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I have surgery scheduled for Friday August 3rd WOOHOO but I have a question and I know my husband is going to ask me lol my husband is an over the road truck driver and I see him 2-3 times a month. How long do u have to wait after surgery before having sex? I'm sorry if it's a TMI question but no one ever asks or talks about it. Thanks Everyone

2 weeks out for me. We did it slowly to make sure nothing happened, but there were no problems. I was on my side. Sorry if tmi

I Am 2 weeks out and in feel amazing!!!! Not a single problem with eating, pain, anything! I have gone hiking, walking, cleaning, a 6 hour trips to the zoo and still feel amazing!! So my question is when did you have sex for the 1st time.....I want to but am scared..... Sorry for the personal question but I never thought to ask the surgeon and they never said anything orther than don't get pregnant Thank!!

take a teaspoon of MOM, mint is best..... I was not allowed metamucil til 12 weeks after surgery..... I had one day I thought I would SH!& an elephant but coud not. IT is a miserable feeling....I tried enamas, it was too hard to come out...sorry tmi It took me 3 enamas one day just t get some relief!!! take the MOM and get it over with..the miruleux did me NO GOOD at all. best of luck to u

LOL AS TMI as this was.... I laughed! I was at WalGreens once and someone stunk up the WHOLE back area by the bathrooms.... It was so bad people were gaging when they walked by!

I just found out I have to a gyn surgery within the next few weeks. Just wondering if any other females have gone thru this and if their surgery dates had to be changed because of it. I have to have an endometrial balloon ablation with a dnc and hysteroscopy. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

UMMM yeah. Definitely more hair. I have not even been sleeved but have been losing some weight. I can tell an increase in both the testosterone and hair levels. LOL but not kidding. At this rate I may be mistaken for a Sasquatch if I go thru with the sleeve! Seriously though it's not like long and gross or anything just more of it. TMI??

I have seen a lot of pre-op diets and this one seems very restrictive. I am ok eating only veggies or something along those lines, but I don't think I have that option. I wonder if I understand the diet correctly. I was told to come pick up my pre-op diet, and it was boxes of little packets--no instructions. I counted them and divided by 14 days. That was 3 packets a day of 130 calories each.....so I guess it isn't even 500 calories a day. I think it is a bit worse because of the timing (TMI--sorry) around my cycle. I am dropping a ton of pre-period Water weight and that always makes me feel weak. I wonder if I could take some potassium or something. I usually eat a high-potassium food around this time of the month and it really helps with the weakness and dizziness. Did anyone else have a diet that didn't allow anything except 3 packets of pudding or shake mix a day? The more I think about it the more I am beginning to wonder if I am doing this right. Oh--the chicken was boiled breast with no skin and the asparagus was with no butter. I knew I was screwing up and didn't want to go too far.

Tmi, but my top 3 things are: 1) wiping my butt without trying to be a contortionist. 2) shopping in any store I want and wearing pretty clothes, and heels that don't hurt 3) just FEEL BETTER!!! Inside, out, and mentally!!

OMG! THE GAS HAS PASSED! Last night with the advice of walk walk walk. I did and finally went to the bathroom ( TMI) and it exploded. I am soooo happy the gas pains has went away. That was the worst things I have experience so far. Thank you everyone!

Horrible and tmi, but I can't WAIT to have some constipation and be more on the normal side. I go 3+ times a day. IBS, anxiety, and food doesn't agree with me since I was AT LEAST in 2nd grade! So hoping I will go from 3+ per day to every other day! Lol

I have a TMI question for any ladies that have already been sleeved. I am scheduled for this Tuesday morning but I started aunt flo today, please tell me that won't postpone my surgery!!

First off, I am already talking to my doctor, just wondering of anyone else has had this happen to them and what the outcome was. The day before I was 3 weeks out (Tuesday), and the day before I was able to move from liquids to mushy food, I got sick. It started with constipation, which I called my doctor's office and took appropriate medication for. After I took the meds, everytime I tried to have a BM (sorry about the TMI) I would throw up. The next day I would throw up even if I wasn't trying to have a BM. I couldn't keep anything down, not even Water. I called my doctor and he advised me to go to ER to get rehydrated and they could take X-rays. Since I live 3 hours from his hospital, he couldn't personally oversee my ER visit. I was admitted to the hospital, where a really spectacular nurse had to get up close and personal to help me with my bowel problems. The whole time in the hospital, I was able to keep liquids down. I was discharged Friday night and went to see my doctor the next morning (he very conveniently came to town that weekend). I had not thrown up again at this point, so I told him everything was fine now. We went shopping after the doctor visit, then went to eat. I only had water and was only about 2 ounces in when my chest tightened, my shoulders started hurting and I felt like everything was sitting in my throat. When I got home, I threw up all the water along with some foam. Since then, I haven't been able to keep anything down. I only get about an ounce in and everything starts all over again. I take slow sips, my water is at room temperature. I tried a Protein shake this morning and not even that would stay down. I really don't want to go back to the hospital. All my X-rays showed no blockage so I really don't know what could causing this.

What are the side effects? I was told the medicine can interfere with **ahem** orgasims (sorry for TMI). mine isn't too bad but its getting worse. hopeing it will lessen after surgery but unwilling to give up one of the few good things in my life....lmao

Wow...this feels amazing..posting in the POST op section:P I am day five post-op and decided to write a little on how everything went. I got to the hospital at 5:30 on tues morning, by the time they checked me in and I got a room it was prob 6:30. I used the bathroom in the waiting room not knowing I had to give a sampl, they started me an IV wide open to fill my bladder and up and get me to pee. TMI alert there will be some TMI moments in this so please bear with me! ^.^ I was verrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, extremellllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy nervous but they couldn't give me anything until I had talked to everyone(nurses) that I needed to talked to. Besides giving me an IV they gave me some thick yellow stuff to swoosh around in my mouth and swallow, it was ok, it was an anitbiotic. They used my urine for a pregnancy test. I talked to my doctor, 2 anthesists, and 2 nurses and they all basicaly were telling me everything you already know. The anthesist(can't spell) made me feel sooooooooooo much more comfortable and better because I was a nervous wreck. I was gripping onto the bed and everytime they would talk about putting me under I started to tear up. They gave me some antibiotic for my stomach, pepcid, through my iv and then right before they wheeled me away to OR they gave me some ver-sad. The lady was saying after they gave it to me I probably wouldn't remember nothing but I remember everything, all it did was make me very calm. I remember looking around the OR but I couldn't see too good because I obv. can't wear my contacts/glasses. People started putting Patches and stickers all over my body and unting my gown. I remember the anthesist telling me they were going to give me some oxygen and to take some deep breaths and then I would go to sleep but psshhh I know that wasn't any oxygen! LOL! As soon as I took one breath I was knocked out! Next thing I know I was in the recovery room! SOOOOO hAPPY! I was still a little disoreinted but I knew I was ok. They gave me some pain meds and then wheeled me off to a room where I could see my hubbs. I was so very tired, I would fall asleep mid coverstation with people, all i wanted to do is sleep. They took me to x-ray to do a swallow and it took like 2 hours because the radiologist was busy doing something. It was uncomfortable laying on the table for a while. They took me back to my room and I heard 2 nurses talking and it sounded like they said someone had over 40 scans and showed 2 leaks!!!! It started freaking me out! I don't think they were from my doctor, I think I was his only patient that day but it sounded awful! That would explain why the other doc was so busy! After they got my report that I was leak free they gave me my discharge papers! I hadn't even walked yet or had anything to drink. I thought that was VERY odd. THey said I did extremely well compared to most people and since I did so well with the swallow I would with my liquids which I have been! They have me some ice chips and a wheel chair and I left a 2 pm! Now since I am at home I have been feeling VERY GOOD. Day one and two I mostly had gas pain and nauesa. I did notice that no matter how much I hated it-walking really helped with the gas. Pehengren helps with the nausea and I still haven't threw up even tho sometimes I want to. The first two days I also have not got my Protein and i notice that made me more sick feeling, when I would get some in it made me feel better. TOday i havent done so good with protein either, only 35 grams, i have been sleeping alot so that messes me up. My incisions have been hurting, esp the one my stomach came out of, so that is why I am taking pain pills, but that is really my only pain now. My period started today, I got a hemmorroid, ouch, and then I am consitpated so all that is causing discomfort. My hubbs went to the store and gave me enema lol!!!!! It really helped!! I feel alot better now, now I am going to be putting Fiber in my Water. Well I have typed way too much so I am going to sign off for now! Sorry the last part isn't as detailed as I wanted it but if anyone pre-op has any questions, feel free to ask me anything!! & BTW I HAVE LOST 8 POUNDS!

Take your time sitting up and getting out of bed. Be patient with yourself in the bathroom (tmi, I know) because it HURTS. I remember I got my period hours after surgery! So irritated, but I survived, and you will too! Congratulations- dont forget to plan for the new you!

For me, I start to get uncomfortable, a feeling of tightness, and from experience if I eat beyond that it just wont go down, its sort of in the esophagus and if you burp (sorry if this is TMI) it is a wet burp so its clear your food has exceeded what can fit in your sleeve, I can at times walk it off but sometimes I just have to throw up so I can feel better. Vomiting with the sleeve is sort of different from before surgery, if you are taking a PPI there is no real stomach acid, and since there is so little in there there is no real force behind it, your chewed food just exits like it went down. A rule of thumb is not to consume over 4 oz in the early months, then slowly increase and see what you can tolerate. When I am full I have a few hiccups, some people get a runny nose...not sure why but with so much stomach tissue removed our sensors probably need time to adjust with messages back and forth to and from the brain. Hope this helps explain it from my perspective.

I'm on a liquid diet 3 protien shakes and 2 sf jello plus water!!! And I feel like of I'm getting prepared for any dumping syndrome that may happen to me ;-( Tmi but my stool has been very soft and I need no help to go. It's not so bad... Being that I lost 10lbs already. I can't wait to find out how much longer I have to go before I can have my surgery. Hope all our restroom issues go back to normal

I woke up to vomiting in a bag ( sorry TMI ) right after surgery. I was nauseous and threw up a couple of times ( more like dry-heaved more than anything ) for the first day/night or so. It really wasnt that bad. I have been fine ever since. They sent me home with pills to prevent it but I didn't need them!

This is probably a little TMI but I'll just say it lol so I was feeling horrible after eating a few crackers so I made myself throw up. The only weird thing was is that I only threw up clear looking liquid.. Is this normal. Please do not judge me for making myself throw up. I sat here for almost 2 hours with no relief after walking and trying other things to make the feeling pass. pre surgery weight 310 • RNY 6/20/2012 • current weight 280

The liquid diet is a common feature of the bariatric surgery landscape, as widespread and despised as kudzu in the South. Since there’s no way around it, you might as well make the best of it by learning the reasons for it and trying the practical tips I’m going to give you. WHY A LIQUID DIET? Bariatric clinics use differing protocols for their patients’ pre-op and post-op diets. Why? When you finish explaining that, perhaps you could also explain the meaning of life? If you asked your surgeon or dietitian, the answer would probably go something like this: “We have adapted these procedures to suit the needs of the patients in our individual practice, based on our experience of what produces the best outcome and the fewest complications.” In the case of adjustable gastric band patients like us, you might expect the band manufacturers to dictate what are called “best practices” in patient education and care, but the fact is that if Allergan and Ethicon-Endo were to employ armies of band police to supervise every bariatric surgeon in the world, no one would be able to afford a gastric band. However those clinics’ protocols may vary, the liquid diet is extremely common part of bariatric patients’ pre-op and post-op instructions. Contrary to popular belief, the liquid diet is not intended to torture the patient. The main purpose of a pre-op diet is to reduce the size and improve the texture of the liver (any weight loss is a plus). The liver is a big organ whose left lateral segment lies on top of the part of the stomach where the band is placed. The pre-op diet uses up the glycogen stored in the liver, shrinking it and making it sturdier, less slippery, and easier to maneuver with laparoscopic instruments. This not only makes the surgeon’s job easier and quicker, it also reduces the risk of complications for you. If your surgeon doesn’t require a pre-op diet of any type, I would have to conclude that he or she is mighty confident in their surgical abilities, but I would also want to ask them how often they have to abort a surgery or convert from a laparoscopic to an open incision technique because of problems handling the patient’s liver. The purpose of the post-op diet is to keep you nourished while you and your upper GI tract recover from surgery. Although AGB surgery is usually minimally invasive (when done laparoscopically), it does require incisions and some internal dissection, as well as manipulation of your internal organs. All this can cause swelling. One day your stomach was fat, dumb and happy. Now it's got a collar around its neck. In order for it to digest food in any form, your stomach muscles must expand and contract to break the food down and move it along to your lower GI tract. Expecting your stomach to do that comfortably and safely while wearing its brand-new collar just isn’t wise. So to allow everything to heal properly, and the band to seat itself against your stomach in the correct position, most surgeons require patients to follow a staged post-op diet, starting with liquids. What happens if you don’t follow your post-op recovery diet? Food can get stuck in the stoma or esophagus and cause an obstruction and/or vomiting. Vomiting can disturb the position of the band, which can cause the band to slip. Peristalsis (the muscular action of moving food through the digestive system) can disturb the position of the band, and that can cause the band to slip. So don't do it! "But I already cheated!" you say? It's not the end of the world, but don't do it again! "But I'm starving!" you say? That's too bad, but that isn't the end of the world, either. Not, it's not fun, but hunger is not a good excuse for cheating your health in such a major way. I'd guess that seven of ten bandsters starve their way through the liquid diet phase. If you absolutely cannot bear the liquid diet for another second, or you think you might be genuinely allergic to your protein shakes (which could be lactose intolerance rearing its ugly head), call your surgeon or nutritionist before you put something in your mouth that isn't on the approved list. And by the way, the same advice applies to following a liquid diet after each fill you get, so you might as well perfect your liquids survival technique now because you’re going to need it over and over again in the future. SOME PRACTICAL TIPS FOR SURVIVING YOUR LIQUID DIET Don't worry about how many calories you're consuming, but stay away from milkshakes, ice cream, frappes and fancy coffee drinks. Drink protein drinks (protein will keep you going longer than sugary stuff like fruit juice). If you don't like the smell or taste of protein powder, try putting the drink in the freezer long enough for it to get slushy, and/or put it in a covered beverage container. Sometimes it's the smell, not the taste, that's bothersome. If you don't care for sweet tastes, try unflavored protein powder (from various sources including Unjury®) or Unjury® chicken soup flavor protein powder (www.unjury.com). Add Unjury® chicken soup flavor protein powder to blended creamy soups (follow the Unjury® heating instructions or it will clump up and refuse to dissolve). Add fat free half-and-half or milk to prepared chicken bouillon or broth for a creamy drink. Add unflavored or fruit-flavored protein powder when making sugar-free gelatin. Check out the recipes at the Unjury website. Be aware that “unflavored” doesn’t mean the protein has no flavor, so the end product isn’t going to taste exactly like the original. Buy your favorite soup from a local restaurant, strain out the solids, and drink the broth (Chinese hot and sour soup is wonderful this way). Buy or make bean soups, puree and thin them with broth, water, or milk. The pureed soup must be thin enough to pass through a drinking straw. Add powdered non-fat milk to soups and shakes to boost the protein. Crunch on sugar-free popsicles, slushies, Italian ice, or ice chips. Don't hang around people who are eating real food. Experiment with the temperature of your liquids - cold may feel or taste better than hot, or the other way around. To prevent boredom, experiment with recipes for protein shakes (you'll find at least a million recipes online). Keep busy! This is a good time to address holiday cards. Who cares if it’s the middle of June? AND IN THE TMI DEPARTMENT… A few final words about your liquid diet. Don’t panic if consuming liquids sends you running to the bathroom more often than you’d like. LIQUIDS IN = LIQUIDS OUT. If that happens to you, ask your doctor to suggest a safe, effective OTC anti-diarrheal medication. And remember: This too shall pass. In more ways than one.

Hey ya'll, I was 3 weeks post op on Monday. I've had a pretty seamless recovery thus far, but here lately every time I drink or eat anything I get the foamies/excess saliva feeling. And it also feels like I have a bubble right in the middle of my chest. Which sometimes feels like it will never go away. The best way I can describe it is that I feel like I want to burp SUPER bad, but when I do, nothing come out - or I get food/liquid come up with my attempted burp (sorry for the TMI!!) I think maybe I am eating/drinking too quick and not taking small enough bites maybe? I've been struggling with remembering the small bites an slow.... Maybe I need to go back to more milder foods? I am really struggling with wanting to eat ANYTHING right now. I should be eating 600-800 cals at this point and I am lucky if I get 350 in or so a day. Any of you veteran sleevers out there have any input? I am also experiencing the "common" 2-3 week post-op stall, but we won't even go there! LOL Trying to keep my sanity over that one.

To continue from my 3rd day post op and not feeling well, my rant follows over to today. Still feeling bad, went back to the doctor, they took an xray and I am backed up. FOS is what the nurse said. LOL. I have been taking my milk of magnesia but nothing has happened yet. Ok sorry, I know TMI, but they were able to get some air out of the band from the sx, I did feel a little better, they gave me a steriod shot, had me drink a little of hot tea and they sent me home. Half way home I puked the tea on myself. (Not fun when you are driving down the highway.) Went back and spent 3 hours on IV fluids and some Zofran. Felt much better, but now that I am home, I am feeling nauseous again. Need to eat but dont want to. Please let me know if anyone has gone through this and if you have any advice. Sorry for the rant, thank you for reading. :-)

Hallo!!!! My surgery was done on June 23... INT Hospital by Dr. Ponce de Leon.... Surgery when well, when i woke up i was in a lot of pain and sill out. When they took me to the recovery room after 2 hrs... This wear pain on by back was killing me the only thing that it was in my mine is walk, walk, and walk, I started walking 21/2 hrs after my surgery because of this intense pain in my back (right right where you tight your bra TMI) even the nurse were telling me is gas once you start walking it will go away... so that's what i did.... i wen into surgery at 8am by 11am i was walking, i recall the nurses telling are you ok are sure you feel good... i just wanted for this pain to go away... the only thing that it was relieving the pain was walking and having by back massage.... by 2pm Dr. Ponce comes in and he ask me how you feel explain to him that i was ok beside the pain on my back... I even told him this gases are killing me, he said is it your shoulders, i said no is my back... and i pointed out... he said ohhh! that's not gas really!!! so i ask ok so what it is it... he said you have a muscle spasm... he goes don't worried i will take care of... when out of my room spoke to nurse 10 min latter here she comes with this all meds.... right into my IV 5min later pain gone.... no more back pain... after that i was in haven... i was able to walk every 1/2... for the 2 days i was in hospital i did good the only thing the bug me at the end was the drain... very uncomfortable..... I passed the leak test, remove my drain... and stared with the liquids... ice chips and juice... that was good. Today I am 10 days... feel very good, the only thing that still bugs me is one of my incision, it has not close yet but is not infected i try to keep it clean and all the time, what i have notice is that since i got home i have check bs and before surgery fasting i couldn't have never get done 220 or 230 fasting or 190 before bed and NOW fasting the highest i had it has been 111 and before bed 83 and i am not taking any meds.... thank god... i am able to keep all my liquids, my protein and my vitamins... when i stared my Journey i was 247 as of today my scale says 229.6 (omg).... I'm still working on my head hunger specially when i smell the food or i see other people eating, other than that I am good.....