mrsbailey921

hey ladies. my surgery went fantastically...i was the star patient! lol, seriously though--it did go remarkably well and uneventfully! Dr. Garrison is absoutely AWESOME, his team and staff are incredible (AND incredibly good looking)! you will not regret that eye candy LOL. also, the staff at Christ Hospital (where i had my surgery) was so awesome i want to send them flowers. they are GREAT and my nurses were SPECTACULAR! insurance approval is between 7-14 days, one of the fastest turnarounds of all the insurance companies they work with, according to my doctor's office. when you are approved, you will be sent an approval letter in the mail from HNJH.

wait. so using a straw can stretch your stomach pouch? huh? the only things i've heard that do that is the fizz from soda and regular excessive eating. drinking through a straw? never heard of it.

im going to have Soup....errrrrr....water....errrrrrrr... lol. that's all i can think of. oh, and some collard green juice. i love that. yum.

and it's WAY too soon to work out in my opinion. i'm not working out until i have NO pain at ALL in my body, however long that takes, i'm ok with it.

where is the drainage tube?? never had one!

i DO NOT recommend weaning now or ANY TIME before YOU and baby are TRULY ready. i am a full time breastfeeding mother and i was sleeved 9 days ago. you CAN continue to breastfeed after the sleeve, but you MUST stay hydrated. my milk supply COMPLETELY dried up on day 4 post surgery because i was going through TERRIBLE, and i mean TERRIBLE...dehydration. i was close to needing hospital IVs. 1/4c liquids every 15 minutes was not only not feasible for me, it left me craving more Water, and being frustrated and miserable. i decided to see how much my sleeve could comfortably hold before i felt like i was on my way to becoming full. for me, it's about 4 ounces of liquid, or about 1/2 cup. i can probably drink 2/3 cup liquid before being "FULL", but i don't like that feeling, so i stick to 1/2 cup. life immediately got SO much better. i now take ALL of my bari Vitamins and minerals, drink at LEAST 2 bottles of water per day, and i eat as much yogurt, blended cottage cheese, and strained Soup as my heart can stand. i'm so happy to say that yesterday my milk came rushing in, and today my baby JUST had her first full breastmilk meal in a week! i was really depressed over the drop in production and we were both MISERABLE, but i REFUSED to give up on her. i let her dry nurse all the days i had no milk and through her tears i would soothe her by holding her close. when i created more milk, her attitude immediately perked, and i felt better too! now, we are back to our normal breastfeeding mode, going strong! there are NO nutritional deficits from breastfeeding or to baby when you follow your doctors advice, TAKE YOUR VITAMINS, DRINK DRINK DRINK and get your Protein in. you will feel good and baby will be happy. you CAN do this mom!

i became obese after having my tonsils removed. drs say the two are not related but i wholeheartedly disagree. my siblings who have had their tonsils and adenoids removed struggle with being overweight. those of us who have not do not have that struggle. i don't think it's coincidence. the year of my surgery i was a healthy BMI. by the end of that year, post surgery, i had gained 40 pounds.

i concur...almost 80 lbs off is NO failure. you just have to revamp the way you are doing things right now. i do wish you the best of luck, you can do this!

nj here. Dr. Jordan Garrison is my surgeon--HE IS AHMAZING. AWESOME. so happy i chose him, and he chose to do my surgery. i am 9 days out and feeling almost like my old self, minus the junk food and sluggishness.

i use PURE Protein powder and i haven't had a problem with clumping. i make my drinks in 4 oz servings with 2 cubes of ice, 4 oz of lactaid and 1/2 scoop (about 12g protein) PURE Protein Powder. today i upped my shake amounts and by 12 pm i already have 30g of protein in for the day. again, i don't have a problem with PURE PROTEIN clumping on me, and i use the shaker bottle. i also have a ninja, but will save that for blending my soft foods.

i am also a volume eater--if that helps. i will admit, my sleeve immediately after surgery can hold more than i expected it could, and i was alarmed because i thought that meant i would slip back into the horror pit of volume eating. but i am doing so very well with never allowing myself to go beyond being "satisfied", it's amazing! i don't allow myself to get "full". i stop at "satisfied". i also now have the understanding that if i want more, i can go back later. i used to be a hoard eater--eating everything like i was hoarding it. i would tell myself, "you can go back and get more later" but i would find myself stuffing myself to sickness, because i just couldn't bring myself to "come back later". now, i find myself putting half of my drinks away, putting half of my yogurt back, everything. and voila! when i go back later, a bit hungry again, it is there. i have overcome a problem that i've had for years literally in a week. i heart my sleeve.

sugar addict here....addicted to sugar UP UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE surgery, when i was FORCED to go cold turkey. i can honestly say, a week later, my sleeve is doing so WONDERFULLY in that things that i used to love are now toooooo sweet! i would have NEVER been happy with a teaspoon of sugar in 8 ounces of tea, but i am now completely satisfied with it. also, i have dumping syndrome. if i eat something sweet (i drank apple juice uncut by accident) i get dizzy and flustered. i know that we are encouraged to use artificial sweetners, but i absolutely cannot. one thing that has reversed for me is this. before surgery i loved the taste of aspartame and didn't mind other sweetners. post surgery, i immediately get sick from ALL fake sugars. i have tried everything--even stevia gives me a migraine and the taste of aspartame makes me nauseated. i am able to control the sugar i eat and feel good about doing it. i have not had any heavy sugar laden meals yet, and honestly don't think i could stand the sweetness at this point! so for me, i will be using regular sugar, just in very small amounts.

i too am having a real energy issue, i'm only a week out. because life goes on and i can't stop living, i had to begin to introduce tiny amounts of carbs into my diet for energy. now i am able to make it in 2-3 hour stretches without collapsing from exhaustion. i use watered down apple juice as my energy of choice.

i have 3 bottles in my fridge...disgusting and i'm allergic to them. i forced myself to swallow 2 of the bottles, not knowing that what i was feeling later was an allergic reaction! ugh.

this is going to be my very first "real meal" post surgery! thank you!

i too am down 15 pounds in (a bit less than) a week. i can't wait to really just get back to eating. i have never had a problem with food choices--my issue has always been feeling hungry ALL the time and metabolic concerns due to hormones and thyroid issues. i know how to eat healthily--i just didn't know how to STOP eating healthy foods once i started because my hunger hormones would be in OVERDRIVE! now since the hunger/satiety issues have been addressed via surgery, my thyroid doctor is hoping my metabolism and hormonal wackouts fix themselves in the upcoming months and i can have a NORMAL reaction to food. no more being full to bursting while STILL fighting "hunger pangs" at the same time! YAY! i hope i can digest a good ole small - med slice by this time next year! and don't worry OP...soon you will be able to hold a bit more than 4 bites, and actually get down small meals (small but meals nonetheless) that will have you feeling a bit more "normal".

and YES, if your instructor is saying it is a bad sign...i would take heed and calm down on the workouts a bit. just because your heart is fine doesn't mean your entire body is!

when im under extreme stress, i get what it is called stress induced scalp itching (and tingling). this sounds similar. you are probably putting your body under a bit too much duress during workouts.

great post! unfortunately the self controlled morphine did pretty much nothing for me and i had self administered drips every 10 minutes. the only way i was able to get some semi relief from pain via the self administering was when i would hit it every single 10 minutes for at least 4 times in a row. but for the most part, i worked through my pain by walking within hours after surgery, talking, sleeping and focusing on talking to my husband. i do wish i had a better experience with the self controlled meds...but my nurse Lenor was such a sweetie and we made jokes about it all that night. however i do agree--pain management is CRUCIAL for a good recovery and this post is awesome.

your health comes first so it's best to start figuring out how you can work around the work holdups now. perhaps bring your liquid with you in a tumbler or other protected cup so it doesn't spill.

as you can see from my sample menu---the only need for processed protein is the scoops at the end of the day! maybe this will be a good plan for you until you reach Phase III and beyond.

this is also a potential concern of mine! so far i cannot tolerate the clear Protein drinks due to allergies. there is something in them that closes my throat or makes me very gassy/bloated/sickly feeling. i also seemed to have developed an intolerance for artificial sweetners as they too make me bloated and the pink packets (forget the name) are giving me migraines! i am hoping that my protein whey powder will be agreeable with me. however, i do know that many people begin getting their protein from foods as soon as they can and some forego the shakes altogether because of cost or taste or allergies, etc. cottage cheese, your fat free milks and other soft cheeses will get you protein in immediately. try those, but make sure they are ALL lactose free for now. i have Lactaid products--they make cottage cheeses, milks and other cheeses! here is the sample PHASE II menu i brought home from the hospital (anything with *** is MY personal addition to this meal plan--things that I have added for me individually): 8:00am - 4-6 tablespoons cooked hot Cereal, 2 tablespoons Lactaid fat free milk to thin out, 1 chewable Multivitamin, ***1 sublingual Biotin tablet 9:00am - 1 cup Lactaid fat free milk -- SIP SLOWLY!!! -- 1/4 cup every 15 minutes 10:00am - 1 cup low calorie juice or Water -- SIP SLOWLY!!! -- 1/4 cup every 15 minutes, ***1 chewable Calcium tablet (my menu has you taking this tablet at 8am with your multivitamin but i don't like to take calcium and Multivitamins together), ***1 sublingual b12 tablet 11:00am - 3 tablespoons non fat, sugar free yogurt 12:00 noon - 1 cup low calorie juice or water -- SIP SLOWLY!!! -- 1/4 c every 15 minutes 1:00pm - 1/4 - 1/2 cup strained cream soup, 1 chewable calcium tablet 2:00pm - 1 cup caffiene free tea with sugar substitute -- SIP SLOWLY!!! -- 1/4 cup every 15 minutes 3:00pm - 1 cup liquid Protein supplement -- SIP SLOWLY!!! -- 1/4 cup every 15 minutes 5:00pm - 3-4 tablespoons sugar free instant pudding with 1 scoop Protein Powder added 6:00pm - 1/4 - 1/2 cup blended soup, 1 chewable calcium tablet 7:00pm - 1 cup lactaid fat free milk -- SIP SLOWLY!!! -- 1/4 cup every 15 minutes 8:00pm - 3 tablespoons nonfat, sugar free yogurt, 1 chewable calcium tablet (if prescribed) 9:00pm - 1 cup water -- SIP SLOWLY!!! -- 1/4 cup every 15 minutes

so thank you SleeveSiren for the advice! whew. now i have a boatload of stuff with fake sugar in it..but ugh...i just can't do it.

feeling so much better today! whew! i am giving away everything with artificial sweetners in it. i am realizing that post surgery NONE of it is agreeing with my new stomach. it ALL is bloating me up so badly. after my throat started to swell yesterday i started paying close attention to everything i drank with artificial sweetners, and i realized that IT ALL bloated me up within 30 minutes--a bloat almost as painful as the gas i had coming out of surgery. but when i thin liquids out and add just a TINY bit of REGULAR sugar, it all goes down without a hitch, no bloating, no pain, no dumping. this morning i had a 12 oz cup of tea with just a teaspoon of sugar in it, and i felt like i was in heaven. and so far---NO BLOAT OR GAS, and this was 1.5 hours ago. i still have quite a bit to go--but i just feel SO much better.

Did you know that I'm allergic to isopure obviously and don't have a clear protein back up? *sigh*