joatsaint

Don't be worried, do the "Happy dance" instead. The pre-op diet was sooooo much harder for me than anything I went through post-op.

Mine was much the same. But I had to fill in 300 multiple choice questions, covering everything from how I felt about drugs, theft, and suicide to how I saw the world and the people around me.

I've never been a "cookie" person, but when I wanted sweets, I like the Russell Stover low carb candy.

That's one heck of a NSV!

I'm sure I care more about my appearance than pre-surgery. I buy nicer shirts (and in colors other than black!). And I'm thinking about getting my teeth straightened, and about how I feel about my loose skin (my chest and stomach look like they're in a race to my knees! - stomach is in the lead).

Congrats on recovering. It's good to hear you are doing well. I had a small complication post-surgery, but nothing as serious as yours. It hurt like Hell, but I knew there was no way to reverse what I'd done once my stomach was gone. And welcome to the Loser's Bench.

Pre-surgery, I've never felt like that during a workout. Post-surgery, I've only felt like I was going to pass out when I was walking in the Texas heat! I started adding a banana to my diet and that made a big difference in post-walking recovery. I think its less about how many calories I'm eating and more about the amount of nutrition I'm getting from food.

Once my doc was sure that I was healing properly, He released me to start lifting weights (30 days post-op) and I had no restrictions on the amount or type of work I could do.

I do not miss trying to stretch my 3X shirt to make it look a little loose, so that it doesn't cling to my gut like I'm a contestant in a wet t-shirt contest!

I think mine went pretty quick, under 2 hours. But I was #2 for surgery that day, it may have gone a little faster cause the doc was "in the zone" from preforming the 1st surgery.

Congrats on your success. Unfortunately, I think your contagious! Now I"M obsessing about your collarbones! Please post more pics to keep me updated on your collarbones.

Congrats on having such a good recovery.

At 4 weeks, I was allowed full foods, but almost everything still caused major stomach upset. So, I was eating the only thing that set well with Frankensleeve - Cream of Mushroom Soup. And I just sipped Water all day, as much as I could. I never worried about reaching my water and Protein goals. As long as I felt okay, I wasn't concerned. My doctor told me I could expect to experience some "mild discomfort" after surgery. When he FINALLY came to visit me - and he was 6 hours late for our meeting, I told him that his definition of "mild discomfort" and mine were worlds apart! So I don't trust his word too much and call B.S. on what he said were mandatory food and water intake daily. I increased my daily intake as I could hold more and tolerate more, not before. Everyone is going to have a different surgical experience and I say use the water and food intake amounts as a goal to shoot for as your sleeve heals. If it becomes a health issue, then I'd be concerned.

It really depends on the person. I have trouble with just water, but mix in some Crystal Light and I can drink over a gallon a day of the stuff. Even during the weeks following surgery, I was able to drink upwards of 64 oz of Crystal Light every day with no problem.

I can only speak about my experience, but I can say that I ate less than 100 calories a day for the first 10 days and about 200 calories a day for the following 2 or 3 weeks. Frankensleeve would not tolerate anything but cream of mushroom Soup (and not much of that!), sugar free Popsicles and Crystal Light. I focused on staying hydrated first, food second. I figured I had enough calories stored in my fat to last me through a Zombie Apocalypse if necessary. I didn't experience any side effects that I noticed.

Yep, co-morbidities are required by some insurance companies before they will cover surgery. I'm not diabetic or have high blood pressure... so Sleep Apnea was the co-morbidity that qualified me for insurance approval.

When I'm full, it can be uncomfortable. The old signals aren't there anymore. I know when I'm approaching full when I feel bubbles moving around the food in my sleeve. Or I take one bite too many and I feel an uncomfortable stretching sensation in my sleeve. If I continue to eat, it gets really painful and I can feel a poking sensation in my chest, where my stomach and throat meet. Those days of that good old feeling of, "Ohhhhh, I'm so full I could bust." are long gone. And I don't miss them one bit!!!!

No, I don't think so. I hadn't eaten for 12 hours pre-surgery and didn't eat again till the 2nd day after surgery - so 2 1/2 days with no food. There wasn't anything to come out of me. It was 4 or 5 days before it happened. Then it wouldn't stop coming out. Just take some advice, never trust a fart from today onwards.

It's totally normal to want to sleep. I was exhausted for days afterwards. Your body just went through major trauma and is focusing all it's resources on healing. And if you're like me, I wasn't in the best physical condition pre-surgery, so it was kind of a double whammy on my system. I basically was moving between my chair and my bed for the 1st 7 days, by day 8 I was able to drive to the store for more Popsicles and things just improved from there on. Welcome to the Loser's Bench.

I've notice that my head hunger is greatest when I'm tired. I guess my brain knows that eating will give me a temporary energy boost. Having learned that, instead of reaching for the carbs (like I used to do) I eat protein and then, if I'm still craving carbs, I'll eat something low-carb but sweet. I realize you're only 5 days post-op, but you might try eating some sugar free Popsicles, or SF Jell-O or a favorite protein shake. My diet allowed both during my 1st week post-op.

Conrats and yes, I've had months where I didn't lose a lb. Then suddenly started losing again. Frustrating, but not really much choice.

Yep, you'll probably have to remove it. The surgeon is going want to eliminate anything that may be a possible complication during surgery.

Thanks for the info guys. I did more research and I'm even more confused than before. I don't mind paying extra for the whole foods based Vitamins - as long as they make me feel this good! But I watched a video on Youtube and Dr. Robert Jones of http://utahwellnessinstitute.com was explaining that even though SOME of the ingredients in whole food vitamins are plant based, some of the vitamins are still from synthetic sources. Below is the video. Your thoughts?

The pain I felt came from the leftover gas in my torso. It was VERY uncomfortable, but I've been in worse pain before. And the pain meds wiped the pain right out. Just remember to get up and walk as much as you can, it really helps move the gas out of your system. In 6 months you'll be telling everyone that it was worth every bit of it! This is me, minutes after surgery:

My doc only wanted me walking (as least 1 hour a day) during the 1st month. He released me for weight training at 30 days post-op. But I've never really done any regular weight training. I've lost it all from walking and sticking to my diet.