emilygrace

Nasogastric tube, 2 drains, IV, arterial line.

Amen, sister!

Me too - loving my hot water bottle these cold nights!!

I had trouble in the early weeks postop with stuff getting "stuck" and needing to chuck up to feel better, but it was transitioning from liquids to thicker foods. Since I got to real foods, I haven't had a problem. Why don't you just serve yourself half as much as you think you want, and then go back for more if you are still hungry at the end? That is what I try to do now, because my instinct is still to fill up the plate. Now I get shoulder pain and hiccups if I eat too much, so I try to stop before I get to that point.

I'm from Australia so I am biased but I am sure you'll have a great time! The trip sucks - take some benadryl or something for the plane. I hope Aus lives up to your expectations, enjoy it!

I flew Australia to east coast US 3 weeks postop to the day. I wore the TED hose, drank water, walked as much as possible, and took an aspirin before I left. No problems.

"Am I far enough out so a link isn't a worry?" Sorry, I don't even know what that means. A link between the surgery and your cold? I think it's pretty safe to assume that's not a factor after 5 months. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

It is not true that if you don't want to disclose your surgery that you will have to lie. I am quite happy to say "I don't really feel comfortable discussing my weight with you" if someone asks what I've been doing. I just think it's SO RUDE to ask people that - I would never do that! It's one thing to say "Gee, you're looking great", but to interrogate someone about how they lost their weight.. ugh.

The curious thing is that it often does reverse "overnight" or very soon postop, even before significant weight loss occurs.. they don't know why.

My surgeon was also worried about longterm weight regain with the sleeve, given the lack of longterm data, and tried to steer me to the RNY. To his credit though, he did accept my reasons for wanting the sleeve and ended up agreeing with my choice. Pretty much as soon as I found out about the sleeve, I was sure it was the right one for me. The more I read about lapband, the more pleased I am that I didn't go that route. Chopping off most of my stomach is the most drastic thing I have ever done and sometimes I can't believe I actually went through with it ... but I am so thankful I did.

I had coffee day 3 in the hospital!

I take multivitamin pill, it's called Complete Ultra Women's from Walmart's own brand. I feel nauseous if I take it in the morning on an empty stomach so I usually take it at night with no problems.

Tiffnie, why are you eating so often? What do you need the pudding etc for? Try to stick to protein foods for snacks and you won't get hungry as much as eating nutrition-free foods like SF pudding. If you're eating to enjoy the feeling of eating, or because you're bored etc (like preop), then figure out something else to do at night - go for a walk?

I was SO worried preop about what the guys at work would think, since we eat lunch together every day and then pizza on fridays! As it turned out, men's hearing switches off if you mention that you're on a diet so apart from some grumbling about me not ordering lunch with them (I take mine now), I just said that I was gaining too much weight and spending too much money eating out for lunch each day. Now I say I am on a high Protein, low carb diet - which I am. Of course now I am 6 months postop I can eat more, but still eat small portions - a small container of salad with chicken, some greek yoghurt, the insides of a tuna sandwich or chicken taco. They don't notice a thing (except the weight loss but they don't even mention that... they are men's men who don't talk about personal things!)

Wait - OP, you're only eating 400 calories per day? That is astonishingly dangerous!!!!!!!! Even 800 calorie diets are meant to be closely controlled by a physician. 400 calories, it's amazing that you even have the energy to get out of bed in the morning. Why can't you eat more than that at 14 weeks out? There are small volume, high calorie foods you can eat to increase that. Losing 92 lbs in 14 weeks is very very fast and not good for your body. Please talk to your surgeon or nutritionist about ways you can increase your intake.

SN............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.........Lbs to Goal Avilda..............275.................187..............177..............10 Coops ...............238................191.............177................14 Cwalker..........250.................180..............170..............10 DJackson..................229.................229..............215......14 Ibejjo...............249..................249............229................20 Juliarh.............230..................230..............215...........15 Kimmes............239..................222..............200............22 Kgremmy.........225.................210..............199..............11 LeslieH...........212..................212.............199..............13 LilMissDiva.......235..................234.............220..............14 Mommy2Girls....275.................240..............228..............12 Moni luv..........190.................190..............178..............12 MRSKOUBIK....317..................283.............267..............16 pattimomof3nj..203.4..............167.1..........155...............12.1 Sailorgirl...........240.................220..............200..............20 Secret Surgery 234..............205........179.......165.........14 Sleeve 4 me...166..................166.............156..............10 Yolanda240.....236.................203..............170..............33 Sweatinitout....245................170..............160...............10 Emily...............187.................187..............175...............12

Get "Motion control" shoes - can't say this enough. I like Asics Gel Foundation with "Superfeet" green insoles. You can also get prescription/customized orthotics from a podiatrist. I find the superfeet ones work well for about $30 for my achilles tendinosis. I also find I can use the treadmill but no incline, and the elliptical is the best thing - no impact.

There is actually quite a lot of data showing that severe caloric restriction is good for you. The proof is in the pudding so to speak - I got body composition scans pre and post and am losing mostly fat, not muscle. If you are hiking or something and need more calories, you can eat higher calorie foods such as dried fruits/nuts even if you can't eat huge volumes. You could easily eat 2000 cals if you needed it - but as mentioned, your BMR adjusts.

No, gas pain that far after surgery is not usual. Any pain that makes you "scream all the way home" is not normal. Call your doctor.

+1 for the Premier drinks from costco. The thought of Protein shakes makes me gag mentally but you gotta do it. Postop, I didn't worry about protein immediately, just getting enough to stay hydrated. Ate a lot of strained Soups, runny yoghurt, cup a Soup with hot Water just for flavor. I'm not sure how you can say you don't like any thickened liquid -there are so many!

cheese sticks/string cheese are a great quick snack. Be careful of adding a lot of sodium to your diet - it's not great for you. Make sure you're doing it under a doctor's supervision. Other things to consider are maintaining your volume intake, avoiding alcohol, and pumping your feet/ankles before getting up suddenly.

I am about 4 months postop. I have lost a total of about 65lbs. My weight loss has slowed right down despite doing all the right things. I have realized that I am getting discouraged and now have been eating and concentrating on food more, as in the thinking about what I can eat next when I just ate something. I even have realized I am not hungry but "felt like something" and eaten again. I can't eat a lot, but I can eat often. Even on these days, I don't much go over 1000-1200 cals, but I recognize that the behaviour is not consistent with success and I want to stop it. I know it's the old pattern of getting discouraged and thinking "well, I may as well screw it up properly if I'm not losing weight anyhow". How did you stop the non hungry eating? The eating to fill boredom, sadness, being upset? I feel like I tell myself "no" but do it anyway. What do you say to yourself to make yourself NOT do it? I had the required psychologist session preop but didn't go postop, I wonder if you did and if it was helpful? Thanks for your input.

Quixotic, doesn't your surgeon have any postop eating guidelines? It's very unusual to be eating the types of food you're eating at 3 wks out, let alone the amounts.

God I traumatize mine with brazilian keratin treatments, otherwise it's like a poof of pubes on my head. There's no way I can go au natural! Thanks for the pics Tiff, definitely helps to see the process (and your gorgeous smile!).

Sorry to hear about this, that sucks Get well soon. Just as an FYI for others - surgery and immobilization are independent risks for blood clots, but you can also have a predisposition to blood clots. If you've had clots before or are worried about it, ask your doctor to run a thrombosis panel pre-op. They can check for Factor V Leiden, Protein C or S deficiency and a few others.