Band Out, Sleeve In! It's done.

[Elisabethsew 50]

I have been dissolving them too, but literally have to force them down. Maybe I will try cutting them in half now to see if I can get them down. I am just now getting to where I can take a little bit bigger sip of Water to go down without it feeling like there is a lump in there, so maybe I can handle the pill now too.

I cut the pill in half and take it with hot tea. I wait until I get half of the tea gone and then take the second half and that seems to work fine.

We can have pudding!! Oh my, I so cannot wait for tomorrow!! So, you are having Tomato Soup for dinner, but I want to know, what did you have for your first official full fluids Breakfast?

I looked over the full fluids and I'm not a fan of oatmeal/farina or any of those other hot cereals so I stuck with a soy slender shake for breakfast. I might try some pudding for lunch. I bought the 60 cal Jello pudding but think I might need to thin it out a little with some skim milk. dinner is definitely the Tomato Soup.< /span>

I remember whenever the cleaning lady came to my room at the hospital, the smell of the cleaning stuff she used made me very nauseous too.

Yes, that stuff had a sickening, sweet smell to it.

[MacMadame 81]

The smell thing is why we tell you not to stock up on Protein powders pre-op. :cool2: They won't smell the same so they won't taste the same.

I think this time is hard. But I found going to regular food harder because I expected stuff to go back to normal and it didn't.

[serious 2]

The smell thing is why we tell you not to stock up on Protein powders pre-op. :cool2: They won't smell the same so they won't taste the same.

I think this time is hard. But I found going to regular food harder because I expected stuff to go back to normal and it didn't.

I buy things in very limited qualities; #1, because I can only eat a few bites and I don't want it to go bad on me, and, #2 because of the "smell/taste" thing. MAC - do you know what causes this? (the smell/taste thing), I'm just curious. Enquiring minds want to know.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I don't have a sense of smell. I wonder if that will make things different for me. People say things must taste different to me than most people because taste is related to smell.

[Elisabethsew 50]

Thankfully, Tomato Soup tasted the same. I made a can and used Water instead of milk and took my time eating it. I was stuffed 3/4 of the way through but it was delicious. I'm wondering if cutting out part of the stomach is the causative factor in the altered taste/smell sensations?

[MacMadame 81]

do you know what causes this? (the smell/taste thing), I'm just curious. Enquiring minds want to know. :thumbdown:

I don't know why either. It seems to happen to almost everyone even if they aren't on a high Protein diet.

[kareyquilts 1]

Mac: You said that going to regular food was harder, because you expected things to be normal and they weren't. How were they different? Are they back to normal yet?

[MacMadame 81]

At first you can't eat a lot. I found that very frustrating. But around 12 weeks out, everything opened up a bit more and I got to a point that I could eat enough to be mentally satisfied.

[Elisabethsew 50]

At first you can't eat a lot. I found that very frustrating. But around 12 weeks out, everything opened up a bit more and I got to a point that I could eat enough to be mentally satisfied.

I think the mental part is the hardest. I grabbed a 4 oz diet pudding and my instinct was to dive in and make it gone in a flash like pre-surgery. Instead, I had to consciously only put a small amount on a spoon and "test" how a little went down.

Head hunger is another issue. When I have dinner and see another person eating a "normal" meal and I'm about to start in on my Soup, I "think" I am starving. I didn't feel that way before I saw the food. When I can't make it through the can of Soup because I'm full, I recognize head hunger from physical hunger. Since I never achieved real restriction with the band, this is all new to me.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I think the mental part is the hardest. I grabbed a 4 oz diet pudding and my instinct was to dive in and make it gone in a flash like pre-surgery. Instead, I had to consciously only put a small amount on a spoon and "test" how a little went down.

Head hunger is another issue. When I have dinner and see another person eating a "normal" meal and I'm about to start in on my Soup, I "think" I am starving. I didn't feel that way before I saw the food. When I can't make it through the can of soup because I'm full, I recognize head hunger from physical hunger. Since I never achieved real restriction with the band, this is all new to me.

Wait until you start on solids, you'll be in for the shock of your life. The band was nothing, it did nothing for me regarding restriction. I was always one extreme or the other. I could eat anything or nothing. For me, with the sleeve... WOW! First time I ever experienced true restriction.

[kareyquilts 1]

Head hunger is a very interesting phenemnon. Emotional eating is also another issues. What have you all found to replace food, when you feel upset? I think it would be a wonderful miracle to feel full on a small amount of food. Getting my mind to also be satisfied is going to be a skill that I will really need to develop and work on. I have always been a volume eater, probably why I did pretty good with the lapband (120 pounds lost). But I still have many many food issues. It really is tiring some times to deal with. Glad to know that at some point everyone feels more normal with there eating. Not sure why all of this is pysching me out so much! Anyway, glad for your openess and willingness to share.

[Elisabethsew 50]

Wait until you start on solids, you'll be in for the shock of your life. The band was nothing, it did nothing for me regarding restriction. I was always one extreme or the other. I could eat anything or nothing. For me, with the sleeve... WOW! First time I ever experienced true restriction.

I can only imagine what that will be like. LOL. I was out all day today and had to have some fasting blood work done so Breakfast was out. Since it was a nice day, I went shopping with a friend to look for some new tops. At 12:45, she was hungry so we went to a diner. That was fun. I scanned the 7 pages of the menu and came up with 2 choices; Soup or a milkshake. I opted for a cup of coffee and matza ball soup minus the ball. LOL.

My friend asked if I would be OK if she ordered "real" food which I was fine with. I don't eat beef so the burger didn't bother me but those 2 onion rings and fries did smell wonderful. I ate my soup and was not hungry but it was hard watching all that food come out to a crowded diner. Once I was out of there, we went back to shopping and I never felt hungry. I'm now home and not physically hungry at all.

[Elisabethsew 50]

Head hunger is a very interesting phenemnon. Emotional eating is also another issues. What have you all found to replace food, when you feel upset? I think it would be a wonderful miracle to feel full on a small amount of food. Getting my mind to also be satisfied is going to be a skill that I will really need to develop and work on. I have always been a volume eater, probably why I did pretty good with the lapband (120 pounds lost). But I still have many many food issues. It really is tiring some times to deal with. Glad to know that at some point everyone feels more normal with there eating. Not sure why all of this is pysching me out so much! Anyway, glad for your openess and willingness to share.

I think it's important to remember that obesity is a disease and that weight loss surgery helps to control the disease but does not cure it. There are genetic, physical, emotional, and social aspects to obesity. Genetics you can't do anything about but that still leaves you all the others to work on.

Before I was banded, I went on a healthy diet and got myself down from 440 pounds to 195 pounds. When a series of events and the death of my father ensued, I fell back to "old" but "comforting" patterns of eating. The focus was off me and on caring for others. When I could not get back to healthy habits, I decided the band was what I needed to help me. Unfortunately, I was one of those whom never achieved restriction.

The major advantage I see to VSG over the band is that I can eat healthy again. Because of the awful heart burn and acid reflux, I began to eat foods that produced the least amount of acid. With the VSG, I will eventually be able to eat anything... just smaller amounts.

Somewhere on this forum Mac said that the more healthy things she eats, the more her body repels the crap foods (I am NOT using her works - LOL). I agree with that because it's exactly what happened to me when I was able to lose over 200 pounds. Once you feel better, your body wants to move more. I think we'll always need to ask, "Is this REAL hunger or I am looking to eat because X"? The "X" is what each of us deals with and varies.

[kareyquilts 1]

Elisabeth: You are so right. It reminds that even though I am very near goal, stuff happens and I do think that I need a tool and it seems that my band is not going to work for me any more. I'll know for sure May 6th. I do think that I'm going to get the sleeve. I don't think it's wrong to recognize that I need the help. Maybe, I should look it as I'm strong enough to know what I can and can't do. You're doing great. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

[Elisabethsew 50]

Elisabeth: You are so right. It reminds that even though I am very near goal, stuff happens and I do think that I need a tool and it seems that my band is not going to work for me any more. I'll know for sure May 6th. I do think that I'm going to get the sleeve. I don't think it's wrong to recognize that I need the help. Maybe, I should look it as I'm strong enough to know what I can and can't do. You're doing great. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

What happens on May 6? I really do see it as a strength that you recognize you need a tool to keep you at a healthy weight. Obesity is a disease just like diabetes is a disease. Without the aide of insulin, many would die. It's so sad that because obese people wear their disease for all to see we're seen as lazy or worse.