Finally!

I went alone and honestly wish I had someone with me. I'm by no means a wimp (I work in war zones and travel alone to the far corners of the earth with no problem) but it helps so much just to have someone you know to simply encourage you to take a drink or walk down the hall. When Dr. Aceves put his hand on my arm, I almost cried because I realized I was just craving someone to comfort me after the surgery. It's not hugely painful or anything but it is a fairly major surgery to take a big part of your stomach out - and I think your body and mind knows that. If you can take a girlfriend or a sister or someone else close (if your husband is staying with your little one) - I would recommend it. Other people zipped down there alone, had the surgery, went home and started back to work immediately. It's been a longer road for me. Still wouldn't change it - I'm VERY grateful I had it.

Refried Beans made me really sick, just stuck in my throat. Same with eggs. Cottage cheese tasted really weird to me for some reason. I'm living off yogurt but it's really hard to eat enough. I can tolerate about two small bites of chicken salad. I tried eggs for Breakfast, very soft - and it was awful. :crying:

Beautiful story, Renee. Thanks for opening yourself up to us and letting us know what it's been like for you.

I love sushi so I bought some ahi and ground it up really well with ponzu sauce and shiso leaf. It has a ton of Protein and it goes down really well. I'm not sure raw fish paste is for everyone but it works for me! I tried refried Beans and they felt too sticky & thick. It seems like most of the mushy foods are high carb/lower protein. I have some ricotta cheese that I'm going to try later today. We'll see.

Jenn, I tried yesterday and it was awful. I've heard from a few other people that they just couldn't do eggs at all. It feels like it gets stuck. I'm back to a protein shake today. How're you doing?

My brother is considering it and he's there - with good insurance. Thanks!

Jenn- Funny that you call it your Independence Day! Me too! xo Independence Day ps - How's it going with your mushies?

Ash - When you're on full liquids, try Better Whey of Life Yogurt. It has 15 grams of Protein per serving. And I absolutely second MacMadame on the Fage Greek Yogurt. It's yummy and very high in protein. I mix in a little extra Designer's Whey natural Protein powder and some unsweetened cherry juice - and it's awesome. I can get almost 30 grams of protein out of one little serving. My recent favorite Protein shake is: 1/2 banana 2 scoops unflavored Designer's Whey Protein Powder Ice Water Coconut Water (fresh from a young coconut or a box of O.N.E. Coconut Water) Blend up into milkshake consistency. AMAZING and yummy. About 40 grams of protein. Does anyone know if it's useless to get more than 20 grams in one serving? Can you body absorb that much? (MacMadame? :thumbup: )

I was in Mexico with a woman whose 17 year old daughter had the sleeve last Christmas. She's down 135 pounds or so and her self-esteem has skyrocketed. Good luck to your daughter - and to you.

Not really painful. I'd say "uncomfortable."

Ruthi - I'm going through this now - and I'm not even three weeks post surgery! I've lost 16 pounds since July 5th but now I seem to be stuck. The scale isn't moving at all. Has your weight loss kicked back in? Is this normal?? ID

So two nights ago, I was feeling pretty stoked because I managed to drink all my protein early - by 4pm. I was trying to get it in early so I wouldn't feel so bloated and rushed at night trying to get it all eaten. That night for dinner I had some pureed potato and corn soup, with no protein. The next morning, about 20 minutes after I woke up, my eyesight went blurry (especially my left eye) & I had a sudden flushed feeling, along with dizziness. It was really intense. I really couldn't see and it came on fast & strong. It got worse by the minute. I managed to call Monica at Dr. Aceves office before my sight went totally blurry and quickly made a protein shake. I drank the shake and felt immediately started to feel better - eyesight restored, shakiness gone. Dr. Campos wanted me to come in, just to check. I live in San Diego - and luckily Ernesto was close to my house, so he just picked me up. So - there I was two weeks after my sleeve, back in Mexicali. On the ride in, I started to stabilize - a cool cloth on my neck, etc. Dr. Campos saw me right away and was super reassuring. I had the barium swallow - and we were able to see that my stomach is healing perfectly. It had nothing to do with the sleeve, just the amount & times & what I was eating. Apparently, I had a crazy blood sugar dive while I slept because I only ate carbs (even though it was hardly anything) at night, without any protein. When I woke up, it hit my body. So I learned I can't be tricky and try to get all my protein in "early" - instead I have to always make sure I have protein at night. And now Dr. Campos wants me to up my protein to 80gs. Sigh. I just ate a chicken thigh in a bowl of soup ground up into liquid. Yum. But hey, I'm already at 52 grams of protein. Only 28 more to go today...

My sweet boyfriend bought me this ingenious device and it's saved me! I mix ice, Water, and some grape juice together - stick the blender into the little cup that comes with it - and then YUM! It's like a grape slushy. I find that everything goes down easier when it's iced. Smart Stick Blender by Cuisinart | Kitchen Contraptions - KitchenContraptions.com

I can usually nap during the day pretty easily - but since surgery - no napping at all. However, I had a lot of trouble sleeping through the nights pre surgery - and now I'm sleeping like a rock. My apnea is already gone and I only had surgery July 5th.

Hey Want2Be - I posted on your full liquids thread. Basically just started an hour ago. Yogurt! YUM!

I just had my first full liquids "meal". It was about four spoonfuls of greek yogurt. I added some honey. I'm full now. I'm also planning on watermelon pieces (chewed well) and soup. Trader Joe's has a selection of creamed soups that look good. I got a Stonyfield Farm's drinkable yogurt and I'm definitely going to do smoothies, too. I'm feeling pretty great after that yogurt. Maybe I'm not lactose intolerant? I was worried about that - because people talk about that happening even if you weren't lactose intolerant before.

Yeah, I've been cooking like CRAZY. Making amazing dinners for my boyfriend every night - I think I'm living vicariously through him and I just love the way everything smells. My sense of smell is so honed right now. Also finding myself reading waaay too much about food on blogs, etc.

I lost 8 lbs while in the hospital. I've lost another 7 in the last week. I'm getting all my Protein in and it's actually gotten kinda easy to score 60 grams a day. (That sounded like a drug reference! It's not!) I use unjury plain protein and mix it with ice and Water.

11 days post-op and definitely burping.

MacMadame, THANK YOU for #4 - I didn't realize that about the hormones. It would explain a lot of what's going on for me. I'm trying to maintain composure - but MAN AM I A GROUCH with people. -ID

wow - i'm the exact opposite - the colder something is, the easier to get down. and i'm finding i can take much bigger sips. i'm worried now that i'm drinking TOO fast.

Yes, I'd like the know the same! Skim milk?? How many days out??

Hey July Sleevers - anyone else REALLLLLY tired of clears and ready to move into fulls? My surgery was July 6. I'm doing okay - ups and downs. Going a little crazy with trying to get in my Protein and liquid. I miss food! What's up with you guys? Kaus and Want2Be - we were all the same week - so I'm wondering how you two are?

I posted yesterday that I was having SUCH a hard time getting any liquids down at all because I would have such painful spasms in my esophagus afterwards. I was tempted just to skate by on a little Protein and Water - and hope that was good enough. But then did a lot of reading and I'm SO grateful that I got scared enough to man up and act like an adult in charge of her own health, not a helpless kid hoping things would somehow come out okay without much effort. (I've seen where that strategy has gotten me in the past with other things. Nowhere good.) TODAY - Wow, I'm feeling SOOO much better. What a difference a day makes. I decided I had to tackle this as head on as possible and that it's NOT okay to end up in the hospital dehydrated or with kidney stones. Here's where I decided my problem was: Pre-sleeve, I would WOLF down food and drink, with no thought of what I ate in the moment. Being PRESENT with what I'm consuming is a huge part of why I wanted to do this surgery to begin with. (I ate really GOOD food - clean - but no presence in the moment of consuming it.) For the past five years or so, I would have these same episodes of my esophagus spasming (especially if I was excited or it was something I liked ALOT and it was dense like rice or bread). There have been several times I thought I was going to die alone with a ham sandwich stuck in my throat like Mama Cass. (Younger peeps, look it up!) :laugh0: In fact, this is one of the reasons I really wanted the surgery because I KNEW it would force me to slow down and that it could possibly save my life for that reason alone. I was worried about now having this same sensation while trying to consume my Clear Liquids and Proteins - even accounting for post-surgery swelling, etc. So today I talked to my mom and found out that she and my two brothers both have the same throat-closing sensation when they would eat certain things. Since one of the brothers isn't overweight, I have to assume it's some genetic thing and that it's just something I need to learn to deal with. Here's what I did: I decided to consciously relax, explaining to my body that I needed to RELAX and allow this nutrition in. Every time my post-drink spasm would start, I would relax my body and BREATHE. So I've decided to practice and relax - and it's WORKING. I drank my entire protein water shake - about 10 ozs this morning, using my new "get over it and relax technique". (I have to say I was SO inspired by the fellow poster with 8 kids who was like "I don't have a choice but just make this work." Thank goodness for these boards :lol0: I've also put a whiteboard up in my living room and I'm tracking every amount I'm taking in. It's not enough to half-a** it and just think "oh, i'm getting close and was the doctor REALLY serious when he said I needed 64 ozs of liquid and 60 grams of protein?" So - I've tracked it all today and I'm almost done with my protein and liquids! It's SUCH A RELIEF and I feel physically so so much better. I can think clearly and my synapses are firing again!

THANK YOU for writing about this, Norma. I looked into it and think it may be what I've had my whole life! I'm going to go to the doctor to have a test done to see - and then dilation if needed. Did you have a long recovery post-stretching? Did it hurt? I wonder how long post-surgery I should wait? Maybe I'll ask Dr. Aceves.