JamieLogical

You'll be well taken care of there. No need to stress. They will give you some zoloft before surgery and that will help calm you down. Too bad they won't be able to give your mother any! She'll probably be just as nervous as you. For me, the logistics of just getting to San Diego and then to OCC where the really stressful part. And worrying that I might have forgotten something. Then I was terrified my alarm wouldn't go off and I'd miss the 6:00 am shuttle from the Marriott to OCC, so I was waking up like every 10 minutes to check the clock. Once I was actually at OCC and doing my paperwork and everything, I felt much more calm. Plus there were other patients there to chat with who were all going through the same thing as me so there was a nice sense of camaraderie and it helped the time pass quickly.

Awesome! Sounds like you are progressing well. I forgot to mention that getting your protein in will help with skin as well, but you should be doing that anyway.

In my case at least, this was not the issue. We did the fully battery of taking my blood pressure lying down, sitting up, standing, etc. in the doctor's office and there wasn't the drop that we should/would have seen if it were orthostatic hypotension.

"Hunger" from boredom, is just another form of emotional or "head hunger". You will still experience that A LOT post-op. The psychological component of this surgery should not be glossed over. It is a very big deal and you will struggle with it a lot. You may even want to consider some counseling or professional help for it if you are having a hard time adapting after surgery. Also, you can definitely still experience real, physical hunger post op. Your body still needs food for energy. If I go more than about 4 hours without food now (9 months post-op), I do get really, truly, physically hungry. I try to eat every 2-3 hours to avoid that. But, because I eat so little at one time, it doesn't "tide me over" for as long as a bigger meal would have pre-op. Pre-op, I could eat a huge lunch and/or dinner and not feel physical hunger again for the rest of the day, because I'd already gotten in a full day's supply of calories. But, post-op, only being able to eat at most about 200 calories at a time, if I go more than 4 hours between meals/snacks, then my body runs out of fuel and I get physically hungry.

I weigh multiple times a day. I consider my morning weigh-in (naked after peeing) to be my "official" weight. I track my weight once a week, Monday mornings, in a spreadsheet. I also have a couple of other weigh-ins that I track. The first of every month, since I had my surgery on Sept. 1. That's the weight that goes in my signature on these forums. I also track my weight on the 24th of every month, because that's when I take my measurements (took my first measurements October 24, the week before my surgery). That goes into a different spreadsheet than my weekly weigh-ins. My "unofficial" weigh-ins happen throughout the day. I always weigh myself after I get home from work, before I do my cardio. And then again after I do my cardio. Because I'm weird and I like to see how much sweat I lost. I also always weigh myself with my clothes on before I go to bed at night, so I can try to guess what my real weight will be in the morning. For a really long time, I always weight about 4 pounds more at night, with clothes on than I would naked the next morning. But lately it's dropped down to about a 3.2 pound difference. It's all pretty meaningless, but it entertains me.

Are you staying hydrated? The primary cause of muscle cramping is dehydration. If you are getting enough water, then then next culprit may be electrolytes. If you don't have enough electrolytes (magnesium, potassium, sodium, and calcium), then your muscles can't retain enough water. In that case you may need to try supplements or ask your surgeon/nutritionist about eating some foods that contain electrolytes.

I agree so much with what @@CowgirlJane said. In these early days post-op, you really need to just be eating on a timer and measuring your food. Do NOT rely on your body to accurately indicate hunger or fullness right now. All your signals are going to be messed up while you are healing. The emotional part is a real challenge and you might want to seriously consider counseling. I was always a binge eater pre-op and I did my share of trying to binge post-op in those early months (not as early as you did, but once i was allowed solid foods). At first I was sad and frustrated that I couldn't binge anymore and had to really try to figure out other ways of coping with my emotions. I'm nine months out now and I still want to binge every once in a while, but my brain and body have caught on that I simply can't anymore and it is happening much more rarely. I didn't go to a counselor, but I really did a lot of self reflection and processing. I would definitely encourage you to seek out counseling if it's something you don't think you'll be able to work through on your own.

Certain foods you will be able to eat much more of than others. If you are eating "slider" foods, then you will be able to eat a lot without feeling full. "Sliders" are anything that is runny/liquidy or anything that would easily dissolve in Water. A great example of a slider food is cheese puffs or cheetos. You know the way that the compress down to almost nothing as soon as you put them in your mouth? Or the ultimate example of this, I guess, would be cotton candy. Here's a list of some slider foods: corn chips cheetos ice cream milk shakes cake Soup chili crackers Aside from being easily digestible and passing through your stomach quickly, the thing most of those foods all have in common is that they are high in carbs. As @@lexiemia said, you want to fill up on dense Proteins. Protein itself is going to be more filling and sustain you longer than carbs. Plus, denser foods stay in your stomach longer, instead of "sliding" right through. If you are going to eat carbs, make sure they are the denser, higher Fiber carbs. Those will take longer for your body to process and will make you feel full longer... so nuts, whole grains, etc.

Palmer's cocoa butter seems to be the best thing I've found. Though it's pretty pricey and you go through it really fast trying to cover your entire body in it. You could also start supplementing with Vitamin C and beef Gelatin, both of which are supposed to help skin elasticity. Stay VERY well hydrated and do regular strength training. You'll still probably end up with loose skin, but hopefully those things will help minimize it.

I have been dealing with dizziness on standing for months now. I've been to my doctor about it. We did all the blood tests. No real explanation for it, other than my blood pressure is "low" (for me). Still not technically in the "low" range, but is lower than it's ever been for me specifically. I've just had to learn to be careful and pause for a second before I start walking after I stand up.

@@lovexciaral Oh yeah. That's not too far at all. Mine goes almost all the way around, there's maybe a 4 inch gap around my butt crack (2 inches on either side). If I could do it over again, I'd want mine to me shorter like yours, because I think the fact that mine was almost circumferential really contributed to the soft-tissue swelling I had in my lower back afterward.

The worst part of the cramps is that I always wake up my poor husband. The intensity of the pain is just..... I'm writhing around in bed, moaning or even screaming for a minute or two and my poor husband thinks I'm dying. Sometimes I can stop them before they are in full swing by flexing my foot to be at a 90 degree angle to my shin and stretching out the muscle, but I have to be semi-awake to catch them before they really get going for that to work. If I'm dead asleep and don't get that warning twinge, then it's just like someone stuck a pitchfork into my calf and started twisting it. It's compelty excruciating. It's what I imagine the cruciatus curse from Harry Potter to feel like.

@@RNsleever715 I forgot to mention that the Marriott will bring you chicken broth, Jello, popsicles, and bottled Water, so you don't need to bring any of that kind of stuff with you. All you will need is potentially some form of Protein powder for the airport/airplane and your hotel in SD (since you mentioned you'll be staying there an extra day). You can't take liquids through security at the airport, but you can buy bottled water once you are past security and then mix your Protein Powder in with that for waiting around at the gate and taking on the plane. There is a convenience store right across the street from the Marriott if you want to try to get some Vitamin Water or G2. There is also a Walmart up the hill from the Marriott, but I never ventured up there, because the hike seemed daunting. I know some people just took a cab up there!

@@globetrotter Thanks for posting. I am sorry you have gone through everything you have post-op and that you are struggling so much, but I am grateful you shared your experience. I think it's good for all of us to hear/see a side of the story that we don't often get exposed to on these forums. Good luck in your continued pursuit of your goals!

@@lovexciaral I think you are going to look great once the swelling goes down and your incision is healed up. The sides of your incision look a little higher than mine, but still should be covered by most panties, I imagine. How far around does your incision go in the back? Hope your recovery is going well!

Glad you got that figured out. It's tough though, because potassium is hard to supplement. I've always been potassium deficient. I started getting bad cramps in my calves while I slept when I was maybe 10 years old? My pediatrician told me to start taking potassium supplements, but whats available over the counter is only like 15% of your daily recommended allowance of potassium. What did your doctor recommend for you?

As for cream in coffee, I use Mini Moos (Half & Half) when I'm at work, which are 10 calories each. And I use Silk soy milk when I'm at home, which is 28 calories for 2 oz. and has 2 grams of Protein. So, on a week day I get about 68 calories from "cream" in my coffee and 2 grams of protein. On weekends I get 84 calories and 6 grams of protein. I use Truvia in my coffee at home and work. If I'm out somewhere and don't have Truvia as an option, I use Splenda. The calories in alcohol are NOT trivial, so I am pretty careful about that. I rarely drink. Maybe once or twice a month? My experience with alcohol post-sleeve is that I get "drunk" feeling VERY quickly, but then I also sober up very quickly (don't worry, I never drive if I've had ANY alcohol at all). It's like my body just processes the alcohol much faster than it did pre-op. I was on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN back in April (7 months post-op) and moonshine is a big thing there. They have a whole bunch of competing moonshine places on the main drag that offer free samples in tiny little shot glasses, about 1/4 the size of a normal shot glass. They are literally the size of a thimble. I drank 4-5 of those and I was SOOOOOOO drunk. Granted, moonshine is pretty high proof, but still, I basically had the equivalent of ONE shot and I was wasted. But probably 20 minutes later, I felt completely normal and sober.

@@true2jeanna The percentages when it comes to complications are VERY low . While they do happen and can be quite tragic, there would be no grounds for a class action suit here. Who would be the defendant? There is no single company or even handful of companies that are selling a defective "product". There are individual doctors performing individual surgeries using a variety of devices and tools. There's no specific medication or implant or anything that is unique to gastric sleeve. It would be like trying to sue the entire medical industry over complications from gall bladder or appendix removal. I am so sorry for you and your daughter and all of the hardships you've had to endure. It is certainly unfortunate that the surgeon in question seems to be untouchable, especially if there truly was some wrongdoing.

I was in bed by 8:00 or 9:00 several times on my pre-op diet. The fatigue is no joke! Hang in there!

It won't get better until you are on at least soft foods (eggs, tuna, cheese) and can start getting more calories in. If anything the fatigue gets worse in the first couple of weeks post-op, because then not only are you not eating much, your body is also expending a lot of energy to heal. I would say I really turned a corner at 18 days post-op, once I was allowed soft foods. And then my energy levels were pretty much back to "normal" by the time I was on solids.

Here was my packing list. I didn't want to check any bags, so I managed to get this all into my laptop bag and my tablet bag (purse-sized) to take with me on the plane. Because of that, I couldn't bring any liquids with me. Thus the need for Protein powder and the collapsible funnel: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11I51ulCBco9cimQj882eV1KfMWodyiIO6X4gNaLpDDc/edit?usp=sharing From that list I didn't use the stool softener at all or the wipes (I was able to shower myself as soon as i got back to my hotel, so no need for the wipes). And the "hair spray" on that list was my spray leave-in conditioner. Not the kind that holds your hair-style. I obviously didn't worry about how I looked while I was there. Oh and I guess I never used my mini HDMI adapter, because I never hooked up my tablet to the TV, though I did use the HDMI cable to connect my laptop to the TV. And I never used the ethernet cable I brought either. I don't remember wishing I had brought anything that I hadn't.

I promise yo won't feel exhausted forever. But you will feel very very fatigued in the first couple of weeks post-op as well. Not only will you be consuming very few calories, but your body will be expending a lot of energy to heal itself. I would say my energy levels really turned a corner once I was back on soft foods (eggs, soft cheese, tuna, etc.), because I was able to start getting more calories in.

@@Justoperated The muscle repair may be less critical for you as a man. It definitely seems to be something most obese women need to consider once they've lost the weight. Your surgeon will definitely discuss the options with you and help you decide what's best. I also agree with Shustar, that you should wait a good 6-12 months after reaching your goal before having plastics, because some of your skin WILL bounce back naturally on it's own. Then your surgeon will have a much better idea of what he/she needs to work with.

I was allowed caffeine at 30 days post-op. Initially told to dilute my coffee heavily with cream and only one cup a day, but allowed to increase my intake as tolerated. I now drink 3 cups a day at 9 months post-op. I was allowed alcohol at 2 months post-op. Obviously in moderation and cautioned about drinking my calories. Also, nothing carbonated.

@@frumpy69 Thanks for answering all of my questions. I know it might be hard for you to go back and do this sort of self-examination. Hopefully you won't beat yourself up too much, since like someone above said, what's done is done and you can only move forward from here. You mentioned that you only eat 700-1200 calories a day. Is that what you are eating now that you are trying to get back on track? I find it hard to believe you regained weight eating that little. How are you doing on Protein now? How WERE yo doing on protein as you regained weight? Have you been doing any sort of regular exercise. I know there are others on these forums who have been through what you are going through, so hopefully some of them will see this and post with some advice.