Sheila

Congratulations!!! I can't wait to be in Onederland with you! In fact, that is my Halloween goal! Wish me luck! Congrats again! You rock! Sheila

I am totally getting in on this challenge right from the start. SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Sheila...........245lb................219lb..........199lb..........20lbs Good luck to all who are taking up the challenge. With encouragement from each other we are sure to reach our goals. Sheila

Hello everyone. I thought I would send in my question because most of you are experts and I know I will get a good answer from you guys. I am 4 weeks out. I am transitioning into the Soft Foods today. However, up until now, I have been struggling to get much of any kind of food in me. I eat like 2 or 3 teaspoon bites, and I can't eat any more. I think the most I have gotten in calorie wise is maybe 300 to 350 calories a day. The same goes with fluids. I can not seem to get hardly in fluids in me without becoming extremely full. I can not stomach Water, even with lemon in it. It does not sit well in my tummy. When I do drink just water, I feel sick to my stomach. I just want to know if this is normal or should I be discussing this with my surgeon? Thanks for the help experts. I look forward to your replies. Sheila

Thanks everyone. Your advice and encouraging words have helped tremendously. I have started to drink Gatorade and Powerade. I dilute it half and half with Water and it seems to be working. I can still only drink 3 cups a day. I am hoping to get more in as time goes by. I never thought it would be this hard to drink. I am not going to worry about the amount I am eating right now, I am going to eat until I feel full and then stop. I am tracking my Protein intake, calories, carbs, sugars on MyFitnessPal. Now that I am on soft foods, I am able to get more protein in although I am still not up to where I need to be, but I am working on it. Thanks again everyone. You are all my hero. Sheila

I am 4 weeks and 4 days post surgery. I was wondering how long it takes for the swelling to go down around your new tiny tummy? I think I am about a week or so behind on the healing process due to having an infection on day 4 post op until day 10. Could this affect my tummy swelling? I respect and appreciate all the VSG veterns, that is why I am posing this question here. I do have a follow up appointment with my surgeon on Sept 6. Just wanted to know before hand. Thanks for your help. Sheila

Thanks. Unfortunately I am unable to drink Water. Makes me feel sick. I have been drinking tea to help getting in the liquids as right now that is all I am handle. It is good to know that I will soon be able to eat more than I am eating now. It is hard to imagine that I will be able to exist eating only this tiny amount. Thanks again. Sheila

You CAN do this!!! Keep going. You are doing GREAT!!! Sheila

SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Sheila..........245lbs................220lbs........220lbs.......0lbs..... Yes boys and girls, that means I have met my Labor Day goal. Yay!!! I am very excited. Now lets see how much more I can lose before Sept 6th, the date of my first post op follow up. Sheila

That is fantastic. You are doing wonderfully!!!! I was just sleeved on July 27 and I have lost 22 pounds so far. I can't wait to hit Onederland. It is getting closer but my first mini goal is to be 220 at my first post op follow up. 3 pounds to go. Keep up the great work. You will be at goal before you know it. Sheila

Here is a little update: SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Sheila..............245...................223.............220...........3lbs I am almost to my goal of 220. Hopefully today I can drag my husband away from the house and enjoy a beautiful August Sunday out in the Canadian Rockies. I love my sleeve. Sheila

I am starting this late, but I will join in. SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Sheila.............245 lb..............225lb.......220lb.......5lbs to goal I think I can do it. I want to go to my first post op follow up at 220. Here I go. Sheila

How long did you bake this for and at what temperatures? Sounds yummy and I am in mushies right now. Sounds like something I can share with the hubby. Sheila

Carmen, I have read so much about VSG and WLS. I have read that females carry Estrogen in fat cells. We are losing those fat cells due to our surgery so our system gets flooded with lots of extra Estrogen. I know I broke down on Thursday August 4th. That was when I was back in the hospital for IV antibiotic treatments. I was convinced the hospital was trying to kill me. I was in a room with someone who had flesh eating disease, I was battered and bruised from all the pokes they were giving me, I was stuck on the clear Fluid diet, and I just wanted to go home. I cried the entire day. Only when my husband came in the afternoon did I start to feel better. It was a rough day. So if you feel the need to cry, blame it on all that extra Estrogen in your system and cry like a baby. Sheila

First off, Good luck to all the August All Stars!!! You will do great! My funniest surgical moment is when I kept telling the recovery nurse I could not move. She was trying to convince me I could but I insisted I couldn't move. Funny what a little a anesthesia will do to you. That was all I could remember from recovery was telling the nurse I could not move. Oh well, turns out she was right. Sheila

Hi All, I am here as well. 2 weeks out for me. It is hard to believe 2 weeks have already past. My tummy is still a little bit sore. I wake up in the morning all refreshed and ready to go, and I start to get a little tired around 4pm. I guess I am not getting enough food in me, but I have been on the 2 week clear fluids. To be honest, I stopped on Saturday the clear fluids. I began the full fluids. This coming Saturday I am moving on to mushies. I am trying to get my Protein in by mixing it with yogurt and sugar free pudding. For lunch today I am having cream of mushroom Soup. I am not sure how much protein I am getting a day, but I am trying to get some in. I think it will be easier once I start the mushies when my food choices will be a bit more expanded. Has any one notices their tastes changing? I am really interested in this as I have heard that some people have experienced this. I know someone who used to drink chocolate milk pre op and now can't even stand the smell of it. Also, I have noticed my sense of smell has been a lot more lately. I am not known to have a great sense of smell, but here lately, man, smells have been tons stronger. Sheila

I am having an issue with Water. I am drinking okay, but I find now I can not stand the taste of water. I used to love to drink water, I loved the taste. Now every time I take a drink, it makes me want to vomit. Does this go away or do I need to find some other way to get my water intake in? And are there others out there who have had dramatic taste changes? Right now water is the only thing I know about since I am just now moving to mushies. Just want to know what I might be instore for. Thanks, Sheila.

Yes. I usually drink Dasani bottle water. I had hubby go out and purchase some for me because I thought I could drink it. Turned out I was wrong. It is just the taste of the water right now I can't take. Thanks. Sheila

Thanks everyone. I thought I was crazy that I couldn't drink Water. It is nice to know I am not the only one out there. I think for now I am going to make mild lemonade with splenda to get my intake. Seems to be going well so far. You guys are great!!!! Sheila

Hi Splashdancer, Try not to worry about the complications. Have you had complications from any other surgeries you may have had in the past? Always go into these sorts of situations in a positive frame of mind. It helps. I went into surgery thinking I would not have any. I came out of surgery just fine, didn't have any complications with surgery. I did find out about 6 days after surgery I had developed an infection and had to go back into the hospital for IV antibiotics. My new sleeve was fine, no leaks. The infection was outside of the sleeve. I was in hospital for an additional 4 days. Now looking back at my previous surgery, I had a post op infection then as well. So, I must be predisposed to having them. It doesn't mean everyone will. I am sure you will do great. Think positively. Sheila

Hi Ladies. My first week was not so bad until I had to go back to the hospital due to an infection on Tuesday August 2nd. My surgeon had a CT scan done of my chest and stomach, NO LEAKS!!! Thank God. However he did find a couple of pockets of Fluid outside of the stomach that was causing the infection. So back into the hospital I went for IV antibiotics. This is the week that SUCKED!!!. When you go to the ER they do not allow you to eat or drink anything until the doctor sees you. So I got to the ER, as per surgeon's orders, by 10:45am. I did not see my surgeon until 4:30pm. Needless to say I was somewhat dehydrated . Once I was in my room they needed to place an IV to begin the treatments. Didn't get to my room until 6:30 - 7:00pm, which added to the dehydration. Took 7 pokes to get an IV in me. They had to call in an ICU nurse because no one on the unit could get the thing in. I felt like a pin cushion. Finally got it in, only to have it blow the vein on Wednesday night. I immediately started crying. I could not go through another round of 7 pokes to get another IV in. Luckily, I did have over a day of fluids so it was easier to get the next IV in. I was very relieved. Anyway, I am now home. I was in hospital for the 2nd time from Tuesday to Friday, Aug 2 - 5. I did not want to be there. Yesterday was a bad day for me, I was very emotional and cried the entire day. I was worried they would not be able to get the infection under control and I would have to have more surgery. I was in a room with a woman who was in for having flesh eating disease. That freaked me out quite a bit. I know she is an invalid, but I am sorry, she smelled, she talked in her sleep, she was nosy (listening to my conversations with my husband and commenting as though she was included). It was just a bad day. This morning when I saw my surgeon, first thing I told him was I'M READY TO GO!!!!! So he said, Okay I will go sign the discharge papers. I got my IV as soon as I could, took a quite shower, got dressed and got the hell out of that room. I sat in the lounge until hubby could get there to get me. So this was my rough week. On the upside, I went to Denny's for lunch because I was discharged prior to lunch, and I ordered chicken noodle Soup. I didn't eat any of the chicken, gave it to hubby. But I did manage to eat about 3 or 4 noodles and 2 or 3 little carrots. They were both very soft, just squished them in my mouth and swallowed down. The first REAL food I have had since surgery. My surgeon kept me on clear fluids the whole time I was in the hospital, which also sucked. I am SOOOOO HAPPY to be back home. Sheila. PS. One thing I have found that is strange and I was wondering if anyone else has found the same thing. I can not drink Water. The taste of water right now just upsets tiny Ana (my tummy). I used to drink tons of water prior to surgery, now I just can't seem to do it. I am drinking apple juice and such. Any advice?

Denise, I am glad you are having an easy recovery. My first day was a blurr for the most part. Second day I was more awake, moved around more, started the clear fluids. It does get better every day, today is day 5 for me, and I am better than I was yesterday. Onward to healthier and sexier US's. Sheila

Ana is my new tiny tummy. She is quite the little diva let me tell you. She grumbles when I put to much or to little in her. We are still getting acquainted but I think we will have a long happy relationship, Ana and me. All the waiting is over, I was sleeved on Wednesday July 27. It is a strange feeling to finally have gone through surgery. I have waited, planned, dreamed, prepared as best as I could for this one event. That part of the journey is over and I am on to the next part. I woke up to a bit of nausea and pain. Although I was surprised at how little actual pain I was feeling. I had only 2 injections of morphine and the rest of the time I was able to deal with what little pain I had through the IV anti-inflammatory/pain meds they were giving me. I did vomit twice, once due to excess saliva and the other time for drinking liquid tylenol maybe to fast. Now that I am home, I can feel the gas pains but they are mainly confined to my stomach, they did not travel up into my shoulders. I have taken Gas-X strips 3 times and it seems to be helping. I have walked every day and I sipped and rested. With all the IV fluids they were giving me, I gained like 5 pounds but my surgery weight was 245.2. So if I can lose another 100 pounds I will be at my goal weight. Yay! Thanks for all the support! Sheila and Ana PS. Sorry for not posting sooner, as soon as I got home, I started dealing with our cat Elmo who is 15. He has chosen this particular time to stop eating and drinking. We fear he will not be with us much longer. I promise to get a bit more diligent in my reports.

How are you doing now Dawn? You have been sleeved, been recovering!!! I was also sleeved on July 27 around 9:30am. My surgery time was posted for 10:45am but as soon as I got to the hospital, they started calling for me to get down to the OR. I had to be prepared and made ready but I was done earlier than we thought I would be. It is now time for support and sharing of experiences. I have posted mine and if you have any questions, I am always here to help. Good luck on your continued journey! Sheila

It gets better. I got home yesterday as well. The doctor was happy with my progress but kept me one extra night due to nausea from excess saliva. He wanted that to resolve before I left to come home. I am still sore, but the gas pains are basically none existent. I have been taking my gas-x strips so that is helping. Hang in there, it will get better. Sheila