JuliannaJ

I should have said it this clearly...toning is not of the skin but the underlying muscles.

Usually no ng tubes, catheter is possible as well as jp drains. I found the preop diet impossible and am having an easier time with post op..still not super easy but I do find post op easier than preop.

Exercise can help with toning too, still may leave you with some loose skin though. Like apricot said- genetics can play a key. The plastics doc at our seminar said there may be a chance it is covered by insurance as well if the excess skin causes medical problems...like rashes and such

I had to switch docs at first too because the first one did not do the sleeve. The office will have to be the one to tell you but the sleeve seems to be the most popular now of all of the three procedures so if a bariatric facility wants to succeed, they probably should offer it. Does the doc have a website or is on obesity help? Maybe google him and see if there is anything about him or look on here. It may be that the paperwork is a little outdated and he does do the sleeve.

Fluid, fiber and exercise are the things to avoid constipation....and if you have loose stools follow the BRAT diet...bananas, rice, apples, tea/toast (some people use one of the other... The tea or toast). So if you are constipated, avoid bananas and the other things. As far as apples go they have fiber but also pectin the firms up our stool. Any who's....if you record your diet and bowel habits you may find a link.

Usually your doc will have a list of people to refer you to. Once I got the list on my first visit at the surgeons I started making phone calls...not everyone returns your calls or has offices so I know where I live it was hard to find someone. It took me about a month until I had the appointment. But it is one of those things to just check off your list and get done ASAP.

It also could be part of the healing process I was told...namely cut nerves and tissue and such that do regenerate. I had the same experience last night and it was not directly at the incision site so I assumed this is what it was...it is gone today

They told us to actually expect some weight GAIN post op until several days out because of all the fluids they give you and the swelling etc going on.

I was told 1/4 cup as well.

I am allowed low fat refried beans starting next Friday though!

I was sleeved on 1/16 and it is not yet on my approved list of food (on full liquids now) but someone (on here) told me I could get bean soup and purée it but beans cause gas so I don't know if I would risk it. I am allowed creamed soups but I am not sure that liquefying bean soup in my blender would count as a creamed soup.

I have tried a lot of flavors...the only ones that are good in my opinion so far are the grape one...tastes like really weak koolaide and I also will drink the pineapple-orange-banana one. I think they have an after taste too but damn it is 40grams of protein so I will drink them (for now).

I would try the biotene and continue with good oral care, the teeth brushing, tongue scraping, mouthwash stuff. they also approved me to use the sugar free mints to help with my horrendous breath (post surgery-it stinks) so that helps. Maybe try Popsicles too? I am drinking (I mean sipping) Water as well as the Protein drinks, my mouth is still a little dry too. The whey protein seems to make me feel drier. If you do still have nausea they told me to suck on a cinnamon stick or put peppermint oil on a towel and sniff it.

I still get some cramps kind of feeling when I eat like a "churning" feeling inside. No pain or anything like that. Plus I had to learn to burp again...since 85% of your muscle is gone, you have to retrain that little pouch to burp! I am still trying to figure out the sensations I get...mostly it is a rumbling noise feeling...not sure what hunger or full feels like yet! I did eat a lot of ice chips for a week and I think that helps reduce the swelling in your tummy even though the warm may feel better. I limited the "warm" to the meals I had but that is just what worked for me. When they did the upper GI before my discharge he said I was really swollen so hence why I did ice chips.

I am on day 9 right now and could easily go back to work now (shhhh don't tell anyone). If you have the time, take it for yourself though, i am using this time to get used to eating, advancing my diet (on full liquids until next Friday, then purée...yummy!) exercising and reading more about post surgery. Who knows how you will heal though, everyone is different. If you have any stress at work this will be more difficult to go back....especially with reflux...it can get worse after surgery but meds usually do the trick and yes I would try to get it controlled now. As far as people in my life, my family was against my surgery...partly because they know nothing about the surgery but your loved ones care about you and do not want to see anything happen to you...it was mainly their fear of something going wrong and fear of the unknown...I sent them to this site, showed them before and afters and talked to them about the surgery and it was a little easier for them to accept this "radical" thing I was about to do. Besides they did not know about all of the support and education classes you have to do, the nutrition visits, psychologist, cardiologist, medical tests, etc and that I was going through this journey for months. It wasn't a spur of the moment decision like they thought. The other thing I heard was why can't I just do the "diet" and lose the weight that way..in other words restrict my food intake as if I had the surgery...I just tried to educate them on this "tool" including how hunger works and the hormone gherlin (?spelling) that is reduced following the surgery and if I was able to do it on my own, I would have!

Can anyone tell me what they are/were eating at this point in a full day? I am on Full liquids which includes the Clear Liquids plus I am allowed the whey Protein shakes, strained LF creamed Soups, thinned oatmeal or cream of wheat, SF or non fat greek yogurt, thinned ricotta cheese, diluted juices etc. In my notes and notebook I cannot find out how often I am supposed to eat or the quantities (other than stop when you feel full), just what I am allowed to have. I know about the Fluid requirement which is always the same...64 ounces. I can't say I am ever feeling hungry (other than a little head hunger) or full and even when I sip liquids I have a little bit of discomfort, not really pain just like an internal churning feeling...and my tummy growls a lot all of the time. So I don't even know what full feels like either...I am just eating a teaspoon or two and then stopping. Thanks as always for your help!

Well I guess I am just fat...lol...obese does make it sound "different" and "better" somehow....lol

I think you are right, the web site I used was wrong! So am I now just obese?

Now I am just "super obese" thanks to the 14 lbs I lost since surgery 6 days ago...clear liquids does wonders for the waist! Too funny that I am happy to be super obese! Can't wait until 195 lbs then I am just "obese", then from 160-190 lbs I will be just overweight! I am 5'7". There was a talk show on today and the host (Steve Harvey) said the problem with all of this obesity is that we call it by fancy names instead of just calling it what it is, FAT. If we went back to calling you fat versus obese, it might make people want to fix it....of course he is a little chubby, or thick...oh I mean fat so it was sort of funny he was talking like that.

I regretted it when I was in pain...but I knew from reading this site that this was normal to feel this way immediate post op....loving it more and more as the pain goes away and the scale is already moving downward! Still on clear liquids...wish I was on regular food and healed...then I would probably say, no regrets!

I have to be there at 6am tomorrow! I am first on the surgical schedule. I live 45-60 minutes from the hospital...so we all know I am not getting any sleep tonight. Good luck to my sleeve sisters (and Misters if there are any for tomorrow).

Thanks! I am not looking forward to immediate post op and gas pains...just hoping for no more head hunger feeling and no more "cheating". I feel the willpower now! Doc said he will give me plenty of pain meds...so he better not be lying! I just need to be conscious enough to walk...otherwise hoping to be flying high on morphine for a day or two.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It was a tough two weeks with ups and downs and I didn't even feel like dealing with anyone! Tomorrow is my big day and although I didn't do directly as ordered for the PRE op diet, I was pretty close to it and am looking at tomorrow as the next chapter in this exciting time. I want to thank each and everyone of you though for taking the time to respond and help me out....glad to see I was not alone!