Janice's Journey

Congrats! You are doing great. You must have sent the rain to PA. It's been pouring for 24 hours with no end in sight. You are one week ahead of me. I'm still stuck at 16 lbs lost. The scale just goes up or down 1-2 lbs every day. But my energy is improving. Still not eating much in the way of solid food.

One more thing...some days I eat 600+ calories, but on average it is about 500 calories. I use MyFitnessPal. My nutritionist said to concentrate right now on just getting all the protein in, and not worry about calories at this stage. I am still on the pureed/soft food stage, so it is hard to eat many calories unless I add a protein shake with milk. Tonight I had 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, a little mozzarella, a bit of spaghetti sauce, and I actually at a few slices of zucchini. My first vegetable! I get full very easily, and if I push it I vomit. But, every week gets a little better. I think I am healing slowly because I had 5 surgeries instead of one. Plus, it takes me morning to night to get the 60+ oz of water in. My nutritionist suggested yesterday that the chewable vitamins (large chalky pills) might be too constipating, so she found a website where I could order liquid vitamins. They should be delivered in a few days. I'm not even taking my 3 iron pills a day. She said I should start on Biotin now to prevent hair loss in the future.

Gosh, so funny. My oldest(25) recently moved out after 2+ years living at home without a job (at least not a f/t job that she went to college for). She was very difficult to have around. My youngest (18) is a true pleasure to have around. I am really going to miss her. She is going to Washington DC for college. But, I am so excited for her. Finally got a call today from gastro doctor after waiting 3 days. Suggested more meds for me to try. Heading to Walmart tonight. Gastro office just called and said he wants to see me. First appt available is June 18. So we'll see what is up. Still no more weight loss. I don't weigh myself every day. Now, every other day or so. It is so strange to see no weight change since I got home from the hospital, esp after reading all the previous blogs about people losing a LOT of weight in the first couple months. The good news is that I lost 38 lbs prior to surgery, so I am over the 50 lb weight loss mark. That is why my clothes are loose. I keep thinking any day the weight will just "fall" off. Hah. I guess I shouldn't hold my breath.

Hah, good for you. Just think how toned you will be and how good you will look in summer clothes!

Awww, congrats Dorian. My youngest graduates from high school next Friday. Soon we will be empty nesters, too. I can't believe the day has come. You call yourself a "slow loser". Well, I'm still at the 12 lb mark since my surgery 4/29. The doctor said last week not to worry about it, that I actually lost 17.5 lbs of fat and gained 10 lbs of water and 3.5 lbs of muscle. But, the scale hasn't moved in 4+ weeks. I kinow I shouldn't obsess about it, but I am. Not to be gross, but I haven't had a BM in 4+ weeks. I've taken EVERYTHING. I have a call in to my gastroenterologist. He should call me tomorrow. I am eating approx 500 calories a day, getting all my protein, and drinking my 60+ oz of water. I keep fearing that I will be a RNY failure. I read other bloggers and how much weight they have lost. I go to water aerobics and am very active. I don't see my batriatric doctor for 2 more months, and I keep thinking I am doing something wrong. (thanks for listening)

My doctor said no beef for six months. Bummer, because Wendy's chili sounds like a good on-the-run meal.

I would pack a cooler with Water bottles, 2x protein yogurt, cheese sticks, and cottage cheese. Maybe a few crackers. Crystal lite to jazz up the water.

Nice to hear from you! I called the drs. office today to advance to stage 5. Told nurse about the vomiting. She said to go back to stage 3. Pureed foods. Tonight for dinner I had one cheese stick and one slice of turkey coldcut, and vomitted that up minutes after. I've only had about 235 calories today! The nurse said she suspects my stomach hasn't healed yet and to stick to the foods in Stage 3. I see the doctor tomorrow afternoon for my one month follow up, so I hope he has some more advice. I didn't think I could eat saltine crackers, but I will try them. I have a bag of mini saltines that you can sprinkle on soup. They might go down well. I don't feel hungry, but I am very fatigued so I suspect I need to eat more. I plan on taking only the easily digestible foods to work, like you, because I don't want to get sick at work. Hopefully, things will improve with time. Take care!

I feel the way you do, as well. My surgery was on Apr 29. I can't seem to tolerate solid food without throwing it up. Today was my first day back to work. I packed 1/4 cup of small curd fat free cottage cheese and diced peaches in natural juice. Took me about 20 mins to eat it. For lunch I had vanilla yogurt 2X protein and a couple bites of an icky tasting protein bar. For dinner, a cheese stick and 1 oz of turkey breast coldcuts. I plan on eating the same for each day at work, because I don't want to try anything new and get sick at work. The last two times I threw up, it happened so fast that I ran to the nearest sink. I don't want that to happen at work. I see the doctor on Thursday, and if I learn anything new I will share it with you. I feel very fatigued. Hoping I can return to the gym soon. I only do water aerobics, so I have to wait and get clearance from the doctor. I am very active, shopping frequently, housework, gardening, etc. But I've only lost 12 lbs, and that happened week 1. Not sure what the problem is. Every post I read has people losing 2-3 times that much by now. My sister-in-law had a revision surgery a week before me and has lost 30 lbs! Sorry for the whining, but every day I keep hoping things get better, and they just stay the same. But, each week I do feel a little better. Maybe it will take more time to see results. Good luck to you. Email me anytime...I am new to this post-op group and really have no one to talk to, either. Janice

I'm finally figuring out how to follow this group. I was looking at page 1 and wondering why there was nothing new. Then i scrolled to page 95 and found the current posts. I am at week 4 and returned to work today. Long, tiring day. Had a headache, but didn't know what to take because I only had Tylenol gel caps and they can't be crushed. I've been sort of down and discouraged. The day I got home from the hospital 3+ weeks ago, I was down 12 lbs, and nothing has changed in 4 weeks. I stay at 9-12 lbs lost; it goes up or down a pound or two every day. I was given the go ahead to stage 3 foods. Ground turkey, fish. Well, over the weekend i slowly ate (and chewed and chewed) 2 oz of a ground turkey burger and had the dry heaves. Last night I had 2 oz of tilapia and 1 tiny piece of broccoli. Threw it up. So I am sticking to my soft foods...yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese sticks. Very boring diet. I see the doctor on Thursday for my one month follow up. I am anxious to ask why I am not losing any weight. I have been very constipated, but nothing works (Miralax, MOM, stool softeners, etc). This was also a problem before surgery.I drink all my fluids and take my vitamins (except iron). Eating about 500 calories or less a day. Still have thrush in my mouth since the surgery. Just finished bottle of Nystatin. I hope things get better. Every day I jump on the scale first thing in the morning, and no weight loss. Tried the big scale at the hospital I work at today, and got the same weight as at home. I hope things get better.

Well, I had my RNY surgery on Monday, 4/29/13. I did my research and was ready to go. I had no idea how poorly I would feel afterwards. Five days in the hospital. Had RNY, hiatal hernia repair, inguinal hernia repair, bowel resection, and GB removal. Needless to say, everything other than the RNY was a surprise to me. The five days in the hospital were very hard due to pain and lack of sleep to to constant interruptions. So glad to be home and in my own bed. Slept 5 hours last night, awoke to a lot of pain which was quickly controlled with Tylenol with codeine. It took 4 days for the barium swallow to go through, so I've only been sipping liquids since Thursday. Very limited intake...told to sip one ounce every 15 mins. I am hoping that I will start to feel functional soon. I was anticipating returning to work after 2 weeks, but I can't imagine doing that at this time. Will take it one day at a time.

Hello. I'm new to this board. My surgery was 4/29/13. The day I came home from the hospital (day 5) I was down 12 lbs. Now I am at week 4 and my weight is still at 9 to 12 lbs down. Haven't lost anything in 3 weeks, or I actually gain 1-2 lbs. I am getting discouraged because I read all these posts where people lose 20+ lbs in the first month. I am getting all my fluids and protein in. Having some problems with more solid food and constipation. Is it normal to not lose after week 1? I haven't lost any weight in 3 weeks, and on some days my weight is up 1-2 lbs.

I had my surgery on Monday, 4/29, and was in the hospital 5 days. I have had a lot of pain, but the doctor explained that I have internal swelling from the 5 surgeries I ended up having: RNY, hiatal hernia, inguinal hernia, bowel resection, and gallbladder removal. The pain is worst after waking up, and I take my Tylenol with codeine and get quick relief. So the pain may be due to swelling, but I was told if you have a "gut" feeling that something is not right, to call the office to run it by them to be on the safe side. Also, be sure to take tiny sips of fluid. If I drink more that a small sip, I get pain. Hope I've helped a little . Feel better soon.

Thanks alc for your encouragement. I've only been home 24 hours, but I am sick to death of clear liquids. I have another week of that to go. Dr. said I may have to go an additional week of clear liquids while everything is healing. It is so strange to eat nothing, while the family sits around eating and snacking. I know this is what I signed up for, but I didn't think I'd be so sick. I hope that each day will show improvement. So far I'm up one pound, but I knew to expect that because of all the IV fluids they gave me in the hospital. I will need to lean on this site, because although my family is supportive, they don't seem to "get it".