KittyChick

I'm really discouraged and feeling completely ashamed about almost EVERYTHING following this surgery. Pretty much the same amount of self-loathing before the procedure! The three week stall, the weird things happening to my insides, the stomach acid...I could go on. It's all distressing. And frustrating. Even though I'm on soft foods now, I still can't get in enough calories on high Protein stuff. I try to choke down 1/4 cup of tuna or egg salad each day for lunch but I can't force myself to eat more than 4-5 bites of it. Two days ago I decided to eat a piece of pizza and I was able to eat the whole slice! Then another a few hours later! It was music to my mouth and I was SO relieved to be able to eat something. But now? Eater's remorse. I feel like crap for doing that now because I feel like this isn't the right food to be eating. The last day or so I've done a tortilla once or twice a day with a little cheese and guacamole and have been able to eat and enjoy it. Again, I feel like this is not what I should be having but my hunger is starting to finally come back & I want to start eating more. I'm going to bake salmon tomorrow & see how I tolerate that but I really hate that the high protein foods I'd LIKE (and NEED) to be eating aren't being tolerated successfully. Please tell me others have had this happen and have gone on to do better, have the ability to eat the "right" foods over time AND have gone on to lose weight.

Thank you!! I think that's the hardest part about the early stages of this. All food related decisions are SO stressful. I feel guilty for eating pretty much ANYTHING that isn't super high in Protein. My calves are sore all the time & my grandmother suggested bananas for the potassium and I fretted about eating one because it's high in carbs and low in protein! I put a lot of pressure on myself & have a really tough time relaxing about what I should and should not be eating.

Oh yes, I'm aware of all that but again, I'm on the pill & never miss a dose. I do not want to get pregnant now, or ever really, which is why I'm wondering if I should go off the low dose pill and up to the next dose? This bleeding business is new to me...I haven't had a period since I was like 18...that was 15 years ago. The pill has worked perfectly to keep me from having periods for allllll these years, so the fact I'm having one now after surgery when I haven't stopped taking them really SUCKS.

Whew, I'm very grateful for the responses guys. Also, I made stuffed salmon for lunch today and I LOVED IT! I was so proud of myself. Also, three week plateau broke! I weighed in this morning and am down 3lbs from last week. Maybe I'll be alright after all?!

I didn't even know PCOS could be cured with WLS! That gives me soo much hope! Thank you for telling me that!!!

Thank you for the responses ladies! All of this makes sense but that doesn't make this blood any more acceptable! It's a good thing I was alone in the bathroom at work when I discovered this. I screamed out "WHAT THE F#$!". LOL I see my Gyno next week...now I wonder if I should stop taking the low dose pill and go to the next level. Getting pregnant is NOT something I want. Ugh. I can't even imagine.

Maybe it IS in my head...it's stressful because I really only just started to do Protein shakes again this week. They filled me up on the pre-op diet and I enjoyed them. I fully intended to start drinking them again right after surgery but was shocked to find that I couldn't tolerate them. They made me physically ill so I quit drinking them. I'm going to try to be more regular with them and hope that works. I hate feeling like I'm "bad" ya know? There is immense shame that comes from that and it effs with me mentally when I can't eat more than 2-3 bites of the "right" foods.

I'm two weeks out from surgery and constantly feel a lump in my throat and chest from not being able to burp. I try to induce them but it just doesn't work. It's a special kind of agony that I'm getting pretty damn sick of!! Anyone else have this problem? Is it too early to get some flavored carbonated Water to resolve this annoying thorn in my side throat?

I had the barium leak test so nothing down my throat...and I didn't even consider Gas-X but you can bet I'm popping some now as I type! Thanks for the suggestion. Crossing my fingers it will work!

I actually didn't have a hernia luckily! I should clarify- I can do very shallow burps but not the ones that make you feel relief! It sounds like the carbonation thing went very wrong for you! I guess I just need to get used to these little annoyances and look at the bigger picture. It's hard though when you're in the thick of it!

Wow, this is great info and congratulations on your amazing weight loss!!

Oh wow the Nectar thing sounds like a nice change. Thanks for that recommendation!

Kitty, I completely understand .......buddy let me tell you you are in your infancy in this process....just about everyone , we'll for most patients we have gone through exactly what you were describing ....I went through it too and it is isolating and it is difficult .....the nausea is horrible .....in my case my nausea came from being dehydrated.... I too could not get the recommended amount of Fluid in....I stopped eating completely and I started losing a lot of weight very fast ...I ended up in the hospital with infusion therapy to bring my fluids back up to normal levels ....I will tell you that now that I'm fully hydrated .....I'm seven weeks out and I feel amazing .....so do know this horrible part will pass..... it does take some time it's...... not overnight but it will pass...... I promise.... the diarrhea will stop..... that irritability will stop..... the ability to take Vitamins will come back the ability to eat normal food will come back..... I promise..... but when I was 12days along or even a week ago I never thought I was ever going to feel normal again.... I swear to you after hitting seven weeks and being fully hydrated I'm taking my vitamins I'm eating I'm drinking all that I should and it's like night and day ...hang in there and know it WILL end... Shel Y That gives me hope Shel- I cried a little reading your response. I guess I just wasn't expecting it to be this hard. I really thought the first few days would be super difficult and then I'd be pretty much back to normal. I'm worse now than I was then (except the wretched gas pains are gone) and I was really starting to feel defective. When you say you stopped eating...what did your typical day look like? I'm drinking til my urine is very light yellow/clear so I don't think I'm dehydrated, but I'm at the point where I've barely had TWO BITES of soup each day for the last 4 days. I'm just waiting for my hair to start falling out. I'm really glad I took a month off from work. I actually contemplated going back the week after surgery! I don't know how in the world I would have managed that. And when I do go back (on the 19th), I imagine I'll still be feeling like absolute s***.

I'm SO GLAD I came across this thread. I've been feeling alone and isolated and question all the time whether or not I should have done this. I'm 12 days out and miserable. I have frequent nausea, daily diarrhea, and tremendous, constant stomach activity. I can barely swallow small pills and have totally stopped taking large ones like Calcium. The head hunger is out of this world yet I can barely tolerate more than 4 tsp of tomato Soup or Cream of Wheat. All the Protein shakes I drank pre-op are a thing of the past. I can't bear to even THINK about having ONE now. The thought absolutely disgusts me. I'm getting pretty much no protein at this point and am most definitely nutrient and Vitamin deficient. I feel unhealthy. I sleep all day and am up all night. My entire schedule is jacked. I'm going stir crazy being in the house all the time and I'm depressed as hell. I know it's early and I should be more optimistic, but it's hard not to get lost in the momentary misery I'm currently feeling.

Hey y'all! I love reading the stories of those who've been sleeved recently are experiencing such success! My surgery was Tues and I'm down 5lbs in 4 days so I know it's going to be an exciting journey!! Now, on to the serious...did anyone else have stabby pains on the left side of your body after being sleeved? I'm constantly clutching and trying to put pressure on my side to keep from having so much pain.

So my unjury Protein shake mixes came today and I'm starting pre-op diet Sunday. Unjury instructions state to add some type of milk (skim, soy) but my instructions from Dr. Ortiz don't say anything about allowing or disallowing milk. Because I'm doing this on a weekend, I can't contact them directly. I'm vegetarian so I'd be adding almond milk...is this allowed? You don't mix these things with Water do you?

Thank you for that. And you're right. This is all me. This choice is mine. No one else deserves to critique it. I'm starting to embrace that!

Your support definitely counts!

I think the whole rumor mill thing is super prominent in Black families. Then again, that's all I know since I haven't grown up in a white family lol. I think we all have those "well-meaning" relatives who get overzealous in their advice to the point where it's PUSHING their OPINIONS as "truths". I've never understood that.

That is a fabulous expression. My body, my business! Boom.

Exactly. I don't want to hear people's opinions on how I could "fix" this problem. I have many obese people in my family who think they are "experts" in the field of reversing obesity lol.

I need input & experiences from my fellow AA sleevers... My surgery is next week in Mexico and I'm incredibly excited. I live in AZ and my little brother (not that little, he's 27) is coming from back East to support me. At this point, my surgery is a pretty guarded secret (at my request) with regard to my family. My mom & I are close and I knew she would support me in this (w/o ANY side-eye/shade/negative energy) so she's the first person I told. My brother is the same way. Supports me in all of my decisions and is really just so cool about everything. Other than those two, I've only told a cousin and my brother's girlfriend. *I've told all my close friends.* Me & my Mom talked a lot about my aunts and grandmothers (I'm lucky enough to have both maternal and paternal grandparents still alive) and their penchant for judgement, gossiping, and discouragement. Don't get me wrong, I'm really close with them. They come visit me every year and I love having them around. However, my maternal grandmother's sister had bypass 10 years ago and gained all of her weight back. She's the exact opposite of me- poor eating habits (I'm a vegetarian who eats mostly healthfully but have a night time sugar/carb problem), and she's sedentary as hell. Before I gained weight this time around, I was working out 2 hrs a day Mon, Tues, Weds, and Fri as well as a 90 min spin class Sat mornings.I loved it! I ate less carbs and more tofu and non starchy veggies...this was a genuine lifestyle change for me (til I had to go on Prednisone-that's another story). Of course, Auntie did none of this and as expected she gained ALL of the weight back. So now my mom's side of the family has a negative attitude about WLS. There is absolutely NO DOUBT in my mind that if I tell her about the surgery, she will immediately mention my aunt's failure and exclaim that I will have the same outcome. Ain't nobody got time for that. #DontWannaHearIt Now onto the other grandma- she & grandpa came to visit in March. I was strongly considering surgery at that point but didn't mention it. Well coincidentally the subject of surgery came up somehow and she mentioned a woman at her church who'd recently undergone bypass surgery. My grandma was SO negative about it. She went on and on about how surgery doesn't work long term and people never change their habits after surgery, etc. So of course, I was NOT gonna bring up my desire for WLS at that point. My mom and brother are sworn to secrecy and ultimately I don't plan on telling the rest of the family. Cause basically, telling my grandmothers (who I should mention, live around the corner from one another and are BFF's/gossip buddies) is telling the whole damn family. I think it's much easier to keep it secret when you live 2000 miles away and I intend to do just that. I would tell my Dad (we're really close) but he has a tendency to slip up unintentionally lol. I guess I've been super long winded here but I'd like to hear your experiences with family. Who you told, didn't tell, why, etc.

I wish you the best as well!

I'm on this diet right now (have been for a week- surgery is 1/21). I thought it'd be easier than it is. However, I can only have broths / green vegetables / Jello / sf drinks etc. I'm hungry! The Protein shakes fill me up but I still find myself wanting something substantial to chew! I'm not sure of your work situation but one of the toughest things is smelling food coming from the break room and having coworkers eat around me. I don't have this issue at home but that's a different set of challenges- the food commercials being a major trigger. I have to make an active effort to avoid them! I have hard days and easy days. Just try to keep your eye on the prize!

Hi guys, So I'm getting sleeved with Dr. Ariel Ortiz on Jan 21st and will be starting the pre-op diet on Jan 5. All of the paperwork I've received from them pushes this Enspira product as the only option and it's EXPENSIVE! If I'm understanding this right, I have to have three shakes per day. Their pre-op package is $124 and it only comes with three shakes which means I'd have to order FIVE of them!!! $620! These people are out of their goddamn minds. Anyone here use cheaper shakes with the same protein requirements?