HopefullXOXOXO

I just showered and took off the glue from my incisions. There's no fabric, as a thought, just glue. I decided to let water run on them for a few minutes, then let soap sit for a few minutes and they came right off. Not necessarily one strip for each incision, the bigger ones came off in pieces. I've been putting this off because I was afraid I would somehow open the wounds. Nope. No problem. Two weeks post op.

You'll be surprised how much better you feel everyday. I was off even Tylenol by day 6.

I'm 65 and retired and a lot of my socializing is also around food. I made the decision to tell all friends and family (some after the surgery) I'd had the surgery. It was no shock to anyone I needed to lose weight. LOL! Almost everyone is very happy I did something to help myself and my health. The only people who seemed less than thrilled were others who were overweight. I told them all I won't be able to join them for about another month or so while I continue to heal and eventually I can join them but just have an appetizer or take most of my meal home for leftovers. No matter what, I have to take care of myself first.

Officially two weeks post op today and had a scrambled egg with little bits of lean ham and it was delicious with just salt and pepper. I ate v e r y s l o w l y and chewed way more than I ever have before, as I was told to do. I was in heaven. I'm very surprised how well I'm doing 2 weeks out. I had sleeve and "complicated" hiatal hernia repair that itself took 1 1/2 hours in operating room. Only another 30 mins. for the sleeve. I'm mostly pain free, just a little once in a while. I did have heartburn earlier this week with a lot of intestinal gas that went away after a day. So far, I've only had one day that was emotionally difficult. Angry and crying. It was really about 1 1/2 hours but felt like a whole day. I'm 65 and retired and a lot of my socializing is also around food. I made the decision to tell all friends and family (some after the surgery) I'd had the surgery. It was no shock to anyone I needed to lose weight. LOL! Almost everyone is very happy I did something to help myself and my health. The only people who seemed less than thrilled were others who were overweight. I told them all I won't be able to join them for about another month or so while I continue to heal and eventually I can join them but just have an appetizer or take most of my meal home for leftovers. No matter what, I have to take care of myself first. I saw my surgeon yesterday and my incisions were glued with some fabric over them. The fabric has been slowly coming up off my skin. he told me yesterday it has to come off and to do it in the shower. It will come off easier when wet. This happens today. I was VERY scared from the time I was approved and the surgery and, so far, everything I was afraid of didn't happen. From reading so many posts on this site, it seems we all go through this. I can't say for sure that you will have no complications but it seems unlikely based on all the posts I've read. So if you haven't had surgery yet, take a deep breath, shop and plan ahead so you have what you need post surgery and try to put things in perspective. Complication rates for the sleeve really are very low.

Thanks Megg11! I'm happy to lose it slowly and consistently and really hope that's what happens. Just got home from the Dr. & nutritionist and was told the following about weight loss after surgery. First, like you said and others have said, the more you have to lose, the faster and more you lose right after surgery. Second, the healthier you eat before surgery, the slower the weight comes off. A man in his 20's will have a much faster metabolism than a post menopausal 65 year old woman (me!) and therefore the man with the automatically faster metabolism would lose more weight faster. Which all makes sense. I was told not to weigh myself but once a week and not to focus on the weight but focus on eating right, hydration and exercise. What will be, will be. This is what I'll do. I really haven't been focused on the number of pounds lost but am just surprised that anyone could not eat for two weeks and not lose more weight. The really good news is I'm approved to begin soft foods tomorrow!!! YAY!!! First up: scrambled eggs with little bits of low fat ham in them. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

I’d be thrilled with 7 pounds in one week. The 7 pounds I lost was over two weeks. Two other people here reported 14 pounds in two weeks. Considering I haven’t eaten in over two weeks, I really thought it would be more.

I'm two weeks post op tomorrow and have only lost 7 pounds since the surgery. Considering I've only had protein drinks, water, V8 juice and some broth, I don't get it. ??? I'm walking 30 minutes every day. I go this afternoon to see doctor and nutritionist and praying they tell me I can begin my soft food phase tomorrow. Your fish sounds soooooooooooo good Taoz!!!

My doctor knows I'm on Prozac (generic) and have been for years. Never mentioned anything about coming off of it. I can't imagine doing this surgery AND coming off of it at the same time. Is there a reason why he wants you off of it? I don't know why he/she would take away something that supports you mentally and emotionally at a time like this.

I was sleeved 5/3/18 and my doctor has me on just clear liquids and protein drinks for at least the first two weeks. I find out Wednesday when I'm able to move forward to soft foods. So far it hasn't bothered me but I am looking forward to some scramble eggs, hopefully soon. I've been taking my protein drink upstairs while my husband eats downstairs so I don't even see what he's eating. I can smell it and it always smells good, but so far haven't even been tempted.

And my temperature is normal. It must be part of the healing process is all I can think. It's SO unlike me!!!

Hey Everyone! Still feeling better & stronger everyday. I was really afraid pre op that because I'm 65 years old this process would be much harder for me than someone younger but I haven't found that to be true post op. YAY!!! The only unusual thing I've noticed that I wasn't expecting is, at least at this time of healing, I'm colder than usual. I've always run hot. Suddenly now I'm running cold. It's soon to be summer here so the timing is good!

Sleeved 5/3 and I haven’t been able to take a deep breath or talk loud since. Of course, I am breathing, just hurts in center of chest if I try to take a deep breath. I’ve been too tired to do the walking. I did finally walk for 10 minutes today but had to stop and rest twice. Nothing but Tylenol since 5/4 but still feeling weak and mentally foggy. Any thoughts appreciated! I am 65 so I’ve been chalking it up to my age.

Happy for you!

I also went through the "What was I thinking?" phase. Which really surprised me considering how hard I worked to get this surgery done. A week out and actually feeling pretty good. Very little pain with no pain meds or Tylenol. Getting my walking in and all protein drinks and fluids. Just know it does get better everyone.

Thank you. I really just wanted to be sure the small weight loss isn't unusual.

Had my surgery last Thursday and I swear I've followed all directions. 3 Protein drinks a day and lots of mostly water for clear liquids. Actually took me 3 days to work up to full 60 oz. of liquids. I tried V8 juice and crystal light but they didn't agree with my new tummy. It's just hard to believe that they removed part of an organ and I haven't eaten since last Tuesday night and have only lost 4.2 pounds. I'm sure my stomach is swollen after the surgery and wonder if this is why? Is it common to not begin losing much for the first week or two?

Thank you everyone for replying to my question. I am focused on my protein/fluid/spirometer/walking goals. I decided to stay off the scale for a week and was just very surprised the loss was so low. I knew there had to be an explanation for it but wasn't sure what it was. Thanks!

Thank you for asking WildcatGirl71. Since using the spirometer I'm doing much better. Was able to walk 1 mile yesterday and today. I still feel some restriction but it's much better than it was so I'll continue using it until I'm told not to. I'm officially 6 days out and didn't even take any Tylenol today. I'm not saying there isn't pain, but not enough I need pain meds. I'm doing much better than I expected to be at this point.

I read somewhere on here to take activated charcoal for the gas in your torso, not intestines. It worked great. I took before bed and at least TWO HOURS AWAY from any other meds. Got mine on Amazon and it's coconut charcoal. Not expensive and it works. Hope this helps.

Hi Everyone, I was sleeved 5/3/18 about 5PM. I want to share my experiences so far, both pre and post op. PRE OP: Pre surgery I went through what (I think) pretty much everyone else goes through...anxiety. I worked so hard to get insured and then approved and was focused on that and the need to get the surgery done. Once I was approved and it was really going to happen, it finally occurred to me that I was going to have surgery for the first time in my life (I'm 65) and I got VERY scared. I wrote about it many times here. It was actually a roller coaster for me cuz I kept fluctuating between "This is going to happen." and "I don't have to go through with this." My husband, God Bless him, told me he was ok with whatever my final decision was. The day of surgery when he left me with the nurse he said "I have my phone, all you have to do is call and we're out of here." His attitude definitely helped me deal with this. Many people on this forum kept reassuring me that the risks for the surgery are very low. I researched this and it's true. I have a specific medical condition that had me particularly concerned. I had to advocate for myself and not give up and be a pain in the axx until I got my questions answered to my satisfaction. I kept saying "This is something I know I need to do, but I'm doing to so I have better quality of life and longer life, the last thing I want is to die on the table." There were times I was in a panic. I was afraid of general anesthesia as much as the surgery. The truth is, there's actually an extremely low risk of death from this surgery. Ultimately, I had my wonderful husband's support, either way, and I made the decision to ask God to watch over me and keep me safe throughout my journey. I'm not religious, but consider myself spiritual. Meaning I pray everyday and I do trust and believe God loves me and cares about me and will take care of me. I was rolled into the operating room and I swear, I had no anxiety and hadn't been given any anxiety meds. Once in there, while everyone was gathering in the room and setting up, I said loudly "Can I please have everyone's attention?" they stopped and looked at me in surprise and I said " I know I probably won't ever see any of you again after this so I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for taking such good care of me." Everyone came to me at the table, very surprised, and each assured me they'd take good care of me. I felt completely at ease. Soon after the anesthesiologist asked me to breathe into a mask and the next thing I knew, I woke up in my hospital room. POST OP IN HOSPITAL: Husband was waiting in the room for me when I got there. I was out cold. He asked how I was & I told him it hurt but I just wanted to sleep and to go away. Nice, huh? After all his support? He stayed another 45 minutes until he realized all he could do was watch me sleep. Again, my surgery ended around 6:30-7PM, so it's now like 10:30PM. I slept through the night and have vague memories of people coming to take my vital signs, test blood, etc. throughout the night. I was VERY sleepy the next day. The call buttons in my room (2, me & roommate) were malfunctioning and kept going off without being pushed. The nurse would ask what we want and we'd say we didn't touch it. They'd have to come in to check on us anyway and were getting annoyed after a few hours that it kept happening. I'm thinking "You're annoyed???" I would just fall to sleep and one would go off again. I had been told it's possible to just stay one night and decided I needed to do whatever I had to do to get out of there and I thought it was just another barium swallow to check for leaks and started reminding them this needed to be done. I nagged and dozed until they brought be down for the test. I felt weak and wasn't even sure if I could stand, but had to. Good news, I didn't have to drink barium or a big quantity of anything. I was afraid I'd have to do exact same test as before surgery, nope. They gave me an 8-10 oz? cup, half filled with some clear liquid in it. I got it down and no leaks. YAY! Back upstairs I'm asking when I'll be released and was told I had to drink, and keep down, 4 cups of water or crystal light before I could go. They were 10-12 oz. cups. I panicked. It was like 2:30 and I really just wanted to sleep. I remembered to SIP VERY SLOWLY. I was fine. I just paced myself. Slept a bit, more vitals, etc. Then was reminded I also had to be up and walking around by myself before I could be released. So I did that, making sure to walk by the nurses station so someone would see. Eventually (around 4:30?) I threw one of the cups of water into the toilet because I knew I couldn't do it fast enough. Talked my husband into drinking another 1/2 of the other cups, then he refused. He said "If you really need to do this before you're released, then you have to do it." He had a good point. If they'd told me earlier in the day it was a requirement and I had started earlier, it would have been easier to do. By 5:30 I had finished what was left at the same time my doctor came in to check on me and tell me I could go. YAY! Truth be told, if it weren't for the malfunctioning call buttons going off practically nonstop, I would have been very happy to stay and rest and spend another night. We live a couple hours from the hospital, so was home and in bed by 9PM by the time they got my release papers together, the wheelchair and me downstairs and plus, it was rush hour in Boston. Soon after I got home I did vomit. It's the Oxycontin. I took once before and the same thing happened. All that came up was clear liquid and what looked like shards of dried blood. Because I really wanted my tummy to heal, I chose to stop taking it that night and haven't vomited since. POST OP AT HOME SO FAR: I slept like a baby that night. Out cold. I remember feeling pain throughout the night but not enough to wake me up. 40 hours post op, I switched to Tylenol only 1000mg. 3 X a day. I had some nausea that day as I figured out what to drink and how much. Trial and error. I drank 2 sips and waited. Fine. So, 4 sips and after the third went down, the 4th was in my mouth but I knew it wouldn't go down. It sat in my mouth for a few minutes, then went down, but I could feel it in my esophagus. So I stayed with 2 sips at a time with 10 minutes in between for a couple of days. Then 3 sips, yesterday I got up to 4 at a time with no problem. The first day home, I did not get all 60 ounces of fluids down. Second day I got close, probably 45 oz. Third day I got the full 60 oz. down comfortably and have stayed that way. I want to be sure to allow my new stomach proper healing and not do anything to aggravate it. By Monday night, I actually forgot to take nightly Tylenol. Took just one dose yesterday and probably won't take any today or from here. As far as my pain goes, I would describe it more as tenderness on the skin where the incisions are and I've had some internal pain that I'd really describe as spasms or cramping. Everyday it gets better. I did rest a lot the first three days wanting to heal and because I was weak and tired. I noticed I couldn't take a deep breathe. Like my breathing was restricted and I posted about it on here. An Angel answered me and told me to use the Spirometer they sent me home from the hospital with. My husband did pack up everything that was on the table, which included this weird blue thing. I didn't remember anything about it or any instruction on it's use. Once I was told what it was and how to use it and how often, my breathing got better, my alertness and energy got better and I was up and walking around more. I can't emphasize enough how important the Spirometer is! It's made a bid difference in my general overall feelings of wellness. My husband was able to "walk me" (he's been walking our dogs, but now also walks me! LOL!) the day after first using Spirometer for 10 minutes with 2 rests. Next day 20 minute walk with one rest. We'll see what today brings. I still feel somewhat unsteady on my feet at times because I'm somewhat dizzy. I have a problem with dizziness even without surgery, but it's worse now. I hold onto railings, my husbands hand and other stationary objects to make sure I don't fall. I move slowly on purpose. Plus I'm still a little mentally foggy. That part comes and goes. Surgery last Thursday night, it's now noon the following Wednesday and I can say all my panic and anxiety has proven to be for nothing. Not in pain today, just sporadic, temporary internal spasms that are getting better and fewer. Likely no pain meds today or after. I was very afraid I'd be STARVED, but no. I haven't found that at all. My husband has been eating his dinners in a different room and they do smell good but, so far, I have no interest in eating anything. So far. This was a huge worry for me ahead of the surgery. I was really afraid I'd need to eat something and not be able to and I'd hurt myself or make myself sick. This hasn't happened. I'm still concentrating on getting my 60 oz. of liquids down. I have noticed a bit of gas. Is it I'm now lactose intolerant? Is it cuz I'm making my protein drinks in a blender so they're like a milk shake with lots of air in them? Is this my intestines adjusting? Time will tell. I also didn't have a bowel movement 4 days post op and didn't think much of it until I was reading posts on here. I thought I hadn't actually eaten anything for 6 days so there was nothing to pass. Turns out there was. My doctor said to take 2 tablespoons of Milk of Magnesia and that worked within 2 hours and I haven't had a problem since. It's possible we all need something to get started. Bottom Line at this point: No complications or problems up to 6 days out from surgery. A few minor aggravations or inconveniences. Feeling pretty good and better every day.

Worked like a charm! In only about 2 hours. No cramping, just girgle sounds. I had the MOM in the house but no Colace. I'm hoping this will get me moving and I won't need it again. We'll see. I know the pain meds are all constipating and I haven't had any since Friday.

Thank you SO much!!! I was doing it wrong. Thank God for you and this forum! You would think they would have put instructions with it into my bag to go home from the hospital. Nope. I’ve already lost a few days but I’ll do what I can. I’m sure this is also why I’m so tired and foggy. I really appreciate your help!

They put some blue thing in my bag to go home with me that looks like some breathing thing. They either didn’t show me how to use it or I don’t remember. [emoji30]. I tried breathing hard in order to push what’s inside up the tube but I can’t get it to budge. Am I doing it wrong? How long and how often am I supposed to be doing this? 5 minutes 3 times a day for instance?

Unjury .com are the best I’ve tried so far. They have recipes that are good too. I had a chocolate peanut butter protein drink today that was really delicious. With their ready made drinks I prefer the vanilla

I was also sleeved 5/3 and have the same problem. Called doctors office and they told me to take 2 Tbsp. Milk of magnesia. Also suggested adding daily colace. Just took the MOM so I’ll let you know how it goes.