OzRoo

Pickle popsicles .... Yum, Yum

Pre op anxiety is quite normal. It is a big step, and a major surgery. I was very anxious 1-2 weeks pre op. Yes, I had a major delay with my op, but I found out about it well and far in advance. Instead of being sleeved last July 2015, I was diagnosed by the team Endo with Graves disease (Hyper-thyroid), and I had to wait 9 months for my thyroid to stabilise, and finally was operated on March 8, 2016. Your surgery is coming soon, so if something was found not right with you, that would have happened long time ago. I am sure you will be fine for the 14th. Good luck.

LOL, too funny I suppose if you freeze the pickle juice, you may make pickle popsicles ? Then again, they could be too acidic for the baby stomach ......

@@cindym44 eggs and yoghurt are Proteins, so no worry there. You are low BMI, so I am wondering if your liver is much enlarged. Did your surgeon do tests on your liver and told you it is much enlarged? I was 37.1 BMI at surgery, and during my pre op diet I was allowed some healthy carbs, such as vegetables, but no starchy ones like potatoes or pumpkin. I also had few unhealthy Snacks, while I am Not recommending this, I was still OK for surgery, and it all went fine. So, my pre op diet was: Protein shakes, protein snacks and for dinner chicken or fish or lean meat with a serve of non-starchy veggies. Good luck!

At 6 months I am noticing atm that my last stall was 3 weeks long, and today I finally lost 1 Ib. Definitely not as much as I was losing in the past. However, this may change. Time will show ......

Yes, it is a process with few challenges and curve balls at times ..... As Dory (finding Nemo) used to say: "just keep swimming, just keep swimming" ...... And Yay for that Gold Medal at the finish line!

I was very hungry during post op liquid phase. Purees were slightly better, but it wasn't until I went onto Soft/Mushy stage that my hunger finally went away. My NUT advised me to keep adding Protein powder to my liquids and purees. Good luck.

6 months post op Gastric Sleeve. I eat all my Proteins and eat whole veggies. I add Protein powder to my yoghurt. Haven't used a Protein shake for months. Few months ago I had one shake for Breakfast as I was running late. I just don't like the shakes much, had enough of them pre-op and early post op. I don't drink juices. In the past I liked V8, but it was too acidic for me. Tried bit of apple juice in Water, and it was still too sweet. So, yes, I chow down

@@jenn1 Thank you! I am glad to hear that I am not the only one I too look forward to the time, further down post op, to have more veggies and more fiber. Yes, it will be more satisfying, and I am sure it will make me more regular too!

@@Mrs.Rich Thank you for that. I may ask my surgeon re bougie size, as I was lower BMI. Thank you for the article link. With me, it is not so much head hunger, my thoughts are more like: "how come I don't feel full anymore on my 1/2 cup portion", and I try to wait now after my meal, and after a while the "I could eat more" passes. For few months now I was eating well below my 800 cals per day set by my NUT, as I just wasn't hungry. Now, I have my healthy Snacks when I feel hungry few hours in between meals, and get up to 700-800 cals per day. I actually had few more carbs, such as serving of sweet potato, and after another 2 week stall, my weight has gone down about a pound. So, at this stage, slightly increasing my calories and veggie portions is not doing any harm. I know that in time many sleevers can eat more but providing they stick to the healthy foods, they can maintain their weight goal. I just hope that I will be able to do the same. I will see my NUT again, once I reach my target weight and talk about maintenance. Thank you for your reply.

Yes, not a nice sensation at all! Few times it made me so tired and unwell that I had to lie down and rest afterwards. The strange thing was that I had no nausea, just I knew I had to throw up. With the scrambled egg, my chest felt on fire, and it was going up my oesophagus, painful and burning, again no nausea. Just ran to the bathroom. With the beef mince I was so proud of myself that I took 30 mins to finish it, chew really well, and then had a shock that it produced a dumping episode for me. These days for red meat I eat veal and lamb, and have no issues with them. Yes, the fried veggies could have been sus too

Early post op I had to brace my abdomen if a cough or sneeze was coming on. Didn't want any pain or injury to my new baby stomach. Now that I have a noisy toddler, when I am in company, I again have to brace my abdomen and hope that it will shut up soon! I don't care at home, but when out, especially in non-noisy places, the loud gurgling can be really annoying ....

I drink coffee, tea and Water. I add little diet lemonade or apple juice to my water, and If I was out of those, I would add a small amount of cordial. I can now guzzle water, and I like the slightly altered flavour with my additions to it.

@@goplay94123 Happy 6 month Surgiversary! You look great! Awesome and well done My 6 months is coming up in few days time. Can't believe how quickly the time went. And my results are great too. I just need to get over yet another stall ..... LOL, they come and they go away in their own time. Anyway, Congratulations to you and best wishes!

For me, after the Soft/Mushy stage I gradually went onto more solid type food, regular food with lot of sauce and moisture, and still mostly Protein and very low carb. In the soft stage I ate yoghurt, soft cheeses, tried scrambled egg but it did not agree with me. Haven't tried a poached egg yet. I also ate poached salmon and chicken/turkey minces with cheese sauces. Beef mince did not agree with me, however veal and lamb mince were OK. So basically, this means soft type food, not too dry or tough to chew. I also well cooked tougher vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli. Made sure they were very soft. Zucchini was soft, so I did not blast it as long as the other veggies. Did you get a diet/food plan from your NUT? Mine gave me a complete food plan for each stage. Good luck and enjoy new tastes.

@@frozengrapes Sorry to hear that. For me, although I did not have GERD pre op, post op I suffered really badly from acid. It would get worse for me at each food phase change. I was on Rabeprazole, that did not help me at all. Pantoprazole did not help either. When I switched to Nexium 40mg, it took few days to work, but then it finally got rid of my acid reflux. How long have you been on Nexium? Have you spoken with your surgeon about it? All I can say is that now, 6 months later, I am slowly weaning myself of Nexium, and so far the acid has not come back. I wish you all the best, and hope that you get better soon!

@@AshNic Yes, like @@LisaMergs wrote, it is a valid pre op question. For me: No more fatty liver No more pre-diabetic stage Feel lots happier My face looks 10-15 years younger, and my eyes are "bigger", basically not surrounded by swollen face anymore I can cross my legs, touch my toes My bra is 2 sizes smaller and I don't need an extender anymore to do my bra up. I can wear clothes I couldn't wear for few years, and no longer live in sarongs My food costs are a 1/3 now to what they used to be before My back ache is gone My hair is healthier I can look in the mirror again There is more room in my shower now I eat healthy again My feet and ankles are no longer swollen I actually have shapely legs and thighs now My bottom is much smaller and I can wear nicer undies again I am no longer snoring. I never snored before I became obese I still have 22Ib or so to lose, but I am seeing a big difference now, after 6 months post op

@@kmorri Congratulations! You look fantastic! Well done Losing weight is like losing 10 years, and having a natural face lift. Fat is ageing, slimming down is creating lot more youthful appearance. Awesome!

Yes, dumping happened to me immediately as well, plus I forgot to add my feeling of extreme tiredness and feeling dizzy also. Not nice feelings/results at all! This is why I am careful with certain foods.

Mine still growls, especially after heavier meals, like dinner. If you are always hungry though, could be acid reflux. Are you on any acid reducers?

@@Dub So, "wherever I lay my hat .... that's my home" philosophy that Paul Young used to sing about?

At about the same time, 4-5 months post op, I had a dumping episode after minced beef. Soonest I ate it, it came back up. I thought that maybe it was too fatty, but I ate lamb and veal, and I was OK with that. Steaks, beef can be hard to digest, so I am still staying away from it. Another dumping happened to me after a scrambled egg, and after ice-cream. So, for me, fatty and sugary foods are not liked by my new stomach. My NUT confirmed it was dumping, so I am in the small minority that can dump at times.

NUT = Nutritionist, or as we say in Australia, a Dietician.

@@LowBMISleever Thank you for this video. I was told the funnel analogy, but actually seeing it and what happens when water/fluid is added, really helped. Plus the reason given of being hungry soon after, really makes sense. I have not broken the 30 mins rule, and I will not break it in the future.

Initially post op, I was told I had to take acid reducer for 3 months. After a month on rabeprazole I was not getting better, my acid reflux was getting worse. I was switched to Nexium (esomeprazole) and this really worked for me. My surgeon told me I should stay on it for 12 months. Now, 6 months later, I am slowly weaning myself of it, from 1.5 days, then taking it every 2nd day, then 3rd, now every 4 days, and so far I am fine. No reflux! I'll keep monitoring it, and I will definitely refill my repeats for possible "emergency" later, but I am hoping that I will be OK. Everyone is different, some don't need acid reducer, some get off it 2 months later, some stay longer, few need to take it for life. @@TxCalico For me, the acid was burning and coming up my oesophagus, the burning would last a long time. I had couple of early morning wake-ups with choking on and coughing up vile, yellow burning acid, and this was really scary! I also had bad acid attacks at every food phase change, until I switched to Nexium. I did not suffer from acid before. Had a few occasions when I felt bit of acid after drinking wine or eating chocolate, but never on a daily basis prior my op.