PatrickG

I am in my 5th week post-op and my body is starting to grudgingly give up the weight after stalling at 3 weeks. I increased my protein intake and walking time and I am losing about 1-2 lbs per week. This morning I saw 239.

I am a side sleeper, but the first week after the operation I had to sleep on my back because it hurt to lay on my sides. I also raised the head of the bed with some 2x4's because I had acid reflux. After the drain was out I returned to sleeping on my sides.

Friday marked 3 weeks since the surgery. I have lost 30 pounds since starting the pre-op diet and 20 pounds since the surgery. I have hit my first plateau this last week. I have been moving up and down a few pounds but no signifigant loss. I plan to increase my exercise and hopefully move past this stall.

I know I am not only one who gets morning wood. It never really went away even at my heaviest. Since I have been losing weight I have noticed the return of "wet dreams". I haven't had this since I was in high school. I may need to bother the wife for more than once per week. Anyone else experiencing this?

Sounds like acid reflux.

I am in my third week and I have been getting abdominal pains as well. Mine seems to be around the incissions so I just assume that it is healing pains. One tylenol is enough to get rid of the pain so I am not worried.

I tried another 1/4 cup of the pureed chicken again tonight. I really took my time eating over 40 minutes. I did not get the uncomfortable full feeling this time. I am slowly unlearning my bad habit of wolfing down food. I would rather eat 1/4 cup of pureed meat than gag down another protein shake.

I pureed a can of chicken with some ranch dressing. I filled up a 1/4 cup container. I tried to eat it slowly but I still have problems with that. I ended up "finishing it" and was uncomfortably full for about an hour. I should have stopped at 1/8 cup. Can't wait to see what solid food will be like.

Your stomach probably shrank a little bit when you were sick and not eating as much.

I tried lentil soup yesterday and it tastes pretty good. Much higher protein and lower carbs. I will stick with that for now.

You're right, at 14g carbs per container these should be avoided. I guess a carton of non-fat milk would be better if you can stand it.

Hmm. I have a sample of topical salicylate patches. I will have to try those. If it doesn't go through your stomach it should be OK.

I am sitting here with a crick in my neck. I cannot find the pre-op instructions the surgeon gave me but I think I am supposed to wait 6 weeks after the surgery to use NSAIDs like Motrin or asprin. Tylenol is just not helping. How long did you wait before you used NSAIDs? I guess it is time to lay down on the heating pad.

Yes I was told the same thing too. I am not even supposed to have regular Slim Fast because it has too much sugar. I am just saying the Gatorade G3 is probably OK in a pinch if you cannot find anything else.

The flavors are lemon-lime/orange or strawberry/kiwi. I have only tried the lemon-lime/orange so far. It is sweetened with glucose so it tastes a little sweet to me. It is less "salty" and more sweet than regular gaterade.

Just picked up some Gatorade G3 at the supermarket. It has 16g protein per bottle for 120 calories. At $2 per bottle (on special at Jewel) it is certainly cheaper than the GNC fruit flavored protein drinks. It seems like a good choice for me when I am out and don't have my Special K protein water mix with me (or a bottle to mix it in).

I lost 10 pounds on the pre-op diet. The first few days the cravings for carbs were pretty bad but I got over it.

I guess you might lose a little muscle mass if you are not getting enough protein from other sources.

It has been pretty bad for me too. Although I was notorious before the surgery so nothing has changed for me.

I have been trying the pureed foods and I find that some go down far easier than others. I have been eating warmed up ricotta and yogurt without blending them. They don't go down so easy. I can eat maybe 1/4 cup before I have to stop. A few days ago I started pureed chilli (red beans, tomato and turkey burger) which goes down easier than the cheese or yogurt. I eat 1/4 cup of that and I am full for an hour or more. Today I tried pureed Progresso light chicken dumpling soup. I ate 1/4 cup of that and I was back for another 1/4 cup within 15 minutes. The soup seems to clear my stomach a whole lot faster than the other foods. Now I am worried that I will get hooked on the things that go down easy and side track my weight loss. I guess I will need to have some will power and keep it to one can of soup (2 cups) per day. Good thing it is only 160 calories.

I had a gout flare-up two weeks before surgery about the time I started the low calorie diet. I was OK the first week, but once I had to stop ibuprofen I was in hell. I finally went to urgent care after two days of tylenol and got a prescription for 3 colchacine pills. This stopped the flare up temporarily. The night before surgery I could not sleep because of the pain. The surgeon prescribed a three week dose. I took it the first day home and then forgot it for three days. I finally got back on it , starting with 3 pills the first day and one a day after that. I was on the pain meds for longer than needed because of the gout flare-up. Two weeks out and the gout is finally settling down. The surgeon said the gout flare-up was probably from dehydration.

Just thought I would stop in and say hi. I have posting in the post-op forum and finally scrolled down to find this forum.

I started yogurt 5 days after my surgery (2 days early). Just go slow. The first few times I ate too fast and got bad hick-ups until the food went down.

I know exactly what you mean. Ever since I started the liquid diet before surgery it has been like that. Something to do with eating much smaller amounts more frequently I think.

How long did it take for your incisions to heal? I am two weeks out and so far only the smallest incision has completely lost its scab. My abdomen is also has purple freckles from all of the heparin shots. I hope this is all cleared up within the next month or so.