ShelterDog64

Hi Magoos mom! We might have to start a thread for 21 June sleeve patients! I only take a few small pills, so that's not been as hard for me as it is for you. I'm using melts for my Vitamins to avoid those big old pills! I'm envious about you and the Protein shakes...they're just not sitting well in my stomach at all. Broth and water are my favorites, I'm going to add some unflavored protein to my broth tonight and see if it's still as palatable. I can't even describe how much I would love some fresh fruit or vegetables right now! I weighed myself the day I came home (post-op day 2) and I'd lost 10 pounds, I've deliberately stayed off the scale since then. I'm a Weight Watchers veteran many times over and I know what that scale does to my head! I figure I'm swollen, gassy and I'll wait another week before I climb on it. Good for you for walking! The days I was on narcotics for the surgical pain were so fantastic for me, I normally have pretty significant knee pain when I exercise and the morphine and codeine completely got rid of it, so I was walking a LOT. Now I'm pretty much off meds and the pain is coming back, and I can't take my NSAIDs yet. I'm toughing it out but it was a lot more fun pain-free I can't wait to go for my post-op appt on 6 July...I'm hoping I'll get released to soft foods and can start on my Celebrex again. There will be no stopping me then

Mine too - same day. Yes everything did taste yuk for a while. When you get hungry you start not caring. Water is lovely now, with or without flavoring, my chicken broth is lovely but mostly everything else is gross. I bought this very yummy Protein for your water on Amazon. Its Lemon Razzy by NutriWise and you put it in your water and it has 15 grams of protein. The pink lemonade has 17 grams. Its really helped me since I have not wanted anything. For your information... https://www.doctorsbestweightloss.com/shop-by-brand/nutriwise/diet-cold-drinks-juices-tea.html Thanks for this suggestion, Maggie143! I had my sleeve surgery on the 21st of June as well, and I am not interested in eating anything still I hope the water flavorings help. Everything I eat (drink, whatever!) seems heavy and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Sipping water is the only thing that appeals to me at all. What a difference from a couple of weeks ago when I couldn't WAIT to eat! I just ordered the NutriWise water flavorings here on Bariatric Pal (well, they're Bariatric Pal brand, but exact same flavors and packaging) for less than at Amazon, BP also has a sample box of the different flavors plus a sample bag of all the Syntax Nectars that so many people like. I ordered them, hopefully I'll like some of them! I hope you're doing well, I had kind of a 'blah' day yesterday so I got up this morning and am going about my day with a bit more purpose...I've got to shake this yucky feeling from the lack of food.

I thought the Core Power Protein shakes were too high in carbs....isn't the banana either 25 or 26g carbs? I'm supposed to stay under 15g, 10g if possible. Maybe I'm wrong about those shakes?

I'm day 8 post-op and I wouldn't have made it without the clear Isopure drinks. I much prefer the lemonade flavor, after that the mango-peach. The Protein shakes are so heavy, it's been a lifesaver to have something that tastes and feels 'light' to get most of my protein from. I tried some cream soup last night, my sleeve didn't like it so I'm back to Isopure this morning. I've gone through 1-2 bottles a day since I came home.

I had to be on Clear liquids for the first few days after surgery, then on full liquids for 2 weeks, then I can move to soft foods. So the '1/4 cups of protein foods' (which is the size of an entire meal, btw) won't come until later, when I can eat solids. If you don't want shakes or powders, Isopure makes a clear Protein Drink that comes in about 10 flavors, I've found it easy to drink and digest. I also like unflavored Protein powder mixed with broth or sugarfree instant pudding. Right now, I'm supposed to be getting 32 oz clear liquids + 32 oz full liquids each day, ideally, with 60-90 grams of protein. As you start looking at your options, you may find that the shakes are an easy way to meet those short term needs before you're released to 'real' foods.

I've been on D3 for years, I buy whatever is at costco in the jumbo container. I think mine are 1000iu per softgel.

Someone you know might possibly have been googling today for 1960s-housewife-molded-Gelatin recipes. I'm thinking, Knox unflavored gelatin powder, unflavored protein powder, and some salty fish/chicken/veggie broth? Jello mold in shape of a fish optional. OMG, molded jello! My grandma loved those! Maybe aspic recipes, too...hmmm. Retro food, here I come!

I have to do full liquids until 14 days post-op...I thought I was jealous until my sleeve decided it didn't like full liquids yet. I slid back to clear liquids for days 4 and 5 and was much happier, advanced back to full liquids today and the protein shake was much more well received I think 2 weeks will be just about right for me, my doc has an extremely low complication rate as well, and I'm going to trust that he knows what he's doing. That said, I would dearly love to CHEW something right about now!

I love the idea of savory flavors of Protein Powder. I'm only 6 days post-op and I'm weary of all these sweet options :-P

I'm 6 days post-op, too! I feel as though things are going very well, healing-wise, I didn't have steri-strips, but I had glue on 4 of my incisions and bandages over the other 2. All the glue is gone and I took the last bandage off last night, it was itching and driving me nuts. I have one small incision high on my abdomen, right below my sternum, that's a bit tender but the others feel great. I am still quite swollen, though, and have a fair amount of discomfort every time I sip anything. It seems like my skin and muscles are doing fine but my new sleeve is very, very sensitive and tender. I'm on full liquids until 2 weeks post-op but I'm doing more clear than full liquids...they seem to cause less irritation. I figure my body will tell me what it wants and I'm listening very carefully

Hi Winkie! I had sleeve surgery on June 21st, so I'm a newbie to all of this, but I think you sound like you're ready for your surgery and have the right mindset. You've already had success with a band, so this should be relatively easy for you! And congratulations on having a son, I have 2 and they're the joy of my life. It will be tough, I'm sure, to not be his primary caregiver for a few weeks but when you look at the big picture, you're giving up a few short weeks to have a lifetime of health with him. Congratulations on making such a great choice for yourself. Looking forward to hearing from you as you continue with your sleeve

I had terrible pain right at my sternum when I woke up in the PACU...bad enough that I was crying and they did a 12-lead EKG to rule out anything cardiac. It subsided with an IV dose of Dilaudid. I was on a morphine PCA pump and stayed 2 nights in the hospital as well, and I'm now down to two doses of oral oxycodone daily. I tried to skip my daytime dose today and paid for it with a great deal of pain I'll try again in a couple of days. My surgeon said it's absolutely normal to need pain relief for a week or even longer. My surgery was Tuesday 6/21.

I have the Jawbone Up as well and I love it! The sleep tracking is one of my favorite features, and I love that it looks a bit more like a bracelet than a Fitbit. My husband now uses my old Fitbit and it's great for him. I think any of them does the job, it's just personal preference about the app and the look of the device.

I have 6, but one is from having an umbilical hernia repair. I'm with you, the skin glue was lifting at the edges and bugging me, so i've picked most of it off. I still have 2 silver-impregnated bandages on the port where they pulled my stomach and the umbilicus. They itch. Like crazy!

I came home on full liquids and I'm supposed to aim for 90g protein/day. I stayed on clear liquids until yesterday, I was having a bit of nausea and didn't want to push it. I'm to stay on this for 2 weeks then move to soft foods, but no Wheat Thins on mine

I'm struggling with the artificial sugars myself. I NEVER used them prior to starting my bariatric pathway and I truly hate the way they taste. I'm really interested to see what the pros have to say!

I had to have someone with me when I checked in and he had to sign a form saying he would be responsible for getting me home as well. I wouldn't have been able to drive myself home anyway since I was taking narcotics for pain control.

Tomorrow, I'm going to mix one of my bottles of Isopure Lemonade with Water and freeze it. I'm hoping it'll be like a granita or an italian ice-ish texture. I think that should be ok since I was given all the ice chips I wanted while I was in the hospital. I think freezing a chocolate Protein Shake would be good, too! I have to revise my opinion on the Isopure vanilla No Carb powder...it got cloyingly sweet as I continued drinking it, I need to either dilute it or add something to it. I did drink the unjury broth tonight and it was a nice change from all the sweet options. Tomorrow I'm going to try regular broth and add Isopure unflavored powder to see if that works well. I walked into the kitchen as the family was making dinner and almost popped a piece of watermelon in my mouth! Yikes! I'm not hungry but I do miss chewing

I got a Nutri Bullet to use to blend when I want to add ice, but I just use a Blender Bottle to mix powder with milk. I had a Premier Protein RTD chocolate yesterday evening, blended with ice to make it a slushy consistency. It was tasty and very satisfying (although at this point I have no hunger, I think my head is saying 'eat' so it quiets that down). Today I'm trying Isopure vanilla powder mixed with 1% milk and it's quite good too. Neither of them have any weird aftertaste, so I'm thrilled to have a few choices over the next couple of weeks on liquids only. I've got a sample of unjury chicken flavored to try this evening while the family has burgers It doesn't bother me at all to be around them while they're eating and I'm so grateful for that...this is MY weight to lose and MY journey and I don't expect them to change their lives. They're very supportive and have been waiting on me, mixing my shakes and just being wonderful as I get through these first few days post-op.

I had my surgery on June 21st, so I'm only on Day 3 post-op, but I like the Isopure drinks. I've got lemonade, green tea lemon and mango-peach. I was told that they were thick and a bit unpleasant, but they're not bad at all. I'm able to drink 30 oz/day (that's 1.5 bottles) which gives me 60g Protein. I'm also drinking about 20 oz chicken broth and about 20 of Water. Tomorrow I'll try Premier Protein, the RTD chocolate, and I also have unflavored Isopure powder and some unjury samples to try. I'll post after I try them

My gas isn't too bad, but I'm doing this weird almost hiccup thing that hurts like heck! I've got scopolamine patch on that's good for 72 hours, plus taking Zofran and promethazine, so there's been no nausea at all. What are you all using for clear liquid Protein? I actually like several flavors of Isopure Zero Carb, so the sipping part is a little more tolerable, although I'm really missing the hospital ice chips. You might go as long as 10 days with no bowel movement, since nearly everything you're drinking is being absorbed.

My surgery was on the 21st, just got home I stayed 2 nights due to blowing my IVs and not staying hydrated, also my potassium got out of whack. Pain, with the use of the PCA pump and IV Tylenol and Toradol, was very minimal. I got up and started walking about 2 hours after I left the PACU, I walked 4 or 5 times that afternoon and evening and I really helped with the gas pains. I still got sharp, awful pain in my left shoulder if I sat up quickly, but that's done now. Still on Clear liquids and I have no desire for anything. I also had a bunch of phlegm that I finally cleared today, using the incentive spirometer helped a lot with that. I had an umbilical hernia that was repaired during the surgery...I think that's the most painful site on my belly. Otherwise, my whole abdomen is just uncomfortable and kind of gassy feeling. No hunger at all, I'm not even thinking about food. Lemonade Isopure and Water is all I've had other than a few sips of chicken broth last night.

You would be taking such a risk...I'm pretty sure USPHS falls under UCMJ, you could lose pay, rank, even be court-martialed for something like this. And if you had complications and had to receive care, they'd find out then. PHS may not have instant access to your treatment record, but all they'd have to do is request it from the treating facility and it would be provided to your chain of command. Also, you've already falsified information to keep them from finding out...that's concerning in and of itself. Just give this a great deal of thought, only you knows how getting the surgery weighs against your career and your reputation in your field. Good luck with your decision.

I'm prior service and my husband is active Army...you should NOT have a disallowed medical procedure while you're active USPHS. You could lose your commission, your benefits and receive an other than honorable discharge. Do you meet height/weight standards and if not, how are you allowed to continue in active service?

What she said ^^^^ I find it a little disheartening when people think they don't have to change their eating habits just because they can eat less. This thinking is why over 50% of people gain some or all of their weight back. The hardest part of this whole process is realizing our love affair with food really has to end. It really has to turn into more of a respect for food by understanding what we eat can either make us or break us. Mindful eating, not eating less, is they key to our success. Understanding that is half the battle. What you say here really speaks to me. I'm scheduled for my sleeve in June, and I didn't decide to make this enormous leap until I was ready to give up my love affair with food. I have to put food in the place it deserves to be, fuel for my body, instead of a source (sometimes THE source) of happiness. I've forced myself to stop reading cookbooks, watching cooking shows, etc. and to read about travel and activity and to spend more time in my garden and less time in my kitchen. While I'll still cook and enjoy it, I have to completely change the way I interact with food and the way I use food in my life. It's daunting to think of a life without the companionship of food, but I think I'll have a lot more life to live if I make this change.