YellowRose

LOL... mine was the opposite. I never used to drink a lot of Water. NOW I love it and cannot stand juices. I bought a bunch of the small bottles of G2 - they actually made me gag. I ended up giving them away. I've noticed a change in the way foods taste too. I tried a container of yogurt and all I could taste was the artificial sweeteners. I tried different Soup broths and all I could taste was the potato starch in them. I guess it's not a bad thing, but it just makes every bite an adventure. lol. SO SORRY about the water thing!

misread the post -- AFTER solid foods... sorry about that.

Linda Sue! -- http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ She gives all the nutritional information. She rates the recipes and adds "tweaks". 99% of the items are common items you can buy anywhere. It is "real" food and all low carb. One of my favorites of hers - spanish rice (mock: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/spanish_rice&hamburger.html Enjoy!

Dee - you are one day ahead of me so I know what you are feeling. One day I feel almost 80% better and then the very next day I feel so draggy! I have ALSO developed some kind of sinus/allergy thing. I have a dry cough and constant sinus drainage. Now I don't know WHAT is going on - whether it is still residual affects of the surgery OR affects of sinuses! BOTH will make you feel draggy. AND my back hurt, but doing a little better now. AND I had an incision issue where the drain tube was. It kept popping open. I finally put steri-strips on it and it has healed up -- BUT where the adhesive is on the strips has made bad sores because of an allergy to the adhesive!! So -- yeah -- healing is hard and miserable. BUT -- I don't feel as bad as I did 2 weeks ago, and I don't feel as good as I am going to feel 6 weeks from now. I have been eating a lot of tuna & chicken pate -- lol. AND creamy egg salad, and whatever Protein I can take just to try and get my energy up. Remember that good fats supply energy so be sure you are putting good fats in the mix!! I put a tsp of coconut oil, olive oil, or real butter in some of my foods. The good oils keep your skin soft, your hair shiny, and you nails strong. etc. Don't neglect the good fats!

Same happened to me. I think I had an allergic reaction to the bandage tape. I have never had that before - but for some reason I did. I put benadryl cream all around my belly (but not on the stiches) and I tool a small benadryl capsule every 6 hours. I was pretty groggy, but it was the ONLY way to relieve the itching. It went away in about 4 days. Whew! But TOUGH while it was happening.

I'm 56. I drive a Ford Focus. I paid a lot less for it than a Mustang. It's still a Ford and it still gets me to where I need to go. Do your research and do what is most comfortable for YOU. And don't let the alarmists make you feel guilty.

As far as preparation for after surgery -- I knew I wouldn't feel like shopping for a couple of weeks so I wanted to be prepared. I bought a bunch of juice - apple and grape mostly. I drank a few small bottles to get me through the first couple of weeks of Clear liquids. NOW I have all this juice leftover! hahaha (I'm not drinking juices, but concentrating on Protein now). I read a lot about dehydration so I bought some of the little G2 bottles. I drank about 1/2 of ONE bottle and it was yucky. My taste buds were super sensitive. You are better off sticking to Water for hydration! THEN I bought a variety of canned Soups. I figured I would just strain them and drink the broth - BAD IDEA. The broth tasted SO processed and bad! Again, my taste buds just didn't like the potato starch in these! So I have about 10 cans of Soup to donate to a food bank. What I DID eat a lot of was boxed or home-made broth. The low-sodium, organic chicken broth was great heated and sipped. I also boiled some stew meat, onions, & spices then strained the broth from that. I kept 3 or 4 bowls in the fridge with broth for my meals. Now - 3 weeks out - I am on mushies. So far my favorite has been pureed tuna salad. I keep about 3-4 containers of pureed foods in the fridge to take for lunch & dinner. Hope this helps on the food part of preparation.

DivaDee, my dear room-mate - Patience, girlfriend. It will happen. I've been reading and studying on this. Week 1 & 2 are 'trauma" weeks where you recouperate from the surgery and rest. Weeks 3 & 4 are a double edged sword - you get to add mushies - YAY! - which then cause a stall - Waa! So, you patiently wait through those couple of weeks. THEN weeks 5 & 6, you begin to feel more normal. You can start exercising a little more. AND then you begin to see the scale turn around. Most people begin to lose. So then the NEXT thing is 2-3 months out you are posting some "before/after" photos and "re-shopping" your closet! BUT -- MONTHS have to pass for this to begin happening. Wait for it.... wait for it .... wait for it.... lol...love ya!

One week out and I started itching. Everywhere I had any surgical tape itched and had raised whelps. It was HORRIBLE. I took benadryl every 5-6 hours & slathered benadryl cream around my incisions for almost 3 days. (NOT on the incisions, but AROUND them). I walked around kind of dopey, but it was the ONLY thing that stopped the itching. it went away in approx 4 days. I had to just lay around on that weekend with my belly exposed (no bandages) to try and let it all dry out. I am now at week 3 and NO residual affects of the hives. I was very worried about taking the benadryl so soon after being sleeved, but there was NO problems.

SeatleSue - I hear you about the sweets. I owned a bakery; I was a severe sugar-holic. NOW? anything sweet tastes blaah. Artificial sweetners taste like metal. Things with real sugar taste like they are WAY too sweet. I'm NOT complaining! .... I am thrilled by this change.

Day 16 - back pain was better today, but I slept in the guest bedroom on a firmer mattress. Hubby says he will swap them out until I feel better. food intake was "okay", but not as much Protein as yesterday. Routine of taking Prevacid has REALLY helped with the stomach pain. Almost non-existant now - almost. Drinking plenty of Water. AND -- wore a shirt from the back of my closet today that wouldn't fit me 16 days ago.

The first week was about what I expected - a little sore and a little tired. By the second week, I just didn't seem to have ANY energ - slept a lot! Then during that time I started having some "chest pains" that made it hard to fall asleep. I started to worry about a "leak" or infection. I have a very HIGH pain tolerance so this was majorly annoying. My doctor had not prescribed anything for acid reflux or hearburn so I started reading about it here. I decided to try it and took a Prevacid - within a few minutes NO more chest pain. NOW, it is part of my routine - no more pain. SO... what I "thought" was pain due directly to the surgery, turned out to be "heartburn" (due to the surgery) and easily fixed. I am 3 weeks sleeved - and yesterday was the first day I felt totally NORMAL again.! woohoo!

I made "egg drop soup" by using chicken broth, 1 egg, salt, pepper, & onion powder. I whipped it in the blender and then heated it in a pot. It was so good. (I had to do clears for 2 weeks, but today I start "thickquids" lol. I can add thicker things like yogurt and creamed soups. Yay!

Sleeved 15 days ago by Dr Almanza Reyes. Yes, I had my surgery done in a clinic--and Yes, they sent me to a Town Home (not a Hotel) to recover. The "Recovery House" was staffed with 3-4 people at all times, around the clock. They made "rounds" and checked on us. I felt totally safe. I could NOT afford the surgery otherwise, and I am VERY VERY happy with my choice and with the doctors. There are a LOT of "surgery clinics" in the U.S. (at least in Texas) that have what they call "Hospitality Houses" for recovery. It is NOT a new or foreign concept.

I AM ON A JOURNEY! ... with lots of sights to see on the way. I AM NOT IN A RACE! .... there is no pressure of a "finish line"

Awesome story! Thank you so much for sharing it. You sound like an awesome & grounded man, and happy you found "life" again!

Today is day 15 since I was sleeved. I have not had much pain. I DID, however, have a HORRIBLE case of hives everywhere tape had been - all over my belly, all around my stitches, AND on the back of my hand where the IV was. THANK GOODNESS they only lasted through 1 weekend - I took benadryl every 6 HOURS and kept cream on them. I'm still on liquids, although today I can add "thickquids" lol -- just made that up! hahahaha BUT ... I have been SO TIRED. I had to go back to work on Day 5 (called in sick Day 6), and finally made it all day on Day 7. I have been dragging myself to work, sitting at my desk bundled up in a sweater - don't know if the office building is cold or if it is me. When I go home in the evenings I go straight to bed. I went to my follow-up doc and got a B Complex shot, hoping to get some energy. It didn't seem to help. I brought a small pillow and throw to work with me so that I can lock my office door at lunch, turn off the light, and lay down in the middle of the floor and nap! I send an email to the bosses - "gone to lunch" -- and then crash for the hour. FOOD: (I take 30 to 1 hr to finish my shake or my broth) Everyday I start with a 1/2 cup of milk, 1 raw egg, 1 pkt splenda, & 1/2 tsp vanilla (Egg Cream - in the blender) - just to start with SOME Protein. I ordered a BUNCH of Protein shakes (kaching), but I cannot stand any of them. I'm going to go back to my tried and true "Designer Whey" because I always like it before. -- Water Mid-morning - 6-8 oz of juice (either apple, grape, or OJ) -- water Lunch - 3/4 - 1 cup of Soup broth (depends on what I made the night before) - Last night I made "Egg Drop Soup" - chicken broth, 1 egg, onion powder, salt, pepper in the blender, then heated on the stove. Yummy. --water Mid-afternoon - usually the other part of my mid-morning juice dinner -- some kind of soup broth (The other night I boiled stew meat with cilantro & onions. I strained the broth for me, then turned it into "fajitas" for the hubby. PROBLEMS: My BACK hurts. It is a dull ache in the middle of my back and sometimes close to my kidneys - sort of like when you have a low grade fever (no, I don't have fever). Not sure why, but it is annoying. Yesterday I had a little pain. It felt sort of like a burning in my chest. I laid down last night and was uncomfortable. I slept kind of propped up last night. I was clueless - then the light bulb came on - Is this... HEART BURN? I never had heart burn before - rarely - so it was kind of a new sensation. I kept thinking it was the surgery. So, this morning I took a Pepcid. Well, surprise surprise - I feel almost normal! Back is still achy, but stomach is gooooood. I was not "officially" prescribed anything for that - so my info is from these wonderful boards!! TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY I HAVEN'T FELT LIKE I HAD TO TAKE A NAP!! I see people posting about stomach pain - this MIGHT be something they need to consider if they are NOT taking something for heartburn. AND my last problem - my sense of taste seems to be heightened. Everything is OVERLY sweet or OVERLY spicy. I'm eating small teaspoons of vanilla yogurt today and really NOT liking the flavor - which is not usual for me!! I love yogurt. Even some of the canned Soups that I bought to strain are nasty because all I can taste is either potato starch or tomato puree. I started looking at the labels and was like - YUCK - everything has "potato starch" in it. UGH- GACKKK - NASTY. OBSERVANCES: I'm SO ready to do this! A co-worker brought me a cherry cheesecake slice today (a thank-you for something I had done). I graciously accepted it - OH you shouldn't have!! -- smiled and cooed over it. They left. I placed it in my trash can, on the bottom, UNDER the papers. Later I just said, "I love cheesecake! Thanks again!" and left it at that. So, I fired up fitday again today - haven't used it in over a year. Looks like I will be getting around 45 grams of protein today -- NOT bad for day 15. JUST NEED ADVICE ABOUT MY ACHING BACK! UGH. BECAUSE my tummy is not hurting and because I can have a little yogurt today, I have a little more energy.

Magnesium is a natural laxative. It is something that your body needs, and any excess it "gets rid of".... and you get the desired result. lol.

"Expectations" are a hard thing to nail down. I mean if we DON"T meet our expectations we get depressed, if we MEET our expectations we are like "ho hum" - but if we EXCEED our expectations then we are thrilled. I place "expectations" right there with "attainable goals" -- I HAVE NO CLUE! lol We cannot compare ourselves to others because everyone is so different - different ages, different environments, different sizes, etc. I have really tried NOT to look at how much each person lost at each point, because I will either set myself up for disappointment or get my expectations sliced. I remember going to WW and each week it was a HUGE struggle to reach a weekly goal - I mean it was SO unpredictable - up one, down 2, up 1/4, down 1/8, etc etc etc. SO -- NOW, with the sleeve - ONE FREAKIN' DAY AT A TIME. hahahahahaha I LOVE the fact that you are keeping a journal log - that really really helps. I made an excel chart so I can visually see the progress. Downward progress is the most important. Of course, I'm just starting - June 30th - and there is a nagging voice in the back of my head saying the same old song it always plays "It will work for everyone EXCEPT YOU-hooo!!" THEN I resort to MY favorite song - "It is a continual journey, and NOT a timed race with a finish line that has to be crossed!" Maybe I'm just different, (and I haven't hit my first stall! lol), but this is MY journey and it is totally unique to me. Who KNOWS where I'll end up - but my expectations are small & ever changing. .... whew.... sorry about the philosophy rant. hahahaha --- carry on.

I had surgery on June 30th and had to be back to work on July 5th. It was very hard returning to work. I am VERY resilient and have a very high pain tolerance, so it was all about the lack of energy for me.. I ended up leaving at noon. Then I called in sick the next day (stayed in bed the entire time). Fortunately (lol??) several people at work have been out with stomach virus so I just joined up with that group. I was finally able to make a full day of it on the next Thursday & Friday. NOBODY at work knows about the surgery. I would have to say the ONLY way I did it was immediately go home and go to bed after work! I have spent the weekends since my surgery pretty much resting. I have found that one day I will feel almost normal, but then another day I will feel like I cannot put one foot in front of the other. But my mantra has become - "I feel better than I did a week ago, but not as good as I'm gonna feel a month from now!"

Yeah - like that. It is so maddening it is funny. I leave the room when he eats because I can't stand the noise. It is not so much about the food but just those sounds of preparation & eating. hahahahaha AND it never bothered me much before my sleeve. Might need to list this as one of the side effects! hahaa

Oh yes, thought about that and went around them! The spots are still itchy today but not as red. Thanks!

Well, thanks everyone. Right now I'm slathered in benadryl cream! I have been so careful to watch over my stitches. I didn't want my clothes irritating them so I carefully covered them with gauze. I used a LOT of tape to make sure it would stick. I had my first full day at work on Thursday. Now I am MISERABLE - and discovered IM ALLERGIC TO TAPE. What a strange thing. Scuse me while I grab my hairbrush and re-apply the cream!! Lol. Hopefully this weekend I can get the stitches out and the rash gone.

I had a great time and good memories. I personally don't like staying in a hospital so FOR ME, the transfer to the recovery house was ideal. I could move around as I pleased. In the U.S. I had major surgery on my face for skin cancer. 1 hour after surgery I was moved to a hospitality house for 48 hours. I got spoiled and loved the fact that I had choices. So again, FOR ME, there was NO problem recovering elsewhere. Made some really good friends too.

It also depends upon the time of day and the day of the week. It took us 3 hours because it was around 5pm on a Saturday night.