Bohemian101

Your hair looks fabulous! I recently cut mine from mid-back to shoulder too and love it. I don't feel like I need to hide any more. This is a great thread. It's funny how this surgery affects you in so many ways other than physically. My mind plays tricks on me all the time. Just this week I went to the beach with my son and forgot our chairs. My immediate thought was "If I try to get down in the sand on my beach towel, I won't be able to get back up". Then I remembered that I can get up from the floor now. I also went to dinner on the boardwalk with hubby and the restaurant had an hour wait. The waiting area was outside and I was freezing, so he suggested we walk up the boardwalk a bit to a souvenir shop where I could get a light jacket or sweatshirt. Well my immediate reaction was to say that they won't have anything in there that will fit me, but he made me go anyway. I saw a cute pink zip hoodie but they only had it up to a size large. I said "OMG this is cute but look how small it looks!" He said...."Ummmm that will fit you. You're not 300 lbs any more so try it on." And it did. I almost teared up over being able to walk into any old store and grab something off the rack like a "normal" person. I also find myself constantly wondering if I can fit in a booth, a chair, walk from point "A" to "B", get into or out of a certain position and am still trying to learn this new person I've become. I've realized that I don't even know what style clothing I like because my whole wardrobe has always been whatever fits or best hid my fat. The therapist I had to see pre-surgery suggested that I take weekly selfies to help my mind jive with my body. She said that seeing yourself in a photo gives you a better sense of what other people see as opposed to looking at your reflection in a mirror because your mind will distort it since it's been accustomed to seeing the same person looking back for so long. Good advise - more selfies it is! lol

I starting losing hair like crazy about 4 months out. I'm at 8 months now and I've noticed that it's not nearly as bad as it was so seems to be slowing down. Luckily I had very thick hair, so I wasn't sad to see some of it go. lol

I'm about 8 months out now and have had foaming as well. It may start with a runny nose at times and is usually related to me eating too quickly or something not agreeing with my sleeve. If I don't stop eating, I'll usually vomit. But the good news is that it's happening much less often as time goes on. You also can have silent reflux, which is GERD/reflux without the obvious feeling of heartburn. Your MD may want to put you on something like Prevacid or Prilosec to see if that helps. As for peeing, you're most likely not urinating because you're dehydrated. Dehydration can be very dangerous because it effects your electrolytes which regulate things like your heart, muscles, and blood pressure. It also puts strain on your kidneys. So try to sip, sip, sip all day and even keep water beside the bed to try to get some in at night. I've been perpetually constipated since my surgery, so take a stool softner and fiber supplement daily or it's not pretty. Increased protein and not being well-hydrated can cause constipation, so it's no wonder that so many sleevers have issues with it. Once you get a bit further out from your surgery and can tolerate fiber, it will help. You're still only a few weeks out and recovering from an infection on top of it, so you're body is under a lot of stress. Hopefully as you recover and more time passes, things will balance out for you. Hang in there - it does get easier!

Thanks for the replies. I've had my gallbladder removed years ago so know it's not that. But I've also had a high ALK phosphate level for years. I had a liver ultrasound last year and it was fine but seeing the bilirubin pop up in my urine scared me. I'm thinking my liver is just "under construction" and is adjusting like you said. I'm not sure what's up with the Protein showing up though. I thought maybe it was something that a lot of post-sleevers have encountered. Hopefully if I increase my fluids, next week's urine test will look better.

Hello, I saw my PCP yesterday for a routine check. I'm about 9 weeks post-op and won't have my first set of labs done with my surgeon until next month. Well, my PCP did a urine test and it shows that I have Protein, Calcium, bilirubin, and ketones in my urine. I'm not surprised by the ketones since I'm obviously eating a low carb diet so am in ketosis. I've never had any kidney issues before and my blood works shows I'm not dehydrated/electrolytes are fine. I've lost 50 pounds since I started my pre-op diet (so over the course of 10 weeks). I'm thrilled with the results so far but worried that the rapid weight loss has affected my kidneys. I messaged my surgeon but haven't heard back yet and my PCP just said to increase my fluids and she'll retest me in a week. Does anyone have any experience with this?

My surgeon's office has a nifty little store in the front with Protein shakes, bars, Soups, Snacks etc so you can try out different things to see what you like before you order a whole box of something. I saw these little packets of LiquaCel concentrated protein and grabbed a few. They are really tiny and come in flavors like watermelon, grape, orange, and mango. I add them to my Water or even to skim milk which takes like a creamsicle if you use the orange flavor. They have 16g protein in each pack and my friend told me she uses them to add in when she makes sugar free Jello as well. I recently saw them on the site that I buy my Multivitamins, so picked up a whole pack. I also did better with the sugar free carnation instant Breakfast (in the blue box) than I did with protein shakes. The protein shakes reminded me of a pepto bismol consistency. lol I'd mix a packet in my ninja with skim milk and 2 ice cubes and it was kind of like a thin chocolate shake with no aftertaste. I rely on unflavored protein too and just throw some in whatever Soup or yogurt I'm eating for a protein boost.

I've had 3 midline C-sections (the up and down vertical incisions - not the cute little bikini line ones. lol) and my sleeve surgery was a breeze in comparison. I was up and walking that night with just a little discomfort. Even though I had pain pump, I was only use the bolus button 2-3 times (mainly before walking the hall and right before bed) a day for the first 2 days so they just discontinued it all together. When I got home, I used some of the liquid vicodin for the very first day and then didn't need anything after that. It was easy - peezy!

Surgery 12/6/17 Pre op diet weight: 312 Date of surgery: 309 Current weight: 278 (but have been stuck here for about 4-5 days/ugh!)

I'm a little over 3 weeks post op and within a few days of transitioning to real food from soft/mushy. I've had no problems and have tolerated everything just fine. Well tonight my family was enjoying the last of the Christmas Cookies and I was trying to be good so decided to try a few bites of a Quest white chocolate and raspberry Protein bar. I figured it was soft and I could easily chew it into mush. I realized after eating some that it had little raspberry seeds in it. Now I'm. freaking out because I know I'm not supposed to have nuts or seeds until about 4 to 6 months. Do you think th is could affect my sutures and how would I know if a seed or two did get stuck? I've been super compliant so far so am kicking myself for risking things for a few bites of a stupid protein bar! Sent from my SM-G935V using the BariatricPal App

Just realized my reply posted to the wrong thread. This was in response to babytaz who posted above you. But you look fabulous as well! Congrats on the weight loss so far. Sent from my SM-G935V using the BariatricPal App

I can't tolerate many of the powders but I do like the syntax nectar peach fuzzy navel flavor. I put in in my ninja with Water and ice or with milk and a few spoons of yogurt for more of a Creamsicle/orange Julius taste. I also can handle the premier Proteins. I like the vanilla since it seems to have less after taste and get them delivered through Amazon subscribe and save program for 15% off. If I'm in the mood for chocolate, I just do the carnation light start instant Breakfast in the blue box. Mix it in ninja with a few ice cubes and a dash of sugar free caramel syrup. Makes me feel like I'm having a milk shake! Sent from my SM-G935V using the BariatricPal App

You look awesome for just 3 weeks out. I'm about 10 days post op and just starting to notice little things like my ring/bracelets feeling loose, less shortness of breath, oh..and cheekbones! Lol Good luck with the gym and don't worry about failing like before because you're not the same person now! You obviously have strength and willpower to stick to the pre op and post op diets and as the weight melts off, exercising will be much easier than before the surgery. (I haven't started exercising yet but I'm expecting it to be easier and dare I say, it may even become fun??) Good luck! Sent from my SM-G935V using the BariatricPal App

Hi everyone, Just wanted to give an update. I had my surgery Tues 12/6 and came home from the hospital yesterday. The surgeon discovered I had a large hiatal hernia once I was in the OR, which he repaired. It added about 30 minutes onto my surgical time, but I was still out of the OR in less than 2 hours, then I spent about an hour in recovery before heading up to my room. The surgery went better than I could have hoped for. I've had no nausea, minimal gas pains that pretty much take care of themselves if I just move around a bit, and the pain was less than I had with my C-sections. I had a dilaudid pain pump and could hit the bolus button up to 3 x hour but only used it a total of about 7-8 times the first day and 4 the second. I was up in the chair the evening after surgery and sat comfortably for a few hours, then walked around the unit a few times the following day. Once I was able to start drinking, I had no trouble handling the 6 - 30 cc cups of Fluid in an hour, even though they told me it would probably take some time to work up to that amount. Today I've been able to walk around the house a bit (with some help getting out of the recliner. lol) and have been able to tolerate some skim milk, sipping slowly of course, strained fat free cream of mushroom soup, a sf popsicle, and have been doing good getting down my Water. I tried a few sips of a Premier shake but felt my stomach bubbling and shortly after had some diarrhea, so think I'll put the shakes on hold for a few days before attempting again. I used some of the liquid pain medicine at bedtime last night but haven't needed any so far today. I am feeling a little sore though at the moment, so I may use some now and then take a nap. I know that I was really worried about the potential complications pre-op, so I feel really blessed that everything has went great so far and thought I'd share some positive vibes. I hope that everyone else has an easy road ahead as well.

Hello all, I've been reading the forum for the last few months in preparation for my big day. I want to thank everyone who takes the time to respond to questions, as well as tell their stories, I've learned so much and you all have been a big source of inspiration! Now for my question, I have been on my pre-op diet for 10 days and have been compliant. It's the standard Protein shakes (my surgeon did recommend that our protein be at 30 g or less in the pre-op phase which is different from what it seems everyone else is doing), sf jello/pudding,broth, and sf drinks. My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow AM and I've noticed since yesterday that I've had some noticeable soreness where my liver is located in my right lower quadrant and up towards my rib cage. It's not gas, a pulled muscle, and I've already had my gall bladder removed years ago so I was wondering if somehow it could be related to the liver shrinkage? Has anyone else noticed this on their pre-op phase? Thank you!

Wow, you look amazing for only 2 months out. You can see those curves coming through. I'm "doing the deed" tomorrow and am a little nervous and wondering if I'm doing the right thing. But seeing the results like yours makes me feel confident in my decision. Everyone asked me why I didn't want to wait until after the holidays for the surgery, and I kept saying why wait another month when I could be down 20-30 pounds by then. I've been fat long enough and have definitely ate my share of Christmas Cookies. lol

Today is the last of my 10 day liquid diet. My surgery is tomorrow. Just wanted to say to those going into the pre op phase that it DOES get easier once you get past the first few days. I started mine the Friday after Thanksgiving (guess if you're going to have a last meal, turkey day is the day to do it!) and it was really hard through the weekend. I was starving, cranky, and had a ton of cravings, plus I had to work 10 hour shifts and everyone in my office eats constantly. Then came a day around the 72 hour mark where I started having the ketosis headaches, fatigue etc, but I just drank a ton of Water to try to flush the junk of out of my system and it passed pretty quickly. Once I got over that hurdle, the past 6 or so days have flew by. Knowing that I'm risking an open procedure if my liver is not in tip-top shape definitely kept me from cheating. I guess since I'm not on the carb roller coaster any more, I'm not having much cravings and am not thinking about food all the time. My hubby and son can even eat around me without me wanting to kill them. Surprisingly if anything, I'm craving protein/meat. The biggest thing I've realized over the past 10+ days is how much I was eating out of boredom and/or stress. I've noticed that the times I do think about food is when I'm either bored or worrying about something. I think the liquid diet not only prepares you physically for the surgery but starts the process mentally as well. Good luck to all!

Whew, glad to know that someone else had the same issue. I was worried something might be "off" and with my surgery tomorrow, I didn't want anything to complicate things.

12/6 yipppeeeee!