Penpen

Congrats to her! And your turn will come soon. Let us know how both of you are doing.

Here is the link to that post: http://sliceofhealthyplease.blogspot.com/2011/08/excess-weight-and-goals-and-am-i-really.html

Hi! This isn't an unusual occurance unfortunately. Please read what I posted in my blog...I think I posted about 2 days ago. I thought I was a slow loser also and was very frustrated. I even went through a 3-4 week complete stall out. I thought forsure that the surgery hadn't worked. But then I was enlightened by my nutritionalist. Please stop by and read what I experienced and what I learned. Hopefully it will give you a knew perspective. My blog is in my signature below. Hang in there! You will lose!

Welcome fellow Texan! You will be so happy once you're on the other side.....AND I'm not talking about what your hubby is talking about! lol

Just wanted to stop in and say that stalls this soon after surgery seem to be pretty normal. I lost 25 lbs. during pre-op. Then the first 2 weeks post op, I lost another 10 pounds. Then nothing for the next 3 or 4 weeks. And I mean NOTHING at all! I was so frustrated. I weighed almost every morning and there was NO movement at all. Then one day the scale started moving again. In one week's time, I'd lost another 10 pounds. Then it stalled out for a few days to a week. Then a couple of days ago, I dropped 5 more pounds within 2 days. This morning nothing again. It's just a slow process but it will happen. I blogged all about my experiences. I blogged when I was down and I told the whole world about it. Then I blogged again when things have been awesome and it was fun to share what was/is going on right now. But I'm sure, just as the staff at my surgeon's office said, this journey is like a flight of stairs. You'll drop down a step and then nothing...then another step or chunk of weight...then nothing. Be encouraged! You're weight will come off and the stalls are perfectly normal....whether we like it or not.

Yes, I had this pain. It hurt to breath in, to laugh, even to move sometimes. It felt like a really bad running cramp and lasted for days off and on. I blogged about it when I was having the pain. Here's what I was going through that day and what the doctor said (last paragraph of my speech that day..lol): http://sliceofhealthyplease.blogspot.com/2011/07/27-days-post-op-pain-under-ribs-and.html Then, here is what I finally figured out my problem was: http://sliceofhealthyplease.blogspot.com/2011/07/30-days-post-op-lemon-juice-and-pain.html I hope this helps. I would still talk with your doctor and just make sure that your pain isn't something else.

I'm 37 and am now in my 8th week post op. I have no pain at all now. In fact, if it weren't for the food restriction, I wouldn't even know that I had had surgery. If that makes sense. Though, I did have some pain up until about week 4 or 5. But it was bearable. 1. Yes, right after surgery I had a tremendous amount of pain but once they got me drugged up, I was fine. Once I was home, the gas and pressure was really rough. It didn't seem like anything helped but that lasted only a couple of days. And yes, I had gallbladder surgery in July of 2008. It was a day surgery and I did have some pain with it but it seemed to me that it was under better control than my sleeve surgery. Also, just remember that the sleeve surgery is major surgery and it takes a lot more time and energy to recover than with something like the gallbladder surgery. 2. Yes, I had a pre-op diet. I started 3.5 weeks before surgery and managed to lose 25 pounds. It was a very hard process but it was necessary and important to follow through. 3. Yes, I kept up with my pain medications. I didn't like taking them because they were liquid and tasted really bad but they definitely worked. Oh, and they made me feel sleepy. I stopped taking them, maybe 2 weeks out, so I could drive again. After that, my pain was minimal and I didn't even feel the need to take Tylenol. 4. 37 I thought I'd add that for me, the hardest thing I had to deal with was the lack of energy. I felt so weak and tired sometimes that I thought I was a sickly person. I'd have to ask my husband if I would ever get better..while at the same time crying. He'd reassure me. Of course, I had lots of buyer's remorse! But slowly things started getting better and my energy started to come back. I feel 100% most of the time now and am VERY happy I had the surgery done. I'd do it again if needed!

How beautiful you are!! Great job! Thanks for sharing.

Wow! Great question! I thought it was just me. Texasmom, I've had the same problem and it seems to come and go. But when it's here, it's not good! Also, my periods are really weird now. They come on time but it looks like old blood. It's so weird and nasty. Does anyone else have this problem? It's embarrassing to even mention but hey, this is a pretty personal conversation after all.

I lost 10 lbs the first 2 weeks post op. Then nothing for another 4 weeks. Finally last Friday, the scale stared moving again. I weighed this morning and since Friday, I've lost 6 lbs. So now I don't feel like my surgery was a failure. Those stalls are very frustrating and make you so discouraged but when they break, you feel like jumping for joy. Oh and I guess tomorrow I need to update my ticker which has been stuck on the same number for so stinking long.

Hi. I'm in my 6th week also and have 3 incisions that just won't heal up. They have formed scabs many times but as soon as I take a shower, the scabs seem to just wash away. I'm not scrubbing them either, just gently rubbing my hands over them with antibacterial soap and water. I've had a little bit of clear fluid coming out of them for about 3 weeks now. When I first noticed it, I called the doctors office. They told me as long as they weren't hurting, brighter red than they had been, feverish to the touch, have a foul odor, or as long as I wasn't running fever that it was okay and that what I was seeing was nothing out of the norm. They are raised and have been since surgery, so I'm thinking that there's a "stitch" issue going on there, like yours. I've read were others have seen some internal stitches that didn't dissolve and made their way to the surface. Mine itch like there's no tomorrow. I'm constantly scratching around them. Since I'm not having any of the problems they told me to look out for and since I keep them clean all the time, I'm going to wait until my next appointment in a week. I've waited this long, what's another week and I'm pretty sure they're not infected, just very slow to heal. Let us know what you find out.

Hi! Dr. Davidson was my surgeon and my surgery was June 23, 2011. I was operated on at Presby on Walnut Hill. He gave me a prescription before surgery for one nausea pill that I took the morning of surgery. Then while in the hospital after surgery, I had a constant flow of nausea medicine. He didn't use a catheter or drain on me. If you have any other questions, ask away. My surgery went well but I did have some pain issues which they were quick to address.

I'm curious to what others have experienced going through surgery. Please tell me your experiences right before, during (if you know), and after surgery. I really want to know what it will be like ... I know that everyone has different experiences. Thank you soooo much!

What a nightmare! I'm so sorry! Keep us posted and let us know how you are doing. I can't image going through what you're going through. You seem so strong! Hang in there and let us know!

2 nights

Hi all! I need opinions and advice on calcium citrate chewables. Which ones taste the best? And where do I get them? Thank you.

I'm also 30 days out and have been at the same exact weight since about 2 weeks ago. This morning my scale actually moved down 2-3 pounds. I have been very discouraged and thinking that this surgery didn't work for me. The day before yesterday, I started thinking about what I was doing wrong. I've been able to get all my protein in for the last week and I have written it down. My calorie intake as been 500-700. And I really thought I was getting all of my water in because it seems like I drink, drink, drink all day long but I wasn't keeping track. Yesterday, I thought I ought to really try to keep track of my actual water intake and really stay focused...even when I thought I was focused before. So I filled up and measured a large container of water. It had exactly 32 oz. of water in it. I worked all day at getting that in and didn't finish it until like 3-4 p.m. Then I started on my next bottle. By bed time, I had only consumed about 50 oz. Wow! It was shocking to me. And I know yesterday, I actually drank more than I had been because I kept my water with me every where I went. But this morning, I weighed and I had dropped those 2-3 pounds. So, I think it is water intake. Today, I'm trying to do even more. I'm sitting here with my large glass of water again. Hope this helps!

Which incision is it? I had actually started feeling much better but then at about 2-3 weeks out, I had a burning and pulling pain right above the incision that they pulled my stomach out of. I was told that this was an area where they actually cut through about 2 inches of muscle and then stretched it to get the stapler in/out and the stomach out. I asked why it was hurting all the sudden and was told because I was starting to get more active. And I was. I was starting to do housework, driving, climbing in and out of a tall truck, more walking, etc. I'm now 30 days post op and no longer have the pain unless I'm climbing in and out of the truck but even then, it's not as intense as before. That particular hurt stopped about 3-4 days ago.

Hang in there! You'll get through this and when you do, you will be so happy for doing it. The first week for me was the worst, especially with the gas and bloating. Week two, wasn't as bad but was still bad. Week three was a lot better but still not great. Week four, almost back to normal with a few aches. I think between feeling sick, lack of energy, and lack of food and Water intake, it makes you feel hopeless sometimes. I asked my husband several times through the first couple of weeks if I would ever get better. I would be sobbing at the same time. It does get better! You'll be okay! It just takes time. It's a long process but it will come and go before you know it.

Thank you! Great information!

I was told the exact thing that Tiffykins was told. In fact, I was told that my stomach would hold up to 4 oz. and nothing more at this time. My bougie size was 32. Tip: My husband and I decided we needed an easy guage so we weren't having to measure out everything and we weren't messing up all the dishes. So we went to Walmart and found the little 4 oz. or 1/2 cup canning jars. They're awesome! If you fill them to the top they are exactly 4 oz. Then to heat anything up, I boil a small pot of Water with my little jar of food/soup in it. Also, you can store any leftovers you have and then you have a meal ready to go for the next time.

I was prescribed Nexuim granules. You mix it with one teaspoon of water, stir, then wait about 3-4 minutes. It turns to a gel that looks like snot. I know, gross! Due to that fact, I can't handle the texture. So I mix it with about 2 oz. of grape juice after it has gelled. It makes the texture bearable. I'm about to have to change to something else because 30 days worth was $60 with insurance. Ouch!

Wow! Y'all are throwing in some really great information and options. Thank you. I actually had one of the Viactive chews today that I had before surgery. I didn't plan on using them long, just long enough to get the calcium citrate ordered. I didn't know.

That's actually on your right side and I had my gallbladder out back in July of 2008. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Can you give me an idea of your typical day eating? When do you add the carbs in? With meals or just in-between? When I eat my meal, the only thing I've been able to in is protien.