NotSoTall

Well done, Congrats!! Looks like you got younger as well as thinner.

My nose has also gotten super sensitive. I felt nausea after using a kitchen cleanser with bleach. I've been having to rinse and wash my dishes right away where previously I probably wouldn't have been accused of being a clean freak. The worst was my own body odor the first week out of surgery. I was sure I had a whole cloud around me like the Peanuts Pig Pen, even shortly after showering. Had to wash my night shirts each day, no way I'd let them sit in the dirty laundry smelling that way.

Congrats! That's a good one. I still feel like an awkward pretzel working on my toes, so that must feel great.

My doc's biggest concern with caffeine is the added risk of dehydration, particularly if you have troubles getting all your liquids in. He'd prefer we never use it again. Once upon a time I recall hearing somewhere that for every caffeinated beverage you need a non-caffeine one to counter the Fluid loss the caffeine can cause. It's probably not that cut and dry, but I'll stay away for now since it's not calling me. I have had decaf coffee a couple times. Satisfied that warm mug of something to sip feeling. It's probably not that big a deal if you get plenty of other fluids and are tuned in to signs of dehydration just in case. Just my opinion and we know what opinions are like. Wouldn't hurt to get your doc's/nut's blessing. (yes, I'm a worry wart newbie)

Increased mobility is a wonderful thing. Congrats!

I'm not freezing, but rather finally feel cool enough. Prior to surgery it was like I had daily hot flashes so this is a nice change. i have heard of many folks saying that they're cold all the time now. Interesting side effect.

It's wonderful how everything fell into place so well. Gotta love it! Best wishes to you for the upcoming procedure and your healthier life thereafter!

Congrats on your victory! Must feel great after some rough days. It's a sign of better things to come.

Puree day is here!!! (yeah i need a life) So after my 2 week follow up appt including getting the staples out I came home and made my first puree. It was tuna and tasted yummy. Hard to chew it 20 times, but I tried for practice if nothing else. I managed a quarter cup which was half of the 2.5 ounce pouch after I pulverized it. Ate it over 20 minutes and now I'm satisfied. I feel maybe a tad full, but that didn't hit until after I'd finished so that's a lesson to follow the rules and not eat more yet even if during the 20 minutes I felt I maybe could have. The hardest part is waiting for the first sips of Water, but I'll get used to that too. Also dropped another pound after 4 (5?) days of no movement so dropped into a new BMI range by a hair. It's been a good day so far. It is raining so will have to get creative for my walking today. Somewhere I have those old 'walking off the pounds' dvds. If not maybe some music and walking around the house for 15+ minutes. Might look silly but who cares. The dog will probably think I lost my marbles. Happy Sleeving

Thank you. I appreciate the ideas. I haven't used the food scale much, relying more on measuring cups and such, but will have to give it a go. For my first puree I did some tuna and the 2.5 ounce pouch pureed into a half cup so I dished half and was able to eat it, so the first tracking was easy at half a pouch. I will keep the ideas in mind for when things don't work out that smoothly. My NUT today also suggested that if you eat off a portion all day, just count the whole at the end. That can work if I want to keep eating the same thing through the day...which I'm not sure i do. LOL, I know, picky picky. Thanks

I'm probably overthinking this and not even sure if I can pose the question correctly but here goes nothing. During the liquid stage it's very easy to count Protein. I don't log anything until I've completed it and it's in easy to measure ounces. During the next stage when it's time to puree how do you count if you make a portion, say 1/4 cup and then only can take a couple bites. The 1/4 cup I can figure, but what about the partials. How do folks do this? Or do you focus on the protein from liquid to make up the 60 or so grams and then guesstimate the samplings of other protein foods? This probably sounds silly and yes probably thinking too hard about it, but I'd love to hear how others have handled this, veterans and newbies alike. Thanks in advance!

Totally understand. I get puree starting tomorrow and I'm so ready. Between pre and post it's already weeks of liquids (and not as many as some so trying not to be to whiny, LOL). That said I have been able to make my liquids using yogurt and will continue those since they're yummy and will keep the Protein up. The ready to drinks are getting really old though. Enjoy Thursday!

You and me both with the head hunger. And you and me both with the little stall. Two more days until my staples are out. That must feel better to be without them. You've got a good attitude, one day at a time. That's all we can do, right?

You have a great attitude! Your system will be primed and ready for a smooth procedure and your new life. Very exciting!

Hi Jessica! Congrats and best wishes to you and your MIL on your new journey. I'm pretty new here too and find there's a wealth of information to be found in these threads.

How are the 2/11 sleevers doing? I hope all is as well as can be!!

New day, nothing new to report. Good news is that the scale worked fine today. Mundane news is the weight is the same today. Just riding it out as the nutrient #'s average to what my doctor's office suggests. Average of calories: 550, protein: 68, liquids: 65, and though I'm not counting them carbs: 39. Two more days until stage 3 puree. WooHoo. LOL. I am seriously looking forward to some tuna salad. Go figure. I did have another nausea moment yesterday shortly after taking meds, so I guess the tummy is still feeling fussy (healing), though I'd also done a little light cleaning with a bleach spray and the smell seemed to ramp the nausea up. My nose seems ultra sensitive lately.

I went to pureed on day 21 post op, per my surgeons instructions. I didnt skip a beat on weight loss. 2 months out and I still never go more than 3 days without seeing some sort of loss. My more frequent foods during this period was: Egg Beaters, cooked on medium heat using non stick spray, I made sure they did not brown as they stiffen up a bit. Small bites and they were great and easy on the stomach. I either made 1/3 to 1/2 cup or 1/2 packet or instant grits and 1/4 cup of the egg beaters. After cooked I put the eggs on top of the grits so the moisture of the grits slightly softened the egg beaters. Canned chicken, tuna and hard boiled eggs with kraft non fat mayo. Puree them in a food processor. I added various things to them, Pickle relish(just a little) , lowrys seasoning, mustard. Even a little hot sauce in the eggs (yum) Lite, low cal soups ran through a blender. One of my favs was ground turkey cooked well, drained and ran through a food processor so it was very tiny bits. Mixed in some low fat re fried Beans and salsa. Just make sure there are no chew able pieces. With all this I ALWAYS use my scale. 4 to 5 ounces maximum. I was very anal about this is for the most part I still am. If it goes slightly about 5 ounces I pull some out. If its not on my plate I dont miss it. And if I go over I always regret it because I feel like crap when I eat too much. Thank you for these. Some great ideas here. I'm so ready for the puree stage.

My doctor's concerns with alcohol are potential bleeding ulcers (in addition to many of the other issues mentioned here). They recommend a year before having any which I see is much longer than many other plans. I like cocktails, but will hold out for quite a while. But let me add it's because I've had an ulcer in the past, and my father (who could drink quite a bit, doesn't any longer) developed bleeding ulcers and stomach cancer. It resulted in removal of 75% of his stomach so genetics play a big part in my decisions. And he didn't need to lose any significant amount of weight, but ended up getting very small after this. I figure if you follow you doctor's guidelines and all is well, power to you.

It's good to be home, isn't it? I know exactly what you mean about not getting checked out (vitals and such) over and over. It's good they do that, but there's no good resting with all that going on. Congrats! One of my cats stayed away from me for a day to show me her attitude. LOL.

Good luck and sending wishes of comfort and healing to you. Before you know it you'll be working with your new tool.

I'm no help with the drain as mine was removed the day after and it was still putting out red. I still get the burps and I'll be 2 weeks out this coming Tuesday. I tried Gas-x strips early on, but found the walks were the best for getting gas moving out. I don't have gas pains now, just the burps or hiccups now and again. I also attribute that to taking in more fluid at a time compared to the ounce every 15 minutes of the first few days. I think the fluid is moving the air out of the way, so to speak.

Okay, the scale gods are messing with me. I'm not talking about the weight staying the same, but the scales themselves. I'd been using a clunky older scale because my nicer one needed batteries. Got the batteries yesterday and it worked. Got on this morning and it was flying the numbers all over the place and finally landed on 10 pounds less than I am. Sure, would love that but knew it was a glitch. Then got back on my rickety one and it started doing the same thing only it finally landed on a number that would reflect a gain of over 2 pounds. Alrighty then. LOL. Dragged hubby shopping for a new scale and we're back, the same weight as yesterday and you know what? I was happy to see it. After the morning's fiasco it was a peaceful feeling to see a number that made sense. Now to hope whatever gremlin got into the older scales doesn't jump ship into the new one by morning. Wednesday starts purees so I purchased some tuna pouches and some veggies that I can whir up. Also some cottage cheese and refried Beans. Also bought sublingual B12s and calcium citrate with D. Starting Wednesday I'm supposed to do a multi then the Calcium a couple hours laters, then another multi, then another calcium. I'm glad to still be home to dial into these time frames, along with timing non-liquid meals so things will feel more natural by the time I do go back to work. Now to do some research on the best way to puree stuff. Learning something new everyday.

survivingsleever - It's exciting. You'll be scheduled and moving forward in no time. Please share your experiences so we can all learn from each other. Best wishes! Okay, it finally happened <dramatic pause> I didn't lose any weight since yesterday. I went to hubby and said that's it, I want a refund, get my tummy back. Then we chuckled and I went in to get my Protein Drink. It really is okay and just a taste of things to come. No matter what program I've followed I've had a really good first week and then the second week get a mini-plateau before things move on again. The sleeve is my tool and it will help me stay on track, but there's no reason for me to think it will be magically different in it's path of weight loss. I think I mentioned before that I need to daily weigh (acknowledging that for others that can be a head game, understandably) so I've seen the stair step losses, the spikes up and down with an overall trend down. I think for me it's good to remember it's still me, the hormone issues are still mine, the PCOS impact of loose slow, gain fast is still there so if the weight stays the same for a day, a week or more I'm just trucking on. This tool allows me the luxury, if you will, of not playing games with myself. Cool Beans. Wishing a successful, nutritious day to all.

I was just curious how folks progress with their incisions. The instructions I received were keep them covered until the shower at 3 days out, then leave them uncovered. The exception was the drain site and to gauze it if it was weeping, but it's dry so keeping it uncovered. Only my t-shirts and nighties are over them. Shower daily with soap, Water and pat dry. Was told Absolutely no ointments, peroxide, alcohol, nothing. POSSIBLE TMI: So out of 4 incisions and the drain site only one big guy looks a bit angry. Sort of a big scab stretching open just a bit, but cannot see inside. That's the one that was used for the scope and such, and maybe the one they pull the evicted tummy from? Not sure on that last part and will ask next week. Next week the staples come out. So how are your sites progressing? What kind of stitches did you have? I know we're all different, but got curious as I again wanted to scratch near that ugly one. Surgery was 2/11. Thanks