MyGastricSleeveLife

My doctor says 4-6 weeks, but he has to clear us first. I would ask your doctor.

Good luck! Congrats on your decision! I was sleeved this past Monday & am so happy with my choice! I'm doing much better than I thought I would do at this point. Each day gets better.

I've been watching Netflix streaming videos & Amazon Prime instant videos & reading some. I like movies since I can walk around the living room while they're on, but it's hard to hold my book & walk!! I'm doing better every day though!

My Bariatric Coordinator said to just sip slowly throughout the day during these first stages & that if I'm not feeling nauseous, then I'm okay with liquids & not drinking too quickly. As far as foods you're allowed now, I would think to just take a bite or two at a time and take it from there, but I'm not positive since I'm still on clear liquids now.

Indymom - to add people, go to Community, ten there is a submenu that says "find members" it will bring up a page where you can search & one way to search is by username. Hope that helps! :-)

I think all the surgical gas has finally left my system. I don't feel pressure from it anymore from it & my stomach isn't puffy like it was right after surgery. I can understand doctors not wanting the thicker Protein drinks right away, but I think not having any protein isn't that wise & also could make moving to the heavier protein drinks a little harder. However, I'm definitely not a doctor, so I don't know for sure. I'm just following what my doctor told me to do. I'm not sure that I would even know about it if he wanted me to do it some other way. :-)

It really depends on the doctor. I have to do clear liquids for 2 weeks after surgery and was told to try to work my way up on my protein as long as I used clear protein because protein is one of the important things to help us heal. I was encouraged to use all the clear protein options that I mentioned in my other post above. I don't move to full liquids until Week 3 and quite honestly that would be a long time to wait for protein, especially since there is not much nutritional value in most clear liquids. I am a strong advocate for following what YOUR doctor said to do, but I also believe in the benefits of the protein right from the start too. I'm glad my doctor suggests the protein during the clear stage as long as it's clear protein. Personally, I think it's what is making me feel so good already. However, you need to trust your gut and your doctor and make the best decision for yourself.

I have 6. One between my breasts, but luckily my bra doesn't hit it. The other 5 aren't really straight, but are a couple inches above my belly button across my midsection. They'll be visible on my pictures I take tomorrow for my blog if you want to look at my blog tomorrow. :-)

You can buy Isopure clear liquid Protein drink at GNC. They have 40 g of protein in 20 oz. Personally, I don't like the aftertaste from them, but I can tolerate it, so I mix 1/2 of it with Water and crystal light mix to lessen the aftertaste & sip it during part of the day. The other thing I add to broth or crystal light is Beneprotein packets. Sometimes Walgreens carries it - or you can order it online through Amazon or nestlenutritionstore.com - there are 6 g of protein and 25 calories in each packet. It mixes clear. The other option is

From what I've read on other threads here a lot of people have problems with any kind of bread after the sleeve. I'm still on clear liquids though so I haven't tried any bread yet. Good luck if you try it! :-)

I hate the aftertaste of Isopure clear liquids, but can tolerate them & dilute them with water and add crystal light to try to beat the aftertaste. Some people do like them though, so you might try it.

I would wait until later & keep sipping. I was sleeved on Monday. I usually sip slowly throughout the day as long as I'm awake & I go very slow and end up getting all my fluid & protein in by the end of the day, but it is very slow & steady through the day. I'm still on clear liquids, so I haven't had a protein shake yet, but I mix Beneprotein packets with broth and crystal light to get my protein in. I'm planning on the same technique once I do start on full liquids.

Are you still on liquids? I'm still on clear liquids & don't really ever feel "full" but I'm satisfied as long as I'm sipping throughout the day. I feel a little more full if I have some SF jello, but with just liquid I haven't felt necessarily full. I figured that would be something more to experience once I'm on full liquids since those are denser or maybe not even until puréed stuff, but I'm not sure.

Glad you're home & doing better. My surgery was on Monday, 5/14, and each day gets better and better for me too! It takes me all day sipping, but I do manage to get all my fluids in now. I think all my surgical gas has left my system now because I dropped 2-1/2 lbs just yesterday! Anyway, I'm glad you're doing okay now!!

Congrats! It's neat that you've worked in the OR for bariatric cases! I just had my surgery on Monday, 5/14, and am doing well & am very happy with my choice too! Feel free to follow my blog if you'd like (it's in my signature).

It takes me all day of sipping, but I get all my fluids & protein in. I'm still on clear liquids for another week, so I mix Beneprotein packets with broth & crystal light. I also got some more of the Isopure liquid to mix in with crystal light. I don't like the aftertaste of the Isopure, but I can tolerate it, so I deal with it to get all my protein in. It does take me all day though!

I agree with everyone else - your doctor is wrong in this case. The only thing I can think of is that maybe he was thinking you meant serious weight lifting instead of just some weights mixed with cardio. I think it's pretty sad that a doctor would say to not use weights. My doctor said I can start working out after 4 - 6 weeks, including weights. They even have a packet with different exercises in it that mentions weights & repetitions & such.

What are your questions and reservations? Maybe you could ask them here or search the forums to find answers and/or support. I was just sleeved on Monday, 5/14, and am doing great and I can already say this is the best thing I've ever done for myself. I've said before that if I could lose weight and keep it off without surgery, I would have done it that way. However, I didn't feel I could do it without surgery. I told a friend before surgery that I felt this would be my portion control tool. I not only feel it is portion control now, but I also feel it is my cure to my food addiction. I know a lot of people experience "head hunger" due to prior addiction to food before surgery. So far, (knock on wood) I have not experienced that. I am still on Clear liquids, so it might change. However, whether I experience head hunger or not, I still feel this is the best thing I've ever done for myself and it is the tool I need to finally get healthy and stay healthy. The longer I was overweight, the more medical issues I've had. Since surgery, I've been off my diabetes medicine (I was only on oral meds & not insulin) and my sugars have been great. I have sleep apnea and am hoping to get off my CPAP machine eventually. I have had a lot of back and hip pain in the past, which is already less since I lost 13 lbs with my pre-op diet and have lost 4 since surgery on Monday, and I know it will get even better with more weight loss. Although I know this was right for me, though, I know it is not the answer for everyone. It is a life change. Not just a "for a while" change. There are plenty of things to consider. I put a lot of faith in prayer and that was a big thing for me and big factor in my decision. I also researched a lot and talked to a lot of people who have had it done. Ultimately, no matter what other people say, you have to decide if it's right for you and your life and your family. Good luck no matter what you decide!!

I just had surgery, so I don't know first hand. However, from what I've been told and seen on this site in other threads, it can never stretch back to where it was before surgery. It can stretch some, but not much. Personally, I don't plan to test it to see how much it can hold. I'm just going to follow my diet plan. No matter how much it can stretch, you'll never be able to eat 6+ pieces of pizza again like before surgery! Supposedly the part they remove is the most stretchy part, which is part of the reason it won't stretch much.

I didn't even know I was being put under really. I remember being rolled from the pre-op room into the operating room & they had me move from the stretcher to the operating table. I remember seeing the big OR lights above me. Next thing I knew, I was in the recovery room and someone was asking me how my pain was. It was about a 8, and they gave me short-acting pain medicine every 5 minutes until it decreased and I was more awake to be sent to my room. It is the oddest feeling in the world since it seems like it's only been a minute from operating room to recovery room even though it's actually been hours. I know some people experience nausea and/or vomiting due to anesthesia, but I never had either.

I chose it because it seemed to be the best option. It has the least issues with malabsorption. Although there are titanium staples in me now, I found that more acceptable than having an extreme foreign body in me like the lap band. There are not usually dumping syndrome issues like with the bypass, although I plan to stay away from sweets anyway. Overall, it just seemed like the best option for me. I was sleeved on Monday, 5/14, and am feeling great right now. So far it has been the best thing I have ever done for myself!

Oh - today I wanted to get out of the house & we went to the mall. I walked VERY slowly. It took me about 45 minutes to go the same distance it would normally take 10 minutes to go, but it felt good to get out of the house. It did drain my energy though because I took a 2 hour nap later today!

I was never given a restriction like 10ml per hour or anything like that. I was just told to go slow & get down what I can. The first day home it took me 90 minutes to have one cup of broth. Now it takes about 30 minutes. I sip all day long and have been doing fine on getting in all my liquid and protein in each day so far. Each day is getting easier.

I had heard the "Steve the sleeve" one before & thought it was cute, but when I tried to think of something catchy for myself I couldn't think of anything I really liked, so I'll still just call it my sleeve. I think the reason some of us name it is because we say things like "my sleeve didn't like such and such" so it kind of makes it more personable to give it a name. Even though it is just a body part, it holds more significance to most of us than any other part since it helps us change our lives so drastically.

Wow! You look great!! The pregnancy thing really should be addressed with your surgeon and primary care doctor. I believe it is because of losing weight & bodies adjusting & being able to get all the nutrients a baby needs, but I'm not sure.