June Sleevers Post Op

[ladyscorpion04 14]

@BrandiRB Hi, and congrats! We’re sleeve twins! I also had my VSG on 6/10/20.

For everyone else, congrats as well. I had the lapband back in 2014 and lost about 90lbs in less than a year. I did really well. I got pregnant in 2015, gave birth in 2016. I lost all of my pregnancy weight and got back on track but wasn’t losing weight. By 2017, I had gained about 30lbs or so. I had to find a different doctor because my surgeon’s practice had closed down. I had an EGD done which revealed that my lapband had corroded causing a hole in my stomach. I had the lapband removed in January 2018. My surgeon said it would take 6 months to a year before considering a revision because the hole needed to heal properly. So fast forward to November 2019: I found a surgeon with an affordable cash pay option. I had another EGD done to make sure the hole healed properly and that the scar tissue was minimal. Once I got the okay, we scheduled my procedure. Unfortunately, COVID-19 delayed it.

So, I started my liquid diet on 6/1/20. It was supposed to be for 2 weeks where I’d have surgery on 6/15/20 but my surgeon pushed me up to 6/10/20 because he said he had a family emergency and would be traveling out of town. So, my liquid preop diet was for 10 days instead of 14 days. My preop weight was 337 on 6/1/20. On the day of surgery (6/10/20), I weighed 322. Today (6/21/20), I weigh 315. The incision site is still a little tender but they are healing well. It didn’t help that one of my kids accidentally ran into it (twice 😩). I still can’t sleep on my side yet. I’m having a hard time getting in regular Water. I HAVE to have a Crystal Light to drink it smoothly. Protein Shakes are okay but I have to pace myself. I also noticed that I have to start early in the day to get it all in. There are some days that I have not gotten it all in. I don’t always have a desire to “eat.” It’s weird but I don’t want to force myself. I did this on yesterday and got nauseous. First (and last) time I do that. I do have a desire to chew - not because I’m hungry - just because chewing is what I’ve been accustomed to and can’t do just yet.

So, my diet setup is like this:
10 days - preop full liquids
Weeks 1 & 2 - post op full liquids
Week 3 - post op purée foods
Week 4 - post op soft foods
Week 5 - post op regular texture/low carb/high Protein

My surgeon’s Nurse Practitioner met with me for my 1 week follow up and said that I should lose about 20lbs by the time of my 1 month post op appointment. I was like YIKES but okay.

As far as exercise goes, I’ve walked in my home mostly. I did go on a walk with my husband and kids one day last week as well. It wasn’t bad but I was a bit anxious. I plan to amp it up as I can tolerate it.

I still have some trapped gas and my back is very painful when I yawn, stretch or sit/lay a certain way. I believe it’ll go away in due time, though. I have an abdominal binder that I’m supposed to wear at all times when I’m awake. I’ve worn it daily but not for the entire day. I usually tolerate it for about 7/8 hours. My surgeon said it’s supposed to help my stomach and other organs as it heals to sort of “snap back.” They suggested I wear it for the first month.

Bad breath - yep, I have it. I’m brushing and rinsing often to help deal with it. I look forward to changing up my diet because this, my friends, is not cute!

I drove at 1 week/1day post op and did fine. I cannot drive my SUV just yet because it’s hard for me to get up and done. So I’m driving my husband’s car for now.

Other than that, I’m gradually getting back into the swing of my normal routine. I’ve meal prepped for my family, done laundry and housework as well. I take my time and listen to my body. If I feel winded, I rest.

I’m excited about this journey. I honestly don’t know what my end goal is.

[StarMonroe 8]

I had my surgery 6/8 as well and everything went well I spent two days in the hospital because I wasn’t taking in enough liquid. The first week out the weight was falling off I was down 17.5lbs fast forward to last week and I gain two pounds. What is going on? I feel like did my surgery not work? Why am I gaining weight? On top of that here’s a list of things I’ve experienced after surgery. Burning in my lower abdomen from the blood thinner shot, gas and burping, weird stomach noises, itchy incisions😩, a yeast infection from the meds they gave me in the hospital😫oh and did I mention WEIGHT GAIN. The struggles are real. Can someone shed some light on the weight gain?

[catwoman7 11,212]

2 minutes ago, StarMonroe said:

I had my surgery 6/8 as well and everything went well I spent two days in the hospital because I wasn’t taking in enough liquid. The first week out the weight was falling off I was down 17.5lbs fast forward to last week and I gain two pounds. What is going on? I feel like did my surgery not work? Why am I gaining weight? On top of that here’s a list of things I’ve experienced after surgery. Burning in my lower abdomen from the blood thinner shot, gas and burping, weird stomach noises, itchy incisions😩, a yeast infection from the meds they gave me in the hospital😫oh and did I mention WEIGHT GAIN. The struggles are real. Can someone shed some light on the weight gain?

do a search on the three week stall. Sounds like you started yours a week early (mine was weeks 2 and 3)

[It's time. 145]

i was sleeved 6/11 and doing well. No real pain so that is good. My real problem right now is getting even three Protein Drinks in. Three weeks of these and I'm so DONE. I put in a call to my doctor to see if I could start pureed foods to add to the Protein drinks. I was walking, but it's been 90 and humid here for the last week with no end in sight so went to Target just to walk around. I got tired quickly and came home. I do seem to need a nap everyday. I get my Fluid in, but my calories are only about 500 a day. I dream of greasy pizza. Maybe that's why I like to sleep, ha Generally no complaints. 15 lbs down since start of pre-op diet.

[angryspice 31]

Hi All!

I'm a long-time lurker and decided to join the club since this has been my #1 visited site for many months now. Due to COVID, my surgery was postponed to 6/18 so I am 5 days post-op. The day of surgery and the following 3 days were the most painful days of my life, and I almost regretted even going through with all of this. It was somewhat surprising since a lot of people on here seem to not have much pan post-op. I had trouble getting in any fluids, even Water, and didn't even think about Protein until the 2nd day after surgery. I was discharged from the hospital the next day and spent the next couple of days at my parents' house which was tough because I had to watch them eat all this good food and I couldn't touch anything. It was mostly head hunger, but due to my extremely low energy levels and the fact that I hadn't eaten for a few days, I definitely felt like I wanted to eat something. I got off the pain meds as soon as I could so I could drive back to my own house where I had everything I needed and no distractions or temptations. From reading this site, every doctor seems to have a different recovery plan, mostly the timing. My doctor said Clear Liquids for the first week after surgery, and at Day 5 post-op I am aiming to finally get the recommended 64oz of fluids and 64g of protein which has eluded me the past few days. My pre-op journey started in early November 2019. I lost about 20lbs prior to surgery. I am already down 10lbs post-op. I am hoping that once I can move to a full liquid diet, my energy levels will increase and I can resume some form of exercise and really get as much weight off as I can during this honeymoon period. Right now, I am pretty sedentary and just fighting to stay awake for an entire day and walk around a little. Before surgery, I was walking or hiking for about an hour a day, 5-7 days/week, but I think it is going to be a slow road getting back to that.

Edited June 23, 2020 by djspice

[abiebaby 24]

Sleeved yesterday. Had a rough night due to gas pain, but doing much better now. Being discharged as soon as pharmacy gets around to filling my prescriptions.
My surgeon didn't require any liquid diet prior to surgery, so I was worried how I would handle the no food after the surgery. Last time I ate was Sunday night, and thankfully not hungry or weak at all! Tomorrow I start on a 3 day diluted clear juice party, and graduate to Protein Shakes on day 4. Start pureed food on day 15. Glad the surgery is over, now the real work begins!
Now how do I make sure my 2 year old doesn't jump on me as soon as I get home...

Sent from my SM-G986U using BariatricPal mobile app

[Paradisegirl 3]

12 hours ago, angryspice said:

Hi All!

I'm a long-time lurker and decided to join the club since this has been my #1 visited site for many months now. Due to COVID, my surgery was postponed to 6/18 so I am 5 days post-op. The day of surgery and the following 3 days were the most painful days of my life, and I almost regretted even going through with all of this. It was somewhat surprising since a lot of people on here seem to not have much pan post-op. I had trouble getting in any fluids, even Water, and didn't even think about Protein until the 2nd day after surgery. I was discharged from the hospital the next day and spent the next couple of days at my parents' house which was tough because I had to watch them eat all this good food and I couldn't touch anything. It was mostly head hunger, but due to my extremely low energy levels and the fact that I hadn't eaten for a few days, I definitely felt like I wanted to eat something. I got off the pain meds as soon as I could so I could drive back to my own house where I had everything I needed and no distractions or temptations. From reading this site, every doctor seems to have a different recovery plan, mostly the timing. My doctor said clear liquids for the first week after surgery, and at Day 5 post-op I am aiming to finally get the recommended 64oz of fluids and 64g of Protein which has eluded me the past few days. My pre-op journey started in early November 2019. I lost about 20lbs prior to surgery. I am already down 10lbs post-op. I am hoping that once I can move to a full liquid diet, my energy levels will increase and I can resume some form of exercise and really get as much weight off as I can during this honeymoon period. Right now, I am pretty sedentary and just fighting to stay awake for an entire day and walk around a little. Before surgery, I was walking or hiking for about an hour a day, 5-7 days/week, but I think it is going to be a slow road getting back to that.

Hey! We’re surgery twins! And it sounds like we’re experiencing a lot of the same things! I’m exhausted all the time (likely because of the low caloric intake), and the gas pain is still crazy bad. I try to sip Water all day but it really hurts! I’m hoping this part doesn’t last too much longer! I know a lot of ppl bounce right back but I just feel like I’m only know starting to recover from the surgery. Add in the food issues and I feel like I’m drowning a bit. I’m sure next week will be much better...or at least that’s what I’m clinging to! 😊 My doc has me doing full fluids now until Friday when I can start purées and then a week later I can do soft foods. Full foods a week after that. I sincerely hope my chest and esophagus is healed by then because I am starving! 🤞🏻

[RicaShanea 3]

Hello everyone!
I am 2days post op. I had VSG on 6/22. Leaving the hospital today. Day one was not too bad. Had quite a bit of gas pain but was up walking the halls. I woke up on day 2, 6/23 and my entire body felt l had been hit by a semi-truck. I stayed another night with increased pain meds and i am up and moving today. I will
Be discharged to today as well. Have passed most of the gas and had a BM today, which relieved about 85% of the pressure in my abdomen. Has anyone else experienced full body aches post op? My nurses say this is normal. 🤔🤔

[srgrl08 12]

Hi all,

I feel like I'm struggling with this post op diet. Pretty much all I can have for 22 days is my bariatric grade Protein Shake, clear low sodium broth, Jello, and Water (or gatorade zero or propel). I'm on day 17 and I have to stay on this diet until I see my doctor on July 1 (so technically I'm on it for 24 day). I was originally scheduled for a July 8 post-op appointment, but thank goodness I was able to get my appointment moved up.

I wake up every morning feeling good and like I can do another day of this, but by the end of the day I'm just wishing I could have a warm piece of meat.

Only 7 more days. I can do it, but I hope the next few days come sooner.

[colormehappy 124]

I’m 3 weeks post-op, which has honestly flown by.

About 4 days ago I started getting some left side abdominal pain that was wrapping around to my lower back. It got to the point where it was pretty painful. I’ve been irrationally petrified of a leak, so I stressed myself out like crazy. I finally called my surgeon this morning but had to wait quite awhile to get a call back since he was in surgery.

In the meantime I started to think about the last time I had a BM and realized I couldn’t really remember. Took some milk of magnesia and got things moving... pain totally gone. I was losing sleep over the possibility of a leak and just needed to poop. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I can’t wait to have a better understanding of how my new insides work. Everything still feels so new.

[catwoman7 11,212]

17 minutes ago, colormehappy said:

In the meantime I started to think about the last time I had a BM and realized I couldn’t really remember. Took some milk of magnesia and got things moving... pain totally gone. I was losing sleep over the possibility of a leak and just needed to poop. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I can’t wait to have a better understanding of how my new insides work. Everything still feels so new.

chronic Constipation is a really common problem for both VSG and RNY patients. A lot of us take a capful of Miralax every day to keep on top of it. Others take stool softeners, Smooth Move tea, magnesium tablets, or prunes. Just figure out what works for you - and you may need to do it regularly, if not every day.

[jenlp88 4]

Hello everyone, I had endoscopic sleeve today! I am so happy to start this journey! I wasn’t nervous at all about the surgery. But am a little nervous to juggle Vitamins, foods to eat, they to drink Water, etc. it all seems so complex. My best friend who was my driver and my recovery “nurse” through the weekend had the idea to put large posts on the wall to color code and put check boxes for first couple of weeks until i get into a routine. Great idea! Also using alarms on phone and reminders as well as tracking on Baritastic app. BTW, does.l anyone use that app? Seems like it is amazing!
So back to my surgery- ESG... the worst part was not being able to drink water beforehand and now only being able to sip. I am a major water dinner before and love it ice cold and jug it all day- they will be rough adjustment for me! As far as pain, I am not really nauseous- but really bad heartburn. Also very bloated as expected. I think muscle pain will come in a few days, but so far so good- I am pretty impressed! But let’s keep in mind that ESG is definitely a quicker recovery compared to most other Bariatric surgeries.
I am still looking for an accountability partner if anyone is interested.
Look forward to updating and hearing more about all of your experiences also! 💕 Jennifer

[colormehappy 124]

28 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

chronic constipation is a really common problem for both VSG and RNY patients. A lot of us take a capful of Miralax every day to keep on top of it. Others take stool softeners, Smooth Move tea, magnesium tablets, or prunes. Just figure out what works for you - and you may need to do it regularly, if not every day.

Thank you! I mistakenly felt like once I was off painkillers I would be fine, but that's clearly not the case.

[CindyGH 1]

My sleeve was 6/2. One night in hospital - no issues. 2 weeks liquids, 2 weeks pureed and 1-2 weed soft foods coming up soon! At my 2 week check with surgeon I was down 18 pounds. I know we are not supposed to weigh everyday but I have some serious OCD. The weight definitely slowed after the first 2 weeks but as soon as I cut out dairy products it's coming off again.

I had a very large hernia and have had to sleep in a recliner for like 5 years. I'm finally sleeping in bed, FLAT, like a baby. I can go to bed around 11 and wake up at 5:30 totally refreshed and ready to conquer the world. I'm following a scheduled of 3 shakes with 3 2 oz high Protein pureed "meals" and making sure I get my Water in.

Every day around 5:30 or 6 I just crash. If I sit down during that time I fall asleep in like 10 seconds and sleep for about an hour. This is very unlike me -I'm not a napper. Then I wake up and I'm full of energy to go do stuff till like 10 pm. Anyone else experiencing this crash that late in the day?

[futurefinemama 163]

Hey guys, I got sleeved on June 23rd. Whew its over. But honestly it wasn't too bad. Although, the gas pain was almost unbearable, it was in my chest, my back, my shoulders. Only way to relieve the gas was to walk. And boy did I walk, I looped the hospital halls like I was Flo Jo (in my mind). I only stayed one night in the hospital. I'm currently home trying to adjust to my new life. I'm on full liquids now. I have absolutely no appetite, I set my alarm when its time to eat. I am dealing with a bit of acid re flux or heart burn. Hopefully, this too shall subside.

STATS:

Total = I have lost 44lbs from my highest weight 8/31/2019 to current

2 week Pre op diet = 16lbs lost

From surgery date to current = 8lbs. (two days)