UXgrrl

They gave me little packets of Hibiclens (you can buy this stuff at drugstores like Walgreens) and told me to shower with it night before and morning of my procedure. You don't have to put it ALL over your body, just so you know. Just put it all over your belly, under your armpits and breasts, and in any skin folds. It's kind of odd because it's really runny and it doesn't foam like soap, and it smells very chemically. Make sure you let it sit for a minute or so before rinsing it off.

People sometimes say stupid things. Men especially have a tendency to say some completely asinine comments with no recognition of how they might sound. I agree with the points the others have made, about how his ego is involved and suddenly your weight loss success is forcing him to recognize that, no, he is just as responsible for his own weight problems as you were for yours. The big difference here is that YOU quit blaming someone else and did something about it. He isn't at that point yet. One of the many, many lessons I have learned on this journey is that, like quitting smoking or other addictions, people really have to be ready and prepared to make the change themselves. It doesn't sound like he's quite there yet. It's sad that he's trying to shoot you down because he's jealous; it's a natural, common reaction, but it still hurtful and I'm sorry you have to deal with that right now. Maybe you'll be the inspiration or role model he needs to clean up his act. He is in control about what goes in his mouth, just like you are -- when he has that realization, he'll get on board with you. Showing him how you make healthier choices, how to turn down sweets or second helpings, be more active, might help him now. I am constantly amazed at how our weight loss journeys have such a powerful effect on the people around us.

I have noticed that my kids have started much better food, health wise, now that I am sleeved. Before we would order a kid's meal for each one, and we all know what kinds of food are on the kids' menu. We've only been out to eat a handful of times since my surgery, but they are eating 1/2 to 2/3rds of my meal now, which is of course much healthier than the fried crap they got stuck with beforehand.

So sorry that so many of you seem to be having trouble with waitstaff. The city that I typically go out to eat in is home to a large medical institution and the waitstaff there seem to be trained to deal sensitively with people who might be going through a hard time... at least that was my first impression when I was interviewing for jobs in that town. We recently went out to Red Lobster and the adults ordered a shrimp cocktail each and an order of stuffed mushrooms to share, and the kiddos each had a kid's meal and a skewer of grilled shrimp. The bill came to $45 for the 4 of us and I STILL brought home enough shrimp for a 2nd meal. The waitress didn't bat an eye when we ordered so little food for the family or when I asked for a to-go box after eating about 4 shrimps and 2 mushrooms. DAMN, I can get used to this. Certainly easier on the wallet!

When I was going through my healthy eating class, it struck me that all the habits that we are being encouraged to adopt (smaller portions, Protein first, stop when full, etc) were things that we were routinely trying to "train" our kids NOT to do. We were fighting with them to stay at the table and finish everything on their plate, we were giving them things from the kids' menu which were fried or covered in cheese or primarily starches, we were expecting them to eat according our hectic, mismanaged schedule which frequently led to poor choices (like last-minute pizza or fast food). My partner and I are both planning to be sleeved eventually; I ended up going first. My new diet has caused a complete revolution in our household and has totally changed the way we eat and how we treat our kids with regards to food. They are 5 and (almost) 3 so we are lucky that they still in the impressionable stage and still have time to learn better habits. They of course turn their noses up at unfamiliar foods and regularly request things like mac & cheese, but now we make mac & cheese with SmartTaste Pasta and serve it with equal quantities of broccoli, or mix in a handful of frozen peas to cool it down quickly, or maybe toss in a little leftover diced chicken. We also invested in a couple of "Sneaky Chef" - type cookbooks. We're super lucky that our kids don't refuse to eat vegetables (in fact, my 3 year old won't eat anything but right now) but these books gave us great ideas for pumping up the nutrient and protein quotient of everyday foods. This is helpful for sleevers as well, since it packs more nutrition in to a smaller quantity of food. Anyway, we learn our eating habits at an early age and we unconsciously revert back to them during times of stress. There's a reason why "comfort food" exists. My parents weren't the best at healthy eating and I'm sure I picked up some bad habits during my childhood, so I am being extra vigilant to model good habits to my children. Maybe then they won't inherit my trouble with weight as well.

Hah! The normal-sized hospital gown will fit, so I won't be able to have that lovely hallways conversation when I discover, when half my clothes are already off, that they brought me the XL gown instead of the XXL gown.

(originally from Allrecipes.com) By the time you get to the mushy/soft food stage, you'd probably rather poke out your eyes with a stick then see another Protein shake. chicken seems to sit well with lots of sleevers, but it's hard to get the meat moist enough to eat comfortably. This is a fabulous recipe that gives a chicken that great rotisserie style flavor and makes it moist and tender enough to eat or puree. Original yield: two 4 lb whole chickens Ingredients 4 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons paprika 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon white pepper 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 2 onions, quartered 2 (4 pound) whole chickens Directions In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Place chickens in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving. My variation: Place one chicken directly into a pressure cooker on a wire rack, and cook for 25 minutes at high pressure. When finished, quickly release pressure. Let stand 10 minutes before carving. I quadruple the spice rub and keep it on hand, we make this so often.

Seems like most people have one incision which gives them trouble for an extended period of time. I have one on the far side of my stomach which is slowly healing but keeps opening (I've had it looked at, the doc says just be patient), but there's another one closer to my midline that healed just fine on the outside, but I had pretty bad muscle pain for about three weeks. It would flare up again anytime I tried to do anything physical. I took it as a signal to take it easy a little longer.

Typically I am better at planning and organizing logistics but since my surgery, it feels like my brain has gone out the window most days. So I am asking the VST hive mind for help here. In about two weeks I will be returning to work. For some reason I am uncharacteristically nervous about this, especially with regards to planning my food. I will just be about ready to transition to a normal diet per my surgeon's plan, which I know doesn't exactly mean go back to what I was eating before. I have a lot of questions: how much should I bring along? What should I expect to happen? What should I keep for emergencies? Here is some background: I have a "desk job" but I am never actually AT my desk. Typically I am in meetings in different buildings on campus, walking between them, or holed up in a vacant conference room working on my laptop to get ready for the next meeting. I have two different break rooms with microwaves and refrigerators that I can stash my stuff in, but frequently I have to carry something in my backpack all day without the benefit of refrigeration. There are cafeterias and vending machines around, but they don't serve the healthiest stuff, so I don't want to rely on that. Plus, it gets expensive. Also, I live out of town, requiring a 40 minute bus ride so I get up much earlier that I'd like, and I'm half-asleep so typically I am used to doing only the bare minimum to get out the door. Since surgery I've stopped drinking coffee, but that time has been replaced with getting my meds together. It's going to be a challenge to transition back to the 8-5 work day since I've been on my own relaxed sleep schedule since I've been on leave, so I expect my energy level to be quite low in the beginning. My job requires a lot of mental and creative energy, and a lot of communication, so the lag will probably be noticeable by others. Speaking of others... what about dealing with coworkers? Many of them, the ones I don't see frequently, don't know I was gone at all. Some know I was out on medical leave. Some know it was for stomach surgery, and a small handful know it was for WLS. I don't expect any nastiness from them at all, but I do expect some concerned questions when they see that I've lost weight. Basically I don't want them to speculate that there is something seriously wrong with me. What can I say that will ease their concerns without divulging too much personal information? I am a very private person and I don't want everyone in my business. Thanks in advance for any help or advice...!

YAY! isn't that a great way to start your day?? I too quit weighing myself if the numbers are the same too many days in a row.. just makes me angry and feel like giving up and not being careful about what I eat. Instead I take my body measurements or try on some old clothes that were too small to see if they fit yet.

I agree with the others. I am 4 weeks out and drinking Click Espresso Protein mixed with milk in the morning for Breakfast, which has about 55mg of caffeine (roughly equivalent to a cup of black tea; far cry from my usual 2 cups of fully-leaded coffee pre-op!) Those symptoms sound like dehydration, a Vitamin deficiency or something more sinister. Let us know what they say!

I agree with longer-life, I was, am, and always will be a foodie at heart. Eating smaller portions of healthier food presents a continual challenge, and luckily I will try almost anything. I need to learn how to scale back my recipes, though, I keep making too much food and then it sits in the fridge and goes bad... Still getting used to the fact that I am eating less than my preschooler...

We purchased a Cuisinart pressure cooker and have been cooking whole chickens in that, it produces very moist meat in record time, like 30 minutes! My partner found a recipe for a rub/seasoning blend that makes it taste just like rotisserie chicken, I kept raving about it to her afterwards. We also have a small chest freezer in our garage so we stock up when the organic whole chickens go on sale at our local supermarket. The pressure cooker is a little tricky to get the hang of but now I prefer it to the slow cooker, and you can't argue with how fast stuff gets done. We have a bad habit of starting the "what do we want for dinner?" discussion when we notice we're hungry, so if a trip to the store is required, we're usually STARVING by the time dinner is done. The pressure cooker helps a lot with that. It's also awesome with Beans, no soaking is required.

They were giving me my normal pill cocktail in the hospital as soon as I switched to purees (midway through the day after surgery). I've been living on adult tylenol "ez-tabs" which are red, sweet-tasting coated tablets.. not because of any surgery pain (that went away in the 2nd week) but because I have a terrible toothache I also have an incision site that is giving me all kinds of hell. It's on the far left side, towards my hip, and it looked fine when I left the hospital. It was a pretty large scab but I wasn't worried about it until it fell off and left a crater in my skin the size of my thumbnail. It was oozing constantly and getting all over my clothes and sheets so finally I went to my PCP to have it looked at. She said it was healing fine, and thought I might be allergic to the Neosporin I was putting on it. She switched me to Bactracin (another OTC antibiotic topical ointment just like Neosporin) and told me to keep on with my gauze-and-tape routine. That was a week ago. It's healing, very slowly, but the tape is ripping up my skin around it. I discovered a few undissolved stitches in there, which I clipped out with a nail clipper. Hopefully once the irritant is gone, it will finally close up. Ugh. That's going to leave a nice scar!

Castletree, you and I had surgery almost the same day (mine was Nov 30) and I also have widespread arthritis which is making it difficult to exercise. I also had surgery with the hopes that I could delay or prevent having to replace any more joints. For now, I'm just trying to keep moving and not spend so much time sitting in my recliner. There's plenty of housework to do, and the bending & lifting of loading/unloading the dishwasher, sweeping, picking up toys off the floor, etc. is about all I can handle right now. The important thing is to keep moving. I agree with the others that Water exercise is probably the best for us but I don't have access to a pool. The ground outside is icy so I'm getting some new workout discs for my Wii.

Here's the thing.. in the beginning, for some extended length of time (I've heard 4 weeks, 6 weeks, or even as long as 3 months) your sleeve is swollen from the surgery. This means it's possible that liquids can fill it up. However, it's also probably numb since a lot of nerves were severed during surgery, so it's conceivable that it won't be transmitting "full" signals the way it will be once it's fully healed. I am almost 1 month out and I'm just now starting to sense a stretching "full" signal from my stomach. Before then, all I was getting was sort of a "backing up" feeling in the back of my throat, which was uncomfortable.

People have been getting partial (even full) gastrectomies for decades... it's only been in the last 5-6 years that it's been being performed specifically for weight loss purposes. People have had severe ulcers, stomach cancer, etc. and have been having parts of their stomachs removed and the only significant side effect was weight loss. In your research you might have come across the fact that the sleeve gastrectromy for WLS was originally done as part of the D/S procedure... then they started doing it to "step down" patients who were too obese to withstand an open surgical procedure since the VSG could be done laproscopically... Personally I felt most comfortable going with the sleeve from the very beginning because it just seemed so "clean and simple". Combined with what I knew my personal food struggles (simple overeating) it made the most sense for me. I wasn't happy about the presence of (another*) foreign object in my body and I didn't want my intestines messed around with, since I already had an uneasy truce with them. From past attempts at diets, I knew that if I could lose enough weight in the beginning I could trust myself to stay committed to continuing. I also wanted something permanent. I honestly believe that I was born with a stomach too big for my metabolism. I've struggled with weight my entire life. Now I feel that I've corrected a situation that has done nothing but get me in trouble for as long as I can remember. (* I say "another" because I already have an artificial hip implant, which someone reminded me of when I explained my "foreign body" argument. Personally I didn't think they were equivalent but the jerk I was speaking to apparently did.) This is a tough decision. Honestly, for me, having the decision to have WLS of any kind was much less of a hurdle than which procedure to have. One some level, any kind of surgery requires a leap of faith and a trust in something bigger and more powerful than you are -- God, the universe, whatever it is to you. At some point the risks are outweighed by mounting evidence that your other weight-related problems are not going to be resolved on their own. That point comes at different times for different people. Please let us know if you need more information to make a decision either way... there is a wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum, and we're happy to answer questions. Best of luck!

Pookeyism, that's great advice about the zinc oxide treatment for the towel... I will definitely look this post up again if heat rashes become a problem (and I suspect they will).

What an interesting question! It's nice that they are asking you that ahead of time. One of the things that always bugs me in the hospital is the fact that they woke me up at all hours and the constant parade in and out was disruptive. I know that they have to do some things frequently, like check your blood pressure, etc, but in the night or when you're sleeping, I would prefer if they delayed non-critical cares or at least try to be very quiet when in the room. I also had an awesome hospital dietician visit me on the 2nd day, once my head was clearer and I could talk. The dietician I met with before surgery was kind of an old battleaxe and I didn't care for her attitude much. The one in the hospital sat and talked with me for over an hour and answered all sorts of questions, and had a very refreshing, realistic attitude towards the process. This was very helpful, because as we've seen on this board, every surgeon has a different approach to nutrition after WLS... even surgeons who practice in the same hospital. Kind of along those same lines... someone needs to sit with you and really go over what happens once you're discharged. What should you do if you run into problems? What constitutes a problem, exactly? Can't keep water down? In too much pain? Find out who to call for any possible problem, at any time day or night. It's so easy to get caught up in rushing to get home because you're excited to get out of the hospital that it's easy to forget to get all your questions answered. Once you're out of the hospital, you're on your own until your first follow up, and while this board is a FANTASTIC source of help, many times we will say to you "you should probably call your doctor". Make SURE you know who to call if you need it. Good luck!

Thanks for coming back and letting us know! Hope things are smoothing sailing for you from this point on.

What's potted meat? Like meat in a can? I went and bought canned chicken (works just like tuna in a can... in fact, tastes kind of like it too ) for quick chicken salads.

Once I really started trying to move around & exercise a bit (in my 2nd week) I was having a lot of internal pain in my left rectus abdominis muscle. It was my 2nd largest incision and it was healing fine; it was the first scab to fall off, in fact. Anyway, I was having a deep dull ache in that muscle that happened every time I tried to sit up or roll over in bed, when I got on my knees to look under the couch, laughed or coughed. Basically, any time I was using my stomach muscles. It was really annoying, and I spent a few nights with my heating pad, but it did go away eventually. Incidentally, I noticed that muscle was twitching quite a bit the first few days after surgery. Kind of like how your eyelid twitches sometimes. Clearly something traumatized it. I read through my surgical report when it came in the mail and it sounds like my stomach was removed through my largest incision, which was almost directly midline over my belly button, not the one on my far left side which has been having the hardest time healing, which many people say they had their stomach removed through. Your pain sounds muscular in origin. As long as you aren't having other problems, like your incisions are red or hot and you're not running a fever or having other signs of infection or a leak, you're probably fine. Don't forget that your muscles have sutures in them as well and are healing. Try a heating pad or something else warm for a few days, and take it easy.

I agree, lots of stuff sounded totally gross pre-op to me too but somehow I managed to deal with it after surgery. Puréed chicken was my favorite meat... The trick is to add enough moisture, because it can get a strange texture, almost stringy. The white meat breasts were the worst with that. I've transitioned to soft foods -- almost to normal diet -- but my fave mushy foods were rotisserie chicken meat (blenderized) and cottage cheese. Rotisserie chicken has such an awesome flavor, and it's very soft and moist. Oddly enough, puréed Beans, with different kinds of spices, were a hit too. I couldn't stand beans before and now I'm quite fond of them, especially cannellini (white beans). Lots of people like refried beans with a little of cheese on top. I also liked hummus and baba ganoush. I think the key for me was to eat food that naturally came puréed... Then I didn't feel deprived because I had to mess around with it. I tried to eat what my family was eating at night but I always felt a little sad putting dinner in the blender.

I've been taking -- on my dietician's recommendation -- generic kid's chewable multi-vitamins with iron from Walgreens. I don't know how much they were but I'm sure they were less than $5. Also I have to take 2 Tums Ultra a day. I've heard you can get sublingual B12 fairly cheap too. That covers me for vitamins. You'll get more variety and probably better taste if you spend more, but I don't think you have to go into debt over supplements, especially since they are so essential.

I had some pretty bizarre dreams during my first week or two. My sleep schedule -- never very regular to start with -- was completely whacked out and at times I couldn't tell if what I remembered happening really did or if it was a dream. I NEVER in my life dreamed about eating but I did during that time. I even convinced myself once that I could email doughnuts (I don't even like doughnuts much!) Things started to settle down at the end of the 2nd week. It's amazing what the body will do under stress and we all handle it differently. Sounds like you're handling things well so far... keep up the great work!