sarahbee

My surgeon's office materials say that Fluid moves through the pouch almost immediately, but that it's still important to pace yourself. Your body will definitely let you know if you fill it too much. Unlike most people's surgeon, mine says that you have to stop drinking 5 mins before a meal, not thirty - likely because of how quickly fluid moves through the pouch.

I did end up trying isopure and didn't mind it. Yes it smells like farts but the taste is better. Only problem is it really coats my mouth. Gross, but sometimes preferable to drinking a shake when I'm really not in a shake mood. I've just been trying to get lots of Protein (meat, largely) in at meals and supplement with 1 high Protein Drink or supplement. Luckily I am tolerating all food well so it's getting easier. Hope everyone else is doing well on their Quest for more protein.

Have you checked your bp? Was it high before? Could be that it has dropped - that's a symptom of low bp.

It's funny that although surgery experience is so different for everyone, there's a common thread of plateaus, doubt that you even had it, or feelings that you'll be the only one where the surgery just totally doesn't work. I've been through all of these feelings and have read them all here so many times. During this plateau time, 4 weeks post surgery, even though i KNOW it's normal, i find myself cycling through the fears that my surgeon left my pouch too big or that it just won't work for me and i am somehow immune to losing weight, etc etc. It is really comforting to know most others have the exact same thoughts. Hang in there fellow stallers

I plateaued after week 1. I felt like it was because I was tolerating food so well and started each phase early. My NUT told me yesterday that an early stall is very common and nothing to worry about. He said just to make sure I am getting above 500 cals a day (I'm at 800-900 and he said that's a good number). I also felt like I could eat more than a lot of people here. The consistency of the food matters. When I was on soft and puree I felt like I could eat a lot. Now that I'm eating normal foods I get full extremely fast. I wouldn't worry yet if I were you - just move through the phases and give yourself a month to start losing as I've heard a lot of people stall early on for multiple weeks. It's been three weeks and counting for my stall.

I agree with @@sarabeth82 - it gets way better everyday. you may have a dip in energy/emotions here and there, but by and large, the further out you are from surgery the less unstable you'll feel. Just know that it's normal, and it'll pass!

Oh no. I bought a box of the fuzzy navel stuff. I hope it doesn't suck. And yeah I planned to just get one bottle of isopure to try first. I do find nothing with lots of protein is without aftertaste. Never used to bother me But I'm now getting really tired of it. Has anyone here tried Shakeology. REALLY expensive but it's far and away the best protein shake I've tried (particularly chocolate) - and I feel like I've tried almost everything at this point!

Thanks for all the great tips. One of my colleagues had the sleeve done last week and he showed me the isopure drink. I'll get those and just make sure to make them last a couple hours.

Congrats on how well you're doing. It's always great and motivating to hear success stories!

I had the dry mouth, too! It lasted about a week or two. It was REALLY annoying and everything coated my tongue during that time. It was always red or orange from SF Popsicles. Also, I stalled at week 2 as well and am still in that stall. Tuesday will be the start of my 4th week... really hoping the scale moves by then. Otherwise, no complaints.

I took 1.5 and the first few days back, I usually left early because I was tired. I would have liked two full but work was too busy for that. By the start of the third week, i was feeling pretty much back to normal.

Forgive me if this question has been posed a thousand times - I've read TONS on this board, but haven't seen a discussion exactly like this. My surgery is scheduled for June 16. My Pre-Op diet is 2 weeks of low carb (>30g) and high Protein (70g+) and I've been doing well on it. I'm amazed at how it has really helped with my cravings for carbs and sugar - and somehow knowing i HAVE to do it, has made it easier to adhere to. I only have 1 day of liquid diet, day before surgery. What I can't wrap my head around is coming out of surgery and not having cravings for food. I know you are supposed to not feel hunger, but for those of you who have had surgery, did you still have strong cravings? Did they come back later down the line? Also, what about if you were to watch people around you eating after surgery? I have a few events coming up shortly after surgery, and I'm just wondering if it'll bother me to see people eating and drinking all they want, or if I won't even care. I know everyone's experience is different, but I'm curious to hear your stories about this.

Thanks, James! I'll check the recipes out.

That's true about other foods. I just feel as though if I actually wanted to meet my goal for Protein, I would need to eat things with the highest amount.... most cheese has 7g (I hate cottage cheese, unfortunately), whereas steak has has double that in the same amount of oz. I have been having a greek yogurt snack each day to get in an extra 9-14g. I also unfortunately hate the taste/consistency of unflavored protein in things, but I guess I should keep trying to find something to mix it with that's bearable. I did read after I posted this that getting a normal level of protein at this stage really isn't possible. So maybe the answer is really to just aim as high as you can and not stress too much about it. I'm looking forward to be adding things like nuts back in - that will also make it easier.

I so feel these posts right now. I had surgery on 6/16 - I lost 25 lbs since I started the pre op diet on Jun 1, but the scale has not budged since the end of my first week post surgery. Drives me crazy, given how little I eat. I also KNEW this would happen, and so the fact that it still drives me crazy also drives me crazy. I know the early days are the rapid weight loss days - i can't wait for those to actually start. And though I haven't measured, I don't really feel much of a difference in my clothes either. I will try to keep my head up and be positive if y'all do too

@@laguerr13 many people cannot tolerate SF stuff. It's known to cause diarrhea - particularly sugar alcohols. It's not at all uncommon.

I'm heading into my third week. Energy levels are getting a bit better now but I still have several periods during the day where I feel like I could nap (unfortunately I'm back at work so I can't). My surgeon told me at post op that it will only continue to rise and soon it will be markedly better. He advised me to use the added energy to do more intense exercise. I'm certainly looking forward to that period! I can start b12 injections at 6 weeks, so maybe that will help as well.

I developed a rash on my chest and groin area like where my thigh meets my abdomen. I ended up having to get a steroid cream from my doc. If I stop using it for a while, the rash comes back. Surgeon seemed to think it was an allergic reaction to the disinfectant they put on me before surgery. You'd think it'd be gone by now as I'm almost 3 weeks out though!

I have the same question - been thinking about it lately as I can easily get 20 oz in less than an hour and I'm only 3 weeks out.

My plan was clear liquids 1-3 days. Full liquids for 1-3 weeks, puree for a week, soft for a week, then normal. However, I have started each phase early because I have tolerated everything really well and just felt like it was time to move on each time I did. I am 2.5 weeks out and already eating soft canned chicken, thicker mashed potatoes, egg, well toasted bread, etc. I feel like my body really told me when I was ready to move on. Everyone is different. I wouldn't worry about your plan - just take it slow if anything isn't sitting well with you. I think it's fine to move at your own pace, faster or slower

The first few days, I didn't care what anyone ate. Once I started really feeling weak because I was only getting liquids, I started really wanting to be able to eat normal food. I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat and feel healthy and normal. A few days after that, when I was really feeling better from surgery, it got a bit easier. I still sometimes wish to be able to eat normally, but I recognize that it won't be long before I can. Starting on puree has made it easier as well, because I feel like I get to eat some real food. Again, I've heard it only gets better once you go from soft to normal. I'm still very much going through it like you, but I trust the people on here when they say it gets better, as I've found it has as the days go by

Yeah, I'd expect it to take about a week or so. Gas-X and heating pads do help, but you don't feel REALLY good until it's all gone.

Normal according to me. A few days after surgery I remember sobbing for no reason. On my birthday. I felt very sad and down the first week but it has only gotten better as the days go by (almost 2 weeks out now.)

I have a lot of SF jello pudding in the fridge. I'm currently on full liquids. Is this a full liquid, or a puree stage food?

Thanks all. Puree starts soon so I'll probably just wait