JamieLogical

Hope that shake right next to that cottage cheese doesn't mean you are eating and drinking at the same time. Glad you are dealing better with the discomfort. It really does get easier day by day. I really turned a corner in the feeling like myself department around 2 weeks post-op.

@@mia150 Your sleeve or pouch doesn't have to stretch in order for you to be able to gain weight. There are PLENTY of ways to eat around the restriction of the sleeve. As I mentioned in my post above. Eating and drinking at the same time, drinking your calories, eating slider foods, or grazing all day long are ways you can certainly eat more calories than you are burning if you aren't mindful. If I eat milkshakes all day long, I'm gonna gain weight. No ifs, and, or buts about it!

It's one week. In the grand scheme of things, it's no time at all. It will be miserable, depending on your guidelines, but you can do it.

I agree. If you are concerned, then you should call your surgeon. It certainly seems atypical to for swallowing or eating to get harder the the further out from surgery you get. So worth a call to the surgeon.

Pre op tips? Follow your surgeon's instructions for any pre-op diet. If you have one, it will likely suck, but remember it's only temporary! Also, you will likely have moments of panic and anxiousness leading up to your surgery date. Have faith that you made the decision to have surgery while you were being logical and rational. Don't let your emotions get the best of you. What to expect for days after op? You will be uncomfortable at the very least, if not in real pain. It might be hard for you to get your Water in (if the internal swelling is bad), but it's incredibly important to stay hydrated. Just take tiny sips and try to get in an ounce of water every 15 minutes you are awake. You'll likely want to nap a fair amount. It's VERY important to get up and walk a little every hour or two. Even if it's just marching in place. The moving will help you avoid blood clots and it can also help with gas pain. Also, don't be surprised if you are moody and emotional and crying a lot. That's very very normal. What should I have organised at home? Whatever "food" you will need for the first couple of days. If you are on Clear liquids, you will want broth, sugar-free Jello, and sugar-free popsicles. You should be able to go shopping within a few days, so you won't need to stock up for your later food stages just yet. Shopping is a good way to get some walking in. Just make sure you don't try to lift more than a gallon at a time. How to manage with three kids under 5? Prayer? Seriously though, if you have friends or family members who can help wrangle the kids, you need to get them on board. Don't try to manage that yourself in the first couple of days! Pain rating? Seems to vary drastically. I didn't have any real pain, except gas pain. Some people seem to have a LOT of pain associated with their ab muscles and incisions. I didn't have any of that. Malnutrition? As long as you start working on getting your Protein in towards the end of the first week post op and follow all of your surgeon and nutritionist's recommendations for protein and Vitamins, you shouldn't have to worry. Dehydration is a much more immediate risk in the early days post-op. Sip, sip, sip! Excess skin? Not something you should be worrying about this early on. If you have more than 100 pounds to lose, you will likely have some excess skin. What you feel you need to do about it is up to you. There are a handful of things you can do that *might* help some, but it mostly comes down to things like age and genetics. Stay well hydrated, take your vitamins, moisturize daily, and do some strength training once you are cleared for it. Alcohol? Not that I do this anymore with kids but wine, can you still have it? I was cleared for alcohol at 3 months post-op. Some surgeons recommend never having alcohol again, because of the risk of addiction transference (WLS patients are more prone to alcoholism). Just know that if/when you do drink alcohol again, it will likely be very different than pre-op. In my case, I get DRUNK off a tiny amount of alcohol, but then sober up super quickly. Exercise? Can I still do weight training? Once you are cleared for it by your surgeon. I was cleared at 2 months post-op. Some surgeons clear for it sooner. You will definitely at least have some sort of lifting restriction for the first couple of weeks post-op. Energy levels? Mine were VERY VERY low for the first several weeks post-op, until I was back on solid foods and could get more calories in. The fatigue was a real issue for me. I was napping a lot while I was off of work. When I returned to work at 15 days post-op, I really struggled to last through the day. I ended up going straight to bed after work in those early days. Once I was cleared for solid foods at 40 days post-op and was able to eat more, my energy level got back to normal. How has your experience been? I'm 20 months post-op now and I consider my sleeve to be one of the best decisions I ever made! It was hard, especially in the first couple of months, but now I am completely adapted to it I reached my goal weight right around the 1 year mark. I've been maintaining below goal for 8 months now. I ran my first half marathon a little over a week ago. Life is amazing!

Good luck! When you wake up feeling groggy and miserable, just make sure you do everything they instruct you to do and know that the discomfort is only temporary! You can get through it!

I had a lot of issues with gas and gurgling in the back of my throat for a good long while post-op. It definitely lessened over the course of a couple of months. I still occasionally get it at 20 months out, but it is FAR less frequent.

I still get cravings for "bad" foods even at 20 months post-op. But they are much more easily handled now than they were pre-op. Ghrelin has nothing to do with cravings. It has to do with signals of hunger. Cravings are all in your head and they won't go away on their own. However, because your whole relationship with food changes post-op, the way you think about food will have to change as well. And that can help diminish or eliminate cravings.

Huge congrats!!! You look great! And I can't help but cheer on a fellow runner!

I don't agree that not acknowledging the possibility of regain is the secret to not regaining. Being aware of the possibility of regain means that people will potentially take steps to avoid it. If I believed regain was impossible, then I might be more likely to ignore the guidelines, eat and drink at the same time, drink my calories, eat slider foods, and graze, which would all most certainly lead to regain. I do think you are a little right about the mindset though. If you are constantly living in fear of regain, depending on your personality and your propensity for self-sabotage, it might become a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you just acknowledge the potential for regain and take rational and reasonable steps to avoid it and work on establishing healthy habits and routines that will help you avoid it, then you can maintain your loss long term. It's definitely up to the individual and has a lot to do with being in the right head space. But I don't believe that denial is a sound strategy for long term weight loss maintenance.

It's a long road, but it will be so worth it in the end!

I was supposed to do up to 60 minutes of "brisk walking" per day immediately post-op. That's 60 minutes spread throughout the day... not all at once. At two months I was cleared for more intense cardio and strength training.

Two weeks seems to be about the average duration. I have seen some people who only stall for a few days and some people who's stall has lasted four weeks. But two weeks seems to be the average.

The consult definitely starts making it feel "real". It's so exciting!

It will. Hang in there. It will get a little better every day.

Congrats! Hope your recovery goes really smoothly.

The first season is only 5 episodes, so I bet you finish it tonight!

Comparing yourself to others is a recipe for frustration and misery. I know it's really hard to get your head around in the early days post-op, but your sleeve is forever. You will never be "done" with it like the diets of your past. I promise you that 10 years from now, when you are happy and healthy and maintaining your weight, how much you lost in the first month post-op will mean jack squat.

That's perfectly OK. Why wouldn't it be? I lost 14 pounds my first month post-op.

Okay, so here's the deal. Most of us are never truly hungry, even before surgery. We have head hunger and we have cravings. That is not true hunger. My husband's doctor is fond of saying "if you aren't hungry enough to eat an apple, you aren't truly hungry." What that means is, when you are craving specific types of food, when you are maybe eating more than you should, you aren't actually physically hunger. It's all in your head. That type of hunger does NOT go away with surgery. What does go away is the physical sensation of hunger, good or bad. For me that took some getting used to. In my early months post-op, I found that if I went more than about 3 hours without food, I would get "hangry". I didn't even notice it myself. The people around me would notice and point it out. I went on vacation with my husband and parents at about 6 months post-op and my mom started carrying around peanuts and turkey sticks in her purse and handing them to me at the first sign of "hanger". Since I didn't feel physically hungry, I would forget that it had been so long since I'd last eaten and the hunger manifested itself in a different way, namely bitchiness! I have a much better handle on it now. I eat on a very regular schedule and that keeps the hanger at bay.

It's definitely important to get up and walk every hour or two, eve if it's only a couple of minutes at a time. You don't need to be doing any crazy level of physical activity at this point.

I can't watch this until I get home from work, but I just wanted to thank you for posting it! Hopefully it will help some people not feel so intimidated by the idea of going to Mexico for surgery.

You should definitely start in the beginning. The character development is pretty important.

Are you watching Fear The Walking Dead? It's not as good, but it helps scratch that itch a little at least.

I have always hated zombies as a concept and I have always hated scary movies. But somehow I LOVE the Walking Dead. I think it's because it really has so little to so with the zombies. I'm much more interested in PEOPLE trying to survive after the end of the world. That's what makes it so fascinating. People being put in impossible situations, having to make terrible choices, having to make new lives for themselves... so interesting and the show handles it so well.