JennyBeth

Muscle milk is one of the ones that actually contains milk. They advertise as milk free and lactose free, but all their protein comes from milk proteins (which is what my stomach can't break down). I learned the hard way with Muscle Milk. I drank one without reading the label because it said milk and lactose free on the front of the bottle during my Pre-op diet and I had chronic diarrhea for 2 days after. I'll have to check out the plant based protein drinks. I am trying to get as much protein from foods I am allowed to eat, but because I still can't eat a whole lot I am no where near the 60 g of protein I should consume each day.

Is there anyone else who can not stomach the protein shakes/drinks? I am lactose intolerant and even the shakes that claim to be lactose or milk free still contain some. In fact whey protein is derived from milk protein. So when I say I can't stomach the shakes I mean that literally. I get horrible diarrhea which then I worry is going to dehydrate me. I am 2 weeks out and am allowed soft foods. I've been eating a lot of eggs and light string cheese for the protein. (For some reason my body can handle cheese, but milk, ice cream or yogurt makes me very sick!) Has anyone else had this issue?

I'm 2 weeks out but I pretty much live on decaffinated unsweetened ice tea. I brew it at home constantly. The G2 I drank before surgery is too sweet now. The frustrating thing for me is that I feel like I have this constant thirst and no amount of liquids gets rid of it!

Just a warning-do NOT crush hydro condone pills! That is extremely dangerous! Either swallow them whole or ask for a different medication. (I don't remember the exact reason why it is dangerous I just remember when my father was dying of lung cancer he was prescribed the same medication and he had to crush them to get them down and when he told his doctor he freaked out!)

That's hilarious and a little twisted! LOL!

So I am 10 days out from surgery and while preparing the boy's Easter baskets I had an overwhelming urge for a Hershey kiss! I am on full liquids/soft foods as long as I can tolerate it ok. So I decided to suck on one so it was liquid once I swallowed it. Nothing happened but now I feel guilty because I'm only 10 days out and I already had a small cheat! I know that Pre-surgery I would've ended up eating most of the bag, but still! I think a lot of it has to do with the fact I finally started to feel better yesterday (which was day 9 from surgery). Has anyone else eaten anything they were not supposed to?

I was sleeved on the 20th and was able to stop pain meds on the 27th and I drove for the first time today. I honestly didn't notice a real decrease in pain/discomfort until yesterday which was 9 days out. I did shop today for a few hours with my family. I also had an allergic reaction to the skin glue that was used during surgery which made my discomfort higher (intense burning/itching). Hang in there! You'll start to feel better soon!

Not drinking with food has been the hardest adjustment for me. Drinking while I eat is such a habit! I'm able to eat full liquids and some soft foods. If I'm having liquids it is not an issue, but chewing and swallowing something makes me want to sip something! I never realized just how much I drank while I ate!

Also request an abdominal binder from one of the nurses. I got one Friday in the middle of the night and it made a world of difference!

I was sleeved on Wed. 3-20 and each day gets easier. The first 3 days were really bad for me. I cried and had the same thought of WTF did I do to myself?! I had to stay in the hospital for an extra day because I couldn't even swallow a small sip of anything. On Friday the nurses were really pushing the liquid pain meds because I was supposed to be discharged that day. I ended up breaking down in sobs and begged them to continue my pain and nausea meds thru my IV. My surgeon came in a little later and said what I was experiencing was normal and then the nurses backed off some. Saturday I could swallow my meds so I was discharged. I was walking a lot while in the hospital, too because with all the fluids they were pumping into me I literally had to pee every 30 minutes and with all the IVs it was such a pain to get out of bed so I figured while I was up why not walk? Being in your own home makes a big difference in your recovery! I'm 6 days out and showered and went to Dr. for post-op appt. and even stopped at the store to get some other meds and it wasn't too terrible! Hang in there!

I was sleeved on 3-20 and woke up with the catheter in and it was removed the next day. It is a strange feeling when they pull it out but it's not painful at all. I also started my period the day before my surgery which was a major PITA! I told the anesthesiologist that I get nauseous really easy and was given extra meds for that plus a nausea patch behind my ear. They gave me something to relax me prior to taking me into the OR and I honestly don't remember anything after that (saying goodbye to my husband, being transferred to the OR or sounds from the OR). I've had a number of surgeries and I've still been awake when they take you into the OR and start strapping you down (which is much more scary for some reason). I will be honest and say the first 3 days were much harder than I expected and I couldn't even get a sip down until the 4th day. (I actually had to spend an extra night in the hospital for this very reason). Each day has been getting easier. I did have an allergic reaction to the adhesive that was used during the surgery which has been uncomfortable. You'll do fine. It helps to try and be as prepared as possible and try not to compare your surgery/recovery to anyone else. It was frustrating when I was feeling so bad to read about others that felt no pain or could swallow anything without any issue.

Today I am 4 days out (surgery was 3-20) and I can finally sip without pain! The first few days were pretty rough. I had much more pain than I expected-I've had quite a few surgeries with my most recent being a c-section 5 years ago. I was pretty shocked that my pain was so high. Thursday the nurses were trying to get me to sip, but every time I did I had horrible chest pain. I have no idea whether the pain was from the sleeve, hiatal hernia repair or gas. I was supposed to be discharged on Friday, but had to stay until Saturday because they wouldn't send me home without swallowing anything (this included liquids of any kind or liquid pain meds). I was ok with that because I was dependent on my pain injections through the IV. They gave me an abdominal binder which helped a lot. I walked a lot, too! Yesterday I was able to swallow a little so I was discharged, but I was no where near 60 oz. of fluids or 60 g. of Protein. I had an issue with my pain meds last night. I got up to take it and when I was done I decided to combine some of the bottles so it wasn't quite as overwhelming. (I had 2 bottles of Loratab and 2 of Zoloft. Guess what? I ended up combining my Zoloft with the Loratab. Luckily I was able to reach a dr. Through the answering service and get new pain meds filled! I was completely panicked because plain Tylenol is just not cutting it! I couldn't believe I did that! Each day is getting easier. I'm not gonna lie the first 2-3 days I was like, "what in the hell did I do to myself?!" But today has been a real turning point for me! Good luck all future and fellow sleevers!

I recommend if you're tired of broth to make regular soup and strain everything out of it. It is much more flavor able than the broth!

I did not have a drain or staples with my sleeve. Every surgeon is different.

I was sleeved on 3-20 and truthfully I was surprised by how much pain I was in! I was supposed to leave the hospital yesterday, but due to the fact that it hurts to swallow everything I have to stay an extra 1-2 more days. Please tell me it gets easier!

I am also on a liquid/high protein diet and broth is one of the few things I am actually allowed! Did they say why no broth for Pre-op?

Good for you!!!

Oh please. A completely liquid diet is extremely tough and before surgery (when you know that you can eat anything) it is very difficult. A few cheats here and there does not mean you will not be successful post surgery-it means you're human and obviously if strict/extreme diets alone could change your relationship with food then none of us would need to be sleeved in the first place. I do agree that you have to change your relationship with food in order to be successful long term, but you slipped up a few times, JC. Move on and stick as closely as you can for all liquids for the next 2 days prior to surgery! (I'm also on the 20th!) Good luck to you!

Just finished Pre-admission testing for surgery on Wednesday, 3/20! Sh*t just got real!! Can't wait to get sleeved!

March 20th!

I'm on my 3rd day of the liquid diet and it gets easier-I'm not even hungry anymore. You can do it!

A lot of it has to do with your age and genetics. It also depends on how long you were overweight. A friend of mine was about 130 pounds overweight for the last 15 years so she will probably have a little more loose skin than me (I've been about 75 pounds overweight for the last 6-7 years). She's also 43 and I'm 36 so she keeps saying I really shouldn't have too big of an issue with loose skin, but there's really no way to be certain. Make sure you are working out to tone your muscles and remember it can take up to 2 years for your skin to firm up and catch up with your weight loss!

Yeah-they're expensive. Mine is $56 for 4 of the patches which lasts for 12-15 days. I had really bad hyperemesis with my first pregnancy and the sea sick bands do absolutely nothing for me so I really have no choice, but to get the prescription filled. I just wanted to make sure they actually work before spending a lot of money on them! I hate nausea so I want to make sure I'm fully prepared for when I come home!

I agree that if you really want this then FIGHT! You've already gone thru so much! Just muster up enough energy and appeal it! I have heard a lot of insurance companies (United Healthcare for one) automatically denies everyone on the first attempt. (I don't have United Healthcare myself, but the psychologist doing my pysch eval said she's seen patients with that insurance have a harder time.) A lot of the insurance companies are hoping you'll give up, but unless you were denied because WLS is not a covered benefit under your plan then you owe it to yourself to appeal! Good luck to you! I can only imagine how frustrated you are!

My BMI is 37.8 and the only co-morbitities were reflux and high cholesterol and I was approved 1.5 days after it was submitted to insurance. I have BCBS of Illinois, but I wasn't even required to do a sleep study. You should be fine with or without the sleep apnea.