I'm just a few days out, procedure was on June 2nd - was really feeling scared/stressed heading into it since it was my first surgery, but so far so good - actually feel now as if the recovery has been going even more quickly than expected - the first night in the hospital and first day when discharged felt miserable, but it gets better each day I can tell you - if you feel up to it, get a casual walk around the block in there each day too - helps get your lung capacity back to normal and the activity can help avoid certain complications
the first 3 days of clear liquids were pretty tough, but once you get through it you can have small quantities of things that actually feel like a meal - for instance today was my 4th day out and I had a 1/4 cup of egg beaters a couple times today with some melted american cheese - those were my first real meals, just chew it REALLY good - haven't gotten sick yet and I also had some strained tomato bisque soup on the 3rd and 4th day as well - just be sensible, sip slowly, chew thoroughly, and you can get through it - start weight was 329lbs - I hit my pre-surgery weight goal of 314 just a week before the procedure, and I lost another 5lbs since the surgery date...so now I'm 309 as of today
also wanted to add for those who are asking about smoking/lozenges, I'd suggest the nicorette gum - I was not a regular smoker, but I loved to smoke a pack or so on binge drinking nights on the weekends occasionally - I knew I should not be smoking before the surgery or after, so I use the fruit chill nicorette 2mg - don't use the generic knockoffs, they are awful and don't deliver the active ingredient as well, or as much of it imo - this stuff tastes pretty good, and I used it right up to the surgery date, and started using again the first day I came home from the hospital
obviously you want to discuss all things I mentioned above with your surgeon since I'm no doctor and each person responds differently to stuff - but I wanted to just share this info so people know what might be possible for them - the sugar free (splenda) hard candies from cvs are really good too for helping to bridge the gap between the nicorette and sparse meals during these early times - you need to find ways to "get through" so you don't sabotage yourself after the surgery, can help avoid pitfalls, cravings, and nausea