emily_0192010

I don't think you'll need to worry, for most people those last 20 pounds are the hardest to get off! From reading on here it seems like most people eat fairly low carb during their losing stage and then up their carbs during maintenance. The low-carb while you lose is to make sure you get your protein in, generally there is just no extra room at first for carbs, but after a year or so it seems like people are able to get in both their protein and some extra carbs.

If your pre-op was during Thanksgiving then you should be either on mushies or just starting to eat "normal" foods around Christmas time. I think for me it would have been worth it, but at the same time the beginning is the hardest because there is just so much that is new. I think if I had to turn down even just bites of my christmas dinner because it wasn't pureed it would be an emotional rollercoaster and I'd be in the in "what the heck did I do to myself" stage. That being said, if you are on the stage where you can start to eat "normal" foods again I would say it would be fine because you could still have the food, just in tiny amounts. It would also be a pretty awesome gift to yourself and I bet it would be the first year you wouldn't gain during the holidays!

I would word it more like "is there anything that can be done to prevent acid problems?" And he isn't going to kick you out of his office!! My first appointment with my surgeon he said "well I have no questions for you, do you have any for me?"... I literally handed him a sheet of paper with like 15 questions on it. He looked surprised but answered them all.

I have never heard of this before, however it kinda makes sense to me. The smaller your stomach the more problems with acid you will have. Our sleeves produce more acid than there is room for, so if someone has a 28 bougie they may have more problems than someone with a 42. That being said, I am pretty sure acid problems are the most common side effect for sleevers. I know my surgeon automatically prescribes antacids to everyone of his sleeve patients.

I have heard of the same thing, only with chicken, hot sauce and blue cheese as well! I am just starting to incorporate regular foods and one of the first things I am going to eat once I get there are chicken wings! Or wing... maybe two... lol.

The bougie is a straw shaped (and pretty much sized) tool that the surgeon uses as a guide to form the pouch. The anesthesiologist puts it down your throat into your stomach and then the surgeon cuts along it. The size ranges from a 28 french to a 42 (and maybe higher) french.... it sounds like a lot of difference but we are talking millimeters so the difference is really minimal. My surgeon used a 42 but he said it was a "tight" 42, meaning that he literally goes right up against the bougie and then he over-sews the staple line on the top and bottom. It sounds like your surgeon was telling you how much your stomach would hold overall, not the size of the tool he uses. 15 cc's is about the size of a tablespoon. I would definitely not worry about it being too big! I cannot say which bougie that is, because it isn't only the bougie that determines how much you can eat. It also depends on how long your stomach is naturally. No matter what though it is going to be tiny!

We went to outback and I ordered the french onion soup (just be careful to drink the broth separate from the bread/cheese) and I asked them to give me more broth than onions. I also had a couple small bites of my sister's sweet potato. If you go to an Italian restaurant, you could order some type of cheese-filled Pasta... and just eat the cheese filling. It is super yummy and full of Protein. Going out during the soft foods stage is difficult but luckily it doesn't last long!

I am definitely going to ask my surgeon about it... I am probably going to see him this week because of my incision. I t happens at least two to three times a day and it does wake me up at night. At first cold Water made it clench and it hurt, but now I can handle colder liquids just fine. I am very glad to hear that I am not the only one! Thanks for the input everyone.

Many people get a blood thinner shot in their belly. I did and it was no big deal. You are connected to the monitor and the IV of course. Most people are up and walking as soon as they are able, it helps prevent blood clots and it helps reduce the extra gas you may have from the surgery. I was not allowed to drink or have anything by mouth until the second day. Then at that point I had to just sip sip sip until I could get in at least an ounce every ten minutes. I wasn't in too much pain, but I also had a hernia repair so that may have made it a bit worse than most. It was a soreness type pain, nothing sharp. The liquid pain meds don't taste pleasant, but they weren't horrible for me. It was worth it for me since I didn't do very well on the pain pump. I had no problem laying flat and I could sorta sleep on my right side, so sleeping on my bed wasn't an issue for me once I got home. As for the drain, not every surgeon uses one. Mine did and I had to keep it in for a week. It came out on my left side and was stitched into place. It didn't hurt but it was a bit of a pain. I ended up keeping it tucked into my bra to keep it out of the way. When it was removed it didn't hurt but it felt weird since the other end of the drain is up near your stomach. Hope that helps

I have a prescription for protonix that I have taken daily since the surgery so I don't think it is an acid issue. I have only had a little bit of heartburn when I switched from taking it in the morning to at night. I switched back and haven't had any problems. The feeling is very odd, almost like it is being squeezed and then released. It normally goes away after I eat though I sometimes feel it while I eat (even though I take really small bites and eat slowly). Afterwards though I don't feel it for at least a couple hours. Which is why I thought it could be my sleeve's way of saying "hey i'm empty".

Hey everyone I am 4 weeks out and I am never hungry however I find if I don't "eat" every few hours I get this odd clenching feeling in my sleeve. I am pretty sure this is my new "hunger" signal but I'm not sure. It isn't painful but it is pretty uncomfortable until it passes. Water or Protein shakes don't seem to help. Anyone else have this? Thanks!

First off, you look amazing!!!!! I'm just curious, do you have loose skin? I don't really care if you choose to answer or not but if you do, that could be where that last amount of weight is. Skin actually weighs quite a bit, so if you have a bit of it hanging around (even just a little here and a little there) that could be those last few pounds. I've read stories where once people are a year or two out and they get their skin removed they drop another 10-15 pounds (in moderate cases, some less and some more). I am nowhere near goal, but I've decided once I'm close to go strictly by how I feel and not by the number. Congrats!

17 pounds in 5 weeks is almost 3.5 pounds per week... which is really awesome!!!!!! Especially if you were able to avoid the 3 week stall. I know that everyone wants stellar results, especially during the first couple months but please remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. 3.5 pounds per week is above average and is a lot more healthy than dropping a ton right away (like the by-pass patients...). I am four weeks out and have lost 56 pounds, but that includes what I lost in the 4 months pre-op. At first when I was seeing numbers like 3 pounds in two weeks, 4 pounds, etc... it was discouraging. But looking back... I'm really proud of it and happy that I was able to do that. Chin up and don't worry! Keep up the good work on the Protein and keep drinking your Water and you'll get there!

((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) I honestly can't say how to deal with that type of rejection because I have been lucky enough to not have to deal with it myself. However I have some ideas. She said that she looked it up online? I have a feeling she saw some of the old by-pass horror stories and doesn't know the truth about the sleeve. I have a feeling that she thinks you are doing something way more drastic and that you are putting your life at risk. As nasty as her behaviour is, she doesn't want to see you destroy your life so she is distancing herself thinking that either you will change your mind or that she won't be so emotionally attached when you suffer the consequences. My idea is to write her a letter. Say that you want to explain the sleeve to her and how it is a very safe operation and it is the least drastic of the weigh loss options. How you are doing it for your health, etc. I would also point out that you want her support but that you aren't asking for her permission or approval. That way you have the peace of mind that you reached out one more time and hopefully she will realize her mistake. If she doesn't, it will still hurt. BUT it isn't your responsibility to make her understand or change her mind. Good luck and keep your chin up!

It wasn't really a "machine", they put these tight stockings on your legs and then over that they wrap this fabric around your entire legs. The fabric has air pumps throughout it and it rhythmically squeezes your legs on and off. It isn't unpleasant, almost like a massage. But it would be annoying with pants on I think. I wore it anytime I was in bed, except for the last day where I was up. For most people, it is only overnight. Typically once you have recovered from anesthesia and you are capable they have you up and walking. Then your surgeon will get you to start drinking (normally the second day) and then once you can tolerate a certain amount in a certain time frame (mine was an ounce every 10 mins) you are discharged. I stayed two nights because the first day I was super dooper dizzy and couldn't get up to walk. At first they just thought it was the anesthesia, but since it remained even the next morning my surgeon believes I was getting too much of the pain meds even on the lowest dose. So I was high lol! Once I stopped taking the medicine I was up and walking but I had to stay the second night. I was home late afternoon on the third day. I had all the pre-op testing done beforehand so when I arrived I was taken straight to the back where the pre-op nurse took my vitals and set up an iv (no biggie, I apparently have nice veins), I got into the gown, etc. Then the anesthesiologist came by, then my surgeon... then a few minutes later the anesthesiologist came back and I was being wheeled into the OR. I didn't get (or need) any of the "happy juice" that most people get to calm them down. I found the whole thing pretty interesting. I moved onto the operating table and then woke up in recovery. I apparently was a big baby and kept asking for my mom so they let her in for a little while . Then I was brought to my room. It really wasn't a big deal. If it wasn't for the dizziness I would have been all set. The pain was easily managed with the liquid meds once I was on it. I did have a hernia repair so it may have been a bit worse because of that. Hope that helps If you have any more questions just send me a PM. You'll do great!

I am right there with you! Four weeks out and I can barely get anything down. Also, the 4 am wake-ups!!! Every single morning for the past two weeks I am up at 4... since I normally have to get up around 6:30 I force myself to at least try to go back to sleep but it doesn't always work. Protein shakes do not sit well with me at all. Mushy and soft foods sit better for me for some reason. When I do have a Protein shake it can take me a couple hours to get it down, and that is if I really focus and force myself to. Though it is higher in carbs I find that mixing them with milk over water did help for some reason. From what I know, you are right on track with the rest of us!

I am very lucky that my neighbor happens to work at the Outback that we like to go to. She knows about my surgery so if we go I always request her. My mom is doing a low-carb diet as well, so our neighbor never brings us the bread, but she always brings a small plate of fruit over for my 5 year old sister. Then when it comes to the meal (I normally get the french onion Soup, can't wait until I can start on the heartier meats again) she is so great about bringing me whatever I need. I have noticed that people stare. The first time we went I could only do the broth, and people definitely stared. But I just shrugged it off.

I ended up wearing two gowns... one the right way and one backwards to cover my behind lol! On the morning of my last day I asked my nurse to unhook me from everything just temporarily. I was desperate to wash up just a little bit and I wanted to put my sports bra on (it was a size too big, so it wasn't too tight). It was incredible how much I found that it helped. It kept my girls away from my high incision and gave me just enough modesty back to be comfortable (I am a super modest person in general). It wasn't a problem once I was all hooked back up either. I thought about bringing my own clothes, but I was glad I didn't change into pants. My surgeon had me so pumped full of liquids I was very glad for the easy access that the gown provided. Also, they put your legs on this machine that prevents clots. I think it would be uncomfortable if you had to put them on over or under pants. Good luck!!

I saw the surgeon, he said it was scar tissue around the internal stitch and that I probably did something that bruised it. So for now I just deal with it (though he gave me the okay to take advil) and then if it gets any worse or continues for more than a week I need to go in again. But at least it isn't anything serious. It does hurt a lot, even worse then when I first got out of the hospital (it is different, more sharp and it burns :/ ). Thanks for all the help everyone

I have heard that people who have the by-pass eventually start re-absorbing all of their calories because their bodies adapt to the changes and make up for the malabsorption in other places. Our bodies are remarkably adaptive. I wonder if your body has found a way to start reproducing the "normal" amount of ghrelin again, and now you are experiencing true hunger again. The surgery only removes the majority of the portion of the stomach that produces ghrelin and it is also produced in other parts of the body. So maybe your body is making up for it in other ways. Good luck!

Hey everyone So I am three weeks out today. For the last two weeks I had very minimal pain and then none what-so-ever. But yesterday the area between my incisions kept twinging a little bit. Not really painful but enough to say "hey i'm here". Today at work (i'm on my feet all day) it was just about constant and at times a bit sharp. It goes away for the most part if I put some pressure on it. It isn't horrible, just uncomfortable. Any ideas as to what this is? Thanks!

Thanks for the help everyone! Yes it definitely says "no soups", I was shocked too! I've been doing very moist chicken with sauce, which i break apart and use our masher to smoosh up. I've also tried yogurt but I can only get down about half. I am still struggling with my protein shakes, but from what I can tell the mushy food is going down better than the shakes, so maybe they just don't sit well with me. I have until Friday the 14th on this. This week has gone by pretty fast so hopefully it will keep up that way!

I had those for a little while too. I found that drinking anything cool or cold made it worse. Warm liquids went down very well for me at the beginning when it was the worst. Good luck and congrats on being sleeved!

For my physician supervised weight loss I went on a low-carb, high Protein diet. I lost 40 lbs pre-op. It makes a lot of sense because our bodies store carbs first in the liver and then everywhere else. So when you strongly limit the carbs your body uses the stores in your liver first, then from the rest of the body and then from your protein. It sucks the first week, but afterwords you generally feel completely normal. I know quite a few people who had to do this and others who didn't but I know that it worked for me. I stayed under 30 g of carbs per day and my protein was close to 100. The trick is to eat protein with every meal and to eat it first. Then eat your veggies. Good luck!

I live in FL and the same thing is happening here! It is finally cool enough to start walking... and that is going to be my exercise starting point as well.