Oak Park Lorena

Surgical consult day weight 6/17: 254

Weight on day 1 pre-op diet 8/13: 265

Weight on surgery day 8/23: 252

Today: 230

So down 22 since the surgery and 24 from my consult day in June, yay!

I use my food scale a lot. I didn't use a blender much, or food processor at all. I used the blender for shakes preop, but post op the froth made me nauseous (even when I let the shake DIY and settle for 30 mins).

I second the don't blend the Protein shakes! I'm just two weeks post-op and still mainly shakes, I try to make them with as little Water (or almond milk) as possible so it's easier to get down. It is kind of shocking how hard it is to yak down the Protein AND the fluids you need over the course of the day, so blending the shakes just makes them HUGE!

I am nearly 2 weeks out and struggling to get 500 a day, more like high 300s a couple of days, mid 400s..The doctor's office didn't really give me a target range..so, like you, I'm interested as to what I should be taking in at this point.

Same here! About 400 a day. I feel okay, though, been doing a lot of walking and even went to the gym this morning and rode the exercise bike.

August 23rd for me, as of Monday was down 17 pounds plus the 12 I lost on the 10 day pre-op diet. I don't have any hearburn, gas or pain. I am pretty much sticking to the shakes with maybe a youghurt or cottage cheese per day. I have to eat and drink VERY slowly and it takes me close to an hour to finish an 8-oz glass of Water. I feel very good though, lots of energy, doing lots of walking.

Help! I am freaking out! I have been with my mother for the past few days during and after her surgery, and I am so second guessing this decision. She was so worried the day of surgery, and she told me the operating room was scary and all she could think about was is she doing the right thing. Then post op I was helping her up to go to the bathroom, and she was in so much pain. I'm sure that it doesnt help the situaton that its my mother in pain, but I am still very worried. On the other hand, we are both using same surgeon and her incisions look fantastic. So I am more confident with him, and the hospital has been amazing. I have been just putting myself in her shoes because I will be there in a few weeks. My first appt is October 1st. I just need some reassurance that the pain in the hospital doesn't last forever!

Hi, I'm on my 13th post-op day. I had terrible pain right after the surgery. They switched me from morphine to dilaudid, but I still had pain. I was in the hospital two nights, both miserable and then the first day home was pretty bad. After that, the pain subsided. I had problems with gas, but I walked and walked and it seemed to get it out of my system. The pain does go away. I think some people just have more pain from the actual procedure than others. I've had a number of major surgeries, some of which should have painful but weren't, others that seemed they shouldn't be so bad but were. Don't worry about the pain, it does go away. I feel really great now!

I am scheduled for surgery on October 28. I'm self pay (in US, not in Mexico) and have my second appointment with my surgeon in a few days. The problem is that I have been gorging on food because I feel like I'm saying goodbye to a lifelong friend and habit. I'm so ashamed that I've gained at least 5 pounds and maybe more in a month and feel like the surgeon is going to be upset. Did any of you have any weight gain in the weeks before you started your pre-op diet?

HA! Same here. I managed to gain a whopping 10 lbs between my consultation with the surgeon and day 1 of my pre-op diet. I lost 12 pounds on the pre-op diet, so a net of only 2 down. Don't be ashamed, you're human. And look, it motivated me to stick to the pre-op diet and was a final reminder of how badly I need to change my relationship with food!

I thought I had a raging infection of my incisions. They developed red skin around them and were oozy. I freaked out. It was the holiday weekend, so after my numerous calls to page my surgeon went no where, I went to a doc in the box. The doc there said it was an infection, so she cleaned them out (i.e., she scraped the surgical glue off!) and gave me an antibiotic. She told me if the redness got worse, to follow up with my surgeon. So yesterday, the redness got much worse and the incisions looked terrible. I had to go the emergency room of the hospital where I had my surgery to see anyone from my surgical team (isn't that a terrifically inefficient way to see patients!). After 5 hours and 4 different docs/surgeons looking at my incisions, they agreed that it wasn't an infection, just a really nasty reaction to the surgical glue. Hooray! While I'm thrilled that I don't have an infection, I have crazy red, raised and VERY ITCHY spots all around my incisions. I am literally sitting on my hands to keep from scratching. I take benedryl ever 4 hours, which helps, but then I'm sleepy. Anyway, maybe just ranting, but of all the post-op things that I worried about, this was not on my list!

About a half an hour as well. Any tips for slowing down? Maybe I am too used to eating fast. I am worried.

I am (or was!) a real fast eater as well. When I eat yoghurt, I just dip a very small spoon into it and basically just lick what sticks. It's hard for me to relate, though, because I have the opposite issue--it takes a huge effort for me to eat or drink anything. Takes me an over an hour to sip down 8 ounces of water! I tried making scrambled eggs two days ago. I started eating them a bit too fast, probably 4 ounces in about 15 minutes and I paid the price--barfed it all up, ugh!

Hi everyone,

Okay, so I am in the puree diet phase. I bought this "Powerful Yogurt" that has 20 grams of Protein but it is an 8 ounce container. I can pretty much eat the entire container without any problems, actually, I have noticed that I have been able to eat more of anything lately. I know initial swelling keeps the stomach smaller and it once the swelling starts to go down, you ca eat more, but is this too much? I thought I wasn't able to eat this much? Is my stomach increasing too much? I am worried because I lost 18 lbs (3 weeks post op) and now it's slowing down. Am I not losing enough fast enough? Sorry for all the questions and terrible grammar. I am just nervous! Thanks guys and gals!

Hey, Nsantoro. I'm on my 10th day post-op. I've only been able to add a few mushy foods to my liquid diet. It takes me about 1/2 hour to and hour to yak down about 3 oz of cottage cheese or yoghurt. How long does it take you to eat the 8 ounces?

Single in Chicago. I actually ended a seven-year relationship a few months before my surgery. It would have been convenient to have someone help me schlep stuff and what not, but he was such a negative person in my life that frankly I'd rather face the whole process alone! I see my post-sleeve time as a chance to recover from the surgery and the relationship--not in any big hurry to date again!

You look great, love the tummy shot! What did you do for the incision scars (can't see them at all) or did they come off with the tuck?

Thanks for the responses! I'm gonna take it down a notch. Will probably have to empty my purse, that sucker probably weighs 10 lbs all on its own!

HA, I weighed my purse before my surgery, it came in at over 11 pounds! What I put in my mouth is not the only thing that needs to be reduced!

Hey all. I'm on my 3rd post-op day as well. 2nd post-op day was pretty awful. I'm having a lot of difficulty getting much in. I've been sipping consistently all day, alternating between broth, Water and the Protein Shake. I tried drinking a big gulp all at once (like 2 oz.) of the Protein shake and immediately had a bout of diarrhea. It's frustrating, but it is what it is. My surgeon wanted me to transition to pureed foods already, but that's just too much, I think my stomach needs time to recover. It is weird to learn to sip, I have always been a gulper!

Hello world!

I’m also 3 days post-op, sleeved on the 23^rd.

The procedure itself went well. It was short and sweet, there was no hernia to repair and I still have my gallbladder-yea!

The post-op has not really been what I’d expected. The post-op pain was much worse than I’d thought. I’ve had both knees replaced and had extensive shoulder repair surgery, so I’m no stranger to pain, but this still was more than I’d bargained for. They had my on a self-controlled pain pump with morphine. They switched it to dilaudid, but I was still having quite a bit of pain. On the first day after surgery, I did start feeling the gas pains as well, but it wasn’t too bad. First day post-surgery I switched from Clear Liquids to mush. Ate a few spoonfuls of mashed chicken, spinach and yoghurt.

The second day post surgery things seemed to get worse. I’d felt pretty good the afternoon of post-surgery day one, but because I was having so much pain, we decided I’d stay an additional night for pain management. The second day I woke up violently nauseous and with a very bloated belly. I had zero appetite and was able to only yak down a spoonful of yoghurt. As the day wore on, the swelling got worse. By this point, I really wanted to get out of the hospital (I have terrible veins and by that point was on my 9^th different IV site, I looked like a pin cushion!). In the cab home, I fastened the seatbelt and had to several times re-fasten it because my belly continued to swell at such a rapid rate, that the seat belt got too tight. Fortunately, I had a typical Chicago cabbie who zoomed around and managed to hit every pot hole. While this did not feel great on my incisions, all the jostling and bouncing really did help dislodge the gas! My stomach definitely started moving, though unfortunately resulted in a few bouts of diarrhea. I had a really miserable day yesterday. Found it really difficult to get anything down. Ended up eating a spoonful of cottage cheese and drinking a few ounces of Protein Drink. The smell of any food, or even the sight of food on t.v. makes me want to throw up.

It’s now the 3^rd day post-surgery and I am still feeling that it is really hard to get anything down. I went for a 20 minute walk this morning, so I’m feeling fine in terms of getting around, I just can’t bear the thought of food in any form. Walked past a house where they were frying bacon and thought I was going to barf right there in their front yard! I haven’t even tried counting my calorie/protein intake because it has been so minimal. I’m hoping that it gets easier today. Well, time for my Lovenox shot, hooray!

Whew! Is it just me, or did it get really warm in here, need crack a window. . .

Here's a good read

http://www.verticals...an-opportunity/

Thank you for this re-post laura-ven. I'm starting my pre-op diet tomorrow (a few days before I'm required to) and this was exactly what I needed to hear!

Arg, yes, just realized that I'll probably have it the day before or day of my surgery. I think just about every big life event in my adult life so far has been "enhanced" this way!

What's the name of the app? I need to requit haha and it'll help my fiancé, too

The iphone app is called "Quit It." There's a free version and a .99.

I quit the day after my appointment with my surgeon. I had gotten up to nearly a pack a day and was really feeling the bad effects. I was pretty much ready to quit, but the surgery sealed the deal for me.

I'm now 1 month 17 days smoke and nicotine free. I used the gum for a day and then cold turkey after that. I did get an iphone app (of course there's an app for that!), and as silly as it sounds, I love the app and thinks it's really helped. It tracks how long you've been smoke free, it counts how many cigarettes you haven't smoked (I have NOT smoked 941 cigarettes since I quit!), it tracks how much money you've saved by quitting and it even gives you little updates about all the good things that are happening in your body now that you aren't smoking. Sounds silly, I know, but especially the first few weeks, I checked the app obsessively and it really helped me stay strong. It's called "Quit It." I am so glad I quit, regardless of the surgery. I love waking up now without that awful heaviness and congestion in my chest.

And for what it's worth, both the smoke AND the nicotine are a problem with any surgery not just because of increased surgical risks (which are numerous and scary), but because they significantly hinder your body's ability to heal. Good luck everyone trying to quit--keep your eyes on the prize!

I would imagine that a good surgeon/surgical team is only going to order tests that are medically necessary for each person. I can't quite see why a bone density scan and a chest X-ray would be considered necessary for everyone. That being said, I think an EKG is a pretty standard pre-OP procedure regardless of age or particular medical conditions. I would at the very least ask about that.

Planning a dive trip for next spring, probably Bonnaire, I'm looking forward to not having to wear so much weight on my belt!

Rock on, you look great!

Hey, Mocha2871, maybe I'll see you! You planning to go to the support group there? I'd like to, but it's a bit far for me (I'm in Oak Park).

Hmm, well, maybe I'm nuts, but I actually like many of the Medifast shakes. They even have things like "iced tea" and "hot chocolate" that are decent and don't have that gross, chalky quality that most Protein Drinks do. You can't buy them in a store, but available on line.

Yippee, just got my date today--August 23rd. Let's go August!