Search the Community

Hmm...maybe you need a little cleansing of the pipes...just throwing it out there. I have back pain at times that seems to coincide with a # 2 (sorry for the TMI).

Hi Everyone!! I had my 2 and a halfish post op yesterday, n i was surprised to see 23 pounds were gone . The doctor was pleased on how well I am doing, but im not!! Im so sick of the protein shakes they make me want to barf!! sorry for the tmi.. i know that i can come here and some of you probably feel the same way. I have been eating tuna, yogurt( which i hate) cheese, turkey and cottage cheese. I also tired eggs but i hate those too. So now back to the protein intake i need to find something that i like. I curently have Isopure vanilla flavored, EAS chocolate flavored and Optisourse this is a caramel flavor....but the taste is horrible now i have tried it with fruit as a smoothie and this morning it almost came back up what do you guys think about something else that is more like water flavored or clear n not horrible. I was thinking about those Special K protein water drinks...also i try and get in 3 bottles of water the 16 oz ones those kinda go down good. I feel like im not doing good enough and its frustrating me so much. I feel like crap in the mornings i wake up not hungry at all and just to think that i have to get the protein down yuck!! i don't even feel like getting back up. This is so sad i know i have worked so hard to give up now. Since i have lost so much weight last year i was 350!! now im 267. I hate this and the only thing im looking forward is being able to have more food and less protein drinks. The doctor told me yesterday that next week i can try grilled fish, chicken, turkey so i am!! and he wants me to drink 2 protein drinks...but they are getting expensive

Krista, thank you so much for posting your experience. My surgery date is next Tuesday and this helps me know what to expect. Good luck and I look forward to your future postings. Marti Hello all, I got through my surgery and 2 weeks of recovery just fine. I thought I would post a detailed description of how it went because I know how apprehensive I was about the whole thing, and I really wanted to know exactly what to expect. February 23 was the date of my surgery. I was having the gastric sleeve procedure, a hernia repair, and my gall bladder removed. I had these procedures done in Downers Grove, IL by Dr. Rosen. I had to arrive at the hospital at 5:00 am. They weighed me and put me in a room where I was asked to put on the hospital gown and get in the hospital bed. They then put an IV in my hand and put the compression stockings on my legs. I was given a couple of shots (I'm not entirely sure what they were for). Every time a nurse stopped in I had to repeat my name and date of birth and they had to check my wrist band. All this happened over the course of 2 hours. I was allowed to have one person in the room with me and we pretty much just chatted in the in between times of the nurses visits. At about 6:45 am the surgeon stopped by to review the procedures we were doing. I also met with the anesteologist. My surgery was scheduled for 7:00 am, and at about 7:05 am they started to wheel me to the operating room. I did make them stop at the bathroom because I was nervous and really felt the need to go one last time. Up until this point, I had been very calm and at peace with my decision. My heart rate had been right around 65 the whole time. But now I was extremely nervous. They wheeled the bed through what felt like 20 different corridors. We arrived in the operating room. It was COLD and smelled funny. They had me move to the bed they would be doing the surgery on. I lay there and looked up at these 3 huge lights (reminded me of old movies where the police were interrogating you and they had that big bright light in your face) and I started to really freak out. I kept thinking that this was going to be the last place I would ever see (I was so nervous about the idea of dying that the night before I wrote goodbye letters to all my friends and family). I started to cry and the nurses and doctors tried to comfort me, but I can't say it really worked. I would say that they knocked me out within about 2 minutes of when I started crying. The next thing I remember is waking up in a considerable amount of pain. I believe it was around 10:30 am. The nurse wanted to know my level of pain on a scale of 1-10. I told her 6-7. I also told her I had to go to the bathroom. It was horrifically painful to have them lift my hips to put the bedpan under me, and in the end, I couldn't go anyway. I stayed in the recovery area for 3 hours because they didn't have any regular rooms ready. For the most of the time I slept and the pain medication kicked in, so I didn't feel so crappy. Finally, at about 1:00 pm, I was taken to my room. I again pretty much slept and i would say that with the morphine, my pain was about a 2. I didn't feel bloated from gas. My biggest problem was a constant need to pee... major inflamation due to the catheter. In fact, the need to pee was so overwhelming that by 4:00 pm, I forced myself to get out of bed and try to go to the bathroom again. Getting out of the bed was incredibly painful. As long as I was not moving in bed, I felt fine, but getting out of bed hurt! I became incredibly nauseous when I sat up and I told them I needed a bucket in case I puked while on the toilet. I dry heaved a couple of times (that hurt like a mother!). They put something in my IV to get rid of the nausea, and I never experienced it again. I still wasn't able to go to the bathroom, but as long as I was up, they had me walk a lap. I pretty much had to get up every hour from that point on to try and use the bathroom. Most of the time, I would also walk a lap. I should add, that they put some blue dye in the ice chips so that when I was able to pee, it was bright green. The blue dye helps them make sure you have no leaks. If there is a leak, the blood in the drain would turn purple. If there is no leak, then your pee will be green. Around 5:30 pm, I went to radiology where they made me drink something that really left me feeling like I might hurl. After I got that down, I had to do the barrium drink. That wasn't as gross. The cool thing was that I could see the screen so I could watch the Fluid move down my throat and into my stomach. I was down there for about 10 minutes and then it was back up to my room. At 10 pm the nurse came in to tell me I had to give myself my first heprin shot (my dr. requires all patients to give themselves 3 shots of heprin a day for 2 weeks following surgery). The idea of injecting myself with something really freaked me out, but I knew I had to do it or they wouldn't release me from the hospital. I had to give myself the shot in either my thigh or my stomach. I did the thigh. It took me a while to work up the nerve to put the needle in my leg, but I did it. It wasn't really painful and I would say that by day 3 after surgery, it was no big deal to do anymore. They also checked by blood sugar level which was 159! This completely freaked me out because one of the big reasons I wanted this surgery was to prevent diabetes, which runs heavily in my family. Because the blood sugar level was so high, I had to get a insulin shot. They had to check the sugar level every 6 hours after that. The next time they checked it was 139 and the time after that it was 88. They told me that sometimes surgery causes your blood sugar levels to spike, but it will usually drop back down to where it should be by the next day. That night I had to sleep with some tubing below my nose because the sleep study showed I have low oxygenation in my blood when I sleep. This thing was to monitor that. A buzzer would sound if the oxygen level dropped below 90. So, every single time I would fall asleep or start to drift off, this annoying buzzer would start ringing and I would have to call the nurse to get it turned off. At 3 am I finally asked what the purpose of this was, other than making sure I didn't sleep a wink the entire night. I was even more irritated about the whole thing when she told me the buzzer didn't sound out at the nurses station. The only place it rang was in my room. I made enough of a stink about the whole thing that they changed the tubing so it was putting out oxygen and would keep the stupid alarm from ringing the second I started to sleep. I don't think I slept after that because I was awake every time a nurse came in to check a vital or give me a shot. I will say, expect to be woken up at least every 2-3 hours. The next day, they took me off the morphine and gave me a form of vicodin as a pain killer. I continued walking every hour (and going to the bathroom). The surgeon stopped by around 8:00am to check on me. He said that since I had been up moving around so much and I was doing quite well, that he was going to have them release me around 2pm (provided I could drink 4 oz of Water every hour with no problem). I had no problem with this and was ready to go, but my nurse was so ditzy that it was after 4:30 by the time I was finally released. Before I could go, they had to remove the drain, which I was really nervous about. She assured me it wouldn't hurt, but would be more uncomfortable feeling than anything. I was still braced for serious pain because friends had told me it hurt a lot. However, when she pulled it out, it really wasn't painful. It was more of a bizzare feeling because you can feel that tubing snaking around your internal organs. I think because it was only in there for a day, the skin hadn't grown around it so there was no pain. I went home. The next 4 days, I was stiff and sore. I continued taking the liquid vicodin type medicine and my pain levels were around a 2. sleeping was difficult. I slept on the couch with my back propped way up so I could be in an almost sitting position. By day 5, I stopped taking the pain medication except for at night. By day 7, I quit the pain medication all together and was able to resume driving. If I had had to, I probably could have resumed working, but I was still very easily exhausted. I took a full 2 weeks off of work because I didn't want to have to give myself injections at work. Overall, I felt like the surgery was far easier than I had expected. The only hard part was getting in & out of bed & moving position, but the more you force yourself to do it, the easier it gets. I haven't had any problems with throwing up or anything like that. Relearning how to eat has been a struggle and is my biggest focus right now. I hope this long and detailed (and in some cases TMI) story is helpful to those of you with this surgery in your future. Krista

Oh thanks Laura...I took your advice about the liquid Lortab and it worked. I just awoke and have an incredible gas bubble in my tummy from hell. I've been making laps around my house trying to relieve it. Then all the sudden the vomit alarm went off! Fortunately, after one dry heave it passed (sorry for the TMI). I haven't been worried about the protein as I do good to get sips of water down. I pray today is a better day.

I want to give hope to the others of you about to go in for surgery. I had a rough time with nausea the day after my surgery but then it started to subside on Thurs morning and today I have had none. I walked for 45 mins twice, once outside and once on the treadmill. I also walked the dogs with my hubby for another 25 mins. I went shopping at Target and to the park with my son. I also did light cleaning and took two showers. I am not dragging around and am on the full liquid stage and the liquids are going down pretty good...just sipping them all slowly. I met my protein and fluid goal for the day and am very pleased with my progress. The pain is very little, only some at the largest incision on my left side. I expect that tomorrow I will feel even better and plan to go to the gym and to a birthday party in the afternoon. I had a bowel movement this morning after my first protein shake and it was completely liquid and came in spurts...I know TMI but lots of you worry about when to expect this. I am not weighing until I see the surgeon two weeks from now b/c don't want to know if the IV fluids put weight on me. Overall I would say I am a success story already and I hope other people have experiences similar to mine. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Also...have to mention a wonder drug I was given for nausea called Emend...it is awesome. It is usually given to chemotherapy patients for severe nausea and my surgeon ordered it for me preop and postop...its the bomb!

So just wondering if any ladies can tell me if AF came for a visit when you were gonna have surgery. I'm so grossed out not sure if I'm allowed to wear a tampon.. I know they will be doing a catheter... double ewww!! Please help

Donna, you excited? The 29th will be here soon Elizabeth...spounds like all went well. sorry you're so sore. I also feel like it's not quite real, that the band is IN now. I keep feeling my port I can't stop belching today. I also had my first luck in the bathroom this morning (sorry for tmi). My belly is getting itchy, a sure sign of healing. I'm feeling better since I backed off to just liquids this morning and took the nausea medication. am still going to just lay low today and keep it to thin fluids. My mom is picking me and the 3 kids up later to go to my folks house (40 min drive) for St Patricks dinner, wher emy husband will meet us and drive us all back home. He works up the street from them. I may take some tomato soup with and yogurt. I'll see how I feel. I may just stick to chicken broth and tea. Is anyone else's belly swollen around the incisions? i look pregnant

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been able to get on and get my story on here but I've been sleeping a WHOLE lot. First off congrats to my fellow March 15th Bandsters WE DID IT!! And to everyone who was banded today or yesterday congrats. Also Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone. Tuesday morning...I slept about 3 hours lol (From Monday into Tuesday) I had to be at the hospital at 7:30 surgery was at 9:30. Waiting was not fun but finally after they got my IV in and shot me up with my blood thinner I took my walk to the operating room and I'm not going to lie I almost ran the other way. I laid up on the operating table put the oxygen on my mask and before I knew it they shot me in my IV and I was passed out. I woke up in th operating room afterwards but fell asleep again because I don't remember how I got to recovery lol. From there once I woke up a bit more I was feeling ok. I had a morphine drip that I was able to control but really didn't need it that much. I had to stay over night because my surgeon requires it but she also requires most her patients to stay in ICU, especially if they have sleep apnea (which I do). There were no rooms open in ICU so I ended up staying right in recovery all night. I was able to get up and walk around quite a few times which felt good. I also spent a lot of time sitting in a chair. Bad part was I didn't get much sleep. Starting at 2PM I had to drink an ounce of Water once an hour for 4 hours then after that I moved up to 2 ounces and so on until I hit 4 ounces. That went fine no throwing up, no getting stuck. I was discharged around noon yesterday and since I've been home I've been really sore through out my whole body. I feel like my surgeon ran me over a few times with a mack truck lol. I haven't had much gas pain but have been letting out some nice sized burps and I've passed gas a few times (sorry TMI I know lol). Since I didn't get much sleep the night before surgery or the night of surgery I went to bed @ 8PM last night and slept till 8 AM this morning woke up took a pain pill and went back to sleep till 11AMish. If I feel a little better later I'm going to try and take a walk outside since it's so nice out. Sorry if I rambled a little I was just trying to get it all in. I am still in disbelief that I have a band in me and it's actually done! I'm trying to get my Protein shake down but I get full quick so I'm doing it little by little. Thank you all so much for your support, if you haven't been banded yet a big GOOD LUCK to you!!! It's not as bad as I thought (pain wise) and it's totally worth it. <3

Well technically I do not have a black eye but it is more of way of saying I keep beating myself up. If you have read my blogs/post before, you know I have to maintain or gain (maybe 5lbs) to make BMI for insurance approval. My weight fluctuates on a daily basis, which is disheartening. Last night the insurance coordinator asked me my weight again and I felt so bad when she said you need to make BMI. I know ..Why is it that my whole life I have gained, gained, gained and now when I need to gain – it is so hard? I actually feel guilty about eating like there is no tomorrow. Ugh. Who would have thought gaining weight on purpose would suck so much? The dark truth: I ate alone in a Wal-Greens parking lot last night. As I slurped up my noodles in fettuccini sauce, I felt this deep sense of embarrassment. I looked around for parking lot cameras. I hid every bite from cars that parked beside me in fear they would see this fat girl eating alone in her car. Here I am stuffing my face in private because I didn’t have time to go home and eat dinner before my seminar. I really felt like a loser… a lonely, fat loser. I could have gotten a child size meal and been full, but I had to get a full size meal with extra sauce. This is how I got here in the first place. This is a series of bad choices, bad eating habits and even worse eater’s remorse which ultimately leads to more pigging out. Food was my friend and is now quickly becoming my enemy. I am starting to resent food. This might be great for when I finally get my surgery – but what if – oh that darn what if – what if I don’t get approved? I will have gained this weight for nothing? I so want to just drink one of my protein shakes and be done with lunch. Yet here I sit knowing if I drink it I will be full, eat nothing else and end up in the restroom losing 5 lbs LOL. Ok TMI .. sorry. To make things worse, I look in the mirror and absolutely hate this new heavier me. Not that I am that much heavier than I was last week, but 5lbs really weighs on you. I feel like a monster. My clothes look ill-fitted, I see rolls I didn’t notice before and I just feel like poo. I suppose I should just suck it up and wait out the month to see if I am approved. I am not trying to gain anymore weight after today. I will rely on my current weight and clothing to make BMI. We shall see. I just can’t force down anymore crap food and expect to feel “good”. I hate this feeling – like dragging @ss… not cool. Ok two black eyes… I know.

I'm a National Media Buyer at an Advertising Agency so while i'm up and running the halls i have no heavy lifting other than print media such as stacks of magazines etc. I was sleeved on 2/28/11 and went back to work full time exactly one week later. I will be 48 on the 29th and my starting weight was 215. I was 2 weeks exactly post op yesterday and I'm feeling great. No probelm doing lifting like laundry baskets, bending over doing yard work etc. They will restrick your lifting by weight (I think mine was 20 lbs). Here is the kicker and I think it makes a HUGE difference. I'm one of the rare people who have no problem getting the Protein drinks down. I manage at least 60 grams of protein per day and I take..... 6000 IU's of Vitamine D, B-12 sublingual, Prenatal Vitamines, Additional Omega 3, and Calcium. EVERY DAY....... with out fail. I have no problems chewing gummy Vitamins and they have become like a treat to me. As you can read.... everyone is different. I had no choice but to go back to work at one week so I just had myself amped up and ready to go. I really think a lot of it is emotional and Psychological. If you have a healthy home life and not dealing with emotional issues and/or physical issues that may prevent you from working I do think you will be OK to go back by week 2 and maybe even week 1 if you can keep your lifting to a minimal. This may be TMI.... but even my incisions are looking good this week. 3 of them you have to look really hard to even find. Best advice I can give you... Get yourself prepaired for work: preplan you meals... get plenty of rest while you are home (I was going crazy), and most of all GET PLENTY OF PROTEIN AND TAKE YOUR VITAMINS and don't forget to get plenty of fluids. Oh one more thing. During week one you will want to take at least one or two naps per day. By day 6 I was done with napping but I was ready for bed by 9pm. I would be sore in the mornings after first crawling out of bed at 6:30am. This went away as the day went on. By day 10/11 I was bouncing out of bed like my normal self. Now day 15 and I really feel no pain other than itching at the incision sites which is normal healing. I hope this help... It's so ramdom who different every experience is.

First I get a result from my dobutamine stress test that indicates I need to see the cardiologist....which has me in a panic that I wont get the surgery. Today I saw him and he could not understand why I was there as nothing in my results indicated the need. While relieve, I could not help being a bit bitter about having to pay $25 of our limited funds to be told this. Meanwhile I was so affected by the dobutamine I postponed my colonoscopy until this week from last Friday. Mind you, this is not normally on the list of required tests...but since I am due for it (sorry for the tmi but I had two polyps on the last one so need another after three years and my WLS doc wants it done before my sleeve). Last Thursday my sleep study results came back and I have apnea. Not too surprised, and more than willing to use the machine... Then I get a phone call from the Gastro department that the apnea dx means I need a general anesthetic for my colonoscopy and THAT WILL DELAY IT UNTIL POSSIBLY JUNE!!!!! I am beyond freaked- with the cardiologist out of the way and my psych eval coming up in two weeks, my nutritionist has said she will help me get the surgery in April, May at the latest. WTF!!!!!! The wacky thing is if I had only had my procedure last week..... DANG!!!!! I had one three years ago with the same doctor with no problem whatsoever for the twilight sleep. The fact that anesthesiologists are only available that far out could totally ruin my chances to have it before June, when we are plunged into our busy season as wedding photographers.

Just wondering if I could get some words of wisdom or some encouragement. I decided to reach out to my "Family of Sleevers." I started my one week of pre-op all liquid diet on Fri March 11th. My surgery is March 18th. Since Ive been on the liquid diet, which consists of soups, protein shakes, sugar free pudding/jello, water, and juice. I have felt sooo sick to my stomach. I feel so sick right now as I am writing this. Ive been curled up on my couch all day. I dont feel well enough to really drink anything else. I keep feeling like I am about to throw up (TMI-I know). I feel very nauseated. =/ I was wondering if anyone had any tips or suggestions as to feeling better? I will call my dr tomorrow to see if there are any other options. I dont know if my body is experiencing withdrawls or what. PLS help. Thank you!

Hello from sunny San Diego! When last you heard from me I was a ball of anxiety, preparing to leave Iraq. That was three weeks ago. Since then I did indeed leave Iraq, proceed through the aggravating Army redeployment process, cross the country (seeing friends and family along the way), and finally drove from Colorado to California, where I am now. Now I am with a dear friend helping her out with her newborn. My eating has been disordered of course, and unconscious anxieties about returning home etc. have manifested themselves in carb & chocolate indulgences that may or may not have turned into 3 lbs. Travelling (tmi alert) always makes me super constipated though so that might just be fake pounds, a couple of courses of miralax will tell. =P I am in the two-oh's though, I thought I was even 201 the other day but today it says 205, which may be the snickers (yeah I know I know) talking. This is a healing process, coming home, and way more difficult than leaving home. I actually bought a dress in the regular women's department at Target the other day - xxl of course, but still! It is a little thin cotton sundress with a deep v neck that I wore with a tiny amethyst cardigan and little silver strap wedgie sandals. It was the first time I had worn a short (knee length) dress in 12 years. Very strange. A lot to process. So I leave here soon and will travel northward to the bay area where I will settle down for 2+ months of quiet living, I will reconnect with my food, my exercise, my self. Here's hoping those months find me slipping under the 200 lb. equator and sailing toward goal. =)

Like the others have said, what you can and can't eat really depends on how you react to your band. Also, every surgeon has vastly different criteria for things they will limit or restrict. For instance, my surgeon doesn't want me to drink any carbonated beverages, pasta, rice or bread. However, lots of banders have no issues with those items. I'll say that I've only been banded about a week and a half now, so I don't have a lot of first hand experience. However, after being on a liquid and protein shake diet for essentially 3 weeks (2 weeks pre-op + 1 week post-op) and a few days into a thicker liquid diet - I did find something that had me regretting a decision. This evening I went to grab some coffee with a friend and had a iced latte. Warning: TMI!! All the wonderful soup I ate for dinner, combined with whatever amount of sugar and caffeine from the coffee, gave my tummy a rumble and I almost had an accident running to the bathroom! Explosive diarrhea would be putting it lightly. Not to mention a very tense drive home afterwards. I'm going to check this as "positive reinforcement" and will NOT be drinking that ever again.

I thought it was just me! I have been exercising and am still in the mushies phase. I seem to have experienced a lack in weight loss this week. Also, I am also pretty constipated (TMI). Glad to read I am not alone.

Hello all, I got through my surgery and 2 weeks of recovery just fine. I thought I would post a detailed description of how it went because I know how apprehensive I was about the whole thing, and I really wanted to know exactly what to expect. February 23 was the date of my surgery. I was having the gastric sleeve procedure, a hernia repair, and my gall bladder removed. I had these procedures done in Downers Grove, IL by Dr. Rosen. I had to arrive at the hospital at 5:00 am. They weighed me and put me in a room where I was asked to put on the hospital gown and get in the hospital bed. They then put an IV in my hand and put the compression stockings on my legs. I was given a couple of shots (I'm not entirely sure what they were for). Every time a nurse stopped in I had to repeat my name and date of birth and they had to check my wrist band. All this happened over the course of 2 hours. I was allowed to have one person in the room with me and we pretty much just chatted in the in between times of the nurses visits. At about 6:45 am the surgeon stopped by to review the procedures we were doing. I also met with the anesteologist. My surgery was scheduled for 7:00 am, and at about 7:05 am they started to wheel me to the operating room. I did make them stop at the bathroom because I was nervous and really felt the need to go one last time. Up until this point, I had been very calm and at peace with my decision. My heart rate had been right around 65 the whole time. But now I was extremely nervous. They wheeled the bed through what felt like 20 different corridors. We arrived in the operating room. It was COLD and smelled funny. They had me move to the bed they would be doing the surgery on. I lay there and looked up at these 3 huge lights (reminded me of old movies where the police were interrogating you and they had that big bright light in your face) and I started to really freak out. I kept thinking that this was going to be the last place I would ever see (I was so nervous about the idea of dying that the night before I wrote goodbye letters to all my friends and family). I started to cry and the nurses and doctors tried to comfort me, but I can't say it really worked. I would say that they knocked me out within about 2 minutes of when I started crying. The next thing I remember is waking up in a considerable amount of pain. I believe it was around 10:30 am. The nurse wanted to know my level of pain on a scale of 1-10. I told her 6-7. I also told her I had to go to the bathroom. It was horrifically painful to have them lift my hips to put the bedpan under me, and in the end, I couldn't go anyway. I stayed in the recovery area for 3 hours because they didn't have any regular rooms ready. For the most of the time I slept and the pain medication kicked in, so I didn't feel so crappy. Finally, at about 1:00 pm, I was taken to my room. I again pretty much slept and i would say that with the morphine, my pain was about a 2. I didn't feel bloated from gas. My biggest problem was a constant need to pee... major inflamation due to the catheter. In fact, the need to pee was so overwhelming that by 4:00 pm, I forced myself to get out of bed and try to go to the bathroom again. Getting out of the bed was incredibly painful. As long as I was not moving in bed, I felt fine, but getting out of bed hurt! I became incredibly nauseous when I sat up and I told them I needed a bucket in case I puked while on the toilet. I dry heaved a couple of times (that hurt like a mother!). They put something in my IV to get rid of the nausea, and I never experienced it again. I still wasn't able to go to the bathroom, but as long as I was up, they had me walk a lap. I pretty much had to get up every hour from that point on to try and use the bathroom. Most of the time, I would also walk a lap. I should add, that they put some blue dye in the ice chips so that when I was able to pee, it was bright green. The blue dye helps them make sure you have no leaks. If there is a leak, the blood in the drain would turn purple. If there is no leak, then your pee will be green. Around 5:30 pm, I went to radiology where they made me drink something that really left me feeling like I might hurl. After I got that down, I had to do the barrium drink. That wasn't as gross. The cool thing was that I could see the screen so I could watch the Fluid move down my throat and into my stomach. I was down there for about 10 minutes and then it was back up to my room. At 10 pm the nurse came in to tell me I had to give myself my first heprin shot (my dr. requires all patients to give themselves 3 shots of heprin a day for 2 weeks following surgery). The idea of injecting myself with something really freaked me out, but I knew I had to do it or they wouldn't release me from the hospital. I had to give myself the shot in either my thigh or my stomach. I did the thigh. It took me a while to work up the nerve to put the needle in my leg, but I did it. It wasn't really painful and I would say that by day 3 after surgery, it was no big deal to do anymore. They also checked by blood sugar level which was 159! This completely freaked me out because one of the big reasons I wanted this surgery was to prevent diabetes, which runs heavily in my family. Because the blood sugar level was so high, I had to get a insulin shot. They had to check the sugar level every 6 hours after that. The next time they checked it was 139 and the time after that it was 88. They told me that sometimes surgery causes your blood sugar levels to spike, but it will usually drop back down to where it should be by the next day. That night I had to sleep with some tubing below my nose because the sleep study showed I have low oxygenation in my blood when I sleep. This thing was to monitor that. A buzzer would sound if the oxygen level dropped below 90. So, every single time I would fall asleep or start to drift off, this annoying buzzer would start ringing and I would have to call the nurse to get it turned off. At 3 am I finally asked what the purpose of this was, other than making sure I didn't sleep a wink the entire night. I was even more irritated about the whole thing when she told me the buzzer didn't sound out at the nurses station. The only place it rang was in my room. I made enough of a stink about the whole thing that they changed the tubing so it was putting out oxygen and would keep the stupid alarm from ringing the second I started to sleep. I don't think I slept after that because I was awake every time a nurse came in to check a vital or give me a shot. I will say, expect to be woken up at least every 2-3 hours. The next day, they took me off the morphine and gave me a form of vicodin as a pain killer. I continued walking every hour (and going to the bathroom). The surgeon stopped by around 8:00am to check on me. He said that since I had been up moving around so much and I was doing quite well, that he was going to have them release me around 2pm (provided I could drink 4 oz of Water every hour with no problem). I had no problem with this and was ready to go, but my nurse was so ditzy that it was after 4:30 by the time I was finally released. Before I could go, they had to remove the drain, which I was really nervous about. She assured me it wouldn't hurt, but would be more uncomfortable feeling than anything. I was still braced for serious pain because friends had told me it hurt a lot. However, when she pulled it out, it really wasn't painful. It was more of a bizzare feeling because you can feel that tubing snaking around your internal organs. I think because it was only in there for a day, the skin hadn't grown around it so there was no pain. I went home. The next 4 days, I was stiff and sore. I continued taking the liquid vicodin type medicine and my pain levels were around a 2. sleeping was difficult. I slept on the couch with my back propped way up so I could be in an almost sitting position. By day 5, I stopped taking the pain medication except for at night. By day 7, I quit the pain medication all together and was able to resume driving. If I had had to, I probably could have resumed working, but I was still very easily exhausted. I took a full 2 weeks off of work because I didn't want to have to give myself injections at work. Overall, I felt like the surgery was far easier than I had expected. The only hard part was getting in & out of bed & moving position, but the more you force yourself to do it, the easier it gets. I haven't had any problems with throwing up or anything like that. Relearning how to eat has been a struggle and is my biggest focus right now. I hope this long and detailed (and in some cases TMI) story is helpful to those of you with this surgery in your future. Krista

Still TOM... TMI? B.1 - Starbucks Misto (lovin' the Protein from the steamed nonfat milk!) B.2 - 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 2 large strawberries (diced) L - 3 oz pulled pork with some cabbage S - Mozzarella salad and peanut/protein muffin D - Tilapia and green Beans S - something - TBD vites - Done! Water - more like coffee, tea and crystal light planned for the day! exercise - not yet... maybe a walk tonight with my sweetie

Hey all.. Joyce...I bet you will be happy to get rid of that big ole' cast. Sounds like it is quite restrictive. Sending healing thoughts your way. Yes, Eva, cooking "does it" for me. Something I just will never give up. You'd have to understand what takes place when someone passes away around here. Food gets delivered by the carload. LOL. I try to do a whole meal so that is one thing less the family has to worry about. I usually do a hotdish that can be thrown in the oven, homemade bread/rolls, some kind of salad and dessert. I usually throw in coffee, a box of Kleenex, toilet tissue, storage containers for leftover food. It's just something that is done around here. DS's bday lunch turned out really good. The chicken fried steak turned out nice and tender. We had a friend that stopped in about 8am and he just left a bit ago. He lolled around all day visiting. He enjoyed the bday dinner also. Sooooooooo...DH did not get out to the shop to start work until well after 3pm. Just have a lite dinner planned. I had a large slice of ham/cheese/hashbrown eggbake when I delivered meal and have not felt right since. I think the hashbrowns "globbed" up in my pouch or something. No stuck feeling just extremely full. LauraK...I get you on getting out and walking when you can. We are waist deep in snow around here and no way can I get out and walk. We are expecting more tonight/tomorrow. At least today is not bitterly cold. Not going to complain though. Appreciated getting out of here for as long as we did. Already looking forward to opening up the lake place. Hard to believe it's only 5 weeks away (if weather cooperates). Julie...hope things are getting resolved for you. Looking forward to a post soon. Phyll....I must have missed something about your knee/knees. Hope you are able to schedule and get things rolling when you get home. Pain sucks. I am so lucky to say that I don't have any. (Well, just the kidney stone thing once in awhile but have a handle on managing it). Wishing you the best with it. Laura...so sorry your dad is in for another round of treatment. Hugs getting sent your way. Tough time for you. He is tough and seems to have a fighting attitude lately. Just be there for them and try to live in the moment. So nice you got to spend that week with them at your place. Hugs. Cheri...tried to click on the FB address for your daughter but didn't work. Was going to leave a message for her...even though she does not know me. Maybe want to take a look at that to see if it's the correct address. Hugs to you also as you go through this trying time. Just plain tough. Janet...thanks...got the toothbrush package a couple of days ago. Nice to have it again. Need to order a replacement for times like that. I have three of them but should just leave one in my vehicle when I leave them here, there and everywhere. I still have not looked into ordering those bras you talked about. Nice for just running around home. Forgot the name and who carries them. Would you mind posting that info again? My girls have changed lately and have no answer why. About six months ago, they deflated a bit. I got new bras and now I'm spilling over in the new ones. I'm afraid that one of these times I bend over in the grocery store with a V-neck shirt on, someone is going to get quite the show and not a real pretty show at that. Grandma...ooops...I mean Great. I am so happy that you have your healthy baby. My oldest was yellow for a couple of days. I just put his cradle in front of the window when the sun was shining and that did the trick. I don't think he was getting enough when he first nursed. Makes me wince just thinking about it now. I was not cut out to nurse. Really wanted to but think I was too nervous. I lasted a little over a month. Oh my.....sorry about all the boob talk. TMI I was LAZY today. Have you EVER heard me say that?????? After cleaning up the kitchen after lunch, I have been on my A$$ in front of this screen. In fact, had to get up a couple of times to bring the feeling back in my rear. Tomorrow I have two appts. Mental and Dental. Hard to believe it's been almost 6 months since the completion of my mouth. Ranks right up there with getting the band. Gonna go find a slider....can't believe I am still full from that eggbake. I don't like that feeling.

Ain't that the truth! And for some of my own You don't need to push the car seat all the way back to get in and out of your car. You don't rush to the bedroom to change into sweats after work, normal clothes are comfortable "You want fries with that?" is answered with a resounding 'NO" Punching new holes in your belt is a weekly ritual "Who the hecks hand is that?", then you realize it's YOURS, only skinnier than you remember. Your belly and back don't rub on the shower door when entering and exiting And it maybe TMI but: When you wipe you actually wipe all the way up to the 'exit portal'

My doctor asked me to lose 10lb before she would even request for the surgery, that was pretty easy because I hda already changed my eating habits and was making very very slow weight loss. I restricted what I was eating down to like 500 calories for a couple of weeks and made that. But then I had no preop diet until the day before surgery. The day before surgery I was to eat a reguarl breakfast and then at noon take a bowel cleaner, which honestly didnt nothing to me. (TMI) I spend the next four hours not wanting to get out of site of the bathroom but it wasnt until like 10pm that I even pooped and it wasnt anything special just a normal trip to the restroom. No water after midnight, except for a small sip to take a pill that was unrelated to the surgery. I was told to stop taking all other vitimans and pills that were not that one a week before surgery. That was it.

Linda, Hope you have a nice bday celebration! The cake sounds yummy. Yes, you guessed correctly- my sister stayed home. They wanted her to take care of the cats and mom had a new dishwasher being delivered. She also started a 6 hr/week job. Yes, you heard me right- 6 hrs. OMW. She is a licensed insurance agent, believe it or not- the guy who hired her is cheap, owns his own agency, and wants to pick and chose WHEN she comes in for those 6 hours! I can't believe she accepted such an offer. But I guess she can say she is "working" now. (doesn't sound as bad to be a free loader at 50, living at home). I really get so frustrated with her. But then a small part of me is glad she is there for my parents- at any capacity. I agree with most- like the new thread. : ) Yes, DH got done in about 1.5 hrs and even took Nels to a movie! I am cooking cabbage stew, doing laundry and cleaning house- so much for my "free time". LOL. I am feeling punky today. TOM surprised me for a visit, a week earlier than expected! TMI I know. Just feeling bloated and PMSy. So glad I didn't get that fill the other day now. There's always next week. Laura

I was done on Tues too. What did you do for a pre op had you been on liquids, did you do a bowel p rep like mag citrate. Are you still on liquids now. Sorry 4 all the ?s but if the above is true there is not much in there. My dr alsocautioned against Miralax, recommended colace first and 1/2 dose of Mirilax if used. Are you passing gas? The more you walk the quicker your bowels will get moving and getting your Water in will also help with the constipation. I too have not pooed yet but am not uncomfortable and cleaned the shoot (sorry tmi) before I went in so not worried yet. Sleeved 3/1 OR weight 216 Todays weight 204

I've made it through my first week post sleeve and am going strong. Started full liquids today, but boy am I sick of sweet stuff. I had about a quarter of a special k Protein drink (bad idea), and then later about 2 oz of Soup which wasn't too bad. I'm still occasionally having these weird stomach cramp like feelings, and I can feel everything when it hits my pouch....such a weird feeling! I did have my first NSV today (I have yet to buy a scale...I should get on that..) I went to get dressed and I thought, eh, what the heck? Why not try on the pair of jeans that were a bit too tight for me before surgery. They buttoned all the way with ZERO effort! Holy hooters that happened quick! granted, I'm not down a whole size yet, but I'll take it! I have also noticed (this may be TMI and for that, I'm sorry) that my stools are happening more frequently than usual (like 2-3 times a day) and they are all liquid. I know I'm on a liquid diet, but is this normal? Kinda weird. Other than that, life is returning to normal. I've been walking walking and walking some more, and the soreness subsides a little more everyday. I opted not to go back to work today because I'm just not feeling 100% just yet, but i will be back on Monday. Other than that, not too much going on, just thought I'd catch up!

Howdy Sleevers, Well today is day Five and I wanted to let you know what i'm able to do today and how I feel. I awoke this morning at 6:30 (normal time) I had my best nights sleep so far l. Still not comfortable sleeping on my sides but getting use to sleeping on my back. This was my first night without any pain medication throughout the whole night. I woke up feeling like I had been in an all day Ab class at LA Fitness but once I walked around that subsided. I think my parts shift a little in the night and when I stand they settle again. Took one dose of pain medication (this is a liquid they send you home with). Loaded dishwasher, fixed Breakfast for my boys and fixed school and work lunches. Took my longest shower (you know girls, the one where you shave, exfoliate, and condition the hair). Put full makeup on (I'm a Texas so that can take a while) and did my big Texas hair.....(blow dry and flat iron).. Took a walk outside around my backyard and proceeded to watch daily news and whatever morning show I could keep interested in. Had WonTon broth for lunch, I'm not doing well on the clear liquid Proteins... they are too sweet or too gritty. I was a gourmet food lover so the nasty taste of powdered Soups and over sweet drinks is not my style. Now if they had a Protein Soup that tasted like Lobster Bisque and a drink that had the flavor of a nice Cabernet I'd be totally on board. I did email my Nut to see if I could start reg. Protein shakes. I have to tell you... food is starting to look good (to many shows on morning TV with Food). Around 12:30 I felt the need for a nap (which I took) about 2:30 I woke up full of energy again. I'm getting close to wanting to bust out of the house. I don't stay cooped up well. My incisions are looking good today. I can really tell the swelling is going down. I'm also wearing regular fitted clothes with zipper and button with ease. I couldn't help but step on the scale today and I've lost all the weight I gained during surgery (8-10 lbs). I'm now 8 lbs down which includes one week liquid pre-op diet. I expect that number to change a lot in the next couple weeks. Last night I felt healthy and strong enough to cook my family their regular dinner with comfort. The standing feels good and helps pass gas. I did have my first BM (sound like my mother). It was very very lose almost watery like so if you feel a BIG fart coming on you may want to hit the bathroom and make sure your body is not having its first BM... (sorry if TMI) I've also (as you can tell) been able to work from home using laptop without feeling lightheaded. Well, as usual if I missed anything or you have questions please let me know and i'll be happy to answer best I can. Everyone have a wonderful weekend! Kim

Over the last couple years, my period has gotten super irregular. Just told I probably had PCOS and is the reason why we haven't been able to get pregnant these past few years. My periods are very heavy, unpredictable, and I have bled at times for 2-6 months at a time. My doctor said that really the only treatment is losing weight. I'm getting sleeved march 22. I just want to hear from any others who also have PCOS. Has it gotten better? Have you gotten pregnant?