orionburn

Had our first family dinner yesterday as well. Everyone else got to enjoy homemade pizza while I had about 4 oz of mashed sweet potatoes...lol. The pizza smelled good but I wasn't even that hungry to eat my sweet potatoes.

It's so weird how this affects everyone different. Prior to surgery I was the opposite. I LOVED my Crystal Light (well, the Walmart equivalent at least) and would drink at least a gallon a day. Now though I found myself getting bored with flavors quickly. I now prefer plain Water to the flavored stuff. I'm still drinking Propel and Powerade Zero to help mix things up. Looking forward to things getting back to normal as well.

Oprah has enough money where she can pay somebody to follow her around all day long and slap Cookies out of her hand. Oprah is not a real life example to compare to. If anything she proves that dieting does not work for everyone as she has yo-yo'd all her life. I'm not quite 2 1/2 weeks post-op and I second guess myself at times, but I also know that I was out of options. I'm sure there will be times I still question it a year from now or even 5 years from now.

I'm a little past the 2 week post-op mark as well. Hunger really isn't a thing at this point. I drink/eat because I know I need to. Now that I'm on pureed foods I actually get a full feeling after eating, but I don't get that with liquids. I use Crystal Light for most of my drinks and change up the flavors as I get bored easy post-op for some reason. Nearly everyone says it will pass in time. Part of it is that our stomachs still figuring things out and the signals aren't there yet. In time it will get better.

Don't chase the scale. It's a bad habit to get into. I know we want to see it going down nonstop but it just adds stress. If you're going to weigh yourself do it at the same time of the day, like first thing in the morning. Weight will flux like the others said depending on what you've eaten, how much you've had to drink, etc.

Good luck to you!!

I just got the okay to have pureed/blended soups today at my 2 week post-op visit. I was told lentil soup was okay as well but my nut wouldn't let me have it until today. For the full liquid phase I could have creamed soups but they still needed to be blended and strained. It doesn't help that every doc seems to be different in what you can/cannot have in the different phases.

I had headaches too. Mainly because I waited too long to cut off my caffeine. Check with your doc to be sure but you should be able to take a Tylenol based product to help with the headaches. Ibuprofen is usually a no-no at this point. It does get better! For me the first 4 days were the toughest but after that things got easier. Hang in there!

Had my 2 week follow-up visit with the doc today. Doing really well at this point. Got the okay to progress to soft foods. Enjoyed a whole 2 ounces of refried beans tonight as my first "meal". Feels like I could eat a bit more but not going to push things this early in the game. Otherwise I'm pretty much back to being normal for 2 weeks post-op. Still bruised black on my side from the main "working" side and only have one incision that is itchy/annoying. Have some residue soreness in my shoulder from that initial bleed, but other than that the pain is minimal. Energy is pretty much nonexistent but no surprise there. I go back to work on Monday so the next couple days will help get me prepped for eating again. Thanks again for all the well wishes. Was a really tough 1 1/2 weeks but things are looking much better now. Haven't lost a bunch of weight in the two weeks but I'm okay with that. At 305 lbs as of this morning and was at 336 when I started my 2 week pre-op diet which means 30 lbs in a month so I can't complain too much

I second the sugar free Popsicles. I don't have any issues getting my Water in now, but it's a nice change of pace. Even my Crystal Light gets boring so the Popsicles help out. Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

Just to update I am doing better. Getting in my Protein and Water intake without issues. Weight hasn't changed much since prior to surgery (318 day of - 315 as of today). Temp bounces back and forth every now and then but seems to be stabilizing. Mainly dealing with fatigue right now, but after everything that I've been through in the past week I'll take it! I do have a bruise that is black as night and the size of a basketball on my right side, so that must have been where they did most of the work. Luckily that doesn't hurt any. Despite more downs than up in the first week I do not regret having the procedure done. Obviously I wish I could have been in the group that didn't suffer many of the unwanted side effects, but what's done is done. I knew the risks going in and was one of things out of my control, and don't fault the doc in any way.

The choice should ultimately be up to you. Do what you think is best for you. The band is becoming less and less popular for a reason so take the time to do the research on all of the procedures. Try making your own pros vs cons list of each one. Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

This is probably my biggest concern down the road once I can begin to transition back to normal foods. I know it's a mindset change in slowing down to eat, and I have been practicing that. I've always been a fast drinker and could wolf the food down when I was reckless. That being said even with all the recommendations of slowing down, small bites, etc., how quickly does your new stomach tell you to stop? Since we want to avoid that "Thanksgiving full" feeling I'm curious as to how quickly your body gives you feedback to say enough is enough.

Waiting at the hospital now for mine! Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

Heading out to the hospital in about an hour. Good luck to you guys as you finish up your pre-op weeks. Final weight was 318.2 and started the two weeks at 336. Been tough but worth it. See you on the other side! Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

Wish everyone the best for tomorrow. I know sleeping is going to be tough tonight. Hoping it won't be too bad. Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

In the same boat. 2 nights and 3 days sounds better when you're talking about Vegas, not the hospital...lol. Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

Keep yourself busy, and definitely keep on schedule of your diet guidelines. For me it was 3 shakes a day + 3 other smaller Protein sources. I got a kit from my clinic to do the 2 week diet. So I had a variety of Soups (just different broths more or less) and mixes to make Fruit drinks. Sticking to the schedule helps take the edge off. There were one or two days where I missed a Soup "meal" and it threw me off. I'll admit that some nights were kind of tough and I just went to bed early. It was better than sitting in front of the tv thinking of food. The first few days are the hardest. After the first week it's been easy for the most part. You have to keep telling yourself that cheating could destroy all that you've worked for. My doc put the scare into me that he won't do the operation if he gets in there and sees your liver hasn't gone down. If you've got hobbies then keep busy with those. That helped me out a lot.

Good question! I'm on 2-3 Protein shakes a day and 2 small meals of lean protein and vegetables (for 3 weeks). However, I will only have clear liquids 3 days pre-op. I've been in contact with my nutritionist about what I've been eating so far, and she recommended staying above 1200 calories a day to avoid my body going into starvation mode. Which makes me wonder about extended clear liquid diets that some people have to go through. My BMI is not low...I am (or was) pretty close to 50, after which doctors often recommend bypass and/or it becomes much more expensive. Here's my question about the liver shrinking part: do they measure your liver before you start your pre-op diet? How will they know that you've been successful? You might have a huge liver on the operating table, but maybe it was even bigger to begin with. I saw an episode of Fat Doctor on YouTube with 3 sisters - one had a perfectly normal liver, and the other's was huge (they didn't say about the 3rd). What was the difference? Compliance? The amount of drinking done in the years beforehand? The interesting thing too about the surgeon is that he recommends a milk diet for the pre-op phase, and I know others here can have dairy products as well, but I can't (because of the extra sugar). Why? Why!??!?! Doctors, please come up with something standard, or at least explain what your decision making is. I sort of feel like we are all guinea pigs for the surgeons who do bariatric surgery. It's the food more than drink that causes a fatty liver. Unless they would go in prior to surgery there's no way to measure the physical size of your liver until your day of surgery. My guess is it is mainly experience and they can tell how well you did in your pre-op phase. You have to remember every body is different and a doctor may feel that a certain diet plan is better for you compared to a plan for someone else. I simply look at it as being what they think is the best course of action for me. My doc has quite a few years experience doing this so I put my trust in him.

We'll probably be in surgery about the same time. I was supposed to be at the hospital at 5:30 tomorrow but they pushed it back a bit for some reason, so surgery time will likely be around 8:30 a.m. now. Today is nothing but liquids. Never thought I'd miss a Protein shake so damned bad...lol. Stopped and got myself some Powerade Zero this morning to have something different to drink for the day. I've had to do a clear liquid diet before so I'm not completely unused to it. Doesn't mean I enjoy it, though! They gave me a soap to wash up with but only instructed me to use it the morning of. Same thing, though - lather up really good and scrub the area well. I'll probably do the same as you and take a shower tonight and another one in the morning.

Been doing the same thing, but as another member pointed out to me we made this decision when we were rational and clear headed. I think it's natural to be nervous. Heck, my doc even said he doesn't like it when his patients aren't a little bit nervous...lol. I go in tomorrow for my surgery. Was stressing a bit last night, but doing better today. Like the others have said I've been back and forth my entire life and I'm tired of it. Got up to nearly 400 lbs, lived at the gym and got down to 265. Quit smoking, change of jobs (desk work), and slowly worked myself back up to almost 350. I've been overweight probably 35 years out of my 40. I'm still nervous about things on the other side, but I know what this side has been like and I'm ready to leave it behind.

The best way to think of bariatric surgery is to think of it as another tool for weight loss. It's not a magic pill. It really does require a change in attitude towards how you look at food and what you eat. I had a hard time trying to grasp how people could possibly gain weight back having a smaller stomach, but if you're still putting junk into your body then you aren't going to change. My surgery is tomorrow and I'm on day 14 of my 2 week pre-op diet. I laugh now thinking back to all those times I thought myself to still be sooooooooooo hungry after eating a plate full of pasta. It's taught me that much of what you perceive as hunger is in the head. If you don't follow the guidelines and snack all throughout the day and eat the wrong things then yes, you're going to gain weight back. It really requires a change in mentality.

In a nutshell there are 3 main types - gastric bypass, the gastric sleeve, and lap band. With the bypass you get a small pouch. Think of it as a bit of rerouting in how your body processes food. With the sleeve they remove around 90% of your stomach. With the band it puts a restriction around an area of your stomach mimicking having a smaller stomach in a sense. There are pros/cons with each one. While you will lose weight with any of them some forms cause greater weight loss, or at least quicker loss. It's a lot to list out but read through some of the FAQ threads in the forums, and there is a wealth of information online summarizing the main differences. I was set on the lap band originally, but after hearing how oftentimes they would have to go back in to adjust it or remove it due to complications I passed on that idea. The sleeve seemed like it would have a quicker recovery time and didn't really change how the body would absorb food. While the weight may not come off as quickly compared to the bypass that was a trade off I was willing to make. Definitely take your time, talk to your doctor, and do lots of research.

How's everyone else doing? Can't believe tomorrow is the big day. Originally was slated for 7:30 a.m. surgery time but it got pushed back an hour. I'm okay with that. We typically get up about 4 a.m. every day but I really didn't want to have to try and get to the hospital by 5:30 a.m. The extra hour will help. Good luck to everybody that is having their surgery tomorrow. Hope all goes well for all of us!

Hang in there man. I know it's rough but it'll be worth it in the end. For myself I have to look at it as 30 some years that I've punished my body by being overweight, so a couple rough weeks to make up for all those years of neglect is my way of making up for it.