Kindle

What's your weight limit instructions? Mine was no more than 20 pounds for three weeks, so technically 18# would be OK, but I could definitely feel the pulling at my incision sites when I would lift stuff.

I got something IV in the hospital but went home 15 hours after surgery and never had any pain. They gave us a sublingual NSAID to take for 4 days but I only took it for 3 days. Probably didn't even need it, but wanted the anti inflammatory affects to reduce internal swelling.

Kaysosa, Thanks for the concern. The friend I talked to is my PCP and the ER doctor of the hospital I would be going to if I went, so I basically have an ER doc overseeing my care at home. He lives 20 minutes away and I have his home and cell phone on speed dial. I'm not running a fever and don't have any other symptoms of serious complications. If I went to the hospital, they would have me on IV fluids and metronidazole, which I'm already doing. In fact, If I weren't actually dehydrated, they would send me home on metronidazole. They wouldn't do a CT or colonoscopy or any other diagnostics tonight and we can't get C. diff results till tomorrow, so there's nothing more to be done at this point. And really, it's not so much the $$$ as the 3 dogs, two cats and 2 horses I have to take care of.

Thanks for the advice. I only took 2 doses Imodium and it has slowed but not stopped the diarrhea. I will definitely not take anymore. Got my stool sample already and started flagyl. So glad animals and people take similar Meds! Any thoughts on the oral vanco being hard on my sleeve since I'm only 6 weeks out?

Wow! I'm impressed. I was still on full liquids until day 18. Even at 5 weeks I can't eat even close to that much. I've gotten 55-65 oz. fluids everyday since day 5 and liquids, broths and yogurt go down fine. But for anything more solid like bean soup, cream of wheat, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, refried beans, eggs, tuna fish, etc. I can only eat about 2 tablespoons no more than 2 - 3 times a day. I get so stuffed I can't drink for an hour or two even if I was allowed to. I still get most of my protein from shakes. You are progressing astoundingly well.

As for your liquid diet, try diluted, strained cream soups for variety. I had cream of asparagus, cream of shrimp, cream of spinach, cream of mushroom, and cream of chicken in addition to chicken and beef broths, tortilla soup base broth, strained French onion, and Chinese hot and sour broth. Added unflavored protein powder to all. Unjury protein cheese sauce was outstanding added to the tortilla soup base. I still drink that!

Nothing for me once I left the hospital. Did have compression stockings for flying and encouraged to walk walk walk

Ask your nut or surgeon if there is anything you could add to your diet that would help. I was allowed leafy green veggies and I think this helped with regulation. If your surgeon won't budge, maybe benefiber would help. Easy to mix with your fluids and soluble fiber helps with both diarrhea and constipation. (Definitely don't take insoluble fiber like psyllium, though!). Or maybe a dose or two of Imodium to slow down your bowels.

And how about the dressings on your salads? Are you indulging in the Snacks people bring? I really think you know where the problems are, but it's something only you can fix. Just really try to fill up with protein first so there's no room for the other stuff. Clear out your cupboards and Keep all the junk out of your house so you have nothing but healthy choices during your moments of weakness when you're bored.

Sounds great to me! I used to guzzle a 20 oz bottle of water or powerade in under a minute and loved it! But at this point I still have to drink slowly and struggle with 64oz because I'm so full all the time. I'm glad it's winter and I hope I'm as successful as you with the drinking thing by summertime when I'm hot and dying of thirst at work.

For people who choose to weigh daily, that is the attitude they need to have! I know I would probably start to obsess (like I did on the infamous HCG diet), so I chose the once/week strategy.

I am on 40mg Omeprazole daily but did go through a little bout early on where I was getting "hunger pains". 2 teaspoons of Maalox made the "hunger" go away instantly so I can only conclude it was acid. Once I went to puréed and especially soft food, I'm so full all the time I can barely get my fluids in. Even now I will get hunger pains, but it's usually right after I eat certain things, so again, probably acid.

Too bad you didn't post earlier...I could have sent you my scale. I threw mine out when I started my preop. I now weigh once/week at work just to have something to put on my ticker. And, you're right, you may be disappointed with the number on the scale right now because you probably actually gained a lot of Water weight during surgery (I was still up 5 pounds at 10 days postop) Just keep following your postop instructions and you will lose.

So what are you eating?

Ever consider self pay in Mexico? You could be two years post op and at goal by now. And you would be treated a heck of a lot better than you have been so far.

I went back to 1/2 days after 1 week and full time after 2 and I have a fairly active job. However, I used to teach skiing to 3-6 year olds so I can somewhat appreciate what you're going back to. I don't think I could have handled all that kid energy after just one week off. And don't forget about the lifting restrictions you will probably have, so heavy books, supplies, crying kids, etc. will have to stay put.

Sorry, I read the 180 loss from 302 and thought the 225 was a typo. But yeah, that seems high since it still puts you at a "severely obese" BMI. Wonder how he's calculating goal weight. In any case, you can choose any goal you want. Just keep doing the work until you get to where YOU want to be. Don't get too hung up the numbers.

Just found this thread and I love it! At least the original sentiment.... There are certain types of posts on here that make me want to rip my own head off and throw it at the person that submitted the post. I can't tell you how many times I've typed up a reply, only to delete it because I know I'd get slammed for being insensitive and mean. (I tried being brutally honest on another forum and that didn't go over very well ) I propose creating an "alternate reality" forum where we can link these irritating posts to and are allowed to reply however truthfully we see fit. No PC, no hand holding, no sugar coating, just good old fashioned honesty.

As dozens of other posters on here can attest to, you are RIGHT ON SCHEDULE! Search this forum for details or check out Butterthebeans signature for a good link.

Did you mean goal weight of 125? If so, this does seem a little low to me. Your surgeon is shooting for a low end normal BMI. But a lot of it depends on your body frame, muscle mass, etc. If you are fairly " petite" , it may be an appropriate goal. My nut took an extensive weight history profile and body mass measurements and gave me a goal of 160. I'm 5'5" but built like a linebacker...wide frame, big bones, very muscular, etc. I actually set my personal goal at 150 because I know what I looked like and felt like when I was that weight. (Personally, I haven't been 125 since 8th grade and I wasn't a fat kid.)

Exercising enough

From the complications I read, it's a blood supply/tissue necrosis issue that causes the leak. By the time they get in there, there's a chunk of dead stomach tissue with leakage into the abdominal cavity. Reasons I found for the interrupted blood supply have ranged from poor surgical technique (sutures too tight or poorly spaced), or popped stitches which results in an uneven plication line and an outpouching of part of the stomach that became necrotic, to no known reason. The scary part for me is the complications happened many months after a seemingly successful surgical recovery. I'd be stresses about it the whole time. Unfortunately all WLS has risks and individuals should research all the options and speak with their doctor to find out which procedure (if any) they feel comfortable with.

I was given compression stockings at OCC, so you may want to check to see if they are provided before you buy some. I was told to wear them home and walk up and down the aisle in the plane if it was a long flight. I only received blood thinners while at OCC, nothing sent home. Docs in the US seem to be much more concerned about clots, though. There was a poster on another forum that wasn't allowed to fly for a month post op! Thousands of patients fly home from Mexico within days of surgery and I rarely see any clot complications posted on these forums. Maybe talk about it with your PCP and come up with a plan.

I'm only 5 weeks out, but kinda looks like I might be a slow loser... Nothing the first 10 days, then A total of just 9 pounds since surgery. But like others said, it didn't go on overnight, it won't come off overnight. Slower weight loss may actually be beneficial for me since I have family history of gallstones, and I'll take anything to help prevent gallbladder problems.

Glad this post was helpful - and good for you to get through it all. As for the whey protein, there are other protein sources, they may just be a little harder to come by and more expensive. If whey gives you issues, what about other dairy products? The reason I ask is that SO many postop protein sources are things like cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, soft cheeses, skim milk, etc. it's doable, but definitely something to discuss with a nut beforehand to figure out your options. OCC actually has a nutritionist and dietician on staff that you could call or email with your concerns. I was just talking to my mom about this because she can't have dairy or soy or eggs, so she would have a really hard time.