BJay

6kiddos, I'm day 13 post op and I have lost 11.1 kgs - I've only been walking the dogs everyday for 30 mins - 1 hr (at a stroll type pace). Tomorrow will be 2 weeks post op. Some people seem to drop weight better than others but 5-10 lbs seems so little for 4 weeks...

Thanks for reading: I am 13 days post op today. Until yesterday morning, I was feeling pretty good. I went out to lunch and had potato and leak soup - unfortunately it wasn't in a measured bowl and I believe I overate. I didn't get my usual hiccups that I get when I overeat, but the person who I was at lunch with says we definitely were not there for more 20 mins (I was told to take 30 - 45 mins to eat / sip food). I was fine on the way home, then about 1 and a half hours later I started to get terrible pain (like irritable bowel syndrome pain) and I put it down to the leak in the soup. I was quite ill sitting on the toilet while having a bowl in my lap in case i threw up. Whenever I feel nauseas, I always feel like I have something caught in my throat (since the operation). This episode made me quite tired and I sipped some water in the evening then went to bed. Normally I lay on my left or right side, but last night I could not do this as it felt like my stomach was bending in half. I woke after midnight and was quite dry so took a sip of water as I usually do but could not go back to sleep as I started to get constant pain beneath the sternum. Even laying on my back was uncomfortable so i tried sitting up, which was also uncomfortable. Then this morning, trying to ignore the pain (3/10 type pain), I had breakfast which was extremely painful to take. Throughout the morning I have had a couple of episodes of very slight left should tip pain (I did not previously have this at all - even day 1 post op). I tried to ignore the pain and took my dog to the park, but with every step, it felt like my whole sternum was lifting up and down so I came home. I know I will not even manage 500mls of fluid today, because it is too painful to swallow (the pain is similar to the initial pain I had when I first started drinking post op - which is almost like air and food trying to swap places in my oesophagus. Background information: *I had 2 x days post op vomiting that the nurses and drs could not get under control *felt fine until yesterday *after my initial two days of vomiting post op, I swallowed fluids / soups with minimal gas type pains but since day 8 post op, didn't have any problems swallowing foods *have NO temperature *have had oral thrush for past 7 days, despite using nilstat, mouth wash and chewing gum to try and get rid of it *I have been walking everyday for between 30 - 60 minutes I want to know if anyone else has felt pretty good, then a week or two post op, started to feel worse. I am not sure what is going on and would really appreciate anyone's advice or other people's stories of funny pain like this. Thanks

Vool, how are you going with your optifast preparation?

Bec101 - that's a great idea! So, who wants to meet up? Kazza, are you in? It would great for some of us that are fairly new to the process to pick the brains and get ideas from those of you who are well on your way to a FANTASTIC life :-)

Smashelle, for me, yes, it is discomfort, not pain. I had pain post op but none now - pain is SUBJECTIVE

That's what they say. I'm day 8 and get very little gas pain now - I just get that weird pain when I swallow where it feels like the fluids and air are trying to swap places in the oesophagus. It will get better - regular analgesia helped me too

Well done Amanda - it sounds like you are doing great. I was a the supermarket today and found Protein drinks with 30grams per cup (250mls) - I got strawberry flavour to try it. I hope they are ok. Well done and good luck with the puree stage.

Damn! I should have been born in America!!!

What's a slider? Do we have them in Oz?

Rebellious butterfly - yes, in WA it's what we are recommended to get by the dietician. It goes through every single stage of diet including the pre op diet and it has delicious recipes in it. Just google it - I'm sorry, I can't seem to ad the picture. Does anyone know how to ad a pic from the desktop? I see the option to ad an image URL but everytime I try to do that it tells me 'not allowed'.

This post is hilarious - something I never thought about before but definitely will have to give it some thought

Hi, I returned home from hospital day 2 post op. From day 3 post op I walked 20 minutes (it was uncomfortable on the way back), then day 4 I walked 30 minutes (casual stroll type pace); since then I have walked 40 minutes every day (I am day 8 post op). The main reason is to reduce the risk of DVTs and move move move that gas! Just do what you can handle - your body will let you know when it is too much. The first day I walked half an hour I was sweating on the way back and starting to feel like vomiting - I think my body was saying, thanks but no thanks! Everyone is different. My friend had this op and did not have ANY pain after the operation - no shoulder tip pain, no nausea or vomiting, for me it was very different! Work yourself up I say and listen to your body.

Egg mayonnaise is good for protein, not sure about fat though, but dang it tastes great!

Congratulations...see you on the other side. Remember to just take it one day at a time - I'm day 8 post op, down 20.5 lbs since my one week pre op diet. I'm just starting to go from feeling ók' to feeling 'good' today. Good luck with it all, how exciting for you. Wishing you all the very best

pink dahlia - Who are we to judge though hey? People eat for different reasons - many overeat because they have been sexually abused as a child (studies show there is a strong link), hypothyroidism, he could have been placed on psych drugs (drugs such as seroquel make a person crave carbohydrates), these drugs also cause a condition called metabolic disorder (nearly puts the metabolism to a stand still). IF I looked at my sister in law from an outsiders point of view, I would think, wow, she must eat a lot - but in fact she has hypothyroidism. He could be in his wheelchair because of conditions like MS, he may have had an accident when he was younger damaging his spine; I have a friend who uses a wheelchair because she has Crohn's disorder and gets tired. We aren't in a position to judge.