Search the Community

Im totally with you Bluesea! Hoping our 3 week mark is a lucky one tomorrow morning! On a good note I just woke up with a loud bubbly tummy and ran into the bathroom (ok maybe not run exactly lol) and finally had a BM after being constipated for a whole freaking week!!! WooHoo Go Me!! I feel like I dropped 5lbs in that toilet, TMI I know lol. Ok Im going back to sleep with my fingers crossed for tomorrow's check-in.

Hi all!! I'm set to be Sleeved on June 21st. This may be TMI, but I'm kind of a sex addict. And my biggest thing is I like it a lil kinky and rough. My question is, how long after being sleeved is it safe to jump back into to sack???

What are u guys doing to pass gas, I think Ive only passed a handful of times and burped only once. Im walking too so Idk. I'll definitely try the latest dance rave- the "jiggle" haha. Thanks for the info.... The gas x strips have really helped me today. The dissolve on your tongue. Also, I mixed 2 oz of 100% apple juice (unsweetened) with 2 oz of Water and it made me go #2....and that really helped with gas, too. Sorry if that's TMI but I felt like it might be helpful to someone. So it sounds like our post op diets are as different as the pre-op diets. I can only have the clear liquid diet for 2 weeks. I can add skim milk on day 3 (tomorrow) but I hate milk....but I'm going to try it because they said it's very important to get 32 oz of skim milk and 32 oz of other fluids. So we shall see how it goes.

My incisions are itchy as heck! Although I'm impressed how tiny the actual incisions are, the skin around them hates me. How are you guys treating yours? I use hibiclens in the shower and air dry. I wasn't putting anything on them but yesterday found putting a tiny bit of triple antibiotic with pain relief (similar to neosporin) helps with the dry itchy feeling. The one closest to my breasts looks the worse. I think it rubs against my bra and maybe there is more moisture up there?!? Any tips? I go braless at home to avoid irritating that one incision. Tmi?

Did you mean to say, "happy dump day" Is it giving you any stomach aches? I was on Exxolax for a few weeks and I could not take the pain then Dr switched me to Miralax which is very gentle but very very slow since Sunday that I started it I was nearly able to go today twice but very little and I really have to push (sorry tmi) I am hoping to find something better.

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 was gonna say that she has shared "TMI" but it brought a smile to my face! LOL!!! Naughty Chinamama!

I finally was Able to go Today and it was diarrhea I know I'm sorry if this is tmi but I was excited I didn't have a hard time. It was exactly how I wanted. But I must confess I ate organic onion dip with some small pretzels sticks at a bday party today. Idk if this helped or hurt me but I'm satisfied.

I made it thru surgery! Not as bad as I thought. My mouth was dryer than dry, but they gave me ice chips. My surgery started at 7:30am They did the sleeve & hernia, was in recovery by 9:25, in there for about an hour, the to my room at about 10:30. I was on oxygen, they took it off at 11:30, just had to remember to breath deep when the buzzer sounds, they also gave me a breathing thingy that I have to do minimum of 10 an hour, it gets deep breaths, it helps A Lot with Gas bubbles & helps so yo don't get Phenomena I've been burping a storm. Walking around my room & the halls. No nausea at all They are stayed on top of the meds while I was in the hospital, the second morning I didn't have any. I just had gas pains. Also, I was able to get out of the bed & I'm sitting in a what they call recliner... But it's better than the bed. I was able to be out of the hospital by noon the day after surgery, I hated being there, being on the IV & eating ice chips, I was able to walk to my GI & passed, so they said I was cleared t go home. We ran to get my Rx & home we came where I started drinking an Iso Pure, not the greatest, but its protein, i wasn't to bad after I mixed some powder protein with it. took for ever to drink 8 oz. but I did that twice yesterday & so I hit my minimum mark of 50 grams of protein. I figured that was a great start. the only time I took the pain meds is when I went to bed. I don't like them they knock me right out. Since this morning I have choked down a iso pure without added powder & 1/2 a 16.9 oz bottle of water guess that's not bad where its basically 10am. I am not hungry, I just keep telling myself drink this, drink this. slowly. but drink this. then I give myself a break. I weighed myself & I am down 2lbs the only reason I got on the scale is I do my measurements once a week those were not so good, but I attribute that to being swollen, my plans for the day are SHOWER! then this afternoon a walk, & maybe 1 tonight. and of course every-time I remember I use the breathing thingy. I haven't really had troubles passing gas, from either direction. I know TMI, I also had a BM. the nurses had me a bit scared about that. I had it on my own no medicines or juices. I had it in my head it was going to be worse than it was. I guess it's better to thin that then have it be better. now if I could just Fast Forward the next couple months. Hope everyone is doing well.

I was released Thursday & I have had diarrhea at least 1 time a day since. Do you think it's just from the anesthesia? I am able to get in my liquids just fine, no issues. Also my Vitamins & b12. Been taking the Prilosec they prescribed. No pain meds since 3 am (yay!), or nausea meds since last night (another yay!). Up at 7 this morning, watched tv, took a 2 hour nap, watched a movie, took a shower, dried & straightened my hair, read part of a book & going to go walk at the mall (bc it's 104° here today, yuck!!). So what do you think the diarrhea is from? :-( I don't feel bad when it happens. Robyn

Decided this was TMI. LOL:)

I want to start off with thoughts of what lead me here, to this point!! I have been considering weight loss surgery for some time now. I have family members and friends that have done various procedures over the years, and never thought it was just right for me, so I kept at it the "traditional way". I have four kids, from 14-24 and have always bounced back and forth with my weight. I was a size 8 when I had my first child, and at my highest a size 20. I am currently a size 16, and miserable. I go on the normal diest such as wiehgt watchers and jenny craig and slim fast, and so on and go back and forth between 10-30 pounds here and there. Being over 200 pounds is very depressing and it causes me to just give up most days. I get motivated sometimes and head to the gym and walk the dog and eat better and try harder, but am easily distracted by my daily life needs. We travel a lot (mostly camping and work related), and it throws me out of whack. I get tired easily, so it's easy to want to rest and then the snacking starts. I do not sleep well at night and there comes in the night snacks. I am just always hungry.... so there comes in the over eating during dinner or lunch. I am finally tired of it.... i need a drastic change... the final straw for me was when my long time boyfriend was going to propose (yes I had figured it out) and we were away on a romantic weekend in yosemite and he was trying to motivate me to make it to the top of the mountain, under the water fall.... ummmm obvious... yes.... however I was so winded, and my heart was pounding and i just gave up and said "i can see it from here (half way), and I had to sit and rest and it ruined the mood. (he still proposed, but not until later that night when it was far less romantic and meaningful). So we got married a few weeks later... but we got married in a civil ceremony, without telling any friends or family, with just us and the 4 kids, because I could not bare the thought of a wedding looking the way I do and feel. I talked my own self out of a wedding because of my weight!!!!!!!!!!! So the deal is this.... I told myself I will lose this weight by any means neccesary and we will have a wedding fit for showing off how happy we really are in every other way of our lives. My husband always says he loves me for me, all of me... which i know he does as he has NEVER given me a reason to feel fat, or ugly and we have sex at least once a day. (tmi I know... haha)... but with that said... of course he would feel better if I looked and feel better. that has to be natural. He is a fit, very good looking succesful man that has women throwing themselves at him all the time... so I want to look the way he makes me feel. I am not doing this for anyone but me as the main motivation, but of course I am doing it for my children as well so that they can have me for a very long time and I can enjoy my future grand children and grow old in a healthy way with my amazing husband. So that is where i am now... ready to take a major step to imrove the quality of my life! I saw doctors, and picked one I felt amazingly comfortable with. My husband has gone to the appointments, evaluations, and the seminar with me. I know this is the right docrot for me. (that has to be more imporant then anything to start right)! the downside is my insruance company does NOT pay for this type of surgery. I will be financing the $20k, yes, twenty thousand dollars,,,, it will take for me to do this! Is that a small fortune? YES! is it worth it?? YES!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow marks the first day of my pre-op requirements. I have an appointment with a nutritionist. Next a pysch eval, and an upper GI and endoscopy will follow. I am readyyyyyyyy...............

I can tell a difference when I'm pleasing myself...I know TMI...but just wanted to share

Lol Cutie miss, yess..but I only ate like one ounce, omg i think I dont like pudding anymore By the way tmi....Miralax is working, I just had my first bm

Omg it was so awful. It's been 2 hours and it still hurts. I take Colace 3 times a day and Miralax daily. At Day 6 I am told to try suppositories, which don't work. Senna tea USUALLY does the trick, but didn't this time; I drank it twice. Leading me to here... curled up in a ball wishing for a swift death. Why the hell would he recommend something that was carbonated like that!? I noticed a small amount of fizz but figured it was okay since he said it was. Got 5 oz down. NEVER.AGAIN. I am peeing from the wrong place now. TMI. Do you think mineral oil is okay? I am eating roughage now, too. My water is good for where I'm at... about 60 to 70oz a day and increasing. I was told no fiber since I had the hernia repair. I am still shook over what I just experienced.

Maybe it's just me and the fact that I use and IUD (sorry TMI) but you would think doctors and their support staff would think to tell people about these things!!! I mean jeez, they don't want people getting pregnant for a year or so afterwards so you would think this should be at the top of their list of things to discuss with potential patients!

Ok folks... TMI time... Had my first hard lesson today. I graduated to softs today and it was so great! After 3 weeks of liquid I was in heaven tasting and chewing savory food, and a teeny amount was so satisfying! So after dinner, everyone in my family got milkshakes. So after many weeks of no sweets, I looked at everyone enjoying their shakes and thought, "hey, its soft." So I ate about 2 oz. Let me tell you all... DON'T try this! You will pay dearly! Won't go into details, but let me just say I'm so glad I was at home and close to a bathroom for the rest of the evening! This memory will definitely keep me away from sweets!

You think 11 lbs in 2-1/2 weeks is not losing? I think that is great. Hang in there and don't be in a rush to drop the weight instantly. It's not realistic and it will just get you discouraged. I know it is hard to be patient, I can relate to that.....my surgery isn't until 5/21 and it seems like my life is on hold. I know that it will be a few months before a dramatic change. My hope is that I can lose 17 lbs in 1 month and than I figure it will be more like 7-8 p/month after that but at that rate I should be close to goal by Christmas, way better than any other diet I have been on. Hang on and see how you feel 3 months out. For the constipation you should check with your Dr. I don't think they want you to have severe constipation and straining (sorry tmi). It seems like my nutritionist said if that was to happen, I should use baby food prunes but you better check with your Dr. or nutritionist to be sure. I know they can give you something to help.

Hey, @@Aleathia! Glad to year from you!!!!! Happy sleeving! LOL, so we each lost 6 lbs post-op! Top incision open, is that okay with doctors? Weeping, or really open? I'm doing good! I'm -45 as of yesterday, around 2.25 months out. Thanks for asking! I feel wonderful, like I never had surgery. Still sticking to the plan, now cleared for any kind of food I want. Unfortunately/fortunately, I can eat anything with little repercussion, so IDK if that's good or bad long-term for keeping weight off. I'm tracking EVERYTHING in MFP, and really quickly was able to get up to 900-1200 calories a day. I'm trying to keep it back at 1000 calories a day because my loss slowed at 1200 a day. I do 40-60 carbs a day, and if I'm at the 60 range, weight loss slows. Grrr. I'm hitting the Water goals and 100 grams of Protein goals a day no problem, but I'm still averaging 1-2 Protein shakes a day to do it. What else. . . I went from a 22 LB to squeezing almost into a 16 at LB, LOL. I'm still a solid 18 in any other store's pants since they don't usually have the spandex component. Went from a 40c to 38c, quickly nearing 36c. Sucks to lose the girls first. Not cute without a bra on to hoist them up. Pleasantly surprised at the skin -- not bad! Considering I do almost no exercise and was flabby to begin with, I think I'll do well once I get working out and doing weights and more resistance work. I've dabbled a little over the holiday with beer and white wine. I now can stomach both -- tried earlier and it hurt me. I'm not dying to drink, but it's nice to know I can be social if I want to. Thanksgiving I focused on dark turkey meat, Canadian meat stuffing (more protein,) butternut squash, green bean casserole, and saved carbs for white wine. I ignored any bread, potatoes, bread stuffing, carrots, Desserts, and cheese and crackers. It was fine, which was really nice. I hope this feeling lasts, but the times I've cracked and had "bad" food, either I had diarrhea the next day (sorry, TMI,) or -- more importantly -- didn't get the same satisfaction I thought I would from before surgery. I really am looking at food differently now. It's so hard to cram in the protein and stay under 1000 calories, there's not much left for wiggle/junk room. I look at things in terms of nutritional bang for the buck and, for the most part, don't miss the old crap I used to eat. I DID let cheese and crackers back into the house, and that was a mistake. That's my go-to quick snack when pressed for time, and I can eat a ton of crackers with no issues. Trying to learn from my old triggers and plan ahead. Now, I have a Protein shake in my daily coffee every morning, so that's 30 grams in by 7 a.m. I eat eggs with the kids; more protein. Then I'm at work and MAKE myself guzzle the 3-4 cups of water with Crystal Light, so I know I'm at least halfway to water goals by midday. lunch is usually a turkey burger with a slice of cheese or avocado on top, or else deli meat and cheese, or turkey meatballs in marinara. Late afternoon I might putter for more protein or the dreaded cheese and crackers, and then have another protein shake. dinner is whatever protein dish I can get my hands on. Life has been crazy and has only started to slow down as of yesterday. I've had no time for exercise or meal prep/planning, but I changed my work schedule (and kids' daycare/home schedule) so I can cut costs having them home with me and not have to work so much, thereby, in theory, allowing for more free time to meal plan and exercise. I really need to find non slurry protein foods I can make in advance that I can just microwave and go. I like a crunch/texture to my food, so stews and chilis are getting old. My loss has not been consistent -- at all, LOL. When I have more time I'll detail it, but honestly, it's like -5, then -.2, maybe -1.3, -.3 -- it seems very slow and spotty, but the little bits add up to a lot! I'm calming down on my paranoia about wanting to be down a million pounds in X amount of time. I am now looking at this as a great opportunity to learn about my habits/triggers and work on tweaking myself with improvement as I go on this journey. Also, seeing that I'm being compliant with food, meeting my goals, and STILL having weeks of no loss -- or sometimes even a freaking GAIN, it makes me kinder with myself on failing in the past before WLS. Granted, I'm not working out, but still -- I NEVER stuck to a low carb/high protein diet at 800-1000 calories a day with just willpower, and I see now that even being "perfect" (or pretty darn close,) I still have gains and stalls and weeks where the losses are just piddly. I guess it's just my body adjusting, doing its thing. Please keep me posted how you are doing! So glad you got your surgery in 11/11. That's wonderful!

I had my first BM issue this morning. Felt very constipated even though I went a little yesterday. Was bloated and it was also causing issues when urinating...felt like i couldn't empty my bladder. Realized I was not drinking enough so more water today and also started on stool softener. Haven't gone yet, but passed gas several times since mid afternoon and that alone made me feel better. Will continue with the stool softener and water and hopefully that will do the trick. Sorry if this is TMI but I figured based on the topic, it would be OK to share...)

I am home...got home yesterday. The gas is moving sorry for the TMI...my mom is here taking care of me. God bless tea and this heating pad. Each day does get better but i cant wait to be walking normal again...but i am thankful for how things have gone so far!

Hello All; I have been low carbing for the last two months and doing pretty well averaging a 1-2 pound loss each week. Well TOM came (sorry if TMI) went up 5 lbs, but didn't worry and sure enough 1 week later I was down the same 5 lbs. Now here is the extremely frustrating part...... 1 1/2 weeks later the scale has not budged. I have followed the low carb diet to the T, the ketosis stick can't get any darker, I drink my 8 glasses of Water faithfully and I have upped my aerobic exercise from 30 minutes a day to 60. What is going on. I know me and when disappointment sets in, depression is not far behind. I am trying my best to hold on, but I am truly doing all that I can do at this point to loose and my body is not cooperating. I still have quite a ways to go on my weight loss journey and to be stalled so far in the beginning really, really hurts. HELP!!!!!!!!!

In addition to face, stomach, arms, chest and feet, i have also noticed inner thighs are practically gone, making it easy to drop things through the legs. May be TMI, but my existing underwear has turned into a tent because my behind has flattened and waist and upper leg area has shrunk so much (in just 3 months). My twin brother is currently 10 lbs less than me, but i already look much smaller then him, he is considered overweight, but pretty normal for a guy that is almost 40.

So today I am 5 weeks out. I have lost 42 lbs. Had a week stall when TOM came to visit but all is well now. Some of the NSV's I have encountered: Going from a size 18 to a size 12 pants and XXL shirts to L. All of my clothes are way too big now except for the ones I held on to and thank goodness I did. Not getting out of breath to do anything.... and I do mean anything. My boyfriend putting his arms around my waist and being able to grab his elbows with his hands...and commenting on it. Ex-boyfriends seeing me and telling me how great I look. I have a ton but I have saved the best for last........ And sex is so worth it now!!!! Ok, ok. I know TMI .... but it is so true.lol I hope everyone else is doing great as well!

This is TMI, I know, but something has got to give!! Ok, I know this is not something we ladies like to discuss and being a private person makes this very uncomfortable, but I HAVE GOT TO HAVE SOME INPUT AND HELP! Since my surgery, I have had a yeast infection every month, without fail. Has anyone else experienced this???? If so, besides the normal medications/creams, what else did you do to help it? I have done some research on other sites, and a few folks have had this same issue. One said taking a probiotic helped, one said eating yogurt alot helps (and I do eat Greek yogurt at least 2 times a week), etc. I wonder if my body is in "shock" from all of the rapid changes and for some reason it is reacting this way???? Could it be a vitamin imbalance??? The first one started right after I came home, and I just marked it up to the catheter and antibiotics that I was given in the hospital---as we all know, it is totally normal to get a yeast infection from taking antibiotics, no big deal. But, the infections are returning with a vengence each month, and each one is worse than the month before. Any suggestions, similar experiences??? Signed, ON FIRE IN ALABAMA, AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY.