RedSalamander

I'm 4.5 months out and haven't had problems with drinking--I can have wine, beer, hard liquor. (Haven't had soda with a drink yet but ended up in a situation where I drank un-liquored soda and all was fine...just REALLY burpy!) While I do feel it a bit more than I did before, it's not an earth-shattering difference. I definitely wouldn't drive after having one drink now, personally; but I'm also not falling over myself or anything.

One of my closest friends is a physicist. A PhD-holding, Oxford fellowship-winning physicist. When he has questions about health, do you think he consults other physicists? Or just knows the answer? Or do you think he asks someone who has knowledge of and research in health and medical topics? (HINT: It's the latter.) Physics is not biology is not physics. Using the "BUT PHYSICS SAYS..." argument doesn't change the fact that living organisms are infinitely more complicated than a simple "If x, then y..." explanation. (Or that you probably are NOT a physicist and therefore probably don't have a very indepth understanding of physics in the first place, no offense.) Are stalls real? Sometimes. That's how human beings lose weight. In fits and starts, some falls off and then we hold onto some, and then we lose some again, and we lose inches while not losing pounds, and we lose weight when we feel like we should have gained. Are we fooling ourselves? Sometimes. We get lax about tracking, we conveniently overlook the fact that we had a couple handfuls of nuts or a few tastes here and there or didn't work out for a few days because it was pouring out. But grade-school physics doesn't really come into play.

I am mostly feeling great, but I am finding that the weight loss is sloooowing down. I've even had a few upticks in the last 2 weeks--grrr! Guess it's time to remind myself to check in and make sure I'm hungry before I eat, and to really listen for those oh-so-subtle "full signals". I also have heard that things slow down as you get closer to goal...and I use trendweight to remind myself that it's a marathon, not a sprint! I'm finding some funny things about my sleeve...it does not like ground beef/hamburger, for instance, but is a-ok with steak. Weird, right? And while I could eat a whole muffin or cupcake no problem, it will complain at the tiniest bit of whole-grain anything else (wraps, toast, etc.). I mostly don't eat processed carbs, but it strikes me as odd. Oh, and salad? No prob. But nice cooked veggies? Not a fan. Probably it will all even out in time! I've had to get rid of a huge amount of clothing, and pull out clothes I had been saving for ages and ages. It was kind of weird--all these bins of crap that I was sure I'd need again. And I mean, now I'm the right size. But, um, that old navy t-shirt isn't really THAT special. And those Abercrombie jeans aren't even in style any more! I guess the bins were my security blankets...as long as they were around, I had some hope of getting back into those sizes. Now I'm trying to balance buying things that will fit for a couple of sizes and using things that still work for me. Hope everyone else is doing great and feeling fab and READY for SUMMER!

I can't believe it's May. MAY! NUTSO. So, I'm doing well. I crept into the "overweight" BMI category last week, and when I mentioned it to my husband ("Guess what, honey? I'm OVERWEIGHT!"), his reaction was hilarious. I had to explain that it's a GOOD thing! Now that the warm weather has finally hit where I live, suddenly everyone is coming out of the woodwork to remark on my weight loss. I think it's a combo of the magic 60-lb number and the fact that suddenly I'm not buried in 20 layers of sweaters any more. So that's a little weird, but mostly good. I've been able to eat some salad stuff. Still not much luck with cooked veggies, alas. But I'll get there. I've finally been able to skip the protein shake for breakfast and have something more substantial. And...I've had to size down to a size L a couple of times. WOOHOO.

I am a "puker" too...about the same amount of time out as you. What I've found is that when I've had a vomiting episode, sometimes it irritates my sleeve and I need to be very careful for a day or so--soft, blander foods--back to basics, so to speak. After that, I'm fine again. Give your stomach a rest and see if that improves things!

I'm really impressed with some of the veggies and salad stuff you guys are able to get in! I'm just not there yet...my restriction is still too great. I couldn't meet my protein goals if I ate that much non-protein. Boooo. But it'll get there eventually, i guess. I'm trying to work veggies that have been well-cooked in where I can, but it's still very little. I'm exercising regularly and working in strength training, though...and doing things like squats when I'm filling my water bottle, and getting up from my desk to run up and down the steps a few times during the workday. Every little bit helps!

Hi all! I'm team 1/14/15--doing well, too. Packing up lots of old clothes, have lots more still to go, realizing I'll have to BUY the next batch since I don't have any that small any more. I am not a person who can eat anything. I especially have trouble with anything remotely bread-y. I can have verrrry small amounts, that's it. I made a no-flour muffin thing the other day and eating a small portion of it made it so I couldn't drink for 3 hours without throwing up. Ugh. But aside from that, I mostly feel good. Back to the gym, doing weight training, ready for spring to finally come so I can run outside!

Roasted chickpeas! Very cheap, easy to make, and snack.

I totally concur with the earlier posts about buying too much stuff. I have so much Protein powder and so many containers of various soups...it's nuts. It's really hard to grasp just how little you'll be able to get down! I second the flavored drops for water--I never drank anything but Water pre-surgery, but I'm just now at 6 weeks out getting so I can tolerate plain water after. It made my stomach lurch terribly up until now (and sometimes still does). Get warm-drink stuff: decaf instant coffee if you're a coffee drinker (my doc Ok'ed coffee but I avoided caffeine for a couple of weeks), tea, etc. Coconut water was one of my salvations in the early days--getting those electrolytes with a minimum of sugar and no acidity was great. One thing I still lean on: TINY SPOONS. Like, the teenie baby spoons you can find at baby stores or discount stores. They are all I use to eat at home, just to be sure my bites are the right size. I also got tiny bowls--ramekin size. A digital food scale so you can measure your food by the ounce. A hot-water bottle to keep on your tummy post-op, it really helped my gas pains. Good luck!!

That's happened to me a time or two. I slime a lot, and sometimes my stomach gets irritated after. Upping my PPIs or adding in a different antacid seems to help. It's frustrating! Sorry your frankensleeve is being such an a-hole!

You've gotten a lot of good information, but I wanted to add that it's not just "us" (we) who stall--everyone who is trying to lose weight does. As frustrating as it is, weight loss just doesn't occur in a linear fashion. There are fits and starts, weeks where you lose and lose and lose, weeks where you the scale doesn't budge. That's one reason that I think so many people in WLS-land have learned to focus on NSV's--because even if the weight isn't coming off, there are so many other things you can look at and say, "Wow, this is good!"

The dreaded SLIMES! I am the slime QUEEN, you guys. My surgeon says that she mostly hears that from people in the earlier appointments, and it tends to relax and go away later. But dude...I have slimed an impressive number of times. And I've slimed impressively an impressive number of times. I've run to bathrooms and ducked into alleys to do my trademark puke/burp/spit combo. I ROCK. Seriously, it's been a learning process for me. I'm figuring out what causes me to slime, and what did last week that won't this week. But I was totally not expecting to be such a slimer.

Hi fuzzywhitebunny! I have an 8yo son and a 4yo daughter. I gave them as little information as possible, and they haven't really asked many questions. I told them that I had to have an operation, and that I would be in the hospital for 2 nights and daddy would be taking care of them. Since it's flu season, I chose to not have them visit me in the hospital (although my daughter ended up being with my husband when he picked me up). We gave them lots of reminders about being "gentle with mama", and I showed them both my incisions when I got home. I also told them matter-of-factly that I couldn't eat regular food yet (and during the pre-op diet, that I had to have just shakes to "get ready for my operation"). I still say that now, that the doctor says I can't have certain foods, and that I can't eat much. Honestly, kids take so much at face value! Even my very bright 8yo who wants to be a doctor when he grows up isn't too interested in the nitty-gritty. (Although, it helps that he had to have an appendectomy a couple years back--I can say "Like when YOU had your operation!") My husband read them "Curious George Goes to the Hospital" a few times while I was gone, and he had them make get-well cards for him to bring me in the hospital. This helped them feel like they were doing something valuable, I totally recommend it. You will be great. Best of luck!

Hi pretties! Happy that many of us are doing so well. I had been having trouble getting motivated to get back to the gym. Well, after a brief respite at Great Wolf Lodge (out of the snow, thank goodness!) I realized that I had gotten a TON of exercise in and had felt great. So that helped kick me into gear. Now I'm back to the gym, working in strength training, and getting "assignments" to do from my personal trainer friends on the days I am working so I don't get glued to my chair. I'm doing much better with food overall, but still having some troubles. Things that are too dense (meats, for instance) are bad news, as is bread. I can have bread in very small doses, but more than that and I'll be either puking or wanting to puke for the rest of the day. I also am starting to be able to see the differences in my body! My waist nips in now once more, and my belly is deflated. I went through my jeans and made a big pile of those that don't fit any longer and moved on to the ones that used to not zip, which now fit perfectly. All good things! Has anyone gotten info on when they're able to have alcohol again? I plan to ask at my next appointment. No biggie, but it would be nice to be able to have a glass of red wine to ward off the chill every now and again...

Who doesn't love delicious Protein shakes? From the cloyingly sweet taste to the fart-o-riffic aroma, there's something for everyone in these babies! You can choose your flavor--butt with chocolate, butt with vanilla, or butt with strawberry! OR splash in some sugar-free Torani syrup and kick it up a notch for butt with chocolate AND English toffee! But yeah, I've made it through 3 days of my pre-op diet. Ten more to go before I'm sleeved and then I get to have... MORE DELICIOUS PROTEIN SHAKES!!! WOOHOO!!!!

I'm in a similar situation. Trying to up my water and exercise--I can see the difference, even if the scale can't! Fingers crossed that it changes soon.

Ha!! Here's hoping you never personally experience the answer to this question! Basically, when you eat too much/too fast/the wrong thing, you overproduce saliva. It has nowhere to go so you end up spitting it out. But you probably won't spit it ALL out, so you'll swallow some, which will overfill your sleeve and lead to you "blorping" (sort of vomiting, but more like a burp that raged out of control) up jellyfish-blobs of thickened saliva. Fun times! And very sexy. *winking*

Hi there! Up until the last couple of days, I probably would have said I have only positives to report. And that's still mostly true! But I have been really struggling with slimies/blorping the past 3 days. I've gone from being able to easily eat things to not being able to get down 1/3 of a Protein shake without sliming. I'm thinking that my sleeve is probably a bit irritated from all the blorping action, though. Seeing my surgeon tomorrow. In the meantime, taking things very slow and trying to focus on getting in all my liquid. I'm just under 5 weeks out, about 35lbs down including the pre-op diet. Emotions are fine, so far. Healing is good--still have some discomfort in the large incision when I bend over, but aside from that nothing. I've been struggling to get myself back to the gym. I'm in Boston and we have SO MUCH SNOW that leaving the house at all is an enormous undertaking. Trying to motivate! Honestly, this might sound weird, but aside from the times I'm eating, I feel totally normal, like the surgery never happened. Eating is still touch and go, and I'm still learning (witness my above discussion about sliming!). But I feel so much better than I did the first 2 weeks, for sure!

Hey, good thinking! I'll have to try that. Especially for iced coffee if summer ever comes again... They're also not bad blended up with frozen fruit! I've done peaches, berries, mangos...

Agreed--sounds like a great reality check. I am actually 4 weeks out today (WHAT?) and honestly, I feel normal almost all of the time. Eating is still a learning process, but I've gone out with my family about 3 times now and it's fine--you just take home a LOT of leftovers and avoid certain things. I think you just have to think of it as a short period of discomfort for a lifetime of potential rewards! I'm down 37 lbs since the pre-op diet, 22 from surgery. It's great.

OMG--I'm in Boston too. It's AWFUL! I totally feel your pain. I'm 3+ weeks post-op and it's been so bad I've only schlepped out to the gym once...and I used to be a 4-or-5 times a week gal. And it's not like you can "go for a walk"...ugh.

Yes! I drink a cup of regular coffee every morning. It's been fine. I do drink mine with creamer, though, and I use a coffee/chicory mixture that's less acidic, so I'm sure that helps. But it's been fine...and not to be all TMI'y but it also really helps with that constipation issue.

I hear you. Three weeks out here and my sleeve is unhappy with anything that's not either liquid or cheese. Although I did some refried beans tonight that seemed to go down and stay down, so maybe I'm branching out? Here's hoping we're both able to get something else in soon!

So I graduated to purees on Monday, woohoo! But I've been struggling along with them, booo. A few bites of scrambled eggs here, then I get overfull and barf delicately into the sink. A few bites of blenderized chicken Soup there, I get overfull and barf delicately into the sink. And hey, I'm a pretty good barfer. But that overfull feeling SUCKED. So finally, I made a decision the day before yesterday. I decided that consuming food was going to be an unpleasant necessity, something I'd just have to get through, but wouldn't look forward to or enjoy. (I also quit eggs and chicken!) What a difference! I exceeded my Protein goals yesterday and focused on non-meats like hummus and cheese and soup (blended sweet potato soup with GENEPRO this time!). I was able to eat much more (over 1/4 cup at lunch and dinner) and never felt overfull. That adjustment in expectations and the subsequent change in what I ate totally helped. So there you have it--eating sucks for a while after surgery, and that's Ok! You will figure out how to make it work.

I got sublingual B12 at Costco. I take Flintstones complete chewables twice a day, and whatever calcium+ chews they had at Costco. You prob won't be able to swallow the Biotin at first, but I was cleared to swallow pills after about a week when my staples came out. I actually didn't start taking any of my vitamins until then--it was all I could do to get in protein and liquid and I figured I wasn't going to become malnourished in a week.