McButterpants

What you're going thru is perfectly normal...including the second guessing the surgery. You're slowly going to be able to increase your intake of Water - I mean slowly. Just keep sipping. It's important to stay hydrated. As for the 2nd thoughts - I had them until about day 2 or 3. That's when I started feeling better. Hang in there - things will get better and this bad part will be over before you know it. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

I don't think I'll ever be tempted by sugar coated gumdrops again! LOL.

Hang in there - I had serious buyer's remorse the first couple of days, too and wondered if I made the right decision. Once I started feeling better, my mind started to follow. Focus on getting in your Water - sip, sip, sip. Know that you're probably not going to get in your minimums for a while, just do the best you can. Walking helped make me feel better and helped get rid of the gas in my abdomen. Best of luck to you - it will get better.

My doc and NUT are calling for 3 meals (2 ounces of protein) and 3 shakes per day thru week 6. They want 80-90 grams of Protein - I can't get anywhere near there with food, so they want to supplement with the shakes. I've heard some NUT's want all or most protein from food, but I just can't get there on my own, I simply can't eat that much. Good luck on your 12-hour shift tonight!!!

For me the gas pains in my abdomen weren't relieved with Gas-X or pain pills - the thing that helped me most was walking. I started by pacing in my condo then gradually moved to the parking lot and walking around the complex. Best of luck to you!!!!

Trying really hard to ignore the f*&^ing scale and just stay on track! Just got back from the gym and walked faster and varied the incline more than previous workouts. If you were at the gym, I was the fat angry girl on one of the middle treadmills. I'm not seeing the scale go down and I'm constipated - yeah, stay out of my way. Anywho, I'm at 33 miles to my (revised) goal of 54 miles. Gave a great day everyone!

Hi there! I'm 5 weeks out and bored to tears with myself - I'm sick of hearing myself when I talk to my husband for the millionth time about the surgery or how I'm feeling or how the scale is or isn't moving. My dad asked me a question the other night about eating and I found I was boring myself with the answer! This journey is about so much more than losing pounds or what size you are. I'm not sure I was prepared for the emotional/brain side of this journey. I think it's easy to fall into a trap where you identify yourself as a WLS patient or someone who is losing weight. Do you think that's what you've become? Maybe before WLS you identified yourself as a wife, or mother or employee and that changed when you had surgery. I suspect that has happened to me. I wish I had words of wisdom for you. I suspect there will be many responses to this thread by much smarter people than I and who are further along in their journey. But I also think there will be people in all stages of their journeys that will respond. Sending you much love and support!

I think this will be an interesting thread - thanks for starting it! I am like you...I didn't like the thought of slathering lotion all over my body prior to surgery, but I do daily now and it feels good! I also find myself not wanting to leave the house without make-up - this was a thing prior to me gaining all my weight. I don't wear a lot, but before I gained all this weight, I would put on foundation and some eye-liner. I'm finding myself already doing that again. (My husband commented that it was nice to see me wearing make-up again and on my "big hair".) And it's funny that I really didn't realize makeup and hair was important to me again I am also "nicer" to myself. I haven't had those moments of calling myself disgusting or that negative self-talk. I think that makes me a happier person. I mean, if you don't like yourself, who will, right?

First advice - follow your doc's orders. Everyone's post-op orders are different. The shakes get old really fast - and it's not getting better for me. I'm 5 weeks post op and still drink 3 per day in order to get adequate Protein in. But, it is what it is - it's what I have to do. Here are some of my strategies for shakes: Try heating one up - especially the chocolate, it will taste like hot chocolate. (Nice treat around Christmas time) Try sugar free flavored syrups - there are a lot of varieties out there. (The peppermint in the hot chocolate is awesome) PB2 (powdered peanut butter) was allowed for me - a tablespoon in a vanilla or chocolate shake is excellent If you're allowed yogurt or Greek yogurt, add a couple of tablespoons Add some sugar free pudding mix - it doesn't take a lot, maybe 2-3 teaspoons to add flavor. Lemon is surprisingly good in a vanilla shake, I also just tried pistachio...I was surprised unjury makes an unflavored Protein powder - this is good to put into broth (again, if you're allowed) or add to another Protein Drink for an added protein boost I just ordered some Health Wise hot chocolate mix - while they are lower in protein (15 grams vs. 20 grams), it is a nice change and it mixes better into hot Water. Best of luck to you!

You're prepping early and that is so awesome! Good for you! That's going to help you so much when you're post-op. I have experienced terrible constipation since surgery. I'm trying to get it figured out, so it's good you're working on it now. One thing I've been doing wrong is not sticking with a Metamucil or Miralax for long enough. The cycle has been: feel really uncomfortable because I haven't poo'd in a few days, take something for 1-2 days, then I'm able to poo and I stop taking the Metamucil or Miralax. I'm going to start taking something every day so I can stay regular. Best of luck to you!

My shoulder pain lasted about a week. Walking was the only thing that helped with the gas - and maybe like Reverie states above it was more relief from the gas pain than getting rid of the gas. It made me feel better.

I find myself looking in other people's grocery carts. I know I'm not better than then I'm only 5 weeks from being able to control myself, but I really think, "Don't eat that - it's killing you!" I'm also more aware when we go out to eat - I watch people eat now. It's an interesting case study, that's for sure!

No leak test and no drain for me.

While you're waiting for the doc's office to call you back, work on hydrating. Make sure you check in with your doc - he will be able to give you specific instructions on what you need to do. If they don't call you back, keep calling them.

For you pre-oppers and newly post-oppers worried about what post op life will be like, I wanted to share a couple of meals I've had recently - I'm 4 weeks post op and these are on my doc approved plan and sleeve friendly. pizza - Oh how I miss Pizza Night with the family. But I think we have found a great work-around in my house. Take a Carb Balance tortilla shell (I used the fajita size) and spread some pizza sauce it. Then get creative with your doc-approved toppings. I used turkey pepperoni and low-fat mozzarella cheese on one. I also made one with BBQ sauce (instead of the pizza sauce), shredded chicken and the mozzarella. OMG, delish. At 4 weeks out, I can eat about 1/2 of one pizza. What a great treat. (And my son and husband love these!) Last night the family wanted Mexican food, so we went to Cafe Rio. I ordered a taco meal which comes with one taco and rice and Beans. I told them to hold the rice and no lettuce in my taco, just the meat and cheese. This is what my bite looked like...a little piece of the chicken and cheese, one bean, and a smidge of sour cream. Then I chewed, chewed and chewed some more. It was wonderful and it made me feel like I was back in the land of the living - enjoying a meal with my family.

That was the first thing I made when I was able to have "real" food. I probably would have eaten it anyway!!!!! I made a variation of her baked ricotta...I added pizza sauce instead of marinara and I added turkey pepperoni. It was awesome! Better luck next time! You'll enjoy it.

Hi there. Are you on liquids still? What's on your doc's orders. At 10 days, I was walking about 20-30 minutes then I would get tired. I would say, do what you can, then add minutes every other day or so. You will be surprised at how quickly you can work up.

There is no harm in asking, but be prepared to get the answer you're not going to like..."No, you can't move to puree sooner than 14 days." I'm not a fan of going against doctor's orders - they have them for a reason, even if we don't like them and another person was able to eat foods sooner. I was able to eat 2 tablespoons of food per day from the beginning. I can tell you that even if you were able to move to pureed foods, you won't be able to eat much and that little bit of food is going to take you about 30 minutes to finish. It loses its luster very quickly - a lot of times I would stop eating because I simply lost interest in that food that 15 minutes prior looked like a feast. Make sure you take care of your new tiny tummy - it's still healing. It sounds like you're doing great with your fluids! That's awesome. Best of luck to you!

Welcome and best of luck to you! There are so many helpful folks here. Congrats on starting your journey.

Funny you should ask...today I have been hungry all day. I suspect it has something to do with the 400 calories I burned exercising yesterday, but not sure. Maybe I'm dehydrated? I'm working hard to stay on plan though - I'm pushing the Water and that seems to help. I also took a Prilosec just in case it was acid - I haven't been as hungry this afternoon after I took it, but am not sure if that took care of the hunger or if it's the water.

One of my go to's is canned chicken - it packs a lot of Protein. I mix it with some low-fat mayo and mustard. I also like turkey lunchmeat and cheddar cheese (these are both on my approved list). I made some ground beef with taco seasoning - place that on top of some fat free refried Beans and topped with cheese. I made a dip of plain Greek yogurt and salsa. Do you like Greek yogurt? I couldn't stand it at first, but I mix it with a little 1% milk to make it a bit thinner. I roasted some chicken breast last night and it was good (chew chew chew) I'm 5 weeks out tomorrow - I can't eat enough protein, so I still drink 2-3 shakes per day.

My psych eval was weird - she kept staring at me, really deeply staring. Then when I would look away, like out the window to try to avoid the staring, she'd look out the window like she was trying to find out what i was looking at. At the end she gave me a hand out for a class she was giving and it was "only $50". I threw it away when I left the building. My bigger issue was with the nutritionist - I had to meet with her prior as part of their peer review to see if I was ready, just like the physch eval. She wasn't particularly nice - and seemed very judgmental and you could tell she had never worn anything more than a size 2 in her life. She put a 1/4 cup measuring cup in front of me and said, "Can you stop at that amount of food because that's all you'll be able to eat for a long time after surgery." I said, "Well, not now, but perhaps I will after surgery." In the end, I opted to go with a different bariatric group at a different hospital. I couldn't imagine working with her for the next year!

My stomach didn't like the Premier Protein shakes. I haven't tried it since my first week. I agree with Jane, though - sometimes I can't tolerate things, so I don't eat/drink them again for a few days and the next time I might be OK.

I, too, went to Dr. Umbach in Las Vegas. I can't say enough good things about him and his staff. I had a great experience.

I find it interesting, too! Pre-op diets, post-op diets and the actual surgery itself is so different from doc to doc. My surgery was done on an outpatient basis - I was in admitting at 6:00 am and back at our condo by noon the same day. I didn't have a catheter or drain. My doc approved applesauce, cottage cheese, scrambled egg and the like as soon as you could tolerate it in small amounts - 2 tablespoons per day. He said to start introducing foods when you can. My local doc is much more conservative - I an following the local doc's rules even though they are more conservative because she is providing my aftercare. On a side note look at you and you're great weight loss!!!! I hope you're doing well!