sasicas

Praying for yoU!

Praying it has nothing to do with the surgery!

Like Tiff said just try a little at a time. I am adding real food now little by little. certain things I do puree still but I mostly try to just have very small bites of meats. Lots of gravy or bbq sauce, that kind of stuff on foods to help them. THe best thing I have found so far was ham and rotisserie chicken, both are extemely moist to were I did not need anything on them. Just expect it to be very small bites and take your time eating. Like for me last night, we had ham, scalloped potatoes and candied yams. I had a very small piece of meat, it was maybe 1/8 of a cup of ham. I had a spoon full of potatoes and a spoonful of candied yams. By the time I was finished my family was completely done, including most having seconds or thirds, leftovers were put away and dishes loaded in the dishwasher before I finished my plate. I would ask for a scope, I just had my 3rd today. It's worth it to at least put your mind at ease and who knows if there is a stricture. On the meds, even if its mostly controled find out if you can add another med to use in case there is a day where it is worse. I have Nexium daily and Zantac is my emergency med, I was told I could get some other kind over the counter too (cant think of the name) as all 3 work in different ways. There is no reason to deal with pain if there is a med that will control it for you.

I tend to not feel well in the morning especially if I skip my PPI at night, I take mine twice a day. I wake up with headaches most days now too and if I go too long without eating the nausea is worse.

Glad you will be able to get in to see a local surgeon. Having stricture I can tell you it hurts, I get the feeling of being stuck and went through a phase the lead to being hospitalized where I was unable to eat or drink anything. The pain was too bad and it made me too nauseous. I now see a GI who preforms my scopes, I've had two so far and go for another this week to close a small hole in my sleeve and then back after it heals to stretch my sleeve again. A scope isn't too bad, just make sure to have tons of throat lozenges for afterwards. Eating to me now is just a neccessary chore, I no longer look forward to eating. I find that if I get too empty now I get nauseous so make sure you are eating on a regular schedule. On the reflux, ask for another med. I started out on Prilosec and it did nothing for me. Now I am on Nexium and have Zantac that I can take if it gets bad enough. Hang in there and just make sure you can eat whatever you can and get enough liquids in.

Not sure what the leading culprit is but I do know mine was #4. After a 12 day hospital stay we determined that I had a stricture, it was ballooned open, my nausea increased. I had a leak test and swallow study, then began vomiting. After another scope there was a small hole found at the top of my sleeve that will be glued shut this week (drs determined it was not leaking and small enough to allow me to go home and eat normally again). And my sleeve is more of an L shape vs a banana shape. Its just the way my body healed. The doctors also suspect that I have/had more inflammation in my sleeve than most people do. Also found narrowing in my esophagus and delayed emptying. All of which seem to just be random complications. Of course now most surgeons want to revise me to RNY but I am standing strong against that. Just praying things continue to improve instead of getting worse.

Since surgery I have dealt with pain in my chest, the PA (he works with my surgeon) I saw figured it was heartburn. So I was switched to Nexium and told to add in Zantac if it didn't help. For the first week the pain wasnt so bad, I had the occasional sharp pain. Then on Saturday the pain started to increase, it got worse Sunday, then Monday even worse. Monday I are a gogurt and it hurt, I drank Water, it hurt. Everything did. Hubby got worried, came home and sent me to the ER. Because the pain is in the middle of my chest and radiates to the left under the left breast, they did an ekg and chest xray. Then I sat in pain in the waiting room for 4 hours. Once I was finally called back, labs were done and looked funky. Surgeons came to check on me and ordered a ct. Took me hours and lots of pain to drink the contrast but I got it down. At 3am I was admitted to the hospital and receiving pain meds around the clock. I needed lots of fluids and potassium again, started receiving nausea meds and heartburn meds by iv as well. My labs are still of so they are monitoring things and may need more tests. I had a scope done yesterday and sure enough I have a stricture and a hiatal hernia. They stretched the part of the sleeve and will watch the hernia, will start seeing gi to make sure I don't need another scope . One doctor suggested that I may consider converting to rny. No thanks! My throat is super sore from the scope too. Still getting meds quite a bit and back on Clear liquids. If I tolerate it better, they will advance my diet sand once I can handle that I can go home. At least now I don't feel like a big baby. So if anyone is feeling like something is wrong, trust your body and get checked out.

Well I'm still doing ok. Trying more foods, able to chew down chicken pretty good and we have had to eat out quite a bit these last few days so its been nice to have something I can eat. Portions are obviously so stinkin small, its kind of funny. At home I try to puree things. The biggest issue is that I am trying to do too much. Today I realized it by having to go back on the pain meds. I was doing pretty good without them but had to rely on them 3 times through today *sigh* I know, I need to let my body heal. Still VERY weak and easily worn out but I guess that comes from the hospital and the lack of nutrition. I hope to start trying smoothies soon with Protein since I know I am not getting in nearly enough even though that is all I eat. Having a hard time getting in enough liquids too because its taking so long to eat. After all the drama of making me wait to see MY surgeon because the other surgeon didn't want to step on his toes, I am being switched to ANOTHER surgeon because mine is deploying UGH! I really love my surgeon and you could tell he felt terrible over my complications, though its not really his fault, just how my body decided to react. So I meet the new surgeon tomorrow. I'm curious to see what he has to say. I hope as the inflamation continues to go down that the L shape moves into the banana shape like its supposed to be or prayerfully the L doesn't cause any more issues. Im a little scared to see the new doctor, worried he wont be as conservative or that he will be one of the ones that really wants me to revise, which I am totally against still. Still waiting to get the little hole glued, there is a problem with my referral, not sure how int he world I can get two scopes while in the hospital but its taking an act of congress to get me another appt with the GI on an outpatient basis. Lovely government healthcare system is always out of wack. I have been only taking the Nexium but thinking I might need to go ahead and add in the other med as much as I don't want to ugh. Oh and most of my Water weight is gone WOOT! Weighed once at the hospital at 204, which was up from the 199 I was the day I was admitted and now down to 194!! Happy to see the scale move again and the clothes falling off ANyways, sorry for rambling, the oxycodone is kicking in so I better head off to bed before I get too long winded. YOu all have no idea how much I appreciate the support you have given me. I would be a complete basket case without the support of this group

Thanks everyone for the input. I do hope I get back to enjoying food. Ready to get to what my new normal will be like long term instead of dealing with all this early out wierdness

I totally agree!

I love the support group I have found. I started going back in September, months before I even was sleeved and it has been such a great help to me. Many of our members are a year or more out, not many newbies lately. The group is not one through my surgeon, there is another one that meets during the day weekly at the hospital but I find they are not as real as the other group. The other group lives by the rule of nothing leaving the room, we can share what we want to and if someone happens to be in the medical profession we prefer not to know. The folks who are farther out say the group has helped them to hang on and get through so much better. My surgeon even went as far as to say that most people who go to groups generally lose 10% more than those with no group. If I lived far from a group I would imagine that I would try to get there at least once a month, but if it's impossible, this group and youtube are great places for support.

WOOOHOOO!!! You look great!!

Before surgery in my mind I kept thinking I was taking the easy way out. Now that I have had a 4 hour surgery, 3 days in the hospital, followed by 5 weeks of nausea, gagging, and intense pain, followed by a nearly 2 week hospital stay, scopes, swallow studies, numerous other tests while unable to eat or drink anything, I am POSITIVE that I did NOT take the easy way out. I went the hard way and paid for it with plenty of pain. I also have friends that have had crappy reactions to my surgery. My best friend supported me up until days before surgery. I did have to hear her constantly tell me how she needed to start losing weight now during the time she supported me though. Obviously I became competition which is complete crap as far I am concerned. AND NOWW, she won't even talk to me!! She just up and decided to not call or text or anything, she has nothing to do with me and I am only 7 weeks out. UGH!! You just never know what you are going to get from people.

Like the others have said, take your time. If it doesn't work, step back. I had started puree'd foods, had issues, went back into the hospital unable to eat or drink. I do have some complications but the doctors also believe there was just too much inflamation still in my sleeve, then as of Friday I went back to real food again. If I puree, I find taking some sort of casserole or chili works best. I add lots of stuff to thin it out to really bring it down. LIke this chicken casserole we had. On the top of the chicken I put a mixture of cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and sour cream on top. I had to add a lot of the sauce to make it work well. It looked awful though. If I try plain chicken, picking up a rotisserie from the store is the most most and I add lots of BBQ sauce before puree'ing it. The last day in the hospital I tried lasagna, they used a TON of sauce before blending it up to make sure it broke down enough for me to eat. Just make sure to use LOTS of sauce and eat slowly. Using a childs spoon take a bite, put the spoon down. Chew it still, swallow, then sit for a minute before trying again. It's all trial and error in the beginning. YOu might be able to think you can eat that last bite to only throw it up because you simply got too full. There is no shame in having to step back some and try again later/

YAY for the little card. Used mine for the first time tonight as well so I could order off the kids menu at IHop. The portion was still HUGE. I ate maybe 1/8th of the kids omelet and none of the fruit lol

I think you look fantastic!! And I hate the BMI chart, its a load of crapola as far as I'm concerned. We can't just pick some numbers and shove a bunch of people into it and then deem them obese or normal. Drives me batty. I'm still really new to the sleeve so I don't have much experience, but stay off the scale. Forget the numbers. Go by how you feel. Or take your measurements or pull out a pair of old jeans and remember how far you have come. The scale can be such a pain. And as we get older and have kids our bodies change. Thats why I don't have a set in stone goal. Even my "goal" weight that I think I will look good at will likely change as I have had 4 kids since I last weighed in at 150. My only real goal was to get under 200 lbs which I did, sure I am excited to lose more but the end number is just a number, its more the feeling of being comfortable in my own skin is what I am going for. Anyways, hopefully I made some sense, oxycodone just kicked in and I'm a little out of it now lol.

Yes I have had regrets, I do believe one day though I will look back and be thrilled with my choice. I have lost quite a bit already and am only 7 weeks out. However I have had complications that landed me in the hospital for 12 days, I actually just got out yesterday. There is also that part of me that is still angry that I could not just lose the weight on my own without surgery. But I am still new to the sleeve and like I said I think months down the road it will be worth it when I am wearing non-fat girl clothes, when Im healthier, when I'm not so worn down. Right now my body is very tired and I am feeling the affects of it in a major way. The compilcations are rare and really took me by surprise. I was a really good candidate for the sleeve, being in my 20s, done having kids, starting out relatively low on the weight side compared to most WLS patients, I had no co-morbidities other than sleep apnea yet I still struggled and ended up hospitalized. Its a scary situation to be in and thank God it was not as bad as others I have seen. Just make sure you are really ready for this surgery and the possibilities of complications.

LOL Griselda, his brother is not near as awesome as he is and hes married anyways I am so thankful to be home, it was so miserable in the hospital. Now Im still having some issues but its better to deal with them here than sharing a room with people you dont know and being miserable. The family is taking great care of me, I just need to get some strength back. Right now my body is incredibly weak and I'm easily overwhelmed by too much noise, hopefully it will only take a few days to readjust.

I AM HOME!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! They still fought me to stay but I really just need to be home, I forced myself into eating some awful looking pureed foods today and I was able to get more fluids in. The glue we were waiting on still wasn't in on time for me to get scoped and glued today so I will get it done at the GI's this upcoming week as well as followups with surgery. I am just praising the Lord I am home. To hear my 7 year old tell me how much he missed me was breaking my heart. The girls are younger, they said it too but the way my little man said it just made me know I had to get home ASAP and be here to really heal. makes me all teary eyed thinking about it. SOme of the surgeons still suggest a revision to RNY might help but forget that junk. I chose the sleeve for a reason and somehow, someway I will make this work out. One dr today said he wasn't hanging up his hat but he is hopeful that things will just get better from here. Came home with more pain meds, more heartburn meds, more nausea meds too so hoping everything stays in check and gets better. And boy was it nice to get home to a nice clean house wiht dinner in the crockpot, all ready to be pureed up tonight I couldn't possibly even describe how great my husband has been through this whole thing. So glad to be home and thank you all for the support!! Heres hoping this Water weight comes off quickly too so I can really get back into the game again

Hi again everyone. Thanks for all the support and prayers. I'm stil in the hospital. Hoping to be discharged today or this weekend. Today we are doing a calorie challenge to see if I can get down enough to go home. This is the first real meal I'm eating in awhile and its just cream of wheat. I have a PICC line in now and have been getting nutrition through that. Ive since had another scope and there is a tiny hole at the top of my sleeve. My surgeon and the GI dr decided to glue it during my next scope. They have done enough tests that they felt it's not leaking so that is why I can start purees today. Nausea had been ahuge issues, lots of throwing up so hopefully purees stay down. I'm still on nausea meds so I'm hoping. No idea on why the sleeve went into an L shape. They did use the fr bougie (i think that's the name) during surgery to guide. It seems that's just how my body healed. Anyways, I hope to be home soon. Thanks again for all the support.

Thanks for the support. This whole thing had taken such a toll on me. I miss being home with my family so bad. My kids are little and don't understand why I'm here. Listening to them today asking questions just tore me up inside. My poor nurses have to keep dealing with my break downs. I'm so home sick. I know people never expect a complication to happen to them and I sure never expected it. I know there is nothing I can do to change the past but boy do I wish I had walked away on surgery date and refused to go through with it. I feel so defeated, I know I'm supposed to stay positive but its so hard to do that right now after almost a week in the hospital

So I'm still here. I still have the same pain. I had to do a leak test and swallow study yesterday. The swallow study was awful! Horrible, horrible test. The barium was bad enough but they made me swallow these little things like poprocks. You swallow 10 times to try to get it all down. horrible! I was gagging terribly. It hurt so bad. I was crying and finally threw up before they could finish. On that test they saw that things are emptying too slow and my esophagus was too narrow and they said my sleeve all together is too narrow. And instead of being shaped like a banana, its got a part in it that makes it more like an "L". They again suggested surgery, either trying to fix the L or converting to RNY. My surgeon will be back Monday so I will wait to discuss it with him. I'm tired of this all, of not eating, drinking, not being with my family most of all. I'm tired of the meds and feeling so crummy. I just want my old stomach back. I feel defeated.

I'm almost 6 weeks post-op and the hospital right now and having similar issues. I have a stricture and found out yesterday after a swallow test that I have narrowing in my esophagus. I'm not sure what is normal post-op so I suggest calling the doctor to ask.

Thanks everyone for the support. I gained another night here because I stil can't eat and drink without the same pain. The doctors said it might just be because ballooning the area aggrevated the area. Ugh. The hernia confuses me too. My surgeon said if I had one he would fix it in surgery. He never mentioned it. He is on leave so I should see him when he gets back to figure out what to do next. I'm just worn out physically and emotionally.

fatBgone-a stricture is basically an area that gets too narrow, so anything trying to get into my sleeve was getting stuck and causing pain. Strictures are more common with rny from what I've seen at my support group, the reason this doctor I saw suggested it was to deal with the heartburn. He said ryn has less issues with acid production. Im anxious to see my surgeon once I get discharged to see what he wants. I have no intentions of converting. I would rather just suck with taking the nexium and zantac.