Wheetsin

Today is day 7 for me. I've not really been truly hungry yet, but I'm no where close to being able to eat that much even if I were hungry. I've been managing 3 - 4 tbls of food per day, at the most. I'm eating with a toddler spoon and 1 - 3 level spoons is the most I can eat at a time. I'm guessing that's just under 1tbl. I've not ventured too far from yogurt, hummus, pudding, cottage cheese, strained soup and thinned out refried Beans so far. Today my diet broadens to include things like deli meats and eggs, but I just can't imagine the volume just yet. Most things hurt my stomach until yesterday, even Water. For whatever reason I have a much easier time with ice chips. When I had my lapband there was a definite pressure/pain when food was caught around the esophagus. It's often compared to a "golf ball" being stuck, though mine never felt that nice. For me it would also refer around my hips and belly button. HTH

I love that show, and the cooking classes are a great thing if you have access to them. It took me several years of low carb dieting and several years of having a lapband to build up a decent menu of bariatric/low carb friendly meals. I wish I would have had such an outlet (I LOVE cooking). I have lechon asado in the crockpot as we speak, and my dinner will probably be hummus and ice chips.

It means (to me) that it is not a ticket to easy street. You still need to work at it, make good choices, etc. It does not come attached to a time frame or a number of pounds. The sleeve is a restrictive procedure, but if you want to suck on milkshakes all day, you're probably not going to lose weight. You will still have to commit to changing your mental and physical behaviors around food. A tool is something that helps you get a task done. This will certainly help, but you have to use it properly.

I'm screwed with Sbux. My drink is a venti iced green tea latte, 1 pump, double matcha. I can give up the pump but their matcha is mixed with sugar so it's unavoidable. I've had 3 - 5 of those per week for the last 3 years so... this is gonna be an adjustment. Sbux chicken sausage Breakfast wrap has 300 calories/14gm Protein. They have an egg white wrap too, IIRC. Panera has a really good vegetarian black bean Soup (110 cal, 1g sat fat, 2.5g total fat, 980mg sodium, 18g carbs, 3g sugars, 3g Fiber, 6g protein). When banded I would get that and a half asiago roastbeef sandwich (350 cal, 7g sat fat, 13g total fat, 630mg sodium, 32g carbs, 2g sugars, 1g fiber, 24g protein). Breakfast power sandwich (360 cal, 6g sat fat, 14g total fat, 860mg sodium, 36g carbs, 3g sugars, 4g fiber, 23g protein). You can easily skip the bread on anything above.

If you're eating chicken breast or tenderloins, try a chicken thigh. You might find the dark meat easier to get down - dark meat is moister, and with a higher oil content. Chicken meatballs or sausage might work too. Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? They have some really good chicken and chile patties you can throw on the cooktop. Cream of chicken soup. Egg drop soup made with chicken stock. Oven fried chicken, you can use parmesan cheese and pork rinds for the crust. Stovetop chicken satay - a dash of peanut sauce may help. Exposing chicken to any acid will help break down the Proteins and make it a little easier to eat. Mustard works really well. One of my favorites is to buy the cheapest Italian dressing I can find, strain out all the pieces so I just have the oily stuff left. Add a dash of vinegar and a small squirt of mustard. Marinate chicken thighs in that mixture for about 2 days. unjury makes a chicken stock flavored Protein powder. I've never tried it, but it seems to get decent reviews.

Oh, I didn't even put it together with "TVP" (which I'm familiar with). Thanks! No idea how I would possibly manage it at this stage, though - which is fine by me.

BTW, don't fear GB removal. If it happens, it happens. It really is one of the easier surgeries. Surgeon time is about 10 minutes. I went in for mine at about 9 and was home by about 1.

I'm a week post-op. The last 3 days I had very little pain (I have not taken my Lortab since the second day). Today an area just to the left of my leftmost incision is tweaking quite noticeably, especially if I have to make a twisting or twisting/lifting movement. If I'm not using it, there's no pain. I had a mini emergency with DD lastnight and had to lift her down from the bathroom counter (she's about 40 lbs). I kept her against my body to maximize center of gravity and just sort of let her slide down me, but I think I flamed something up. My post-op is tomorrow, if it's no better I will ask about it. I was warned the left side would be the most sore.

I'm only a week out, but am allowed to try "textured vegetable proteins" (I'm still trying to decode that) now, and fruits/veggies as tolerated after 8 weeks.

I guess money is money, but I agree. Seeing ads for sleeve plication doesn't really do me any good. Nor would Domino's pizza. Nor lapband. Nor the "only 4 slots available" ad that has had 4 slots available for a few months now.

Not sure what you need clarified? I think the current stats are that about 42% of bariatric patients have their gallbladder removed within the first 2 years, and it goes up about 20% each year thereafter until 4 years (82%). It's not a guarantee, and bariatric surgery itself doesn't cause the gallbladder to go bad.

My only reused scar was my port scar. The new incision on it is about 1/3 of the scar size. The picture below was taken when I got home from the hospital. I added lines just above the actual incisions to show you where mine are at. Lpaband scars are in red. Sleeve incisions are in blue. Ignore the gross tummy.

Your body is not good at turning liquids into solids, if you know what I mean. Expect to have primarily diarrhea or a pudding-like stool until you're able to get the majority of your intake through solid means. I had it a few times lastnight. Not great, but at least I'm pooping. (surgery was a week ago today and it was my first stool since the morning of surgery)

Chugging is the single behavior I was most concerned about tackling with my sleeve. Through my band I'd already made the food choices, adjusted to small quantities, got the chewing down, and I'm realizing I can even pick up on some stop signs (I don't get soft stops, but I can tell when I need to give it a rest). There were very times over the years I had my band when I couldn't chug. In fact, the night before surgery at about 11:50 I chugged a "celebratory" bottle of Water, just to say good bye. I've never, ever been a sipper. So far so good, but I'm still at the tiny sips/ice chips stage. I do remember chugging fondly, though.

Clear fluids for 2 weeks, really? I was on bariatric clears for 2 days, then full liquids, and starting today can add in things like deli meats and eggs, but this is it for the next 2 months. 2 weeks would be tough, but you're only missing about a tablespoon anyway. Syntrax nectar makes some Protein drinks that mix fairly clear. I have the Roadside Lemonade and Fuzzy Navel flavors (I think they make 5 or 6 flavors) leftover from back in my early lapband days. A scoop or two of the lemonade in a glass of tea makes a fairly convincing Arnold Palmer.

I take bariatric fusion Vitamins, in orange or strawberry. That's after sampling about 8 different "good" (formulated for bariatrics) vitamins. They don't really taste chalky to me, they have a fairly strong flavor and go down easy. When I had my lapband I went with Centrum chewables at first, and then I took the time to compare nutritional values. Bariatric vitamins are by far superior to anything you can get OTC. I take 4 of these a day now, and will drop to 3 once I can get about 50% of my nutritional intake from foods (I'm just a week post-op). Check out these values :

The excised stomach is completely removed and ultimately torched. (A week later and that particular incision still smarts.)

I cooked my family their meal, served it, then sat down with my Jello. I had a lapband about 6 years ago, so I've already been through most of the same "adjustment" stuff that sleevers are going through. I think that puts me in a slightly different place, mentally & behaviorally, than a "virgin" sleever. I enjoy giving food to others as much as I enjoy it myself, so the fact that I cannot partake in the same meals they can (yet) doesn't bother me that much. I enjoy watching them enjoy. I could tell yesterday that I really needed to focus on hydration, so they had rosemary roasted chicken with browned cream potatoes and grilled green Beans, and I had a cup of ice chips. Do not feel bad if you need to remove yourself from the table, or just get away from food for a while. It's an adjustment. Most people go through a mourning stage for their food, which has been the #1 inanimate support for the majority of their lives. It really does get easier, and time heals cognitive wounds too.

In my first month of having my lapband I lost something like 48 lbs. I've had my sleeve a week and I have no idea what I've lost. I'll get weighed tomorrow at my post-op appointment. From my experience as a former fast loser, enjoy it while it lasts. It's going to slow down eventually. When my brakes hit I spent about a year at the same weight (not my goal weight) before I was able to start dropping pounds/sizes/inches again. BTW, in your first few weeks estimate that about 40% - 50% of what you lose is fat mass, so you've probably lost about 20 lbs of fat. The rest is fluid-based. If you're feeling hesitant about your numbers, that may help.

Generally not. The only way to know for sure is to call your insurance company and ask.

Had my gallbladder out about 5 years ago. Sooo glad its gone. Saved me a world of pain. Gallbladders don't "get better" - they really don't even stabilize, they only get worse -- and once yours gets there you might regret not doing it sooner. I'm not saying you WILL, just that you might, so it's something to keep in mind. Gallbladder attacks can often be mistaken for things like heart attacks and burst appendix - that's the level of pain potential. I have not seen any literature on upcoming treatments for failing gallbladders. I would not count on it being around in a year. Religious debate aside, all the gallbladder does is store/secret bile. You use bile to help break down fats. Your liver produces the bile, so you're basically just giving up a ... pump. The goods are still there. When I had my lapband (and sleeve) I did not have comorbidities. BP, cholesterol, etc. were all good. Since having my GB out, I've had no complications. Other than sketchy memories of the surgery day, it's like nothing changed, except I no longer have 10 - 15 hour bouts of nausea-like pain. The typical experience after GB removal is life resumes as usual, minus pain. Statistics-wise, most bariatric patients have their gallbladder removed (if it is there at the time of their surgery) within 1 - 4 years. Gallbladders go a little crazy when our obese lifestyle diets are disrupted so greatly. HTH and good luck in what you're seeking.

Most US surgeons prescribe a low carb diet to help maximize the fatloss and focus on protein. Coconut water & especially pomegranate juice are higher in carbs than what most diets here include. I assume your surgeons do not follow low-carb diet post-op? Just out of curiosity, what calorie source are you supposed to focus on? Do you have a diet emphasizing protein?

You're still recovering from your surgery. Your capacity will increase over time. In the meantime, you must find something to keep you healthy, and that includes calories, hydration and Protein. They are not optional. Have you tried masking your protein? You don't have to drink it as-is. The only people I know who can really stomach protein drinks "as is" are hardcore body builders who just chug their way through it. Try... accessorizing. I went through the great protein search about 6 years ago when I had lapband surgery. Here are some of my favorites. Maybe there's something here that appeals to you?: Peanut Butter cup: chocolate protein, peanut butter or PB2 or SF PB syrup or any combination) in half FF milk, half light soymilk. Orange julius: vanilla protein, reduced acid OJ, half packet splenda, tsp SF vanilla pudding, FF milk Mudslide: vanilla protein, SF Khalua syrup, FF milk, ice. PBJ: vanilla protein, PB or PB2, SF strawberry syrup, FF milk Lot more recipes here that you can experiment with. What foods have you tried? What did you like pre-op? Just about any flavor can be brought into a post-op friendly diet. We can help you figure out how, but not until we know what you like. Even if you're not craving something, you still need to get it down.

I'm a week out today. My best Fluid intake still comes from ice chips. I can only do a few small sips of Water but I can chomp on ice chips all night long. Some flavor is nice on occasion. Tonight I'm going to try blenderizing it with some peach Mio and a few canned, no sugar added peaches (hate Crystal Light) and see if I can come up with something Italian Ice-ish. I like Jello but it is still too filling, I can only eat a tbl or so. I've been slowly slurping a Peanut Butter cup Protein drink (2 scoops chocolate protein, 1 tbl PB2, 2 ice cubes, 1/2 C FF milk, 1/2 C light soymilk, 1/2 pump SF chocolate syrup, 1/2 pump SF PB syrup) over ice for the last 10 mins. I'm probably about 2 oz down so far, but I have all day. This is my 2nd bariatric surgery and I discovered egg drop Soup the first time around. It's savory, has really good protein, and it's basically broth so it counts toward your fluid intake - as long as you're OKed for small bits of soft egg (like skin thin). You can add some unflavored Protein powder if desired, just dissolve in warm water first. You can also add some soft (silken) tofu for a bit more texture. I make enough to last, but you can easily halve or quarter this: 4 C chicken or vegetable stock 1 tbl + 1 tsp corn starch 2 - 4 lg eggs Salt or soy sauce (I like to infuse some ginger and lemongrass using a tea infuser during the initial simmer, but that's completely optional) Simmer stock on medium low for 20 minutes. Add salt or soy sauce to taste. Remove about 1/4 C of the hot stock to a separate bowl and mix with 1 tbl corn starch until dissolved, then whisk back in to pot. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs and remaining tsp of corn starch. When the stock is barely simmering, pour the egg in over the tines of a fork, whisking with your other hand as you pour. Let the egg cook for about 20 seconds before eating.

I'm not nearly as far out as you guys but based on your descriptions it sounds like the food in your stomach could be somehow triggering a phrenic nerve reaction. Here is something I posted on this previously, regarding the shoulder/collar bone pain post-op. I don't know if the outward pressure of ingesting food could trigger it for sure, but if it's the same pain, it would make sense the same nerve system is involved. HTH.