12 Days Post-Op And Feeling Down/overwhelmed/regretting This...

[SammyJane 3]

I am having a really hard time coping with everything post-op. I lost 12 lbs on the liquid pre- op diet, and 25 lbs since surgery. I actually gained .6 lbs as of this morning.

I don't really know if I am eating enough, or the right things and I know I can't drink all the water! I feel hopeless this morning. I am wishing I just stayed on the liquids pre-op diet longer to see if I could lose more that way. I just feel like I am failing.

I walk 30 minutes every day, I take my Vitamins.< /p>

I had a RARE reaction to all the adhesive that was used to over my punctures and I am trying to recover from 7 bad burns over the wounds, and I have rashes from the band aids used for the IV and from the round heart monitor sticky things. I am now breaking out in hives all over my body. I am taking children's benedryll for the itching.

Sorry for the Debbie downer post, but I just feel overwhelmed today and that I am that person who will fail and not lose the other 100 lbs I need to.

What is anyone else 12 days out eating/drinking in a day?

[Lissa 2,631]

(((Hugs))) You're having a normal reaction, especially when you add in the complication of reaction to the adhesive! I was lucky that I knew I was allergic to latex before I had my surgery, because I react exactly the way you are describing!

You will NOT fail to lose weight. It will happen. Keep working toward your Protein and Water goals, but you should realize that those goals are super tough to reach this early post-op. You can't really eat anything because you are still on liquids or mushies at most. However, you should be doing all you can to get that Water in so that you don't become dehydrated.

I suggest that you stay OFF the scale. It will drive you nuts if you let it. Instead, take your measurements and compare them to your pre-op measurements, so that you have a record of how far you've come. Pay more attention to how your clothes fit and notice that they are getting looser in a hurry. The scale is just a number. Your clothes and measurements will tell you much more about your progress than that stupid scale ever will!

Get up, get moving, do something, even if it's just walk around the house or up and down the hallway. Any amount of exercise will give you a serotonin boost that will improve your outlook on things.

Good luck! You've done the hardest part and now you're on the way to a new and better you!

[SammyJane 3]

Thank you. I hope you are right! I am going to try and relax a little about it all, but it would be easier if all these rashes would go away and the itching would stop! Thanks for your kind words.

[Goodhealthgrl 2]

We all have had those days. I swear it gets better. One day you will wake up smiling and not feeling like crap. I know this because it happened to me. It takes time to figure it all out, but you will. Give yourself a break and start to enjoy the process.

[petite-size-me! 70]

I think there seems to be a 2 week lull for a lot of sleevers. Not talking about numbers exclusively, but mindset also!

It's almost like post wedding blues-- you spend months even years planning and then poof it's done!

Step away from the scales. Concentrate in recovery.

Don't borrow trouble! You are you! The biggest way to get down is to compare yourself to others, so don't!

xx

[MinaT 669]

I had the same rashes you are talking about during an angiogram from the leads. I can't regret having that because I had an allergic reaction.

You lost 25 pounds since surgery and today you gained .6 pounds. I suggest perhaps staying off the scale for the next month then. You are going to have days that you hop on that scale and you weight 1 lb or 2 lb's more. It depends on sodium level, heat*, bowel movements, body readjusting, muscle tone, and everything. I stayed the same a week and I can hop on the scale 4 or 5 times a day and weight something different each time. You know during the time you don't lose weight is usually the time where you end up losing more inches. That's when your body readjusts.

You are going through a normal reaction of depression right now. It's all over this website starting at about 9 days out for a bit everyone seems to get depressed. Part of it is the rest of the medication and anesthesitics leaving your body the other part is where you are actually starting to burn fat and there are hormones that are trapped in fat and these usually cause more depression.

I had a lot of problems during surgery and after surgery, I'm going to be 49, my surgery was 7 hours long, I was in pretty bad pain for 2 weeks and I was on full liquids for 5 weeks. You lost more than me within your two weeks. You lost more than me after 3 weeks, I'm not comparing, I'm just saying, be happy for what you lost and wait until the rashes go and the emotions from surgery go and your body has recuperated from a very serious and major surgery. You lost 85% of your stomach. That's a BIG surgery.

Stay away from the scale and if you can't, then realize your weight is not important for the first few months. Let your body heal, let your mind heal, let your body get used to the sleeve.

Every day there is a I feel like I am the ONLY person in the word that is going to fail and it's usually someone that's 5 days out to 7 weeks out. If you tell yourself you are going to fail enough...and then say screw it and decide to start eating carbs like Cookies and ice cream and cakes and not following the high Protein and low carb way and start drinking soda that's the only way you are going to fail. Failing is only an option if you decide to take the path of failure.

If you follow the simple rules of Low Carb, 64 ounces of Water, High Protein and daily exercise of at least 30 minutes, you will not fail.

Buyer's remorse is okay if you have a car, you cannot change what you did now. You can only change the way you look at it. Concentrate on your Vitamins, Water, sipping, and charting your food and healing up let the rest the one up 2 down - 2 up 1 down go for now and if you keep doing what you are suppose to doing the weight will come off.

I hope the rash goes away soon, I hate hives, and I have had to deal with it before and it's horrible, the surgery hormones and depression that invariable follows all surgeries can suck, think of this as temporary and try to pull yourself out, if you can't, contact your doctor's office and maybe they can help you with the depression.

Best of luck.

Edited July 14, 2012 by MinaT

[MinaT 669]

12 days out I was sipping Water, decaff peppermint tea with truvia, and taking a shake that I had to gag down and I had days I was getting in 17 grams of Protein a day. I didn't want to barf so I stopped myself before that happened.

I tried getting in some Isopure Green Tea with lemon and I added Mio to it. I hate the taste, but I would try to get 4 ounces down because the shakes were literally fighting me.

I tried every Protein Shake I could find and they all tasted like flavored disgusting elmers glue to me. I loved my shakes pre-op. It scared me because my taste buds changed so much, but I said oh well...I'll work on my Water because dehydration can cause more problems than anything and you won't become Protein deficit in a short time. Every day I would retry another shake I couldn't tolerate and I would get down as much as I could.

Water is the most important thing. If it bugs you to drink it out of a water bottle try using a shot glass, it goes down with less air. I am just starting to be able handle drinking out of a water bottle. I always drank out of water bottles, I've never gagged in my life, but even brushing my teeth made me gag, and I didn't stop brushing my teeth over it, I just found a way to make it through.

Dehydration is the worst thing for you, just do your best. *On Full Liquids at 12 days - 3 weeks I could only get in less than 1/4 cup of Soup.

All you can do is your best, keep up with your water more than anything and let your body heal. That's really the best thing for you.

[angelakay2 117]

I know you must be tired of hearing it but I made a post just like this minue the allergy, mine was with a drain. It gets better!!! I am now almost 5 weeks out and I feel good! You will too! You have a lot of support here!

[MegInNOLA 531]

(HUGS) I agree with everything Lissa said--I, too, have a latex allergy and the same thing happened/happens to me!! It will clear up soon--be sure you're using a really, really mild cleanser in the shower (you might get some Phisoderm or some Cetaphil until your itching goes away).

And yeah, I totally couldn't choke down any Protein shake--my body rejected EVERY single one of them rather disgustingly. My suggestion: Make your own. Use milk of some sort (dairy if you're not lactose intolerant, or soy, or almond, or coconut), Greek yogurt, Egg Beaters (if you can tolerate eggs--these are pasteurized, so you won't be getting anything icky, plus they're great Protein for minimal calories), flavoring (sugar-free Torani, sugar-free pudding, sugar-free Hershey's Syrup, PB2 powder, whatever floats your boat), and a few ice cubes--zap it up and voila! a protein shake made from "real food." It won't have as much protein as the processed ones, but you will be getting protein and liquid and all the ingredients are things you can see and buy at a grocery store. You can amp up the protein by adding nonfat powdered milk and using the 2X protein Greek yogurt stuff--OR if you can tolerate a Protein Powder, add a tablespoon or so to this "regular food" shake and see if it stays down/is more tolerable to you that way.

I totally feel for you. Also don't forget you can zap bean/pea/lentil Soups to a totally smooth consistency--they're way high in protein, especially if there's a little bit of meat in there for flavor, like split pea/ham or navy bean/bacon--zap them totally smooth, heat, and drink. Protein from real food. Your body may be able to handle this a bit better than the sweet shakes. Everyone is different.

Hang in there. It really does get better. Lots of us had rocky starts and we're here to support you!!