Katie713

I had my surgery 4/6 and it wasn't that bad. I had no real pain just some discomfort. I was given a morphine pump and used it a few times on the day of surgery, but was up walking around that same day and using the bathroom. At home I'm taking it easy but I can walk 45 minutes easily and am feeling great. The stages of dietary restrictions can be sort of boring, but time flies...started pureed/soft foods, and doing well with protein and liquid intake. Think positive!

Pain between the shoulder blades can also be gallstones. Keep an eye on that pain, and if you have episodes of exteme pain, you may need to see your doctor. Weight loss sometimes results in gallstones.

Protein water - like Isopure is what you need. Vitamin Shoppe and GNC have it, and I noticed Rite Aid has it too. It's kind of like Gatorade - a clear liquid with protein.

nectar makes a slew of fruity flavored Protein blends you mix with Water. Look the flavors up on the internet. The chocolate/vanilla shakes are not for everyone taste. Also, Isopure is a water like drink with protein. Good luck!

Someday soon, this will be me too. Great news!!

I also went through the Options program with Kaiser. I'm having my surgery Friday, April 6th. We are on the same track! Good luck with everything. I have been buying all my supplies, I got my chewable vitamins and Isopure from the Vitamin Shoppe. Got creamy soups, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello and popsicles and of course protein shakes. It's going to be a journey!!! I'm in southern California having surgery at West LA with Dr. Zelada. He's such a wonderful doctor!!

Good Luck. You have a great attitude.

Jimmy I'm having my surgery on Good Friday 4/6 and hope to be home before Easter Sunday. I feel pretty ready. I was in the Kaiser Options program for 12 weeks which was basically all done in the Fall of last year. It's education classes with a nutritionist and a behavioral specialist. I was cleared for surgery in January but selected April due to family commitments and work - and now I am just around the corner. Bought my chewable Vitamins, started buying some of the items I am going to need once I get sleeved, Soups and Protein shakes. I'm not afraid of the procedure itself - just hoping that all goes well and that I don't run into any complications. How about you? What are you feeling? It's a journey, for sure. Katie

Try this website http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

You've got my vote. You go girl !

By now you should be on full liquids moving toward pureed foods from what I've been taught. Mornings might be cream of wheat or oatmeal made with milk or soy milk, creamy Soups for lunch, full Protein shakes in between, and of course lots of fluids. Your body IS hungry. Of course it is, and it's probably wondering what happened to it's fuel source. This is one reason you lose so much weight in the beginning through this process of healing. Good luck!

I checked the nutritional information online and it indicates it is a hyrdrolized blend with whey isolate. This meets the guidelines and should be easily absorbed by your body. Go for it. I plan to do the same thing and use a variety of Protein supplements!!

Perhaps it is what they call a stricture, a narrowing of a passage way in th body. This could have happened by virtue of scar tissue up near the top of your sleeve that is now created a narrowing near the esophagus. They have a medical procedure to stretch the narrowing open from what I've read on this website.

Your stomach is still probably swollen from the surgery. As it heals over time, it should loosen up. The time it takes to heal is a part of the dramatic weight loss period and hence why you start with liquids and progress to solids slowly.

I'll be sleeved in April, but am on a 1200 calorie restricted diet and when I look at the times when I definately plateaued or gained it was usually from snacking as you've described. A little nacho dip and a few tortilla chips, a little bit of a high calorie dessert like cheesecake. A couple potato chips with real sour cream dip, a tortilla with butter. Not much, but these items were dense and high in calories or fat or starch, enough to stall my weight loss. This journey I'm on now is about losing the excess weight and when I am on track, logging in my food and staying in my calorie range, with planned goodies so that I don't feel deprived, I continue to lose consistently. It just brings it home...the statement that the sleeve is just a tool in this journey of ours to lose weight. The proof is in the puddin !! Thanks for your post!!

I'm pre-op, getting sleeved in April. I am practicing the slower eating technique as well as not drinking with meals now and have been for the last month. I hope this will ingrain the habit before the surgery so that this doesn't happen to me.

This is the best description I've read yet. I'll be sleeved in April....so good to know!

Here is some of the basic advantages to having the sleeve, I pasted the information from the Bariatric.us website. I went through the 12 week Kaiser pre-op program and received tons of information on the surgery and on the nutritional requirements before and after surgery. There are tons of success stories on this website and also alot of issues, mostly in the early phases of recovery after surgery. Most long term sleevers wish they had done the surgery long ago. I will be sleeved in April of this year, and I have been on restricted calories since last September and already lost nearly 40 pounds. I am looking forward to the next leg of this journey. The effects of gastric sleeve surgery are: restricts food intake controls hunger Following gastric sleeve surgery, food continues to move through the digestive system naturally, from the time it enters the stomach to the time it is released into the small intestine through the pyloric valve. The difference is that after surgery the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time is greatly reduced. The surgery also helps to control hunger, because the upper portion of the stomach that produces the hunger stimulating hormone Ghrelin is removed during surgery. Advantages Intestines not cut, rerouted, or bypassed, so does not cause malabsorption or nutritional deficiencies Keeps pyloric valve intact, thus reducing ulcer risk and avoiding dumping syndrome Food does not get stuck on way into stomach, as is possible with gastric banding Can usually be performed laparoscopically, even on very obese patients Safer and less complex than a combined restrictive/malabsorptive procedure, especially for patients with health problems Option for patients with health concerns or medical issues, such as anemia, Crohn’s disease, anti-inflammatory drug use, or prior surgery, that prevents them from other bariatric procedures Does not require a medical implant (gastric band) or adjustments Average weight loss of 30% to 50% excess weight in first eighteen months May be converted to duodenal switch for additional weight loss Revision option for gastric band patients

The effects of gastric sleeve surgery are: restricts food intake controls hunger Following gastric sleeve surgery, food continues to move through the digestive system naturally, from the time it enters the stomach to the time it is released into the small intestine through the pyloric valve. The difference is that after surgery the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time is greatly reduced. The surgery also helps to control hunger, because the upper portion of the stomach that produces the hunger stimulating hormone Ghrelin is removed during surgery. I've gone through the Kaiser Options 12 week pre-op program with the intention of having weight loss surgery, after many years of yo-yo dieting and always gaining back the weight. I'm 56 and I needed to do something very proactive to give me longevity and a more active lifestyle. I got really tired of being sedentary! Tired of needing a belt extender on an airplane, tired of never sitting in a booth in a restaurant! In the 12 week program, we were expected to lose 10% before being eligible for surgery and put on a restricted calorie diet, mine started at 1400-1700 calories for six weeks, then 1200-1400 for the next six weeks, and after that 1200, which is ongoing while I wait for surgery. The post op information indicates that the dietary restrictions after surgery, once fully healed, are to eat mostly Protein, then fruits & veggies, then carbs. The new stomach pouch can only hold about 3-4 ounces in the beginning, so this is not much food, but you feel FULL after eating very little, and the stomach is no longer "stretchy". You have to supplement with protein about 80-100 grams per day. This means for most people supplementing with Protein shakes between meals and then meals with high protein as a main component. I can envision having some carbs after surgery, but this will not be my mainstay. I have lost a good amount of weight even now at 1200 calories and 30 minutes a day of walking and some resistance work and strength training. I take Vitamins everyday and drink at least 64 oz of liquid daily. Mostly, if you feel better having some carbs in your life, you would be better to switch out to whole grains. I do this by having whole grain crackers, reduced fat triscuit and wheat thins, whole grain bread, brown rice (learned to love this) and whole wheat english muffins, Pasta, etc. Even tortilla chips are whole grain, so I can have my chips and salsa and still lose weight. In the big scheme, you can't do things the old way. You have to eat healthy and do the work, by monitoring your intake, and drinking Fluid and getting excercise. The sleeve is a tool not a simple fix. I'm going for it.

You're gonna love the Options Program, you will get so much information and make new friends too. I finished the 12 week program and am now awaiting surgery this Spring. I've already met my surgeon. Check with the Kaiser benefits team to see what your co-pay might be, it's not the same for everyone, it depends on your plan. Luckily I was fully covered with no co-pay. I've already lost alot of weight just going through the program. Good Luck!

What a great attitude! This is what I am truly hoping for - I should be having my surgery in early April. Just awesome!!

Yes, it counts. I specifically asked this with the nutritionist at Kaiser. All your liquids count.

I had to "copy" the actual ticker and "paste" it into my signature. That was the only thing that worked, I kept just getting the code showing up the other way. Good Luck

You should be able to. I can't see why not!!