Derp

I had the exact same concerns regarding my emotional relationship with food. I'm 2 weeks out from surgery and feeling very much back to normal. I'm at the full liquids stage of my post op diet, so I'm not just eating anything I want yet, but I will say this. Where I am now in my recovery, I'm planning my "meals", because if I didn't, I just wouldn't ever eat. When I do sit down and have a meal, it's about 2oz in size, takes forever to eat, and when I'm done, I have the feeling of having just eaten a huge meal, but not the emotional satisfaction of having eaten a huge meal. So that's my biggest struggle with food so far - I WANT to eat more, but I can't. It feels frustrating at times. I can talk myself out of being upset by just reminding myself that WLS is designed to do exactly this. WLS forces your hand into making your meals smaller, and I'm so grateful for it. *hugs* You can totally do this. I think you'll find that pretty much everyone on these boards feel the same way I do about my sleeve - we wouldn't trade them for anything. <3

<3 thanks Lash!

Thanks for saying that Melissa <3<3 I worry that I didn't paint the picture clearly. I don't feel like i have to drink in my professional life, I don't think i have to be like a man in my male-dominated career (ever. Ever ever)... I just have one of those types of jobs, where that's what I'm surrounded by. That's the back story. What happened Saturday night is that I just had a couple of cocktails because i wanted to. I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a fun young completely healthy person, and I experimented because I feel awesome and back to normal, and just wanted to Celebrate and see how it would go. I'm not going to start going out every night, i'm not going to turn into an addict. I researched beforehand, I was incredibly cautious, I coupled the drinks with Water, and everything went fine, which is the point of my post. Everything's cool, I promise! <3

I noticed that too! I felt completely normal by the time i got into bed, like nothing happened. So weird!

We'll be thinking about you - please let us know how it goes <3

Ok, I need to make a clarifying statement, it seems. I love everyone here. I appreciate every piece of input, it's all noted - but not anything I don't already know. I spent hundreds of hours researching, I have WLS patients in my close friend circle and WLS professionals in my immediate family, so I know what's up. Last night was a test run to see what was going to happen. I am not planning on boozing every night of the week from now on, or even again until I'm further down the road. I probably need to say it publicly so I can maybe stave off some of the assumptions and strong advisements and reactions. Note: I called it in the original post I am a healthy young professional out on the town, my life is just different, that's all. (What's happened in this thread is exactly why I am keeping my WLS private in my real life - I don't want "gasp, no don't do that" reactions to my decisions - My intent is to share my story on these boards - I would have given anything for a story like this when I was researching. I don't need counselling, I'm not an alcoholic, I just had 3 weak cocktails on a Saturday night with my homeboy.) Everything's cool, promise!

Heh, that's pretty much exactly why I posted my experience - not to ENCOURAGE people to go out and get wasted... just to put it out there, that I didn't die, and my worst fears (vomiting, getting hammered off of one sip, etc) did not come true. I am very aware that I'm still healing, and aware of the risks - however, this is an unavoidable part of my social and professional life, and it's not going away any time soon. So I am just happy to know that it is still possible (in small doses). 3 cocktails in one night is going extremely light for what i'm used to. It was the cheapest bar tab I've ever seen in my life! I am feeling it today - I can tell I'm a little dehydrated, so I've up'ed my Water consumption to help remedy it. Going to head to the gym after I feel fully hydrated and walk off some more lbs. <3

Let me preface this story with the fact that I know that my current relationship with alcohol is and will be different than it was before surgery. What i'm basically saying is, "INB4 outrage & judgement" Before surgery, I was an avid and enthusiastic party girl. I have an extremely stressful full-time, 24x7 boys'-club, mind-numbing soul-crushing (albeit high-paying) career, filled to the brim with heavy drinkers. More than once a week, I find myself out after work either enjoying cocktails with co-workers or going to vendor/customer dinners, where it's not uncommon to have drinks at the restaurant bar before, wine throughout dinner, scotch after, followed by drinks at the bar after to close the night. I don't consider myself an alcoholic - for the 2 weeks in preparation to surgery and for the 2 weeks after, I haven't had a drink, and it's not like I got the DT's or anything. I have however been very concerned and curious about what was going to happen when I did have my first cocktail. I was worried I would be drunk after one sip, or my new stomach would reject it and I would vomit uncontrollably at the table, or worse - I would never be able to have a drink again... All kinds of horrific scenarios went through my head. So I called my best and most trusted friend last night and told him that I was feeling back to normal (for the most part), and interested in testing the waters. We went to my local low-key boozer, sat at a booth. I responsibly ordered my low-calorie standby: Grey Goose & Soda (single tall), and sipped apprehensively while watching jealously as he took long pulls from his Heineken. (I was a beer drinker in my past life - I'm pretty sure it's responsible for 50 of the 100 lbs I'm trying to lose.) My first cocktail went down very slowly - it took about 45 minutes to get it all the way down. I definitely felt it about halfway in, but i felt well within normal operating limits. I could feel my body processing it a little differently, but no big deal. Even though the drink includes soda Water, there is very little carbonation in the drink, so I felt good about my order, and didn't get the burps or anything. Over the course of 3 hours, I had 3 cocktails and a glass of water. I got home feeling like a solid 4.5 out of 10. I finished my Protein drink and took a big bottle of evian to bed, and sipped on it while watching tv. I woke up this morning feeling fine, a little bit of a headache and pretty thirsty, but other than that, I felt great. Although, I have to say, I am feeling my first pangs of hunger since before the surgery, so that's new... I'm not sure if that's related to drinking last night or if my stomach is just healing up properly. I'm going to go and make myself some grits!

RD2010: well said. I want to add though, that for me, I didn't want to talk to people about it beforehand, because I wanted the decision to be 100% mine, and not tainted with the opinions of other people - especially those who would want to talk me out of it because of either their own prejudices, misinformation, or just general negative attitudes. This has always been my choice to make and my fight to fight. The less "outside" input, the better. This is not to say that I won't cop to it later on down the line, but for now, it's private, and I don't want the input of people who's opinion doesn't matter.

If your situation is anything like mine was, you probably won't be in the mood for all that *just yet*. I'm 12 days out and just now feeling normal. Before yesterday, I would get tired way too easily, either because of the limited calories, or just the recovery stage from surgery. I would recommend against the trip, but I know what it's like to have commitments like these - in life, you can't get away that easily, so when something fun is on the books, it seems RIDICULOUS to pass it up.

One thing I can think of right off the bat: Learn how to sip without taking in any air. It's a lot harder than it sounds, and harder to learn after surgery. You really only need to know that for the first few days, then you can drink like normal. But the first few days are the longest!

Lord, I hope not - I have way too much money invested in my shoe collection

My answer to this is pretty simple: Because people can be terrible. Once it works and I'm down to at least CLOSER to my goal, I'll probably be more open about talking about it, but for right now i'm keeping it close to the vest.

It varies for everyone, but day 4 or 5 seems to be the point where things start to calm down. For me it was day 6 or 7. The nausea is pretty frustrating, just find an incline position that you like, and try to be still. Hopefully you're not worrying too much about getting in the Protein drinks and that stuff *right now*.. i talked to my nutritionist on day 3 and asked her, because i was so nauseated i couldn't even THINK about putting anything down the hatch other than minuscule sips of Water. She said to concentrate on fluids until things calm down then you can work on the other stuff. My liquid Lortab didn't do anything for my pain, but it did help me get comfortable enough to sleep when i just couldn't. Maybe try your pain meds to help get you off to sleep? Hang in there, darling! <3 <3

I hope you can find someone close. I can't IMAGINE travelling too far just after. I was in the hospital for 2 days and the 10 minute drive from the hospital to my bed was something i'd rather not do again. Although, a bunch of people on the boards here have gone as far as out of the country, so it's technically feasible to travel...

I love the wide array of views on this subject! Just to put in my $0.02... I haven't told anyone except my mother, brother, boyfriend, and best friend. Everyone at work thinks i'm out for something else. When someone asks, i'll just be non-committal, and point at my fancy new diet and exercise regimen. Dallas (well, specifically my circle of Yuppyville) is rife with overly-gym'd bleach blonde spray tanned judgmental A-holes, though. I'd rather talk about getting a boob job or lipo than WLS.

Skinnyagain, i want to hug your NECK! I didn't get to feeling right until around day 6 or 7, and i TOTALLY feel your words in your post. They mirror mine exactly at the time. Today was the first day I was able to get up without pain. I ran a bunch of errands and even did 30 minutes on the treadmill (walking fast). It DOES get better, but the first few days seem to take forever. Lots of love!!!!

This thread has helped me. I am dying for a drink... not an all nighter, just a cocktail or 2 after work with my co-conspirators.

Yes, this has happened to me twice. I have awful allergies, and was in the middle of a huge flare-up when i had my surgery, so the first time it happened was day 2 and the second time was yesterday (i'm 11 days out from surgery). It doesn't feel like my stomach is so full, it has to get rid of it, but it does feel like something my new stomach just DOES NOT WANT in it, so i haven't worried too much.

It's a battle for me to get my Protein down too. ALL food turns me off - I don't want anything, except occasionally I thirst for Water. So everything that's going down the hatch is forced. So weird. Although, now that i just typed that, i bet nutrition has a LOT to do with feeling weak and fatigued... I'm sitting right at 40g protein via the Isopure. It's the only non-creamy, non-powder Protein Drink i've found, and the best way for me. Everything else makes me want to barf. We can do it! <3<3

This makes me feel better too, some days are better than others. My biggest problem is fatigue, and I'm still having trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep at night. OVERALL it's getting better, but like, today is a bad day. It gets frustrating.

I've been sleeved for 10 days and i get exhausted really easily. Keep pushing yourself to move about during the day, even though it's strenuous. I've noticed that helps with the weakness overall for me. good luck to you!

I am a huge fan of the Isopure drinks. I've had the Fruit Punch and the Alpine Punch so far, and i'm going to get more tomorrow. I take a hot/cold thermos, fill it up about half way with sonic ice (or crushed ice), then half of a 20 oz bottle of Isopure, and just work on it for however long it takes to get it down. The thermos keeps it from getting warm, which is VITAL. I do it twice a day, and there's 40 grams of Protein right there. It's so much easier than sweet creamy powdery shakes, and I've gotten used to the taste. I get dry mouth a little, but I just keep a small bottle of Water with me and sip on that as needed.

mjb123, i'm in the same boat. I'm sleeping about 3 hours per night, but I am able to get in a couple of small naps during the day too. I have gotten to where I take a swig of my liquid pain medication when I'm settling in for the night, because it helps get me comfortable, and sleepy enough to drop off. Every single day gets a little better! <3

I was sleeved a week ago, so i'm on the clear liquids phase. I am sick to death of the clear liquids, since thats basically all I had for 2 weeks before surgery too. My plan says I'm supposed to be on clears for 2 weeks post-op, but I'm doing well enough that I think i'm going to ask my surgeon if I can advance to full liquids - my appointment is tomorrow (tuesday). Thanks to the clear flavored Isopure Protein drinks, I've been able to get in my 40 grams of protein, and all the Water and crystal lite I need. Other than that, i've got my Vitamins and pepcid. Since I hate sweet foods, the jello/popsicles haven't helped with my craving for food, but I did get a trick from 2bslimkim, which is to go to a chinese place and get wonton Soup, and strain it out. It's been heavenly. I've done the same thing with Campbell's chicken Soup too, which was a childhood favorite of mine.