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I had a cold at the time of my surgery. Dr. Campos gave me Afrin which helped with the symptoms and breathing. It is one of those medications that you have to be careful about, due to rebound swelling, etc., but it sure does work wonders. Anyhow, having the cold did make me more uncomfortable for the first few days of recovery, but otherwise I didn't suffer any more than anyone else. Take care, and I hope your entire procedure is uneventful!

I used to use food (frequently) to ease anxiety, or almost as a type of sedative. I used to overeat and the effect was usually one of extreme relaxation, even when I ate to the point of not being able to move comfortably. I can't do that anymore. Pre-surgery, I could eat and get comfortably full, emphasis on the word comfortable. Not any more. When I get to the point I think I should stop, it's because I don't want to feel uncomfortable, which is how it feels now when I get full. I miss being able to use food as a stress and anxiety reliever. It was the most effective thing I've ever used, even though the long-term effect was not healthy. But at the same time, I knew losing that escape route was going to be one result of surgery, and I will have to find new ways of coping - healthier ones.

Thought all y'all'd find this interesting: Hans Rueffert, Chef Without Stomach, Recovers From Cancer And Writes Cookbook (VIDEO) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/hans-rueffert-chef-stomach-cookbook_n_1011680.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Succumbed to halloween and coupon savings. Bought 2 bags of snack-size Kit-Kats last night. Ate 5 of them this morning. Sleeve is complaining. Loudly. First time it's complained since surgery. Ugh. Wahhh! etc. Moral support requested. PLEASE!

So thrilled for you! You are going to be so happy with the care you receive.

Okay, maybe my steel sleeve is a little weak in a couple of places. Because I had an 'episode' tonight. Oops. So I may need to wait a while longer before I truly qualify for the club after all...darn. and, no, I'm not yet exercising, though it is my intention to get going in that area soon. I do have twin 8 year olds, and they exercise my patience continually. Does that count?!!

I'm a proud member of the sleeve of steel club! Had a salad for lunch which included 2 oz. chicken breast, 1/2 small tomato, 1/3 cucumber, 1/4 yellow bell pepper, 1/2 small avocado, 2 small radishes and about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegrette dressing. Ate the whole thing, no problem. Delicious.

You didn't mention having any plastic surgery. Did you have any? If not, any plans to have any?

I've read that iron and zinc deficiencies can play into hair loss as well. I'm looking into what supplements to use for these. Liver and clams are the two best foods to use for iron, and oysters are apparently loaded with zinc. Not foods that I'd eat every single day, but I do plan to incorporate them into my diet maybe 2-3 times weekly. I love chopped chicken liver, and there's a great recipe for a clam pizza on http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.com.

yay! the day I went to full liquids was such a relief for me as well! I couldn't stomach the Isopure or any of the powders, so I abandoned trying to get in my protein during the clear liquids stage altogether. When I started full liquids, Premier Protein shakes from Costco were my daily go-to. At first it took me about 3-4 hours to get one down, but now I can drink one is less than 20 minutes. There is an abundance of choices for full liquids; you can blend just about any soup you can think of and thin it with broth, nonfat milk, or whatever. I hope the bariatric industry starts thinking more along savory lines as it develops new protein supplements. What a godsend that would be to all of us during the clear liquid stage, right?

I had to crush my pills for the first two weeks out. Tastes like hell, but at least they go down and no spasms. Check with your doc first to make sure the pills you take can be taken crushed.

Well, I feel like a true initiate now. Got a little too complacent, I guess. What with being in the mushies stage and having no trouble whatsoever with tuna salad, egg salad, chopped liver, unblended lentil Soup and the like, I thought I give some lovely fresh king salmon a whirl. Maybe not a mistake in itself, but maybe I was a little too nonchalant when I actually ate it? There it was, a lovely little 4 oz. chunk of filet. I cooked it nicely seasoned with salt, pepper and dill, in a little foil envelope in the oven. Came out looking delish as could be. Squeezed a little fresh lemon juice on it. Got busy. I maybe got down somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 oz., when - oops- the most recent mouthful stuck. Hard. Ow. Pressure continued to build in my esophagus until - kabloouie! - up came some of it. Not all. Not even most. A token amount. Pressure continued to build. And, voila! Now I truly know what "the foamies" are! I must take a moment to say that I've always thought I had a stomach of steel. I've rarely experienced upset stomach and I can't remember the last time I vomited. But at this point, I would have given anything to just have one good heave-ho and have it be over. But not to be. At one point I actually had to put my finger down my throat to get some action that might lead to relief. When my stomach gets hold of food, it is not going to give it back without a serious struggle. It took a good hour from the time the food first got stuck to when something "worthwhile" finally made it's way from my poor sleeve to the toilet bowl. Anyway, I know for some of you this might be TMI, and to those my apologies. I read here that just about everyone ends up experiencing this in some fashion, so I thought I'd document it. A lesson learned. I feel okay as I'm writing this, about 2-1/2 hours from when the episode started. My daughter got quite frightened and started to cry while it was happening and thought I might have to go back to Mexico. My son reassured her that what I was experiencing was normal, but he was worried too, I could tell. I know they won't be comfortable until I tell them I feel just fine tomorrow morning. Anyhoo... I just hope I can be in the moment enough going forward to never have THAT happen again! I'm looking forward to a day of greek yogurt and smooth Soups tomorrow, to be sure!

I'm on Dr. Aceves' plan too. Wow, it's been tough to go the full 10 days from step to step. I have four more days of mushies before moving to solids, and I've been beside myself for 2 days now. Overeaten protein at night. Just can't seem to stay satisfied for more than a half hour or so. I think I'll make it, but if the next few days are like the past few, I'll be gritting my teeth a good deal of the time. Ugh.

Good for you! My opinion is that we ought to "out" this treatment for obesity and have it accepted for what it is - treatment for an issue that interferes with our being able to live a full life. If I remember right, it used to be that being treated for cancer was kept hush-hush and was thought to be embarassing. Illness and disease are a fact of life and getting treatment should be supported as taking life-affirming action - because it is! Won't happen until we who are getting the treatment talk about it as a matter-of-fact solution to a problem that millions share. End of sermon!

I hear you! It's seriously a tough one. My kids were eating leftover Mandarin Fried chicken wings for dinner last night and I nearly went nuts! I did succumb and had a little nibble that one of them had carelessly left on their plate. I consoled myself by remembering that there are plenty who have documented their experiences going off the wagon on this board. As for the thirst cravings, I'm finding as I go along I am able to drink larger gulps in one go and I try to make that my consolation for not being able to drink carbonated drinks. I'm also looking for substitutes, although they aren't carbonated. Right now I'm liking diet Cranberry juice. It's actually too strong for me, so I Water it down some (saves money that way too). Besides Crystal Light, which is okay, you can also find lower calorie apple juice in the stores, and that's not too bad. I'm always on the lookout for other alternatives to plain H2O. Don't like stuff too sweet, so it's a bit of a challenge. Hang in there - it'll be worth it, right?

Congratulations! So glad you had a great experience! The best is yet to come. The first 10 days was a struggle for me because of the clear liquid diet, then you can start enjoying flavors again along with the miracle that you see on your scale!

I'm not especially vain or modest - so I wore the gown the whole time. Plus, I'm laundry-averse, so the gown filled the bill for me.

I'd like an email partner too. I'm at about the same point as you, and also live in Washington. What do you think?

I think there are some other options for people with lower BMI's who are looking for a physical way to restrict their food intake. You may want to do a little more research. I investigated something called the gastric balloon. I was told it was for people that didn't have that much weight to loose. It looks to be about as non-invasive a procedure as would be possible. Just a thought.

Love my chili, for sure - also great with plain greek yogurt, btw. I use plain greek yogurt on whatever I'd normally put sour cream on. So good. The avocado doesn't add Protein, but I love avocado, it's a "good" fat, and adds to the creamy texture, along with taste of course! P.S. Premier Protein (from Costco) is different than Pure Protein (from Trader Joes). 30 gr vs. 15 gr.

I'm on my first day of mushies today after 20 days of clear/full liquids. It feels like forever! The first two things I made were: gazpacho soup - great with avocado and plain greek yogurt and hits my cravings for salad; and CHOPPED LIVER!! I'm a Jewish girl and grew up on it - delicious and extremely high in protein and (fanfare) IRON. Having a 30 gr. Premier Protein shake every morning for breakfast, I've been able to get in the rest of my protein through food pretty easily. In the last couple days I've decided to try and up the iron content of my meals as well. I found a recipe for lentil/spinach soup that should be good. Lentils are another great source of iron as well as protein. I hope this might be helpful!

I had bad plantar fascitis at one point and was able to cure it with the stretches, and never going barefoot or wearing flats for a period of time. I think all the non-drug remedies people have spoken of here are excellent. If I were in your shoes (haha), I'd do all of them! It may have taken several months for mine to go completely away. I think prednisone is a very heavy drug and should be avoided if possible. I had to take it after a thyroid procedure and it totally screwed me up. Granted, I was probably taking higher doses than you are talking about. Nevertheless, I gained weight, became severely depressed after going off the prednisone, and developed early cataracts because of it.

I did plenty of binging before surgery. My BMI was less than 40, and, because I was having my surgery in Mexico, there was no pre-op diet requirement. I feel fortunate because I really doubt I could have coped with some of the pre-op diet and other requirements I see written about here. I probably gained 5-10 pounds pre-op, but it came off very quickly post-op.

does anyone know - if I'm able to get 100% RDA on iron & zinc, and keep up 70+ gr. protein per day, will it prevent or limit hair loss? I'm putting together a collection of iron-rich recipes and tracking my intake on sparkpeople.com. From what I gather, the protein intake alone won't do much. Of course, keeping up on the iron, especially, is going to be very important regardless. Thanks for any input.

Congratulations! Tomorrow is my 21st day and I'm feeling good too. I don't have the same results you have, but I'm pleased and if the trend continues, I'll be satisfied. I like this tool!