Myonlybattle

I'm tired too. Not feeling hungry yet today but I was a little yesterday - there were a couple moments when I reached for food just out of habit and had to stop myself. I am able to get my liquids in but it's already getting to feel like a chore. I can't wait to get through this first month. Are you taking a pepsid? That is supposed to stop acid in the stomach which can mimic hunger. I was prescribed it twice a day for a month. If you're not already taking it and you feel hungry, you could call your MD and ask for it?

My surgeon doesn't use a catheter and it was no problem for me at all. I was able to walk to the bathroom with a little help the first time and then by myself for the rest of my stay.

I am 3 days post op and love the Syntrax nectar before and after surgery. I don't like a thick shake either. My favorite flavors are Fuzzy Naval, Cherry, Lemon Tea and strawberry Kiwi. I heard the apple one is good but it didn't come in my sampler pack so I never tried it. If you don't like thick consistency, here's what i do: I mix the Protein powder with 10 ounces of Water (not the 8 recommended) and blend in in the Nutrabullet. This dissolves all the protein really well but you end up with a lot of foam. So I put the shake right into the fridge and let it sit there an hour or so until the foam is gone. It works well for me. For RTD, I like the Premier chocolate - over ice, it isn't that thick. Finally, I use unjury unflavored powder mixed with 2 Crystal Light individual packs -- one pink lemonade and one yellow lemonade and 8-10 ounces of water. It has the texture of a Nectar drink and I like the sweet/tart flavor. I'm planning to do this with other Crystal Light flavors too. Good Luck, you will do great!

@, Thanks so much! I was nervous about it and feel so much better now!

I tend to have a RTD Premier chocolate shake in the morning. I don't like shakes but over lots of ice it tastes like chocolate milk, very little aftertaste. Isopure RTD tastes good but I get a nasty aftertaste with it. I have found that the Syntrax nectar - fuzzy naval, strawberry kiwi, lemon tea are all pretty good. I don't like shake consistency so I mix them in my Nutribullet and then put in fridge until the foam is gone. Then I pour over a glass of ice. I also tried a scoop of unjury unflavored with 1 packet of Crystal Light pink lemonade and 1 packet of Crystal Light regular lemonade with 10 ounces of Water. Did the Nutribullet, let it sit in fridge, and then drank it over ice. It was sweet and tart. I plan to try more variations of this with Crystal Light and Unjury unflavored. As others have said, everyone is different so just keep trying and you'll find something that works for you. Good Luck!

I have to crush pills too - except for the Chewable Multivitamin and sublingual B12. The nurse at the hospital gave me the crushed meds in some melted sugar free popsicle - when it was mushy, not completely liquid. This tasted pretty good. She suggested that I mix it in a medicine cup with some Protein shake when I get home because I may not have the patience to melt the popsicle every time. I put it in with a little Premier Protein Shake the morning and it seemed ok. My husband bought a pill crusher at the drugstore.

@@Wisdom2KnowTheDifference I had a productive cough too - I think it's normal because some Fluid is built up from lying down so much. Didn't have a sore throat though. If you can cough and get stuff up, do it. It killed me but I put a pillow on my stomach and did it. I am trying to stay off the pain meds during the day -- I @@SOVANNA, I am the same as you. If I could rid of this gas I think I'd be fine (sore but bearable pain). I keep walking and it doesn't seem to do anything. I am 3/4 through a Premier shake that I started at 7:30. The nurse and NUT said the first few days home we should just focus on getting 48 ounces of fluid in. I'm hoping to do 2 Protein shakes today but who knows. Felt so good to be home and sleep in a comfortable bed last night - we all seem to be doing pretty well. I'm counting on what others have said - each day it gets a little better . . .

I'm home today and it feels so good to be out of the hospital! I still have gas - nurses let me sip Mylanta before I left but said No to Gas X strips or pills. The nurses have said the gas should be gone in a few days and I agree with what some of you said - if I can get rid of the gas, I think I'd feel pretty good! Having an Ispure right now, planning on a sugar free popsicle later. Is anyone itchy? I'm itchy all over, near incision sites and on my arms too. We are all past the worst part (I hope!!), so let's get it done and hopefully enjoy the movement of the scale!

I am still In Hospital. I have to drink a protein shake before they Let me go home. Still need Pain meds. Have gas pains in chest and left shoulder. Hoping to be home this afternoon. Congrats to all of you who are home. This is going to be a long few weeks but every day should be better than the day before!

I am doing ok too. Just had leak test and am now cleared to sip water. But I can only sip a tiny amount over an hour. We did it, are On the other side! How is everyone else Doing??

I have to be there at 6:15 AM . . . so scared (and hungry ) Good Luck to all of us!!

I am having gas and belching too and wondering how I can belch when I'm taking in so few calories? I don't know why, but at least you know you're not the only one. Can't wait until this is over, I was at my sister's for a Labor Day pool party today and left alone crying because everyone was enjoying all kinds of delicious food and all I could have was liquids. Had a little pity party in the car on the way home, glad I was smart this morning and made my husband take his own car. He is still there with kids and I have been on this site for 3 hours, looking for inspiration. Two days from now, we will all be sleeved. Wishing everyone good luck!

I'm hesitant to reply because I have "slipped up" EVERY day -- at first I had the headache/nausea thing going and could barely stomach one shake so I justified having deli meat/cheese for lunch. Since then the one day I did have 2 shakes I STILL ate way more than I should have afterwards. I know, know, know this is wrong but I see some doctors only ask for the 48 hour pre-op diet and it makes me think that must be the minimum medically necessary . . . I have all kinds of justifications. The other thing is I go back to May when my doctor was trying to squeeze me in for surgery before the summer and the date was only a week away and I said "what about the pre-op" and he said "it's okay, we don't need the pre-op." So I'm using these excuses to do the best I can, which amounts to NOT following the pre-op. I am trying to avoid carbs and doing pretty well at that. I decided that tomorrow, with one week to go, I should be able to follow the diet to a T. That is my plan. There is one night during this time that we're going out and I will probably cheat a little that night, but otherwise it seems totally ridiculous of me to not follow it. We have a week to go, we can do this!! Good Luck to everyone!

@@vincereautmori Tthat actually sounds good and I have a lot of unjury unflavored here, will get some extracts today. Thank you!

I just went on this site to say the EXACT same thing - I can not do this pre-op diet and it scares me so much. I don't even have a difficult one - 2 shakes a day, a protein/veggie dinner, and 2 high Protein Snacks if needed. But the shakes me me sick and leave a horrible taste in my mouth all day. I also have a stomach ache off and on and also headaches off and on. I feel like a total failure. I am forcing myself to have one shake in the morning and then having deli meat/cheese for lunch instead of a second shake. Trying to drink a lot of Water - water with lemon squeezed in has been my go-to. Tomorrow I will try again to get 2 protein shakes in. So please don't feel like you are alone!

I just went onto the forum for help with the pre-op and realized that this is the topic for me! I am on Day 2 of a 16 day pre-op diet. I'm supposed to only do 14 days but have gained weight due to vacations this summer and decided to start yesterday. I am supposed to have 2 shakes a day plus a non-carb dinner. I had 1 and 1/2 shakes yesterday (plus steak and veggies for dinner) and felt mildly nauseous the whole day. Today I woke up and can NOT even think about having a shake - and I'm not hungry either, just nauseous and have a headache. I am going to try the iced coffee with chocolate Protein powder when I get my courage up -that sounded good, thanks for posting it! Also have Fuzzy Naval which I can try but yesterday I had the Syntrax lemonade and that was the one I couldn't finish. If I find anything that works okay I'll post! Good Luck everyone, we can do this

I can't say whether it's okay to do or not, but I have a special night 3 days before surgery and am planning to have some wine and go off the pre-op diet a bit as well. I know 2 wrongs don't make a right but at least we know we're not the only ones!

@@DredLocDiva I'm only telling close family and a few close friends. Feeling good about the way I'm doing it - for me, I want a few to know so I have a support system and people in my life to vent to (other than here!) but I don't want to deal with questions/comments from all the acquaintances in my life.

Same with me, my NUT asked me to try eating high protein/low card and phasing out caffeine and soda ahead of time. She explained that it was to get me to start adjusting to life after surgery. Good for you that you've been able to stick with it!!

I am really struggling with what on the surface seems like a superficial issue, and maybe it is. But I thought I'd ask for advice from those of you who are several months or even years out. I have decided to tell only a very small group of people about my sleeve - my family and 4 close friends from college who I trust completely and don't live in my town. However, my husband and I have a fairly active social life with friends in town and colleagues from work - people I would never want to to know about the Sleeve (for various reasons) - my story is going to be that I finally decided to get serious about my weight and am eating in a healthy way and exercising. Every single on of these people is healthy and fit, active exerciser, etc. However, our social life with these people revolves around food and drink. My plan is for my husband and I to lie low for awhile and not go out until I'm ready, and we are doing it, but to fall off the face of the earth socially is going to be really hard to sell. Here are some examples (there are many more): 1. We are going to a concert with 2 other couples 4 days before my surgery - this was a total brain lapse on my part when I said yes but it's Tom Petty, who my husband really wants to see (we're old )) so I can't cancel. We are renting a limo for transportation and going out to dinner first. I think I'm ok with the food part because I can order grilled fish and veggies for dinner, but I don't know how I"m going to explain why I'm not having champagne in the limo or wine with dinner - and I don't want to be a buzz kill for the group. 2. A couple that we see about 4 times a year for dinner has been asking us over the last few weeks when we can go out again. If we went, with this couple I would be comfortable getting fish/veggies and having only a couple sips of wine. But waiting 5 minutes between each bite would definitely be noticed. Our schedules are off until my surgery date, so at what point can we say yes to this kind of a dinner? I know they are hurt that we're blowing them off. 3. Another friend who we sometimes go away with for weekend trips with our kids wants to plan a fall weekend away -- it sounds great and fun but in order to do so without it being weird I would have to be ready to eat out every meal (again, I could eat small amounts but 5 minutes between bites, etc. would be noticed) and I would have to have a glass of wine at dinner. I am just trying to get a handle on IF and WHEN these events could take place -- this is going to have a big effect on my husband as well and I just want to know what I'm getting into. If surgery is something I can't do without telling everyone, I really would like to know that now. Thanks in advance!

I turn 49 this year - nice to see some of us at around the same age going through this together - I would love to be buddies - don't really know how to do that officially . . . I am also freaking out, one minute excited the next thinking I'll never be able to go through with it. But I know I will do this because it's the best option. This board has been so helpful to me and the idea that there are a bunch of us having it done at the same time makes me feel better. My date is Sept. 3rd. Wishing us all good luck!!

I haven't been sleeved yet but I completely sympathize with the OP -- I can't control my eating, that is why I'm getting my sleeve. Why would I go through the trauma of having the surgery if I am going to continue to be able to overeat? It sounds like she is in the exact situation that I am afraid of post-sleeve. Many of you suggested that she stop and get rid of that kind of food in her house. I can go clean my cabinets now and not pull into the fast food drive in if I choose to, but I don't seem to be able to make that choice - I'm expecting the Sleeve to force me to make that choice because I won't feel hungry, or if I am hungry I won't be able to eat more than a couple bites without feeling sick. This isn't happening to her, so my question is, what's the advantage of having the sleeve?

My date is September 3rd too! I have a 2 week pre-op diet -- 2 shakes and one lean dinner for 12 days then all liquid for 2 days. I was thinking of starting earlier too because I've been eating out of control this summer due to vacations and "food funerals". But I'm worried I won't be able to do it longer and I don't want to fail. So I'm planning to wait and just do what I have to do. Good Luck to all of us, I'm looking forward to sharing experiences as we go through this together!

I'm pre-op as well but have tried some shakes to see what I like. Although many post-op sleevers have said that taste buds change after surgery and what you like before you may not like after. I ordered samples from unjury and Syntrax nectar. I really like the Syntrax ones, some of them are more like just a drink (roadside lemonade, lemon iced tea) - also liked the cappachino one. By the way, "like" is a relative term - meaning it tasted good enough that I could finish it. I also bought a Nutribullet to mix them in - without a blender or Nutribullet, you will get clumps of powder - especially with the Unjury -- which is not appetizing to say the least. GNC sells the Isopure bottles individually so you can try the flavors - my local GNC had 4 flavors to choose from. I find that I can drink them ok when I sip slowly (which we'll have to do post-surgery anyway) and pour them into a glass with LOTS of ice so they are very cold. I've heard Premier Protein ready to drink shakes are good, but haven't tried them yet. Oh, and I just tried a Quest Protein Bar for the first time - cinnamon roll - yesterday to see how it tasted. I really liked it! Once you are on regular food, a protein bar would be a good additional supplement, they are usually about 20 g protein each That's a lot of protein but if you find some of the shakes/drinks you like, you can do it. Good Luck!!!

@@moonlitestarbrite, thanks. I'm not worried about what others will think at all, I just know that with CERTAIN groups in our social circle the way to handle things is to not go out with them until I can sit and eat (small, healthy) and have a glass of wine. And I was just assuming that I'd wait until I could do that with these types of people and not worry about it. But what I found is that when I said we're busy (for example, when dates came up that are during my pre-op), I'm being asked to pick another date that works. So I was hoping to get a ballpark of when I can safely show up to a dinner table and order a healthy fish and have a glass of wine. I really wanted this info just so I could know how far to push these people out on the calendar in terms of getting together. Based on the responses I got, I'm thinking I could do it 4-6 weeks from surgery (safely) and so last night I booked a few things 6 weeks out or later. I really do appreciate all the responses, this site is amazing