tbarnes18

What did your surgeon say?

suppositories for a few times, then milk of magnesia worked for me. You can also put fiber in your shakes and that will help, but you won't be going as much as you used to since you aren't getting the volume of food that you used to get. I tried to make sure that it had been at least 5 days before I used something for the constipation. Now, I am doing Ok in that area.

I gurgle all the time. It goes through the stomach and the intestines and I can tell when food/liquids are going through. Just a way of your body telling you that it is working...

I'm 5'9", and at 145 I wear a size 4 - 6 depending on the cut of the dress. So I would think at 5'7", you would be a 6 - 8. I would recommend a gift certificate from that sweet hubby of yours to buy the dress later, or go to a used clothing shop with good quality dresses (even though it looses a little something of the newness) so you can have it in the closet to look at every so often. Good luck with your weight loss!

I had problems with my 2 week post-op appointment with my surgeon, so I had to go back today, i.e., 5 weeks post-op, and was very disappointed on so many levels: 2 weeks post-op I was having so many problems that I had to go back 3 weeks later; the same day as the original appointment, 6/24/10, I had to go to the ER because of a fever. They said I had a UTI. After trying several antibiotics (ER gave me a prescription for pills that I knew I would never be able to get down, so had them change to liquid). After weeks of trying, I finally got an antibiotic that I could take. Started on it 7/6/10. Will need to take it until tomorrow. Tried to get surgeon to release me for solids as I want something other than Soup and unjury chocolate Protein shakes. He said no. I will start food that has been put through a food processor on Monday. Big Wow! The biggest problem is that I had only lost 2 pounds between 6/24 and 7/15. Three weeks and 2 pounds!!! That is when the surgeon told me to expect to lose 1 pound a week. I don't understand how a person on a 600-800 daily calorie diet could lose only 1 pound per week! (even though I am not even getting the 600-800 calorie range yet) That doesn't seem possible unless my system has started on a starvation mode and doesn't want to process the food that I am eating into energy. I am tired quite a bit of the time. In fact, yesterday I did a lot of shopping at a home store and costco and when I got home and started to watch TV last night, I slept in the chair for 3 hours. At the rate of 1 pound a week, it will take me 2 years to lose 104 pounds! When I look at all the tickers, the weight loss has been much faster for everyone else. What do you guys think? Terrie

Thanks Kathy, your brightened my evening...

I'm still not supposed to eat anything, but I have been sneaking a bit. My surgeon wants me to do 5 weeks of softs, i.e., cream Soups, yogurt, etc. I haven't tried the cottage cheese. Usually, I don't get much of anything besides caffeine free tea; hot in the am, then cold the rest of the day. I do get hungry, but more so it is craving a certain food that I can't have yet. Even if I do eat something, like the deviled egg halves, not much goes down. I do get a little nauseous sometimes, but I rest, relax and don't put anything else in my stomach for a couple of hours. Knock on wood that I haven't gotten sick. My day usually consists of a protein shake for breakfast, tea, some Soup (1/4 cup for lunch), shake for dinner (or just a cup of sugar free hot chocolate if I am too full for the shake). That is it. The only problem with the last 2 days is that I had to go out early in the am, so I didn't get my protein shake the past 2 days, so I know that I am low on protein right now. Starting Monday, I will have a week or two of mushies, then I can start regular food. My surgeon must be quite cautious. Mine surgery hasn't gone as easy as I have had a UTI since the surgery. We didn't find out about it until 6/24 when I went to the ER, so I have been trying different antibiotics to get it cleared. My problem was the first antibiotic I was supposed to take was drinking it 4 times a day...the next was 2x a day, but 2 tablespoons, i.e., way too much liquid...now 1 tsp 2x a day. Hopefully, once this antibiotic is finished, it will get easier for me. Terrie

JillianMarie What I didn't hear in all the stuff you mentioned was how many ounces of liquids you are getting in during the day... I have a lot of liquids during the day that it makes it hard for me to eat anything. My surgery was on June 10th and I'm still not supposed to be having much in the way of food, but I did sneak a few things in today: Caffeine free tea: 10 oz 2 deviled egg halves for breakfast, got me so full that I had to sit it out for a while 12 oz of a slushie 8 oz of chicken broth It is 4 pm now and I haven't even had a Protein shake yet and I am so full that I could pop right now. Need to stop drinking until 7ish so I can get a protein shake down since I haven't had much protein today. Terrie

Didn't happen to me, but I will say that I always have mucus in my throat and I end up spitting all the time. Not a very good spitter either, very messy spitter, but I do keep an extra cup around me and it is like I am dipping tobacco or something because I don't want to swallow what is in my mouth, so I spit so the mucus doesn't get in my stomach. Might sound gross, but it seems to work for me. Terrie

I've lost about 20 pounds since my weigh-in 2 days before surgery. My surgery date was June 10, so you are doing quite well, even though you don't think so. My BMI was in the 38 range, so I do think my weight loss is slow, but at least I am losing weight. Of course my stomach has been a mess since the beginning and I've been in the ER with a UTI and have been working on antibiotics that kept me from eating, but that didn't help with the weight loss. Look for the positives, i.e., you are finished with the surgery and aren't gaining... Also, you will have a healthier lifestyle from now on. Terrie

My first full shake in down in the new stomach!!! Since my surgery, that is the first shake I have been able to finish, plus I don't feel miserable and am able to sip on Water afterwards. Thanks to you all for your suggestions! Everything seems to be on the road to recovery and I am feeling so much better...

Hi All! The first week seemed to be ok, but the 2nd week is horrible. I went to my 2 week post-op on Thursday and the surgeon threatened to put me back in the hospital because I can't get in enough fluids and am dehydrated. He said to concentrate on the fluids, but 3 sips land on the esophageal sphincter and it hurts until the 3 sips can pass through. I was able to 'eat' a lobster bisque (about 2 ounces) for dinner tonight, but it seems to be sitting at my throat. I had to go to the ER last night because of a fever of about 101 and they gave me fluids and antibiotics and said I had a urinary tract infection (I couldn't tell because I had no pain). I think it might be because I can't get fluids in and my system isn't used to going so little. Any suggestions/comments? Any one else have this type of problem 2 weeks after surgery? Other that the above, I haven't had any pain/problems and never even had pain meds after I was released from the hospital. Thanks for your help, Terrie

I think the reason that the sleeve requires a higher bmi is because when I read about the sleeve on medical websites, it is an operation that patients with higher bmi's go through before a gastric bypass, i.e., they don't think the bypass is safe at such a high bmi; they think the sleeve is safer. Once the person loses enough weight, then they can have the bypass.

BTW - Kudos on the great gams! I can tell you are at where I aspire to be, i.e., at or below target weight!!! Terrie

Of course! I thought the same thing... Why did I 'elect' surgery? My son said that "I did it to myself." I think he was talking about the pain and problems after surgery, not the fat to get me to surgery, but I know that I did both to myself. However, I will always believe that obesity is a disease. Diseases require medical intervention. Determining the type of intervention is the difference between us and people that yo-yo (which is what I was). Albert Einstein defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I chose what I consider the most sane route to a healthy lifestyle. I am expecting different results this time! And this is from a person that has been having a few problems 2 weeks after surgery. If I knew then what I know now, I would still do the surgery. 5 days post-op isn't the time to evaluate, but if you are going to: write it in a journal with pros and cons of the surgery, continue the journal in 2 weeks, 4 weeks, etc. At 1 year, look back at your weight loss and your journal to decide if you made the right choice. I think the answer will be yes. It will never be without challenges as life is never with challenges. Good luck, it will get better, Terrie

I've already bought some Unjury before. It seems to stay more clear than the other powders. I tried it and it's not half bad. A little thicker than water, but give me protein. I put in 1/3 scoop of strawberry Unjury, packet of benefiber, and almost a whole packet of raspberry lemonade Crystal Light in a 16.7 fl oz bottle of water. It is sippable. Besides, I found that I really didn't like the strawberry Unjury as a shake. The chocolate isn't bad tho.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Zephra - I was just on the unjury website again and was going to get the unflavored Protein powder. It might be nice to mix with my Water. I do have the strawberry, so I thought I might try to mix with my water, crystal light and benefiber. After all of that, does it still qualify as a liquid? LOL @Tiffykins - I did check the directions/warnings and can even take my medicine at the same time, but I would wait anyway... Why push it? It would be nice to take OTC and as soon as I can swallow a pill big enough, then I will. Luckily, they do have the option of a solutab for people like me. Just in case I'm developing a lactose issue that could be masked by the other issues, I started making my shakes with Silk (Soy Protein) instead of milk. There isn't much you can put in a shake that you can taste over the strong taste of the shake, so it isn't as bad as I imagined. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks again for your replies and suggestions.

Thanks for the suggestion Mary. I have tried warm liquids and they seem to help a little. I'm also trying a heating pad while I'm drinking. My girlfriend, a Vet, recommended chewing on beef Jerky or steak, but not swallowing. Apparently, the chewing causes the trigger points in the esophagus to start working. I am trying that also. It seems to help a little. Also, I have begun to eat Soups, even if I am not getting all my Protein in. At least the Soup give some enjoyment and leaves me less stressed and my stomach seems to like it. Tiffykins - I did get a my PCP to prescribe Prevacid Solutabs. They better be good, LOL, because after insurance they were only $50.90. Yikes! But any price would be good to help with this problem. It did seem to go better today. In the words of Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow's another day." Terrie

No I don't have any idea about the sleeve size. It wasn't even a question that I asked. I just relied on his expertise. Terrie

No I am not, but I might call my primary care because she said to just give her a call and she would call in a prescription if I had a problem with the surgeon. (She was very supportive of the surgery). She did mention that there is a Prevacid Solutab that just dissolves that she would prescribe for me. I'll keep you posted regarding the outcome, Terrie

The doctor recommended Zantac chewable, but I couldn't find any so I just started taking Pepcid. The other thing the doctor prescribed was metoclopramide because he thought I might have something called gastroparesis in which the stomach takes a long time to empty. My signs and symptoms of gastroparesis are: heartburn nausea early feeling of fullness after only a few bites of food abdominal bloating Thanks for your help, Terrie

Doctor has me chewing pepcid to help with the acid and heartburn. He also gave me a prescription for gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach doesn't push stuff to the small intestines, sort of like a little paralysis. Caused me to be extremely full after just a little to drink, nauseous, etc. He was going to put me in the hospital to hydrate and put an NG tube down my nose to feed me. He did say that my #1 task is to stay hydrated, then get my Protein in. He did explain what the sleeve looked like and how I should be able to get everything in because the top of the stomach is like a small banana, but there is a bulb at the end that would hold the food for digestion. I guess I didn't recognize that from all the pictures that I've seen of the sleeve. Hopefully, this will work because it couldn't get much worse. Anyone else have problems with this? The above posting doesn't help with the Water issue, but I did suck on ice cubes today and it seemed to help quite a bit. Freezing juice might help too. Terrie

I wish that I could help, but I'm thirsty all the time too! I can only get in 30 oz of liquids during a day, i.e., 14 oz of protein shake and 16 oz of water. I am 2 weeks out also. My stomach always feels overfull. Going to the surgeon to ask a few questions about this today, if he has any advice, I'll pass it on.

I have full liquids for 5 weeks. But, I haven't even looked at yogurt, jello, strained soups. I can barely get down the protein and I only drink about 14 ounces of it during the day, i.e., 66 grams. It keeps me full for 5 hours, plus sipping on water. The water sipping is going very slow. And I was sleeved on 6/10!!! I did get in 2 oz of tomato basil soup yesterday, but only drank 14 oz of water because of it. My only saving grace is that, even though I am hungry, I won't break the post-op diet because I don't want to hurt my sleeve. Anyone else eat the same amount after 13 days? Did I mention the heartburn? Never had it before, but last week when I asked the surgeon for something, he didn't give it to me... I see him tomorrow and will try to get something tomorrow.

I'm sleeved and finally told a few friends. One lives in Denver, Colorado. Anyone know/recommend a surgeon in the Denver area? Thanks.