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If you have a Vitamin Shoppe near you, they will let you return anything you buy that you don't like (Protein shakes, etc.). That was really nice to help find something I liked and not having to worry about losing money from keeping something I didn't. I didn't do a pre-op diet because I was switching from band to sleeve. Just did liquids for a couple of days before to "clean everything out." Also, keeping up with the liquids post-op is not usually too hard. You're not going to be very hungry anyway post-op, so liquids is not a big deal for a first few weeks. I actually was very slow going from mushies to harder foods, making sure each new food was tolerated. You think now that you'll want to eat everything in sight, but it won't be that way. You'll be amazed how your relationship with food will change. Best wishes and good luck!

While I haven't been sleeved yet, I read some other posts that your period gets all outta whack for a few months after surgery. The reason being you're losing weight, and as you lose, all of those stored up hormones in the fat are being released. Some girls reported having a period sometimes 2 weeks after just having one, with varying lengths each time. I think I read these posts under "The powder Room" in Forums. I'm sure it's the most unpleasant thing because you are still trying to heal and adjust to everything, but hopefully it will be over soon! Yuck! I think we all hate our period!

I am a week post op today. I know if I drink crystal light it makes my mouth super dry. I do not know why. I just know it happens. I am good with plain ole water!

And we ALL know we don't want anything to do with "STALL"! Keep eating and moving! Then when your all done moving, drink some Protein shake. Then move some more. At night when the cravies come...go yourself to sleep. The best way to avoid cravings is to keep moving so that you can sleep at night like your supposed to. food is all around us and will always be. They took our tummies, not our taste buds. I will never be cured of my desire for Church's chicken, but, I will be strong enough to resist it. I will because I know that its going to go to my body and do absolutely NOTHING good. I am in charge now and I say what goes in me MUST do something good FOR me. That being said...I also have found some yummy substitutes for some old unhealthy favorites.

Please call your surgeon ASAP. Even if it is nothing bad, he can prescribe some pain killers. I had no pain but from what I've read here, most have no pain after a week, 2 at the most.

I'm a month out and still cannot even think of rolling onto my stomach because of port pain. I can FINALLY sleep on both sides, though I sometimes will get a twinge from my port in the readjusting. My doctor did not seem concerned by this though it was certainly not usual-- he had me in for a fill at two weeks post op (the normal time for his patients), but since I had the port pain issue-- not even side sleeping at that point-- he didn't give me a fill and put me off until next week. If mine were as bad as you're describing, I'd definitely call though. Are you stomach sleeping?

I'm a week and day post op already as well had surg on the 7 and feeling much better down 12 pds from yest weigh in . How is everyone doing in their journey ?

Is anyone having this issue tuesday i will be four weeks out and dont have the urge to eat nothing

It veries so much from person to person. I would still aim for the 1 to 2 pounds per week and you will be in great shape. Sounds like your off to a great start.

20 lbs, that's great. There really isn't a normal because everybody is different. Some lose a lot in the beginning. The average is 1-2 lbs per week.

I hear ya !!! I'm 6 months post op and not very fond of them either but they are the best form of protein. Can you maybe change flavors or brands ?? Warning - don't even look at the protein shots they are absolutely discusting !!!! My doc wants me to have minimum 64 grams of protein daily, now that I am on regular food I do get more protein from food and will eliminate the shakes all together soon. Milk (low fat), Cottage cheese, yogurt, nuts, beans etc. are all high in protein. But you are only 2.5 weeks post op so probably still on liquid right? To get a extra bang I would make my shake with low fat milk to have some extra protein. Hang in there sweetie, the protein is a must to maintain health/nutrition and hair !!!

You are very restricted it sounds like but many times it is what it takes to keep the weight coming off. I have been very tight like that before and it usually does get bettwer after a week or two. When you are too tight (at least from my experience) you throw up very easilt and have trouble even drinking liquids. Many of us are tighter in the mornings than in the evenings and I am not sure why that is but I know it is very common. I think as long as you get food and fluid in you and keep it down you are ok. On the other hand, if you feel completely miserable and fweel like you have a poor quality of life because you can barely eat then you should think about getting some taken out. Some people like to be fairly tight while others can't tolerate it. I think you shouls give it a little time but again if you have trouble keeping small portions down then you are definately too tight.

You probably will be getting pre-op blood work, or instructions on when to get it. I felt like my last pre-op appointment was all about me signing waivers that said, "I understand that I could die." They'll probably go over the pre-op and post-op instructions again. Honestly I went from approval to surgery within just over a week so I know I had a lot to get accomplished in about 5 business days. And as many have pointed out, every office is slightly different. Good luck!

Wow, at 2 weeks out ill still be on liquids. I hope things get better for you. April

I am 5 weeks and some days (like today) I still struggle with getting enough food in. On certain days my body just isn't into it and nothing sounds appetizing or I feel full/nauseous after a few bites. My doc told me that if any food stage is a struggle you may not be ready for it and there's nothing wrong with going back to the previous stage for a while.

I've been back to work for 2 weeks and I'm walking every day, I'm thinking maybe it's because I'm taking my supplements at night time, I'm going to try and take them in the morning and see what happens.

I went to my internist yesterday for my 3 month follow-up visit. I am "officially" in ONEderland by her scales - 198 1/2 pounds. YEA! 54 1/2 pounds lost in 3 months. And my bloodwork was great - my cholesterol is normal - and I have been of all cholesterol lowering meds since 2 weeks before surgery. My "good" cholesterol and "bad" cholesterol were both where they needed to be. I haven't had a report like that in many years (and many pounds ago). The only problem was I am anemic - so she doubled my Iron supplement from 1 to 2 per day and told me to start working beef into my diet. I have faught being anemic my entire life - no matter what I weighed. She took me off of one of my two blood pressure meds and plans on getting me off of the other one soon. My blood pressure was running from 100 - 110 sytolic and from 55 - 70 bottom number (word escapes me) and my pulse is in the 60's. On the subject of me being in Puberty Hell (separate thread) - my hormones tested normal. She didn't want to raise my estrogen supplement - said it would make the mood swings worse. She didn't want to lower the amount, because she says the dose I'm on will help keep my skin supple and elastic. So - basically I am going to tough it out and work through these damn mood swings.

HI all I had my first fill on Friday 18th April, 2 1/2 weeks after my op, it doesnt normally get done this early, however my doctor said he would do it as I have to drive in over an hour. the needle was fine, and I hate needles, so I thought I was really brave. i felt a little restriction after it, as I eat the wrong thing, and it hurt like hell. I have experienced the bringing back up thing, as I tried to have some Water afterwards to ease the pain and it just came straight back up. My port is still a littlel uncomfortable, great when I am laying down, but not when I am standing up. Seems to sick out a bit and is still a bit tender around this area. It is getting better when i sneeze, dosn't feel like its diving deep into my stomach as much now. I have lost just over 6 kgs in 3 weeks so I am happy with that, I haven't got into the excercise thing as of yet. But hopefully I will manage that soon. chow for now

Sashimi for me, went down well at 3 weeks.

Up your Water. Up your Protein. Get more calories in for the short while. I felt crappy at 4 week.. But by weeks 6, 7, 8 and got on real food? I was flying. Try roasted meats in gravy with mashed vegetables. It'll make you feel like a human and one pot of it will last you, like, forever whilst at work! Stay away from citrus, sugar, fats and high-spice. It won't sit well. Keep it bland and get the food in. Promise, it'll make the biggest change to your mental state.

I'm 7 weeks post-op & I can tolerate most foods. Salads are fine as long as the veggies are not super crunchy (raw carrots) & I omit celery (too fiberous), even though celery is one of my fave foods! I stay away from mashed potatoes because I LOOOOOVE them but they do not love me anymore Unjury products are great! I use the cheese sauce over steamed broccoli. Greek yogurt is my hero! I can always get that down no matter what. I have to admit that I have given in to temptations a handful of times. My boyfriend made pancakes the other day & I ate half of one. But I paid for it for about 45 mins with pain & discomfort! I also ordered a toasted bagel with light cream cheese without even thinking on my way to work one morning and after my second bite that horrible feeling happened & I had to suffer at work for almost an hour! Also, the other day & started to get a horrible headache at work & my coworker poured a small cup of regular caffinated soda for me & I sipped it slowly. My headache went away but my tummy was quite upset with me for a while! Deli meats are fine, a small 4-6 oz glass of milk works wonders for any tummy upset & trouble sleeping, hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, chicken, fish, etc. I also love GNC Total Lean protein shakes: 25 grams of protein & they taste great. I miss things like an English muffin with my egg whites or a comforting PB&J sandwich with a glass of milk, but the scale numbers keep me very focus, motivated, & happy! It really comes down to trying things to see how you handle them. I was never a big fish eater, but with all the great recipes out there, I have fish 2-3 times a week! And plain, non-fat Greek yogurt can be used in place of mayo & sour cream in evreything! Oh also, I was always a guzzler of natural fruit juices (OJ, apple), but they make me feel horrible for a super long time! Too much suger, even though it's natural sugar from the fruit, it's just too much and I feel sick to my stomach & dizzy for the rest of the day even after one sip! Plain water, G2, diet Snapple, tea, Crystal Light: the only way to go for liquids!

You don't have to drink the Protein shakes to meet your protein requirement but at 4 weeks, I also wouldn't be eating protein bars and potatoes. Even if you think you are tolerating them well your stomach and staple line is healing. High protein soft foods are 1% cottage cheese, plain non fat greek yogurt, eggs, tuna fish, tilapia, cream of chicken and split pea soup, injury chicken soup, turkey chili. These items were my main foods for the first 7/8 weeks. I did have protein drinks for the first few weeks but you don't have to rely on them if you can't stand them. Good Luck!

I'm going back to basics tomorrow, I've lost myself somewhere. Have been very stressed panning a big 50th party for my husband in March and have stopped doing me.... I log every day on MFP and stay under my targeted cars but I know my food prep has fallen back to old ways although my portions are very small, I think that has an effect on my stall also. So any way I'm going to do just shakes for a few day to remember why I had this wonderful surgery and "tool" and recalculate my efforts.

:confused:I need help! boy do I need help! lol My surgery is in almost two weeks and i am so excited! I want to be succesful! I have no idea where to start as far as stocking up the fridge for before and after the surgery. I also have a 13 yr old daughter o shop for as well. She does some light cooking and we have talked that maybe she could do some cooking while I am in the clear liquid phase before surgery and I think she is a litle excited about that. So my question is....What do I buy???? What things were helpful during this phase for you? My nutritionist has stated what I need as far as protien etc but I dont know how to put it all together and do the shopping. :biggrin::confused::crying::confused::frown::confused::confused::mad::confused::confused:Help!!!!:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

Okay, so here's a quick rundown of what's been going on. My dad wasn't informed about this surgery until after I got insurance approval and that is the route that I decided would be best because my dad doesn't like it when things are half assed. After checking this route with my mom, she agreed with me. That way, after my consultation and all the tests I would be able to answer his questions. And I decided to wait until after getting insurance approval because if I got denied by insurance, there wasn't any point in getting him all worked up about it. Well, he wasn't happy with that decision, or any other decisions I've made for my life, especially those regarding this surgery. For the past two weeks, we have been fighting nonstop. Calm talks turn into screaming matches and then I get upset and then we'll go days before talking again, and then the cycle repeats. He went as far as to say he would pull me from the insurance policy if I continue to say that I would go through with this. But at the end of yesterday's conversation, that threat was mentioned and I think he's relenting because he said, "Cate, you're going to do whatever it is you want to do anyway." Our relationship has always been rocky and complicated. He was never around when I was growing up and recently, because of my mom's declining health, made more of an effort to be present in the last three years. But I will stand by how I feel and that's that he can't just decide to waltz back into my life and stop me from making major decisions for my life. He's never been to a single doctor's appointment with me. Which brings me to my next point. He called all my doctors - my PCP, my endo, my gyno, my gastro, my neuro, my suregon - who all spoke to him, except my suregon, and not only did they speak to him about my medical records without my written or verbal permission, but my endo told him inaccurate and incorrect information! My suregon, the gentleman that he is, requested a meeting with both my parents and myself to answer any and all questions that they may have, (I went to my consult with a friend because my mom is disabled and homebound, except in cases like this, and my father was still in the dark at that point.) and also asked for my permission to speak to my parents about my medical history. It just makes me crazy. If I don't get pulled from the policy and I do have surgery next Thursday, I'm going to be going to the hospital alone. I have one parent that supports me and can't be there and one parent that could be there but doesn't support me. I just hate how friends that I known for my whole life and even those that I've only had for a year or two support me more then my own family. I'm so tired of fighting with him and I'm sorry that he doesn't like what I'm doing but I'm doing this for me. One thing for me and he needs to understand that. And I know that, regardless of how 'in' my life he was, he's still my parent and he's still concerned, but he doesn't want to know anything about this. He is so stubborn! So, if things go as planned, I will have surgery on Feb. 9th. I'm just so completely stressed out. Thanks for letting me vent, I needed to get that off my chest.