makemyownluck

I had surgery on the 2nd. Still sore, mostly on the left side, and can't sleep comfortably at night. I'm a side sleeper, and I'm nowhere close to ready to roll over. Other than that, doing well, still hard to bend over, but getting better. My diet has been pretty good. Here's what I have in a typical day: Breakfast/morning - 1 scrambled egg with half american cheese single slice - 10g Protein 1 chocolate premier Protein shake - 30g protein (takes about an hr to get the whole shake down) lunch - some homemade veggie soup I made and pureed. I used MFP to calculate, it's 6g protein per serving either cottage cheese or yogurt, depending on which I feel like. 10g-16g protein dinner - same as dinner - or eggs. I'm having a hard time knowing what to have for dinner. I'm not ready for meat yet, but I want to try pureed chicken salad or deli lunch meat soon. usually around 10g protein then I have another premier shake in the evening - 30g protein. So I'm between 90-100g protein a day, and my calories are around 800. I feel great and I haven't been hungry since before surgery!

You only have 27lbs to goal? That's AWESOME!! I can bet that you're actually making a lot of GOOD choices too if you're maintaining your weight so close to goal. That's something to be applauded, too! Not gaining, IMO, is just as exciting as losing. But I have a long way to go, lol. I'd try to cut out carbs, even if it's just for a week or two, to see if it curbs your appetite. I've read that the hunger does eventually come back, and I hope mine stays gone for a long time! But when I was pre-op, I did a low, low carb (almost no carb) diet and my hunger was completely gone in 2-3 days. Maybe do that for a few months if you can, get to goal, and then start adding in carbs to maintain? Do you think you'll make it to goal without needing surgery to remove any skin?

Thank you, Don!

Well, you say you haven't lost weight, but have you gained? If you haven't gained (or haven't gained much), then that's your sleeve hard at work, even when you're not controlling what you're eating very well. I'd definitely suggest tracking everything you eat. There are apps like My Fitness Pal and Spark that let you enter in your recipes so you can truly track it all. Tracking makes me see in no uncertain terms what I'm eating and lets me see where I need to make adjustments. Definitely make sure you're getting your Protein requirements in and watch your carb/sugar intake. When you eat lots of processed food, carbs and sugar, it keeps your blood sugar fluctuating too much and makes you feel hungry sooner. Plus, as someone else mentioned, it goes right through your stomach. Protein dense foods take longer to digest and your body can/will make use of it, as opposed to carbs, which if they aren't burned immediately, they are stored as fat. I'm sure you already know what to do. It's just a matter of doing it. You have to take control! Go revisit your NUT and get a plan from them, track your intake, exercise more if you need to and you'll see the scale start moving down again. Good luck, hon! You can make it happen!!

AGREE to have your husband give you the massage. You can have the professional one when your finances recover. Also, maybe do a date "morning" and go to a movie at matinee hours in the morning? This is the only time I ever see movies in the theater because it's not as crowded, even on the weekend, and it's cheap. The theater near me is $5 for matinee.

Thanks, everyone. I'm so, so happy about this. For the first time since surgery, i actually did my hair AND make up. Feeling more like myself everyday! Last night, I put on music and danced around my living room. I haven't done that IN YEARS. I used to do it all the time when I was younger, but then I gained too much weight and moving around was difficult and painful. But I felt like a kid again, just dancing away. Now I need to learn new moves! lol I know it will only get better. I am so excited to see where life takes me. I'm trying to figure out where my first plane trip will be - still a ways off, but I'm thinking I want to go to Vegas. Or Atlantic City. I'm leaning toward AC because I also want to see the ocean!

11 days post op here - I slept A LOT through the first 5 days. I know I didn't get my fluids in! I just slept and slept and slept. I think you heal better when you're sleeping (just my own personal theory, I have no idea if it's medical fact). If you need to sleep, then sleep! But try to get in what you can when you're awake. It will get better. It could definitely be related to the anesthesia. Good luck!

I don't know what to call "the 300s". There's the cute names TWOterville and ONEderland, but no similarly cutesy name for the 300s. Some people DO want to celebrate that!! LIKE ME! This morning, my scale said 397. That's a total of 62lbs lost since November 2012 high weight, and 20lbs lost since surgery 11 days ago. This feels so good. I'm succeeding! Hooray!

Same here! Sipped the first couple of days, then drank normally. SO glad, I didn't want to have to sip for the rest of my life anyway.

Have you gotten new shoes lately? Do you have shoes made for walking? Make sure you stand up straight while you walk, don't lean on the handles if you're on a treadmill. Make sure you're hydrated also. Take an ibuprofen to help with the aches. Keep working through it. Go slower the next day if you need to, but the point is to hang in there. It WILL get easier.

I have a Taylor brand digital scale. I got it at Costco for $20 on sale.

eggs was my first choice. I made 1 scrambled eff with a half a slice of cheese. It was like heaven. HEAVEN... But you said you don't want any of that stuff. How about Soup? Cream of (whatever you like) soup? My doctor said mashed potatoes were okay, only on this stage, because they go down easily. And refried Beans are okay on this stage as well. With a little shredded cheddar - yumo. I couldn't wait to eat. And I'm loving it! Just making smarter choices and eating a lot, a lot less.

May 2nd seems like such a long time ago. When I think of how I was feeling that day and how I feel today, it truly makes me so proud of my body. My body that I've abused with a lifetime of overeating. My body that had to wait patiently for years for my mind to realize it was time to make a change. My body that has recovered so beautifully and allowed me to be as comfortable as possible through every last thing I've put it through. I could cry. For the first time ever, I love my body. The day of surgery, my blood pressure was good. I hadn't been on any bp meds since 8 days prior, per my PCP because my bp was getting too low and I was feeling very faint because of it. I was already so impressed with my heart being able to recover so quickly from hypertension and I had only lost 50lbs. I know that 50lbs is quite an accomplishment, but I'm still in need of losing 200 or more (if I can without skin removal), so it seems like just a post in a very long road. I'm teetering on the brink of the 300s. This morning, my scale went between 399 and 402 before settling on 400.2. I could very well be in Tres Town when I wake up tomorrow! I couldn't believe it when the digital scale went down to 399! It's amazing. I'm so pleased with everything so far. So here's my saga of surgery and recovery to present. This is more for my own reflection later, but I thought it might help someone who's starting their journey soon. I couldn't sleep the night before surgery. Well, I slept, but only for 3 hours. During surgery, my blood pressure went up, so they gave me Labetalol. Immediately after surgery, when I was in recovery, my heart rate dropped to 45. I slept through all of this. In fact, most people spend a couple of hours in recovery, and I slept for 6 hours in recovery instead. My blood pressure was normal and once I woke up, they sent me to my room. Moving from bed to bed was very, very painful. The nurses had to check me for bed sores and roll me around and I didn't even have the energy to cry. AS SOON as they were done, they gave me morphine. I tried to get comfortable but my back was hurting. My parents came to say hello and visit, but I was tired and it was late, so they left to go home. When my nurse came to check on me, I told her my back was hurting, so she called to get me a new bed. This was a blessing and a curse. The new bed was great, but I had to change beds again! It was an air mattress and so comfy I didn't need a pillow under my head. The nurse so kindly helped me brush my teeth and wash my face from bed and got me some mouth swabs because I couldn't have liquids til my upper GI the next morning. I sent a few texts to friends to let them know I was okay, then slept til morning when they came to take me for the GI. That upper GI was painful also. Moving was really hard. My tummy is so big and giggly, every movement was painful and sore. When I went back to my room, they removed my catheter and brought me breakfast - beef broth (gross), coffee (why?), orange juice (again, acidy, why?), and green jello. The nastiest of all the jellos. I was pouting thinking there was nothing that I could eat and then I saw - cherry Italian ice cup. HEAVEN! Granted, it was about 3 baby bites of heaven, but I was so happy. I was sleeping through most of the day when the nurse came in and checked my bp to find that it was 80/40. She walked in while I was sleeping and my heart rate was 40. They put me on a holter monitor and ran an EKG which said I had a grade 1 A-V block and a mild arrhythmia. The on call doc saw me and said he believed it was due to the anethesia and morphine, and that because I was improving, it wasn't a need for major concern. He suggested I follow up with my PCP, who might send me to a cardiologist for an echo, depending on how a repeat EKG goes. I felt dehydrated and a little weak, they tried to take blood but literally could only get drops before my vein would collapse. I was eerily calm through all of this. My parents weren't going to come visit me that day because they live almost 2 hours from Chicago. I had talked to my parents first thing in the morning and all of this took place after the nap I took after I spoke to them. I'd told them they could just come Saturday when I knew I was going to get released. I didn't even think to call them when all of this heart business happened, because in my mind, I felt like I knew it was just anesthesia and the morphine and I just wasn't scared. I got up and walked around more because they took out the catheter, so I HAD to get up to use the bathroom. I walked around my room as best I could and then just slept. I never turned my TV on ONCE while I was there. Not once!! I made myself drink more water. I made myself walk. And later that night, my bp was up. My heart rate was up. I still have a mild arrhythmia, but the nurse said it's benign and my PCP already knows about it. My stay at the hospital was great. The nurses and techs were all really genuinely friendly and kind and helpful. The staff at my surgeons office has been excellent, too. My follow up visit was Friday, 8 days post op, and it was good. I lost 13lbs in 8 days. I'm at 17lbs lost in 10 days now. I'm on soft foods now and I cooked myself some soup yesterday, made some protein pudding, and just felt like I was having a normal weekend. I love making soup on Saturdays and having several cups through the day as it cooks more and more. I was able to have that same experience this weekend, but my total trips to the soup only totalled 1.5 cups of soup for the day. That's exactly what I wanted from the sleeve. Yes, I've made and will continue to make many healthy changes in my life. But if I want to have a lazy day of eating, the sleeve will let me do it and still lose weight. I don't have to lose myself in this surgery. Now the "living the rest of my life" begins, and I'm so, so happy to be here. I'm grateful my body has made it through all of this. I can't wait to see what my body can do when it's lost this weight. It feels nice to love myself again, and the affection will only get better from here!

I had surgery on the 2nd. I'm so grateful to say that everything was great from start to finish. It took me about 4 days to feel like myself again, but my pain was tolerable. I took my pain meds every 6 hrs like the prescription said for the first 2 days home. Then just in the morning and evening the next day, then just the evening the next two days. I'm off meds and still have a little trouble with bending ALL the way down, but can do most things I need to with a modified squat/bend. I really need to use my arms to stand up, but it's getting easier everyday. I didn't experience ANY issues like vomiting or nausea. I have been adding things into my diet, I'm on soft/mushies right now and everything has gone down just fine. I get a little gassy with some things, mostly the Protein shakes, but gas-x strips are working really well with that. We all experience bumps in the road, but honestly, overall, I feel so good. A lot of that is just RELIEF that it's over, that I don't have to stress about it anymore because I was fighting to get this done since last July! I wish you all luck - your nerves are completely normal and hopefully it will be a lot of worry for nothing. We're here for ya either way! Good luck to everyone with surgery this month - MAY SLEEVERS UNITE!

As far as what to expect - oh, everyone is different. I was in the hospital for 2 days, then stayed with my parents for 2 days. The first 4-5 days were rough. I didn't get my fluids in or exercise much, I mostly slept! But then, it started to get better. I was able to walk around easier, do more, and each day was better than the next. I'm 10 days post op now and feeling pretty good. I haven't been on my pain meds since day 5 or 6 (I don't remember, exactly). I still can't bend down comfortably, and sometimes I feel sore if I do too much, but it's not unbearable. I'm able to do just about everything I could pre-op, but I still ask for help so I don't over-exert. I wish you luck!

have you tried using gas-x? or beano? beano you take before you eat and it helps prevent gas.

I'm day 10 post op and didn't have these issues. I'm sorry that you are! In fact, after the first 3 days, I was able to drink normally, didn't have to sip.

I'm feeling really, really good. I've been able to move around pretty comfortably for several days - I've tackled cleaning the house, I went shopping yesterday, today I spent the day cooking... It's been a really smooth road for me. I'm on soft foods and everything is going down well. I get a little gassy with my Protein shakes, but everything else has been great. No nausea, no vomiting, no bad reactions to anything I've tried. People on this forum say your taste changes, but I find that everything tastes as it did before. Slight snag this evening. My incisions are all glued instead of stitched. Once of the glue chunks came off and the incision is open underneath. I called the doc and he got back to me 5 minutes later (at 945 on a Saturday night) and said to cover it with clean gauze and it will close up on its own. Scary, but was good to know he is reliable to got back to me asap!

I was obsessed. Pretty much from July last year til I got sleeved last week, it's all I could think about. It helps to be prepared!

How much do you still have to go to goal? What are you eating in a day? Are you exercising? Did you follow up with your NUT at any point since you've stalled? I'm sorry you're not getting what you wanted out of surgery. I hope you can get back on track!

You look awesome!!!! You must be pumping iron cuz it LOOKS like you've lost more, which means you have more muscle. You're doing great, keep up the excellent progress!!!

is bitchery like a magic power? Like wizardry? lmao I agree there are some haters, but remember that not all fat people are jolly. And this surgery doesn't replace your stomach with a new personality, unfortunately. If you've been bitter and angry because you're fat, then you're still gonna be bitter and angry when you lose weight, if you don't make up your mind to change! I think some sort of anti-depressant should be mandatory for most post-ops, at least for a few months. We could all use some STABILITY!

Doc got back to me - he said to cover it with a dry gauze and keep it covered. He said check it for any pus drainage and it should scab over, but might leave a slightly bigger scar. I'm really not worried about scars. But infection scares me! So I'll keep my eye on it. If it's not healed up by Monday morning, I'll call me PCP and see if he can get me in to glue it up.

I don't, and I don't think that would be strong enough. Since it's at the top of my abdomen, I feel like it gets the most force of gravity pulling down. I wasn't scrubbing or anything, but the glue came off and I think it may have taken a scab with it. I'm just terrified it's going to get infected or something. I put a call into my doctor, they said I should get a call back in 20m. In the mean time, I'm bawling. I swear, I used to have a thicker skin, lately I cry when I have any overwhelming emotions.

I just took a shower and while washing my incisions, the glue chunk from the incision in the upper middle part of my abdomen came off. I didn't think this was a big deal until I got out of the shower and realized the incision was open! My hanging belly is pulling it open. When I sit/lay, it's closed. I covered it with a gauze pad, but IDK if I should go to the ER or something to have it glued? Do they sell glue like that at the pharmacy? I'm so worried, what do I do???