emily_0192010

Well I am only a couple weeks out, so I can't give you any "this is what i did" type of advice, but when it comes to Protein, if you can't get it through food you should push the Protein shakes. Protein is super important! Food-wise any type of meat and eggs have lots of protein, even in small amounts. You can also try greek yogurt or ricotta cheese. In my program my surgeon wants us under 30g of carbs per day, however that does not mean that I can have two pieces of bread and say "well there's my thirty". They want them to come from the "incidentals", like adding ketchup to your meal or the little bit of cream you add while you cook. Keep your head up! You are doing great!!!! Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in soon

I am two weeks out and going back to work tomorrow. I work part-time though so I was able to get some shorter shifts. I am on my feet the whole time but there is minimal lifting. I will say that I felt like I could have gone back to work after about 10 days. I also had a hernia repair done. My surgeon told me that I should wait at least a week and when it came to lifting "if it hurts stop, otherwise whatever you are up to". Good luck!

Me too! I hope everyone did well and is excited to be on the losers bench I am just about two weeks out and doing great!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to have to play around though because I have to puree everything (except the yogurt and cheese of course) and I was told to avoid soups

Thanks for the ideas! I have definitely thought about the sweet potatoes, but I have to be careful of the carb count. I have to keep under 30 a day. I know with the small amount i'll be eating though that some shouldn't be a problem right?

Do you think this would taste okay pureed? I think it sounds amazing and I can get the buffalo sauce from my work (sooo yummy!), but it would have to be pureed. My surgeon is very strict on this and I don't want to "push it" until further along in my recovery.

LOL.. one of my first thoughts was "hey, i should totally join a weigh loss competition" but... alas... it really would be cheating. Even though our sleeve doesn't do the work for us, it does give us a boost long-term because it allows us to stick with the weight loss over time. Now, if you were upfront about it and your co-workers said sure anyways, well then heck yeah i'd do it. But I can't honestly see your co-workers being okay with it. I also have to admit that I think it is less cheating with the sleeve, then say you were doing bypass or DS, cause they literally help you lose weight without any work because of the malabsorption aspect. The sleeve just limits how much food you eat... but still. I think people would see it as cheating.

It's the medicine!!!! Please please please put the scale away for a little while. Pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds will do that. As soon as everything goes back to normal those 7 pounds will go away. You are doing everything right so just be patient with your body. It is in "freak out" mode again but it will go back to normal. Chin up!

I read the same thing and asked my surgeon about it, he said that he checks and if there are any signs of abnormality he removes them but other wise he leaves them alone. That was what I wanted because if it is functioning I don't want it removed "just because". I know the risks but it doesn't happen to everyone. If it does then I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Well I called my surgeon's office and after waiting two hours for them to call me back they said to try hydrocortizone cream... we'll see if it works! But it is horrible. I've never had a rash like this before and to be honest it is more uncomfortable than my incisions were during the first week. If it hasn't gotten better by Monday I am going to call them again! Oh, and it was paper tape too that I was using, so I am guessing it is the adhesive that bugs me.

So on monday evening I can start with my surgeon's version of mushy foods. He said it was pretty much anything that does not have to be chewed. He suggested tuna salad, egg salad, ham salad, etc, but he said they must be like mushed to a puree stage. So I am thinking it has to look like baby food. Please help me come up with some ideas!! I am on this for two weeks! I really can't stand tuna, and the idea of pureed tuna is just revolting. Egg salad I will definitely try since it is one of my favorites and I will try the ham salad (any recipes out there?) for sure. But, two weeks. What else can I do? Thanks!

I am also amazed at the difference in eating time-lines. My surgeon has me on liquids, which he said was anything through a straw but he wants them to be "thin" liquids or protein shakes only. Then after two weeks I can his version of "mushy" foods, which is anything that is pureed or does not need to be chewed. Then I am on that for two weeks until I see him again, at that point he said I'll start transitioning to normal food, because at that point I should be nice and healed up. I see people who are on mushies from day one and I just don't get. But in the end we have to remember that overall this is still relatively new. The medical community is learning and adapting just as we are. Maybe one day there will be a "standard" but for now we just need to listen to our surgeon and our bodies and do the best we can.

Awesome! Congratulations Keep up the hard work I'm sure you'll hit your new goal soon!

I only had the shoulder pain while I was in the hospital (in for two nights) but for the gas pain I found that a hot shower really helped (but be careful you don't get dizzy). Also I used a rice sock (like a heat pad, i just threw it in the micro) and that helped a lot. Keep your chin up, it will get better! I was sleeved a week before you on the 19th and I swear everyday gets easier and easier!

I've looked up some of the biggest loser stats, and the majority of the people gain it all back when they get home. Some keep it off, but as soon as something "real life" hits them, like pregnancy, they gain it all back. The sleeve is a life-long tool. It is NOT meant to make us lose weight super quickly. In fact, it really isn't healthy to lose super fast. I am really sorry that your mom said something like that. My grandmother is just like her. She is queen of the backhanded compliment/critique. You know where they say something nice but then throw in words like "you will be" or "i always thought you would be fat" type of comments. It hurts even though you know they are wrong. I would have a conversation with her and tell her that you either need her to back off completely or to start being a support system. You are doing amazing! Don't let her bring you down okay

I can still drink it, but I noticed that it tastes sweet to me, which is very odd. I wish I could do G2 or the other zero calories drinks, but they all have carbs in them so I can't. I've been drinking regular water and propel zero. Powerade zero made my stomach really upset, but I am going to try again because it is my preferred sport drink.

I attended a seminar. It was hosted at the hospital in a small room. There were only about 20 people there, but they have them multiple times a week. I would definitely say that it is worth because you get a good overview of all of the procedures as well as getting a feel for the surgeon.

Caladryl? I've never heard of that. A couple of mine started blistering this morning (and I had already taken the tape off, so it shouldn't have gotten worse!) so I went ahead and called the office, they are talking to the doctor and then are going to call me back. I thought for sure it was the tape, but I realized this morning that I had been using the paper tape, which isn't supposed to irritate the skin. I'm glad that I'm not the only one though! Most of the surgical tape came off yesterday but there is still one there. The corners have come up and I can see that the rash is underneath it as well.... right where the incision is. I'm just hoping it won't get worse and cause an infection.

I'm wondering if that is it. Especially since the areas that have not had contact with anything for almost 12 hours now are still there, and not really getting better. I did use some benadryl cream on the one area (away from the incisions) and it didn't seem to have much of an effect. How did you learn about the allergy?

Keeping it open to the air is what I'd like to do, however the one incision by my belly button still has to be covered. I am using the smallest piece of tape ever to keep it on, but now I am wondering if the gauze pad is also contributing to the problem. Hopefully the areas where there are no bandages start to get better soon. I knew that I have sensitive skin, and the few times I've had bloodwork the tape has left some red marks, but they've always disappeared really fast so I didn't even consider that possibility. Thanks for the input!

Oh I can't wait to try this!!!!! Thanks for sharing

Hey everyone I had my surgery last week and my drain removed yesterday. I've noticed today that I have (sorry if it is TMI...) a rash that has popped up around where the bandages were (about half are gone now). It is red and itchy (almost a burning sensation) and very irritated. Normally when I have come in contact with medical tape before my skin gets red but it goes away very quickly. Not this time. It is definitely from the tape and not an infection because it is in the shape of the tape and I have no other signs of infection. I am worried about the one near my belly button because the surgical tape that covered the incision came off today, and the rash is very close to it and I don't want to do anything to cause an infection. If it doesn't get better I am definitely going to call my surgeon's office, but in the meantime does anyone have any suggestions to help treat this at home? I took a shower today and used some of the pre-op wash I was given (it says right on it that it can be used and all of my incisions are closed) and then I made sure that all of the adhesive was off of my skin. On one of the spots I tried using a little bit of benadryl cream, but it didn't help. Any suggestions would be great Thanks!

I agree that the PPI is really important! My surgeon automatically prescribes this for everyone of his patients, and he said that some people are on it indefinitely. I'm surprised that some surgeon's don't even mention it.

Wow you look amazing!! Congrats on staying on track and standing head to head with the bypass patients! You look so happy

I am so sorry you are going through this! I would call and ask your surgeon because something isn't normal. You shouldn't be throwing up that much at any stage. Please call?