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Given some of the things I'd read on here, I was expecting hell on Earth during the early recovery period, but it was actually very smooth. Manageable pain, no nausea, and I was up and walking around within hours. Zero complications. Since surgery I've lost about 5 pounds a week, which is pretty good. I understand that the weight loss won't always be this fast, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

My incisions itched at about a week out . . . I took it as a sign that they were healing. I kind of very gently scratched around them, which seemed to help.

They gave me one of those at the hospital. It helped with the post-op pain. You might want to ask your dr. if you can get one included in your hospital stay.

I've heard that hormones are stored in fat, too, and that they're released when you lose weight. That could have something to do with it too.

Hey, johock, are you drinking anything with your meals? Liquids can speed the exit of food from your stomach and make you feel hungry faster.

I had my sleeve done July 25, and so far it's been smooth sailing. Tolerable pain, no nausea, and I've been able to tolerate both clear liquids and full liquids just fine. The annoying thing is that I came home from the hospital 10 pounds heavier than the day of surgery, and I'm still losing that excess weight. Technically, I'm still three pounds up from the day of surgery. I assume it's water weight from the IV's. It is slowly going away, which is something. I'm trying to have a sense of humor about it,

I'm having surgery on the 25th too. What specific worries are you having?

There's a July 2017 sleevers forum on here, which may provide the support you're looking for: https://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1271-july-2017-sleevers/

I'll need to stop taking extended-release Welbutrin because you can't crush it. The regular kind you have to take twice a day is crushable, though, and so are the rest of my meds. So that's good. I don't have a surgery date yet . . . I'm still satisfying all the requirements to be cleared for surgery.

Hi, nomoremimes, I'm really sorry that you've had this experience, and that none of the counselors you've seen have helped you. Have you ever read "The Courage to Heal" by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis? There's a workbook that goes with it too, and that can help you work through your feelings. "The Courage to Heal" is heavy-hitting at times, and personally I wouldn't choose to wade through it without having a counselor in my life to help me process the emotions that come up. If you feel like you have no good counseling options, it might still be helpful if you go it alone, though. As for how to stop using food as a coping mechanism, I have no magic wands there. I weigh about 350 myself, so I'm no role model. I can tell you that my therapist and I have been working on what triggers my emotional desire to eat, and how to substitute healthier coping mechanisms instead. This is kind of an individualized process, so what works for me might not work for you, but one thing I've been working on is finding ways of "treating" myself and celebrating without resorting to unhealthy food. It's hardest when I'm going out to eat with people or if there's a party where people are indulging. (I have a particular weakness for beer and pizza.) It turns out I like crushed ice drinks a lot, and it's okay if the drink is sugar-free. It's the crushed ice that makes it special. It's kind of okay if I bring my own Crystal Light slushie to an event and just munch on the ice while everybody else eats mozzarella sticks and cheesy garlic bread. I'd definitely rather be pigging out, but that's a bad idea for obvious reasons. Maybe if you went through the same process of finding non-fattening special treats you can have it would help? Obviously there's a lot more to recovering from an eating disorder than that, but if I had easy answers for recovering from an ED, I'd sell them and make a zillion dollars.

I don't have bipolar disorder, but I do have major depression. I also have meds, a psychologist and a psychiatrist. I feel some anxiety too . . . I've been stable for several months, and I really prefer life this way! I worry that post-op the absorption of my meds will change somehow, or that the hormonal changes will send me into a relapse of depression. I'm working on how to prevent these things with my therapist. Hopefully, it'll all end up going smoothly!

I'm on Wellbutrin and have never experienced weight loss on it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Maybe your doctor knows of some medications that help with weight loss?

I'm five days into my 2-week liquid diet, and I have most of the symptoms of "low-carb flu," plus a couple of extra ones. I find I'm very anxious and jittery during the day, and I have strange, vivid nightmares at night that are hard to wake up from. I drink almost no caffeine, so that isn't the cause of the anxiety. Any thoughts on whether my symptoms are related to my diet?

I'm five days into my 2-week liquid diet, and I have most of the symptoms of "low-carb flu," plus a couple of extra ones. I find I'm very anxious and jittery during the day, and I have strange, vivid nightmares at night that are hard to wake up from. I drink almost no caffeine, so that isn't the cause of the anxiety. Any thoughts on whether my symptoms are related to my diet?

Yeek . . . after 16 days of following the surgeon's liquid diet instructions to a T, I had my blood work re-done to see if there was any improvement. Well, it was worse. ALT and AST are higher, and platelets are lower. I still have one more test to go, so maybe there will be improvement there. I really hope I don't get turned down for a third time!