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Still hurting. Actually looking forward to surgery on Wednesday. Also upset because I'm probably going to miss ALL of next week. Plus the 2 days I missed last week and I will only have 3 paid days on my check on the 15th. Not only do I have bills to pay, that was supposed to cover Christmas. And not just the gifts, but the decorations, the dinner, cards, all of it. Now we'll have literally nothing. And the pain meds don't do anything but knock me out. Once I wake up, I'm in pain again. Time to take my meds and pass out. I'm so over it all.... Oh, before I forget!!! Let's not leave out that I'm basically back on my stage 1 bariatric diet because when I try to eat regular food, it KILLS my hernia (it's a delayed reaction, so I'm guessing it's happening as it makes its way down my colon, or to my bowels, or wherever it goes). That was ok yesterday, but today....nope. But TODAY!!! Oh TODAY has been a joy because now even liquids and YOGURT and Jello hurt. And I have had absolutely ZERO appetite since yesterday around lunch time. I can't just not eat, but I have no hunger feelings, and when I remember to eat, I don't want to because it hurts so much. I don't know what else to do, but I feel like I'm losing it over here. I'm so so over all of this. I've never had a hernia before. Is this normal? Because I feel like I'm about to lose my mind. I walk hunched over, trying to roll over in my sleep causes me to cry out and wake up my husband, and don't get me started on coughing or sneezing or pooing. The early stages of both my bariatric surgeries COMBINED didn't make me this miserable.

I think that you really need to contact your team. You need some real help here. Its not normal to feel permanently hungry after this surgery. Occasional head hunger is more usual. Do you feel a restriction ? You really need to fill yourself with good quality food now. Has your team said you must keep carbs out of your diet ? I ask because you sound as if you eat protein or carbs. Your body needs the protein to function well. Eat your protein first, then the vegetables and then you can eat the carbs. Try to eat better carbs like fruits, skin on potatoes, brown rice and pasta and quality wholemeal or seeded bread. You are more than likely eating 2000 plus calories a day because you are at a plateau now. The only way to reverse this is to reduce your calories and eat better. Find a calorie tracker you like and be honest with it.

That app is good we also use Calorie king. But I’m finding I’m not getting the calories anyway. I am on 60g of protein a day. Im 1 month 1 day post op. I have vomited twice since Friday😔. I had a zoom with the surgeon Friday and he has suggested to have purée an extra week. He was afraid I may have inside scaring in my oesophagus and if I do they will do a endo to remove scaring. I see my gp again Tuesday to discuss this as I’m away from Tuesday arvo to Late Friday night. Then I’m home 4 days before going away again for 9 days. Pity I can’t have any soft foods yet. but am feeling positive. Walking an Hr doesn’t hurt anymore.

Yeah!!! I was hoping you would reply!! I bought a cookbook too. It is for sleeve patients https://www.walmart.com/ip/876757602 my granddaughter (11) has been cooking little stuff for herself and her little brother. Mostly just Rahman and hot dogs, or quesadillas in the microwave. My grandson (6)has learned to make noodles in the microwave lol. Your daughters are the perfect age to learn to cook stuff!! I am finally got my stuff together and I think I’m ready!! Not just waiting for everything to get here so I can organize it. next weekend is the kitchen purge (since I live alone) All unopened items are being donated to my local food bank. I love having y’all to talk to. 😊😊

Still hurting. Actually looking forward to surgery on Wednesday. Also upset because I'm probably going to miss ALL of next week. Plus the 2 days I missed last week and I will only have 3 paid days on my check on the 15th. Not only do I have bills to pay, that was supposed to cover Christmas. And not just the gifts, but the decorations, the dinner, cards, all of it. Now we'll have literally nothing. And the pain meds don't do anything but knock me out. Once I wake up, I'm in pain again. Time to take my meds and pass out. I'm so over it all....Oh, before I forget!!! Let's not leave out that I\m basically back on my stage 1 bariatric diet because when I try to ear regular food, it KILLS my hernia (it's a delayed reaction, so I'm guessing it's happening as it makes its way down my colon, or to my bowels, or wherever it goes). That was ok yesterday. But TODAY!!! Oh TODAY has been a joy because now even LIQUIDS

You have just had major abdominal surgery, the body has to take a lot of resources to heal from that and some of the meds we are given can affect us for weeks after. Then you have to take into account that you lost a nice chunk of weight very rapidly, causing hormones to be released into your body that are not normally that high. This impacts mood a LOT for some people, myself included. Think of it like having PMS/PMDD from hell. Irritability is very common, higher emotionality as well, sometimes depression too. Major surgery can also trigger depression and in men depression most exhibits itself as anger. Talk to your wife and GP about this. If it continues to be an issue you might want to try a medication to even things out for while you are losing... I hate when people say they feel bad for eating around me. Eat your damned food!! LOL I'm not a child, I can handle my feels about it. It is nice when people are willing to eat (at least partly) what I'm eating so I feel like a part of the gathering instead of the one in the corner with a kiddie meal, but even if no one wants to join me, I don't need pity. I need empathy and time spent with the ones I love that doesn't involve food! Or that involves food without people feeling bad for their own food. I'm not here to food shame anyone. Are you tracking your meals in Baritastic?? If not, I highly recommend you do. It helps you keep track of your routine daily food and you can see what your macros look like and get an idea for when you have room to indulge a little and when you need to stay on the straight and narrow. Sleeve surgery is a purely restrictive procedure, which means it relies heavily on dietary restriction to help you lose the weight. You have to work with it to help it accomplish this. Make sure your first focus is WATER, then protein, at least 60 grams or whatever your dietician suggests, then some healthy carbs if you have room, and then if you still have room, a bite or two of a starch or something indulgent. You shouldn't have much room for straying right now. And you may need to talk to someone about the food struggle because the food you are eating right now IS "real food" and will need to become the foundation of your eating from here on out to be able to maintain the results you get from the sleeve's weight loss. I don't say this to guilt you at all, my indulgence is dark chocolate, always has been. But the DS requires me to adhere to a low carb diet, so I get a bite of chocolate in the evening after I've hit all my goals for the day! Hence the app tracking things. LOL Be kind to yourself, you are going through some huge changes, we all are, and our bodies are under a lot of stress. What it needs most is kindness and nurturing right now, not shame and guilt. ❤️

I know those Reese’s animal crackers VERY well. Maybe try to find a chocolate peanut butter protein shake? We’re still learning so don’t beat yourself up. If you can I recommend keeping your foods separate for a while so you don’t have to see their snacks. I keep my kids snacks in the closed pantry and put my drinks/protein shakes on a shelf.

I'm a little different because I had the bypass (8.5 years ago), but I started out at almost 400 lbs, so weight-wise, we were in similar starting positions. The first year seems like a huge life change, but sitting here years out, the only thing that's different is that I average about 1600 calories a day rather than 3000+. When I go out to eat, I eat maybe half the entree and take the rest home in a to-go box (or sometimes I'll get something like an appetizer or soup rather than an entree if I'm not that hungry). Other than that...??? Oh - I take vitamins regularly now. But other than that, not that much different. But again, the first year or so - yes. But you'll be doing quite a bit of prep work before that. For example, my insurance required me to do a six-month diet with a registered dietitian, and she kind of eased me into the type of diet I'd be following after surgery. She had me eating 2300 kcal/cay (which now would seem like a ton - like Thanksgiving day - but at the time seemed like a diet - although enough calories to be at least tolerable). She also had me gradually decrease my carb intake and increase my protein intake. I focused on healthy foods (although I ate a pretty healthy diet even BEFORE surgery, I just ate way too much). She had me start taking a multivitamin every day and getting some exercise about 3x a week. My surgeon also didn't want us drinking caffeinated beverages for the first six months after surgery (although some surgeons are fine with caffeine), so she also had me gradually decrease my caffeine intake. So basically, I was as prepared as I could be before they rolled me into surgery. I don't have PCOS and have never had a hysterectomy, so I can't address that, but I know WLS patients who've had both. Hopefully someone will respond to you on that.

Welcome to December everyone. Things physically have been going great in terms of little to no pain and virtually no nausea. I have been having back pain I can’t really explain. Mentally it’s been more of a challenge. My wife and my PCP both asked me the other day what was wrong because I wasn’t acting like myself. People assume I don’t want to do social stuff that involves food and say they feel bad for eating around me. I was getting on myself for eating too much real food now that some options are available to me. Just feel a bit of a mess right now.

I've done both. Surgery first and it didn't stop me thinking about food constantly. The wegovy has stopped the chatter in my brain. It's a miracle for me to be honest. In my opinion, I do think it's something chemical in some of us and we need medication to help. Can I ask why your insurance has stopped paying for it?

Aah head hunger. You know it’s head hunger when you crave a specific food, texture or flavour in your case sugar. All the conscious or subconscious emotions & the hormonal roller coaster from the surgery are probably making it worse. Of course knowing what it is & possibly why you’re experiencing it doesn’t help that much. Most of us find distraction helpful when head hunger hits. Go for a little walk. Craft, read, watch a movie, play a game, ring a family member or friend. A warm drink can help like a green or herbal tea if you’re allowed. Find a nice sunny spot to sit & sip so you’re away from those indulging in

I know it's so hard with kids, but I suggest getting rid of everything in the house that could be a temptation. This summer, I stopped replacing the snacks as they ran out. I stopped buying candy and cookies. We started making "nice cream" from frozen fruit. I have just under 4 weeks to go and I'd say about 90% of the stuff is gone, replaced with salted nuts and apple sauce cups. Luckily, my girls are 12 and 15, so they understand why, and I can let them have candy for themselves when the time comes and they'll know not to have it anywhere near me. But don't feel guilty! It's a learning experience, that's all. Now you know you have to be extra mindful when food is around.

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm already doing all those things. I get 60-90 grams of protein a day (I'm a DS patient so my protein requirement is higher), I am getting all my water in daily, I'm walking when I can, and doing anything physical that is safe for this stage of my healing. Truly, there is nothing I can do to break the stall. Stalls break when they are ready. This is my body recalibrating. It is discouraging but I'm trying to be patient. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and the body needs down time to rest and recover and recalibrate so we can move forward. The best thing I can do right now is stay the course so I don't give it anything new to have to adjust to! LOL I'm one month post op today!! So happy with that. My healing is going well. I'm still nauseous on and off, especially in the morning, but other than that I feel good. My incisions are almost invisible already. No more soreness in the muscles of my abdomen. I still can't lift much yet but I'm being very careful about that because I don't want a hernia. I can sleep on my side again. I'm getting the hang of estimating what portions of what foods I can eat without measuring cups. I still think anything resembling chicken breast is vile and dry and a concrete block in my tummy. But I can get all different sorts of protein drinks in now when I need them!! Aaaand my partner bought us an espresso machine for Christmas so I can have my favorite espresso drinks decaf with my high protein Fairlife milk!! That's true love man...

You can get other Premier Protein flavors at places like Target!! If I want a ready to drink protein I go with Premier Protein purely for convenience and the fact I can keep a variety in my fridge. I usually try to find it at Target until I've vetted a flavor, then I stalk Amazon and Walmart for sales. Fairlife's chocolate shake is fine but sometimes sends me to the bathroom for reasons I don't understand. If I'm at home and doing a mix I like the Syntrax Fuzzy Navel and their tropical flavor. You can get samples of different flavors through BariatricPal's shop. I also like the Mike & Ike Sour Watermelon from MyProtein. You can often get it on a good sale! I don't like the cherry though for some odd reason. I like the Pro-Cal shakes but only mixed with milk. Otherwise I just use unflavored protein (GenePro and no I don't count it as 33grams like it says it is equivalent to, I only count it as the 11 grams on the nutrition label!!). I hated Unjury and sadly everyone else recommended it so much I bought full size containers of the soups untasted and now post op I am kicking myself because I can't stomach any of it. LOL If you can have caffeine Chike is pretty good mixed with milk too! You can get samples of those from BariatricPal as well. SAMPLES ARE YOUR FRIEND!!

I think of the soft food stage as having a stomach similar to an infant. that made it easy for me to answer the question, should I eat this?

I currently am experiencing this. Food makes me sick smelling it or tasting something. Everything feels heavy in my stomach. Ive had to avoid meat most times cuz it makes me gag. Been eating beans and broccoli to get protein in or tofu. Fruit,cheese, and bread has been my lifesaver if I need to get food in that I know wont make me feel heavy as heck.

I def feel the same. Food wasn't too bad for me. I wish mine went out of the way for ice cream...that's awesome!! Mine were nice too so I am hoping the floor I have the surgery on is nice as well.

Same with me. The only time I've been under anesthesia was for my wisdom teeth when I was a teen. But the hospital where I will have this surgery is the same as where I had both my kids. The sad thing is, they have really good food. A weird thing to say about a hospital, but it's true! The in-room food is delicious and even the cafeteria was nice enough I would have lunch there after appointments. I remember being really impressed with the meals when I was in the maternity ward. The nurses were so sweet. They even put an order in for me from a local ice cream place because they were all getting some delivered for after their shifts. They saved it in the freezer for me until I was allowed to eat after my epidural wore off. (I was in labor a really long time and that was the best ice cream I have ever had). Sadly, this time will be a bit different when it comes to the food experience, but I'm sure the staff is just as nice.

Yeah, I really didn’t mean food lol. I was meaning the drinks and broth. But that is good to know so I will get for the 3 weeks preop then I can do one week at a time post. I was thinking of getting a variety of flavor protein drinks since like you said some tastes change. I have been hearing that from everyone. Preop I will do protein shakes, chicken broth, SF drink mixed and popsicles. So post op I will do chicken broth, popsicles, a small pack of unflavored protein powder to add to water, and my sugar free drink mixes(like crystal light). wow that seems so much easier. Thanks for helping me think through a kind of shopping list.

I didn't go off plan for months and months, but I know others on here who do it occasionally. I would avoid tamales during the soft food stage - but if you decide to do it, just eat the filling. Arabesque is right about the corn meal. it's not very nutritious, and your new stomach is tiny. With only being able to hold a limited amount of food, that food really should be nutritious and protein-forward. A few months down the road you'll be able to eat tamales again - but it's best to avoid that kind of thing now while you're still healing and need to focus on meeting the protein requirements.

you'll probably just be doing protein drinks and shakes the first two weeks, so I wouldn't worry about food yet. I would just get enough protein shakes/drinks for the first few days, because for many of us, our tastes change after surgery. Something you liked before surgery you might not like afterwards (e.g., I couldn't deal with sweet-flavored shakes for awhile after surgery - my sense of taste became more intense, and sweetness became intolerably sweet, at least for the first month or so. I lived on Unjury's chicken broth flavored shakes for quite awhile). So I wouldn't buy a huge tub of protein powder, for example, at this point, since if you end up hating it after surgery, that's a lot of money down the drain. Maybe just pick up (or order) a few individual packets of protein powder - or if you can have (and want) the ready-to-drink variety, just get enough bottles for the first few days.

I am 4 weeks now from surgery. I got my date of 12/27. I have been doing pre op since April but I ran into a health issue that took priority. Now that is taken care of this last stretch has gone quickly. I have a 2 week liquid with one meal a day. Then I have a 1 week liquid only up to surgery. Of course after surgery is the two week post op liquid and then adding in purée food for week three. I don’t know where to start and everything is so expensive. I have gotten some of the stuff I will need but none of it food or the Protein Drinks and shakes. That part I am actually finding rather overwhelming on what to get and how much And advice from anyone?

Yeah, I’m a stick to your plan person. There’ll be always be occasions where the food on offer doesn’t support your plan & your weightloss. You have to decide whether it’s worth it to just go for it & whether it could then become a thing to justify going off plan regularly in the future, whether you can make the best of a bad situation & carefully select the food item that’s best for you or whether you can not eat the provided food & still enjoy the social aspect of the occasion. If you decide to try one maybe just eat the filling. The corn meal dough will be filling & limit your ability to eat the important protein component & it may sit heavily in your tummy. Remember you are still healing even on the soft food stage.

I've been on puréed for the past two weeks. My physician has me doing 3-4 puréed each day 1/4 cup each. I vary between tuna, canned chicken, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, hamburger and oatmeal. I had surgery on 11/13 and will be transitioning to soft foods Monday 12/4

Hi everyone, I had my surgery 11/14. I feel pretty good truth be told. Day 15 still on full liquids. I have struggled with some water nausea, but no problem with the full liquids until yesterday and I drank a banana shake from premier protein. It took me 3 hours total to choke it down, and then I felt full for hours, as if it wouldn't leave my stomach. I couldn't drink water, I could not swallow. I was only able to get 38 oz of liquid in yesterday total. Today I decided to go back to my Unjury protein and steer clear of premixed drinks. Anyone else have any issues with Premier? I used them before the surgery just fine. I was wondering if someone could give a sample of what their meal plan looks like for when they go into pureed. Thanks- Melissa