OutsideMatchInside

I saw that a lot of people have issues with constipation early on, so I started beneful in my protein shakes right away.

At some point on pre-op your body just gives up trying to make you eat because it's obvious you aren't listening

I did get to keep my toenail polish. They just want your nails naked so they can check your oxygen levels

I take a nasal B-12. Do what your doctor tells you.

This is exactly why I am not advertising my surgery to people I know. I don't want to need their opinions or advice.

If you are taking a Multivitamin that has Iron in it, it is likely your body is not absorbing it. My Vitamins are recommended by my dr are a multi, Calcium and iron. I have to take them separately on a schedule for best absorption. I take the multi as soon as I wake up, 2-3 hours later I take the calcium, then another 2-3 hours I take the other does of calcium, then I make my other does of multi at dinner and I take my iron before bed time. I was told you can't take calcium and iron together because calcium blocks the absorption of iron. The dosages are broken over the day because you body can only absorb 500mg of calcium at once.

As soon as you are not taking narcotics you can drive. You have to know your energy levels though. I drove on day 2, but no longer than 10 minutes each way. Then on day 3 I drive 45 minutes each way and that was too much. Today is day 4 and I finally got a sold straight 8 hours of sleep, so I feel like my energy is much higher.

The idea of touching my intestines is what has put me off weight loss surgery for years. The complications and the types of complications are just too risky. I would rather die fat than deal with intestinal issues. The people that I have known that have RNY, they get hungry, really hungry about a year out. I think it is because their stomach is still there producing all those hormones and interacting with their brain. In the end it is a personal choice, but I felt the sleeve gave me the best chance with the least amount of risk. I didn't like that RNY would make me too different for the rest of my life. Plenty of people have parts of their stomach removed for all kinds of reasons and live perfectly normal lives. Rerouting your intestines sets you up for issues for the rest of your life.

Nutritionist/dietitians as a whole are hacks. Sorry. That is how I feel about them. Most of them just repeat the food pyramid or whatever they have been told. That being said at a bariatric center of excellence, they have most knowledge, are specifically trained in this area and know what works best for patient outcomes. I do think they include too many carbs, but I have been and off and on low carber for years. I know that most carbs are a trigger for me so I avoid them. A lot of people would entirely avoid the whole thing if they thought they could never have carbs again. Some people just can't function like that, but they can control themselves maybe. It seems like they design these plans to make them appealing to most people but when you talk to them one and on one and tell them your personal concerns they will easily tailor something to your needs. It is really just about finding what works for you. I have a whole book on what to eat and not to eat, There are some things I am ignoring because they are triggers for me, but I am not stepping outside the weekly limitations either. I think people just need to apply some common sense to these recommendations so they work for you and your needs.

I freelance, so I ended up doing a little work the night I arrived home because I was bored and unable to sleep. I have minimal pain and discomfort but walking long distances and the heat zaps my energy very quickly. If you had a desk job where you didn't have to talk much, and didn't have to do a lot of walking I think you should be fine. Energy levels are down though, so taking a nap in the afternoon is almost a necessity.

Don't weigh yourself all the time. Pick one day a week as soon as you wake up and weigh yourself. There are too many daily fluctuations based on intake, and output. Your nutritionist or therapist should have advised you on this. Weighing yourself every day is a fast track to a multitude of issues.

They told me no polish at all. I asked about leaving one nail naked and they said no. All nail no polish. My nails are really strong though since I take vitamins and collagen anyway and have for years. They are like talons, so 2 days with clear polish wasn't an issue. I used Seche Vite top and base coat and I used this stuff called rock hard that I got at Sally's in between. No chips no breaks. Did they tell you you had to remove your gel polish??? I don't like naked nails or chips!!!

Today is day 4. Last night I was finally able to sleep on my stomach, which was accidental, I just naturally turned over and it did not hurt! I finally got in about 8 hours of solid sleep and I feel so much better. I think sleeping on my stomach helped get the rest of the gas out. I am able to swallow better and get more liquids down without discomfort. So far loving my sleeve and my outcome has far exceeded my expectations.

Head hunger or physical hunger? I have no physical hunger. I do feel pain sometimes when I drink too much or if I need to burp. It took me a couple days to figure out what that was. I think that could be confused with hunger. They gave me pepcid through my IV in the hospital, so I am assuming I can take it now, I haven't had the need to. The head hunger is a trip. I took a nap and had a dream about eating a fried chicken leg, like I was so hungry is this dream I just grabbed the fried chicken leg and started eating it in the restaurant while I waited in line to order. I don't even like fried chicken legs!!!!! I don't think I have had one since the 1980s. That is how bad my head hunger is. Yet my head hunger does not connect to my stomach. I have no physical need to eat. It used to be, if I thought about food a lot, my stomach acids got going and I got hungry and had to eat. Now I am like whoa, I am not even hungry and I for sure don't want to test this sleeve. The aversion therapy part of the sleeve is definitely already working on me. After swallowing pills and accidentally drinking to much a few times, I don't want to push it at all. Another thing I have learned is if I am drinking or have been drinking recently. I need to sit straight up or it causes pain. Sleeve does not approve of slouching or leaning back. Walking and drinking is really the most pain free way to get things down.

I am 2 days post-op. I have a lot of energy, very little pain, just taking tylenol. I got bored this afternoon, went to get a pedicure (I stubbed my toes on the IV stand when I was walking multiple times), and went to walmart to grab a couple things. I feel basically normal except my abdomen feels like I did 1000 crunches. My throat was still pretty sore last night but that is easing up. When I sit around I notice I get stiff, but if I keep moving I stay limber. Am I over doing it? Should I chill out and relax more? I also have no issues with bending over, no pain really. I'm starting to think I am going to over do it and pay for it later, but I have all this energy, seems a shame to waste it.

Well I probably should have chilled out. I got really sleepy on the way home. I wasn't thinking about it being the heat of the day and this 90 degree St Louis heat zapped all my energy. I am home now and feel much better.

I am a clothes horse as it is. I am dreading having more option for clothes because I know I will get out of control. I think a lot of us will find new issues with clothes, like no matter what your size is, they are always out of that size. Women who are plus sized think they are the only ones who have issues finding clothes but all women have issues. When I am smaller I want to wear mostly designer clothing, right now I spend most of my money on bags and shoes, but when I can walk into Nordstrom and Neimans and get whatever I want, it is going to be a problem.

Okay I have glue and I can't even feel my incisions, it is like they don't even exist. I took the bandage off two of them and they are really small incisions, smaller than I expected, one is the size of a dime and the other is a nickel.

Do you have stitches or glue? I went to have my nails done today, and then I went shopping a little. I think I over did it, I really need a nap. I am going to limit the distances I drive until I have my follow up appointment.

I told one of my very best girlfriends, who was very supportive, she has seen me struggle with my weight over the years. I told her not to tell anyone, then a couple weeks later when we were talking about my surgery she told me that she told her husband and her mother. That is more than no one. So I decided then, the only way I could keep control over who knows is to really limit the people that know, to basically no one. I had also told a college friend, that was really supportive but lives out of state. That friend doesn't talk to any of my other friends or family. That is the friend I had with me when I had my surgery and is my confidant. I'm not telling my family because of a lot of deep personal reasons I don't feel comfortable sharing. It took me a long time to reach this decision. I am not ashamed of it, but I don't want it under a microscope. I don't feel like constantly answering a bunch of random questions. This is something I am still adjusting to and dealing with day by day, I want to do it in peace and private. I do not want added stress from outside people that don't have to live my life. I told a couple of other friends that live out of state and all the support has been positive. A lot of people have known about my weight struggles. I have worked really hard over the years and not seen the results I should have, this was my final option for success.

I am sorry that you are having a difficult time. I am only 3 days post op so I am not an expert but my experience does not match yours. Pre surgery on the pre-op diet , I was hungry physical and head hunger and they connected. My head hunger fed my physical hunger. Now I get some head hunger, like food pops into my head but it doesn't connect to my stomach, my stomach has no reaction, and even the head hunger fades very quikcly. My preop diet was 10 days all liquids. I would finish a shake, down 302 oz of Water and still be hungry or not satisfied, and my head hunger was driving me insane I lost all concentration and could barely owrk. I am satisfied now with just a few sips. I know most people are dying for and looking forward to being on foods again but after the feeling of swallowing a few pills, I am not interested in rushing back to food. I think it is important for people like you to tell your story and for other people. I paid closer attention to the people with bad outcomes and negative experiences before I had surgery. It sucks because it seems like the positive experience people run the people with negative experiences off of every board/forum. I read those experiences and thought seriously about them pre-surgery. It took me several years to reach this decision, even though once I decided it all went very quickly. I decided that even a bad outcome was better than the path I was headed down with my health. My health went from good to starting to slide at a rapid pace. I decided it was better to take a chance on this than to suffer a long slow death over the next 10-15 years (still too young for someone like me), or worst disability. So don't stop telling your truth even if it isn't popular or positive, you are still helping someone.

I couldn't find any swallow pills that had high enough doses of Vitamins and were small enough to swallow. Pills are the hardest thing on my sleeve right now. I have the bariactiv vitamins and they just melt in your mouth, the taste isn't bad, and it is better than deal will pill discomfort.

@@Cognorati001 @@chrisredjeep I feel the same way. Barely any pain, just soreness like I did a lot of crunches. My incisions have no pain and if it wasn't for seeing them, I wouldn't know they are there. Luckily, I watched my swallow test on the screen so I know I was really sleeved and I can feel my restriction. Today is day 3, I am going to get my nails done, I had to take my gel polish off for surgery, and walk around the mall. I have a lot of energy but being cold all the time is getting annoying.

A therapist to get to the root of your eating habits will help also.

They have different support groups that meet each month. They have groups that are for different stages of time since surgery. I don't know if I will attend the groups since so many of the people are older and they have really different attitudes towards food and surgery. Like when we were in nutrition class people were asking more about when they could get back to real food, saying they hated Protein shakes etc. I like Protein Shakes and I want to maximize my honeymoon time, taking advantage of the restriction and lack of hunger. It seems like most people are focused on getting back to normal. Also almost none of the people on my floor were up and moving around when I was in the hospital, they were just laying in bed asking for more pain meds. I'm not sure I want to drive that distance to be around people like that. I will probably try a group or two to see what they are like and if my perception is wrong. I will be honest though, I have not been focused on the aftercare as much as getting through surgery safely. That is my first focus. I will ask more about aftercare at my first Dr visit, and I am going to look through the book.