JillianMarie

I am there with you. I was sleeved on the 17th. Had extreme pain, especially in the shoulder blade area. Since then the pain has eased up but ive had nausea and unable to hardly get my liquids down. It's hard to take pain meds when you have an upset stomach and can hardly drink anything!!

I got sleeved on the 17th and have been having a lot of trouble getting things down. Every sip of water, juice, protein shake, etc.. that i take, i hear gurgles and growles and every swallow feels like a ton of bricks in my stomach. I am having a really hard time staying hydrated because i can't get in enough liquids going this slowly, even if i sip all day. Also, after only a few bites of yogurt or jello, occasionally it will just hit me and i get nauseated and get the case of the "foamies". Last night i had a couple sugar free fudgecicles, slowly, and yogurt before bed, and woke up at 3am and dry heeved 3 times. Nothing actually came up, but it felt like knives in my stomach and that something needed to come out. Also, my mouth occasionally starts watering and i feel nauseous for no reason at all. Gum makes my mouth produce too much saliva, and hard candies. I have been going slowly and taking very small bites, I feel like i am running on empty because i can't seem to get in more than 300 calories a day and i have absolutely no energy. After i eat anything it tends to go straight through me. I researched "dumping syndrome" and i seem to get those symptoms although i got the sleeve instead of gastric bypass. I am also so paranoid that eating will make me vomit, that i almost want to just push through the hunger and extreme fatigue and go completely empty instead of risking another case of the foamies.This is really discouraging. So far, i've been dropping weight fast, which is great, but i don't want to put myself into starvation mode and i can already feel it happening to my body. I know that i am only a week out since surgery, but right now i feel like i wont be able to ever eat solid foods again. :thumbup: I need some encouraging words please! Has anyone experienced this?

Thank you! The Dr and his staff was amazing- not to mention had a great personality, was absolutely gorgeous- and was so funny! I tell you what, laughing after sleeve surgery is pretty painful! Oh- and i was told i could have low fat ice cream, and low fat dairy in addition to my Protein shakes, Jello, popsicles, Soup, etc... So tonight i got some no sugar added reduced fat ice cream thinking it would feel really good going down sitting in this sore tummy. Well of course it tasted so good, and did feel good going down, so i took several spoonfuls- then it hit me, and i got really full and almost nauseated and had to stop because i knew if i ate any more it wouldn't stay down. After 1/2 cup of ice cream, i was more full than i would have been polishing off the whole carton before hand. What a wake up to reality! A few bites or spoonfuls, and it hits you like a ton of bricks! This is a truely wonderful experience!

Surgery was a success! I did get a 4 oz stomach so i am not able to eat much at all right now, but i know it will stretch with time. I'm recovering now and so glad to have made this decision. No regrets!!! Jillian Surgery Date: 5-17-2010

Surgery was Monday in Mexico, and after a few days of pain and suffering, I am back home and recovering. I did have some regrets after surgery, but im sure that is normal :001_tongue: Now i'm just working on the yogurt and chicken broth and juices, ready to get my energy back so i can get to exercising again! I hope that everyone is doing well!! Oh, and 7 lbs down in one week! Mostly Water weight of course but it is so nice to just see the scale go DOWN instead of up for once!! Jillian

im doing the same thing. Having a very hard time sticking to my pre-op diet. I am so hungry. I caved in and ate 4 packs of oatmeal last night and several sugar free fudge bars. I have surgery monday. The only thing i can think of is to drink mineral oil and take an extra laxative and hope it'll move through me quicker. Sunday is traveling day so i wont have to worry about eating, food wont be available or in reach. But this entire past week i KNOW i gained weight, ive eaten more than ever. Stress is a killer.

Last night between the stress and pressure i am under and the unbearable hunger i have been having, i couldn't fall asleep after drinking a Protein shake and eating Jello, and i just broke down and ate a big bowl of oatmeal. I dont know what to do. I have surgery Monday. I know Sunday and Sunday night i will have no problem because i will be in airports and on airplanes all day Sunday and then in the hotel room Sunday night and have no food, so i'll be sipping on Water and a Protein Shake Sunday. But getting through till then with NO solids at all is literally impossible for me. I don't know how to handle this and certainly don't want to get there and them not be able to perform surgery on me. I drank a bottle of magnesium citrate this morning, a saline laxative. Basically everything in my lower intestines should move right through me, which should help pull what is in my stomach down. Any suggestions? I just need to make it to the operating table!!

I am scheduled for the 17th so we are close, i am also scared to death! However, im scared about other things. I have thought long and hard about not being able to eat normally ever again. But i have let food become MY LIFE. It has ruined my body, make me hate myself, hide from people and public places, not enjoy the things in life I should, basically, those 5 minutes i really enjoy eating each time i stuff myself, ruin the rest of my day and night. I am willing to give up my stomach for this. To me, this means either- keep the stomach and stay fat and miserable, or have the surgery, go through some pain and withdrawals, learn new ways of living, and have a new body and a new life that i've been only dreaming about forever. I'll take the new life. No one says we CANT eat. We just can't eat much. A few bites taste just as good as 100 bites. We just have to learn to savor each individual bite, instead of forcing into our mouths as fast as we can (at least thats what i have been doing). We are all different, but im willing to sacrifice this to make changes in my life.

Wow that's a coincidence that you went alone to Mexico and didn't tell your mom or sisters, I plan on telling them of course, after the surgery, but hiding it from them right now and coming up with an excuse to leave for a week, and planning on having an excuse to not eat much when i see them is really stressing me. Theres just so much stress on me right now it's about to kill me. I am so ready to have it over. I'm more worried about getting through the next two days than getting through the surgery. Once it's done, it's done, and behind me.

I think the biggest difference is what size of sleeve the patient gets. I have read that the size of the bougie used is anywhere from a 28 to a 60. That's a huge difference. That can be the difference between being able to eat a few bites at a time or nearly a whole meal. So i wouldn't say it's the quality of the Doctor, just how much stomach he removes. Because i have less weight to lose i will need more stomach removed, because it takes a lot more for me to lose weight.

You are so right- we are so used to overeating, we really need very little food to survive. And even if we reach a normal and healthy weight- we still have sufficient body fat to last us a long while. Look at those in countries without hardly any food. People walking around at 80 lbs. They survive. Just nothing but bones. Obviously the body knows how to adjust with very little food. It looks like the smallest you can get for a sleeve is a 28, and the largest is a 60. If i go with a 32, i wonder how much my stomach will be able to hold.

I am using Dr. Mario Almanza in Mexico. Anyone here use him?

I was wondering the same thing! I really dont want to experience it!!

wow there are a few of you getting sleeved around the same time as me! I'm on Monday (the 17th) and so nervous! I'm also self-pay so i got to book it as quickly as i came up with the funds. I'm so tired and having trouble thinking about anything else right now, my mind is racing and i can hardly sleep, oh it will be so nice to just get this over with!!

How did you all get through your pre-op days? I just made a ton of jello and bought about 10 yogurts, as well as some sugar free popsicles and sugar free fudgcicles. I fly out Sunday so i just have to get through tomorrow and Saturday, this is going to be rough!!

oh gosh i know exactly what you are talking about, recently i have overeaten on a few occasions to a point where all of a sudden i got very nauseous and my mouth just filled with saliva. I never threw up but swore i was about to. Wow well then i will know to take it VERY slow and not test my luck because that is the WORST feeling in the world!!!

I just watched the video as well, and with the food that she ate "after", i would not lose weight. They may be somewhat small portions, but they were calorie dense foods. For me to eat those foods, it would have to be much smaller potions than that. I'm really hoping i won't be able to eat nearly as much as she did in those videos.

What are the foamies? I've heard of a few people mention that word... kinda scary! :/

Thank you so much! Did you have trouble with post-op nausea? Also, did they let you sip on water or have ice chips after surgery?

I am going about this alone- having surgery in Mexico, and going there by myself. My friends do not know about this surgery, and only my father is aware of it, i am hiding it from my mother and sister as of right now. I am extremely stressed. Not only to be going alone to Mexico, but of the pain and possibility of getting sick afterwards. I'm ready to change my life- and know that this surgery is my answer- but i am literally in tears and a nervous wreck with everything going through my head at this point. I am so worried of having severe nausea and pain after surgery while i am there alone. Please, any words of encouragement, i could greatly use right now

Being 4 days pre-op, i am also thinking very hard about coping with breaking the relationship with food. I discussed with my Dad earlier about what I am going to do when i am having anxiety, depressed, stressed, etc... as for 10 years i have turned to food to medicate my feelings and numb the pain... and i will no longer be able to do that. I am wondering... what WILL i do when i am in those circumstances? I have no idea right now, and it's very scary. I'm going to start therapy soon, which will help, but the 2 weeks immediately after surgery i'm on my own and it will be hard. What is even harder, is the fact that i am hiding this from my sister and my mother, as they would not agree with my decision right now. Down the road, the would. But right now, as my sister puts it, "surgery is not going to FIX your eating disorder". Clearly she does not understand.

I am also having surgery on Monday. I have tried everything in the entire world and am a completely desperate point. Obviously i wouldn't be having them permanantly remove most of my stomach if that wasn't the case. But think about this, the way you have been living, the misery, unhappiness, the yo-yo dieting, the shame and embarrassment, i have been hiding for years. I am willing to give up being able to give up being able to eat normal amounts of food to just live a normal life. I just want to be happy again, and unfortunately i'm having to take a drastic measure. But on the bright side, there is an answer and a solution, and this is it. However i am scared to death and nervous as hell!!!

If you dont mind me asking, do you know what size sleeve they gave you?

I am having my sleeve done Monday. I am curious as to what everyone's typical meal is like after surgery (after the 3 weeks on liquids/soft foods, once you can eat normal foods again). What do you normally eat, and how much? How much does it take before you have to stop due to feeling full? I am excited to get this feeling for once!!

Of course i am pre-op, but i have always used protein supplements and a lot of yogurt. I get generic sugar free light yougurt because i go through so much of it. Walmart has a great value brand, light version that is terrific in every flavor. Love the black cherry and lemon merengue pie. The protein powders you can get at Netrition.com or at GNC stores in your town. They have every flavor you can imagine including banana nut bread- mmm!!