Search the Community

Thanks :smile2: it absolutely takes dedication, but I wanna feel good when my clothes are off LOL I know TMI, but I know these next 60 days of Insanity are gonna take me there xo Desi

Milk of magnesia. Just don't plan on going anywhere that day I was do badly constipated I wanted it surgically removed. I know... TMI, but really the pain while on the potty was horrible. But then I had some MOM and I felt so much better. Good luck. Btw, it gets better

2 months out and I never have the urge for a bowel movement.... I have a BM every 2-3 days by forces because my stomach feels sour. Before surgery I was daily and now I miss that. Ugh!!

When I run my fat jiggles all over and hurts. I have to quit after two minutes of running or jogging. Any ideas on what I could wear

So do to constipation (tmi) my nurse practitioner told me to stop my protein shakes for two days . I was on 3 4oz high protein meals plus two protein shakes per day .... I axed one shake and added an extra 4 oz meal like a bean soup ..... Is this bad am I over eating ??? I figured it would be ok .

So I had my vsg Tuesday the 17th..its been rough these past few days! Gas is killing me, I feel it all over my body it seems! Also, (maybe tmi), but my left butt cheek has been hurting sooo bad! I just felt of it to see if it feels bruised, but it actuallu feels numb. What in the world? I'm confused. Also, how long did it take for you to get hungry for anything? I came home yesterday, and I've been sleeping for the most part, but I am not hungry at all!! I've been sipping Water..but nothing else..just not hungry yet. Idk?

I’ve been struggling lately with to much eating or eating the wrong thing. Still not eating a lot just getting past Christmas. I’ve had some issues with digestion like everyone else and a previous (TMI warning) anal fissure. Miralax instead of Stool softeners are being used. If it wasn’t for the fissures I would use more fiber. I would like to get back on track and I feel it starts this week. My late night 32oz of tea is not helping Got to cut it out. I’m trying more KETO oriented diet. Body Tech protein every morning I love the cinnamon cereal. I was just checking how is everyone else doing.

Yes it was in place and just fine. All of a sudden its out and this is a tmi but I am bleeding like my first miscarriage, but I am on time for my period.

6 days out now. The gas is starting to get better now. I am forcing myself to walk everyday and taking the gas chewing tablets. TMI: my poop looks weird and I am not sure if I should be concerned.

my advice is just to take it very slowly, pureed & mushies should be fine, its probably more prone to happen when moving on to more solid foods. My first time I had eaten a small piece of watermelon. I figured this was a good choice but omg it hurt so much & then felt like it was stuck. I vomitted and felt much better. I HATE vomitting also but its not like vomitting when you are sick which is very smelly & lots of it. Its just a little bit of food that comes back up & doesnt have that sick smell. Sorry if TMI :/ I think if you eat really slowly & dont try solids too early you should be fine.

I thought I covered what type of blog I was writing in my first one. But, apparently, not everyone reads all the entries. So, from now on I think I am going to have to do the following. *******DISCLAIMER!!!!! What you are about to read is to be taken lightly. It's goal is to make you smile, laugh, and hopefully see the funny side of going through weight loss surgery. This blog is in no way my feeble attempt to get advice (unless I ask for it), or to be told what I am doing or saying is wrong. We are all different. We all heal differently. We all experience different things. With all this in mind, please enjoy my take on life after the sleeve. I hope it helps make your day just a little bit easier and happier. ********* Now that all that is out of the way. I feel the need to talk about the looks I've been getting from people when I tell them I've had weight loss surgery. I actually find the looks funny. For example. Today I went to GNC to see if I could find some type of protein drink that I can actually handle. When I went in, I got attacked by the vulture (aka the sales man). So, I proceed to explain to him that I had weight loss surgery and I was looking for a protein that I could handle (and that tasted good). It was interesting to see the look on his face when I said the surgery thing. It was only a split second or two, but it was obvious that he did not approve of my surgery. Not that I asked or wanted his approval. All I wanted him to do was help me find some protein I could handle. So, I ignored him and followed him around the store as he explained to me how, everything "tastes amazing". I know not to trust sales people, but really, EVERYTHING??? I highly doubt that. We are talking about protein and I have rarely met a protein that I found "yummy". So, after he promised me I would "love" this one brand, I decided to throw him off his game. I asked if he had samples or if they sold them per bottle. I refused to buy a whole thing of them only to get home and find out I didn't like it. So again, the sly fox of a salesman pulled this one on me, "No, we don't. However, I will give you this bottle if you PROMISE not to tell my manager. I really am not allowed to do this." I actually laughed at him as I saw the bottles behind the counter that they used for such an occasion.. Did he really think I was going to buy that line? Well, as shocking as it sounds, it really wasn't that bad. It's called GNC Total Lean, Lean Shake. It has 25g of protein, 2g of sugar, 3g of fiber (which I really need but more on that later), total fat 6g, and 170 calories. I had to taste it warm and I was able to stand it so I am sure once it's ice cold, it will be much better. As a whole, the unapproving, over zealous salesman did a good job. And, he gave me the first, "I don't agree with your decision" look since my surgery which I kind of enjoyed in a strange way. Next I headed to Walgreens. I needed a fiber supplement and I needed one fast. Not to give TMI, but my first number 2 after 9 days and two things of Miralax, was more like the number 2 of a VERY LARGE rabbit. It wasn't fun passing, and as soon as I was done, I was ready to find a way for that not to happen again. After staring at all my options for a good 15mins, I finally gave up and went to talk to the pharmacist. I proceeded to tell her my issue and included that I had the gastric sleeve and because i was unable to get much food in, my fiber was almost non-existing. There is was again....that LOOK. She took a little longer to recover than the GNC guy (if she did at all). Even while she was telling me about what fiber would be my best option, she was unable to hide her disapproval of my decision. So it was right then, in Walgreens that I decided. Screw YOU....SCREW ALL OF YOU who think you have any idea what I have gone through, or why I decided to do this. No one asked for your approval or disapproval so don't give it. And, if you do give it, be prepared for me to tell you I don't really care what you think. I did this for me. I did it for my health. I did it for my medical reasons. No, it's not easy. No, I couldn't just eat less and exercise. I've tried that. It didn't work. So, keep your two cents and I promise I won't judge you on your attitude (which sucks) , your clothing (I don't care what the magazines say, you do not look good in overly tight jeans and five inch heals), your hair (1980 called and they want their puffy bangs back) , your makeup (yes, it looks good on models, but you are not a model and you you didn't have a professional do it) , your marriage (don't lie and say you have a perfect marriage, we all know your spouse is not "running errands", he/she is running around on you), your children (a rough patch is a few months or back-talking not years of getting arrested and being pregnant at 12) ....or any other decision you've made or thing you've had happen during your life. If you don't want to be judged, DO NOT JUDGE. Now, before I get attacked for children/marriage/clothing/hair/attitude thing. I know there are always other issues at play. I was just using these as examples of things people do talk about and look down at others for. Funny thing is, people will not be as blunt with their feelings with those people as they are with me for having weight loss surgery. And my decision is one to help me and make me healthier. Doesn't something just sound wrong with that?

Just went through one and I am 3 weeks also!! May be a weird question but are you doing BMs? Everyday that plays a big part in it!! I didn't go for a week didn't lose anything finally went and 2 lbs went out lol I know TMI but it's the truth!

TMI response but my BMs have been darker than they were pre surgery and my surgeons office said it was fine.

Hope - It's totally normal to be nervous. I was banded on the 22nd and I was very scared and nervous. I like the idea of you trying all the different Protein drinks before you have surgery to see what you like and what works for you. I didn't do that. I bought all the stuff weeks befote surgery and just stared at it in my kitchen. I was avoiding it as much as possible. Do you know if your lactose intolerent? That's probably why you're getting diereah. I'm very lactose intolorent and I can't drink any milk products I get a horrible stomach ache and diereah (sorry if that's TMI) The protien I've found that works great and is easiest to get down is New whey liquid Protein. It comes in what looks like a test tube and it's got 42g of protein! Two of those and I've had my protein for the day. I tried drinking other kinds and it seem to take me all day to finish one. Good Luck and don't worry. I'm shocked at how easy it's been! I'm not hungry and can't wait to be thinner! This is going to be a hard road for us, but it's going to be sooo worth it!

I have a question....Why is a daily BM not the norm for Bandsters?? This may be TMI, but I go pretty much every day. Should I be concerned?

I still have the shorts that I meet my DH in. They are black "Daisy dukes" with fringes around the legs. My GOAL is to get back into thoses shorts. My dh loved them and he told me years later when he saw them on me (I was not there for him, I happened to be dating his roommate) all he could think was "he wanted my legs wrapped around him". May TMI but it makes me smile! Good luck YOU will get into those outdated jeans.... Oh by the way I am 6'2 so I have tons of legs!!!!

Thanks everyone, I love my new weigh of life :wub: I will post a new pic soon, just have to dig out some old clothes that will fit now, all my everyday things are falling off and I need new underwear(TMI)

Well it’s been a while hasn’t it?! I believe an insanely long blog entry is in order!! I want to first say that due to you, my dear VST people, nothing that has happened has been a surprise, and that has been really, really nice I had my sleeve surgery on Wed., May 22nd. My “call time” was 1 pm, and my surgery was scheduled for 2:45. I believe I was #3 on my surgeon’s docket for the day. My parents, my husband and I arrived and were all ushered into pre-op, where I was asked to go behind a curtain and put on a hospital gown. I was so interested in the conversation my parents and husband were having that I rushed, and when I popped out from behind the curtain, the nurse said “No honey, you’ve got it on backward”. Lol. I was wearing it like a robe. So I had to switch it. Then I climbed into bed and my family sat in front of me in chairs – felt like I had an audience. The nurse was extremely nice – she got me all covered up and warm under the blankets and this special inflatable thing that blew warm air on me. I also got the leg-squeezy things and some fab socks with nonskid rubber on the bottom. Another nurse came by and started an IV – I asked what was in it and she said it was basically Gatorade without sugar. I’m guessing there was no color or flavor either. Then I heard some commotion and found out that my surgeon was running ahead of schedule so they’d be taking me early (!) The anesthesiologist came over. This was the first time I’d met him, and let me tell you, he was so adorable I would have gone anywhere with him! But alas, he only wanted to take me to the OR…. lol. Before we left, he put something in my IV that made me goofy – I remember looking at my family and saying “ooh that was fast” and then someone putting the shower cap type thing on my head & I had to help because I have long hair. I remember being wheeled into the OR, and once in there they had me scooch onto a different table. I think. That could well have been after – it’s one of those weird disconnected memories. Anyways, I do know that my surgeon was there and they started introducing all the support team “this is John, and you know Dr. Z, and here’s Vern “ and I was chuckling to myself like you guys really think I care at this point who’s who? I think they were chuckling too – I just remember that there was happy banter and/or joking as they went about prepping me, and it was a good feeling all around to have happy people around me. Next thing I knew someone was calling my name, and I surfaced VERY reluctantly from a deep sleep. Once I let them know I was awake they left me alone, and I could drift in and out all I wanted. At times I had pain in my upper belly and felt a little nauseous. What’s interesting is that it is such a distant memory now it hardly seemed like anything as far as the pain goes. I was aware of another patient in the recovery room – a large man who was moaning a lot. In my drugged out mind, this made me feel the need to do some moaning of my own just so I wouldn’t be forgotten. LOL. No logic there, just instinct. Someone was apparently standing behind me monitoring my machines, because pretty soon they said it was time to go and my bed started moving. We went in the elevator and pretty soon I saw my family come into view as I was wheeled past them to my room. I felt very concerned with making sure they knew I was just fine, so I was saying hi and trying to smile. But boy I was still pretty high! Once in my room, I began to experience some more pain. I must say it is nearly impossible to assign a number to pain. I think I’m a people pleaser, and I was like “oh it’s not so bad, a 4? Maybe?” But it was a bit worse than that. My mom said she could tell I was in pain because she could see my blood pressure going up. The nurse gave me morphine in my IV, and within a few minutes I felt no pain, but I did feel the nausea. I salivated a lot, but I breathed through it without heaving, thank goodness. In retrospect, the pain must have been gas and the nausea was from the morphine. I drifted in and out for a few hours, then in the evening I got the nurse to disconnect me from everything but the IV, so I could walk and go to the restroom. From that time on, I honestly had no real pain. I used gas x strips every 3 hours, burped a little, didn’t toot at all I felt the tiniest bit of the gas in my neck, but even that came and went quickly. They never had to put the oxygen thing back in my nose because my oxygen levels stayed good (yay for me for quitting smoking!!!) My hospital stay was uneventful. The tray they brought the next day was silly – I asked if there was any protein in any of it, and when I was told no, I thought why waste the time & tummy space? I ate some to prove no problems, and then was released to go so I could start working on protein My surgeon came by and said everything went really well. I have one incision in my belly button and two more "punctures" high up on my left side. These are smaller than a grain of rice and I'm sure will be undetectable once healed. I'm still completely amazed at this surgeon's skill -- to think that 85% of my stomach was removed and no one will ever be able to see a scar -- blows my mind. He said I was good to go if I wanted. Once unhooked from the IV, I admit I didn’t feel nearly as perky as I had when I was hooked up to it. But they let me walk out on my own and I did not have to do the wheel chair ride. The next 2-3 days were all about sleeping. I tried my darndest to get fluid & protein in, but I felt pretty nauseas. Had the super-saliva production thing going on a couple of times where I thought I would start heaving, but I never did, thank goodness. My sweet husband would run to bring me a paper towel to spit the saliva into (I mean I was producing tremendous amounts of saliva when I got nauseas! sorry if TMI) and then he would rub my back and say sweet things to me while I took deep breaths and let it pass. Nausea sucks. But! By day 3 it was ALL gone. Ever since then all I can say is that the vague soreness in my tummy has gotten MUCH better every day, and the tiredness is slowly getting better. Day 4 after surgery I went on a very short trip to Target and was amazed to stop and think about the surgery I’d just had and that I was out walking around. After about 10 minutes though, I was headed to the lawn furniture department for a lil break I have a desk job, and I took just short of 2 weeks off work – I honestly can’t imagine taking more than that with how normal I feel. Yes, I am pretty damn tired right now, but c’mon, I was tired all the time before surgery! It’s just going to get better and better. Today is the last day of ‘full liquids’. Tomorrow I get pureed! Hooraaaaay! Been daydreaming about cottage cheese lol. The liquid diet has begun to go literally right through me. Yes I get hungry but nothing like presurgery. Once I drink a few sips off a protein drink, I am satisfied. However, within half an hour, it is coming out tha other end if you know what I mean. TMI I know, but I’m here to tell it like it is So I’m hoping that pureed foods will be just what I need to set things right in that department. I had my first poo maybe 3 or 4 days post op and it was normal, if a bit small. I was very happy not to have the severe constipation some folks have immediately post op. I know it could still happen, but at least I’ll be a little further out from surgery. Last I checked, I had lost 20 lbs since the start of pre-op, and about 10 lbs since surgery (about a lb per day). HOWEVER – and here’s something really fun --- my husband accidentally kicked my scale into the wall in the dark and it shattered into a million pieces. I had left it out in the middle of the floor – my bad So... I haven’t weighed in days! I’ve ordered a new fancy scale on Amazon, and I think it will be kinda neat to just wait until it arrives. I know I’m losing weight. But for some reason, my immediate focus is not the weight loss, it’s just about doing what I should be doing. I really feel like I made the right decision for me, and honestly, it has been a good experience so far. looking forward to feeling better and better and better! ONWARD!

I think I ate the SF Jolly Ranchers a month or less after surgery. I never asked about them, guess I never thought about it, so I don't know if it was OK. I tolerated them just fine and I still eat them. Just remember that SF candy/products can have a laxative effect if you eat too many. (Like 8 Jolly Ranchers over the course of the day, sorry TMI.) Just keep that in mind.

Never too much TMI! Ok i can't eat a pizza but I can have 2 slices be full as hell and eat another one on less than an hour. I really hope this works, who has a sleeve and gastric bypass in two years and can't lose weight? Ughhh better not be this girl.

amen... Elcee... too show you all how long a stick can last..... one night... not too long ago. I attempted to eat Popeyes chicken... dark meat... ate half a thigh... but didn't stop there... oh noooo i thought, one bite of red Beans with rice won't hurt... Right... Wrong... stayed stuck... would not come up no matter what i tried.... finally the next morning... yes 12 hours later... after the meat tenderizer... it came up. Looking like it did when it went down.... I know that was TMI... but goes to show you how long it could last.

I had my revision (band to GB) on May 13th, stayed in the hospital until May 15th and have been recuperating at home since. The pain was awful immediately after the surgery, pretty bad the day after, bad the following days and it has been manageable today. I used the liquid hydrocone until yesterday but decided no more because... (TMI coming), I had no BM since the surgery and I was starting to get worried. Today I had my first BM and it felt like such a relief. I had to use Milk of Magnesia and Benefiber, but it was worth it (even just for the peace of mind). I'm constantly sipping in my 2 TBS cup so I hope I'm meeting my liquid requirements (I'm not tracking but sipping constantly). I'm having a hard time with drinking 2 Protein shakes each day. Yesterday, I managed 1 and a bit of another one. Today I'm still sipping through one. I'm not taking my Vitamins as of yet as my surgeon told me to wait for a few days until the stomach can tolerate it better; she did tell me not to miss my Omeprazole dose once daily for a month so I'm careful about that. I'm trying to walk around; though I live in a studio apartment so there's only so much space to walk around, but I have even dared to dance a little bit and it was okay. I have weighted myself a couple of times and I was a bit surprised to see that the scale went up since surgery. I have read a few posts of people freaking out about gaining a few pounds in the days after surgery and I can't seem to relate. I honestly do not care right now. This is surprising because my number one reason for having the GB was to look better (there, I said it). Yet, the scale not moving (or moving in the wrong direction) does not bother me at all now. I can only focus on making it through the recovery stage in one piece and as healthy as possible. I ventured over the "complications" forum and decided that it is not a healthy place for me right now. I'm glad people with complications have a place to post and get support and help but after reading a few posts, I got so paranoid and worried. I had to stop. I have had moments of regretting the surgery, especially when the pain was very pronounced. I still have these moments when I think that I could be full of energy right now and go to work and hang out with friends... but they pass quickly. So I hope I'm doing okay after all.

I was sleeved May 15th. E Just about every single time I take broth or juice I have a loud gurgling in my stomach and explosive diarrhaea. (tmi, i know sorry). I am thinking if this is how life is going to be for me then maybe I shouldn't have done this... I hope in time this unpleasant side effect will go away.

Heh! Yeah, well I was feeling a tad pessimistic about ever getting any restriction when I made the graphic! :heh: I wanted to see how many would fit. :thumbs_up: And it didn’t look nearly as busy all alone as it does in the complete signature! But it was late & I just haven’t gotten around to reworking the graphic part. :becky: (I know what I’ll be doing in a few minutes, eh?! ) Why post fills at all..? Well, to use an analogy...all kids are different, but parents still tend to compare ‘milestones’ (how big was Jane at 18-mo vs. how big John is at 18-mo; when did Billy cut his 1ST tooth…). It’s the same sort of thing, I guess. :guess Apples & oranges because we’re all going to react differently to this whole thing, but it’s A) comforting to see that your not the only one who’s hasn’t got “sweet spot” restriction with 8.5 cc in a 10cc band, or reassuring that you’ve got restriction already with only 1.5 cc in a 4cc band. That’s what these boards are great for – sharing information & knowing we’re not alone on this journey. Plus, the detailed sigs let ya glean info without asking questions that seem intrusive or unimportant in the bigger picture. I’ve had all sorts of PMs about self-paying, which was something I hesitated to put in my sig at all. I like to think it’s actually been useful rather than TMI. But I’ll certainly concede that info’s only helpful if you’re looking for it! And I agree that scrolling through empty space in sig that goes on & on does seem pointless. I'm also not above turning off my sig in a volley of opinion (such as this) -- how many times does it need to be seen? To each his own! Suzanne

@@elladvyne it took me at least 5 days until I sorted out all the goings on and recognized the feeling of hunger and sated it with Jello. For me, hunger could certainly be in there but as its own entity I didn't find it quite so fierce. This may be a little TMI but my rumblings and gas finally found an exit out the back...once that happened it took another day or two to some normalcy as I know it. I also discovered that 'dumping' can happen in the clear liquid stage. I was guilty of sipping this super yummy broth I made too quickly and I think that was a part of it too. I'm on pureed food now and I understand a little better about how long to take to eat something and feeling full. This is an interesting journey to be sure.