MzPecanBrown

Same here! I don't want anymore of my stomach removed. I'm struggling to get in what I need now, though I'm doing better. :nod:

I would call your doctor to see what he/she recommends. Mine told me no NSAIDs, period because it is so harsh on your stomach. I was told that I could not take them a few years ago because of a different condition, so I'm used to managing pain without them. But if you feel that you may need them, I'd get instructions from my doc.

You know, I did not struggle with whether or not I would lose favor with God. I had my gallbladder removed in 2002 because it was causing me a great deal of pain and poor quality of life. My mother and her two sisters underwent mastectomies due to breast cancer. God has put things in place to help us live a longer, better, healthier life. And I knew that His will would be done. Now I did struggle with self disappointment, wondering why can't I just do this myself? And I was initially concerned about the permanency of it. But every time I got winded walking a great distance or could barely get out of my bed due to my knees hurting or thought about the child I want to be healthy enough to bare, those feelings went away. I knew God was leading the way. The surgeon, nurses were just vessels for His work. Even in my last moments of consciousness, when my nerves were really on edge and I was being strapped to the table, I prayed silently. One of the Nurses tapped me on the arm and asked if I was ok. I nodded. He squeezed and said "No worries. God is in control". Confirmation! I will never forget that.

Hi! I'm in NC, too. Which facility are you going through? I went through Duke. They are a Center of Excellence and awarded with Blue Distinction, which was necessary for my insurance - BCBS.

I had this type of pain on my right side after surgery. If I reached with that arm, tried to sit up, or any sudden movements I would feel the pain. When I walked, I pushed my stomach in on this side. I had a very difficult time getting comfortable to sleep at night. Mine faded after a little over 2 weeks.

:wave: Hi! I have about 220 to lose, but would be happy at 200 lost. I also would like to communicate directly with those of us who have much more to lose. I was sleeved on January 10. At my 3 week follow up last Wednesday, I was down 35 lbs. No pre-op diet for me, so that was all post surgery weight loss. Over the last week, I've only lost 3 lbs, making my total 38. I know that this is decent weight loss but I worry that I am not losing like I should. The weight loss stalled some during my 2nd week, I think mostly due to Aunt Flow coming to town. But then it picked back up and is slowing down a little. I introduced food a week ago after a 3 week liquid diet. I worry constantly about getting in the proper amount of calories, Protein, Water. I am able to consume a little more in one sitting this week, but it's still only 2 - 3 oz. I don't want to send my body into starvation mode. :banghead: I haven't started exercising yet. I've been working from 8:30 am - 8:00 pm Monday through Thursday so getting to the gym has been hard. I plan to start walking some this weekend. I am also still experiencing a lot of fatigue. I've started logging my intake on My Fitness Pal. I would love to friend some of you who are using it to compare daily meals and such. I haven't gotten over 600 calories per day this week, last week barely 300 per day. My name is MzPecanBrown there, also.

It'll be 4 weeks tomorrow for me since surgery. On my 3 wk appt last Wed, I was down 35 lbs since surgery. Then I lost 2 more pounds over the next 2 days. Now I've weighed the same thing since Fri. I also introduced food after being on 3 weeks on liquids. And I do mean liquids - no cream soups, jello, yogurt, NOTHING extra. I've been having a difficult time getting my calories in because I can only eat so little. I got to 570 today - that's the best I've done since starting food. I hope I'm not going into starvation mode. I was losing very steadily.

I got down a couple of bites of my taco bake, about half of a large meatball, and most of one wingette. But it was all very tasty do I was satisfied. But I looked around at everyone else, especially the guys, and was amazed at the amount of food they were eating! It's hard to believe that I ate like that just a few weeks ago! That made me smile and just savor what I could have. It'll all be worth it in the end.

WOW! May I ask what a sample day is like meal wise for you? I'm nowhere near half of this in a day. I haven't met Protein or Water goals yet.

I'm just under 4 weeks out from surgery and have been dealing with heartburn daily this week. I suffered from heartburn before surgery. My doctor started me on Prilosec OTC once a day in 2009 and it went away. I never had an issue anymore. My surgeon talked with me about this problem likely becoming worse after surgery and spoke about people having to revise to RNY to get rid of it. I DON'T want this to happen. I'm going to call my nurse tomorrow and tell them that the Prilosec alone is not managing it at this point. I've read on this forum about people using different combinations of PPIs to manage it. Hopefully, I can find something that works. I don't want any further surgeries, DEFINITELY not RNY.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and support. I am glad to hear that it's normal and will get a little better eventually. Christin, I'm SO struggling mentally, also. Yesterday, at the funeral I referred to, I got in SO little. I wanted to eat more, but couldn't. Tonight, we're having a Superbowl thingie at my sister's. I told her my contribution will be a low fat taco bake - lean ground beef, ff refried Beans, salsa, taco seasoning, low fat cheese, and some low fat sour cream. She's going to bake some wings for me since I can't have the fried ones. I KNOW I'll only be able to get down a spoonful of my taco bake (no chips) and maybe 1 wingette, MAYBE. And no alcohol for me! But the upside is I've lost 37 lbs in 3 1/2 weeks! And I haven't even started exercising yet. I'm in no way complaining and have no regret. But the adjustment can definitely be frustrating, especially if a stall were to come now. I PRAY NOT! We'll get through it all, Christin. Now off to pick at my baked chicken leg and 2 spoonfuls of beans. Let's see how much I can get down....

I'm almost 4 weeks out and posted a similar topic titled Restriction and Amount of Food Tolerated. I've gotten a couple of responses but I'll follow this one also to see what answers you get.

Thanks. Fortunately, my team is really strict during this 3 month soft phase. I am not allowed chips or anything junk like. Nothing fried. Very low sugar, no Desserts. They push Protein, then veggies, and good carbs only. I was amazed to read about people eating chips and nachos during this phase. I am following everything to the T. Hopefully, by excluding those types of food for 4 months, I'll establish good habits. I have no choice but to eat healthy. But I can imagine it's easy to do with little restriction on those items.

WOW. Thanks for the reply. It now almost feels like eating is a chore. Like I'll have to have something in my mouth every 2 hours just to get in Protein. Today I drank a shake this morning. I had to travel for a funeral and just had a chance to eat again. I couldn't eat most of what was available at the repast, so I had a small piece of ham, a small amount of potato salad and a couple of green Beans. I wanted to eat more but couldn't.

I am just shy of 4 weeks out. I've only been on soft foods for 4 days, but am having some difficulty. So far, everything I've tried goes down with no problem. But I literally ONLY can eat 4 or 5 SMALL bites before I begin hiccuping and feeling like food may come back up in my throat. The bites are very small and I chew well over a minute before swallowing. Was this normal in the beginning for everyone? Does it get better further out? Do I have an extra small sleeve? I was told on my 3 week post op that a 36 French bougie was used for me. It's not that I have a desire to overeat or anything. But I am concerned that I will not be able to get in the amount of calories I am expected to eat. Within this 3 month stage, I was told that I should be working towards 900 calories per day! WHAT?! HOW?! I doubt I've gotten in 300 calories per day since I started eating. I've read that some of you eat over 1200 per day. I just can't imagine that. Please give me some insight for the near future. Will this get better?

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and encouragement!

Wonderful! You're doing great! I wore a pair of pants on Monday that I purchased in August. When I wore them that first time, the button popped off by noon! Needless to say, I came home and hung them in my closet. I tried them on again for the first time this week. Not only were they easy to pull up and zip, but they were baggy in the seat and thighs! I was CUTE in my baggy pants all day, girl! LOL!

Thanks! In my class yesterday, we were told to eat within 20-30 minutes. It took me around 45 to eat the chilli last night. Today, I ate within 30. I am not allowed to eat soft bread or Pasta in this phase at all. She did say we could have crackers and to be sure to chew well. I only had a couple and don't plan to eat many of them. They're empty calories. Thanks for the info. The recipe sounds delicious! I will try that a little further out.

Thanks! Do you have a date yet?

I had my 3 week follow up appointment yesterday. I'm down 35 lbs!!! :bananapowerslide: I am SO excited!! And being able to move to soft foods - OMG! I felt like it was my birthday and Christmas all in one! I cannot remember the last time I was able to lose 35 lbs! I am also very proud of myself for not cheating. I was on just liquids for 3 weeks. I was not allowed yogurt, eggs, potatoes, apple sauce - nothing! Just Water, Crystal Light, Protein shakes, strained low fat clear Soup, broth, etc. UGH! I NEVER experimented! Not even dabbing my finger in something and tasting it. I patted myself on the back for it. :cheer2: And I am one that HATED Protein drinks. Premiere from costco were the best, but I don't want anymore. So now with soft foods. After my appointment, I needed something last night so I got a small chilli from Wendy's. It was like a steak to me! I've never had chilli so good. I was only able to get down about 1/3 of it before I started having a funny feeling. It didn't feel like "full" did before surgery. I really didn't feel stuffed at all. But I felt a few funny gurgles in my stomach and began to burp a few times. I decided to stop then. Is this my restriction? How do you all know when you're full? My NUT stresses getting protein from food at this point vs. shakes. Today, I had 3/4 of a boiled egg sprinkled with a little low fat cheese for Breakfast, 2 oz. of canned tuna in water with a little low fat mayo and a couple of crackers for lunch, later in the afternoon 2 oz of fat free deli turkey with 1 slice of low fat cheese, and I just ate 4 orange slices maybe an hour ago. I don't feel like eating anything else tonight. How in the world do you all get all of your protein in through food? Did I make decent choices? I'm sorry to be so long. I wanted to share my good news and get some insight from you all to ensure that I am continuing on the right path. I've learned so much on this forum and appreciate all feedback. Thanks!

Hello to all of my January Sleevers! I had my 3 week post op visit on yesterday and GUESS WHAT?! I'M DOWN 35 POUNDS!!! It's COMPLETELY amazing to me! I can't remember the last time I lost 35 lbs! :clap2: AND yesterday I was able to move to soft foods! OMG! I was so excited! Some of you are so lucky with what you were allowed during the 2-3 weeks post op. I was on strictly liquids! Water, protein shakes, Crystal Light, Propel, dilated clear juice, broth, strained low fat soup, UGH! Now the challenge is actually eating the amount they want me to eat.....

This made me laugh so hard! I actually saw Dr. Oz when he talked about the growth from a man's weight loss. I mentioned it to my husband, who has gained a bit if weight since our marriage, back then. Now that I've read so many first hand experiences, he's getting with the weight loss program ASAP! It's not terrible now, but I remember when it was better! Thank you guys for the laugh and confirmation! :laugh:

I've posted on a couple of other threads about this. Mine came 1 week after surgery and it was the period from HELL! :mad2: I wouldn't have wished that one on my worst enemy!

YAY! Sounds like you're doing great! I am three weeks out today and I still have a very dry mouth, especially throughout the night. I have to sip frequently. I go to soft foods tomorrow - words can't express how excited I am! :Banane09: Good luck during your recovery!

LOL! Hilarious! In my pre op group, we were told to decide physically when we felt up to it based on our own bodies. BUT, we were cautioned to keep it simple during the initial 3 weeks. No crazy new positions, no acrobatic moves, no lifting or pulling. My group got a good laugh from this discussion.