MyGastricSleeveLife

I agree with the others - those are just averages of ALL the sleeve surgeries done & sometimes I even think they don't have accurate statistics for some of them! I have seen a bunch of people on here and other forums who have lost ALL their excess weight or very close to all of it & kept it off. Don't stress about what some stupid statistic says. Rejoice in your own success & just keep going. I remember when I met with my surgeon for the consultation & he put one number down which was what I technically should be with height/weight charts & stuff. Then he put another number down & he said if I got to that second number it would be 67% of my excess weight, which was the statistical figure he was going by. Then he said, "but you don't have to stop there!" I was like, "of course!" especially since it was still 30 lbs above where I personally want to be! He explained he just HAD to put that on the paperwork though.

If you look at the "Fitness" section, there is an "official" MFP thread & you can find lots of names there too. Mine is mygastricsleevelife. I just went to add you & realized I already have you added. :-)

I think you're doing fine. I didn't have much pain at all & feel my recovery has been great. Once I started on pureed foods, I get full fast and feel restriction, but it's completely different when you're just on liquids!

The scale normally goes up for anywhere from a few days to almost 2 weeks after surgery from what I've seen because of the extra fluids and swelling from surgery. Hang in there. Just keep following your plan & try to get all your fluids & protein in and the scale will move!! Also, do your measurements! I've had some times where the scale is the same for 4 days or so, but when I do measurements each week I've lost inches! Please don't stress about it because stressing makes us hold on to weight too. Just relax and focus on recovering!!

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/week-5-pictures-measurements-and-weight.html

I guess it depends on how you do your Protein drinks. I actually dilute my Protein Drinks in a full 28-ounce Water bottle to make it last longer and get more fluids in. I usually have Breakfast & then do a Protein Drink that way between breakfast & lunch & then do a water bottle filled with crystal light between lunch & dinner. I sometimes do 2 protein drinks a day like that. I believe that since I'm drinking it diluted and slowly I'm fine with absorption. However, if you tried to drink your protein drink quickly, then I'd agree with the others that said to wait before adding water.

Have you looked into the ThinkThin bars? I know they're gluten free. I'm not sure about nuts though. I was doing a monthly order of them through Amazon, but stopped it until August since I'm not on regular food again yet. I would make sure no matter what you do that you chew thoroughly and make sure you don't overdo it.

My doctor said everyone should take B12 at least weekly. However, my levels were really low on my pre-op blood work for my B12 and my iron, so I take both daily. I'll be 5 weeks out tomorrow. I still tend to go to bed early and take one nap a day, but I find that I'm more "with it" and have energy when I'm awake now. I would either try B12 or call the doctor & see if they can check your levels first.

Ditto to what LadyIvy said. I had mine & although it wasn't great to deal with, it was fine as far as the hospital was concerned. You just can't use tampons in the hospital or wear one to the hospital when you go in for surgery.

I know it's hard, but you need to stop comparing to others & just compare you to you. Look at how far you've come. I'm 5 weeks out now & have lost 19.6 lbs since surgery (32.2 lbs in 7 weeks with pre-op). I have never before lost that much in 5 or 7 weeks!! I've also lost 15+ inches (haven't measured for this week yet). I also focus on all my non-scale victories. There are so many things I'm enjoying more now that I was 30 lbs ago! If you check out my blog - http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/ - you can check out a post I did about "my new four-letter word 'compare'" & other posts about NSVs & the scale. I'm sure you get a workout with your kids & are more active than you think too! Please just focus on your own successes! I'm not saying you can't be supportive to others, but don't make other people's successes get you down!! You have your own successes to rejoice in!

I can honestly say I have not had any issues with anything I've eaten since surgery. I'll be 5 weeks out on Monday. I'm still on pureeds though. I did have a few creamy soups that went right through me and I've had a few things that have made me a little queasy or have not sat quite as well with me after surgery as before (like cottage cheese). However, I haven't thrown up at all and have really had no major issues with anything I've tried so far. Again, I'm not on regular food yet because my surgeon has a fairly slow progression back to regular food, but I don't think it's weird to be fine with anything you eat. I think I've had a fairly easy recovery so far & I hope it stays that way!

yes, it is amazing the differences that surgeons have in progression of food. They all follow what they feel is right. Although I know some people progress faster, I picked my surgeon so I want to follow what he says & believe others should do the same. Progressing without doctor's approval could lead to issues even when others have progressed faster with other doctors. They all do what they feel is best and what they have the most experience with doing.

Some doctors require a pre-op diet. Mine was supposed to be 650 calories with at least 70 g Protein, less than 60 g carbs & around 15 g of fat per day for 2 weeks before surgery. Different doctors have different plans & some don't have any pre-op plan. Depending on what your calories are now, I'd suggest lowering your calories somewhat and trying to eat healthier (increase protein) before surgery. Even if your surgeon doesn't have a pre-op diet, it can't hurt to do one. I've seen many people here that have done their own all-liquid or limited pre-op diet even though they weren't required to do one. Good luck on your journey! I'm almost 5 weeks out now & couldn't be happier with my decision!

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/one-month-mark.html

http://mygastricsleevelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/week-4-weight-pictures-and-measurements.html

happycat - also, in case you didn't know, if you go to http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blogs/page__type__all__filter__external__sort_key__blog_last_edate you can see other external blogs people have listed here on VST.

according to everything I've read and what my surgeon said, they end up having to put in a feeding tube into the intestines (I think) and basically you can't eat or drink anything until the leak heals on its own (the tissue closes up and heals).

Mine is My Gastric Sleeve Life - I usually post a few times a week & do weekly pictures & measurements.

Honestly, I'd get approval from your doctor first. I had to do 2 weeks of clears, but was getting really sick of them & had my first post-op visit at 9 days out. My surgeon said I could start using regular protein drinks instead of just clears if I wanted to, but not to start anything else on the full liquid list until 14 days out. He said the risk of a leak is the highest in the first 2 weeks & if there were to be a leak they wouldn't want the heavier stuff to leak out. Please get approval before moving on though!

Probably a week or so. I did much better if I held my stomach up when walking around. I wore capris that had elastic around the waist if I had to go out & just wore my nightgown around the house. Some people have talked about an abdominal binder that they got at the hospital or bought that helped. One friend asked if I would do better with one of those pregnancy belts that holds your tummy more, but I didn't bother. I just put pressure on my tummy when walking around & held it up some so it didn't pull the incisions as much.

Mine said I could only do walking for the first 4 weeks. He did say I could get in the pool after 2-3 weeks after my incisions were healed/not scabby. I've been swimming since about 2-1/2 weeks out. I'll be 5 weeks on Monday & am going to start at the gym again then & play it by ear as far as I feel. I have been to the gym a few times just to use the treadmill & recumbent bike & went much slower than before surgery & just listened to my body to not overdo it.

have you tried fiber supplements instead of laxatives? I know they work for some people. You just have to be careful they don't bulk you up too much.

I haven't tried Bariatric Advantage stuff other than the Calcium citrate chews. I was given samples of unjury chicken Soup, strawberry sorbet, unflavored, chocolate, and vanilla & actually liked all of them. I just mixed them all with Water. I also like Chike & that is what I used for my pre-op diet mainly. You can find out more about it and order a sample pack for $6.95 at www.chikenutrition.com My surgeon's office had the Chike in stock, which is why I originally bought it. Just make sure whatever you get that you don't get too much because your taste buds might change after surgery. My taste buds didn't change right away, but they changed about 2-3 weeks out. The Chike is too sweet for me now. I tolerate it okay, but I'm not buying it again after this. I'm actually going to be buying Intek Evolution Protein that a guy in my surgeon's support group told me about, which has an extended release protein & has less calories, less carbs, & more protein, and costs less per serving than Chike & it's not as sweet. Their site is http://inteknutrition.com/PRODUCTS/PROTEIN%20EVOLUTION/protein.html if you want to look into that too. I was able to get a scoop in a baggie at a local Total Nutrition store to try before I bought it because at my local store they only carry the 5 lb container. Online they have a smaller one too. I emailed Intek & unfortunately they don't do samples online. They were nice & told me where their closest distributor was though & that's how I got a sample of that. Do you just have to do shakes for the pre-op diet?

From what I was told from my surgeon and from research I've done on my own, it can be stretched A LITTLE bit, but it will never be able to be stretched out to the size it was before surgery because the more elastic part of the stomach is what was taken out. What is left does not stretch much. My surgeon said that throughout time, it will stretch a little and you might be able to eat 2 cups of food instead of 1 cup, but it won't get huge again. That being said, my plan is not to push my limits. Just because it will stretch some over time does not mean I have to eat more. If I can eat 1/2 cup to a cup at a meal now, I'm going to stick to that & not eat more just because I can possibly eat more. Although the sleeve will not stretch much, it is still possible to gain weight again with constant bad choices in foods - at least from what my surgeon told me.

Honestly, it's just your body getting used to all the changes. I had the same thing happen. It could be water. It could be gas. It could be if you haven't had a bowel movement in a while. It could be lots of things. You need to just relax (since stress makes us hold on to weight too) and go with the flow & keep following your post-op plan. The scale will eventually follow. Also, make sure you're taking your measurements. Sometimes I've had the scale stay the same for 4 days or so in a row, but I've lost inches when I do my weekly pictures & measurements. Check out the following post on my blog - My Thoughts About the Dreaded Scale - it might help somewhat.