Melhendy

Hey gang! It's the day after surgery.. How is everyone doing? I'm waiting for an upper GI screening to make sure everything is okay, then I can finally have broth or a Popsicle. Walked about 20 laps total around the unit floor yesterday, today 8 so far. Feeling okay, mi or pain, a little nausea and one huge gas bubble on my left side that won't go away.

I started at 265, I'm down to 210 as of this morning. So, that's 55 lbs. down. I have at least 45 to go, but I know I'll get there. But, I have really good news! I just spent a week in NYC on vacation with my family - I let my rules slide just a little bit and had small portions of breads, some mashed potatoes, pizza and of course, a few desserts thru-out the week. WAAAAY more carbs than I've had in a looooonnggg time! I never really over did it or made myself sick, but I got close a few times. I thought for sure I would have gained a few pounds, but believe it or not, I actually lost 1.5 lbs over the week! Whoo-hoo! Now that I'm home, it's back to basics for the next few weeks until Christmas hits... My goal is to be at 200 by New Year's... Fingers crossed!

I just hit the 40 mark a couple days ago, but that includes the pre-op diet as well. So that would be 25 since surgery. Started at 265, now at 225. Hoping to be out of the 200's by Thanksgiving week! Fingers crossed!

I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but it looks like I may have broken my stall. I have been bouncing back and forth between 237 and 235 for about 3 weeks and this morning I was 233.4.... Oh I hope that means that I am moving out of this plateau! I have faith in this process and this new life, and I know the weight isn't just going to melt off in a month or so, but I was really hoping to be losing a little faster than I am now. It is so frustrating when you go through all this pain and suffering to not be seeing the results you want.... praying that number drops again just a bit tomorrow!

luvladyj - I'm in the same boat! I've lost and gained the same 2 lbs for almost 3 weeks now. I have stayed on program and am getting all my protein in. I am a little shy on water intake - averaging about 50 oz a day. Have no idea what is going on, but I'm continuing to stay on program. I figure this is one of those "set points" that your body has and it takes a while to break thru them. I'm hoping to see some movement on the scale this week. Have my one month follow up with the doc on Thursday, so I can ask him what's up.

Okay, I have been in a stall for about a week and then the last two days, I have GAINED two pounds! WHAT??? The only thing different I have done was have some Chinese food (just house chicken and cashew chicken - no veggies). And it was such small portions, I can't imagine that the sodium would have that much impact. I am only getting about 40 - 50 oz of water a day... but I am really working on that trying to get up to at least 64 oz of water. So, today, I am back to basics... scrambled egg, ham and an ounce of cheese for breakfast. A protein shake for snack. Deli turkey and string cheese for lunch. Beans for dinner. Hopefully, this will get me back on track... Very frustrated that I'm not losing faster, but trusting in the process. Of course, haven't done any walking or exercise yet... exercise is a 4-letter word in my house! Have to work on that, too!

I have been on "soft proteins" for almost a week now and for the most part, I've been okay. I have had a couple of times when I took two or three bites too many and my tummy let me hear about it! One time we were at Knott's Berry Farm and I had a bowl of chili (not even a quarter of it, really). It was so good, but apparently too spicy for me at this time. I had heartburn within an hour and the rest of the evening, felt generally awful. When I went back to the hotel room, I tried a couple of tums, thinking that would help. But it almost immediately sent me running to the bathroom! I ended up losing most, if not all, my dinner. Then, I made the mistake of drinking water too fast to clear the taste in my mouth and guess what? back in the bathroom again! That was Friday night and since then, I have been very careful about paying attention to my body and being sure I stop when I reach that full point. I have had a few times where I have been uncomfortable for a bit, but no more throwing up!

How are all the July 8-ers doing with their incisions? My doctor glued mine and all but one the glue has come off. A couple of the larger ones still have glue IN them, like in the middle of the incision - will that eventually dissolve or what?

How long did it take you? Thin crust or thick? heavy meats or just cheese? how big of a slice? It's hard to say if that's normal or not, depending on the size of the slice. And how did you feel afterwards? Uncomfortable or just satisfied? Personally, I wouldn't be worried if it was only one slice you could get down... I used to be able to put away 4 slices (thick crust, loaded combo pizza) before my sleeve, sometimes 5 depending on how long we sat there. I am just starting mushies and soft proteins this week and on Sunday, our bowling league is having a pizza party. I have no idea what I'm going to do... maybe just eat the top off of one piece?

WOW! You look great! What did you do to lose so much in such a short time? Are you working out a lot? We have a big trip planned in November and I would really like to be down at least 40 more lbs from now. I've already lost 25 since the pre-op diet and two weeks after surgery. I'm hoping 10 lbs a month is reasonable for me...

Today I had a lunchable that was turkey and chedder cheese. It only had about 1 oz. each of meat and cheese. did not eat the crackers or the small candy. It went down okay. It was nice to have something to chew! Technically, I'm not supposed to be on soft proteins until tomorrow, but I had a couple eggs yesterday, so I thought I would try the lunchmeat/cheese thing today. Going to pick up some cottage cheese later this afternoon for tomorrow.

I have my one-week post-op class tomorrow and my post-op with the doc on Thursday. I am supposed to be on liquids until next wednesday, when I have my post-op dietary class. Then I can start on soft proteins. I am getting in about 2 full shakes a day, and about 48 oz of water. plus one SF jello cup, and about a 1/3 can of cream of something soup (very watered down) at dinnertime. I don't know if I can make it a whole nother week on liquids! After liquids our doctor has us do "mushies" for SIX WEEKS!! That seems a bit extreme for me, but I will see what is on the list for mushies. I know it's soft proteins, some examples they gave were refried beans, eggs, soft cheeses, soups, cottage cheese and greek yogurt. On the other hand, I have been back to driving since yesterday - had to take the kiddos to girl scout camp, which is about 1/2 hour away. One hour trip back and forth. I went a little crazy yesterday and did all kinds of errands after drop-off and I was definately feeling it last night. But not enough for pain meds. Just felt it. Today I had PTA paperwork and stuff to do, so I took it a bit easier.

How many days were you on the pre-op diet? I was on mine for 1 days and I lost about 17 lbs. I was hoping to lose more, but I still thought it was a great jump start. I am 5 days out from surgery now and have only lost about 2 lbs from my surgery day weight. I did expect this though, because I know that with the trauma and the IV, typically they say you won't lose much the first week, but it will start coming off after that.

OMG - The barium swallow was horrific! It made me nauseated almost immediately and I was nauseous for a whole day! But, on the bright side, I know that my new tummy has no leaks and I am really happy about that!

I totally get how you can still gain weight after this if you don't follow the rules. You can graze all day and still get in a significant amount of calories. That is why they tell us to only eat our 3 meals a day and no snacking. I'm only 4 days out from my surgery, so I'm so glad to have read your post! I really appreciate your honesty!

I'm doing pretty good. I have a bit of minor pain at my incision sites. No pain meds for a couple of days, so it's definately tolerable. Started back with protein shakes today. Only half a shake at a time and used more water than usual to thin it out a bit to hopefully help it go down easier. Last night my mom and I split a wonton soup from our local chinese restaurant.... I had the broth and she had everything else!! HA! I am looking forward to the mushies phase, but that's not for another 12 days! YIKES! I may have to cheat a little and have a scrambled egg sooner than that!

I am 2 days post op and all my incisions were glued. How long do those usually take to heal? Do they just fall off or what?

My doctor has me on clear liquids for two days before I start on protein shakes. The main thing is to stay hydrated, so be sure to drink as much water as you can. The nutritionist told me that the second and third day are the worst because your new tiny tummy is so swollen from the trauma that the inside is only about at big as a pencil. Obviously, that will take more time for stuff to flow thru. She suggested setting up 6 "shot" glasses and every 5 minutes, try to get one of those down and in an hour you will have gotten a significant amount of water down.

Had a bad turn of events on day 2. After they did the upper GI, I got extremely nauseated. I started throwing up and felt crappy all day. Ended up spending another night in the hospital. The good news is that today I was discharged and I'm home now and feeling much, much better! The nausea is gone, most of my gas pains are gone, and I've been able to keep a popsicle down (yesterday, I couldn't!) I feel like the worst is over.

Got sleeves this morning! One minute they put an one gym mask over my mouth and the next minute I'm done! Yeah! Relatively low pain... Not as much as I thought. No gas pains until after my last wall, but it's not too bad either. Only glich is they won't give me broth or SF Popsicles, which they said we could have in the pre-op class. Only ice chips. Other than that, feeling great about my decision to do this! Hope you are all feeling well and recovering quickly! PS - looks like I'm down 15 lbs from my 2 week pre-op diet! Yeah!

Almost! My birthday was friday, the 5th and I am getting sleeved tomorrow. No cake for me, just my liquid shakes! I feel the same - it's a great way to start a new year with a new beginning!

Great! Thanks for explaining!

I'm almost ready for tomorrow! I just spent the weekend with my family taking the train down to San Diego and going to Sea World. I was still on my 14-day pre-op liquid diet, so I went to dinner at a restaurant, two continental breakfasts and all day at Sea World and just had my shakes. The hardest was the restaurant giving me grief about outside food/drink, but they were cool once I explained I was on a liquid diet. I am very calm - not nervous at all. That's how I know this is the right thing for me. Surprisingly, I am getting grief from my family (parents, sister) who are all aware of my struggles in the past. I know it comes more from concern for my health and safety, but it still kind of irks me a little. But, regardless, I am confident in my decision and I have the support of my husband, who is the most important! What am I taking to the hospital? a fuzzy robe, my phone/charger, my nook, my toothbrush and my face cream (nasty sunburn from yesterday). I was debating on taking the ipad, but I think I can deal without it. Hopefully the hospital has WiFi, so I can check in with all of you tomorrow! Prayers for all of you for a successful surgery and speedy recover!

Congrats! Quick question - what does NSV stand for?

Just got my clearance for surgery today from my GP! Pre-op appointment with my surgeon tomorrow and pre-op class ater that! Less than one week to go! So excited! I've been watching a bunch of YouTube Videos of people who have posted video diaries about their sleeve experiences to get an idea of what to expect after surgery.