JamieLogical

Good luck to you! I know you mentioned you don't have insurance. Does that mean you don't have a PCP to order follow-up bloodwork and such once you are home? That would be a scary prospect for anyone, I would think.

Glad to still have you around!

The Week 3 Stall is because your body is freaking out about everything you've put it through in the past few weeks. I *highly* recommend you stay off the scale for a bit and focus on your healing, getting in your protein and water, walking as much as possible, and taking your vitamins. If you do all of those things, you WILL lose weight. But your body needs a minute to catch up.

That sounds so rough! I am sorry you went through all of that. Hopefully you can get back home and start focusing on healing and progressing through your food stages.

How far post-op are you?

They stay there. They are made of titanium and last forever.

For me, my sleeve has worked exactly as I had hoped when I got it. I never felt I needed weight LOSS surgery. I needed weight MAINTENANCE surgery. I was always a pro at losing weight. I had managed to lose 25-100 pounds countless times throughout my adult life. I just could never KEEP it off. So when I was back up near my highest weight, after having lost 90 pounds, and I was looking at the long road ahead of me to lose it all again, I thought the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. How was THIS time going to be different from all the other times? The answer was the sleeve! So I had my surgery. I lost "slowly", but that didn't matter. I reached goal right around my one year mark. I have maintained near goal for over 15 months. During that 15 months I have had my sister and her 4 kids move in with me, bought a new house with my husband which we did a lot of home improvements on, trained for and run a half marathon, decided to divorce my husband, had that new house on the market for 5 months, trained for and run a full marathon, had a serious boyfriend, bought a new condo, moved again, broke up with that serious boyfriend, and fixed up the new condo. ALL of those things were tremendously stressful. My exercise has been erratic and sometimes non-existent. In the past, I probably would have gained 50 pounds through all of that. And you know what? I am still hovering right around my goal weight. My sleeve is the best thing ever!

I went to Ariel Ortiz at OCC, so I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions about my experience if you want to PM me. OCC does have a great nutritionist who will email you pre-op, meet with you in person while you are there, and follow up with you and answer ALL of your questions post-op. I mean, I have literally emailed day and night, even over a year out, and gotten quick replies to my questions and concerns. As for the psychological aspect, if you think that may be an issue for you, it might not hurt to seek counseling in your home town. Your PCP may be able to refer you to someone that specializes in eating disorders.

I'm over two years post-op, so I have no trouble eating now. I am concerned that maybe you have a stricture, because of the pain you are describing and how little you are able to eat. I really hope your surgeon or someone from his office can help you soon!

I can't wait to find out if you get approved for surgery next week!

Have you tried any pureed or very soft/pulled meats? chicken in a slow cooker? Tuna salad? Anything along those lines?

Yes basically the psychologist got the impression that I was a stress eater because I was being honest I think it's insurance issues than more so anything else I'm actually pissed because yeah whoever is overweight has emotional issues that's why we want surgery! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App That's certainly true about most overweight people having emotional issues surrounding food. But WLS doesn't correct those issues. If you don't deal with them pre-op, then you will have to deal with them post-op. And trust me, with everything else you are having to deal with post-op, you don't want to be dealing with significant mental/emotional issues at the same time!

Were you able to handle any meats in your puree/soft food stages?

You didn't stretch your pouch. First of all, you don't have a pouch. You have a sleeve. RNY patients have "pouches". Second of all, there is virtually no evidence that a sleeve can be stretched in any significant way. It will "relax" over time. You will definitely have more restriction at 2 weeks post op than at 2 years post-op. If you are able to eat more than a friend who is the same length out of surgery as you, it's because your sleeves are different sizes to begin with. It doesn't mean you are doomed to failure. As for your hunger situation, are you sure it's not acid or head hunger? Are you on a PPI? Can you describe what exactly it is you feel when you feel "hungry"?

The main thing that is going to suck is that you likely kicked your body out of ketosis by eating carbs. That means you are going to have to go through the transition back into ketosis again, which means headaches and fatigue like you probably had the first few days of the diet.

I believe that to edit your profile, you need to be using the desktop version of the site in a web browser, not the app.

Apple and almonds? That's actually pretty tough on your stomach. I wasn't allowed apples or nuts until almost 3 months post-op. I had sleeve though, not bypass, and I know some of the guidelines are different. How do you do with Greek yogurt? Cottage cheese? Scrambled eggs? Were you throwing up in your puree stage or just once you moved onto solid foods?

Sleevers can have a version of dumping. That is for sure! For me it really only happens if I eat something high in sugar and milk at the same time, like a milk shake or rich ice cream. I don't recommend eating those things frequently if you are a sleever anyway, since they are a good way to get in a lot of calories without restriction!

I am always fascinated to hear that people struggle to take their vitamins regularly. For me, it's part of my routine and I almost never forget to take them. The only times I do forget is when I am out of my routine for some reason, like out of town or on vacation or something. Why is it that you struggle? Is it that your life doesn't allow for a regular routine? Is it that you never get into a routine with them i the first place? Have you tried the various med/vitamin reminder apps that are available?

Liquids don't stay in your stomach for any amount of time once you are fully healed post-op. They pass straight through in a matter of seconds. Protein, as a nutrient satiates hunger for longer than carbs, meaning you won't be hungry as soon after ingesting it. But protein shakes don't actually fill your stomach. So drinking immediately afterward won't "dilute" the protein. A protein shake is about 90% Water as it is....

I feel like some of the people who advanced food stages too quickly wouldn't be around to share their experiences with you because they would either be dead or so unsuccessful with their WLS that they would be ashamed to post here.

You are fined drinking water or other liquids right before and after protein shakes. They don't count as "eating". That is one reason you may want to phase out protein shakes once you are back on solid foods though. Getting your protein from "real" food or even protein bars will fill your sleeve so you aren't drinking your calories.

@@Gman1 A lot of people (most people?) experience a bout of "buyer's remorse" in the first few days/weeks post-op. It's a lot to deal with. You are uncomfortable, possibly in pain, tired, moody, coping with head hunger, and wondering if you will ever feel "normal" again. Once they get through that, though, most people are thrilled with their decision.

This post is in the Gastric Sleeve forums though, so I assume that is not the case for the OP.

Do you need a chewable? If so, I have no recommendations, since I never had to be on one. I was allowed to start taking my Vitamins in capsule form at 7 days post-op. I have taken these since my surgery in Sept. 2015: https://www.vitaleph.com/products/all-our-products/more-bariatric-vitamins.html