orionburn

Are you trying to do a bunch of sips in a short amount of time, or spacing them out? Try taking a single sip every 5 - 10 minutes until it gets easier. The swelling is what makes it so difficult at this point. It will get better in short order so you just have to hang in there. You're what...2 or 3 days post-op now? This part sucks but you'll be surprised at how big a difference in how you feel in a few days. I stayed on top of my pain meds the first two weeks. When time was up to take another pill I took another pill. By the end of the weekend you should start to feel much better. Best wishes on your recovery!

Forgot to post earlier this week to update my 6 week follow-up appointment. So far so good on everything. Getting back to regular foods has been wonderful of course. That 2 weeks before surgery and the 4 weeks of liquids & pureed was rough but it also was a valuable learning period to know the difference between real hunger and head hunger. My appointment was uneventful. My weight loss has tapered off a bit in the past two weeks. It had been about a pound a day but for the past week or so my weight had been stuck around 285 with some back and forth. Today I came in at 283 and that puts be at 35 lbs down in 6 weeks. I'll take it! I admit I was starting to mildly freak out with the stuck scale but I knew things would slow down a bit at some point. I got my old gym membership going and will be hitting it for the first time in a long time starting today. Since my sciatica is doing better I'm hopeful I can have a decent workout for once without being in terrible pain. And I'm also not dreading going to the gym. May sound dumb but when I'm focused on going to lift and build muscle I love going to the gym. When it was all about weight loss and doing cardio I loathed going, so I'm actually excited to be getting back at it. I won't see my doc again until 12 weeks out and am pretty much cleared to eat all foods again. Our office has a support group meeting once a month and will be going to that in a few weeks to see some old faces and keep some accountability going for myself. At this point just knocking on wood for continued improvements and fingers crossed that my initial complications were just a matter of getting that out of the way a head of time so I don't have any future episodes.

I'll second that the U.njury brand is really good (for the love of God I wish they'd fix the broken hyperlink). The chocolate was one of the best protein powders I've had. The strawberry and vanilla were meh in my book, so definitely get a sample pack. One word of caution - don't buy truckloads of any one protein powder for post surgery. Prior to surgery I loved my U.njury. Post-op I wasn't much of a fan. I went through a week or two of everything just tasting weird. I currently use Body Fortress protein powder. It's not the best but I can stomach most anything. They do have a ton of flavors to choose from. Optimum Nutrition makes a great powder as well but their pricing has really gone up over the years. The cost is worth it if it is something you like. You might try going to a local GNC or vitamin store to see if they have sample packs of powders. That way you can get a good variety without committing to buying a tub of something you hate.

In all sincerity best wishes to you on your journey. The first few weeks can be a challenge so that's why we're looking out for you. It really is sad to see people cheat post-op and seriously suffer from their decision, and worse is the potential damage you could to yourself. Good luck!

Those were my main reasons for choosing sleeve over bypass (and I originally went in with a plan of getting the band but quickly decided against that). I wasn't a sugar junkie so the possible dumping syndrome that can come with a bypass wouldn't do me much good. I was a binge eater and/or poor portion control. At dinner I could care less about a dessert, but I'd gladly take another helping of pasta! lol Like Bryan said I had concerns with the malabsorption and decided the sleeve was best for me. Are you facing any other health issues that could help determine which course would be better? I had to get weight off because of back/sciatica issues. Even if I don't lose as much weight or it doesn't come off as quickly with my sleeve I'm okay with that. I want it to be a slow & steady pace. I was around 350 when I went to my first meeting. If I was heavier (I was near 400lbs at one point in my life) I might have given more consideration to the bypass if I had more weight to lose. If it really comes down to just choosing your preference then keep researching and go with what you think is best for you.

^That. It seems those are two fruits that people often complain about having issues with. Stick to lower acidic fruits at this point if you're going to have them. I've had no issues with peaches or pears in small amounts (mixed with cottage cheese). Give it a bit more time and try them again in a few weeks/months.

It isn't about judging others. If you're going to post a question then be ready for real world answers. Do you want people to pat your hand and say "there, there...it's okay" or be honest about the real risks of not following your plan after surgery? This period of time needs to be a wake up call on the changes ahead. You'll find some of the most supportive people in the world on this site, but if you're going to say others are judging you when you aren't happy with their answer then I don't know what to tell you.

If that's the case then you're probably fine. Some people's plans allowed them to have small amounts of veggies and/or lean protein sources. The point we're trying to make is that it's easy to say you'll follow things exactly after surgery, but if you aren't following your doctor's instructions now the concern is what guarantee after surgery? In the short time I've been here I've read enough horror stories of people that decided to eat regular food within a week and how miserable it made them feel. Good luck on your journey. The two weeks before & after aren't easy, but it'll be worth it.

Search the forum and you'll find many that have. Doesn't mean it's a good idea. The main goal is to get you into ketosis by having very low carbs to help shrink your liver, so if you're continuously cheating then you're probably keeping your body from going into it. The pre-op diet is not easy but you have to ask yourself if you can't follow guidelines now why do you think you will after surgery?

Congrats! That's awesome!! My short term goal is to hit 250. I haven't weighed that since middle school.

Surgery itself was around 90 minutes for me from what my wife said. Can't recall how long it tool me to wake up in recovery.

My sciatica didn't start until about 4 years ago, but as I've slowly put weight on in the past years (crept back up to 350ish) the worse it got. Outside of my arthritis and the sciatica generally I was in good health. It just put a big speed bump to physical activity, and having a desk job on top of it wasn't a good combo. I know I'm not ever going to be 100% because the back issue is degenerative, but if it pushes off back surgery for 10-15 years then I'll take it.

I had 6. A diamond type pattern on the front, then one towards my left side and one on my right side. My incision right above my belly button was the one that seemed to hurt the most. The rest were fine for the most part. As to having a "dent" I have no clue what that would be from.

My NUT of course prefers if we'd stay away from it forever, but they mainly want you off of it in the beginning because it's a diuretic. Since it can be such a challenge to get all of your fluids in the beginning they don't want you flushing it out of your system quickly. My NUT had a policy that if you were going to drink caffeine you had to drink extra to "replace" it. Meaning if you drank 1 cup of coffee you would need to drink an extra cup of water to compensate for it. I've tried having a little bit of regular coffee and it has not sat well with me so far, and I was a coffee junkie. Decaf hasn't been a problem, so I can only attribute the blah feeling being from the caffeine. I've done a few pots that were 1/4 regular coffee and 3/4 decaf and have been good. Over time I plan to increase it to half and half.

This is something I struggle to grasp as well. For example, last week I cooked up a sliced chicken breast. When I put 2 pieces on the scale it only came out to around 3 oz. These pieces were still fairly large in my eyes and I knew there was no way I could eat all of that. On the flip side I took some of that chicken and made chicken salad with it. When I eat half a cup of that I am stuffed. If I tried to eat 6 oz by weight of either I know I would be way over what I could safely handle. I completely understand using the scale, but at this point it hasn't served me well (mind you I'm only 6 weeks out). I've just stuck to using my measuring cup for now. The whole thing of 6 oz of weight vs 6 oz of volume has proven to be more confusing to me that I thought it would be.

Yep! Yesterday was my 6 week anniversary. Had a rough start after surgery when my spleen decided to spring a leak on day #3. Put me in ICU for 2 days, but bounced back fairly quick. Was a fluke thing and nothing the doctor did wrong. It's one of those rare anomalies that can happen. Outside of that my recovery has gone well, and honestly if not for my stupid spleen episode it wasn't as bad as I thought. Healthwise my sciatica has improved by leaps and bounds. While I still get some numbness and hip pain from time to time the nerve pain has almost vanished. Before I could only walk for about 5 minutes and then the pain would be horrible. My joints are doing much better and that's even without me being back on my arthritis meds yet. Despite the bumpy start I know I made the right decision. I'm down almost 35 pounds since surgery and it's made a world of difference to my health. Honestly if I had no health issues at all it would have been a harder decision to make on WLS, but given where I was at I felt it was my best option.

I will say the mental aspect to having WLS was much higher than I anticipated. In the final weeks leading up to my surgery I went through all the same second guessing. What if this, what if that. But I want to be able to pig out only on holidays and special occasions. I can control it if I just stay focused. I'm 40. Obviously my control hasn't worked so well since I've been overweight my entire life. Recently I was watching a show and a guy was getting ready to go into rehab and stopped to call his dad making all the excuses of why he didn't need to go. He could control it, it's only once in a while he likes to party, blah blah blah. This forum was a big eye opener for me because I saw a lot of people asking the questions that I was thinking mentally - "Well after surgery how long until I can start having bad food X, Y, and Z again?" That make me realize I was looking at this the wrong way. If all I'm doing is looking at how to get around my new smaller stomach then why am I going to do this anyway? When I quit smoking years ago I thought there was no way life could go on without cigarettes. Quitting was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do but guess what...life went on just fine. WLS is a tool. For me between being a binge eater and the mounting health problems I felt I was up against a wall. I was looking at surgery on my back but couldn't get it done because of my weight. My number one reason for getting WLS was because my sciatica was so bad and my quality of life was suffering horribly. It was really sad when I realized I was more worried about being able to pig out on Thanksgiving or a handful of other holidays instead of suffering in pain every single day like I was. What was more important? Still being able to go to an all you can eat Chinese buffet or likely have a heart attack in the next 10-15 years? Failure was and still is my biggest concern. It's worrisome knowing people gain all the weight back. I've come to look at WLS as going to an AA meeting. Both are tools to help you improve your life. You can take in all the info in the world but if you fail to actually apply it to your life then chances are you won't succeed. For me knowing that I'm going to have to fight each day helped me prepare mentally for the changes. Some days are going to be easy-peasy, and others will be a challenge. When it comes down to it you have to do what is best for you. All I can say is you have to weigh out the pros and cons and do what's best. I will say this - if you're concerned about not being able to eat half a pizza on your own versus being rid of long term ailments then that's probably a good place to start for some introspection.

First few days can be a real bear, but day by day things get better and you'll be surprised at how you feel in a week. Hope you have a speedy recovery!

Exactly. I had some complications so my supposed to be 3 day hospital stay turned into almost a week. I was so pumped full of fluids I came home weighing probably 5lbs more than I did on the day of my surgery. At this stage don't even bother looking at calories. Protein & water goals should be your only concern. If those aren't being hit that can cause a slow down in loss. Don't get discouraged but more importantly don't overdue it exercising. Last thing you want to do is hurt yourself forcing you back into the hospital. Things will kick in soon enough. Just be patient with it.

Go in today for my 6 week follow-up. Time has flown by. It actually feels like it's been way longer than 6 weeks. Seems like I'm in a wee bit of a stall. Only down about 3 lbs since last Monday 2/27. Not sure if it's because of switching back to regular foods (out of the pureed stage now) or what. Carbs are still relatively low and getting my water and protein goals no problem. I did get my gym membership going again and will be getting back at it finally so that will hopefully kick things back into gear. Hope everyone else is doing well!

Are you measuring out your portions? And how long does it take you to eat a meal (even if only pureed foods)? One thing that helps me is that I try to get up and move around for at least 5-10 minutes after eating. Seems to help things settle a bit. Even if it's doing some chores around the house I feel better when I'm on my feet rather than just sitting afterwards. The first few weeks after post-op were more of a challenge than I expected, but each week you will see progress. Today marks 6 weeks post-op for me. I'm back to eating most foods now and as long as I take my time eating most everything agrees with me just fine. The portion control is a big, big thing. You will find, however, that sometimes 1/2 cup of food X will sit heavier or make you feel fuller than food Y. It's a weird phase of learning how to eat again. It does get better, don't worry.

I remember the first time eating an egg thinking sarcastically "oh yeah this is going to fill me up" and then like 3/4 of the way through it I was tapping out...lol. I haven't been able to figure out why some days certain foods go down easy, and other days they sit heavy. When I could have eggs on a regular basis it was like that. One day I felt miserable eating one, two days later no problem at all, and then the next day it didn't sit well again. Think a lot of it boils down to the density of what you're eating. I'm 6 weeks out now and can get a 5.3 oz Chobani yogurt down no problem. Thinks like chicken salad or hamburger sit much heavier and 1/2 a cup is pushing it. Honestly the most important thing is to take your time. Take a bite, then put your spoon/fork down for a minute or or two. And by bite I'm mean I like baby spoon size bite. My doc's office gave me a little spoon to use and that's what I use the majority of the time now. It does help you keep to a proper portion at a time.

Post-op your stomach's wiring is going to be all messed up, so those typical signals that you're getting full aren't going to be there. The big thing is to measure out your portions. Start out small and slowly increase your amount over time. There are times when I'm eating and I can't just tell that I'm done. And it really does feel like one more bite and I'm going to be miserable. Other times I eat my meal too fast and it sits like a ton of bricks. I strive to take at least 20 minutes to eat 1/2 cup of food. Some things like yogurt will go down easier compared to other foods. I will say when you do eat a little too much it does make you feel miserable. It's weird having that "Thanksgiving full" feeling after eating a single egg...lol.

I think Subway disputed the % of chicken, but admitted the filler is just soy. It's the same with all the other fast food place's chicken.

Does your doctor require a pre-op liquid diet? - Yes If so, how long are you to be on it? - 2 weeks prior to surgery What foods are recommended? - Liquids only. We were allowed protein drinks (3 a day) and 3 other protein sources (Healthwise protein products like broth/cream soups and fruit flavored drink mixes) What foods are allowed and not allowed? - Were allowed no foods at all Is the goal ketosis (liver shrinking)? Yes. Weight loss during this time is naturally beneficial, but the number one goal was to shrink the liver. It's really surprised me at how pre-op diets are all over the place. Some required nothing but doing clear liquids the day before surgery, some people the diet for one week, two weeks, or a month, and some were allowed to at least have one small protein rich meal per day. Anyway, the above were the instructions we had to follow and that was the same for everybody in my doc's office.