ready2livenow

I'm 3 weeks out and for the past 10 days or so, I've been extremely turned off by food and any liquid other than iced Water. I struggle everyday to come up with things to try to change this, but not having real nutritious food is having a big impact on me. I feel like my body needs fruits, veggies and whole grains--yet the 20 or so items I'm allowed to eat are not cutting it. I'm getting light headed when I bend down or stand up too quickly and I'm absolutely exhausted all the time. I have an appointment with my surgeon Tuesday, so I will be discussing this, but I'm afraid my body is going to turn on me and I'll end up in the hospital. Anyone else have this happen to them? And how do you get over it?

I had VSG on 12/18/2014 with Dr. Butsch, who shares a practice with Dr. Posner. I started in June with attending the seminar and after completing all the pre-op requirements, I met the surgeon on 11/11 and had surgery the following month. My surgery was at 10 am at Buffalo General and I stayed 2 days. The stay was, overall, very nice. Nurses were awesome and really listened to my needs. Best of luck with everything!

I'm 11 days post-op and will be starting puréed stage tomorrow. I know I have a long road ahead of me, but what are some of your favorite sweet treats that satisfy the sweet tooth without cheating with a bunch of sugar or carbs. I'm currently drinking a diet hot chocolate made with Water. It's only 25 calories and 2 grams of sugar. It really has no nutritional value, but it gives a bit of satisfaction for something sweet since I'm on liquids still. I bought sugar free pudding and unsweetened applesauce for puréed stage. Any other suggestions?

I had a drain for 12 days. Living with it was not a big deal. I taped to my body or pinned it to the inside of my shirt depending on where I was. When I was home, I did neither. I simply wore a sweatshirt with a pocket and tucked it in the pocket. I changed the bandage around it everyday. Showering was a tad challenging because I held the drain bulb with one hand and washed with the other, but not a big deal. I had no problems with the drain at all. Removal wasn't painful at all. It feels odd because you feel it coming out, but there was no pain. After the drain was removed, a bandage was placed on the site that I changed until it scabbed over. For me, it was only 2 days. My surgery was done robotically by the chief of robotic surgery for a huge system of hospitals in my area. Emptying it everyday made me appreciate having the drain so my body did not have to use energy to dispose of the waste. I don't think having a drain or not having one is wrong or right. For me, I think it was the right avenue to go down.

Happy New Year Everyone! Since I started puréed foods, I, also, began putting my intake into MyFitness Pal to measure nutrients and Protein. I know I'm not eating a lot, not even eating the 5 small "meals" I'm suppose to be eating. With calories, is it normal to keep track of how much you are eating in the early stages? Or do most people just concentrate on protein and liquids intake? And later on, like 2-3 months out, is there a calorie goal to stay around? I've seen some people say 800 to 1000. Just wondering what everyone's experience and opinion is on this. FYI- I'm eating about 400-500 calories at this point at 2 weeks out. Each "meal" is around 100 calories.

Thank you all for experiences and kind words. I appreciate it.

I had 6 incisions. 5 had glue with no covering and one (the largest where the stomach was removed and a drain was placed) had a gauze covering that I changed everyday until the drain was removed (12 days). Now I keep the drain site (drain removed Tuesday) covered until the incision site is completely scabbed up. Nurse practitioner said should be about 3 days. After that everything will remain uncovered and will keep an eye out for any sudden changes. Each incision is still sore. Once the scabs are gone and appear more healed, I'll start a scar lightening cream.

Good luck! I'm two weeks post op and have no regrets. Best decision I've made for my health.

You look fantastic! Any tips for long lasting weight loss? How often do you work out?

That sounds yummy. Do you buy an already mixed chai tea at the grocery store and make it yourself or do you get this at a coffee shop?

Yes. I have this problem, too. The head hunger gets to me sometimes and I become emotional. Almost like I'm grieving my old life and using food as a coping mechanism. Now that I can't eat, having to deal with all the changes without using food is difficult. When I feel overwhelmed, I come on here and read posts of success stories and others who are struggling so I can relate and gives me motivation. I've had a bunch of temptations when I'm with my friends who are eating pizza and Christmas Cookies and drinking pop. It makes me realize how food is the center of all the activities my friends and I partake in. I've thinking of going to see a professional to talk about all these emotions and situations and process them. My friend who works at an addiction facility has told me that many people who have had wls have shifted their food addiction to other things drugs or alcohol. I want to have a healthy life and a healthy relationship with food. It'll take work, but I know wls was the first step to get things check.

I went to a Vietnamese restaurant last night (first time at a restaurant since being sleeved) and had some veggie Pho. I only drank the broth and brought home the left overs for when I can eat them (I froze them). I did notice how much people can though. Like the won ton appetizers on the table, and then spring rolls and then the amount of Pho other people could put away. I don't have much restriction when it comes to liquid, but i still tried to keep my consumption under control.

I had surgery 5 days ago and am not having a lot of problem with the amount of liquid I'm consuming (drinking more and more everyday), but am having quite a difficult time finding something savory to drink. My taste buds are very different from before surgery and the things I bought are not good to me anymore. I'm a vegetarian, which puts a little more of a restriction to broths and Soup, but I'm very sick of all the sweet liquid already and have another 8 days before moving on to puréed foods. Any suggestions to a vegetarian non-sweet liquid? I've tried strained cream of mushroom, vegetarian French onion soup and veggie broth. None of them are delicious like before. Thanks!

1 day for me, too.

Buffalo, NY

How's everyone doing now? I just finished day 9 and can't wait for my drain to be removed on day 12. Also, on day 12 I start puréed food, which I'm so excited about. Soups and juice get boring quickly. I stepped on the scale at home, which isn't the most reliable source, but I'm down 14 pounds since the 17th (my one day pre-op liquid diet). For a total of 25 from the beginning of the process to get surgery and 33 from my heaviest this year. I'll get the official numbers at my surgeon post-op appointment. I was really freaking out about the drain getting removed, so I watched a few YouTube videos of people in the same situation (2 weeks post op removal) and they all said it feels a bit weird but is not very painful. Maybe just a bit uncomfortable for a couple seconds. So that made me feel better. I'm still trying to keep my liquid amount, Proteins and Vitamins at optimal level. Pain levels vary. Sometimes I get sharp pains and feel uncomfortable, but overall the hardest thing is trying not exert myself and taking it easy enough to not burn out completely. I'm tired most of the time. I still take a dose of liquid prescription pain reliever before bed so I'm not in pain overnight. Looking forward to the next few weeks and to feel more like a human.

Looks like a fantastic recipe! I'll save this for next week when I'm on all liquids and some puréed foods. I'm still on clear liquid until Tuesday. Thank you for sharing!!

I'm 6 days out and will be on liquids until the 30th. I thought I was the only one that didn't feel restriction. (did the surgeon forget to take out my 80 percent of my stomach?!) lol. I'm looking forward to food so I can feel some sort of restriction. Glad I'm not the only one!

Thank you both for the info and suggestions. Tonight I went to a Chinese restaurant and had some vegetarian soup and eat around the solids in it. I ate about half a quart or 16 ounces of it. It was good and gave me some satisfaction. I will probably go shopping tomorrow for some more canned Soups, even if I have to strain the solids out. I begin puréed food on the 30th. I've never been so excited for mushy food. I'm looking forward to hummus the most.

I only really have gas pain when I'm sipping on liquids. But I feel the gas move inside me and then it's gone. It's nothing like I had early on. Bad pain in my shoulders and neck. Ice packs helped the most. And of course walking.

Did they give you a timeline of how much longer?

How's everyone doing? I'm resting comfortably with the aid of IV pain meds and ice packs. Eating ice chips and sipping Water. I get incredibly dizzy and nauseous when I get out of bed. So I've only made trips to the bathroom, each one getting better. I just take everything slow and remind myself that it's only been 9 hours since I woke up in recovery and take each hour by hour. Tomorrow I go for my barium shallow in the morning to do a leak test and if everything looks good, I'll begin Clear liquids. Surgery went very well and my hiatal hernia was repaired, too. Here's a pic a few hours after surgery. (Drain will be removed at my two week appointment)

Mine is tomorrow, the 18th too. I'm surprisingly calm about it.

My surgery is Thursday (Dec 18th) and I've noticed that most people go on a pre-op liquid or extremely restrictive diet for 1-2 weeks to shrink their liver and hydrate. The only instructions I received were to stay on a low carb diet, take a few doses of miralax today and tomorrow and only drink clear liquids after breakfast the day before surgery (have breakfast and drink liquids until midnight-no solid food). Anyone else have this same experience?

No ultrasound. And the instructions seem to be pretty standard for my surgeon because of the paperwork they gave me. I'm ready for surgery. I can't wait to be on the other side and heal up.