Taoz

That's fair enough. My sister did very poorly on multiple antidepressants too, and finds she copes better without the chemical interference. I have been on a very low dose of effexor for the past few years once I accepted that I just wasn't improving mentally after having my second child (we had two losses in between and a traumatic birth and first week which I expect had something to do with it, plus when I had a mirena put in it messed me up completely and triggered anxiety too). Regarding your current foods: I don't do well with very sweet things either, especially post surgery. Home made pureed soups made with home made gelatin-rich chicken stock where what kept me going through my liquid phase, along with a morning decaf coffee and less-sweet and non-milky protein waters. I now have a good collagen hydrolysate supplement (derived from beef gelatin) which dissolves really well in hot and cold liquids and doesn't add any noticeable taste. I read earlier that you don't use meat-derived broths, but perhaps you can find a similarly tasteless or savoury vegetarian supplement that you can have in your soups or vegetable broth? If you move on to puree phase in a few days you may find that helps you feel better and a little more yourself. Things like hummus and seasoned mashed avocado are lovely in purees. And thick hearty soups. I hope things improve for you soon. We are all here cheering you on from the sidelines *hugz*

Thanks Controvento. Yes, soup would be a good option if your are going out to eat in the first 2 weeks post op. Beware that tomato soup can be quite acidic so if you are prone to reflux so far perhaps look for a non-tomato based soup. I had a little pumpkin and potato mash during my liquid phase when it was part of a dinner I made for mother-in-law and sister-in-law, but I thinned it out with milk to quite a runny consistency first, and it wasn't that great (though at least something "different")

I'm now 4 weeks post op and officially able to move on from "puree and soft foods" to "regular foods transition". WOOHOO!!! I've also over the past few days progressed down from the dreaded "week 3 stall" weighing 102.5kg this morning (can't wait to fall under the 100kg mark!) I did already have some soft-cooked steak the other night (cooked medium rare sous-vide for 3 hours, so it was softer textured than how most people cook their chicken, I would strongly recommend against trying regular (chewy) cooked steak for a good while yet!). Today I picked up some of the ALDI very low carb bread and am considering trying a toasted piece of that with a soft-yolked poached egg (I can't eat hard-cooked yolks, the taste and texture make me gag really badly, so it's either poached with a runny yolk on some toast or scrambled eggs only). Good luck to those having their surgery in the last few days of May, and I hope those with earlier May dates are recovering and progressing really well

hehe, I love cheese too I had some melted colby cheese on steamed broccoli this afternoon eating gets so much better once you can have soft solids with actual texture again (even if it is in very small amounts initially). One of my soups had some cheese in it though, cauliflower and sharp cheddar soup Cauliflower Cheddar Soup.docx

If you are still only on liquids then hunger is quite common. Liquids don't tend to give you a "full" feeling and go through your stomach and system pretty quickly. You'll probably feel a lot less hungry once you start purees and soft solids. Make sure you keep up your water and vitamins, and focus on getting plenty of protein in in the meantime.

I found the pain easier than when recovering from emergency c-section. Ask for nausea medication before the surgery if you are prone to nausea, and keep up pain medicine post op as you don't want pain sneaking up on you and making walking and drinking sips of water difficult.

I knew it was inevitable. Aunt Flo had an extended stop over somewhere on her latest round trip, being due more the a week pre op but waiting until just over a week post op to arrive and decimate my abdomen. I had been so happy needing no pain killers these last few days and buzzing about doing my Mummy duties like normal since I came back from hospital. Then I had a little spotting two days ago as a pre warning, before the flood gates opened late yesterday. I have ALWAYS had really heavy painful periods (except when moderated a bit by the hormonal pill) and was knocked off guard by it not hurting too badly yesterday and overnight, though I did take my prescription 1000mg paracetamol/acimetophen with 60mg codeine before going to bed. This morning an hour after I got up though, the devil started throwing a party in my abdomen and I was doubled over in pain. I've now taken my prescription pain killers and one of my few remaining post op endone tablets and an curled back up in bed feeling sorry for myself. I am really really hoping that as I lose weight and have less adipose tissue contributing to my oestrogen load that the monthly pain lessens. Have any other experienced sleevers found this to be the case??? I had a terrible experience with the Mirena IUD triggering massive anxiety and worsening depression, and hubby had the snip once we decided 2 kids completed our family so I no longer need to take hormonal contraception and didn't want to continue it and risk other long term pill use complications (it's possible that taking the pill from age 12 because of excessive pain and migraines contributed to my ballooning weight as a teen). I need to get this pain under control as I'm hosting an early mother's Day dinner for my husband's mum and older sister tonight (since we are at my mum's house tomorrow on Mother's Day). As I'm still on liquids I didn't want us taking them out to a restaurant as that'd be too difficult/awkward for me, plus at home I don't have to worry about the kids running riot somewhere. Thankfully dinner will be simple roast chicken wings, steamed veggies and a potato and pumpkin mash so nothing too fancy or complicated. Thanks for anyone who made it all the way to the end of my whinging rant. *Hugz*

Some people develop temporary lactose intolerance for a while post op. Try switching to protein water or a dairy free protein supplement and see if you tolerate that better? I mostly have protein water and a collagen hydrolysate (derived from beef gelatin) protein supplement in my soups and decaf tea/coffee. And my multivitamins and benefibre supplements (which makes up for the fibre and added vitamins I'm not getting from meal replacement shakes).

At 5 days post op (and after reading about a few people's horror experience with constipation) I started taking some combination stool softener and laxative tablets and went #2 at 7 days post op. Every 2-3 days since while on liquids.

I think my surgeon has 2 week, 2 month, 6 month, 12 month, 18 month then yearly follow ups (don't know for how long), but they don't have additional visit costs, they are included in the $3000 out of pocket costs with my surgeon.

Yes, they were giving me regular doses of buscopan in hospital to help manage stomach spasms, and I had a pack of them included in my discharge medications.

are you also getting in your bariatric multivitamins and 64oz (2L) + water/fluids? As others have said, it might be that the processed protein foods/supplements you are having are a little high in processed carbs and not giving you the kind of satiety (and nutrition) that you'd get from things like gelatin rich soups, soft-cooked meats and eggs, or fibre-rich steamed vegetables and porridge (rolled oats cooked soft in water)? I'm adding a 14.5g collagen hydrolysate protein supplement to my morning coffee with a cup of 1% milk, and having half a protein water during the afternoon for another 18g protein, with the remainder of my nutrition coming from my breakfast (2/3 of a serving of porridge), and steamed veggies and soft chicken/fish for most of the rest of my solid foods, and home-made blended vegetable soups as part of my liquids. I"ll sometimes include half or a whole quest protein bar if I'm going to be caught out/away from home for a few hours when I need to eat. Or, you might just be someone who loses slower. Everyones genetics, dieting history, metabolism and hormones are different. If you are doing more exercise you may be building more muscle while losing fat, or holding more water temporarily. I've been progressively losing size since I started my 3 week pre-op VLCD, and am currently 3.5 weeks post op (just finished the common "3 week stall" where I stayed around 104kg for about a week before the scales started moving again the other day). Keep talking with your nutrition team about what you are eating, and how you are feeling, and they should be able to provide you the most practical and suitable advice.

the 3 week stall is really common, often hitting at the point you move up to purees or soft solids (I'm in it myself, have been at 104kg for almost a week now) and it doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong. You're body is likely still shrinking and re-adjusting to the massive change from the surgery, and still working to heal your stomach. I still weight myself every morning but when I see the same number I just say to myself "nope still in this stall, will check again tomorrow" and move on with my day. If you are following your plan your weight loss will resume as soon as your body is ready for it. If you have a search here you'll find SOOooo many people post about stalls hitting, many at the three week mark, worrying that their surgery is failing (or that they are doing something wrong). Chin up and keep kicking those old junk-food cravings to the curb. It's a life-time mental fight against old habits and old food-comforts but it is WELL WORTH FIGHTING FOR YOUR HEALTH. You can do this! *hugz*

Welcome aboard Melrami! I hope you are at home now and recovering well. My home made soups were SOOOooo good once I got home

congrats! Every day should get better from here. Drinking gets easier, walking get easier etc. Be patient with yourself and heal well

Track what you are having with something like MyFitnessPal to get an idea of how much protein you are getting in daily. You want to be getting at least 60g protein EVERY DAY, preferably a bit more. If you aren't managing to take any of your protein shakes and aren't having any substitute protein supplements you are probably taking in well below your daily protein needs. You REALLY want to be getting enough protein in, especially during the rapid weight loss stage, or you will lose some of your lean muscle mass/organ weight along with the fat loss, and less muscle means slower metabolism. When you get to soft foods you can eat some stuff like chicken, but you'll only fit in 1/3 cup or so, which is about 5g protein. or a whole scrambled egg, which is 7g, and that's a whole meal in the early weeks. So you are still going to need additional liquid protein sources until you get like 2-3 months out and are able to eat enough in your meals to get 60g+ protein from food through the day. I struggle with the texture/artificial nature of the shakes too, but find protein water a lot easier to drink (the Bodie'z protein water I have here in Australia is stevia sweetened and not overly sweet). Other options are proteins like Collagen Hydrolysate which is derived from gelatin and is pretty much tasteless and can be added to a cup of tea/coffee or a bowl of thin soup for a 14.5g protein boost. Similarly, real home made chicken stock has about 6g protein per cup, so if you can drink some of this, or make your soups from it, you get a decent amount in during the day. Commercial/canned soups probably have very little protein per cup (check labels). Skim or 1% milk also has about 9g protein per cup (but also has a fair few sugar calories). I now have first thing in the morning my 2 shots of decaf coffee with about 2/3 cup hot 1% milk + benefibre + 15g Collagen Hydrolysate mixed in, which gives me 21g protein right off the bat.

I did a major email mailbox cleanup the other day. I rather enjoyed unsubscribing to lots of places I've needed to buy plus size clothing from in the past (since in store plus size options are so limited). Locally places like Millers and City Chic, and a few overseas companies too. I also visited the REGULAR womens clothing section of a Target store the other day! And I actually felt a bit lost / overwhelmed by how much stuff there was too look at / consider LOL. My size 26 fleecy jacket and size 24-26 shirts were just getting too baggy for me.. now I have some size 18 shirts and a size 20 fleecy jacket! We are just about to start winter here so hopefully these will take me a fair way through it. I have a huge (and still growing) pile of size 22-26 clothing I need to sort and sell/donate shortly.

were you drinking the current shakes/liquids during your pre-op diet? A lot of people get headaches either in pre-op or post-op from caffeine or sugar withdrawal, or from additives in the liquids they are drinking (I can't have optifast stuff because aspartame and MSG in its many hidden forms are terrible headache/migraine triggers for me). if you are having any form of store-bought stock/broth/soups you are consuming MSG (even in the "no added MSG stuff, it's just a marketing ploy as they still contain yeast extract, or hydrolysed proteins or "natural flavor" or any of the other 129 hidden forms of MSG they can use while still stating "no added MSG 621"). Most diet drinks/products contain either aspartame (sweet) or MSG/hidden MSG (savoury/soups). I had to find meal replacements that were stevia sweetened instead, and can only eat my own soups made with home brewed chicken stock.

what did doctor put you on? was it something like nexium (a Protein Pump Inhibitor medication) or some other type of antacid?

quite a few people have trouble tolerating scrambled eggs early on. And sometimes it can just be a bit too soon for some textures for some people - everyones stomach is different. I didn't really enjoy scrambled egg when I tried it just over 2 weeks post surgery either. I've left it for another week and will try it again soon.

I'm going to have to look up that recipe My favorite lunch at the moment is a single corn cruskit (24 calories) + 1/4 of a smallish hass avocado, smashed and seasoned with salt & pepper (63 calories) + about 1/3 of a cup of very soft cooked chicken thigh on top (47 calories). 6g protein, some healthy avocado fats, tastes delish and is just the right volume to fill me up at 3 weeks post op. The cruskit kind of dissolves as you chew it, and the chicken thigh is soft enough to squeeze and pull apart, meat is taken from skin-on, bone-in, chicken marylands seasoned and cooked for 4-6 hours sous vide at 165F - the skins, juices and bones are then frozen and saved for the next batch of chicken stock I brew.

thats disappointing. the peptipro collagen powdered supplement is 14.5g protein in 15g of the powder (approx heaped dessert spoon). This amount is suitable to mix into 250ml liquid.

I never find much at local charity shops in plus sizes, most of the clothing they have is size 14 and under, so I haven't bothered looking there yes. I had to go to the shops yesterday to get a few essentials though as I was starting to really swim in my old size 24-26 shirts and jackets (it's almost winter here in Australia). I bought 3 long sleeve shirts in size *18!* for about $6 each, and a single $12 zip up hooded fleecy jacket in size 20. I already bought the size 20 track pants I@m now wearing when I shopped the week before my surgery, knowing ill fitting pants would fall down rather than look too baggy. I figure these should cover me for another month or two, even when a little oversized, and were cheap enough for me to be happy buying new.

It sounds like you are really unhappy in your relationship right now, and your partner is taking everything he needs from you and giving nothing but attitude and negativity back You said you can't afford financially to leave him right now, and your words give the impression that finances are the only reason you are still there, but staying in this current negative relationship is likely going to cost you a lot emotionally and that will take it's toll on you physically too. You have finally been able to do something for YOUR self and YOUR health, after more than a decade of focusing on your partners problems and needs, don't let that come undone. Are you able to work towards a situation that is financially safe for you to be on your own? Can you live with family for a while? can you call on social security / spousal (mental/emotional) abuse emergency supports/housing/funding? Best wishes for happier and healthier days to come.

If I had type 2 diabetes and GERD before surgery I'd likely have gone with bypass (either RNY or the newer omega loop mini bypass) since GERD tends to worsen with sleeve, and bypass seems to be more effective at curing diabetes symptoms. I didn't have either of these conditions though, and I eat a lot of organic home grown produce and home made chicken stock/bone broth and I didn't want to lose some of that nutritional value through bypass malabsorption (and then have to take larger quantities of artificial nutrients to make up for it, including B12 injections). I also don't tend to eat much sugary food, but would prefer to avoid the risk of dumping syndrome if I were to have the odd sweet treat or fatty meal once I'm at goal weight (especially if I lean towards paleo or ketogenic diet long term). I felt the sleeve was a better option for me, however if in future I developed GERD that wasn't sufficiently managed by medications then I will consider a revision to bypass.