gena155

You're all absolutely right. I have pushed it and have been very lucky not to have hurt myself. I wanted to be honest - so I was. I couldn't take the liquid anymore - couldn't gag it down. I started eating to get calories in. I was more afraid of crashing into hypoglycemia than busting my guts. I am able to drink the protein this week. Not so bad now... so am doing it again.

I've been a bad girl.... My post-op orders were to be on the pre-op diet for 4 weeks, then 1 week transition into mushy stuff, after that I could have anything. I was sleeved on a Monday, spent most of that week sipping Water. 2nd week started pushing it a little. By the 3rd week I was eating bites of anything I wanted. Last nite's dinner consisted of salmon, potato salad, Beans and fruit with pie and ice cream for dessert. Of course, I only ate a tablespoon portion of each but it was good and felt fine. Steak is really hard to digest. Rice does puff up after it goes down. Be careful with rice. Refried beans don't feel great. Don't know why. Maybe they make gas?? Buffalo hot wings - just ate the meat but ate way too fast. Jerky was okay. Cottage cheese easy. I've had wine - very small sips - half glass in more than an hour. Have to have food on board before otherwise it burns. My biggest and really only problem so far is eating too fast. I get so excited about eating 'real' food I woof my food down. It feels like I swallowed a baseball and takes at least a day if not 2 for it to digest and move on thru. I suppose if I drank water it would move faster but that's the one thing I won't do. I don't want to learn how to cheat so never temp it. It is definately a challenge learning how and what to eat. I think mostly it's about physically understanding how past (bad) habits affect current conditions. I am pretty hard headed and often need a 2x4 up side the head before I change my thinking. All the research before surgery couldn't prepare me for the bloating of rice or hard digeting of steak. I read it, but didn't get it til now. My suggestion - go slow. Be mentally and physically aware of each bite and give yourself time to feel it. Eat Zen.

i loved my surgeon and staff at Bay Bariatrics in Coos Bay Oregon. Dr Tersigni is well known and they're classified a center of excellence. Mine was out patient surgery. They have deals with some of the motels there to get a discount stay. I stayed at the Red Lion for $66 a night. Nice place and Coos Bay area is beautiful. Worth the 3 hour drive from home. Good Luck.

sounds like you have a great list going already. im scheduled for a new tat also. never thought of a phoenix. that's cool.

jordien, 52g scoop is six star muscle professional strength whey protein - got it at walmart. (i just re-read the directions. it takes 2 scoops to make 52g. what a goober i am) the chocolate yogurt is umpqua. i dont know if they sell it anywhere but oregon or west coast. i imagine anything will do. i know it's not the best thing for me but anything at this point is better than nothing. yesterday i took a knor leek soup package and mixed it with tasteless whey pwder 42 g's, milk and water. it had the consistancy of powered mashed potatoes so had to keep adding liquid to it to get it to loosen up. not great but at least it's not sweet. the smoothie went down really easy with no cramping. the soup causes cramping but not bad. i have some home grown veggie soup in the freezer. i strain out the chunks and give it to the dogs - the broth is full of all the nutrients and man it's good. the only thing not from our garden is the chicken broth. we also made a beef veggie soup. threw stew meat, beef broth, peppers, onions and chiles in a crockpot and let it cook all day. it too was awesome. the dogs love my diet. (o; we just have to keep trying things. be creative. it's not too hard to eat - it's getting the nasty protein down. i'm going to look online for some protein shots. i hear they're 40-50gs in 3-4 oz. probably tastes gross but i can do it twice a day easier than 10 times a day.

what? i can't have frozen yogurt? i can have regular low fat yogurt. i thought it was the same thing. i ran out to wally world today and bought 3 half gallons of frozen yogurt. came home and blended my first semi-ok smoothie: 1 scoop 52g whey protein, 1 cup milk, 1 cup frozen chocolate yogurt and 4 ice cubes. it's creamy, goes down easy and tastes like a chocolate marshmellow cream if there is such a thing. i have had a real hard time getting anything down... i figured i needed some calories and protein anyway i could get it at this point. i see most people had to stay in the hospital.. mine was out patient surgery. i had a hard time with the anti-nausea drugs so spent 3 hrs in recovery but then went to motel for the night. went back the next morning for the swallow test and 2 bags of iv fluid, then saw the surgeon on the next day. i i haven't had any problems with anxiety but am on zoloft for ptsd... long story, dont ask. i feel pretty good. just really hard to get back into the routine of hourly proteins i cant gag down and water... i'm cutting myself some slack til monday.

hi ya'll, i had surgery monday also and am experiencing all the same things you are. i can't gag down the protein drinks i liked last week. don't even want to drink water but i know i have to. my left side is really bruised and really the only sore spot. i have to hold up the flab on that side when i walk around to keep it from pulling on my stitches. funny and not! (o: i too have cramping when anything hits my stomach. only lasts for a few seconds and fades. i'm going nuts being home alone. can't really do anything... but see everything that needs to be done. i want to go back to work so i don't have to look at the things i can't do. that's sad.... i'm gonna try frozen yogurt with chocolate protein powder to see how it tastes. i've gotta get something in my belly before it get's completely fedup with me. poor little banana shaped thing.

well, my big day has come and gone. got sleeved monday. i was totally out of it all day monday. more coherent on tuedsay but holy crap my belly was aching. every time i moved i was reminded of what i'd just done to my body. didn't reach that "what have i done" space but wow... i wasn't expecting it to hurt so much. i had my gallbladder out a few years ago. i don't remember it hurting as much as this did. today is wednesday and i feel alot better. less pain - almost none as long as i stay ontop of the pain meds. the heating pad really helped while i was down. walking around i have to hold my flab up on the left side so it doesn't pull on the big-hole stitch. so far im still glad i did it. kinda sucked when i weighed after surgery and had gained about 4 pounds. i guess that's normal tho'. since i had the surgery out of town i did a little shopping today.. not far from the car. i bought me a cool sweatshirt that will fit in about 2-3 months. i have clothes stored down to 2x but that's it. nothing in xl. so.. i splurged. my treat for being brave and not crying when it hurt. (o; to all of you about to be sleeved learn from my mistakes: do what the doctor tells you to do even if it doesnt make sense. stay ahead of the pain by taking the nasty tasting medicine. stay very hydrated and walk walk walk. it actually hurts less than laying around.

I've never had problems swallowing pills before.. so don't know why but when I have to take the vitamin, calcium, etc they get stuck in my throat. I drink before I take them to wet my throat but it doesn't help. Anybody got any pill tricks?:thumbup:

wow... seems like forever ago and yesterday at the same time. done with the pre-op diet... on to the sleeve. :thumbup1: i can't wait to get this big ball rollin towards tomorrow. :001_wub:

Oh man, it is overwhelming. I have 3 days til surgery. I had a mini-freakout a couple days ago. Seems my energy and spirits are on a rollercoaster. When Im up, Im up. When Im down I start questioning everything. I survive by reading the posts on this site. Knowing Im not the only one experiencing the crazies, the fears, the excitement and joys makes it easier. C'mon girls (and guys) We can do this. No one said it would be easy... and it's not. We are like vsg warriors... fighting our way through bad habits and cravings and self image issues... when we come out the other side we will be healthier and stronger and a whole lot thinner. (o:

Wow. I keep forgetting to drink my protein. Day 7 of the pre-op was the first time I noticed I wasn't hungry much. Today, day 9, Ive missed 2 already. I figure as long as I get in the 60+ grams of protein in the recommended qtys and drink all my water I should be good. 5 days to go til surgery. The only nightmare is dealing with insurance. Otherwise, Im working on a dream coming true.:thumbup1:

Anyone out there feel like a vampire? Feeling the need to feed on liquid protein and being satisfied when you do? Kinda nuts, but that's how I felt yesterday - my first day of pre-op liquid diet. I feel more normal today - except for my heightened sense of smell. I can smell food cooking somewhere in the neighborhood. Damn :thumbup1: Sleeve scheduled for Sept 20th. Anybody on the same date?

I have never been a big fan of pepper. I can tolerate it in small, finely ground doses. But the other day I tried a powdered soup mix from the dietician. It was pretty bland.. so I threw some pepper in it. WoW. Made all the difference.. I think about pepper all the time now. I'm wondering what other spices I can use to make this bland stuff dance on my tongue. I miss jalepenos and onions. :thumbup1:

it is very exciting to start the the diet. you think about it constantly - preparing your proteins, reading anything you can find on the surgery, looking at success stories..everyday it's like "let's go, let's go". congrats on getting a date .. (o;

If I could switch places with you I would. I want to get this big ball rollin' asap. Just think - you'll be 4 days closer to your goal. 4 days less liquid diet. Sounds good.

'til surgery. I'm getting good at eye-ballin' a 1/2 cup. Days 3 & 4 were great. Felt full of energy - almost too much. Day 5 was lower. We'll see what today brings. I've lost 13 pounds so far. I'm sure most of it is "water weight" but I'll take it. My shoes are getting floppy and I can feel my jaw bone again. The jowels are shrinking. What a trip! To think I will really lose (all) the weight and keep it off is starting to sound real.. opposed to all the other weight losses followed by weight re-gain and gain some more. The liquid diet really sucks. Everything is so sweet. The one bright spot in the day is broth. At least it's not sweet. But.. if that's what it takes for my dream to come true.... that's what I'll do. No one said it would be easy or fun or any other happy adjective - they said it would work if I did what I was told. And so far - they're right!:thumbup1:

Mmmm. Best stuff I've had so far. :001_wub: Man, it's only been 4 days on the pre-op but I feel amazing already. I musta been eating worse than I thought. I'm full of energy and rarely hungry. I hated the second day...it was really tough. It's a crazy thing we do to ourselves. Just really glad I'm stopping it now before I need a wheelchair. :thumbup1:

I just had my first CytoSport Monster Milk protein power shake. 45g protein. No sugar, lactose or gluten. It was the best I've had so far. I've tried Isopure, GNC 50 gram slam xr, GNC AMP wheybolic extreme 60 and a few more. Nothing's been as good as the Monster Milk. Even though it's premixed I shake it up in my blender bottle and it's great.

I too am on day 3 of the liquid diet. Yesterday was not fun, but today is better. My doctor has me doing 4 oz of Protein drink every hour. How are you doing it? I guess it's supposed to get my head (and belly) practiced for the post-op diet. I see you and Jordien are both scheduled for the 20th. Me too. Glad I found you two. Keep up the posting ....

Got my lab work and ekg done this morning. Feeling really good - of course I got more sleep too. When my family was eating pizza and drinking wine I went to bed. (It was 8pm) The smells drove my stomach crazy but mentally it was was easy to say no. I'm too determined to let smells take me down. I'm so thankful to have this site to read - the pictures really help too. :thumbup1:

My surgery is scheduled for Sept 20th. Been on the liquid diet for almost 26 hours now. Today is harder than yesterday. I think the excitement of starting wore off about 4pm. (o: Anybody out there feel like a vampire? Feeling the need to feed on liquid protein and feeling better when you do? It's already been a creazy experience and I just got started. Knowing I will have the help of the sleeve to reach my goals gives me hope I've never had before. So far - the best decision I've ever made.:thumbup:

i dont know how you do it.. those of you that have to wade through the insurance paperwork and/or wait six months - jumping through firey hoops. im on a fast track and it's still too long. makes me wonder if i have impulsive tendecies. LOL just wanted all of you breaking trail for the rest of us .. you are an inspiration. thanks for taking the time to help the rest of us find the courage to hit this flab head-on.:mad: