1-4-Many

So far I am very happy with the way things have gone for me and my choice of the sleeve. But I will be so glad when the next 6 weeks are over and in the books. There is one thing about this that is really starting to get on my nerves to the point that it's making me a bit depressed and that's being tied to the clock. I slept in today. I didn't feel all that great. Well, sleeping in puts me off my feeding schedule. It's like I'm an infant. And I'm a very low capacity sleeve so far so if I miss the time of one feed, I am going to miss on everything. At this point I've gotten in about 250 calories today. I need to build my strength as I go back to work on Monday and I work long days, usually 9 to 10 hours. I'm still on mushies so there's not a lot of options out in the world. Once you move to mushies you are not to use liquid for nutrition any longer. Eventually I will fall back on it if necessary but while I"m in this window I'm trying to be as true to the plan as possible. I have to plan where I'm going, how long will I be there, will I need food while I'm out. I guess I don't do well at micro managing my life to that degree. So it's just getting old for me. This too shall pass. Right now I"m longing for being able to stick a Protein bar in my purse and go.

To make my life choices because they are what I want or need, not because they are what can accommodate my weight.

Very good way to word this. I actually started out thinking band. That lasted until I met two women who were banded. Then I went straight to sleeve and waited for it to catch up with me. I never stopped at RNY but I certainly had to explain myself a lot as to why I didn't. I don't think that will be the case in 5 years.

They had about 20 pages of recipies you could run copies of. I have 3 weeks mushies then 3 weeks soft foods. There's a sort of merge to these items in the middle. Basically the first half I can handle with my food purer and the second half just by checking the texture. I am not a good cook so I only took on recipe which was for a greek yogurt smoothie with chunks of banana (soft food part). I already tried it a couple of different ways and pureed it. I was not impressed. It seemed bland. But I"m a pretty bad cook so it might be me. And maybe that's why I have found the stage II and III baby foods to be pretty tasty. Sometimes it's about what you are used too!

I've been reading a lot of the posts about the fear of having to cope without food. I completely understand. I was sleeved on 4/27 and I am now experiencing what people told me about but was hard to grasp until you are there. I forgot to eat twice today. I had to go buy a little digital buzzer to buzz at 3 hours. Can you imagine? Even as my food world is opening back up, I forgot to eat. My one NUT told me that from my profile that was her concern for me and I said "oh no, I'd never forget to eat". Well, she was right. It's not a good or bad thing, just very surprising to me. So I have started using my little timer. I very much enjoy what I eat even tho it's tiny little bites and amounts and all is going down pretty well even tho I do still have nausea, it's not horrible, just something to work through. So I've been thinking about what I might be able to share to sooth those pre very normal worries and I'd like to offer two thing: Turn off the TV in those first 2 weeks. The food commercials are not your friends. That was the only thing that drove me crazy. From 3 to 7 at night it's one food commercial after the next. There were times I felt like Pavlo's dogs, almost salivating. If you can separate yourself from the food you love, try to do so. If you are a Mom, see if friends could take them for dinner a night or two. Or if your partner will manage the food work. Not having those triggers would make it so much easier. And second, you may feel hungry in the first week or two. I did. I think it's somewhat natural. Some suggest you need more anti-acids. I called my office and they said to not increase any med, to just ride it out for at least 1 month before going to meds. I did and at 2 weeks I suddenly realized the hunger had passed. I still experience some hunger at appropriate times. But it's not all the time to the degree of making me worry the surgery had not worked for me. I read others who posted the the Ghrelin needs time to leave your body and for me, I think that was the case. You might want to ask your surgeon ahead of time what they would want you to do. But I'd ask that you not fear any sort of failure. For some of us it's just a part of the process. And a merry sleeve to use all!!!!

I am not yet 30 days post op and I had tuna salad for dinner. Yes, it was pureed and not real fancy. But you really will be amazed at how easy it is compared to regular old dieting.

This was my first, and I really hope last, round of GBU (Gastric Back Up). I had a feeling there would be some here to would understand!

I was sleeved 1 week after you and my surgeon said I am "out of the danger zone". That's assuming sanity and being careful of course. I am not eating much but much more than you. I had about 3 tablespoons of tuna salad, 1 teaspoon baby food peas and 1 teaspoon applesauce for dinner. Tuna pureed. I am stuffed . That was my "big" meal of the day. I really could live without the teaspoon of peas and applesauce but we are to have what I considered "simulated meals" so I do it. I just started back on real pureed foods yesterday. That's a 3 week phase then to 3 weeks of soft food. I thought I would hate this long window but so far everything is pretty tasty and, of course, megga filling.

I pooped. Whew.......

I understand everything you are feeling. I really do. I actually told people before my surgery that if something went very wrong, it was all on me. I got me where I was. But I also recognized that I was doing it because I was trying to take action to get me out of where I was. Later, when you have some time, read through some of the threads about how much people eat after being sleeved. That's what keep me "real". It's what reminds me that it just is not as simple as calories in and calories out. You know there are people on this board who are consuming 600 calories a day and having stalls where their bodies are refusing to lose weight. 600 calories a day! And even at 600 calories they have to watch and fret over every carb. Not being able to succeed at that game without this tool is not weak or stupid or lazy. It's the type of fight you can win when it's 25 to 50 pounds,willing to learn a lot, are young and able to give a hour a day to exercise. But if you are looking at needing to lose 100 pounds it's almost impossible to lose it and keep it off. I know. I really hope things work out for you. And I really hope you can forgive yourself. You are just human. And you are doing the best you can for things to get better. Fingers crossed, it will.

My very strong advice is to get it in writing. If she makes hand written notes, keep them. If they have a set, specific diet, make sure you keep the paper trail. I am on my 3rd NUT at my program. (2 additional have left the program.) The "rules" came and went from "don't worry about your weight, this is all about learning the proper 'way' to eat....chew, chew, chew, no Water, time between meals" to "you need to be losing x number of pounds per month and already eating very small portions many times a day". The odd failure will be expected. You are not going to be perfect. To me the key is to be working to meet their expectations. I did that at every turn and kept detailed records. Unfortunately, every 3 or 4 months the expectations changed and I didn't do a good job of documentation. So when my NUT's would transfer or quit, I was left hanging being asked by the next one why I wasn't doing what SHE expected of me to have been doing. Over a 4 month window my guess is that they are going to be expecting to see a downward trend. Just understand what level of loss they expect (it might be as little as 2 or 3 pounds), what type of diet, and your pattern of eating. Most of that will be presented to you. But if it's not, make sure you have your answers and don't waste a month of time getting it straight. Good luck.

I today moved to mushy foods. I am just happy. Everything is moving along so well. I did not overeat, did not feel over full at any point, enjoyed each tiny mouthfull but was ready to quit before I was forced to. It felt so natural. I think this is right for me. I want to be that person in 2 years who says her only regret is not doing this 5 years ago. People asked me before surgery if I was excited. I wasn't. It was what I needed to do. But now I'm getting to the new plan, the new way of live and I am so ready. II love hitting the exciting part of this ride. Maybe there really is life out there! whooo hoooooo (Who'd have guess a jar of baby food peas could make a person so happy! )

Me too. I've asked for other suggestions too. I just ordered a new supply of the Bariatric Advanced in a different flavor. Thought I'd give that a try. I don't think it's the flavor but I don't like it so I thought I'd give a different one a try. I actually forgot to mention this to my doctor today. I just started mushies today. After I get settled into this routine and I have the new flavor, I'm going to try cutting them up and starting with just .25% of one. See now that goes down. In the mean time I'm still taking my 1 a day. I asked and it doesn't hurt, it's just not getting me everything I should be getting. So right now I'm drinking one of the very high Vitamin drinks and the 1 a day and hoping that's enough for a while. Have you tried breaking the pill up into smaller chewable pieces? Wondered if we hit our stomach with a smaller piece a few times a day if it might work better.

I wanted the chance to be "normal" for the first time in my life and the sleeve was my path there. I wanted a stomach that could tolerate foods, serve my body, but work with me instead of against me to support my body. And I wanted, unlike many, for some of the responsibility to be mine. And that circles back around to wanting to be just a regular person. Not skinny, but a regular size. Not re-routed, just smaller. My perception, for better or worse, is that this surgery gets you the closest to simply having been born with a smaller stomach than I actually came equipped with. (And I accept I pushed the limit.) And I"m only a short window out but it seems to me I got exactly what I wanted and now I'm very excited about how different my life will be in 6 months once I've gotten a big chunk of this extra weight off and can move again. It's very exciting.

In my program they measure things from the day you start your pre-op diet. So today finished my month one. I am one of those folks who researched, went to tons of programs and ultimately decided on the program and surgeon because they were offering the VGS. It was what I knew was right for me. I truly believe that in 6 months time I will be validated in that belief. Right now I am still working my way through the huge learning curve you face when changing the entire function of the core of your being human. I think people who rush through underestimate the need to be ready for this surgery. And that being ready, unless you are having serious health impacting weigh based issues, has little to do with the number on the scale. My history is that I eat well. I have always had a healthy diet with low "numbers'", triglycerides, good and bad cholesterol, blood sugar. All perfect to better than perfect. But I'm someone who always ate 1/3 more than needed and hated exercise. Still do. So I knew the key for me -- a person who hates sweets (they gag me) -- was to be forced into a food restriction. I didn't need the threat of dumping or passing a part of your digestive system. Honestly, the first few times the professionals suggested that as a benefit to having Gastric Bypass I didn't quiet understand what they meant. I wasn't trying to be a smart rump. But when you eat sweets in measurements of the occasional bite, it was like suggesting that it would help me quit smoking. Fine, but who smokes? So it actually took a while to convince the surgeon that VGS was right for me. And, interesingly, with immediate insurance approval ( I have a great company and great insurance ) that question of whether it would "work" for me disappeared. Interesting, huh. He now thinks I will excel with the plan. So one month out: 1) The surgery was not nearly as bad as I expected. Not nearly. I hate to vomit and even with a second day of wicked vomiting, it was not bad. Somehow, it's a different kind of being ill than if you have the flu and are sick all over. This is just your new stomach being upset with you. 2) I have thought the pain was minimal for the entire process. I was actually most worried my knees would hurt when I walked but the walking wasn't as involved as I thought. I took no pain meds after they too the IV off. None. Tylenol does nothing for me so it wasn't worth the bother. 3) I had my gall bladder out at the same time and I would NOT recommend it. Now that I know that surgery is not that difficult for me, I would have done this separately. My gall stone was huge and required a 4.5 inch incision. So basically it defeated the point of having it done laproscpally (they didn't know it would be that bad) and it also required a drain in the middle of the incision. So 3 weeks out from surgery I am still healing. It's the main thing I would do differently since I know I needed the gall bladder out. Removing 2 organs at the same time required the drain. Healing for each separately would have been much easier. 4) At one month I've hit their minimum acceptable weight loss. Sadly, most of it's was pre-surgery on the liquid fast. However, I've made an agreement with myself that if I keep lowing, stop being queezy, am able to work foods back in easily and do not lose my hair, I will be very happy with a slow but steady loss. I didn't want the world to know I did this so maybe it's a good thing. The important part is that the fat keeps leaving and stays gone. As of today, I'd do it again. And I think 1 month out from the day you started the pre-diet scared to death you wouldn't even be able to succeed at that, this is a good place to be.

I found this very interesting. I was thin as a kid. I got fat in my 30's, lost it all in my 40's, then I've gained a bunch back so I decided it was give to surrender and admit that I needed a tool to help me stop the up/down/up/down. In my prep for the surgery, which took way too long, I kept thinking that I only had X number of months left to my sentence until I would be sprung from prison. I sort of think of this time in my life (the first 6 months post sleeve) as being my window of probation. I'm really looking forward to 2012 when I'll be free.

Thanks all. While I had/have no intention of pushing it while I am in the first 7 weeks, I really think that week 8 and 9 I will probably start adding a touch of regular food back in occasionally. I really think 9 weeks + is overkill. I just wanted to make sure. I actually think it will be good for me to begin the process of actually chewing food again very slowing, maybe just one small item a day in that 8th and 9th week. I think if I was so long before I get back to the texture of real food, when in my mind it's a go, I might fall into the habit of eating too fast or not chewing enough. I actually think that if I creep into it when I think of it as "cheating", I'll do a better job of being careful.

I think almost all doctors recommend Miralax, rather than any of the stronger laxatives. I had not gone for 2 weeks after surgery but I wasn't constipated there just wasn't anything much in me yet. Then I suddenly got sick last Thursday and whoa buddy did I go. So now it's Monday and nothing since. I didn't go often before either so I don't expect to now hardly at all. But again, I don't feel like I have to go so not going to worry about it much. My surgeon doesn't mind if you take Miralax every other day but he does not want anyone doing the pill type. People at the support group say the stuff works well.

How many steps does your program run you through between surgery and being on your new normal diet? I just learned today there's one more step to my program and it's really set me back in terms of tolerance and attitude. I've tried very hard to be patient, as my program seems to advance people slower than others do. In these first 3 weeks when most of the healing takes place I'm fine with it. In fact, when I read stories about people who are on regular foods at 5 or 6 weeks, it sort of takes my breath that they are that brave..or able. But then today I learned that "mushies" and "soft" are two different stages in my program, each 3 weeks long. So after surgery: 3 days clear liquid 3 weeks full liquid 3 weeks mushies (this means puree and thin everything with the food less watered down than full liquid) 3 weeks soft food (this is what I thought was combined with mushies and means all 'soft' food, not treated to soften it in any way. Something like sweet potato. You should still have very little chewing.) Then finally - Slowly advance to full food, adding 1 new food per day to your diet. Does anyone else have 9+ weeks between their surgery and being able to eat something like a boiled egg? That's not considered "soft" because it would need considerable chewing. I think this is overly cautious. Or am I wrong and does everyone have these two steps of mushies and soft? Thanks. Now that I've learned I have 3 extra weeks before I can throw caution to the wind and eat a slice of deli chicken I see some cheating on the horizon.

I absolutely love my scales. I love it so much I've considered buying a back up. I've had it for about 18 months and as long as I step on it evenly I get a very consistent read. I researched on line before buying and this one was a consumer's digest best choice a couple of years ago. It's sold only at Bed Bath and Beyond and is called Thinner. If you go there and read the reviews (which I just did) they are not exactly stunning (only 3) which surprised me. I have the Chrome and Glass top one. If you have Bed Bath and Beyond near you where you could return it if you are not happy, I'd really recommend it. One of the reviews says their worked great for 2.5 years before giving them trouble. Well, I think I paid about $30 for mine with a coupon so I guess that may be a difference between me and that reviewer. If I own a $30 item for 2.5 years of excellent use, it can die then and I won't complain.

I think your worry is normal. We all know we could drop dead at any moment. It's unfortunate but we could. But I, for instance, am a very worried flyer. Because when I get on that plane I know that everything is out of my control. Of course some people believe you are always without control and that a higher power is driving. But I don't see it that way, I believe that higher power is only creating the energy and how we use it us up to us. That said, you are using your energy to make a better life for you and those kids. Yes, for a brief window of time you will be out of control and you are at a higher risk than normal for a problem. But that's almost always the situation when there is great gain to be had....a window of possible great loss. You know that going to Mexico for this procedure is risky but also very safe -- if that makes sense. I'm sure you've done your research. And man do you ever hear the praises of the Mexican facilities on forums like this. The worry is normal. But try to keep it in perspective to the level of risk which to me, would be to be concerned, ask questions, pay attention to what's going on and move forward. Regarding the notes, do it if it would make you feel better. If it will make you feel bad, don't do it. I have a journal I keep. And on one page about a week before surgery I wrote the names of about 15 people and a couple of single comments. Like - Jeanne - thanks for being a true friend. There are not many in this world like you and I am so glad you crossed my path. I knew my best friend would find it some day and pass the thoughts along. I then left a note explaining where my lawyer's office was and that he had a copy of my will and a few other minor instructions. And that was it. But this is just to let you know that you are not the only one to consider doing things like this and it's perfectly normal. But I will also tell you this. The surgery was the easy part of this journey for me and if you had told me that the week before I would have never believed you. I was very afraid before the surgery. Now I wonder why I was so fixated on worrying about that when it was the next two months I should have been concerned about. ( There...maybe that will take your mind off the fear of surgery...give you a new place to put it! ) Hope this helps. And I'll be happy for you when you are done, home and sick to death of food that passes through a wire strainer. Good luck.

I know this can get complicated but I'd love to know what percent of those who develop leaks were following the program as advised (not cheating) and when the leak happened. Week 1, week 2...that sort of thing. I've been told that leaks are pretty much not going to be an issue after day 21 post surgery unless you really do something stupid. Don't know if others agree.

This is very good to know. I think I must be in the strictest program in the US. We do not get caffeine back until day 90. I actually have it all marked in red with a heart on my calendar as I am addicted to McDonalds unsweetened ice tea. I was told caffeine is an irritant to the stomach so they don't want that happening while you are introducing new foods because you might not know which causes a problem. Now that I know people are not dropping over dead I might just slide my tea up a few weeks if I an otherwise doing well.

Have they suggested putting a screen in just in case? Would that help?

I've never heard it connected to weight loss but ironically I've been having noticeable back pain too. In my case it's clearly muscles spasms. Never had the issue before. Since I can tell it's just muscle, I was going to ride it out.