....UGH The smell was reminiscent of dirty feet!! I tasted a bite and it didn't seem bad, at first. The more I ate thought the more the smell got to me. I tried to hold my breath and swig it down, but the aftertaste of "wet sock" was left in my mouth. I barely got through half of it and gave up. Luckily I had some sf jello here and finished lunch with that, all the while smelling the yummy odor of wings. Then a coworker, a girl who is insensitive at best, ( mostly a b**ch!) started going on and on about how GREAT her lunch was. My other coworkers told her to hush, knowing my soup didn't work out. Then the insensitive girl goes "well you are going to be skinny, so it is worth it!". Easy for her chubby self to say! Yes, it is worth it. Yes, I will be happy and healthy for my sacrifice now. Yes I will get through it all. .. But at that moment I wanted to wring her chicken wing eating neck!!!!

I personally like Body Fortress cookies & cream, Body Fortress Choc.& PB and six Star Choc. I compared them to Unjury. They do have SLIGHTLY higher fat & carbs, but lower sugars and higher protein!!!! Plus they are much easier to find (grocery store, Walmart etc) and MUCH cheaper! I am still pre op so the true test will be next week, when I am post op. See how they taste to me then...

Ahoy matey....Ok, not funny. I too have PCOS and worry a great deal about the hair loss. ( already have lost a large amount over the years) But I will deal with it. I will also remember this post and make sure to get in at least a little fruit. Crazy how this all works! Good luck and good health!..

My deepest and heartfelt condolences on your loss. I lost my mother in 2003 and it was the single hardest thing I have ever had to go through. I miss her as much now as I did then, maybe more. But I also can remember her with smiles and laughter now, not just tears. Time has a way of soothing our broken hearts. It sounds like your mom raised a good boy who cares for himself as she cared for you. I will hold you in my heart and say a prayer for you today. Take care....

Frankie...I am so sorry to hear you are having such a hard time emotionally with having the surgery. Given your age you have a lot of life ahead of you, so it is possible you haven't experienced a lot of "life changers" yet. This is certainly a huge life changer. How did you feel about it before you did it? Was there still doubts as they sent you into the O.R., or did you believe you were doing the right thing? That could be where the problems began... Either way you are here now, it is done. Stressing the "what ifs" will not help you one bit at this point. You have to live your life, and that is now a life with the sleeve. I strongly encourage you to seek some counseling. You may need something to help balance out your emotions during this early time with your new and improving body. But you also need to focus on the positives, not the negatives. You made it through surgery. You had no complications. You cared enough about yourself and your future to seek out this surgery to begin with. There was obviously a need to change yourself physically, at least you felt that at the time. Now it is done. Sometimes you just have to give things over to whatever higher power you believe in. Find some positives to cling to in these difficult days, no matter how small they may be. Eventually the positives will grow larger as you grow smaller. There will be so many opportunities to live your life in ways you probably can't even begin to fathom yet. The saying "it is always darkest before the dawn" is running through my head right now. It may seem very dark. But you found VST and let it be your light until the dawn comes. Try to believe it WILL get better. Each day find one thing to be thankful for or happy about. It may be hard at first, but it will become so much easier over time. I think your fear of the unknown is taking over, don't let it. Our whole lives are unknown, no matter how carefully we try to plan them. Live your life. Understand that you are worth this. You are giving yourself the chance to be healthy. Find your supports and use them, wherever or whoever they may be. In time you won't need the support anymore and will soar on your own!!! I hope you find peace soon...