ready2smile

Haha, I keep scootching over for all my awesome new January WLS buddies-soon my buts gonna fall off the bench! There's a lot of us, can't believe the month is almost over. I'm thankful to have the others such as you around too-there's never a lack of support and knowledge.

Me too! Sacramento area :]

Getting emotional is completely normal; there are a ton of changes our bodies go through just from the physical part of the surgery, and we have a lot to adapt to when learning to care for ourselves so we can heal properly. It's a big job, we have to be mini nurses and good students, paying attention to and learning all the signs and signals of our bodies that we never experienced before. We aren't used to having to rely on someone else to help us do the things we normally do for ourselves, and it can feel debilitating or demeaning, especially more so if we're stubborn or strong willed women (such as I am) and to add to it, it can also be made more difficult depending on how supportive or helpful others are around us. Then add to it we have to learn a new way of eating-we can't have the foods we ate for years, enjoyed and loved, craved and smelled. We still have to be around it, smell it, see it, cook it for our families, and of course decline it and in many cases try to deny to ourselves that we even crave or want it. We have this high expectation on ourselves and with others watching us to lose weight (which we had so much difficulty with before so the pressure is intense) and getting our lives back on track, it's no wonder we crack at times. Of course its hard to stay strong in all this, and getting emotional is something i believe they should prepare us for more. It's a perfect excuse for us to rely on each other, our various support systems and attend support groups when they're available to us. I know I need it, sometimes more than others. I'm here for any of you should you need someone to talk to, text, cry to, scream to, etc. I'm no expert (just a rookie in all this) but I have a couple good ears and don't mind listening. Feel free to message me and I'll give you my phone number. Hugs to all of you.

asking the same of the december and january post-op groups: have any of you had trouble with bloody noses? i got one last night while getting sick and i've neever had one before. not sure if it's related to dehydration or fighting a cold-possibly the throwing up... i'd opened a can of low fat hormel turkey chili, added a little greek yogurt and cheese to it, took about three bites and was immediately sick. i know i took the 1st two bites too quickly (i'd waited too long to eat and was hungry), i didn't chew it enough and paid for it. not much more than phlem, air and bubbles came up, but the runny nose started in instantly and so did the blood. it took a little longer to stop and i still have the runny nose. not sure if i'm fighting a cold or it's a sign of something else. i've had turkey since surgery, beef and cheese as well. the only thing different was the greek yogurt. i'm not really questioning the food, it's more the bloody and runny nose. -oh, it also started me on a stupid crying jag. felt like a big baby :[

maybe it was the pressure, or maybe i'm a little dehydrated....cant stop sniffling :[

praying for all of you with upcoming surgeries. your concerns of course are all valid and if they are medical related, please bring them up to your nurse(s) when you arrive at the hospital so they can help address them. also keep your faith in yourselves and your surgical teams and know there are many of us on here praying for you and wishing you well. we'll see you on the losing side soon. this is me scootching over on the losers bench ..............

wishing you all the best, losts of positive thoughts and prayers!

asking the december and january post-op groups: have any of you had trouble with bloody noses? i got one last night while getting sick and i've neever had one before. i'd opened a can of low fat hormel turkey chili, added a little greek yogurt and cheese to it, took about three bites and was immediately sick. i know i took the 1st two bites too quickly (i'd waited too long to eat and was hungry), i didn't chew it enough and paid for it. not much more than phlem, air and bubbles came up, but the runny nose started in instantly and so did the blood. it took a little longer to stop and i still have the runny nose. not sure if i'm fighting a cold or it's a sign of something else. i've had turkey since surgery, beef and cheese as well. the only thing different was the greek yogurt. i'm not really questioning the food, it's more the bloody and runny nose. -oh, it also started me on a stupid crying jag. felt like a big baby

thank you! looking forward to trying these as i am able.

Well girl-God and karma are two strong forces you have on your side. You've been super supportive on this site, we're here in whatever way we can be to help you. Just take care of yourself. Hugs

Lovealways you're on the right track. Dont doubt yourself and don't allow your family to do it wither. You are doing better than me at getting the water in, but the key is listening to your body and not making yourself uncomfortable. I'm not fond of water so I took the advice of several of you who posted about adding the crystal light

I'm two+ weeks out and it takes about and hour to hour and a half.

this happened to me today, but a painful full. ugh, never want to do that again!

It's driving me crazy-and my taste buds are really off right now. Just glad to hear it stops; the nice part is I'm not craving sweets so that's awesome.

For anyone else like me who is new and has been concerned their pouch was not working because they have not yet felt too full with either the Fluid or the small amount they ate: I learned today that this wonderful tool is very much working and even a bite or two too much can be painful. May sound sadistic, but I needed this. I wasn't trying, it was an accident-I had about four small bites of sf Jello and noticed my taste for it changed (already), so I stopped eating it and threw it away. I wanted something else, so I took a few small bites of a mashed baked yam (plain). I knew i was "full". Less than 5 minutes later I felt pain in the middle of my stomach, the heaviness and fullness was pressing inside me. Wow, ouch, yay! and ouch some more! The pressure lasted about 15 uncomfortable minutes. It wasn't really a lot of food, but it was too much. I will certainly be more careful because I don't want that happening again-like ever! Once was enough for me-I knew the surgery was working because of weight loss, but this was a nice sign I wasn't immune to fullness.

Aw, I'm sorry. That stuff really is awful. Soon though you won't feel a thing, you'll be out like a light for a couple hours and when you wake up it will be a whole new focus.

Don't stress, it's liquid and goes right through. If you "over" drink anything, water's the best thing to do it with.

It's not the end of the world, we all make mistakes here n there. You did it, acknowledged it, now you get to start fresh with a new day. you got this, just a few more days and you'll be on the other side.

Im 2wks out, and I began walking from day 1, increasing my distance and speed as I was able. I now walk 1-2 times a day for around a mile each. Takes me about 17-18 mins to walk a mile. At my post op appt I was told no strenuous exercise as my intestines are still healing, no lifting more than 10lbs. For me, I took that to mean walking and biking and mild exercises like soft yoga poses were ok, which is what I plan to do for now. Hope that helps.

You're right, it didn't really hurt, just 12 little pinches. The nutritionist was there talking to me about expectations and such so I was we'll distracted. I got the water lecture, was told if I didn't go full force for the next two days I might end up dehydrated and she said there's no making it up, only thing to fix it is get an IV with fluids. Don't want to go through that so I'm trying harder. I do get puréed foods for two weeks now. So far I've had yams, mashed potatoes, refried beans and cheese, and mashed seasoned ground turkey. All are on my list of approved items for stage 2 and have gone down just fine. only thing I can't figure out is this weird metallic taste I can't seem to get rid of....