joatsaint

The only pain I felt was from the pressure of the leftover gas they pumped into me during surgery. Once I was back in the room and had my morphing drip, ****POOF****, the pain went away. The only other pain I experienced was later on, after I got home. I was unable to drink the liquid pain meds and I was feeling a lot of pain internally, but nothing from the incision sites. It took about 7 days to go completely away. Here's me just minutes after I was wheeled back into the room post-op.

I'd be happy to share what I've learned over the past 18 months. You can send me questions via private message by hovering your mouse over "joatsaint" on the left and a menu will appear that has a "send message" button. I've tried to keep everything as simple as possible from the beginning. If I get too caught up in all the details of buying special plates, utensils, supplements and what to eat, it just makes things a pain.

I tossed my card away. The price of a kid's meal is just a few dollars less than an adult plate. I'd rather take home the leftovers than have to go through explaining my surgery to a waiter or the manager. I'm going out not to eat but to hang out with my friends, so the cost is not the issue.

I guess my biggest misconception was thinking that my life would turn around in all areas... socially, work, ect. I'm still the same old me 18 months later. And I really thought that my energy levels would just take off once I dropped the weight. I'd read so many stories of people just launching out of bed in the morning because they had so much energy.

I went commando. They had me change into the gown right after arriving and I was in surgery within hours. After surgery I was in the same gown for about 24 hours and was released. I went in on a Saturday morning and was released Sunday afternoon.

35 lbs sounds like a lot to me. I think you're doing great. Do you remember how much your doc said you could expect to lose per month or per week? Mine wanted me to stay around 15 lbs a month. Whenever I felt like I wasn't losing weight fast enough, I would remind myself of just how fast I wasn't losing weight pre-op! When I was 375, I would have been sooooooooooo happy just to see the scale creep down, even if it was only 1/2 lb a week... so long as it was moving in the right direction. You think you're in a hurry to lose weight?? I remember opening my eyes right after surgery and asking, "Am I thin yet?????"

Congrats on the weight loss. Put your priority on getting enough Water. You'll be able to build up your Protein intake in time. And my taste buds were all screwed up for a few weeks, like your's. They did return to "normal", but mine were just the opposite, everything lacked flavor.

I didn't become regular till over a year post-op. Up until then, I had been adding Psyllium husks to my meals and eating high fiber foods like refried Beans, squash, and eggplant. But none of them seemed to work too well. I had to resort to Milk of Magnesia a couple of times. I had to retrain myself on going to the bathroom. I used to be one of those that - when it was time to go, it was time to go! Not one of those that carried a newspaper into the bathroom with them. So I never paid attention to the little hints that I needed to go and would put it off till later. Now at the slightest hint I need to go, I'll hit the bathroom... to kinda "prime the pump" so to speak. That seems to have made a real difference.

My doc said a realistic goal weight for me was 235, but once I got there, I wanted to be 224 (my high school weight). Now I'm 219 and shooting for 200. Just because my doc told me what weight to expect to reach, doesn't mean I couldn't change my goal. I've read threads where the train of thought ran along the lines - at some point the sleeve will stop working, like it has an on/off switch. The sleeve is a tool, to help you control food portions. At some point it becomes less effective because the metabolism has slowed and/or the body as at a weight at which the caloric intake meets or exceeds the body's needs. That's when I have to step up and take control of my eating and exercise.

Yep, it sure can. Your body goes into starvation mode and lowers your metabolism as it tries to conserve as much energy as it can. And tries to store anything you eat instead of using it for fuel.

I felt all smug sitting at Golden Corral, watching all the people walk by with plates overflowing and feeling like I was so much better than them.... then it hit me, if I hadn't just had surgery a few months earlier, wouldn't I be making my 2nd trip to the buffet about now???? **** consider me "Pimp Slapped" ****

I was on full liquids on week 2 post-op, so I let myself eat about 1 tablespoon full of vanilla a day. I could hardly tolerate eating anything else outside of Cream of Mushroom soup and sugar free Popsicles.

It was over 6 months post-op before Frankensleeve would tolerate any kind of fruit or tough vegetables. Apples, grapes, pineapple, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce... Everything made him growl and churn like rocks in a garbage disposal. I found it ironic that I could easily tolerate all the old processed foods, but I was locked out from eating the healthy stuff !!!!! It takes time, but by month 9, I was eating almost anything without any grumbling from Frankensleeve.

Here are 3 that I like: Homemade Protein Bar 2 cups oatmeal 1 cup whey Protein Powder 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries 1/2 tbls Cinnimon 1/4 cup Almond slivers Mix Seperately from Dry Mix and warm for 30 sec 1/4 cup 70% Dark chocolate 1/4 cup sugar free Apple sauce 1/4 cup Organic Peanutbutter 1/4 cup Honey 1/4 cup Almond Milk 1 tsp vanilla extract Mix Wet and Dry Line 8X8 container with wax paper pour in mixture put in fridge for 20 min 5-min no-bake: 2 cups oats 5 scoops choco or choco chip protein powder 8 tbsp natural PB 1 tbsp milled flaxseed 1/4 cup water Mix all ingredients together, folding my hand (very sticky). Line 9 x 9 pan with wax paper. Mash "batter" into lined pan; make sure to mash it into the corners and try to make it flat. Freeze for ~2 hours. Cut and keep in fridge. I get 12 bars out of this at: 174 cal 13 carbs 7 healthy fats 15 protein 2 sugar (awesomely low!) 78 sodium Oat and Peanut Butter Protein Bars oat and peanut butter Protein Bar 300x225 Clean Protein Bar recipes that ROCK 2 cups quick oats (regular oats will be pretty chewy in this recipe) 5-6 scoops Clean Protein Powder 2 tsp vanilla extract – vanilla bean 5 tbsp natural peanut butter 1/2 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup almond milk 1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional) 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chip or raw cacao (optional) Lower carb option: omit the cranberries and chocolate chips, add 1/4 cup slivered almonds Higher fibre option: add 2 TBSP chia seeds to this mixture Directions In a large bowl, combine oats, protein powder, coconut, cranberries. Add peanut butter and stir till peanut butter is coated. Slowly add ~1/2 cup almond milk, stirring throughout (add just enough liquid to the mix forms a batter-like consistency). Add chocolate chips if desired. Line an 8×8 pan with wax paper, add mixture to pan. Cover mixture with another layer of wax paper and press down till the mixture is pressed flat. Refrigerate 30-60 minutes, then cut into bars. Wrap any unused bars in saran wrap and store in the fridge. Makes ~10 servings. Nutritional info per bar (cranberries and chocolate chips included): 240 cal 9 g FAT 24 g carbs - 4 g fibre 19 g Protein

When a friend sent me this video, my first thought was, "Crap, another Twilight Saga ripoff!" This has nothing to do with vampires and werewolves... but more to do with bobbing for ovaries. When you see it, you'll sh*t bricks!

Feel free to ask all the questions you want. Since you weren't specific about diet, I'll just give you an overview of what I went through. Pre-Op: 1 week liquid diet (most people have a 2 week pre-op liquid diet) Post-Op: Week 1 - Clear liquids (broths, Protein shakes) Post-Op: Week 2 - full liquids (Soups, broths, Protein shakes - nothing with pieces or chunks) Post-Op: Week 3 - soft/mushy/puree foods (Peanut Butter, creamy soups, scrambled eggs, refried Beans, pureed hamburger) Post-Op: Week 4 - Full foods At 4 weeks post-op, my ability to tolerate food was still pretty low. I was still eating Cream of Mushroom Soup for almost every meal. It took months before Frankensleeve would tolerate much else, it was around 6 months that I was able to start eating fruits and vegetables. At 9 months, things got much easier. And at 1 year I could tolerate almost any food (except Taco Bell taco sauce... go figure!) At 18 months there's nothing I can't eat, but there are lots of things I don't want to eat... like fast food. I just lost my desire for any food that is served through a drive-thru window. Many report, myself included, that your taste buds change after surgery and you may not like the same foods anymore and like others you didn't like previously. Some say it's caused by the reduction of the hunger hormone Ghrelin, I think it has something to do with going cold turkey from sugar for weeks pre and post-op.

One of my favorites is using Eggplant or Yellow Squash. If you remove the skin, it can be a soft/mushy food. But I like to "blacken" mine under the broiler. You could bake them if you prefer. I after cooking, I spray them with a little canola oil, toss on some salt and black pepper and they're good to go! I've gotten out of the habit, but Spaghetti Squash is good too. Split the squash in half, lay face down on cookie sheet, bake in the oven for 1 hr OR cover each half in plastic wrap and microwave for 30 minutes. Again, I spray them with canola oil and toss on some salt and pepper. They are done when you poke the the thickest parts with an ice pick or knife and you feel it slide in like warm butter, if you feel a crunchy sensation, it needs more cooking.

How often do I weigh?.... I'm writing this while standing on my scales!

My hair thinned considerably for the 1st 9 months, but then it came back with a vengeance! After a year, it was as thick as ever. During this time, you're still going through the fallout phase. There's the hair that was ready to fall out and then there's the hair that will fall out from the trauma from surgery. So it looks like your hair is thinning, but really it's the normal process speeded up. Just be sure to keep your protein intake high, that will help.

Happy NSV!!!!!!

Congrats! You look Sleeve-a-licious.

Congrats!

I didn't take any time off from work during my pre-op liquid diet. And I was back at work on Day 11 post-op. I too have a desk job and as long as you don't have to lift anything heavier than a ream of paper, you shouldn't have any problems. But if I had to get up and out of my chair more than a dozen times a day, it might have been a bit rougher.

Welcome to the forum. Browse around and feel free to ask questions. Or be like me and troll the board for months.

Hang in there, it does get easier. Remember, you're learning a whole new way of eating and living, so it's not going to be automatic and there is going to be a period of trial and error. As you learn what works for you, it will become a habit. It took me a few months, but I didn't need to track my food intake to know when I had eaten too many calories for the day or if I had had enough to drink. I do weigh every day, morning and evening, and that habit is direct feed back on my caloric intake. My 1st few months, I never worried about getting enough calories. I focused on getting enough Water and I ate what I could, followed my dietary guidelines and everything worked out well for me. Too soon, you'll start noticing that you're new tummy will hold just a little more than it could the day before. These 1st 6 months post-op are critical for getting into the right eating habits.