FrankyG

It gets better. You're still in the sore/hurting/swollen, difficult part. The bread/pasta thing is head hunger. You're craving comfort foods because that's what you did before when you were upset/feeling bad/whatever. But you should also tell yourself that having bread/pasta isn't going to fix things... they are part of the problems that got you to this point in the first place. Think of this time like you're detoxing from a really bad drug addiction; a drug user is going to wildly crave the drug they're trying to kick and it's going to seem like the most wonderful amazing thing and why oh why can't they just have a little bit... But it will get better. And maybe eventually, you could have a little bread or small serving of Pasta. But stop glorifying them and telling yourself you have made a mistake and miss these things and pine away with the wanting of them. They are not good for you, and they aren't going to help you. Stay strong, remember that this time is going to be just a tiny blip on your journey and you're going to be happy and healthy soon. Good luck!!

I am absolutely not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I think you might be right about the drugs they have you one for pain interfering with the amount you feel like eating. narcotics/opioids are going to suppress your appetite and lower the hunger signals, and I'd not be surprised if you got full faster on less food as well since it's likely screwing up your full feelings too. So sorry you're in more pain and having a longer recovery. My mom had total knee replacement many years ago, and I remember it taking quite some time for her to be up and around and doing okay.

The day of the surgery, just after the nurse had placed the IV in my hand, I had a mini panic attack and wanted to rip the IV out and run from the hospital. I wanted to go HOME. Took about 10 minutes to talk myself off the ledge. We have all been there in one way or another. It is scary, and the long term ramifications are hard to take in at this point. But it is also worth it. You will be able to eventually do all those things again. You may not want to tho, or if you do it will probably be much less often and you'll be happy about it too. It is not the end of things you love. It is the end of things that have controlled you, made you unhealthy and held you back. It is the beginning of taking back your life, your happiness and being able to do whatever you want because you feel good and have the energy and health to do so. Good luck, and recognize that the fears are normal, but shouldn't keep you from going forward.

I get it, some folks just miss the point or are too quick to take offense when none is intended. Totally shouldn't let it get to you tho. Their opinion isn't important in the least if you don't want it to be. Hope you have a lovely day tomorrow!

I am so sorry you're going through this. I'm married, and love my husband, but we're experiencing some issues that are unrelated to the weight loss (lots of baggage) that we're working through. I am lucky in that he is open to listening and working on the problems and we're not fighting; just trying to talk things out, and I'm explaining what I'm feeling and what I need from him. We'll seek out a counselor if we feel like we aren't making progress. Have you tried counseling? If you are to the point where you're unable to communicate and anger and frustration are the only real interactions between you two, it might be good to have an impartial person to help you both figure out what is going on and work on the problems together. If your husband won't go with you, then go alone. Should help you to decide if the relationship is worth saving, or what the next steps are if it isn't.

I threw up and had a bad reaction every time I tried to eat eggs in the early days (after being cleared to eat them of course!) It took until I was about 4 months out before I could eat them and keep them down and now they are perfectly fine. Only other time I got the laying on the floor sick as a dog feeling was eating full sugar ice cream at about 2 months out. Still won't eat that stuff again (I might eat the no sugar diabetic type now, but that episode was horrible and turned me off ice cream pretty fast!) Some things your stomach will just take a dislike to for now. But it seems like it is just temporary. Give it a month and try the food again and if that is too soon, give it another month and see. You'll probably get back to tolerating them again at some point.

I donate blood (platelets/plasma) regularly. I don't see any significant weight loss during these times. But I've heard it will burn around 600 calories within a 3 day period after donating while you body replaces the donation. I do eat one of the small chip bags (or cookies) after because they won't let you leave without eating, so I kind of figure that offsets the calories I might burn. It certainly can't hurt and you would be helping out someone in need. But don't forget, stalls are not always non-productive. You could be losing fat and gaining muscle during this time, and your body may just be taking a breather before losing 5 pounds in a week or two.

Stock is typically simmered for a moderate amount of time (3 to 4 hours). Bone broth is typically made with bones (and can include veggies as well) and can contain a small amount of meat adhering to the bones. As with stock, bones are typically roasted first to improve the flavor of the bone broth. The bone broth thing was to differentiate between cooking it the typical short time (3-4 hours), and over 24 hours to break down the cartilage, marrow and tendons. That's all that good stuff that the less cooked broth/stock doesn't contain (or if it does, not in very high quantities). There is a difference. I know it's trendy now and likely called "bone broth" when it was just plain ol' broth/stock once upon a time, but there is a definite distinction between regular old stock/broth and bone broth.

Congrats!

I'd forget to eat a meal most days. Wasn't hungry, so lunch usually was remembered about the time I'd start thinking of what to cook for dinner. Since you lost the part of the stomach that produced the most of the hunger hormone ghrelin, you won't feel hunger hardly at all for a little while, and while it may come back eventually it might not be as strong (it is to be hoped anyway). So far, that's what I've experienced.

I just had the sleeve, but my experience was I did have things get stuck and threw up a bit in the first couple of months (while figuring out what I could and couldn't eat - took me a while with eggs for some reason) but that was likely due to the swelling and still healing more than anything. By the 3rd month, no problems at all. Haven't thrown up at all in well over 8 months and everything is tolerated just fine.

You'll do great! It is normal to be scared since it is life-changing surgery, but don't let this freak you out. It is an exciting time and you'll be amazed once you're healed how well you feel and how much things change for the better. Rant time: It really pisses me off when some jerkface says this is taking the easy way... It is not easy; it is still going to be very hard work after - and for the rest of your life. But instead of the constant yo-yo dieting or working really hard and seeing little results... you'll work hard and see real, measurable results. I know even in the early days, I expected to stop losing weight no matter what because that is what ALWAYS happened to me no matter what I did. I was beaten down and defeated so many times in the past that I had given up on myself and my health until I decided to try this one last thing. It was a lifesaver for me. Something to tell your family since they're obviously ignorant about this part (and I was too until learning about it) some people overproduce the hormone ghrelin, which is manufactured in your stomach. It is the hunger hormone that causes many people to have issues with portion control, overeating and binge eating. Removing a large portion of the stomach reduces the amount of ghrelin that is produced... meaning you don't get crazy hungry any more, and you feel satisfied with smaller portions - you get a NORMAL hunger response in other words. How is it being "lazy" to correct a medically screwed up condition? How is it bad to take care of something that your body got wrong? This surgery allows you time to relearn healthy eating habits, feel full eating small portions, and feel good enough to get out there and enjoy a real exercise routine. As long as you follow your doc's instructions and work hard at healthy eating/moving, you'll be a success and it should stick with you the rest of your life. I'd lost weight plenty of times in the past, but I was miserable, tired and felt bad the entire time and had to work so hard and deprive myself of everything and still had that gnawing hunger constantly... which led to me regaining eventually as soon as I let my guard down. Most all of us have been there - working super hard and getting the weight off only to regain as soon as we grow a little weak. I've lost more weight than ever, have learned to make tasty but healthy foods and now am ENJOYING exercise!! I never thought I'd be that person. I am so grateful and happy I did this, and I just know you will be too once you're healed and on your way. If the people in your life can't say something nice and be supportive, then it's time to put some distance between you and them - tell them you're going to stop speaking about this stuff with them (and refuse to listen to them if they want to nag you or say awful things - warn them that you'll hang up the phone or leave the area if that start that crap and then follow through) and find support from places like here, your friends or local support groups. You need to concentrate on you and your health and well being, and haters and negative nellies have no place in your life going forward. I'd tell your dad/brother that they are pretty rude, mean and hurtful and that you're going to just leave or stop seeing them if they can't be nice and supportive of you. Even if they are saying mean/unsupportive things to you because they are scared for you (and this is a possibility - they may be thinking this is too extreme and are afraid you're making a mistake just because they are ignorant and don't understand). But I still say if they loved you, they'd be your cheering section, take the time to read up or ask questions about this surgery instead of automatically saying it's wrong, and be there for you in improving your health instead of tearing you down or making you feel bad. Good luck and I hope you don't let them get you down - you have an amazing opportunity right around the corner and it can and will change your life so much for the better if you go for it!!

I've never been a regular exercising type of person until now. I am really into walking and have been doing it consistently for going on two months - at least 2.5 miles a day, 5 days a week average. I've gone out in the early morning and then again in the afternoon or evening sometimes I'm enjoying it so much. I've been able to fit in up to 5 miles on some of those days. I just had to reglue my walking shoes - the soles came off! But I've been running into issues with both pain and stiffness the last couple of weeks as I'm working on upping my distance/time and adding in a little (very) slow jogging. My hips started hurting - sounds like bursitis - so I added in some hip abduction exercises and that's mostly resolved. I have had sciatic pain in one leg before all of this, and it seems to come and go now. And I'm noticing that after sitting down for any length of time, I am stiff as a board and have a dull overall pain in my hips/butt/legs upon standing up and trying to walk. It takes a few minutes to loosen up and stop feeling achy. Is this just due to the fact that I am regularly exercising now, and just need to push though it, or a sign of something bad and should scale back and maybe do less days? I hate the idea of not going out as often or doing as much, as I'm really into it and this commitment has NEVER stuck for this long before and worry I'll lose my enthusiasm if I start sitting out more days. I have family history of rheumatoid arthritis so I'm worrying over the idea that I might be developing that too. Any suggestions?

I think most of us have experienced feeling cold more since surgery. I constantly use an electric blanket as soon as it gets a bit cooler every since I had the surgery. I'm cold all over but I'm pretty sure I've read others discussing having cold hands or feet too. It's because of the change in hormones (fat stores hormones in great quantities), losing fat (which insulates us) and changes in overall circulation. Definitely wear socks if that helps, but you might also make sure you're getting up and walking or otherwise moving pretty often to make sure you're getting the blood circulating well during the day. Couldn't hurt!

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch I'm pretty sure I don't have any pronation issues; perfect wear patterns on my shoes and no heel/foot/back pain at all. It's pretty much my left hip down through my ankle on the outside of my leg, and I've had sciatica for years, so I'm pretty sure it's being irritated by the exercise. The bursitis seems to have worked itself out (took more rest time and started doing special stretching before/after walks). And thanks so much for being happy for me - I'm thrilled with how happy this is making me and really excited to get out there now. @@Chrystee I do yoga every week in a class, then do it at least once on my own as well (or with the husband). I am also adding some basic bodyweight circuits twice a week (just a 25 minute routine for now that is NOT super hard) so I am working on stamina, flexibility and muscle building. I have ordered new shoes (bright blue ones - so pretty!) and they should be arriving any time now. I have another pair picked out as a reward for when I am up to 6 months of exercise. I've never bought cute running shoes before. Usually the reward part was food, but this is much better. The boobs are now restrained better as I'm double bra-ing it (read about doing that on some of the bra sites discussing exercising while giant boobed) until I can find some good quality sports bras and I'm holding off on the jogging until then. My current (winter) schedule is: walking 3 miles 5X/week; yoga class 1x/week, self-guided yoga routine 1x/week bodyweight routine 2x week And I have one total rest day where I don't do anything at all. And I have the option of upping to 2 total rest days depending on how I shuffle my walk/exercise routines around. And at this point, I am having to restrain myself from exercising more. I keep telling myself that building muscle and losing fat happens AFTER the exercise and only if I do a proper rest. And that I don't want to burn myself out either. Seriously never thought I'd be so happy and enthusiastic about this! One of the other side effects I've noticed over the past month is that I am not depressed all the time any more. I have ALWAYS been a depressed person and used to be on meds and see a counselor for depression. I still get sad and angry about stuff, but I have noticed a remarkable lifting of the cloud that I've lived in for most of my life... and I'm pretty sure it's due to my getting up and out there and moving my body more. So thankful I had the surgery - it really did give me a whole new life.

My dear Amy, Don't give up as of yet! It is not over till its over! Try Premier Protein chocolate, it tastes like choc milk and Muscle Milk Cookies and cream. They both are really good, but if they are too heavy for you try diluting them with some milk it mellows the taste. Another good unflavored powder is unjury Medical protein Unflavored, it mixes well with everything and is tasteless. You can mix it with anything, juice, Soup, regular lowfat choc milk, any food really. Also when you mix it if its too heavy you can always put half a scoop instead of a full scoop. Best of luck to you! I absolutely hated unjury, and their unflavored powder had a horrible taste to it - made me throw up and even smelling it still will cause gagging. So it's not universally liked.

I do all the time. The main objection is to be aware of how much air you're sipping in with your liquids. You just have to not sip down to the bottom where you're trying to get the last little bit as that also causes you to suck in a whole lot of air with it.

Hooray!

I agree with the others that if you haven't given up, then you are not a failure. There are literally dozens of different types of Protein shakes out there - light/no flavor powders, dessert flavors, fruit flavors... and I am sure there is one out there that you'd be able to drink. I personally love Boost's glucose control shakes because they're low carb and taste like thick chocolate milk, and use them for right before or after exercise, but it did take me a few tries to find one that wasn't weird tasting to me. You know what you need to do, and you found this forum which is super for offering support, tips, and sometimes a smack on the butt to get you going again. I would suggest doing a hard reset - a 5 day pouch test - and begin again committed to working your sleeve for the maximum benefit. http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html After that, start tracking your food - every single bite - making better food choices (good Proteins, complex carbs, healthy choices), and speak to a NUT that can get you back on track. There is still time in your honeymoon phase to get some serious weight loss in and relearn how to eat and what to eat. Get excited. Get riled up. But most of all GET UP AND MAKE AN EFFORT. You are so worth this and you can absolutely break through this apathy that is holding you back. You need to really commit to doing this tho. You have an amazing opportunity still, so don't let it slip through your fingers. You are far enough out to not be experiencing any of the issues of being sleeved and still reap all of the benefits. All you need to do is try and keep on trying - fall off the horse 50 times, get right back on 51!!

Dairy can make many sleevers nauseous for quite a while, but it should (fingers crossed) get better as time goes on. If you know it bothers you, I would not keep trying it right now. Wait a few weeks/month and then give it another chance. I couldn't eat eggs for months; just threw it up every time so after three attempts I just stopped and waited a few months later until I was finally able to eat them around 5 months out. No sense subjecting yourself to a food your sleeve doesn't like constantly. The modified milks like Fairlife and such are awesome so do keep trying those if they are working for you. You are in puree stage, so it might be safe to try soft foods like scrambled egg or refried Beans if you chew them really really well. You could also try chicken Soup (or add some canned chicken to chicken soup) and puree it in a blender to make it break down all the chunks and that might help you get more liquid/protein.

Sounds like a food funeral. You will eventually be able to eat anything including all the really bad things... but you should only eat them rarely, and you won't be able to eat nearly as much, and it is highly likely that you won't want really want to eat them after adjusting to healthier eating habits. I have pizza every once in a while, but I can only eat maybe a half of a slice before I am totally stuffed, and I don't like the really greasy loaded versions I used to eat - so I can't remember the last time I had takeout versions. I make way better pizza at home now using whole wheat flour and homemade sauce and load up the veggies and cheese.

There are many doctors out there that are kind and compassionate and have a great bedside manner. And there are many more really great doctors that have a horrible bedside manner. This sounds like the kind you're dealing with right now. Understand that he's not trying to be mean; he just sucks at doing anything to do with feelings. He knows bodies and guts and stuff - so don't look to him for emotional support. As far as your partner's suicide. I am so very sorry for what he did to you. You absolutely are not to blame for his depression or the selfish nature of what he did. I had a family member commit suicide and from experience - it is an act of selfishness and anger/control sometimes as much as one of depression. They were too far gone in their own messed up thoughts and feelings and focusing only on themselves to see that there is always a way through. He lashed out in anger and fear in the only way he felt he could control the situation. You did nothing wrong. I do hope one of the things you have done since then is find a competent counselor/therapist to work through all of the sorrow and guilt he left you with. Counseling can help with the weight/eating issues too as you find your way back to working your sleeve. Good luck with everything. I do hope you find your way down the path to happiness and being healthy.

Contact the office manager. I'd send them a formal letter or at least an email with all the details of the shoddy service, the lack of communication, and violation of your specified no contact (not sure that really counts as a HIPAA violation; if you didn't want them contacting you at work, don't provide the work number - and make them remove it from your file - but they did at the very least violate your privacy). And if you do see the doctor at some point I would also let him/her know that their office management is very poor and that you may be leaving his practice due to the horrible things they have put you through. They should be told at least so they can see if they can fix things or yell at the staff that is screwing up. A bariatric practice should be VERY streamlined and easy to deal with; they are a for-profit independent business most times, and want to make sure that they have you run through as fast and efficiently as possible, so it sounds like their nurses and benefits coordinator need to be called on the carpet and possibly sent for training (or fired!!) for their overall lack of skill and service. And if you have time, you might want to consider changing doctors/practices. This horrible lack of attention and outright bungling screams of a poorly run office, and any doctor that is not aware of how his office runs probably wouldn't be one I'd want doing any sort of cutting on me.

The sleeve will give you time - portion control and lessen hunger (removal of the areas of stomach that produce the hunger hormone ghrelin) to get your mental issues with food worked out. If you don't use the "honeymoon" period to get your eating habits under control and reteach yourself how to eat, you will risk failing. Everyone will lose weight in the first year or so, even eating total crap and fast food all the time. But once the honeymoon is over, your body will adjust to the amounts of food you eat, and if all you're eating is nutrient poor crap food, the weight will come back. That's why it is so important to relearn how and what to eat ASAP. Your sleeve won't fail you, but you can easily eat around or eat slider food (foods that are easy to eat like ice cream or Cookies or crackers - that "slide" right down) and can fail your sleeve. Don't compare yourself to others. As long as you are following the dietary requirements (Protein, Water, exercise) you will lose weight, but your body will decide how fast. Stalls will happen, and often. Weight will not drop off on a steady rate. You will see days, sometimes weeks where the scale doesn't move. This isn't failure. Make sure you're eating enough calories (eating too few can stall weight loss) and sticking to your requirements, but otherwise it may just be your body trying to decide if you're going to stop eating/exercising like this or does it have to keep giving up its precious fat stores. Take measurements in the beginning as sometimes when the weight isn't dropping, you might be burning fat and building muscle (a pound of bulky fat takes up way more space than lean muscle).

First, you are barely one month out; the weight you've lost is very good and being in a stall right now is perfectly normal. There are tons of posts on here about the stalls (there is almost always one that lasts a bit around 3 weeks out) and how often it occurs. There's a great thread by Inner Surfer Girl about "embracing the stall" you should seek out. Google can provide you with much better details, but being in a state of ketosis means you're eating so low carb, your body is using fat instead of carbohydrates for fuel. Our bodies will burn carbs first as they are easiest to access and most people consume great quantities of carbs daily. When you switch over to eating mostly Protein and healthy fats (like olive oil, avocados, and many fats found in whole food like nuts and such) you can end up in ketosis pretty easily, and it is super awesome for fat loss. What makes a carb intake sufficiently low carb is debatable; it could mean you eat less than 100 carb grams a day, or in some cases, less than 50 grams daily. Eating low carb means you don't eat things like grains, bread, cakes, Cookies, rice, Pasta, potatoes, crackers. And if for some reason you do eat grains, it should be whole grain/whole wheat and things like brown rice. But rarely and small portions. In ketosis, you'll notice feeling tired for several days/week while your body flips over to burning fat. It can also make your breath smell oddly (some describe it as "fruity") and you'll need to urinate more frequently. You should be drinking lots of Water in ketosis, which you should anyway after sleeve surgery. But once you are in ketosis, you'll burn fat and lose more weight and feel better once you make the changeover. You absolutely should be tracking every bite of food that goes in your mouth in some form of app that can break down the amount of fat, carbs, protein and Fiber and your total caloric intake every single day. This will give you a better understanding of what and how much you're eating and you can see instantly where you might need room for improvement.