suzecate

I hear ya. I spent 6 days recently *gaining* weight every day despite following guidelines. I'm not worried, but I hope my body doesn't make that kind of week a habit.

I had terrible edema in my feet and ankles to the point where I couldn't wear shoes, so she told me to discontinue and to monitor my BP at home to see if she needs to substitute a different med. So far, even without it, it's about the same as it was before, so it looks like I only need 1.

Good morning from slightly overcast San Diego (man I'm going to miss this city as I leave my home of 25 years a week from tomorrow morning). My 1-month surgery-versary is in a few days. There was a week when I was gaining weight (yes, even following guidelines)--probably from water retention, but it's coming off again now, and I'm less puffy having discontinued one of my two BP meds at my doctor's request. I'm down 31 pounds since the liver-shrinking diet (2 weeks before surgery). NSVs: 1. Yesterday, I went to Target with my daughter. It was the first time in ages that my back wasn't killing me, and I didn't have to stop and rest my hand against walls to relieve the back pressure. 2. I can fit behind the wheel easier... even when my thin 17-year-old daughter forgets to put the steering wheel back up when she's done borrowing the car. 3. I've been able to stand for longer than 3 minutes without pain, which helps me do more packing (soooo much packing... the movers arrive this coming Friday).

Hi, everyone... I'm almost 3 weeks post-op, and my feet are still swollen even though the edema went away everywhere else (like my hands). I'll send a message with a picture to my doctor in the morning and let you know what she says. I'm wondering if any of you have dealt with foot swelling still present a few weeks after surgery. ETA: I think I may have found the culprit. They have me on 2 BP meds since I've been home (amlodipine & one other I forget the name of) because it was out of control in the hospital (210 on top) and is currently on the high side even medicated but not scary high. The plan is to keep monitoring my blood pressure at home so my doctor knows when to lower my dose. Once I lose enough weight and can move more, she has hope I won't need them in the future, but for now I do.

Thanks for the feedback, all! I heard back from my doctor yesterday (Monday). She agreed it's most likely the Amlopidine and suggested I go off it entirely but monitor my BP daily (I still have one other BP med I continue to take). If the swelling goes down and my BP stays reasonable, no problem, but if my BP rises, time to check out a new med. Compression socks arrived yesterday, too. I put them on as soon as I woke up this morning.

You’re brave and amazing and now healthier, too!

I splurged on this utensil set in the BariatricPal Store that alerts you if you eat too fast. I'm less than a week out since starting stage 3 (and with that, chewing), so I wanted to get some good habits in place. I'm happy to hear that Baritastic has a timer. I have the app and track there but haven't poked around enough apparently.

Yep. I've heard it's common. Almost exactly at the 2-week mark recently for me I was the same weight for 4-5 days, but I knew it was just a matter of time before I'd see it come off again so wasn't worried. Now I'm back to losing daily.

That all sounds excellent! Well done taking care of yourself. I, too, was so thrilled to start scrambled egg (singular) a few days ago.

Good morning from scorching hot San Diego! 360.0 now! That's exactly 25 pounds from when I started the liver-shrinking diet 2 weeks pre-op. All seems to be going well, but I didn't quite hit my protein goal yesterday with 3 outings adding up to 6 hours of errands (note to self: grab a protein shake on the way out the door). Still learning. However, that was the only day, so I'm quite proud of hitting my protein and water goals every other day. My activity is really good as well, says my Apple Watch. It's largely thanks to all the work packing/culling/donating for the move as well as errands. Later this morning, the surgeon will call me for a follow-up. The nutritionist was supposed to call yesterday at 9:30 a.m., but she was a no-show with still no word, so I'll reach out to her by e-mail. I got an awesome shipment from BariatricPal store yesterday. They're going to come in really handy on my 5- to 6-day road trip. I don't know how I'll refreeze the ice pack though, but I can probably at least get it really cold in a motel bucket full of ice.

Good morning from broiling hot San Diego (100+ temps twice this week)! The scale finally decided to move a pound after a 4-day standstill. See, I knew it would show up eventually. Tomorrow is exciting because I have some real foods planned now that I can have soft foods. Vegetarian tuna salad + broccoli. Low-fat cottage cheese + peaches. Scrambled eggs + cantaloupe. All fruit skinless and mashed. Broccoli well steamed and mashed. I'm getting in plenty of activity with moving prep (under 3 weeks until the movers come) with regular breaks as I can't stand long thanks to a mobility disability. Doing what I can but not overdoing it.

Good morning! It has been a few days since my last update. I've been stalled at the same weight for the last 3-4 mornings, but I'm not worried--it'll show up eventually. As I mentioned in my reply above, I get to move to phase 3 (soft) in 2 days! Everything is going well with phase 2, and I've followed instructions. The other day, I went to visit my primary for an eval. Incisions look good. My BP was 128/80 (an 80-point improvement over immediately post-surgery), so it's being controlled by meds, though I'll keep a close eye on my BP with my home cuff so I can alert her when to cut back on my meds.

That's awesome! I'm really looking forward to the soft phase (I start Monday), but then I love scrambled eggs. I put in an Instacart order this morning for various soft fruit, veggies to steam and mash, low-fat soft cheese, eggs, and ingredients to make vegetarian versions of the curry chicken salad and classic tuna salad recipes from The Gastric Sleeve Cookbook.

Good morning from sunny San Diego (practically blinding this morning in front of my east-facing windows). My appointment with my primary yesterday had to be rescheduled to tomorrow, so I'll know more about my BP situation then. My BP has been steadily coming down and, with meds, was 135/80 yesterday, so they're working, but she may want to adjust. I'll also have her take a look at my incisions as the gluey stuff is coming off. I'm getting really bored of the full liquid phase (2). I rotate among 3 flavors of soup and 3 flavors of protein shake, but it's getting old. 5 days until I get scrambled eggs and mashed fruit/veg and cottage cheese! I just hit 20 pounds total lost today, even though I'm only down a net 5 since the surgery a week and a half ago (took a long time for the post-op water retention to let go). Yesterday, my cute pill organizer arrived. It contains my multi, calcium, & B12 and also my Rx (2 for BP, 1 for preventing gallstones, 1 for stomach acid--those last 2 are only for 3 months, I think). I like that it's compact but still large enough to hold everything because once I leave the house more, it will be handy to toss 1 day's compartment into a purse.

My clear liquid diet only lasted 3 days, and I was in the hospital for 2.5 of those, but I had broth, jell-o, and herbal tea. I've been on a cloudy liquid diet for almost a week now (with 6 days left to go until 'soft' stage), and I've had... Imagine brand organic broccoli soup (pureed) Imagine brand portobello mushroom soup (also pureed) Trader Joe's butternut squash soup (same) Bariatric Fusion meal-replacement protein shakes in flavors cappuccino, chocolate, & strawberry-banana Orgain clean protein shakes (in cartons) and to drink, besides the protein shakes... Hint flavored water (uncarbonated, unsweetened) TJ rooibos blood orange tea (herbal) Vitamin Water Zero (limited to 1/day) ...and lots of plain filtered water, of course

63--wow! Can you see and feel the difference?

Good morning from overcast San Diego. I am officially 1 week post-op today. Things are going well. Tolerating pureed soups, protein shakes well and hitting my water goals. Moving quite a bit, too. Today I'm allowed to drive myself, so I will not wake up my nocturnal almost-18 daughter to drive me to the auto repair shop where I have an early appointment. Speaking of which, I need to get going. No time to enjoy soup, so I'll take a protein shake with me for breakfast, then have soup in a few hours.

Oh gosh! I'm so, so glad you're healing and taking it easy. What a scare. And yay for the NSV of walking up the stairs! I'm only 7 days post op and only 4 pounds under my pre-surgery weight (because I had lots of water retention last week), but my victory is getting around easier, and (it might be my imagination) pants a bit less snug. [eta: come to think of it, even though I only lost 4 lbs since surgery, I've lost 19 overall in the past 2.5 weeks, so that's significant enough to feel a difference]

My providers insist on chewable vitamins at first (for how long, I can't recall). I have several Rx that are capsules, so I'm not sure why, but I trust them and do what they say. My forms: multi - chewable tablet calcium citrate - soft chew B12 - sublingual tablet My multis (Bariatric Fusion cherry) taste nasty... I will switch to a 1-a-day capsule as soon as my doctors give the OK.

6 days post-op here, and after a really rough outside-the-bell-curve start, I've been doing quite well since getting home. Sure, pains here, aches there, but better each day. And the water retention finally went down enough that after nearly a week, I'm back down to just under my weight immediately before the surgery. Let the pounds melt off! Because I'm moving in just under a month (*gulp*), I'm going through and donating or throwing out a lot of things. My strong almost-18 daughter is doing all the lifting. I usually do organizing, decision making, and anything light. Today I started in on the kitchen. I figure it's a good time to pack the pantry because A) most things are expired and need to be tossed anyway, and B) there's stuff I can't eat in the next month (but can once I'm on bari regular after the move). My daughter pretty much only eats stuff from the fridge and freezer anyway. Feels good to be shedding kitchen weight along with my body weight.

Sounds about right. I've gained and lost 150+ pounds at 3 points in my life, and whenever I dropped like a stone, I'd hit a plateau. I think it especially makes sense in light of not hitting your protein goals... I keep hearing that's hard for people who don't like protein shakes (understandable). I hit my 65 just barely with 2 protein shakes + Greek yogurt, and it feels like I'm setting timers all day to either be eating or hydrating so I don't forget. Anyway, I totally wouldn't stress about the stall. I'm sure it will start coming off again soon.

Best wishes! I wonder if the diligent care we have to take care of ourselves post-bariatric helps gird us for future operations or health challenges, so I suspect you'll do really well with the recovery!

Sounds like you're doing really well after a rocky start ❤️

Yep on the painful to yawn/breathe deeply and also random hiccups. I haven't had hiccups all day but far more than I usually do, and I wince.

If it were me, I keep the doctor in the loop (but no need for urgency), but if you're feeling fine, I wouldn't worry. My program (an ASMBS Center of Excellence) seems to be around middle of the pack in terms of advice caution. Some out there are super conservative and would have me still on clear broth 6 days post-op, and there are more lenient ones that allow things I can't have at all (no tomato-based anything for months) or introduce solid consistency far earlier (I get soft tofu and scrambled eggs at 2 weeks post-op).