Newfoundlove

Hopefully they gave you some good liquid pain medication? If they did, don't be shy, take it. If they did not, call your doctor and get some - you'll be glad you did! I had to take it for four days and then after for a few days at night until the pain subsided. The other thing that I did was to press a small pillow to my abdomen when I got in/out of bed, or up/down sitting. I saw a post a while ago where someone used a stuffed animal for the same purpose.

My NUT said that Multi-vitamins are not effective unless you take them with food. Therefore, I take one of my Bariatric multi-vitamins with breakfast and with dinner. I take them usually when I am half-way through each meal. I've not had any problems. I take my Iron at lunch with my food too. The other vitamins I take are Biotin (because there's only 25% in my multi-vitamin), Vitamin D, and my PPI. I take all of these during breakfast too. I have always found that my vitamins go down better with my food. I have two others that I haven't added in yet because they are so large - Fish Oil and Evening Primrose Oil (for hot flashes). I'm four weeks out so I'm going to wait a week or more before I try to get those down.

Well, yogurt is considered a fluid actually so you will be able to eat more. I'm four weeks out and can almost eat a 6 oz carton (not quite, but almost). Cottage cheese may be similar as it is not really that dense and consists of a lot of liquid. I can eat four ounces of cottage cheese but I tend to eat it a little too fast probably so I get full on it.

I didn't have to stop any Vitamins before surgery, but every surgeon requires something different. How about drinking Vitamin water, that might help. Also, check with your surgeon and see if he will allow you to take the chewable bariatric vitamins during your pre-op. I really can't see why he wouldn't let you. You would take them with a Protein drink and they absorb into the system, so I can't see why they would be of harm. They also make liquid glucosamine so maybe he'll let you take that as well. I know the B-12 is an under the tongue vitamin that dissolves and gives you energy, so I would ask that you be allowed that one too.

I am on week three and my nutrition plans for soft foods includes any ground meats with sauce. I did have a little bit of spaghetti sauce with italian sausage (1/4 cup) and had no problem and I really chewed and chewed and until it was really soft mush. I also had ground chicken patties, chewed them really well and they went down fine. My NUT says their soft plan is to help us acclimate to chewing our food really well, eating slow and making sure all foods we eat are very moist. By chewing, we add a lot of saliva to our food and it makes it easier to go down. I had pork tenderloin a couple of nights ago that was super moist, but I took really small bites, chewed and chewed (I don't count chews or anything) and had no problem with that either. I read here though that people who are in the phase of eating regular foods still have issues. Some foods are just not going to agree with you. I think if we diligently follow the plans designed for us by our surgeons or nutritionists and try different foods, we find out what works for us and what does not.

As has already been mentioned here, the full feeling is different for everyone. For me, it is burbing and pressure coming from my stomach. At the same time, something just tells me in my head, I am full. Last night, I was really enjoying the really small swedish meatballs I was eating. I ate two and a half of them and as I was eating the last bite, I was getting the symptoms above but ignored them so I took one bite to many. One of the other sleevers I follow calls it her OBTM (one bite too many) look. I know exactly what she means. I didn't get sick, but I was pretty uncomfortable for a few minutes. I never got full on liquids and my NUT said to drink as much as you can. You cannot drink too much - especially water. I know that the Protein drinks were thicker, and while I didn't get full exactly, it did take me longer to drink those. Once I started on purees, I started getting the full feelings. Now on soft foods, I totally understand the full feelings.

My surgeon had me start multi-vitamins after three days, and B-12 (sublingual) about five days after that. They are chewable biatric vitamins. I also started powder form calcium citrate which I added to my water in the morning. When I started purees I also added a chewable Iron, and B-12 vitamin at lunch time. I'm four weeks out and this week started adding back in Vitamin D, Zinc and Biotin, since they are small. I still cut the Zinc though as those tablets are still a little large for me to get down at once. I want to add in the Fish Oil and Evening Primrose Oil but those capsules are pretty large and I can't cut them or chew them so I'm still waiting to get clearance from my surgeon for those. Other than chewable vitamins, I would check with your doctor to determine when you can take them.

I'm a little bit of a slow loser I think (which is okay with me). I lost 17 pounds in the two-week pre-op low carb diet but only 15 since surgery on May 3 and I haven't had any food that are cheat foods. As long as I see the scale going down two or three pounds a week I am totally fine with that. I expect a stall at some point and I'll power through it. I haven't added much exercise yet but have an appt. tomorrow with my NUT and Fitness Consultant. I think when I add some exercise in and get my calories up a little, I might see a larger loss, but who knows what my body is going to decide to do. So far, a little peanut butter is the only thing I've tried that has not agreed with my sleeve. One of the things I have noticed is that I am much more 'in tune' to what my body is telling me. If I am a little bit down on my water, I get tired, so I up my H2O. I am pretty much able to gulp down water now too, so I can swig a glass before bed if I need to. I also had my best NSV ever and posted it in a different section. Put a pair of pants on and they promptly fell to the ground! My husband had to come in and see what I was laughing so hard at. I'm wearing clothes in my closet that I haven't worn for many years and other clothes that I wore that were tight now fit really well. It's such an incredible feeling and a great morale booster!

I'm three weeks out and my NUT told me not to be surprised if I hit a stall about this time. Therefore, I'm not getting on the scale until next Friday. Do a search on this forum for Three Week Stall and you'll see other posts about this. They can last a week or two apparently.

Good luck Newfmom. I'm assuming you have Newfies from your screen name. I do too, hence the reason for my screen name.

I can get in 60 grams of Protein a day, but I'm eating really protein rich foods like cottage cheese, greek yogurt and fish. My morning snack is Protein shake made with Crystal Lite Margarita Mix, 1 scoop unjury Unflavored Protein (20 grams), and my Calcium citrate (powder form). I put this in a 24 ounce bottle and drink it throughout the morning. So it works for me because I get in a good amount of Water plus my protein. Most days I am right at the goal of 60 grams that my NUT has me on for now.

I am fairly newly sleeved - just three weeks, but I have had no regrets. But then, I've had no issues either. A little bit of constipation, but Colace fixes that. From immediately after surgery I was able to drink fluids without discomfort and have been able to get in 64 ounces since day 3. After 7 days I started taking a few chewable Vitamins and have had no issues there either (although I don't particulary enjoy their taste). I have had no food intolerances (except for the very small amount of Peanut Butter that I mixed in to my chocolate shake - learned off that one). I'm also using a cookbook to try different foods allowed. Even though I can have very little food (usually about a 1/3 cup now), I like the flavor of the food and the different textures. I also love to cook, and I promised myself that I would not let my surgery change that. I can still have the food I love, just in much smaller amounts. Last night I made a baked cod with a lime and coconut milk sauce (1 T). I also steamed up some broccoli and cheese. I only had two pieces of the broccoli and about an ounce of the cod, but it was delicious and I was completely satisfied. I would imagine however, that if I had a lot of problems with food intolerances, etc. after surgery, I might have moments of regret. I do know that my joints already feel better because they are not having to support the 30 pounds I've lost so far, and having my pants literally fall off me today when I was getting dressed put a gigantic smile on my face. I can't wait to be able to have some fashionable clothes in my closet again! Hang in there, it will get better. Everyone says that, and it really is true. Stay positive!

Have you tried substituting a meal with a protein drink? Or maybe even a couple of meals just to see if that will jump start the loss? That's probably what I would do if all else failed. That, and of course, exercising as you've already suggested. Isn't it funny (well maybe not so funny) that things that used to work, like low carb, don't work now?

Awesome NSV!

Had my first NSV yesterday. As I was getting ready for work, I put on a pair of slacks that were rather tight before surgery. I pulled them on, zipped them up, and they promptly fell to the ground! I laughed out loud as I was thinking about the YouTube video of the grandpa singing the Pants on the Ground rap song. This is a great memory for my first NSV.

I am three weeks out now. My NUT lets me have these in the soft food stage as long as I put some type of sauce on them. I put a small amount of low fat gravy on them. I also chewed them until they are mush. I could barely eat a half patty. You could probably put some chicken broth along with the patty into a blender and make them in to a really soft mush, but I did okay with the sauce and chewing.

I was sleeved on May 3. I only weigh myself once a week and won't do that until tomorrow. Last week I was down 24 pounds.

Costco carries them under the Sabatino's brand as well. I had half a patty last night for dinner. The are soft enough that my NUT let's me have them on the soft-food phase. I put a tiny little bit of gravy on them. Went down great! I love they have that much protein too!

My surgeon has a nutrionist that maps out the food stages and what we can and should not eat. They want us eating five meals a day. They call the mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals snacks, but want them to be high protein like Greek yogurt or cotage chees, cheese sticks or a protein drink for now. I'm still in the early stages though so at each appt they will be Checking how I am doing and make adjustments accordingly. Right now they want me to get in 60 grams of protein. I get pretty close to that daily. In a couple of months though I know they will want me to get to 80 grams of protein. I know that I've seen a lot of posts on here from people that say protein with every single meal and eat it first. I'm really enjoying trying new foods that are high in protein (santino's feta, spinach & chicken patties for instance - 21 grams in one patty - get them at Costco) and knowing I'm eating healthy, even if it isn't that much food.

I am almost three weeks out now. I didn't get hungry until this week, but I started back to work and while I'm eating about every three hours, i feel hunger before dinner. I think it's because I am drinking all the time during the day, but tend to not drink driving home (I have a little bit of a commute) and then I'm getting dinner ready for the rest of the family and I'm pretty famished by dinner time. But, 1/4th cup of food and I'm usually full.

My surgeon had me start on Mushies two weeks out after one week on clear and one week on Purees. Purees are pretty much anything you can grind up to be almost as smooth as baby food. I did make a shrimp salad puree that was pretty yummy, but mostly I did cream Soups, cottage cheese, chili with sour cream, Beans, greek yogurt with no fruit or added sugar. I have a Magic Bullet so I could grind everything to just the right consistency but a food processor or blender will work too. I could bascially eat 1/4 cup. Instructions from my NUT have these items on the mushy/soft foods stage which I stay on for two weeks and then I graduate to regular food: Any soups Cottage Cheese Soft Cheese Any cooked fish Ground meats with sauces Very soft vegetables except for peas and corn Yogurt - especially Greek, you can use the kind with fruit (no seeds) now Applesauce Hummus Really, anything that you don't have to chew too much. You'll still want to chew your food because this stage is also training you to chew your food and eat slowly. I started the soft/mushy stage last Saturday and depending on the food get down between 1/4 to 1/3 cup. I eat five times a day, but my morning snack is my Protein shake. I really eat slowly though (which is a challenge at work!) and so it takes me 20 minutes to eat my food. Last night I had spaghetti sauce made with turkey italian sausage - about 1/4 cup. It went down great. I haven't had any problems though with any of the foods except for Peanut Butter. It has too much sugar in it I think. I put less than a teaspoon in my Protein Drink well blended and boy did I pay for it. I try and keep to mostly Proteins because I am eating so little food and I need the energy so I haven't really added in any carbs like cooked potatoes. Yogurt for Breakfast with some Protein powder in it is my staple and cottage cheese for a snack. If you can't do cottage cheese, try skim milk. Good luck!

Yes, that's normal. For me that taste started going away when I started on purees and now I'm on mushies and it is totally gone.

I still can't stomach the Premier Protein drinks. I can choke them down if I have to but am trying other sources. I LOVE cottage cheese and Greek yogurt but currently can only eat 1/4 cup at a time and I'm 17 days out so I still need to supplement. Two days ago I made a Mediterranean Tuna Salad which is really good and I get a good amount of protein from the tuna. At this time my NUT wants me to get 60 grams of protein at least, so I''m still supplementing with shakes (and probably always will). I add Unjury Vanilla protein powder to my yogurt too. I did find a decent mixture that is currently working for me. 1 scoop Unjury unflavored Protein Powder, 1 tsp of Crystal Light Margarita mix powder, and I mix this with about 24 ounces of water as I have a 26 ounce water bottle I use daily. I drink this usually in the morning and can get it down pretty easily within an hour or so. I get 20 grams of protein along with a good amount of water too. Tonight I am making Tilapia for family dinner so I should get a decent amount of protein in from that and these other sources.

tjmom -- I had my telephone appt with my NUT yesterday too. Who is your NUT? Mine is Barb. I really like her. Two years ago Melanie was my NUT when I was trying to get my nutrition on a better track but she now pretty much just runs the company although she did my pre-op class with me. Glad to hear you are doing well. Glad we are now on the Soft foods phase--lots more options. Staying Positive!

Hi Robin - I hope everything works out with your insurance company. Everyone's recovery is so different after surgery. I've had no complications so if I had a desk job that didn't require me to do too much, I could probably have gone back to work after a week. I do a lot of computer work also, but I also manage people and have a generally high-stress job. My surgeon was pretty adamant about not going back until two weeks because stress can affect surgery recovery in so many ways. He is okay with me working from home, checking emails, etc. Yesterday I worked for about seven hours with several breaks. Today, I'm a little bit more tired and will probably knock off after six hours or so. I do now others that have gone back after a week so they'll probably weigh in. Good luck!