ShelterDog64

I didn't have any problems taking my meds orally after the surgery. I was taken off Lisinopril pre-op and the surgery caused a lowering of my blood pressure so I didn't have to go back on it! But I take 2 different allergy meds, something for my fibro pain and Lexapro...I haven't had issues with any of them. I talked with a pharm-D before my surgery and he suggested that I try taking things as I currently do (none are coated tablets or capsules) and if they all seemed to be working fine, to stick with that. Otherwise, I would have had to switch fibro meds to a liquid and take children's varieties of my allergy meds. When you talk with the pharmacist, he or she will be able to help you a great deal. Good luck!

Well, I have fibromyalgia and I usually have a fair amount of generalized pain, plus I have 3 pretty bad trigger points on my back. The generalized pain is greatly reduced but not gone, but my back hasn't hurt AT ALL since my surgery 13 days ago. Walking and exercising has been much easier, I'm less winded so less stressed. I hope you're able to get some relief, bellabeans. Good luck!

I ordered some of the soups that johnbamber suggested (thanks, johnbamber!)..I'm with you, everything is toooooo sweet. I want savory food!

question for you guys a couple of weeks out - i gained so much weight while IN the hospital for the sleeve. they said it was just the IV fluids they pump you full of, but I went up 7 lbs over that 24 hrs. I'm now 3 days post-op and still havent lost it. I still have 2 more lbs to lose to reach my starting point. so frustrating. Although I'm weighing myself and am pleased with the results, I had already decided that I was really going to start watching the scale and recording 100% of what I eat after I went for my 2 week post-op appt. It's what my surgeon and one of the floor nurses suggested and it makes good sense to me. In 2 weeks, I've lost all the fluid from the hospital, the bruises from the IVs and heparin injections are almost gone, my stomach swelling is clearly almost gone and I feel truly human. Give yourself some time...day 3 post-op for me: I was still on liquid codeine, was able to only walk around a 1/4 mile loop behind my house, could only tolerate tiny amounts of clear liquids, no bowel movement, I was bruised all over, my incisions hurt, etc, etc, etc. Now I'm at day 13: I'm walking 2 miles, I'm completely off the blood pressure meds that I've been taking for a couple of years, I'm eating full liquids plus some chicken and blueberries that I've been sneaking in. I had a sip of my husband's beer last night and I didn't burst into flames My incisions are nearly healed and really, my only complaint right now is that I want to CHEW MY FOOD. I'm tired of liquids. It will all happen for you too, I'm sure, but it's hard when you're ready to see some results. I had to keep reminding myself that I had a major surgery...it's no small thing to have 3/4 of your stomach removed. Hang in there, and we'll all be here talking ourselves through this together!

**What doesn't kill us will make us thinner ** - Maggie143 This is my new motto! Thanks, Maggie! This should get me through some more protein shakes

I wish my body would hear what I'm telling it, too...it wants something I can CHEW. The smell of the Protein shakes is awful to me right now, I just want regular food. My surgery was on the 21st, so I've had a couple of bites of refried Beans and a bit of chicken. My stomach tolerated them well, but those 2 bites of beans almost filled me up. It IS weird how our bodies are reacting to what we did to them, isn't it?

I thought to myself yesterday that I was an idiot to have the surgery right before July 4th. I would give my right arm for a burger right now, even though I'm not hungry. I just want to CHEW something! I'm going to drag some of my clothing containers out of the basement this week and see if I can get into some of the things that were kind of snug pre-op. That will definitely be better than a burger. I think

I promise it will pass. So many people are saying the same thing. I had mood swings early on and they went quickly. I hope they do for you too. Now is the time to focus on the positive. We are through most of the hard part and by winter we will be eating like human beings again and thinner too! Think lovely thoughts. xo I haven't had the mood swings but I'm dreading them...I'm 51 and menopausal, so I'm sure mine will be doozies! I've been feeling good, I've advanced myself to some foods that aren't on my diet yet, but just doing full liquids was killing me. I've had some refried beans (HEAVEN!!), and yesterday I had a bite or 2 of chicken salad my husband was eating. As long as I go slow, take small bites and chew well, everything is fine. On the down side, I took my allergy meds a couple of nights ago right before bed, and not thinking, threw down about 8 oz of water in a few big gulps. OMG. The pain was horrific, and it all came right back up. I have been a much more careful sipper since then I'm thinner, too, down 16 as of today. That's so encouraging for me, I didn't have to do any pre-op diet so my surgery weight was my highest weight. Losing 16 has been amazing, I truly feel lighter already. Hoping today is another good day...we're going to buy a new car! And our son comes home today from a weekend back at college with his buddies. Tomorrow will be a challenge, I'm sure, all the BBQs and food, but I'll stick with my oatmeal and know that if I do, that scale will move even more. Happy 4th, everyone! I had my beans at a restaurant with a friend...it was my first outing where food was involved and those beans were darned good. Loaded with lard, I'm sure, but I ate maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons. I need to buy some to make my own, thanks for the reminder! I'm eating steel-cut Irish oatmeal...my son makes a big batch of it every few days and stores it in the fridge (he's on some 'bulking up' diet prior to soccer tryouts at college), so I just sneak a couple of tablespoons out and thin it to a soupy consistency with Fairlife milk. Then I chew the heck out of it, because chewing is fun! I feel like such a weirdo, saying that chewing is fun, but I know you guys understand! Thanks for the tip about party navigation...I've been pretty open about my procedure but I'm still dreading being scrutinized over my eating or lack of.

I promise it will pass. So many people are saying the same thing. I had mood swings early on and they went quickly. I hope they do for you too. Now is the time to focus on the positive. We are through most of the hard part and by winter we will be eating like human beings again and thinner too! Think lovely thoughts. xo I haven't had the mood swings but I'm dreading them...I'm 51 and menopausal, so I'm sure mine will be doozies! I've been feeling good, I've advanced myself to some foods that aren't on my diet yet, but just doing full liquids was killing me. I've had some refried beans (HEAVEN!!), and yesterday I had a bite or 2 of chicken salad my husband was eating. As long as I go slow, take small bites and chew well, everything is fine. On the down side, I took my allergy meds a couple of nights ago right before bed, and not thinking, threw down about 8 oz of water in a few big gulps. OMG. The pain was horrific, and it all came right back up. I have been a much more careful sipper since then I'm thinner, too, down 16 as of today. That's so encouraging for me, I didn't have to do any pre-op diet so my surgery weight was my highest weight. Losing 16 has been amazing, I truly feel lighter already. Hoping today is another good day...we're going to buy a new car! And our son comes home today from a weekend back at college with his buddies. Tomorrow will be a challenge, I'm sure, all the BBQs and food, but I'll stick with my oatmeal and know that if I do, that scale will move even more. Happy 4th, everyone!

You can get constipated from calcium. I've taken it for a few years and I've found I do much better if I take it every other day. Now that I need it more than ever, I think I'll have to rely on stool softeners as well.

Will your insurance pay for you to see a dietitian or nutritionist? I LOVE my doc, but I wouldn't have a clue what to do without the dietitian's help. My doc is a great surgeon, but not a nutrition expert. I'm supposed to get 90g of protein daily once I'm through the liquid/puree stage, so about a month out from surgery. I'm getting 60g pretty reliably now, on a good day I can get the 90g. (I had my surgery on the 21st, so I'm only 10 days out) My diet is very low-carb, I'm supposed to avoid anything higher than 15g/serving of carbs, and stay at/below 10g/serving ideally. My dietitian said to ignore calories right now, just get in the protein and keep the carbs low. I guess I'm getting 600 cals on a good day, 400 cals most other days. 64 oz/day of Water rounds out my life right now I hope this helps give some perspective on what some nutritionists/dietitians are suggesting. I'm at a large teaching hospital with a busy, very successful bariatric program (about 8 surgeons), so I feel pretty confident that the advice I'm getting is good. If you have any specific questions, I can look through the literature I've got from my program if it would help. This whole thing is kind of lonely and unpredictable to me, at least

Congrats on the weight loss! I feel your pain about the BBQ smells, this is a big holiday weekend because of July 4th and everyone is buying ribs and steaks and corn and all kinds of fabulous stuff to grill and I'm stuck with full liquids until next week. Yay. Plus no beer, no margaritas. But I've lost 14 lbs since my surgery on the 21st, so I'm focusing on that. Or trying to, anyway One bright point is that I'm able to have a couple of tablespoons of oatmeal mixed with milk...I had no idea something could taste sooooo good. I'm already looking forward to it tomorrow!

Hi Garciagiss! There's a thread called "Late June Sleeve Buddies" where a group of us are chatting away! Come and join us! My sleeve surgery was 21 June, so we're probably experiencing a lot of the same things...looking forward to seeing you there

Oh, those heparin shots! I had 3 when I was in the hospital, the bruises are HUGE! I also had 3 IVs infiltrate, so I have huge bruises from those because of the heparin. I feel a LOT better than I look!!

If you want a heart rate sensor, the Up 3 and Up 4 both have it.

I had my surgery on 6/21...no sleeping instructions at all. I slept sort of on my side the 2 nights I was in the hospital and have slept on my stomach since I got home. No issues at all. I had exactly the same experience with the pain every time I sipped or swallowed, it finally resolved yesterday (post-op day 8). I feel SO much better, hang in there!

I went home on full liquids, tried the shakes and took myself back to clear Isopure for a day. What kind of protein water are you drinking? I did pretty well with the Isopure, 40g for a bottle and it helped with getting fluids in too. The shakes are definitely heavier and harder on the sleeve, at least they were for me.

I had mine on the 21st and yesterday (Day 8 post-op) was the first day I didn't have pain every single time I swallowed anything...if you can drink without pain, you just need to sip sip sip sip sip as often as possible. I was always a water gulper so it's been a tough adjustment, but I've learned what an okay size is for a sip of water and I don't want to feel that pain so it's been fairly easy to stick to I'm supposed to get as close to 90g protein as I can every day, I'm getting about 60g most days but I think now that the pain is subsiding I'll be able to get more. I had oatmeal for the first time this morning, yay!, and it didn't upset my stomach at all. I'm cooking a potato now to give that a try. Just keep sipping, it's the only way to get all that fluid in. Good luck!

My surgery was on the 21st and today was the first day I felt close to 'normal'. My bowels have stopped constantly gurgling, it doesn't *hurt* every single time I swallow and I'm getting better at getting my fluids, although I'm still struggling to get 64 oz/day. It does get better, I promise! I'm sure having your gallbladder removed isn't making it any easier to recover I agree about the support, it's nice to be able to chat with others who are on the same track.

I like BariMelts...they dissolve pretty quickly and the flavors (fruit something or other) aren't bad at all.

Oh, I'm not diabetic either...I think it's funny how different all of our nutritionists/dietitians/surgeons structure their programs. And they all seem to work great and get most of us to our goal weights! I'm just too worried about my own ability to control myself to veer too far from the guidelines I've been given. Yet

Oh, that sounds good, but it's way to many grams of sugar for my dietician's guidelines. I'm going to try oatmeal tomorrow, though, that may help me get some extra calories in

How did you get that many calories in? I need to up mine. I feel like I've eaten a lot today and I'm just at 400 calories...I'd love to get 850 in, I think I need more calories to heal well. How did you do it?

Good luck! Even with all my little complaints, I'm still so happy I took this step...I feel like my new life has started, too!