glenna18

my wife says I woke up super nauseous after surgery but I don't remember that. Stomach pain wasn't that bad. Gas pain only bothered me a bit on the 2nd and 3rd day. I heat pack on my right should helped. Sleeping that first week was more painful. What helped there - a wedge (from Bed, Bath & Beyond - the really nice wedge). And a heavy tempurpedic pillow on my stomach. I couldn't sleep on my side and if I accidentally tried to situp in bed - major ow. But sitting on the sofa, or walking around the house - I had almost zero pain. The most painful experience I had was the first Bowel Movement a week after surgery. I've said this before - and it's worth repeating: 1) buy and take stool softeners 2) buy and take fiber one/metamucil powder (add to water) 3) buy and take miralax or something similar 4) if you don't have a bowel movement in a week, contact your surgeon's office. You don't want that turning into a dangerous situation.

Honestly I just cheat. I usually make general tso's chicken with a jar of general tso's sauce from the grocery store and usually just add broccoli and water chestnuts. But post OP I want less fat and sugar and more protein. I start with firm tofu and grill it with some olive oil spray in a pan. And now I use broccoli califlour and carrots. I may or may not add water chestnuts. I love them but they have no nutritional value so I dont know that they're worth it. I should probably get some nuts instead. Then I add teriyaki sauce. Jarred teriyaki sauce is a lot less sugar than general tso's but still really good. Now i do this but you may want to skip this - I add red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper. I'm not a huge fan of tofu but if its spicy enough good! Oh - when I brown the tofu I may add a little low sodium soy sauce as well for flavor and color. One time when I was feeling very adventurous I made my own sauce using soy sauce, honey and some other stuff but I dont remember everything I used. It was excellent but that was over 5 years ago. It's just easier to buy the jar of sauce from the store. My step son will likely have rice. None for me though.

Leftovers are a reality now after surgery. Definitely use a smaller plate. You can try to make less food, but it's difficult to cook a single meal for a sleeve. Not impossible - just difficult. Today I'm making Teriyaki Tofu with veggies. My step-son is home so i'll make a big pot. He gets 1 giagantic serving and I'll have leftovers for lunch this week probably. But - when I serve my portion today, I'll serve a sleeve portion to myself, and put the rest away before I even start eating. I may still not finish my plate, but I'll waste very little.

The liquid diet wasn't fun. I did lose 18 pounds in 12 days on mine though - so that was exciting. My surgeon told me I could mix fruit in my shake as long as I blended it thoroughly. I didn't want to overdo it, so I put a 1/2 of a small banana in my shake, and added a cup of ice. The banana helped, but the ice really helped. I turned a liquid premier protein shake of 11 ounces into a huge frothy 32 ounce shake that actually filled me up. The banana added maybe 35 calories. The ice - none. A couple of days I did the ice only. So I'd have a super thick 32 ounce shake that was way more filling that the 11 ounce premier protein shake. That definitely worked for me.

I think a big part of it is my stomach is probably a lot longer than yours. We have the same circumference stomach post-op, but if mine is longer, then I can hold more. Guys do have it easier. But i still have restriction. Just finished a bowl of BariatricPal Vegetarian Chili. Added 1/2 ounce of black bean spaghetti and 1/4 cup of fat free cheese. I ate a lot, but the last quarter cup is being put in the fridge. And I probably should have stopped 2 bites ago.

I was sleeved on August 14th. My doc told me I could have 1 drink on new years (after I asked). If I do have anything to drink, i'll have a sip of something at midnight but I won't have the full drink. I think physically I'd be fine to do so, but I'd rather focus on continuing to lose than having drinks.

It depends on so many factors. One of the biggest - what was your starting weight? The more weight you have to lose, the fast it comes off in the beginning. Another factor - for me - what immediate diet changes can you make? I made 3 drastic changes and a bunch of smaller changes. The drastic ones: 1) significantly reduce soda intake 2) significantly reduce alcohol. I had a full bar at home. I got rid of everything down the drain. 3) significantly reduce carbs. No more rice with my chinese food. Bye-bye pasta. (although I've since found low carb, high protein alternatives). Other factors - how long were you on a pre-op diet? I lost 63 pounds from March 7th to August 14th. 45 pounds was due to dietary changes - and a lot of that was honestly pressure i put on myself because I didn't want to give my surgeon or my dietician any reasons to not sign off on my surgery. I try to get my 10000 steps every day. I probably hit that 5-6 days a week. And I certainly don't mean to be sexist by saying this, but men lose faster. Everything else being equal, men lose weight faster. But - this isn't a race. This is unique in that the first 6-9 months post-op are supposed to be the easiest time to lose weight because of the lack of gherin so you'r just not 'as' hungry. While you definitely want to lose weight in the first 6-9 months post-op, you also want to really learn proper eating. Smaller portions. Better choices. Protein first. Low carbs. More veggies. Water is good. Sugary drinks are bad. But most of all, talk to your doctor and dietician and follow their recommendations for food - and activity! I have no idea what your starting weight was, how much you lost pre-op, and how much you've lost post-op, but 25 pounds lost on a 5'3" frame is still a big deal! It's hard not to compare your success to others (i do it too) but for today - focus on your success. 25 pounds lost so far is GREAT!

My doc put me on full foods at 16 days post-op. I was on full liquids for 1 week, mushy food for 1 week and then full foods. I'm not dead, so I doubt you'll die either!

I'm new to this, but I think it's a combination of 'slider' foods and overall wrong foods. The restriction is definitely helping me, but I feel at times it'd be super easy for me to make a bad decision about food. But - I went through a lot for this surgery. Even with insurance it was expensive. It's also pretty drastic. They cut most of my stomach out. And it's irreversible. Why would I do anything to jeopordize this? So I plan to follow the plan. Protein, veggies, then carbs. And I'm working on finding better carbs. I recently bought some black bean pasta (i hope to try it soon - and I really hope it's good). So good decisions are super important. For me personally, I usually ate OK, but I over-ate a lot. Weight watchers (believe it or not) taught me to overeat. As long as I stayed within my points, I could keep eating. So I'd have a super large serving of pasta and made sure it fit in my points, but I was eating so much food. After I hit goal at weight watchers, I still ate the large servings of pasta (i was used to it) and I'd eat other large servings of other foods. With the sleeve, provided I continue to eat mostly good foods, I won't fall in the trap of eating super large portions, because physically my stomach won't be able to handle it. But if I eat small servings of really bad food, I'll gain it all back. So I just won't do that.

This is 100% normal. I was the exact same way. I almost talked myself out of surgery. I mean, I lost 63 pounds pre-op. But I've lost 100+ pounds twice in the past. I can definitely lose weight but I need serious help keeping it off. I was excited but really nervous. Now I'm excited and super happy I had it done. Like others, Just wish I'd had it done sooner!

Everyone's different. I met my protein and fluid goals 2 days post-op and have exceeded them both every day since. From what I understand it is easier for men though. But still everyone is different.