teambrown4

Today is my two week po. I went into the dr on day 10 and had lost 8lbs. Of course dr said its all Water and such and not to expect that as a rule. He said -3lb a week is the norm. And although my classmates in surgery same day (Same Dr all lost more than me). So I follow his dietary instructions... Keep calories 700-1000 (I'm just barely getting the 700), and 60gram Protein (that's easy), 8 cups of water (no problem) and under 100 carbs (not even coming close to half) and under 20g fat (max has been 11 so far) plus 30min walking daily.. I'm doing at least that and some days I use treadmill too. I got frustrated end of last week so said only weigh in on weekly basis... Soooo here I am week two and I GAINED ONE POUND!!! It's not period weight (not close enough) and not muscle as I haven't toned any muscles or used them enough to consider that per my nurses feedback on my gain after talking to her today. Her really only thought was maybe I'm not eating enough? how would more food help? I eat until I'm full and am tracking all calories and ingredients to a T with myfitnesspal, so I read it all to her for a few diff days and she says .. Well that's a puzzle. I know one sameday classmate told me today she is down -26 and the other -22!!! Wtf??? They're both my size and although one is much younger they say we are basically eating the same and the one with the most loss says she only drinks maybe 2-3 cups of water a day. I know we are ALL different... I'm not saying I must be where they are I'm only saying I wonder why I am not close? I want to be sure I'm not missing something obvious? We text each other a lot and one is eating a lot more fat that me and than allowed and even eating candy and still -22 at two weeks! Ughhhhhh just too frustrated! Losing super slow is depressing enough but A GAIN???? Omg!!!! What the heck!!!!!!! :<

Thanks all! I just had to vent and having nobody that has gone through this to talk to its rough so it ends up here with people that understand! I'm not feeling regret or like I'm failing, but wondered what I'm doing wrong but when I lay it all out.... There is Nothing! Really... I'm doing as dr says so I'm sure it'll all work out the way I hope it will. I'm enjoying learning new goods that are god for me and the family! And I do feel better everyday. Just gotta stay positive right? :-)

My pre-op Questionaire was like this: Do you use a drain tube? How many incisions will I have? (what he failed to tell me until I went to the hospital in horrible pain on day four po was he has to cut into a muscle to get to my stomach then stitch it and it'll hurt like hell and affect every movement u make and do not ice it after day one, use heat or it'll spasm (which it did) & feel like an alien popping outta your side)... Yes I wish he prepared me there! .......(cont)..... Will I see you before surgery? How long will it take? How long should it take for me to come out of anesthesia? How long will I be in recovery before I see my family? Will u update my family? Do I have a private room for my family to wait in? What type of pain should I expect? What type of pain signals a problem? Will I be allowed Water or ice after? What medicine will I be on after? How long until you do the upper gi for the leak test? How long will I stay in the hospital? Are u avail 24hrs by phone? Ok..... Now here's the things that I wasn't ready for while in hospital.... *Nurses walking me very two hours without fail! *The shot in the tummy before and after aurgery(I for one say it hurt) *breathing treatments every 4 hours (even tho I'm not asthmatic and had an oxygen line in my nose try say its standard to clear out the lungs so u don't get phenumonia) *the alien muscle-lol *itching at the incision lines *how horribly bad & painful the burping is trying to get out the gas they inflate U with (walking, sitting up at an incline and having someone rub circles on your back like patting a baby will get that out) Otherwise I think I was very prepared!!! I had a rough first few days but now I'm two weeks po and started mushy food on day 10 and I think I'm doing pretty well. I haven't lost anything near what the most people post, I was -8 week one and -11 by this second week but as long as I'm at least two pounds a week my dr says its a success. so I have to have patience!!! Good luck

I have a multi, calcium, iron, b12,b1, d3... And a layout the dr suggested, multi, calcium(chew) ,& d3(chew) after bfast, then B12(chew),b1(chew) & iron (chew), after lunch, then another multi and calcium after dinner an one more calcium before bed. Important fact- do not take iron or calcium at same time as they xcl each other out & you will get naseua. I only have the multi capsule that's not chewable and my first day I was sick to my stomach all day after taking it. I now take it while actually swallowing food. Best for me is either in my spoon of activia or nf cottage cheese. The calcium chew is really big and sorta bitter so I try to take small bites of that along with bites of foods too. No more nausea now!

I had one week clear liquids & SF Popsicles then was on mushy foods on day 9. Activia was the easiest and best. NF Cottage cheese went down great. SF tapioca pudding SF jello. I still use an love the protein gem (looks like jello cups) because it tastes like jello but has 25g protein!! I have an egg white lightly scrambled and cottage cheese for breakfast and healthy choice Thai chicken and brown rice for lunch and mostly some other type of bean soup and cottage cheese for dinner. Snacks of refried beans and nonfat cheese too. It's a slow process but each week is better and you can add more variety.

Thanks for the share! it's encouraging! You look great and I wish you continued luck.

Thanks for the share! it's encouraging! You look great and I wish you continued luck.

They should offer a seminar. If so then go and go to another somewhere else to compare. I did that and ended up with Dr Jeremy Korman of LA BARIATRICS in marina del ray. I had a fellow patient Who was from Sacramento and another from bakersfield, which shows something!!! I couldn't consider that Lapland for me cause of the many issues and the hunger factor is still there and you have constant maintanece for long term. Just too many issues all together. I was never more sure until i read about The sleeve and I got tht done 2/13/12. I am more than thrilled with my doctor and his entire staff! Which btw are all in one office... Pysch, NUT, plastics, therapist, exercise trainer and so on... So look at the overall benefits and of course their track record since the sleeve is sort of new. Good luck!!

I am NOT trying to discourage you... Just sharing.... I went through the same thing with Cigna(open access plus), and after all was said and done they still denied my appeal after the 6mo and all paperwork from dr saying I needed it! They said jut because my BMi was higher than their minimum, I didn't have a "health risk", stating diabetic & high blood pressure. My response included the fact that I'm next in line for those things and my medical will be used for sure for a very long time for care and even heart and cholesterol issues and so so on... Another month went by and another denial! My resolution was a $20k medical loan and my sleeve was done 2-13! At some point (2years), I had to bite the bullet and take care of what I knew I needed!!! Now... I hope hope hope your outcome is successful. And if not that you have options!!! Just wanted u to prepare... Good luck!!!

Yep it's an every day thing forever. I have my multi, calcium citrate(must be this type of citrate calcium because we no longer produce the acids in our stomach as before), iron, D3 B1 B12 And I take the biotin to help with the hair loss. My dr said he didn't approve or disapprove of that one but it won't hurt.

One more suggestion... Switch the Splenda for Stevia. My dr was very very pushy on no artificial sweeteners as they erode our tummy!!! The Stevia isn't bad, so maybe try that too;-)

I wasn't given a specific time frame, but when I asked my dr he said coffee even decaf contains acids which are hard on our stomach lining. The reason most choose decaf is because it's less dehydrating. He said to me that I should avoid it for the first few weeks but after that a cup a day is acceptable and if I can't stand sf creamer then I am to try to limit my creamer to a tablespoon. I'm only a week and half out and can't wait to et back to my coffee. But my peppermint tea with a cough drop (yep drop it right in and it soothes my tummy bubbles) feels really good and gives me the closest enjoyment to my coffee I can have right now.

Tuna is in my week 4 stage so being I'm just starting my week one mushy stage it's been yogurt and cottage cheese and soft scrambled eggs for me. The non fat cottage cheese goes down so smooth so I eat that everyday as it feels good. It's such an odd feeling to start eating again and even taking the Vitamins (started today) have made me sick to my stomach and I haven't felt that yet at all! Take it slow and easy and be patient.... Congrats on your journey!

That's so cool! I look forward to that day I can do that and lift my breasts that will be all but pancakes after I lose this weight. Im only ten days po and it's but hell, so to ear me say I'd go under the knife is odd but these are the final stages of getting rid of my weight. I already have a hanging stomach somewhat and after I lose I can only imagine what that will be then. I'm wishing u the best and even if you don't post pics, take them for yourself!! Then when u feel the pain u can look and say, the pain of seeing that (before) everyday was a daily pain and this is temporary!!!

All I can think of is benefiber?

I'm 9 days po and today I started my Vitamins. In the a.m. You'll have 3...One you swallow and two you chew. I did the capsule first cause I felt that swallowing the both of the chews after will help it go down easier too.. so it was yea.... uncomfortable. I felt it the whole way down and once it hit. I sat up straight drank a bit and then a sip more after before my Chewables. It didn't hurt or make me gag just felt a little tight in the throat and on its way down. And the cheat area. Discomfort but not pain. Then I burped and did one chew then another sip of Water and waited a minute. Then burped again and ate the last chew followed by water again after a minute. Slow is the key but it's totally doable and I'm sure in time it'll be easy. I only started soft foods yesterday so it's all new to swallowing now.

*chest area not cheat!!

I swallow my pill form vitamins first with a small amount of water then I chew the chewable ones as I figure that saliva and such will help the first ones go down more.

Congrats on your decision and goo luck on your journey!! I am 8 days po. & My dr was Rey clear to not excerise Until week8, and even then at his approval. Until then I walk the dog 30 min every day. I get winded and dizzy but each day it gets better! The side pain is a huge issue for me too. I was told today at my one week check up it'll e 6-8 week before that muscle stops hurting. It's a major muscle that is connected to any activity invoking your arm or waist movement and IT WAS CUT AND SEWN UP!!! I didn't know when I was released on day one and freaked out from the pain but also I was icing it and it was spasming and finally day four I went to THR hospital cause it felt like an alien baby wanting to pop out and that's when it was explained to me what they did!!! Oh dear lord start off with that prior to surgery will ya!????? Now I use a heating pad as much as possible an. The two days I've gone somewhere I use those temporary heating pads strips that stick to me. Ahhhh relief!!! I started soft food today and it felt so good. I wondered how will I really know when I'm full cause I feel starved... And uhhhh oh I knew!!! Ouch!!!! But I'm learning like everyone else and am exciting for my journey. I had a major issue for 4 days po getting any liquids down, let alone Protein liquids, so my loss for one week is 8.9lbs. I was sad, but being the dr said i was dehydrated when I saw him on day 4, I understand that the 64oz of liquid & 60g of protein we are to take in everyday aide in our weight loss. You'll stall, and your body will not cooperate so that an 30min of walking daily will be the key to weight loss and healthy living. Well that and our mountain of Vitamins, I start mine tomorrow;-) Be gentle and hopeful towards you and you'll be a success!!!

So one week has gone by.... Hell week as it will be now referred as:) I haven't lost a lot like most, I've lost 8lbs. In part i believe it's cause I was unable to get enough liquids and Protein for 4 days. Dr. Said that'll affect me a lot. Plus I still have a lot of gas from the surgery. I'm not wearing my jeans yet as they are still too tight so I am In sweats for now. It's amazing how much better I feel everyday! It's been a rough week. I'm still having a ton of pain on the right side muscle that was cut an stitched, which makes sleep hard, & the dr said it could take several more weeks for that to feel like its healing. The liquids are are down well now and I've gone to the bathroom (somewhat). Was on all liquids until today. Nothing milk or cream based. So today I got to eat....... I scrambled (very softly as u don't want it too hard) egg whites with a little pepper and lawyrs. + a few tablespoons of nonfat cottage cheese.. Later was some activia and then strawberries in my chocolate whey shake (with Water not Mille yet). Soooooooo good! I will start my Vitamins tomorrow and my Biotin chews to help keep my hair-lol I Will continue walking the dog 40-45 min a day and go back at the one month mark to check in again. Then step up maybe to an excerise routine. All in all I'm coming along slowly but surely! Good luck to all on your journey!

Had my sleeve 2/14, have had some issues and lot of pain and trials but have been in a pretty positive mood all things considered. Everyday I feel better and I know eventually it'll be back to normal. I am a little bummed that I've only lost 4 pounds after being on Clear liquids for 7 days, I mean what the heck??? I'm not cheating and I'm walking and I'm drinking as much as possible which is almost my 64oz a day and I'm still weighing the same as the day I came home which I'm told is the bloating and swelling but you'd think by now that would be gone and I'd also loose weight on top of that swelling weight? The others in my class that had surgery same day as me have lost twice my weight? ;( But even with that im trying not to worry there as this is a long term thing i'll see over time and thats ok but My issue now is I'm super moody! I woke up yesterday feeling angry and was like that all day. Didn't want to hang out with the kids or husband much cause they were simply getting on my nerves. To top that off everything smells off to me, the dog, others breath, the flowers, Water, sheets, curtains, u name it I have a problem with it and am throwing things out and washing everything. I don't like being moody, it's rarely ever me and my husband has been nothing but helpful, as he even took off the week to be with me and even slept in hospital with me... But I was so happy her went back to work today and that the kids went fishing with their friends! Ughhhhh what's wrong with me?

No prob! Hope it helps. just remember to hold your side tight when you cough, sneeze, bend, or anything that'll stretch that muscle!!:-)

Ok I'm guessing only here..... But for me nobody told me they have to cut through that side muscle to get to the stomach! My GUESS is that's what you're dealing with. I was in so much pain and making THR mistake of icing it,(not knowing what it was), that I need up back in the hospital on day 4, only to have my surgeon tell me it's the muscle healing and the stiches make it swell. So use HEAT!!!! Ughhhhhh I guess it wasn't an alien baby popping outta my side!!!!!:-) Honestly for me, it still hurts when I cough, sneeze, bend and sit to upright now even at day 7 po. So do check it out of you feel it's anything else but I'm gonna guess a high percentage I'm right. Please take it easy and use a heating pad!!! It'll heal but as with a muscle, it'll take a while. Good luck with your journey:-)

Thanks for sharing! I am 7 days po today and am at 5lbs too, which is all the crap leaving my body so far:-) I too feel like I'm doing something wrong or not good enough and yet I see I'm recovering still and my body is changing in many ways and maybe my measurements have changed (haven't checked) , so to relax, breath and take it one good strong, educated, disciplined day at a time!!! Good luck on your journey...

Take it easy! you are truly blessed and time will heal all! Keep posting and sharing here as it is a great source of support, knowledge, comfort and also allows u to give back as u have done already! Be well