Where Are My April 2012 Sleevers?

[LTARLTON 7]

Hello all! I was sleeved 4/24. Almost 72 hrs out now. I had serious nausea the day of surgery right out of recovery. Doc said it was from anesthesia. At 24 hrs having some pretty bad acid reflux but they fixed that with some meds. They kept me an extra day because I didn't get in the fluids they wanted between the nausea and acid reflux. 48 hrs and all is well. No nausea no gas no acid reflux. I came home today and still feel great. I didn't get in my fluids today so I hope that's not gonna cause dehydration. I gotta work harder at that tomorrow but it should be easier since I'm home. I do feel really good though, aside from a little soreness. I have a high tolerance for pain so that's helpful! I am having to remind myself to take it easy because I just feel like I could do anything! I am so so thankful for all of the prayers and well wishes. I have absolutely felt every last one of them. I wouldn't be doing this good if God didn't have my back! And I didn't have the support from all of y'all! Love to all of you!

[Carly 56]

Hi' date=' everyone! I've had a bit of a hard morning and wanted to run it by you all. I had my first follow-up appointment today, followed by a stomach X-ray to check for leaks. Back in January/February, I had bronchitis, followed swiftly by pneumonia, which left me with post-pneumonia asthma (the first time in my life I had ever had any breathing problems), but to my complete and utter amazement, after the sleeve op, all the symptoms had gone! No more wheezing, no more night-time asthma - and all with no meds! Then last night I kept waking up coughing, then this morning I was wheezing while I had my (cold - Water heater broken, brrrr) shower. So not a good start to the day, but that was just the beginning.

When I got to the hospital, I felt really dizzy going up in the lift, but I was excited at the prospect of being weighed for the first time since discharge and seeing how much I had lost. Four days with no food at all, a massive portion of my stomach removed (which must have weighed several kilos, surely?) and six days of nothing other than water, a little apple juice, chicken broth and sugar-free jelly - that had to add up to a satisfyingly solid weight loss, surely? Well, no. The last time I was weighed on the same scales by the same nurse (two weeks ago today) I was 119 kilos and today I was... wait for it ... 120 kilos (264 pounds). How is that possible? I cried, embarrassingly, but I just couldn't stop myself. After all I have put my body through?

I had calmed down a little by the time I saw the surgeon, but as soon as he looked at my weight on the form, it set set me off again. He couldn't believe it, either, to the extent that he got up and went to the nurse's room and weighed himself to check that the scales were working properly! Sadly, they were. He said it could be all sorts of things, but not to worry (easier said than done!) and that by the time I see him again next week there should be a really good loss to see. He said that the fact that my blood glucose levels are at non-diabetic levels (80 yesterday morning, 74 this morning - little short of miraculous!) was not only great in itself, but also a good omen for the weight loss.

I am still having quite a bit of pain in my stomach and the bruising is still spectacular. You know how doctors are trained not to express shock when they examine you, but if you are watching their face, you can see a glimpse of shock just as they start to look? That's what happened. He said that it's intramuscular bleeding, which only occurs in less than 5% of sleeve patients and rarely to this extent. So that explains the bruising and the pain. It's just a case of waiting for it to disperse.

As for the upset stomach which I have had since discharge, he said to stop the sugar-free jelly now, as he suspects that's causing the problem (which I was already pretty sure was the case) and to replace it with ayran (also called laban), a local yoghurt drink which contains a little water and some salt - my first non-clear Fluid - hooray!

So all in all a mixed first follow-up visit. The good news is that the X-ray showed no leak from the sleeve. As for the weight, I am trying not to get too upset now that the initial shock and disappointment are past, and will be strong and not weigh myself again until I see the surgeon again next week, by which time I hope I'll be moving my weightloss ticker well and truly to the right![/quote']

Sorry you have had a rough start, but hopefully, things will only get better fom here. Laban saved me. I felt like it really gave me energy. Still drinking it as a snack now. Don't worry about the weight loss, next week I'm sure you will see some movement on the scale. Best of luck! Take care.

[Carly 56]

Hello all! I was sleeved 4/24. Almost 72 hrs out now. I had serious nausea the day of surgery right out of recovery. Doc said it was from anesthesia. At 24 hrs having some pretty bad acid reflux but they fixed that with some meds. They kept me an extra day because I didn't get in the fluids they wanted between the nausea and acid reflux. 48 hrs and all is well. No nausea no gas no acid reflux. I came home today and still feel great. I didn't get in my fluids today so I hope that's not gonna cause dehydration. I gotta work harder at that tomorrow but it should be easier since I'm home. I do feel really good though' date=' aside from a little soreness. I have a high tolerance for pain so that's helpful! I am having to remind myself to take it easy because I just feel like I could do anything! I am so so thankful for all of the prayers and well wishes. I have absolutely felt every last one of them. I wouldn't be doing this good if God didn't have my back! And I didn't have the support from all of y'all! Love to all of you![/quote']

Glad to hear you are doing well. Be careful with your fluids cause they really pump you up with them in the hospital- enough to last you a couple of days, so hydration wise, you should be solely responsible soon. Best wishes to you for a quick recovery!

[JanetF 4]

Sorry you have had a rough start, but hopefully, things will only get better fom here. Laban saved me. I felt like it really gave me energy. Still drinking it as a snack now. Don't worry about the weight loss, next week I'm sure you will see some movement on the scale. Best of luck! Take care.

Hi, Carly! Thanks for your support! I'm not that keen on the laban - it's OK while it's still nice and cold, but if I don't drink it reasonably quickly and it warms up, I can't drink it. I feel pretty certain that it's doing me no end of good, though, and anything non-transparent is a real bonus at the moment! Thanks again for your encouragement and all the best to you, too.

[jazzie 2]

Stephanie I don't know how this operation could be done in day surgery I was like a zombie first 3 days would never have coped on my own

[Carly 56]

Hi' date=' Carly! Thanks for your support! I'm not that keen on the laban - it's OK while it's still nice and cold, but if I don't drink it reasonably quickly and it warms up, I can't drink it. I feel pretty certain that it's doing me no end of good, though, and anything non-transparent is a real bonus at the moment! Thanks again for your encouragement and all the best to you, too.[/quote']

I found if I added some salt to it, it helped too. You could keep it in a bottle sleeve to keep it cold. Take care.

[JanetF 4]

I found if I added some salt to it, it helped too. You could keep it in a bottle sleeve to keep it cold. Take care.

Hi, Carly! I have just got back home after staying with friends since I was discharged, and the driver stopped on the way back and bought me another dozen bottles of laban, so I definitely have to find a way of making it more palatable! I will try making it more savoury by adding some salt as you suggested. When I can officially have full liquids (starting on Monday) I thought I would try adding a sachet of chocolate Protein Powder to it. I've never tried Protein powder before, but I bought a big pack of it before the operation ready for afterwards, so it's worth a try!

[kiki19 16]

What is laban? Is it the same as Kefir? Love Kefir...

I am happy everyone is doing so well. Wooohooo....heading for the loser's bench...

[JanetF 4]

What is laban? Is it the same as Kefir? Love Kefir...

Hi, Kiki! I've just had a quick look online, as I thought they may be the same thing, but it seems that they aren't quite the same. Laban or ayran is a yoghurt drink (yoghurt, Water, salt and a few other ingredients which vary depending on personal preference), while kefir is made from milk fermented with kefir grains. Both drinks seem to be of Turkish origin and I suspect that they taste pretty similar.

Hope you're doing well!

[arj1016 57]

What is laban? Is it the same as Kefir? Love Kefir...

I am happy everyone is doing so well. Wooohooo....heading for the loser's bench...

Never heard of Laban. Please advise.

[arj1016 57]

What is laban? Is it the same as Kefir? Love Kefir...

I am happy everyone is doing so well. Wooohooo....heading for the loser's bench...

Never heard of Laban. Please advise.

[Carly 56]

Never heard of Laban. Please advise.

It is a yogurty type drink from the middle east. It's kind of like a watered down plain yogurt. In the middle east they drink it either a little salty or with mint. I think you might have a version of it by Activia in the US.

[Isabel'sGma 18]

Ok, surgery on 4/24/2012. In hospital until today. My surgery went well and I honestly thought it went betther than possible. My surgeon Dr. Higa was very attentive and wonderful. I have next to no bruising and have honestly had more pain from my lower back and the dinosaur bed that they put me in than anything else.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I slept most of both of those days and used some of the Morphine in my PCS, I would have preferred regular tylenol, but didn't want to make a fuss. Yesterday they finally took out the drain and I was ready to get up and leave. Then I went for a walk and my heart rate decided it wanted a workout and it went up to 172. Scared the nurses, telemetry technician and me a little too. So, no more walking for me that day. I was able to get up and walk again this morning and it only went up to 132 so they decided to go ahead and let me go and told me to just take it easy with the walking.

I am feeling good, just need something to increase my Fluid intake. My Dr told me two weeks of Clear Liquids, so I am not looking forward to that, but I will deal somehow. Then another 2-4 weeks of full liquids and then soft after that. Feeling great and looking forward to the scale moving down. I almost didn't weigh when I got home, because of the stories I read here, but prepared myself for a gain and just did it. Down 0.8 lbs since just before surgery so that was a bonus on this end.

[ThisTimeIsIt 71]

2 weeks out today and down 20 #s since the day of surgery. Still hoping to lose another 112- 122#s. Where is everyone at on their loss so far?

Also I get to start soft foods today - does anyone have recommendations that are lactose free? Definitely cannot do the lactose at all. Even some of the shakes that say lactose free hurts my stomach?

[fannyf 24]

To thistimeisit, some of the shakes are giving me lots of gas. Syntrax do good, but chike bloats me terrible. I'm going to GNC and try their products. I was supposed to have been on clear liquids for two weeks, but she advanced me to full liquids since I have kept all liquids down. It's very hard getting 60-80grams Protein down, and 64 ounces Water or sugar free beverage down.