traceyinflorida

I am sorry you are feeling so bad today. I don't know if this will help, but I am now two months out and I will share my experience with you. After the first few days I felt wonderful. However, I found it to be a bit of a rollercoaster. Sometimes feeling great, other times feeling bad. By week two and three I found myself more tired, head aches, and nausea. There were three things that would trigger feeling bad: pushing too hard (we were on a driving and walking tour visiting colleges for my son), eating some new things, and getting somewhat dehydrated. I can tell you that with each week that passes, I feel better. Most of the time now, I feel pretty normal, other than I can't eat like I used to. Aside from taking time for your body to heal, it also takes some time to find a rhythm and the right foods for eating and drinking Water. I learned that one bite too much can mean the difference between feeling satisfied and feeling sick for hours. Most of the time, I have learned when to stop eating so I don't feel sick, but I still make mistakes. (last night being one of them). I also have learned that I feel run down and nauseos if I do not get enough fluids during the day. Finally, there are just some days for me (thankfully very few of them) that nothing agrees with my stomach. It may be that some combination of the the other things I mentioned may have come into play, or it may just be my stomach still healing. Overall though, I feel like I have been through the worst of it and am at the point where the benefits have far outweighed any of the bumps in the road along the way.
I hope you feel better soon! Try to take it easy, get some rest and drink lots of fluids today.

I am sorry you are feeling so bad today. I don't know if this will help, but I am now two months out and I will share my experience with you. After the first few days I felt wonderful. However, I found it to be a bit of a rollercoaster. Sometimes feeling great, other times feeling bad. By week two and three I found myself more tired, head aches, and nausea. There were three things that would trigger feeling bad: pushing too hard (we were on a driving and walking tour visiting colleges for my son), eating some new things, and getting somewhat dehydrated. I can tell you that with each week that passes, I feel better. Most of the time now, I feel pretty normal, other than I can't eat like I used to. Aside from taking time for your body to heal, it also takes some time to find a rhythm and the right foods for eating and drinking Water. I learned that one bite too much can mean the difference between feeling satisfied and feeling sick for hours. Most of the time, I have learned when to stop eating so I don't feel sick, but I still make mistakes. (last night being one of them). I also have learned that I feel run down and nauseos if I do not get enough fluids during the day. Finally, there are just some days for me (thankfully very few of them) that nothing agrees with my stomach. It may be that some combination of the the other things I mentioned may have come into play, or it may just be my stomach still healing. Overall though, I feel like I have been through the worst of it and am at the point where the benefits have far outweighed any of the bumps in the road along the way.
I hope you feel better soon! Try to take it easy, get some rest and drink lots of fluids today.

I had surgery two months ago. I felt exactly as you did. Eating and drinking were a CHORE. (well at that point, drinking and trying to find some way of putting Protein into a palatable liquid form) I kept thinking, what have I done to myself? I found that once I was busy again (and felt well enough to be busy) it helped a lot. Now that I am able to eat real food again, it has gotten much easier. I still struggle a bit to find things that I can eat that I like and make sure I am getting all my Protein (which I honestly do not count and measure as I should) but it is not a constant focus any more. I feel life is almost completely normal now. The only difference now is that I am down 51 pounds since pre-op diet and surgery and food is not a constant monkey on my back any more.
Hang in there. It gets way better. I found looking at peope's before and after photos, reading topics like six month and one year sleevaversary really helped. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!!

Welcome, Wally! Congratulations on your approval! It is a lot to get your mind around, but I can safely say that while I had many second thoughts before surgery, I have none now! It was the best thing I have ever done for myself. You will likely be saying the same after you have yours done and start to see improvements in the sleep ap, diabetes and hypertension! Good luck to you. We are all here to support you!

Bigdog, I wish you wouldn't leave. It sounds like, as lessofmeismore said, you are a very compassionate and caring person. Most of the posts I see on this site are from compassionate and caring people trying to support one another. None of us is an expert, but it is really helpful to learn from eachother's experience and knowlege. Unfortunately, you are right, there are a few posters who come across as very judgemental and it is very unproductive. I always try to remember that text carries no inflection so it easy to take the intention or meaning of someone's words the wrong way. However, if someone is truely being mean or judgemental, chances are likely they are very unhappy or insecure themselves and that is their way of masking it. It may be hard, but I suggest try to forgive them and move on to the more supportive and productive posts.
I hope to continue to see you around here, but if not I still wish you all the best in your journey to a healthy you!

Bigdog, I wish you wouldn't leave. It sounds like, as lessofmeismore said, you are a very compassionate and caring person. Most of the posts I see on this site are from compassionate and caring people trying to support one another. None of us is an expert, but it is really helpful to learn from eachother's experience and knowlege. Unfortunately, you are right, there are a few posters who come across as very judgemental and it is very unproductive. I always try to remember that text carries no inflection so it easy to take the intention or meaning of someone's words the wrong way. However, if someone is truely being mean or judgemental, chances are likely they are very unhappy or insecure themselves and that is their way of masking it. It may be hard, but I suggest try to forgive them and move on to the more supportive and productive posts.
I hope to continue to see you around here, but if not I still wish you all the best in your journey to a healthy you!

I was all set to do this two years ago and then talked myself out of it, convinced that I could do it on my own. I don't know why I convinced myself of this, because I would always lose 30-40 lbs and then gain it all back and then some. By the end of my "doing it on my own" I weighed 20 lbs more. At that point I made up my mind to go through with it and had six months of required NUT counceling for insurance. During that time I had plenty of time to contemplate and second guess. I had cold feet all the way up to surgery day. I was sleeved on June 4th. I have lost more weight I have ever been able to lose doing it on my own and I know it will stay off this time. I feel wonderful and healthy. I still have 65 more pounds to go, but now I have the tool to actually do it this time. My only regret is that I did not do this two years ago!

I did not have to do this twice, but I can understand your fear because I completely went through that. I was scared to death of surgery!! I almost walked out of the hospital the morning of surgery. I had to literally make myself put one foot in front of the other to go in. The funny thing was that afterward I realized it was so easy! They give you meds to make you calm when you get in there. One minute they are rolling you into the OR, then next they are waking you up to tell you are done and did great! All the things I feared or worried about were for nothing.
Okay, so now you are on day two of pre-op. Your shrink said there is nothing wrong with you mentally, so now it is just time to power through it. Here's what I did to help. I wrote down all the reasons I hated being fat. All the emotional tolls, all the practical things like having nothing that fits, etc., and all the scary health things that go with being overweight. It was a really long list. Then I wrote down all the things I was looking forward to being a healthier weight like keeping up with my kids, climing stairs, shopping in the regular stores, riding rollercoasters, etc. Also a very long list. Whenever I got scared or things got tough. I went back and read the list. It really helped keep me on track. Keep busy with other things during pre-op diet to keep your mind off food and your pending surgery. Go for walks, go do something fun with your husband, read a book, watch the Olympics, go to work etc. The first four days of pre-op diet are the hardest because your body is protesting the lack of sugar and carbs. Once those are out of your system, you stop craving them! Just keep reminding yourself that this is only a finite period of time. Once you have your surgery, you will no longer be hungry!!
It's going to be OKAY. You CAN DO THIS and YOU ARE WORTH IT! Hang in there and I will pray for you to successfully get through this and conquer your fears. Good luck and keep us posted.

I can understand your concerns and wanting to be fully prepared prior to going in. I will start by saying everyone is different in how things go for them post surgery. Also anyone having problems is more likely to post on here in the early days reaching out for support, so it may seem that there are a lot of problems for people in the first few weeks post op.
My experience was pretty good. I was terrified of having surgery, but my need for getting to a healthy weight overrulled my fears. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that part went. Roll in to room, asleep before I even realized what was happening, woke up and was surprised to be done. I was off pain meds by the following morning. The effects of anesthesia and the pain meds were ganging up to make me very nauseous so I stopped the meds and felt sore, but manageable. I was miserable, day two in the hospital. Just tired, bored, hated the bed, nauseous. When I got over my pity party and really started walking, I started to feel a lot better. By day three, I felt really good and was sent home. Sipping Water was really hard in the beginning. I just really had to focus on SIPPING and not trying to drink. broth helped, but I would have to reheat it constantly because it took so long to get down that it would get cold. Protein shakes suddenly tasted terrrible to me (but I like them again now) and were really hard for me to get down. I could only drink an ounce the first day and slowly built up to four ounces. I found that each day got a little better. For me, pain and nausea were not an issue, but getting in the liquids was a chore. By the end of two weeks I was really craving texture and flavor of food so was happy to get to pureed. By week four I could drink all eight ounces of a Protein shake, but it still takes me about 30 minutes. I could only eat a few small bites of food before I was full. I am eight weeks out now and feel great. Making sure that I get all my Protein and Water in is still a bit of a chore. It's really just a matter of planning well and executing the plan (both things I need to get better at) But the good news is that I have very few cravings. I have learned the signals of when I am full and when to stop. Sometimes, if something I am eating is really good, I am dissapointed that I had so little of it before I get full, but I get over it when I step on the scale and see the progress that I have made!
I hope this has helped a little. Like I said before, everyone's journey is different, but the common thread that I have seen on this forum from the veterean sleevers who are four months out and beyond is that most have seen incredible weight loss and are really happy they did it, despite some of the bumps and struggles along the way.

I was all set to do this two years ago and then talked myself out of it, convinced that I could do it on my own. I don't know why I convinced myself of this, because I would always lose 30-40 lbs and then gain it all back and then some. By the end of my "doing it on my own" I weighed 20 lbs more. At that point I made up my mind to go through with it and had six months of required NUT counceling for insurance. During that time I had plenty of time to contemplate and second guess. I had cold feet all the way up to surgery day. I was sleeved on June 4th. I have lost more weight I have ever been able to lose doing it on my own and I know it will stay off this time. I feel wonderful and healthy. I still have 65 more pounds to go, but now I have the tool to actually do it this time. My only regret is that I did not do this two years ago!

Congratulations!! You nailed my thoughts I have when I see the one year sleevaversaries. I wonder if I will ever get there. I am glad to see that you had the same thoughts and have made it there! I also have two teenagers and worry about embarrasing them by being so overweight. It's a busy time for us with a senior graduating this year and a sophomore, so I know that year is going to fly by. Hopefully I will be as skinny as you by my son's graduation!
Thank you for sharing!

Historically I have not been the best at following through with diets, weight loss, etc. either. This surgery has been very different for me.
I had the surgery last Thursday, so I can only give you my perspective of the past week.
Last Wednesday I was freakin out with anxiety. I was excited at the same time, but I'd never had surgery and all these things were going through my head. Luckily, I'd worn myself out at work and on the liquid diet so I pretty much passed out that ***ht at like 8pm. My surgery was Thursday morning, the first cut was going to be at 7am. I arrived at 6am. They did blood work to do a pregnancy test (They do on all females of child bearing age) and then sent me up to pre-op. Pre-op I was getting a little more nervous. They gave me a shot of Lovenox in my side and then I met my doctor and anesthesiologist. They gave me a sedative and wheeled me into the surgical room. The last thing I really remember is getting on the operating table. When I woke up I was in recovery. I had a ton of gas in my abdomen from the Co2 they had pumped in. It felt like I couldn't breathe well so I kept trying to sit myself up. I told the two nurses I didn't think I could breathe and they reassured me it was just the gas and that my oxygen saturation was at 100%. Thankfully that didn't last long and they moved me into my hospital room.
Once I was in the hospital room I was in quite a bit of pain. They had me on a PCA (Patient controlled analgesia) pump so I could push a button every 8 minutes and get some morphine. You had better believe I used it that first day. I felt a little nauseous and the nurses were more than happy to give me medication that took care of the nausea really quickly. I used the pain pump as I needed and ended up being fine. About 4 hours after surgery they woke me up and had me walk around. The first walk was the hardest. Getting out of bed it really hurt, felt like I was stretching hurt muscles (which I was in my abdomen) but once I got walking it felt better. The walking helped break up with gas a lot. I also used Gas-X strips every so often. The worst thing about this was that they put me on a catheter while in surgery and every time I walked I felt like I had to pee but couldn't. I can for sure tell you that the catheter was probably the only part of the process that made me pissed off, lol. It was also kind of sore. Thankfully, they took it out the second morning.
I had a hernia repair also, though it was small, only a couple stitches per my surgeon. The worst part that I attribute to the hernia repair is I kept getting hiccups. They were painful. Thankfully, every time I got hiccups I would get my incentive spirometer, do a couple deep breaths, and they would go away.
Day 2 was pretty uneventful. More walking, more pain pump. It was not as painful as the first day. I got a ton of sleep, which helped a lot.
At the end of day 2 I was able to pass urine after the removal of the catheter and had passed my leak test so they allowed me to go home. They discharged me on liquid Lortab, which is not as good as morphine =p The first ***ht and day after at home I spent a lot of time resting. I wasn't able to lay flat in my bed so I slept in the chair. I was all around pretty uncomfortable. My hiccups had stopped. I was able to get down some liquids.
Every day since then has been up hill. Today is day 6 or so post-op and I can really say that I feel good and have been feeling good for about 2 or 3 days now. I can get up easily. Most of my gas has dissipated. I am able to eat and drink without much pressure or pain. I can sleep in my own bed, and can even sleep on my side now for short periods of time. I get up and down stairs with little effort. I have been getting in walks at least twice a day. I feel great. I have a little bit of pain here and there, but I take my pain medications only as needed and at ***ht before bed.
It was so much better than I thought it would be. I was really worried, and my fears were unfounded. I know not everyone has the best experience, but it has been a great experience for me. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don't have any hunger and so far the only thing I have been frustrated about is when a friend ate Chinese food in front of me (It's my favorite). Other than that it's been smooth sailing. The only things I have to watch out for are dehydration (It's VERY easy to not drink enough water) and getting in Protein can be difficult.
I hope this puts your mind at ease a little. Let us know how your surgery goes =)

I did not have to do this twice, but I can understand your fear because I completely went through that. I was scared to death of surgery!! I almost walked out of the hospital the morning of surgery. I had to literally make myself put one foot in front of the other to go in. The funny thing was that afterward I realized it was so easy! They give you meds to make you calm when you get in there. One minute they are rolling you into the OR, then next they are waking you up to tell you are done and did great! All the things I feared or worried about were for nothing.
Okay, so now you are on day two of pre-op. Your shrink said there is nothing wrong with you mentally, so now it is just time to power through it. Here's what I did to help. I wrote down all the reasons I hated being fat. All the emotional tolls, all the practical things like having nothing that fits, etc., and all the scary health things that go with being overweight. It was a really long list. Then I wrote down all the things I was looking forward to being a healthier weight like keeping up with my kids, climing stairs, shopping in the regular stores, riding rollercoasters, etc. Also a very long list. Whenever I got scared or things got tough. I went back and read the list. It really helped keep me on track. Keep busy with other things during pre-op diet to keep your mind off food and your pending surgery. Go for walks, go do something fun with your husband, read a book, watch the Olympics, go to work etc. The first four days of pre-op diet are the hardest because your body is protesting the lack of sugar and carbs. Once those are out of your system, you stop craving them! Just keep reminding yourself that this is only a finite period of time. Once you have your surgery, you will no longer be hungry!!
It's going to be OKAY. You CAN DO THIS and YOU ARE WORTH IT! Hang in there and I will pray for you to successfully get through this and conquer your fears. Good luck and keep us posted.

I can understand your concerns and wanting to be fully prepared prior to going in. I will start by saying everyone is different in how things go for them post surgery. Also anyone having problems is more likely to post on here in the early days reaching out for support, so it may seem that there are a lot of problems for people in the first few weeks post op.
My experience was pretty good. I was terrified of having surgery, but my need for getting to a healthy weight overrulled my fears. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that part went. Roll in to room, asleep before I even realized what was happening, woke up and was surprised to be done. I was off pain meds by the following morning. The effects of anesthesia and the pain meds were ganging up to make me very nauseous so I stopped the meds and felt sore, but manageable. I was miserable, day two in the hospital. Just tired, bored, hated the bed, nauseous. When I got over my pity party and really started walking, I started to feel a lot better. By day three, I felt really good and was sent home. Sipping Water was really hard in the beginning. I just really had to focus on SIPPING and not trying to drink. broth helped, but I would have to reheat it constantly because it took so long to get down that it would get cold. Protein shakes suddenly tasted terrrible to me (but I like them again now) and were really hard for me to get down. I could only drink an ounce the first day and slowly built up to four ounces. I found that each day got a little better. For me, pain and nausea were not an issue, but getting in the liquids was a chore. By the end of two weeks I was really craving texture and flavor of food so was happy to get to pureed. By week four I could drink all eight ounces of a Protein shake, but it still takes me about 30 minutes. I could only eat a few small bites of food before I was full. I am eight weeks out now and feel great. Making sure that I get all my Protein and Water in is still a bit of a chore. It's really just a matter of planning well and executing the plan (both things I need to get better at) But the good news is that I have very few cravings. I have learned the signals of when I am full and when to stop. Sometimes, if something I am eating is really good, I am dissapointed that I had so little of it before I get full, but I get over it when I step on the scale and see the progress that I have made!
I hope this has helped a little. Like I said before, everyone's journey is different, but the common thread that I have seen on this forum from the veterean sleevers who are four months out and beyond is that most have seen incredible weight loss and are really happy they did it, despite some of the bumps and struggles along the way.

I was all set to do this two years ago and then talked myself out of it, convinced that I could do it on my own. I don't know why I convinced myself of this, because I would always lose 30-40 lbs and then gain it all back and then some. By the end of my "doing it on my own" I weighed 20 lbs more. At that point I made up my mind to go through with it and had six months of required NUT counceling for insurance. During that time I had plenty of time to contemplate and second guess. I had cold feet all the way up to surgery day. I was sleeved on June 4th. I have lost more weight I have ever been able to lose doing it on my own and I know it will stay off this time. I feel wonderful and healthy. I still have 65 more pounds to go, but now I have the tool to actually do it this time. My only regret is that I did not do this two years ago!

Wow, that's awesome!! Beautiful!!

I can understand your concerns and wanting to be fully prepared prior to going in. I will start by saying everyone is different in how things go for them post surgery. Also anyone having problems is more likely to post on here in the early days reaching out for support, so it may seem that there are a lot of problems for people in the first few weeks post op.
My experience was pretty good. I was terrified of having surgery, but my need for getting to a healthy weight overrulled my fears. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that part went. Roll in to room, asleep before I even realized what was happening, woke up and was surprised to be done. I was off pain meds by the following morning. The effects of anesthesia and the pain meds were ganging up to make me very nauseous so I stopped the meds and felt sore, but manageable. I was miserable, day two in the hospital. Just tired, bored, hated the bed, nauseous. When I got over my pity party and really started walking, I started to feel a lot better. By day three, I felt really good and was sent home. Sipping Water was really hard in the beginning. I just really had to focus on SIPPING and not trying to drink. broth helped, but I would have to reheat it constantly because it took so long to get down that it would get cold. Protein shakes suddenly tasted terrrible to me (but I like them again now) and were really hard for me to get down. I could only drink an ounce the first day and slowly built up to four ounces. I found that each day got a little better. For me, pain and nausea were not an issue, but getting in the liquids was a chore. By the end of two weeks I was really craving texture and flavor of food so was happy to get to pureed. By week four I could drink all eight ounces of a Protein shake, but it still takes me about 30 minutes. I could only eat a few small bites of food before I was full. I am eight weeks out now and feel great. Making sure that I get all my Protein and Water in is still a bit of a chore. It's really just a matter of planning well and executing the plan (both things I need to get better at) But the good news is that I have very few cravings. I have learned the signals of when I am full and when to stop. Sometimes, if something I am eating is really good, I am dissapointed that I had so little of it before I get full, but I get over it when I step on the scale and see the progress that I have made!
I hope this has helped a little. Like I said before, everyone's journey is different, but the common thread that I have seen on this forum from the veterean sleevers who are four months out and beyond is that most have seen incredible weight loss and are really happy they did it, despite some of the bumps and struggles along the way.

I can understand your concerns and wanting to be fully prepared prior to going in. I will start by saying everyone is different in how things go for them post surgery. Also anyone having problems is more likely to post on here in the early days reaching out for support, so it may seem that there are a lot of problems for people in the first few weeks post op.
My experience was pretty good. I was terrified of having surgery, but my need for getting to a healthy weight overrulled my fears. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that part went. Roll in to room, asleep before I even realized what was happening, woke up and was surprised to be done. I was off pain meds by the following morning. The effects of anesthesia and the pain meds were ganging up to make me very nauseous so I stopped the meds and felt sore, but manageable. I was miserable, day two in the hospital. Just tired, bored, hated the bed, nauseous. When I got over my pity party and really started walking, I started to feel a lot better. By day three, I felt really good and was sent home. Sipping Water was really hard in the beginning. I just really had to focus on SIPPING and not trying to drink. broth helped, but I would have to reheat it constantly because it took so long to get down that it would get cold. Protein shakes suddenly tasted terrrible to me (but I like them again now) and were really hard for me to get down. I could only drink an ounce the first day and slowly built up to four ounces. I found that each day got a little better. For me, pain and nausea were not an issue, but getting in the liquids was a chore. By the end of two weeks I was really craving texture and flavor of food so was happy to get to pureed. By week four I could drink all eight ounces of a Protein shake, but it still takes me about 30 minutes. I could only eat a few small bites of food before I was full. I am eight weeks out now and feel great. Making sure that I get all my Protein and Water in is still a bit of a chore. It's really just a matter of planning well and executing the plan (both things I need to get better at) But the good news is that I have very few cravings. I have learned the signals of when I am full and when to stop. Sometimes, if something I am eating is really good, I am dissapointed that I had so little of it before I get full, but I get over it when I step on the scale and see the progress that I have made!
I hope this has helped a little. Like I said before, everyone's journey is different, but the common thread that I have seen on this forum from the veterean sleevers who are four months out and beyond is that most have seen incredible weight loss and are really happy they did it, despite some of the bumps and struggles along the way.

Yay! That is so awesome!! I can't wait to get to onderland and no more W's after my clothing size!! Good for you! Thanks for sharing about the stalls too. It seems like a daily topic of someone being frustrated with that (myself included), many with the common theme of being convinced that, just like everything else, this last attempt at weight loss will not work. I know that thought has crossed my mind on more than one occassion! You just gave tremendous hope and inspiration! Thank you!

fingers crossed!

The pizza thing has to be an urban sleever's legend. Unless they swallowed it whole, I don't know how they would manage to eat more than a few bites before their stomach started to protest in a major way. Lol. But you are right, following the doctor's orders for safe eating and healing is well advised.
No idea on the leak thing, other than I hope I never get one!

Yay! That is so awesome!! I can't wait to get to onderland and no more W's after my clothing size!! Good for you! Thanks for sharing about the stalls too. It seems like a daily topic of someone being frustrated with that (myself included), many with the common theme of being convinced that, just like everything else, this last attempt at weight loss will not work. I know that thought has crossed my mind on more than one occassion! You just gave tremendous hope and inspiration! Thank you!

The pizza thing has to be an urban sleever's legend. Unless they swallowed it whole, I don't know how they would manage to eat more than a few bites before their stomach started to protest in a major way. Lol. But you are right, following the doctor's orders for safe eating and healing is well advised.
No idea on the leak thing, other than I hope I never get one!

The pizza thing has to be an urban sleever's legend. Unless they swallowed it whole, I don't know how they would manage to eat more than a few bites before their stomach started to protest in a major way. Lol. But you are right, following the doctor's orders for safe eating and healing is well advised.
No idea on the leak thing, other than I hope I never get one!

As for the Protein Shakes, I hated them post op too. This was a shake I previously loved! I tried a couple new things and didn't really like them any better. However, I had such a BIG container of my original Protein that I decided to just suck it up and drink it every day. Now I actually like it again. I think now that I am at the stage where I can eat real food again (and like Tonja said, it is a chore sometimes!) my taste buds are no longer rejecting the Protein Shake. Hang in there. It all gets better with time.