Penpen

So glad you are home and are doing good. Stay on top of your pain meds and you should do good. You're on the losers bench! YaY!

I had the same pain that everyone here is talking about. But by day 13-14, it got worse. When I had my 2 week post op visit/nutritional class, I mentioned that I was in worse pain than what I had been. They asked me if I had more active than the rest of the post op days. And I actually had been much more active because I started having some energy and just feeling better in general. They said it was perfectly normal. I'm now 20 days post op and it still hurts but mainly when I bend or sit.

Also, I had found out at 8 days post op that they actually cut through about 2 inches of muscle. Then they use some type of gadget to stretch that area to get the stapler and your stomach through. Ouch! I'm so glad I didn't hear about this until after surgery.

Try mixing with grape juice. I had to crush a pill yesterday and then mixed it with the grape juice. I couldn't taste the pill. I was doing kind of the same thing with my liquid pain and nausea medicine when I was still on them. I would drink a little of the medicine. Then I would swish grape juice around in my mouth and then swallow. Grape juice has such a strong flavor that it really covers up some of the nasty stuff we have to take right now. Good luck!

I'm so sorry! Get to feeling better.

You're welcome! I remember the wait. It's almost unbearable but looking back now, everything really happened super fast. I bet it will happen for you too.

Thank you! Yes, everything is going fine. It hasn't been easy but things seem to get better with each new day. My big struggle right now is that I'm sooooo sick of the Protein shakes. But after tomorrow, I start my mushy stage which means some real food. YaY!

Thank you both for the info on UHC. I guess I'll just try to be patient. Not my best quality, however, I will try. Congratulations Penpen! I hope everything is going well for you!

Thank you so much for the encouragement. This was exactly what I needed to hear. I'm almost 3 weeks post op and I'm very much struggling with the Protein. I had a mini meltdown today because I just didn't think I could take one more Protein Drink. My husband gave me a pep talk and reminded me that tomorrow is my last day of liquids only. Of course, now I'm up late trying to catch up on protein...ugh!

Thank you again!

I have UHC also. I had my first appointment with my surgeon and thought they sent for ins. approval right away but found out later, that they sent it out a week later. They actually told me that when I called to check on it about 2 weeks after the visit. There must be some reason it takes them that long to send for approval. I was also told that legally the insurance company has 30 days to reply. But if I remember right, it took almost 3 weeks for approval. Also, I checked our UHC account online nearly dayly and nothing ever showed up. Things didn't start hitting our account (reports, claims, etc.) until after surgery. I'm 19 days post op.

I hope this helps. I actually blogged my timeline if your interested in seeing it. My blog is right above my signature.

I am now 19 days post op and have just started to feel somewhat normal but am still tender in the tummy and am still on my full liquid diet. I can't imagine hopping on a plane a couple of days after surgery. The hospital stay for me was 2 1/2 days. When I got home, I rested a lot just for the fact that I had absolutely no energy which I'm sure was due to lack of calories (less than 500 a day) and not being fully hydrated. Oh and the nausea medication and the pain medication, made me whoosy, too. I'm not on meds anymore but I still get tired easily now but not like I did a week ago.

If it were me, I would consider rescheduling. Just my opinion!

That's awesome!

Hi! I'm almost 3 weeks post op and feel so much better than I did the first week or week and a half. I had buyer's remorse several times and I had panic moments. I had depression and the feeling that I would never feel better again but as of today....hummmm, let's see, I am 19 days post op....I'm starting to feel more and more like myself again. My belly is still tender and getting my Protein down is still a bit of a challenge but I would definitely do it again. If you had asked me, oh say, a week or so ago....I might have answered that question differently.

I have a blog that I use almost strictly for my journey. I wrote about how I felt and what I was going through. I haven't updated in a few days so you don't see all the positive things I'm feeling now but I did have a hard time the last couple of weeks. If you want to read it, it is

http://sliceofhealthyplease.blogspot.com/

Dr. James Davidson....very serious ... but is one of the top surgeons in Dallas. I had surgery almost 3 weeks ago and he took great care of me. He's been listed as one of the top surgeons 19 years in a row in D Magazine. Here's his link: http://www.bscdallas.com/

Good luck!

So happy for you!

As far as the restriction, I'll say a couple of things. I'm just a little over 2 weeks post op and while still in the hospital and all drugged up, I managed to drink a cup of broth. I was so not with it and all the meds made me not feel a thing. The nurse came in and liked to have freaked out. He got on to me and told me that was way too much liquid for my new stomach. So I would just sip and do it slowly.

Also, with Water and even ice, I do not feel any restriction but I now make sure I take no more in than 4 oz at a time. When eat a pureed bean Soup, I feel some restriction.

I was told today at my nutritional class that when I start on the mushy phase, that I will definitely feel more restriction.

I think it all just depends on the density of what we're putting in there.

I'm sure someone else that has been sleeved longer will be able to elaborate.

Yes, she said she will be off it in about 3 weeks. So, if I understood her right, when it's all said and done she will have been on it for around 5 weeks. I can't even imagine.

Will she ever be off the feeding tube? I've heard stories like this before, and I don't want to take the chance of ulcers and having a feeding tube, so I think to play it safe I won't be taking ibuprofen anymore regardless of what some dr's say. (although not being able to have NSAIDS scares me!)

I was told that I will never again be able to take ibuprofen. And here's an example why:

I was just at my 2 week nutritional class today and there was a lady there that had had the bypass years ago. She has taken ibuprofin for the last year or so and it caused an ulcer. She had to have a revision to the sleeve 2 weeks ago because of it. She has been on a feeding tube and still will be for the next 3 weeks. Just something to think about.

Great news! Not about the pain though. So glad she's doing good. Tell her to hang in there. It will get better!

Been praying for you! Can't wait to hear how you are doing.

I'm thinking about and praying for all of you. You will do fine! Keep us posted.

I'm 17 days out and live in Texas so I understand the longing for that good ole sweet tea. At about a week post op, I had it once when we were out. We stopped by chicken Express...there sweet tea is the best...of course, there was nothing I could have except liquid. So I chose sweet tea. I didn't feel guilty because I was barely getting 400-500 calories a day. Also, I couldn't drink but maybe 5-8 oz. and that took me half a day. One more thing, my taste buds have changed and it just didn't taste as awesome as it use to. It was okay but Water would have been fine. Who knows, maybe when you try it, your taste buds will be turned off too.

When did you start taking pills again?

Hi Patty! I'm only a little over 2 weeks out so I'm not sure that I'm qualified to comment but I thought I might make a few eating suggestions since I will be in the soft food phase in less than a week. I was told that I can have packaged/canned tuna as long as it is tender and can be mashed down a bit. Also, shaved lunch meats, crock pot chicken, cottage cheese, yogurt, mashed sweet potatoes... there's are probably other things too. I'm sure that your stomach just isn't used to anything but liquids...I bet it will get easier over time. You're in my thoughts.

Wow! This is crazy! I thought it was just me too. I had surgery on June 23 and since then have been dealing with what I think is a yeast infection. I've tried Monistat which didn't help much. I now have an appointment with my gyn on Monday. They were going to call a prescription in but I can't take pills yet. So I have to go in. Hopefully, they will give a me a shot instead of liquid.< /p>

I'm in the puree phase of it right now. From what I was told, if I were to have a can of bean and bacon Soup, I am to add Water to thin it out and then puree it until it is complete liquid. It has to run through a regular straw freely. I was also told to stay away from chunky meats even after they are pureed. The meats, even after pureed, are hard for the stomach to digest. I was told no cheese until week 3. I have no idea why.

As far as what I've pureed, well, most kinds of Soup, refried Beans, potatoe soup, french onion soup, lots of beans...lots of soups! I've pureed black Beans, chicken broth, a little salsa, and sour cream....oh and my husband through a raw egg in for the Protein...I couldn't even tell it was there. I'm sooooooooo sick of anything that is liquid...I'm starting to gag it down ... whatever it is. I can't wait to get something solid in my mouth.....I'm counting down to this coming Thursday. Tonight, there was not one thing I could think of that sounded good and I was almost in tears. So my husband put together a tortilla soup....yes, with tortilla chips...and pureed it. Even though it was liquid, it was still very thick. I could only eat like 2 oz. It was really good. My husband made a homemade broccoli and cheese last night...and yes, I know, I wasn't supposed to have the cheese but I needed something different....he pureed it to complete liquid and it went down fine.

It does feel good to get more than Clear Liquids but after a while it just becomes gruelsome to keep up with liquid and nothing but liquid......I will continue on and I really hope you enjoy this phase. I would love to hear others' ideas on recipes.

I'll just throw my 2 cents in, when I was in the hospital I was so well drugged up most of the time that I didn't care what I had on. I wore my hospital gown and there were times that I didn't care if all was covered. I wasn't even thinking about it. It freaks me out now to think that I may have flashed someone or a few but unless someone tells me that's what happened, I'm not going to worry about it. I wouldn't spend any extra money on new PJ's. I'd either pick something you already have that is comfortable or just wear the hospital gown.

Congrats to both of you on your upcoming surgeries. Don't feel sad about leaving the old self behind. You're not actually leaving you behind...only the tent! You're taking you with you and you'll be free from all the extra weight so that you can truly enjoy life. I'm 16 days post op and so, my journey has barely begun. I've lost somewhere between 30 and 35 pounds since I started the pre-op diet and I already feel better. I don't feel bad about leaving all that weight behind. It's hard to let go of ALL the food but the really cool thing is that I will once again, one day enjoy real food again but because I can't gorge (no room in there) and because I know that I don't want to eat all the wrong things all the time ... ever again... I am so looking forward to enjoying food in a way that I have never enjoyed it before and guess what...I'll be thin doing it! What an awesome feeling! We deserve to feel like we're a normal size. I felt for years that my weight defined me because of the way others treated me. I felt like I would never be loved and cared about the way that I should be because there were some that couldn't see past my fat. I had given up on weight loss. I was tired of working really hard to lose weight just to turn around and gain it back, plus some. It was awful! I had already told my husband that I wasn't going to try anymore to lose weight. I had given up and that put me in a dark place. Then, him and I started talking about WLS. I never thought it would happen but it did and even though I haven't lost a whole lot, I'm already starting to feel free from this smuthering weight.

Be happy about leaving the old body behind...take your personality with you but say goodbye to the rest of you!

Wow! You are a strong woman. You have been through so much. Congrats on your upcoming surgery! And welcome to our forum!