suzecate

Good morning from bed, next to my sweet pibble mix (who finally got her fill of cuddles)! Yesterday went really well. I had to set timers and plan carefully, but I hit both my protein and water target. I’m so-so on the protein shake taste, but I really like the puréed soups I got (3 flavors). I lost 2 pounds in the last day, so I’m nearly back down to my weight on Monday morning before surgery (I had a lot of water retention… still a little puffy but getting there). Tomorrow I may hit a low for the year, then it’s all down from there. :)

So glad all went well! Was thinking of you

A month from today, I leave my home of a quarter century to move to St. Paul (St. Anthony Park neighborhood). I'll stay with my brother just over the border in WI until the movers are ready (I'll drive across the country with my dog). I'm incredibly anxious about everything--leaving my friends, not having a job yet, the road trip, etc. I'm an academic librarian by training, and St. Paul has its fair share of higher ed.

I feel like there's quite the learning curve to this. I definitely can't get away with things that were so easy before. Here's to hoping we'll all adapt soon!

Sounds terrible! I wasn't looking at the time and ate a little too close together last night, and that was very uncomfortable for an hour but not outright painful, but like you, I'm making sure it doesn't happen again by making a note of the time every time I eat today.

Ooh! I am so used to broths (esp. pho) not being vegetarian that I was so excited to see they are plant-based! I went and ordered the Pho and the Thai Lemongrass. I could also enjoy those with soft tofu as of Sept. 5th when I move to the soft diet.

Good morning from sunny SoCal! I'm now 4 days post-op. Yesterday was the first day the surgeon wanted me on 'cloudy liquids' (pureed soups + protein supplements), and I did really well with that. I measured out the soup and shakes and made them last almost a half hour. The Baritastic app says I got 61g of protein (close to target... very good for a first day on shakes though, eh?) and 483 calories. Movement was really good as well. I have a repeating timer that goes off every 30m to remind me to get up and move for a couple mins. Doesn't feel like much at the time, but by the end of the day, 4m/h times 16h is just over an hour of total movement. I feel good when I do it. One day when I lose more weight and my knee and back pain go down, I'll be able to go on significant walks again, but baby steps. My low weight of the year was 369.9 the morning before surgery, and I've been in the 370s since then because I'm puffy and gassy still, but I trust I'll see the 360s again soon. So many vitamins and new BP meds to coordinate that I ordered a cute pill organizer from Amazon that will be here next week. Right now they bottles are all in a single bag, so it's a lot of rifling through to find things.

Don't let me scare you off. I'm only 4 days post op, but I'm still convinced this was my best choice--no regrets. I also could have taken more of the heavy pain meds, but I've always been scared of those with a family history of addiction, so I was taking half doses for a day then only Tylenol the second day.

The nurses called my case "outside the bell curve." I had so much pain I couldn't get up for the first time until 13 hours after my surgery, and that's saying something since I don't have a low pain tolerance. I also had to spend a 2nd night in the hospital in the cardiac wing (not the bariatric wing because of my blood pressure going through the roof), but then suddenly I turned a corner in terms of pain and everything else, and now I'm 3.5 days post-surgery at home and doing quite well. I've had one dose of Tylenol since getting home yesterday afternoon. Hurts when you'd expect it to hurt... getting up, going up the 2 flights of stairs in my townhome, getting into a tall pillowtop bed, coughing hard, but it's quite low and manageable all the rest of the time. I'm getting up every half hour to move for 2 minutes.

Welcome! Glad to hear you're doing well. I had mine on 8/22, too. I hear ya on the chest pressure and incision pain.

Thinking of you! I hope all went well and best wishes for fast healing

Good morning! Here I am 3 days post-op. I finally got home yesterday afternoon, and lemme tell ya the 2 flights of stairs for my townhome and high pillowtop bed were not fun, but I'm so glad to be back to my daughter (almost 18) and our dog, who was over the moon to see me. My doc's instructions in the 3-ring binder say I can start cloudy liquids (e.g., very pureed, low-sodium soup) + protein supplements today. I've been doing well on my clear liquids intake so far. Haven't thrown up, no nausea, very careful to take tiny sips of water but often, which I'll need to be extra diligent about now that I'm home and not on an IV. Fortunately, I was good about drinking water before the surgery with my Hydroflask always nearby, but now I can't "catch up" if I forget awhile.

I’m 36 hours post op and still in the hospital (BP issues). My biggest discomfort in the last day has been has and bloating. I’ve been moving a lot today and getting some gas out, but it’s still awful. How long did it take you all to feel comfortable?

I’m going to have to be in the hospital a 2nd night because of the BP, which puts me in the 1% here at Sharp who need that post-sleeve. It was over 200 yesterday… today medicated in the 150s. Pain was also high yesterday but manageable today. I’ve been getting up and walking every half hour at most. Getting up and down are the hardest parts. They transitioned me off IV BP meds and onto oral meds recently in anticipation of going home tomorrow. Mostly I’m worried how I’ll handle the 2 flights of stairs in my townhome tomorrow. My daughter (almost 18) is home taking care of the dog.

It’s 2 a.m. and can’t sleep. I had unexpected complications with BP (top number over 200 in post-op) and 15 hours later it’s in the safe zone but being controlled by medicine. Pain has been unusual, too. I got up and walked in place with a walker a half hour ago for the first time. I have on calf squeezers and they gave me a blood thinner. Tomorrow more ambulation. Scared about handling 2 flights of stairs in ny townhome today or tomorrow (depending how the day goes). Surgeon said he was pleased with the operation. I had robots and 4 incisions. Pictured is my bari-moose.

It’s just as well I dislike tomato soup because my doctor disallows tomatoes for at least 6 months due to high acidity (citrus also). I just got some puréed butternut squash soup and miso-ginger broth from Trader Joe’s today.

I find all your stories so valuable--both because I feel invested in you all and to see the spectrum of what to expect. To those who aren't feeling so well, I hope day by day it gets a little better. ❤️ 5.5 days until my surgery! Today I had a televisit with my surgeon, and we went over how I've been doing (down 8 pounds since on the pre-op liver-shrinking diet), what to expect on the day of, etc. Thursday I have my Covid test then minimize interactions (and always masked when out of the house) until surgery Monday.

Hi there! My surgery (gastric sleeve) date is August 22nd. I'm 5'7" and haven't stepped on a scale in 6 months, but judging by how my clothes fit compared to the last time I did, I'm probably around 390 pounds. The next 2 weeks has me on protein shakes + a small meal a day. Today I had my blood drawn. Phone consult with the anesthesiologist is Friday. I think tomorrow or Wednesday is also my pre-op consult with my surgeon. I have severe arthritis in my knees after 4 decades of chronically dislocating knees, and with the weight on top of that, I'm in so much pain and can barely move. Pre-diabetic from a family with diabetes. High blood pressure. Depression. I really look forward to less pain and more mobility. I used to be such an athletic person, but I'd settle for being able to walk without wincing even with a cane. I know it's not going to be an easy road, but neither is living like this. I just want it to be a longer and healthier road....