30 days post surgery

[james1 34]

Good Morning,

I just wanted to drop a quick line about my 30 days post op experiences with Gastric Sleeve Surgery on 12/23 with Doctor Michael Thomas in Louisiana:

The numbers: I use a free App called 'My Fitness Pal' to track food and nutrition, a Fitbit HR to measure steps and heart rate, and I have the fitbit scale to measure weight and body fat %. I like this setup because it is EASY to use, very low maintenance (no big day to day shift in my habits), and it all just integrates together into the 'Myfitness Pal' app. As long as I use the ap, everything is in sync and I have one place to check on things. Step on the scale each morning, scale is wifi and updates my fitbit software and My Fitness Pal. Eat something, log it in diary of myfitness pal, walk and my steps automatically go into the app. Logging food intake is easy, my fitness pal can search out almost every food and has a barcode scanner to find and load specific items (and their nutrition levels). When its time to see nutritionist again, I can log in online and print my food diary and hand it to her. Its all in the phone I already carry around. To my weight...so day before surgery I was 296.3 with 40.2% body fat as measured at home and today I am 266.9 with 36.4% body fat now. So that's about -30 pounds and about -4% body fat, about 30 days out. About -38 pounds from my all time high #304neveragain

The good: By all accounts, my surgery was damn near perfect. 45 minutes total surgery time....no nausea, no site infections, out of hospital after just one night, off prescription pain meds a few days after I got home...limited need for non-prescription pain meds...no drainage issues. I credit that to a Bariatric surgeon who has made this his career and his team that supported me all of the way, BUT I also did everything they asked me to do by the letter. Most of the good things you hear after surgery are TRUE. MAD weight loss so far...if you listen to what these professionals are telling you to the letter. I mean 30 pounds in about 30 days is incredible and ALREADY LIFECHANGING for me...yes I have already had people notice I am losing weight (people who don't know what I did). Those marginal clothes I have been clinging on to, all fit great now. The energy level (once pain and pain meds is done) is totally increased. I WANT to exercise right now, but have not been cleared to do so yet. Hopefully on my 1 month follow up. So I walk.

The bad: Those clothes that fit great before, now all fit like crap....even just at 30 days out! I have already tossed blue jeans into the donate pile and dug out some 'I hope I fit in these again one day' jeans, that happen to do fit. Why is this bad? If you dress up for work, put a little money aside for clothes. Suites over the next year will probably get real expensive for me. Food Choices: My doctors have a very specific set of foods to eat, and each week more foods are added back. Its very Boring but WORTH following. I did roll forward and nibbled a few items that were a week ahead, and was ok....and I also found some items (even now) that my stomach is like 'nope, never again'. You learn those items quick, as they speed through your system, if you get my drift.

The ugly: HOLY HEAD HUNGER BATMAN. Hit me a few days out. I just KNEW I could eat something and be ok...my brain was trying to do its best to convince me. I wanted to because I was soooooo hungry...1.5oz of Jello later and I feel like it was after Thanksgiving meal at moms. But I resisted...I ate the Jello slow...half spoon full, wait....half spoonful, wait....wait....whats that feeling? (Full is a new sensation for me btw)...I had to let my stomach and brain re-wire to see what the signals meant. Very bizarre, and it took me time.

Dehydration is a very real problem. I did find myself slipping on my Fluid intake as I got a few more food choices back, and woke up one morning feeling totally dehydrated. Took it upon myself to start sipping power aid zero for a few days to get feeling right again, but I can't rehydrate as fast as I once did. I need to watch that in the summer, glad I did this in the winter.

That's about it for now, good luck everyone!

-James

[oceangirlpc 68]

so awesome!!!! that is very helpful to hear. I am waiting patiently thru my 6 month waiting process for insurance. I did have a question for you. Do you get full by driinking the Water ? you said you get dehydrated, but do you find yourself full after having sips of water?

[james1 34]

Its worth every day of that wait. Use the time to get right in the head and do the surgery. Read every post and watch youtube videos of others to get little tips here and there and listen to your doctors and nurses.

At best, I think my stomach holds about 3-4 oz. So try to eat on an empty stomach (resist drinking as your only gonna get 3-4 oz of whatever you put down) and eat the Protein 1st, then everything else. You need to be able to sip all day to keep well hydrated. As I got more food choices I kind of got excited about new tastes and textures and boom, almost went down because I forgot to drink...and had to over hydrate to get back. Also went back a week in food to more pudding/jello/mush texture type stuff to get more liquid.

Not really full from drinking, just more satisfied. Its more of a chore now. I have to mix it up with unsweet tea, or whatever else can have flavor and not be a soda.

For me, the desire to eat and drink is nearly gone so its almost like I have to add it to my outlook calendar to not forget. I have yet to have a day of eating over 500 calories since the surgery, and if I tried that before the surgery I would be a raging food beast.

so awesome!!!! that is very helpful to hear. I am waiting patiently thru my 6 month waiting process for insurance. I did have a question for you. Do you get full by driinking the Water ? you said you get dehydrated, but do you find yourself full after having sips of Water?

[sharonsjourney 16]

Thanks for all of the great information! I'm looking forward to getting a surgery date soon ????