Sullie06

I had my surgery on 12/30 and I had a drain while in the hospital. All 3 surgeons in our program use drains on all sleeve surgeries. It was removed the day of discharge. They use it to monitor for leaks and to prevent clots forming around the staple line. It was uncomfortable but temporary.

I use Atkins Lift Protein. I've had no issues with this one, I can't stomach shakes anymore.

My surgeon put me on Protonix twice daily and my heartburn has completely disappeared. I would ask your doctor for something.

I think the idea that you could never eat out again is not only unrealistic but sounds incredibly depressing. There is a social aspect to eating out that I feel is very important. It's all about making the right choices. I'm about 2 1/2 months post op with the Sleeve and I've eaten out a handful of time. I made smart, choices and focused on protein first. I follow a modified Keto diet as much as I can so when I eat out I look at different websites and try to follow their advice and guidelines. I have eaten fast food once. It was today actually. I went to Wendy's and ordered a single burger with no bun. They put it in a lettuce wrap for me but I chose to eat it with a knife and fork. I have the tomato and a little bit of mustard on it. I ate about 2/3 of the patty and had 4 of my mother's fries. I used my fitness tracker and a Keto website to figure out the nutrition facts. This will be my large meal for the day. My NUT has me on 800-1000 calories a day, 100 grams of protein and suggests my carbs stay below 50 grams but isn't steadfast on calorie counting. I'm well on track today still at under 600 calories for the day and only 20 g of carbs.

I'm 9 weeks out and I don't really track fat. I try and make good choices but I don't go crazy over it. My NUT said to worry about protein first so that's what I'm doing. I also try and keep my carbs low when I can but I don't beat myself up to much. My intake is so low that I'm not eating huge amounts of carbs or fats.

I cannot stomach protein shakes at all. I need a thinner version. I use Lift Protein by Atkins, it comes in 3 flavors. It has 20 grams of protein and drinks like a water.

1st: 3 weeks and lasted 10 days. 2nd: 7 weeks and lasted 5 days.

I lost 30 pounds pre-op and didn't change clothing size at all, I've since lost 31 pounds post op and had a sudden change in size in the last 2 weeks. I went from a 22 to a 20, skipped 18 and can now wear size 16 jeans so 61 pounds and 4 sizes. However, I haven't changed from a 1X top, I could wear an XL but I look squeezed into it. My scale is moving much slower than my inches as well.

I only took two weeks off from work. The first week back was hard as I was still in some minor pain upon movement. I was on pureed diet weeks 2-4 and then progressed to soft solids until 8 weeks.

I'm about 9 weeks post op and cleared for a regular diet. I had 1 slice, minus the crust, of super thin crust homemade pizza on Saturday night. I don't view it as cheating, I chose this surgery so I wouldn't have to never eat things again. My protein was met, my carbs are low so I figured why not! It set well, tasted great and I'm glad I did it.

I'm almost 9 weeks post op and I've been out to dinner a couple of times. Honestly it wasn't nearly as bad a I thought. I went out once when I was still on softs and just had soup. The past couple times were on a regular diet and I just had left overs to take home. I did a lot of slow eating and talking and nobody noticed or said anything. I was really scared about the change in my social life but I'm not so worried anymore. Lots of restaurants have healthy options now. I also look at the appetizers and childrens menu before I order but Ive found the entrees are better options in most cases.

Always be sipping and walking! That was my motto when I was freshly post op. Getting those fluids in is key and walking will move the gas which helps a lot. For me the first 2 weeks were the hardest and once I got over that hump I started to feel better and better.

I'm almost 9 weeks out and I would say I could probably eat a third of that. Maybe all of the turkey, a couple bites of veggies and maybe a couple bites of the cranberry sauce. I can eat between 3 and 5 oz per meal depending on what the meal is and how long I'm taking to eat it. If I'm eating slower over a long period of time I can eat more so I try and limit my meals to 30 minutes.

Are you on something for acid? Sometimes hunger could actually be stomach acid. I haven't had a lot of hunger but my doc put me on Protonix at 6 weeks because I was having indigestion issues. Turns out I feel hunger even less now. Also you might need protein. My NUT has me getting between 90-100 grams a day and I've felt better, my weight loss is better and I'm less hungry.

Have you spoken to your surgeon about your inability to tolerate different foods? Maybe there is another underlying issue that needs to be addressed?

I'm a little over 2 months post op and cleared for a normal diet. I spoke with my NUT, who from reading these boards tends to be a little on the free end, and she said that having a taste of sweets is something I have to try and see how it effects me. I had a bite of my husbands cake at a birthday party last weekend and it just didn't do anything for me. Before I would never forgo a chance at dessert but now I'm not bound by it. If I want a taste of something, I'm going to go ahead an taste it. I didn't have this surgery to live on a "diet" for the rest of my life but I've found that I rarely want the taste. I tend to crave fresh veggies now.

I had a lot of regret during the first few weeks. I felt like I was no longer normal, I felt like I lost part of my social aspect of life as there is little to do here besides going out to dinner and I missed being able to just eat what I wanted. I've never been a big comfort food eater but I was definitely a lazy eater. It was much easier most nights to just pick something up for dinner and I thoroughly enjoyed going out to dinner. As the days passed and I was able to eat more I felt a bit better. I'm a little over 2 months out now and I no longer regret my decision. I miss my relationship with food, I miss the ease of being able to just pick up a sub or pizza or McDonalds but I've tried to begin to build a new relationship with food. I've also forced myself out of my comfort zone. I've gone out to dinner a couple of times now and I've realized that I'm not much different than my friends. I used to feel self conscious when I was in an eating situation, like everyone was noticing that I could eat Appitizers, Entrée and Dessert but most of my friends could not. Now I leave food on my plate and have left overs to enjoy later. I'm the thinnest I've been in 20 years, I'm healthier, my knees don't hurt, I can keep up with my 3 year old and I'm 1 step away from no longer needed to seek out the plus sized clothing. It's worth it.

My plan allowed for pureed food to start at 1 week post op and then soft solids at 3 weeks post op before being cleared for regular diet at 8 weeks. I was able to start chicken at 1 week, but I found that tuna was easier in the early days. Also I still blended my chicken with mayo and chicken broth for quite a while because it was more moist. Now at 8.5 weeks I have no issues with chicken and can eat it regularly.

It will get easier and before you know it you will be back to a "regular" diet. I'm 8.5 weeks post op and that liquid diet feels like ages ago

I will be traveling in a couple weeks at 11 weeks post op. I'm currently a little over 8 weeks and am now cleared for a normal diet. Protein is the most important part for me. I'm not really counting calories or anything so I'm making sure to bring my protein supplements and sticking to high protein meal choices when traveling

I wish you the best of luck! I hope you get your take home baby.

Thanks for that tip. I've been wanting pizza badly lately so I might have to try this method. My local bariatric group has a pizza recipe that you use chicken as the crust but I'm not a fan.

I don't mind at all. It all started with a pregnancy loss at 10wks, after we healed from the loss we started trying for another and we could not conceive. We tried for over a year and then went to a consult for infertility. They did testing, said we had low motility and I wasn't ovulating regularly and we got the title of "Secondary Infertility". They suggested meds and IUI and everyone thought we would get pregnant quickly. Well, we did IUI, 9 rounds total. We did 6 with Clomid, took a break for a couple months and then did 3 months with injectable meds (Gonal-F and Lupron). They all failed but we got pregnant the month after our last IUI, my OB said it was likely due to the meds still as they were still in my system. Start to finish from when we started trying post miscarriage to my son's birth it was 3 years. I got pregnant again naturally when my son was 12 months and we lost the baby at 12wks. My daughter was a surprise, we conceived her naturally when my son was 16 months. I was shocked because we fully expected to have to do fertility treatments again due to the miscarriage and what happened last time. We also had a loss years ago but that was a very early chemical pregnancy and I was 19 at the time, much younger than I am now. My kids were born when I was 30 and 32

Two months post surgery today and I'm feeling outstanding. As of today I no longer have any dietary restrictions which is fun because I'm ready to start introducing some fresh veggies into my diet. I'm so ready for a salad. My surgical incisions are barely visible and I'm ready to keep working towards my goals. The first month was super hard, the second was easier, I'm excited for the future. Some stats: I was 301 at my heaviest when I started my program in July 2016. I was 271 morning of surgery (12/30/16) and I'm 242 as of this morning. I was a size 22 and a 2XL when starting. I'm now in a 16 and a XL.

I'm excited for lettuce so I can start eating "sandwiches" using a lettuce wrap method and for burgers too once summer finally comes back and we can grill again.