Writergirl

It's worth a try with the peanut butter. I have found PB to be really soothing. It goes down well and coats my stomach nicely. I hope you feel better!

I've also struggled with acid, even before the surgery. I'm on Prilosec, and it wasn't doing the trick. It felt like I had a cauldron of boiling acid in my stomach! I called my doctor, and he told me I could add two Zantac at night, in addition to taking the Prilosec in the morning. I've found it best to take the Prilosec with my first bottle of water in the morning, on an empty stomach, and if I'm having a bad day, I take the Zantac before my evening meal. If Prilosec makes you sick, take it with plenty of water, or even a teaspoon or two of peanut butter. He also told me I could take Malox. So in addition to the other stuff, if I really need it, a couple of times a day I'll have a very small amount of Malox. This regimen has helped me A LOT. The other thing that sounds crazy but has always helped me, is mint Mentos! Tonight I felt really sick after I ate dinner and I had two of them and almost immediately felt better. The mint really calms my stomach. I wish you luck! The acid is really hard to live with.

I read your story with tears in my eyes. It is so familiar... the lost sleep and fearful nights, worrying my daughter would find me dead, turning to food for comfort. First, let me say that you look so beautiful! You really do! You are just glowing with happiness in your tiara picture! Second, let me say that I cannot count the times that I've been in a positive, happy, successful place with a fitness regimen only to be taken down by my extremely rare and debilitating autoimmune disease. This is what I know from that: It's frustrating. It's sad. It's demoralizing. It's painful. And it's temporary. Whatever this is, whether it lasts for a week or 6 months, you WILL get past it, and when you do, you'll feel just as good when you get back out there again. Maybe your weight loss will slow a bit, but it is not dependent on your walking. I need to have both my knees replaced, and all I can do is swim. There are also chair aerobics and boxing DVDs. Feel a little sorry for yourself for a day or two. You deserve to. But know that you will get past this. In a matter of time, all will be well.

This just makes me so angry on behalf of you and all overweight people. I went to a doctor one time and said, "I'm having a lot of hand pain." He said, "Lose weight and that will get better." I looked at him with disbelief and replied rather sarcastically, "Excuse me, but I don't walk on my hands." Another time, I had fallen on the ice and could barely walk. I went to the doc and he said it was arthritis and I'd just have to live with it. Miraculously, my "arthritis" was completely healed in about 8 weeks with no medical help whatsoever! Unforunately, treatment like this caused me to stop going to doctors, and I have many permanent problems now that I may have been able to head off if I had been seen earlier. Don't give in to being dismissed and lectured! Insist on tests and proper diagnosis!

I know SO WELL the call of food in a time of crisis. You did great today. Next time you go through something, remember how you got through it this time. It's all those successes that make us strong. And really, there's no point in destroying yourself over something like this. Hang in there!

Wow... you guys are the best. I can't tell you much your thoughtful, funny, and wise advice means to me. Every one of you has given me valuable insight. Last night after I wrote this I had a big meeting with myself. Viola, I think you hit it right on when you said I already knew the answer to my own question when I had my "WTF" moment. I cannot continue to feed my body empty calories and expect to be healthy. Formervbg, you are dead on about the honeymoon phase. I reminded myself that never again in my life will I have this particular period of time in which to lose weight at this rate. I CANNOT screw this up! I didn't do this to fail. I have played "beat the diet" over, and over, and over in my life, toying with the rules, eating a few sneaky bites here and there... and it took me to a place where I had to have surgery or die young. So, thank you for being my sounding board. You are all going to keep me honest. I need that. Today I have done much better. Just had and egg for breakfast, a MEASURED quarter of a cup of bean soup for lunch, and tonight it's chicken pot pie, without any crust. I also got out the guidelines from my nutritionist, and it's time to get serious here. Thanks again!

I'm 3 weeks post-op and have been on mushies for 11 days. My stomach is in constant turmoil. Almost everything I eat disagrees with me. Unfortunately, I've found that Ritz crackers feel really good, and mashed potatoes are the best thing ever. Today we went to the movies and I had a small amount of soft candy. I'm also eating peanut butter. Then tonight I combined the crackers and peanut butter and just for fun added a bit of grape jelly. Suddenly I thought, "WTF!!!!!" What am I doing??? This is just like every diet I've ever sabotaged!!! Granted, I'm eating very small amounts, but OMG!!! I did low carb for months before this surgery, and now I'm allowing myself carbs because that's all that feels good. So I'm asking you for an honest answer: Should I go a little easy on myself until I'm healed enough to add more veggies, fruit, and meat in my diet, or do I need to cut out all those carbs right now, even if it means I have very few food choices. (I can't eat any dairy whatsoever right now.) I'm very good at making excuses, so I can't make this decision myself. Please tell me what to do. Thanks.

I think it must be so painful to make this decision without family support. One thing to consider is that the people in your life might be afraid of how things will change for THEM after you have the surgery. My husband has been my dining companion for over 30 years. We were eating out 5 times a week. During the decision process, I talked to him many times about how things would change for both of us, and I asked him to be part of my decision, knowing it would affect him a lot. Our discussions didn't just center around food, though. We talked about all the ways my life has been difficult, how our life expectancies are affected by unhealthy eating, all the things we want to do that we can't now because of my weight. By the time surgery came, we were both more excited about the possibility for positive change than we were upset over anticipation of the end of big buffet eating. So, maybe it would be helpful to engage your immediate family members in discussion about their fears and expectations, and maybe they'll start to come around. Good luck, and if you don't find support at home, you'll certainly find it here!

That sounds great! I've been curious about the syrups, but I can't tolerate most things that are artificially sweetened. Do you know what's in those syrups to sweeten them?

That's all very helpful. Thanks! Annette, I'm definitel going to start on Beans today. I've been reluctant because of the side effects, but maybe I just need to try. Pookey, first, I hope you are starting to recover emotionally. I can't imagine going through travel, let alone a death, right after the surgery. This has been hard enough. I think you have the right attitude about fast food. I actually don't even like fast food, but sometimes just have to rely on it while I'm out. As I said, if I got ff in the past, it was usually a salad. So there I was yesterday, needing something soft, with just no idea of what to order. My nutritionist told me I can eat anything except bread/rice/pasta, hard fruits, nuts, raw veggies, and things with seeds as long as it's chewed to a liquid consistency, and I have been trying a variety of foods. My favorite so far is pureed turkey breast with gravy and mashed potatoes. MoonSiren: Wish I didn't care about food anymore. My focus has really changed, but I'm thinking of food all the time, and I'm sick of it. Mater: It gets better. I ate a lot of strained cream of chicken soup while on liquids. Thanks for all the responses! I'm definitely going to back off of certain foods for now and try the beans.

I've been working on emotional eating for several years. It's not easy, but one of the things I've had to do is learn to let myself feel my feelings and express them, not stuff them down. Every time I wanted to eat for comfort, I'd tell myself that when I was done I'd just have an extra problem--new weight to contend with. Still, food has gotten me through every major crisis of my life, and I dread the day I have to deal with something really tough without food as a crutch. That's why before I even had my surgery I scheduled an appt with a therapist. Good luck.... It's a journey, and as someone else said, we are NOT powerless.

I'm about 2 1/2 weeks out and it's been a pretty rough time for me in terms of discomfort, feeling sick, etc. Now that I'm on soft foods, I'm having a hard time figuring out what to eat. Today I was out and I was starved (that's another thing--I'm hungry every two hours). I wanted to grab fast food but the things I would normally eat--salads, soups--are off limits. Instead I bought chicken tenders at Chick-Fil-A. I ate 3, one at a time, over about 3 hours, then I started to worry that I shouldn't be eating fried foods (aka "crap"). About the only thing I really want right now is mashed potatoes, and I know that's a nutritional zero. I eat scrambled eggs, soft meats, and the broth from vegetable soup. I'm looking for ideas. Any suggestions? Also, I'd really like to know how much people are getting down at this point. I feel like I can eat a lot more than I thought I'd be able to. Thanks!

Wow! You've gone down all those sizes in 3 weeks? I'm almost 3 wks out, and I'm only down 14 pounds, and there's NO WAY I could do all that running around at this point. You're doing great! Me... maybe not so great.

I'm 2 wks out and I am hungry about every 2 to 3 hours. On liquids, I was starved 24/7. I know the difference between head hunger and real hunger, and this is HUNGER! My sister suggested that perhaps the hormone grehlin is still in my system. I think my body is starving and sending all kinds of hunger signals. However, I can eat just a little bit and I'm satisfied. I'm actually having very little head hunger. I don't think hunger is your imagination.

Hi, DebiC and all of you... I'm here, too. I want to lose 220, but that may be an unreasonable goal for me as my body just may be configured differently than it was years ago when I was thin. I was sleeved 11 days ago and, I won't lie, it's been a very rough couple of weeks for me. Today I started mushies and many of the problems I was having seem to have stopped now that I've had a bit to eat. I'm down a total of 56.8 pounds since I began a low-carb diet in Oct, and like you, not one person has noticed that I've lost weight. I still haven't gone down a full size! So, yes, we do have different issues and a longer journey than many others on this board. Thanks for posting and "putting out the call!"

I'l be thinking of you and Misha!

Well, here's what I plan to have "normal" look like for me. I plan to eat low carb for most meals, and then when I go out for a special celebration or holiday or whatever, I'll have whatever I'd enjoy, without guilt. That way, although I may not be indulging in a huge multi-course dinner, those big food occasions will still feel special to me. I do think I'm going to find it very difficult to go out with my friends and know that I can have four tablespoons of food, and I'm going to have to choose them pretty carefully. No more appetizers, salads, main courses and desserts. Maybe that won't bother you or others at all, but I do think I'll go through a mourning process over it, and that's why I decided to see a therapist.

I was sleeved on the 24th and since coming home from the hospital I have been obsessed with food. Not that I really want to eat it. But I am starved. Last night at 4 a.m. I laid in bed sobbing for all the starving children in the world, because I've been relentlessly hungry for going on four weeks and it's not pretty. So I understand where you're coming from. However... last night I started to think about my long-term approach to this. Just like every diet I've been on, I can either embrace it and succeed, or try to "beat the rules" and fail. I think the window of opportunity for fast weight loss with this thing seems to be about a year. I'm going to try to be really serious about this. I didn't mutilate my body only to fail once again. So, although I know a mourning period for food is coming, I hope to get over it quickly and just give myself every opportunity to succeed. I found a therapist before my surgery and have an appt set up for two wks from now. She had the bypass, so she knows how I'm feeling. I think it's important to have someone you can howl and cry to as you mourn. Good luck... this surgery ain't for sissies!

I can only say how miserable I would be to land back in and start fluids again at this point, so I'm so very sorry for you. I keep telling myself that this is just the process. Hang in there. And yes, the food commercials are killing me.

LAnn and Retired Loser, we are in this together! I was sleeved the 24th, and I swear to you that when I read your post I had to check to be sure I didn't write it! It's 5:30 a.m. here and I'm up because I can no longer sleep for more than 4 hours. My stomach is roiling. I'm starved and sick. I have constant diarhea, so every time I "go" I'm trying to force down 8 oz of extra water. I'm now having a visceral reaction just to the sight of the supplements. I've tried Unjury, Isopure, and something else. They all make me sick. I can't eat anything sugar free. I break into tears at the drop of a hat, and honestly don't care that I'm losing weight because it feels like the most unhealthy thing I've ever done in my life. This is so awful. E-mail me if you want to call and talk.

I was just sleeved on the 24th and my doc told me I can take tylenol caplets, not gelcaps, so I would think a small tablet would be ok. I'm also taking protonix pills each day. They haven't bothered me. I'm having horrendous acid, and my doc told me I can also take liquid Malox and 2 75mg zantac tablets at a time. It's helped A LOT. Malox gives instant relief. Good luck!

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm going to go buy Isopure today and see if that works better for me. I made a decision in the dark hours of the night that I'm not going to have things I can't tolerate (physically) just because they are supposed to be good for me. So I'm going to try the Isopure, which I won't have to add to anything. Got up this morning and had some cream of wheat with NO added protein, and for the first time all week I didn't feel hungry or nauseated for a couple of hours. If the Isopure failes me, I'll head to COSTCO. I'm still so weak and shaky I don't think I can take COSTCO today. I did get in 48 oz of water yesterday, though, so I think my hydration is pretty good. Thanks again.

I was dry heaving for three days after the surgery. I actually threw up while they were doing the leak test. I stopped taking the nausea meds and all pain medication because I think it made it worse. Every time I'd take the zofran I'd immediately feel sick. I'm doing ok on nausea now, but the acid is unreal.

I was sleeved on the 24th and I'm starved. It may be acid, but I'm taking protonix, zantac, and malox. I was actually anxious for surgery on the basis that at least I wouldn't be hungry any more from the pre-surgical liquid diet, but I am starved. My sister suggested that maybe there's still a lot of Grehlin (hunger hormone) that just needs to work it's way out of my system. Sigh..

Anyone have any advice? I was sleeved on the 24th. I've been struggling so hard to get in water and whey protein, and today I did pretty well. I've gone through my unjury sample pack. The problem is, everything single thing I put in my mouth is giving me problems. I have never been able to eat sugar free things without getting sick, so that leaves out jello, popsicles, and pudding. I decided to try them anyway, and last night was up all night feeling like a cauldron of acid was roiling in my stomach. Today I have taken prilosec, zantac, and Malox and am still fighting acid. I am lactose intolerant, so I've added the protein to soy milk, which makes me want to gag. Also, the unjury tastes like powdered milk to me, which I have not been able to tolerate since the 1st grade. So... ok, I'm whining. I am hating life right now. What can I have???? I've got to go through another week of this!! Also, did I add that I'm STARVED all the time? Maybe it's the good old gnaw of acid, but it still feels like starvation. This seriously feels like the most unhealthy thing I've ever done in my life. I'm open to suggestion here, if anyone has anything for me. Thanks for listening. Or reading...