Lissa

The first three days are the worst, aren't they! It will get easier. As for getting hungry during the day, what items has your doctor allowed? Are you on full liquids, Clear Liquids, or some combination of food and Protein shakes? Knowing that will help come up with some ways to keep from being so hungry, but a few tips are to keep a Protein shake handy so you can sip on it while you work. Also, warm things sometimes helped me stay full longer than cold drinks did. I'm not sure what other advice to offer except to stay strong. The diet is helping to prepare your body for surgery and your mind for the liquid diet after surgery. Good luck on your journey and welcome to VST!!

Bristle, I've been told to avoid all seeds until I am at least six months out from surgery because there is a remote danger that they could get caught in the healing tummy. Even seeds like the ones in strawberries are to be avoided from what my Nut told me. I know nothing about chia seeds, just wanted to pass that info along.

Don't get worked up over the drainage tube. I think it's a preference thing for the surgeon. Mine does give you one and I had it for 8 days. No blood, just some Fluid that was easy to drain and did NOT smell bad. As for needles, getting my iv started wasn't tough for the surgery. Just look the other way and take a few deep breaths. It will be over in a minute. Good luck!!

MzLady, It really does sound like gas pain, or possibly a tight stitch inside. Keep walking and sipping and the pain should pass. Are you taking pain meds at all? Do they not affect this pain? Good luck and I hope you'll feel better very quickly!

I diagnosed my son's diabetes and still had problems with the doctor when I took him in for the "official" diagnosis. That's a tough row to hoe. I'm glad that you are finally getting the care you need and that you will soon be sleeved. Hopefully, your diabetes will soon be a thing of the past! Good luck!

Lily, don't live and die by that scale. I weigh myself every day as well, but that scale can crush your heart if you let it. I typically weigh more at night than in the morning, and I gain a pound or two when I hit TOM. And, when I am stalled, I do see fluctuations on the scale. I've posted before that I bounced between 299 and 295 for over a week before the scale finally settled at 294. I think most of us do that, but many don't see it because they are able to stay off the scale! 1 pound could be the extra Water you drank yesterday, or that you haven't had a BM today. Don't let 1 pound scare you. Now, if it's 4 or 5 up from a weight you held for a few days, then you need to reexamine how you're eating/drinking, but I doubt you're done losing yet!

Skinny and Firm, Welcome to the loser's bench! It sounds like you're doing very well post-op!

Crosswind, Your last sentence says it ALL. "I would have cut off my arm to weigh 210". You still have motivation and you will continue to lose. The fact that food isn't ruling your life, but is just a part of your overall picture (ho hum about the cake), means that you will continue to make good food choices and you will lose weight. I don't think you have doubts, but just wanted some reassurance, and I think you've got it! Good luck. I can't wait until you post your "I'm at goal" post!

Dogma, I'm not as worried about the dehydration as I am about the fact that you can't swallow well and that your drain is bothering you so much. I was actually told NOT to strip my drain when I emptied it. I also had my drain in for 8 days and the ONLY place I could feel it was at the opening, and I think that was because there was a stitch to hold it in place. I'm very concerned that maybe you are either beginning an infection or having a negative reaction to the tubing that composes the drain hose. Both of those could end up having severe consequences, including the need for another surgery and/or result in the doctors placing you NPO and installing a feeding tube. MeMeMee had a leak in her tummy and has posted numerous times about her complications. She's now on a feeding tube for all of her nutrition and Water. She posted and begged others NOT to ignore the symptoms their body is throwing out there... and I think you should really be seen by a doctor. I know that the on-call doctor wasn't very helpful, but I really wish you'd take that trip to the ER. Who knows, maybe they'll even take your drain tube out today and tell you that you're fine.

One of the reasons I chose my doctor is that my best friend is an ER nurse in the hospital where he performs VSG surgeries. She has seen him drag into the ER at 2am because one of his patients was there for something unrelated to the VSG. He IS an advocate for his patients. I like that about him. The other reason I'm so happy with him and his staff is that I can call in and ask what I think are stupid questions and they are never snarky in their answers. My pulmonary doc had a cow when I told him I wanted to start taking Calcium and immediately ordered me to take Tums instead. I called Dr D's office and they took my question directly to him and came back with an affirmative answer in seconds. I've called for other minor questions and been treated exactly the same. I think it would be great if everyone's surgeon was like mine, but most are not. My PCP stinks, IMO and will be changed after the first of the year. But, our responsibility to ourselves is to keep insisting on medical help/care if we aren't getting the care we need. I'd be dead if I didn't have a big mouth and lots of chutzpah. When I had pneumonia last year, the original doctor treated me like a drug seeker and sent me home. I took the antibiotics for a few days, then trundled my happy self right back into that ER and insisted that I was going to be checked out. I ended up being admitted for six days and on major antibiotics. So, I agree that there is a double standard in the medical community. My PCP kept blaming every problem I had on my weight. But, I think that you also have to factor in that many obese people have underlying issues that make us reluctant to rock the boat. We often eat our problems rather than dealing with them. It's often harder for us to stand up and be proactive for ourselves because we have learned to hole up somewhere and be quiet.

Kendall, Lots of things aren't fair, but the pre-op diet is because your surgeon wants you to have the best outcome possible. You need to follow his instructions as closely as you can so that you have the best chance of doing well during and after surgery. I don't think a 1 time small cheat is going to hurt you too badly, but it should NOT become a habit. The diet is to do a few things, IMO. It's there to help shrink your liver, which reduces the chance of the surgeon harming it during surgery. It's also to get you and your body used to the diet you will have to follow post-op. I think it's also a way for us to detox from all the crap we've put in our bodies over the year AND a way for us to prove to the doctor that we CAN follow instructions. Most surgeons have limited availability for surgeries. Unless they are superman, they can only do 3-5 surgeries a day, and then, only a couple of days per week, so they have to limit themselves to doing surgery on people that they know will benefit from the surgery. If we as patients can't manage to follow the diet pretty closely pre-op, how do the surgeons know that we will be compliant afterwards and manage to lose our weight? Attitude is everything with this journey, IMO. It's not going to seem "fair" that your friends can eat and drink unlimited quantities of food while you have to do liquids, then mushies, then tiny amounts of food one you are healed. If you walk around thinking "It's not fair", then you will be doomed to being unhappy with your surgery. If, on the other hand, you keep thinking "I'm losing weight and becoming healthier. That's great!" you will be much happier with the results you're getting. I wish you lots of luck with your journey! I know that you'll do great and rock your sleeve!

Let us know please!

It looks like you are doing well. At 3 weeks, my portions were very small, too. I can barely eat a whole egg now at 3.5 months post-op. Most meats have Protein and many foods have a nutrition label that tells you how many grams of protein are in a serving. If you aren't eating a whole serving, be sure to divide the grams of protein by how much you are eating. For instance, one egg has about 6g of protein. If you eat half of one, you ate 3g of protein. I use My Fitness Pal to log my food, primarily so that I can see how much protein I'm getting a day and don't have to keep a running number in my head. It's easy to use on the computer or on a smart phone, and I have only had two foods that weren't listed in the approximately 30 days I've been using it. There are also websites online where you can look up how much protein is in the foods you are eating. Many restaurants have nutritional information on their websites as well, in case you like to dine out.

Don't debate! Call your doctor!!! Sorry for the exclamation points, but you should NOT be in this much pain from your drain or from drinking at this point!!!!!!!! Please, please, please, CALL YOUR DOCTOR NOW!

Oh, and I take Tums for calcium because of other meds that I am taking. Apparently the chewable calcium I bought at GNC is not a good combo with my coumadin and asthma meds.

UGH on liquid Vitamins. I tossed my botte of them! I take a Centrum adult chewable every day, plus a sublingual B12, chewable Tums for calcium and Biotin (small pill). The best places I've found for vitamins are Walgreens and CVS (US drugstores). They often have B1G1 sales on their vitamins, which is nice. Walmart also sells many of the vitamins inexpensively or B1G1. I know nothing about the bariatric versions of vitamins since my nut said that the ones I'm currently taking are fine. I am considering adding magnesium, but haven't fully researched it yet.

LOL on the shush comment! It sounds like you have really done your research and are making good choices for you. I hope that everything goes well for you! It's nice that you have a sense of humor about things. That will help you through the recovery process, and having your wife be your "nurse" should be pleasant. My first husband was pushed out of the Air Force because of weight. He stayed 5 pounds or so over the weight limit for his height and just couldn't seem to get that 5 pounds to come off. Not long after he got out, he was dx with diabetes and lost his weight once the diabetes was under control. Unfortunately, the AF docs "missed" the signs of diabetes. @@ Let us know how your journey goes. You're giving yourself and your wife a great present for Valentine's Day! Good luck!!

It's him. Some guys will try even if you aren't putting that vibe out there. I have a dear (married) friend who is like that. All the gals I know just laugh his attempts off, but he still tries. His saving grace is that he's charming about it, and he's as much of a flirt with his wife around as he is without his wife around. My only suggestion is to accept the flattery and avoid the bedroom, unless you really are interested in having that kind of relationship with him. And, yes, there are some nice men out there, they just aren't usually as outgoing as the Casanova types.

I agree that missing a required element can really affect your energy level. It might be time to review with your nut or your pcp about Vitamins. I felt foggy before I started on my B12 daily, which I was interpreting as exhaustion. I also got kind of lazy about my vitamins last week and didn't take all of them. I hadn't refilled my pill organizer so I was only taking the prescribed meds. I immediately noticed that I had less energy and was extremely cold. I refilled my pill organizer including my vitamins and I'm already feeling the difference! Good luck!!

Even when I was in Ketosis on Atkins last year, I never had blackish stuff on my tongue. I do remember feeling like my breath was awful and trying to avoid sitting close to anyone. I think I brushed my teeth a jillion times during that. I didn't and don't worry about my carb levels now, but there are many folks on here who do watch carbs. Hopefully, some of them will chime in with info.

Anything you can eat at any time of the day is okay for breakfast. I'm not big on breakfast until around 11 am, so I get the choice of breakfast or lunch anyway. If you like them, Protein bars are an easy and different substitute for the breakfast meal. I sometimes eat a mini babybel cheese or a rolled up slice of meat/cheese at "breakfast time" because I have to have something in my tummy before I take my meds. Egg Face has tons of ideas on her blog for yummy things to do with eggs and with Protein shakes. You might visit her and just go through the recipe section for ideas. Good luck! It does seem easy to get in a rut with food, especially when you're still on mushies.

My goal was to hit 280 by Christmas. I think I'm going to make it since I weighed in at 288.2 this morning. So.... SW 299 CW 288.2 GW 280 Lbs to Goal 8.2

For me, my sleeve likes chicken and doesn't like spicy food. Rex also doesn't like milk products right now, except cheese. Milk makes my have diarrhea, spicy food makes me feel like I'm going to be sick. I've learned very quickly to avoid both, even though I loved them both before surgery. I miss cottage cheese, especially. I used to love to eat it with a lot of pepper mixed into it. Now, it hits BOTH bad buttons! So, likes means that you can eat it without problems. Doesn't like means that you have problems if you eat that food. Some people immediately slime and bring the offending food back up. I haven't had the slimes yet, although I have been over full a few times.

What you say doesn't have to be profound, just honest and from the heart. You WILL get there. It WILL happen. We're keeping a spot warm on the loser's bench for you! Good luck!!

Wow!! That's an awesome loss in such a short time! Keep rocking your sleeve!!