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Thanks everyone. No blood sugar or BP lows, have the monitors for those. I thought it might be dehydration. I am still very dizzy all day, hoping that I can sleep better tonight and feel better tomorrow. I am with a lot of those out here that I hear commenting on the frustration about the varying diets. My Dr. has me on clear fluids for 2 full weeks. I have no idea how I am going to make that, but I guess that I will do it one day at a time.

I started my 2 week liquid diet on Tuesday the 18th and am doing better than I thought. I am not even craving or missing food! Hope it stays this way. I would love any advice about what to take to the hospital to what to expect when I get home and such. My Dr's office has been great explaining what to expect from their end during my pre-op but I am all ears to any advice or thoughts.

You're better off focusing on things you can control. Like a goal to stay totally on plan for 6 weeks. You may very well lose 20 or more pounds the first six weeks. But it's also possible to be completely perfect on your plan and to lose less. Focus on healthy decisions, not numbers, imho. Good luck, and I hope you lose 25!

Congrats, it will be life changing. I was sleeved by Dr. Almanza on 5-25-2011 and things could not be better. My weight loss has been great but the way you will feel is fantastic. They will take good care of you and it will be over before you know it. I cannot believe it has been 7 weeks since my surgery, it seems like only a couple. The time will fly by for you. Enjoy the journey.

I keep seeing descriptions of surgery protocols that are very different. I am sure that mine for example is completely different than what is done in US. Maybe it would be interesting for those that are pre op to know the details so here it goes: Romanian protocols: 1. Initial meeting with surgeon that consults you and says if you might qualify for WLS; 2. 1 day full of blood tests, abdominal echograph, abdominal endoscopy, barium abdominal rays, body composition, cardiology (EKG and blood pressure, BP under physical effort , pulmonary tests (spirometry, rays), nutrition and psychological consult; 3. Surgeon consult when he determines if and what type of WLS is recommended ( for me gastric sleeve), describes surgery and course of treatment, schedules surgery date ( plus finding out if other interventions are required - they discovered that I have a big hiatal hernia that needed fixing) 4. Surgery protocols- standard is 4 nights , sometimes 5 of hospitalization. - hospital admission 1 day before, in the evening, for preparation: heparin shots, IV fluids - Surgery day and 24 hours post op in ICU (again, per protocol, even if you are ok) - that was horrible, with drain tube from surgery, nasogastric tube, bad pan or catheter for peeing, BP monitors every 30 min, so slim chances of sleeping- I felt no pain at all, just nausea from the nasogastric tube - next day in the morning transfer to normal reserve, got read of nasogastric tube and urethral catheter; I could walk just fine, minimal general pain ( like a muscle soreness after exercising), incisions painful if pressed - they offered more pain meds but I refused) - next 2 days just IV fluids, with antibiotics, dexamethasone for inflammation, pain meds, nutrients - day 5 discharged from hospital with following medication: heparin shots 1month, anti-acids for 1 month, ibuprofen syrup or kids for managing pain for 3 days, Debridat for transit and gas, bariatric vitamins and protein shakes for forever, hepatic protector for 3 months They make sure you make 8.000-10.000 steps per day and that you tolerate well the necessary fluids intake. Diet: clear fluids 1 day pre op and 1 week post op, then cream soups for 2 weeks, then mushy purees for 1 week, then soft food and solid food as tolerated. Prices: 1.000 usd for pre op analyses, 6.000 usd for surgeries ( I had 2-in 1, GS and hiatal hernia repair, and including 1 week, 1, 2, 3 , 6 months and 1 year controls, nutrition and psychological included), 400 usd medication for 3 months, including vitamins and protein shakes Time from diagnosis to surgery 2 weeks.

Thanks so much for the information. Unfortunately I was not given much information and my first visit with the surgeon is 5 weeks post op due to the holidays. Elode the bra thing is weird and as much as its nice to not wear one, I feel embarrassed without one.

Vicki1205 I'm flying to Puerta Vallarta. I am doing this alone, but my family is flying in at the end of the week to spend another week with me there recouping. Thank you for the well wishes. Where did you have yours done?

My advice would be, take a look at why you're not losing weight, and go from there. Fills fall into place for some, and for others it takes months of up/down adjustments to hit a sweet spot. I personally never had what I would consider a sweet spot. I was either too tight or too loose, so I opted to stay too loose and make up for the difference myself. What is your intake? What fill level are you at, with what band size? What foods are you eating? Etc. What are your behaviors around food? I have no idea how much weight you have to lose but about 25 pounds in 3 - 4 months is not bad weight loss. I've seen a lot of sleevers with similar loss rates, so don't assume that the sleeve = faster/more loss. I lost in the neighborhood of 175 - 200 lbs with my lapband over the 5.5 years I had it. That includes about 18 months "stuck" at the same weight. I had just started to lose weight again, when I ended up on the trail that led me to need it removed. I'm glad I had my lapband, but I just don't see it as a permanent solution. Do I personally think you're jumping the gun - maybe, but I really can't say for sure unless I knew something about "why" it wasn't working.

I'm been on the pre op diet for three days now. I've lost 10 lbs already. The preop diet my surgeon prescribes is fairly extreme, judging by other diets by folks on here. All I get to have are protein drinks and two protein bars. That is it...oh and all the sugar free jello and crystal light I want. to be honest the drastic change in my food intake has left me feeling fairly weak and crummy. I've been battling urges to go get some "real" food. this morning I did cheat some and had some scrambled eggs. I felt light headed for a few hours after eating them, but now am feeling much better. Only one more week and it is surgery time!

I'm been on the pre op diet for three days now. I've lost 10 lbs already. The preop diet my surgeon prescribes is fairly extreme, judging by other diets by folks on here. All I get to have are protein drinks and two protein bars. That is it...oh and all the sugar free jello and crystal light I want. to be honest the drastic change in my food intake has left me feeling fairly weak and crummy. I've been battling urges to go get some "real" food. this morning I did cheat some and had some scrambled eggs. I felt light headed for a few hours after eating them, but now am feeling much better. Only one more week and it is surgery time!

phew i was freaking out that something was wrong,, im one week post op and my port incision is only starting to hurt now when i move to much or sneeze before it did but now it does is this normal,, its not like a OMG pain,, but like a pulling pain,, also how would i know if my band had slipped ?

I received a *glowing* reference today from one of my physicians regarding Dr. Carlos Galvani at Day One in Chicago, who is going to perform my lap band surgery. She was kind enough to ask around, so I take that as very comforting info as my Jun-3 2009 surgery date approaches. Also, one of my colleagues, who is very knowledgeable about the healthcare industry, reviewed his CV and was very impressed with his qualifications.

KabinKitty's Blog KabinKitty's Blog February 7, 2010 [Edit Post] posted 43 minutes ago I am now 5 days Post Op. My surgery on February 2nd actually went better and quicker than the surgeon expected! The day began by driving about 25 miles through the snow and sleet in the dark to the hospital. I had called the night before to make sure the surgery wasn't cancelled. We arrived safe, but 1/2 hour late.....SORRY! Oh well... The prep nurse did not check the messages as I called to let them know we were on the way, but about 1/2 hour late. She was stressed! She was a sweetie and we got through the prep quickly. I was wisked down the hall after the anestheologist told me he gave me something to relax me in my IV. I chattered all the way down the hall, went through some double doors and then I was waking up to the voices telling me, "Jean, your surgery is over". The only pain I had was in my left shoulder (I was warned by the anesthelogist before that this happens often) due to referred pain from the diaphram being irritated. I had a very easy recovery, minus the times the nurses woke me at ungodly times all through the night!! I was exhaused and couldn't wait to get the heck outta Dodge! I had to stay an extra night because I didn't use my bipap machine one night and my heart rate dropped. My surgeon had a cardiologist look at the results and he said he wanted me to stay an extra night. BUMMER! Take your machine people and use it! They only gave me 2 ounces of nasty, salty broth and 3 ounces of Crystal Light for my meals. I finally told one nurse about my surgeon telling me I should have something in front of me all the time!! She said, "Well, you can have popsickles". I ate and ate and ate as many popsickles as they would give me. I even had hubby tell them to keep the broth and Crystal Light, I'll just eat popsickles. I'm on full liquids till my follow-up visit at two weeks. So I've been enjoying juice, popsickles, yogurt, protein drinks and pudding. Today I'm going to puree some soup!! That should taste good on a cold February day (she said with fingers crossed). I feel like I am blessed to have this chance to attain a normal BMI and rid myself of some dangerous comorbidities!

Hi, I AM 3 WEEKS POST AND HAVE A PORBLEM. WHERE THE PORT IS INSTALLED IS STILL SWOLLEN AND BRUISED. I SLEEP ON MY STOMACH AND THIS DOES NOT HELP, BUT I WOULD THINK ALL SWELLING AND DISCOLORATION WOULD BE GONE BY NOW. CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THEY HAD SIMULAR EXPERIANCES

I have switch surgeons post approval. I was originally going to have my lap band done in Baltimore but my Dr. tried to convince me to have the bypass done. As a result I was going to switch to the sleeve but my BMI wasn't high enough to have it covered by insurance. While doing research about the sleeve I found out about sleeve plication in addition to the band. Unfortunately there are only a few doctors in the country that do it so I ended up switching to a doctor in Hollywood, FL. At the point the point that I switched, I had pretty much all of the pre-op tests and requirements done and had scheduled my surgery, The process of changing was very easy, I had the original office send all of test results and documentation to the new office prior to my first consultation. The only thing that I had to do over was meeting with the new office's nutritionist. I was also lucky that I was able to do the consult via Skype. I also had to do a sleep study as part of my Pre-Op and I'll second the importance of having the sleep study done because I although I felt that I didn't have any sleep issues, I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. It is minor enough that I don't really need any treatment and just need to try to sleep on my stomach to prevent episodes but I think that knowing that I am prone to episodes on my back is important information for the anesthesiologist during my surgery. When I scheduled my sleep study I was also told that it would take several weeks to get my results back and they even scheduled my follow-up when I made the original appointment but I was also told that it usually doesn't take that long and that they may move up the follow-up appointment which they ended up doing. I think there might have been no more than two weeks in between appointments.

I'm three and a half weeks post-op and I typically drink one 8 oz shake a day (for breakfast) and supplement the rest with food (I'm on soft solids stage). Occasionally, I'll add a shake (or even just half of one) in the evening if I haven't done so well at getting my protein in that day.

I am 2 1/2 weeks post up and am starting to see a difference in my hair too!! It's falling out a lot more and tangles more easily Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Starting my 2 week liquid diet today, sleeve surgery is scheduled for Nov 21 at 8am....I'm so excited and nervous all in one. Any advice is welcome Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

It's not the final digestion so much, the exiting from the stomach and breaking down in the intestines, for me it's more the entry into the stomach and initial digestion. If I eat chicken, tuna, or eggs I can only eat an ounce maybe ounce and a half comfortably and even then it feels like I just ate a ball of concrete. I'm 6 weeks out. On the other hand, I think greek yogurt is the sleever's best friend.

I'm pre-op but I have pretty bad reflux now. I take Protonix and it is awesome. You feel the difference within days of taking it (not weeks like others). There is a generic for it now so it's less expensive than Nexium, etc. I'm worried that my reflux will get worse after VSG, but I'll keep taking my meds and hope for the best.

I was about two weeks out before I could sleep on my side. I had to prop my head/uperbody up and a pillow under my knees to be able to sleep on my back.

my doc gave me a list, first 3 days after surgery = liquid diet days 4-7 full liquid days 8-10 = puree days 11-14 minced week 3 soft week 4 bariatric regular not a whole lot to choose from on the list, everything is fat free, sugar free, and you got the Protein first cottage cheese, mashed pototes, pureed meats, pureed veggies, sf yogurts, cream of wheat, oatmeal, then on week 4 you can pretty much eat anything just cut into tiny pieces, some things like raw veggies, tough fruit and hot peppers are to be avoided for like 6 months hope that helps good luck

I'm 6 weeks post op and now allowed to try new foods. If I try something that doesn't bother me at the time, can it cause nausea the next day? I thought if it doesn't make you sick right away you should be able to tolerate. Im nauseated today after eating chicken Caesar salad yesterday for lunch. Any ideas?