knitlil09

I live in Austin as well, though I'm no where near being ready for plastics yet. Have you tried askig your wls surgeons office for recommendations? They deal with those kind of questions all the time and can probably help you narrow down your choices and give you more insight on how their previous patients have done. Good luck!

Your new way of eating will feel normal to you soon and you will wonder how you ever lived the other way.

For me, the feeling with the sleeve is completely different. Your full feeling is actually in your stomach and not up in your throat. You will get used to it. It's actually a lot more like the full feeling you used to get before being banded, though it's probably been a while since you've experienced that feeling. What you are feeling now with the burping and gas is just temporary. Once you get out a little further, all of that should go away. I am 8 weeks out and I can eat and drink within any problems now. You do want to take it slow right now and listen to what your body is telling you because everyone heals at a different rate. Good luck and you will do great!

You need to contact your doctor. That is not normal. I'm 7 weeks post op also and I've had non of those problems and am on a normal diet now.

No I've been to Mexico hundreds of times, and you actually get the best exchange rate using your debit or credit card over doing a currency exchange or foreign wire.

I was all pumped to go to the gym before work tomorrow morning for the first time since my surgery. I was getting my stuff ready tonight, found my gym bag, workout pants, socks. Found a left tennis shoe, no right one in sight. Okay, that's cool, so I then found my other pair of tennis shoes, but they are mysteriously missing their laces... Oh yeah, and I can't find a tshirt to wear that fits, and I don't own a sports bra that fits. Was willing to work around the sports bra situation until the new one I ordered arrived, but I don't think I can work around the other stuff :-/ Oh so ready for hump day to come and go tomorrow!

You may or may not be allowed protein shakes at this point. Every doctor is different. I was on clear liquids only the first week. Of course you're weak, tired, and dizzy right now. You just had surgery. It will get better. I did not have a single thing other than water and jello week 1 aka no calories and I'm fine.

The first two chocolate protein shakes I had (1week post op) did that to me. But after that initial issue, it all worked itself out and I'm fine now.

No, I don't own any other shoes with laces. I work in an office environment and casual shoes aren't appropriate for work. Outside of work I mostly wear sandals because I live in Texas and it's just too hot for anything else. Regardless, that wasn't the point of the post. I was just ranting that I had finally gotten the motivation to go, but all these little obstacles were standing in my way. I will pick up some new laces on my way home from work.

I lost my ex boyfriend a year and a half ago to his alcohol addiction. I am currently watching my mom battle incurable breast cancer that has spread to her bones and brain. It is the hardest thing I've ever had to witness and deal with in my life.

I had the same proble, the sleeve feels completely different thankfully. I haven't thrown up once and the restriction you feel is completely different. You actually feel full and satisfied. It had gotten to the point for me with the band where I was constantly seeking out slider foods because if I could manage to get something to stay down I was going to damn sure eat a lot of it because I didn't know when I would be able to keep anything down again. With the sleeve, I eat small amounts but am actually satisfied and don't reach for things I shouldn't be eating. It really is a liberating feeling. I feel like I've been freed from the food issues in the past.

Try taking them and see how it goes. I don't have any restrictions on taking pills after surgery and didn't have any problems swallowing. If you do have a problem initially, maybe your dr can put you on something else temporarily until you can swallow larger pills later on.

I wasn't told for the rest of my life, but I figure it's best practice for me to avoid them for the most part. I was told to stay off them during the first few months while my sleeve was healing, and use only sparingly in the future and after consulting with my surgeon to make sure it's the best choice for me. Aside from the tennis elbow issue, I haven't really had a need, that being said, I've never had arthritis. It's funny, I actually used to get headaches a lot before my surgery, and I've had a total of one headache since my surgery six weeks ago.

I also have a food scale I use at home. It is definitely handy for those small items that you can't accurately guesstimate. For something like sauce that you're are straining mostly, you will probably have to guesstimate that, but something that minimal shouldn't throw you off too much. Remember, the goal isn't to get exact calorie counts for everything, it's just to keep good track so you are staying in a healthy range and help you keep track if patterns in your food choices to see what's working and what's not for you.

I had a band as well and had horrible reflux with it. Had it removed a few years ago and just recently got a sleeve and hiatial hernia repair. I haven't had a single day if reflux since then.

I don't have arthritis, but shortly after my surgery I developed tennis elbow, which is really painful. Voltarin gel worked wonders for me as well.

You're going to do great! And they'll be there in spirit for you. Congrats on starting your journey!

A shake is liquid. It doesn't just sit in your stomach like solid food does...

My surgeon has his patients swallowing pills day 2 in the hospital, in fact, he won't send you home til you can. I've never had a single problem with any pill I've attempted to swallow.

So I'm going out to dinner for the first time since surgery with a friend. She doesn't know about the surgery and I'm not planning on telling her. I'm a little nervous that she's going to notice my eating, but I guess I have to get used to that, right? Wish me luck!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! Going tomorrow and hopefully she won't notice, and if so I'll just tell her I'm not that hungry. She's a really good friend but one of those girls who's hopelessly skinny and would never know anything about having a problem with her weight. She's part of a large group of friends I hang out with, and I really don't want it to become the news of the group, and have to answer a bunch of questions etc. not that I think she'd tell on purpose, but things can slip out. The only people who know are my family, my brothers girlfriend, and my best friend. I'm just a really private person and am not comfortable with people knowing.

I'm a little over 3 weeks post op and have just started on soft foods in the last few days. I'm beginning to familiarize myself with my restriction. I think it's kind of funny how everyone's body signals them in different ways to let them know that they're full. What is your full signal? Mine is hiccups. It took me a few days to make the connection, but now that I've figured it out, I know that if I hiccup, I need to stop :-)

Most surgeons have their patients on an acid reducer post op for this very reason. You might want to ask them if you need to be on something regularly for a while. My surgeon puts us on something for at least the first 3 months, and as needed after that.

Are you sure it's hunger? Acid can feel like hunger. Are you on anything for reflux. You will not be actually hungry at 5 days out.

Don't rush back to work. I was out for 3 weeks and went back this week. I've been SO tired all week. If you have the luxury to take extra time, do it!