Tiffykins

Hope, nausea is a viscious cycle in my opinion. Have you progressed to a new phase in the post-op diet? Did you incorporate a new food? Are you taking a PPI such as Prilosec, Nexium, or Protonix? Dehydration and acid reflux can both cause nausea. If your urine is dark, or if you pinch the skin on the back of your hand, and it doesn't release back, and snap back quickly you could be dehydrated. I drank quite a bit of the Gatorade G2 because Water was just not cutting it for me. I know when I progressed my diet, I had to go back to soft solids/mushies a bit longer just because I couldn't tolerate food yet. I tried foods, and they just made me sick so I chose to make my meals out of food I knew I could tolerate. I really hope you start feeling better soon. Does your surgeon have an answering service where you can leave a message for a nurse to call you back? I would call as soon as you can just to make sure you are okay.

I was not allowed to lift anything over 10lbs for at least 6 weeks post-op. I had this same rule with my band surgery. I think 100 pounds loss in 4 months is very doable especially with proper dietary adjustments, and exercise. Usually, light weights (lower BMI) lose slower, and patients who have more to lose, lose a bit faster. Plus, I've read about men losing faster which has always been the case in my readings. I lost over 100lbs in 6 months. Yes, I had complications, but I was also very strict with the rules in the first 3-4 months. I did have bouts of nausea that kept me from eating a lot of calories in the first 2 months. During my initial month of recovery I was completely restricted to not take in anything by mouth, no food, no Water, not even ice chips, and I was fed 1800 calories of TPN (Fluid bag) through a pic (central line catheter) line in my arm. I didn't lose a huge amount of weight the first month due to the 1800 calories I was being force fed. Now, once I started the post-op diet, pounds dropped for me, and I was averaging 6.5-8 pounds loss per week. Around mid-October (4.5 months post op) I was able to get my weight loss to slow down to 2-4 pounds per week. I am now trying to maintain as I am only 2 pounds from goal as of today. Again, I was extremely strict with my "food" intake in the beginning. I also stayed on the mushy/soft food stage longer because I just could not stomach dense Protein. If you follow the doctors post-op diet, you will maximize your initial weight loss which will give you a good foundation. It's called the honeymoon phase for this exact reason. If you cheat on the post-op diet, and incorporate foods too early not only do you risk damaging your staple line, causing complications/leak, you can stall your weight loss early on.

I had a similar situation about 6.5 weeks post op except I had 3 large Fluid pockets/abscesses. 2 in my abdomen, and one lower down in close to my pelvic cavity. I had no other symptoms, they were in random places in my stomach. I was hospitalized, and had 2 pig tail drains placed that stayed in a little over 3 weeks. Hopefully, the antibiotics will resolve this issue for you. I was very sick with my situation, and was dehydrated. That's what mainly prompted the hospitalization. I was hospitalized on a Monday, and had just seen my surgeon the Thursday before. I had the beginning stage of a UTI, and had been put on Levaquin on Thursday. By Sunday, I couldn't get out of bed due to the pain I was experiencing. My fluid pockets were huge, like the size of oranges. I just thought I was having symptoms from the UTI, and the Levaquin is probably what kept me from getting febrile.

I enjoyed about 2oz of ham, 2oz of broccoli/rice/cheese, 2 bites of the green beans, and about 2/3 of a crescent roll with jelly and brummel & brown butter. (I just copied/pasted this from my thread I started yesterday). I did have 1/2 of a sugar cookie, I shared a bag of Dill pickle flavored potato chips with the kiddo and 3 pink Starbursts. I munched on some Gardetto Rye chips. I usually do not snack most days, but I'm trying to maintain my loss at this point. So, my eating habits have changed quite a bit from the early days/months post-op. Also, I've never had the carb craving carbs issues that some people experience. I can eat carbs all day long then the next day have zero desire for them. I'm almost 7 months out, and still have never felt hungry. Everyone is different, and I honestly think that what works for me won't necessarily work for someone else. I didn't have either of my WLS to feel deprived for the rest of my life. I refuse to stop living a normal lifestyle. At this point, (meaning starting this next week) I'll go back to counting protein and white carbs only. Calories, complex carbs, and fats are not a concern of mine at this point.

I was still eating right around 3-4oz total. I hadn't eaten in a couple of hours when it happened so I honestly believe it was not really stomach cramping due to overeating. Could it of been some of nerves or something in my stomach, I guess it could of been, but I don't believe it had anything to do with food I had ingested. I've used a medicine cup like they use for children's OTC medication to measure my food intake until I could get the size down in my head. I do not weigh my food because it's about volume not weight. I have only overeaten a couple of times, and I immediately regurge a portion of it. I overdid it one night with mexican food. I ate my normal portion of fajita meat with sour cream/salsa/guacamole, and decided to tempt fate and took a bite of a flour tortilla. Yep, it came back up, no pain, no sliming. I knew it was going to happen. It's not a normal "vomitting" episode. It's like a slow creeper piece of food coming up my esophagus. Once the little bite of tortilla was out, everything was fine.

Way to go Gin ! ! ! I actually snacked all day yesterday, and had Christmas dinner with the husband and kiddo. I had some pink Starburst candies (3), I had 1/2 sugar cookie, I even snacked on some Dill pickle flavored potato chips with the kiddo, some teriyaki beef jerkey, and I guess I'm just too stubborn to feel guilt. Remember, you don't have to completely deprive yourself of everything for the rest of your life just because you have the sleeve. It was a one day event for me, and I think we all deserve a little break here and there.

I can now take bigger drinks of liquid, I can probably put away 8-12oz in 15 minutes. It's only in the beginning that drinking larger amounts is difficult due to the swelling, and trauma that the stomach is recovering from early on. You may also find once you start losing weight, you may not get as hot. I freeze my hiney off now, and am constantly under a blanket, or layering my clothes. We're in the NW panhandle of Florida near Pensacola, so I know it doesn't get as hot here, but I can honestly tell you now that I've shed over 100 pounds, I rarely get hot.

I thought it would be fun to post what everyone's menu looked like for the holiday season. I know this isn't necessarily fair for the recently post-op, or pre-ops on the pre-op diet, but believe me, you will all be so much happier when you can enjoy normal meals. Our menu: Brown Sugar/Citrus glazed Ham ( I searched this town high and low for a standing prime rib, but to no avail, I couldn't find one) Mashed Potatoes/Gravy Fresh Green Beans (canned by John's mom) Broccoli/Cheese/Rice (Green Giant Steamer bag = LOVE) Crescent rolls (with homemade/canned raspberry jelly from John's mom) There's a Reese's no bake Peanut Butter brownie setting up in the fridge. I figured I'd at least get a little Protein in if I was going to indulge in a sweet this season. HA Ha ha ! ! ! I don't have any room for anything else to be honest. I enjoyed about 2oz of ham, 2oz of broccoli/rice/cheese, 2 bites of the green beans, and about 2/3 of a crescent roll with jelly and brummel & brown butter. I walked away from the table so satisfied, and truly feeling happy that I didn't gorge myself like so many Christmas past. God has blessed my family immensely this year. I'm so thankful for my husband's safe return from Afghanistan, my health, this surgery, my family, and friends. I can't even express the pure joy all of you guys have given me through your support and encouragement. Please pray for our troops and their families, pray for our country as a whole, and may God bless each and everyone of you. For those struggling, please know it does get better, persevere, and you'll grow stronger each day.

Consult a pharmacist before mixing all meds and supplements together. Some things need to be taken separately. A pharmacist would be your best option to get a true professional/medical opinion on mixing all of them together.

YAY YAY I'm so very happy to hear an update from you ! ! ! Take care of yourself, and rest up.

I know it's Christmas, but Caysen and John are putting together something from the huge Erector set we got him for Christmas, and I hate assembling that kind of stuff. If anyone is up for a chat, I'll keep the window open.

Merry Christmas to you as well. I kind of thought maybe it was a gall bladder attack. Just because it wasn't directly under my sternum where my actual stomach is sitting. It was a bit to the left close to my ribs. It is super scary. I remember I got that clammy, hot/cold feeling as well.

I experienced the same thing right after my husband got home from deployment. I had not overeaten as I'm pretty strict with my portion size, and had learned to eyeball everything that went into my mouth. The pain had me doubled over, crying, I tried walking, I tried lying down, nothing would ease it. I had my husband ready to rush me to the ER, but convinced him it would pass. About 20 minutes later, it indeed did pass. I'll tell ya that it left me completely exhausted mentally and physically. I was about 4-4.5 months out when this happened to me as well. Luckily, it's never happened again.

Congrats on your amazing progress and outlook on your success.

Great news on the labwork, I haven't a clue about the other situation, but I hope you get some answers. Keep up the great work, and happy holidays.

Merry Christmas to you and yours as well ! ! !

Merry Christmas Theresa ! ! !

Anyone up for a chat? I have the window open and will up for a bit.

Congratulations ! ! !

Just know that everything you're experiencing is normal. The weight will come off. Right now, you're retaining Water, it'll drop. I still have crazy food dreams. I had one last night as a matter of fact. Woke up shaking my head, and trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Keep sipping, and walking.

Unfortunately, Protein powders/mixes and I never got along with the exception of one brand. I would recommend ordering just some samples that you maybe able to tolerate. My biggest issue with a lot of the protein powder/mixes is the smell/taste and texture. You can order a sample pack of 16 flavors of the Optimum whey protein that I could tolerate for $18.99. I would be willing to bet that if you can't stand the ones your trying now pre-op, you won't be able to tolerate them post-op either. This is the only protein that I could remotely tolerate, and I tried over 20 brands, flavors and even tried soy protein. Bodybuilding.com - Optimum 100% Whey Protein - With Faster-Acting HYDROWHEY! On sale now! On the left hand side of the webpage, you will see the option to purchase the sample pack. I've referred this brand of protein to several post-ops who could not tolerate any other supplement, and they all love it. My husband uses it as a recovery protein after lifting weights, and he uses the Extreme Milk chocolate flavor. I enjoyed this brand because there is absolutely no horrific taste, or texture. Mixed completely in a shaker bottle with no foaming or frothiness. No gritty protein texture, and absolutely zero protein smell. It tastes like Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix. We mix it in Water. I don't use it currently because I get my protein counts from food sources now. You can also order samples from Vitalady.com Here's the link for the Syntrax nectar, click on Nectar and Nectar Sweets links, you can order samples for $1.99 The only flavor I really could tolerate was the Caribbean cooler. I'm not a true fan of the Nectar because they were too sweet for me post-op. Hope these help.

Merry Christmas to you as well Helen ! ! !

I've checked out her webpage several times, but nothing has inspired me enough to whip up any of the recipes. If you try any of them, let us know what you think.