Five weeks out and frustrated

[Jason Houston 3]

I just discovered this website today and I've been engrossed - have been reading different threads all afternoon.

I had my VSG done on Jan. 28, 2013. I weighed 382.2 that weekend. I weighed 322 this morning. So that's 60 lbs. in five weeks.

My surgeon didn't give me strict guidelines on when to move off liquids into "mushies" - just said at my 2-week follow-up that I would know when it was time.

My main problem right now is nausea. Nothing - NOTHING - sounds appetizing to try to eat and when I have tried things lately I get very nauseous. Basically, right now I do a Protein / Breakfast shake in the mornings and try to sip Water and Crystal Lite during the day. In the evenings I may get down a swallow or two of Soup or a Popsicle, but nothing much else. Saturday I tried to eat a couple of bites of mushed-up chicken salad and I got very nauseated. Sunday morning I took some medicine with cold water, and threw it up immediately.

My surgeon said he made my sleeve a little tight. I had problems in the hospital staying hydrated and throwing up constantly. But I really thought after 5 weeks I'd be able to eat a little more than what I'm doing. I'm on basically 100 - 200 calories per day.

Any thoughts? I love the weight loss results, but constantly staying sick feeling and never being able to eat anything is frustrating.

[fyre_storm 1,412]

Try and eat slower. Chew like crazy, so when you think you chewed enough chew a little more. You should also try and eat every three hours to keep energy up. And drink like crazy. I was sleeved oct 31 2012 and I was 388 now I'm 292. So it takes awhile to loose but keep your head up!! It'll get better. And if something doesn't sit right try eating something else.

[erica hall 19]

Jason:

First of all, congrats on your progress so far. Stay focused and stay consistent. Maybe you should consult a nutritionist/dietitican. Are there any nutritionist/dietitican that are a part of the team where you had your surgery? I would check with them for guidance and assistance. Also, do some research online as well regarding the diet. Good Luck, stay strong, Erica

[DrmBig4Evr 152]

Also, my post op instruction state that if this happens to go back to liquids again and allow your stomach to calm down again and in a week or two try again.

[erica hall 19]

Hope these help.

SleeveDietGuide.pdf

sleeve-gastrectomy-booklet.pdf

[my3sons 51]

Honestly, I would contact your surgeon. I would think at 5 weeks, you should be able to tolerate more food. There is always a chance of a stricture- and that can be fixed so you can get some relief. Please call your doctor.

[Jason Houston 3]

Thanks to all of you. I called my surgeon's office and they want to see me Thursday. So we'll see what they say. I appreciate the replies.

[lizv123 389]

Nausea is your stomach's way of expressing pain. The stomach has no pain receptors so nausea is the closest signal it can give your brain. At 5 weeks I'd say it's still some pain from healing. But I'm glad you're going to see your surgeon! Keep us posted!

[Tawnie 99]

100-200 calories is no good young man. . I cannot drink cold Water since surgery. I loved Water. It comes back up on me all the time.

Your progress is great. But I am sorry you are not feeling well. Let us know what doc says.

[clk 3,519]

Glad you're getting in to see the doc. My first thought was also stricture or else some type of problem healing that's causing you to still feel nausea. At five weeks out I'd say you should be over the worst hump and feeling much better, though still unable to eat more than a few bites at a time.

Plain Water bothers a lot of people. Have you tried warm tea or some other warm beverage? I also had a sensitivity to artificial sweeteners post op, so Crystal Light caused me some problems, too.

And what are you mixing your Protein shake with? I had a similar issue post op with nausea and it turns out that I developed lactose intolerance post op. I was ruining my entire day with the first thing I was putting in my stomach: my Protein Shake mixed with milk. It took some experimentation to find liquids I could mix my shake with and I even had to switch my Protein powder to one that was lactose free, but I did find a solution that worked for me. If this is your issue, take heart from the fact that for many of us, the intolerance fades as time passes. Sometime after one year post op I was able to tolerate just about everything but ice cream.

Good luck, and please update this thread once you talk to your doctor. Someone else in a similar situation might stumble upon this and get help they need from your experience.

~Cheri

[Decembersleever 154]

Please take Cheri's advice. I love her posts. She's positive and really helpful. Congrats on the weight loss and I hope you get some answers

[Jason Houston 3]

Ok - updating for everyone's info. I went to the doctor Wednesday, really sick. Ran a fever all night Tuesday night and just felt miserable. Constant nausea, weakness, etc. He did an upper GI series and drew blood. Said I was severely dehydrated but the upper GI didn't show any leaks and showed the sleeve was passable. I still had the nausea and left upper quadrant pain and some epigastric pain. He put me in the hospital. Ran like 4L of Fluid in quickly, gave me some mild pain meds, nausea meds and some Decadron for inflammation. CT showed I have a 9 cm hematoma lingering around the sleeve on the outside, pressing against it. He said it was probably from some post-op debris or maybe some early bleeding around the suture line. The fluids and meds really helped me. He put me BACK on Clear liquids for 2 weeks and sent me home on antibiotics and pain / nausea meds as needed.

So at least I know there was some kind of issue. He thinks the hematoma will absorb and go away eventually. I still have a little pain but it's better than it was. Just drinking my shakes now and Water / broth / etc.

Thanks for everyone's replies.

[LaurelVSG 6]

I am four weeks out, and I had a hard time with solids until I pureed them I'm the food processor. Which means I wasn't chewing the pieces small enough even though I really thought I was. If everything checks out with your surgeon, try either pureed food or chewing really slow with long pauses between bites. It helped me a lot.

[popsicle_20721 27]

I'm glad you are feeling a bit more relieved after seeing your doc. I was always worried something was seriously wrong in my first few weeks following surgery. My progress just didn't seem to be where others were, though I've learned that everyone's progress is different. I had a similiar problem with not being able to eat anything. It turned out that I had to have the opening of my sleeve enlarged 1/2 cm i.e. stricture from scarring. That helped a little. I was able to get a little more down e.g. creamy Soups, oatmeal but still very little e.g. 1/4 cup at the most. Even that was a struggle. I do remember I had to really concentrate when I ate. I had to count how many times I chewed my food i.e. 30X at minimum. In fact, I couldn't watch TV, talk or even ready while I ate. I had to devote my full attention to eating. If someone called me on the phone while I was eating, I would tell them I had to focus on my eating - I'll call them back. All this was new for me (so many bad habits I had developed over the years). Actually for at least the first 6-7 weeks, I was seriously doubting my decision to be sleeved. I was losing weight but I was miserable too. I felt weak all the time, like my body just wasn't mine anymore. Everyone kept saying it would get better... but when was all I could think of at the time.

Well - it HAS gotten so much BETTER! In fact sometimes I worry that I can eat more than I should - of course I get full pretty quickly. I'm in the "trial and error" phase now i.e. I'm trying different foods to see what my sleeve will accept and what it won't. I still have some bad days, but not like in the beginning. I still struggle with getting my Water in and can't drink it like I use to (sometimes it still makes me nauseous). I never did develop a taste for Protein drinks, they all tasted horrible. I eventually had to try getting my Protein in by eating real food enriched with protein e.g. lots of fish, eggs and other easy to eat meats. I guess all I'm trying to say is that it does get better, just have to go through it.