Only1likeme

I have waited a long 3 weeks with phone calls. .. anxiety. . And frustration and today. ..I GOT MY APPROVAL CALL! I can't explain how I feel in this moment! Im so excited and I just can't hide it! Lol..Ive been calling. .. emailing and freaking out. I was becoming discouraged and wondering if the wait was a sign. ..But as I'm in a training class in Charlotte today I get the call and literally spaz out once I hear the voice mail in front of my whole class.......ughhhh in excited
Keeping my fingers crossed

This is awesome, way to go! Let us know when you get your surgery date!!!

WOOOT WOOOOT!!! Congrats!

I have waited a long 3 weeks with phone calls. .. anxiety. . And frustration and today. ..I GOT MY APPROVAL CALL! I can't explain how I feel in this moment! Im so excited and I just can't hide it! Lol..Ive been calling. .. emailing and freaking out. I was becoming discouraged and wondering if the wait was a sign. ..But as I'm in a training class in Charlotte today I get the call and literally spaz out once I hear the voice mail in front of my whole class.......ughhhh in excited
Keeping my fingers crossed

I have waited a long 3 weeks with phone calls. .. anxiety. . And frustration and today. ..I GOT MY APPROVAL CALL! I can't explain how I feel in this moment! Im so excited and I just can't hide it! Lol..Ive been calling. .. emailing and freaking out. I was becoming discouraged and wondering if the wait was a sign. ..But as I'm in a training class in Charlotte today I get the call and literally spaz out once I hear the voice mail in front of my whole class.......ughhhh in excited
Keeping my fingers crossed

I have waited a long 3 weeks with phone calls. .. anxiety. . And frustration and today. ..I GOT MY APPROVAL CALL! I can't explain how I feel in this moment! Im so excited and I just can't hide it! Lol..Ive been calling. .. emailing and freaking out. I was becoming discouraged and wondering if the wait was a sign. ..But as I'm in a training class in Charlotte today I get the call and literally spaz out once I hear the voice mail in front of my whole class.......ughhhh in excited
Keeping my fingers crossed

I have waited a long 3 weeks with phone calls. .. anxiety. . And frustration and today. ..I GOT MY APPROVAL CALL! I can't explain how I feel in this moment! Im so excited and I just can't hide it! Lol..Ive been calling. .. emailing and freaking out. I was becoming discouraged and wondering if the wait was a sign. ..But as I'm in a training class in Charlotte today I get the call and literally spaz out once I hear the voice mail in front of my whole class.......ughhhh in excited
Keeping my fingers crossed

I have waited a long 3 weeks with phone calls. .. anxiety. . And frustration and today. ..I GOT MY APPROVAL CALL! I can't explain how I feel in this moment! Im so excited and I just can't hide it! Lol..Ive been calling. .. emailing and freaking out. I was becoming discouraged and wondering if the wait was a sign. ..But as I'm in a training class in Charlotte today I get the call and literally spaz out once I hear the voice mail in front of my whole class.......ughhhh in excited
Keeping my fingers crossed

Oh, I'm a pathetic, sodden-faced, snot-filled, gastric reflux infested mess at least once a day... I feel it well up. I am ashamed to say it, but the X Factor made me cry yesterday. If you knew what I did for a living, you would find that hysterically funny...
In hindsight, I know I do...

yes been there done that....it gets better. I have 9 month post op, and still have those days. But jus think we are making Major Life changing events. My mind has been on a rollercoaster. You are not alone. Some days I still wake up and think....****, I had my stomach removed.....WTF? But I go to put on my clothes and they fit or are getting to big, then I jus smile......Wishing you the Best of LUCK!

<Lisa wonders what to eat while watching this thread, since popcorn is out>

Like another poster said, everyone will be different, but this is how it went down for me:
Controlling your emotions and eating hard those first 3 weeks? Everyone made fun of me (in a fun way) because I cried all the time over everything, even though I knew it was stupid. I would laugh and cry at the same time. I called it a surgery side effect - which has finally stopped - I haven't cried in weeks. I had no interest in eating until week 3 or so and by then I was happy to get to slurp Soup. It was a week into Soup that I had had enough and I wanted real food. it gets hard sometimes, but that's when you have to dig deep and stay with the program.
1 oz of Water every 15 mins? Was that hard? It was for me because I was never a Water drinker to begin with. Even now I set my alarm to go off every hour to remind me to drink.
Protein - you need 40 grams a day at first (then it goes up) I drank choc Protein shake 20g (took forever to get it down). Then water with New whey Liquid Protein (walmart carries it). Its flavored - grape or watermelon - not too tasty but OK enough to get down.
Buy a huge container of Protein for shakes. . is that good enough? Buy enough to get you started, but not too much, you may not like that kind. I find I like the premade shakes better - less foamy and thick.
Bed ridden? I would not say bed ridden, but I took my pain meds and slept a lot the first week. I could walk a few laps around the house several times a day, but I couldn't go to the store or anything.
What Vitamins do you have to take our do they suggest? I take a chewable Multi-Vitamin (Centrum Silver was the only chewable I could find, even though Im NOT silver... yet). B12 drops and D3 drops.
How long should you wait to have sex? My doc said 2 weeks - I probably waited 3 just because my tummy was still a bit tender and I was worried... but everything was fine when I finally gave into my hubby's crying and begging haha
How bad is the Constipation? I have not gone on my own since surgery, but it never hurts - not enough food to really build up I guess. Every few days I take MOM and it flushes it all out.
Has anyone slipped and taken ibuprofen? I take liquid Tylenol. I hate taking pills anyway, so I just bought some liquid at walgreens.
Great questions - I hope these answers help!

I had surgery two weeks ago. Out of everything, the worst thing for me was I threw up once and had some dry heaves the first night. The next morning they gave me some wonderful medicine and it went away. I needed help getting up for a few hours in the hospital, but after that, I was able to do things on my own. They did keep me for two nights, instead of 1 because of the first night. I didn't drive for a week, but that was my choice. I have a very low car and didn't want to have to climb out of it. I never needed pain medication so I didn't have to worry about driving while on it. I went back to work part time 5 days after surgery and the following Monday went back full time. It was exhausting in the beginning of the week but get easier as the week went on.
I tried a few Protein Drinks and found I like Unjury the best. I particularly like the chocolate Splendor and I put PB2 in it, with my NUT's approval. It's wonderful! I found while on the liquid diet portion and taking the Protein drinks, it's hard to get it all in. The Water hasn't been a problem. Just sip,sip, sip away!
I haven't had sex yet. Not for any medical or physical reasons, just haven't. My husband is being more than patient!
Now that I've moved on from pureed food to soft food, I seem to be alternating Constipation and diareaha. I haven't been able to get in as much yogurt as I'd like, so i'm not balanced out yet. I'm sure once I get back on it, I'll even out.
Everyone's journey is different, but I was exactly like you! I wanted to be prepared and ready for when I got home. I found I over prepared, but I guess that's ok! Emotionally, I was so ready for it to happen already. Even now, a couple of weeks out, I find I'm more excited than ever. The weight is melting away and I feel euphoric!
Best of luck to you!!!!!

Hi. ..I have so many questions and I'm hoping some post op patients will have patients with me while I ask away...lol... I wanted to know if controlling your emotions and eating was hard those first 3 weeks. ..I hear you have to do an oz of Water every 15 mins? Was that hard? Then Protein. . Protein. . what do you all suggest to get inthe daily amount . if I buy a huge container of protein for shakes. . is that good enough? I know this is life changing and I want to be ready. . prepared and aware. Have any of you had to come home on day 2 and just be need ridden? What Vitamins do you have to take our do they suggest? How long should you wait to have sex? How bad is the Constipation? Has anyone slipped and taken ibuprofen?
Keeping my fingers crossed

Thanks a Million
Keeping my fingers crossed

Everyone's answers to these questions will be a little different, we are individuals and our path after surgery is individual . . . but here are mine.
Was controlling my emotions and eating hard the first three weeks? No, for the most part I wasn't overly emotional. I had to work hard to get my Protein and liquids in (I was on full liquids for three weeks after surgery) but other than that it wasn't hard. I certainly wasn't interested in eating, craving food, etc.
An ounce of Fluid every fifteen minutes? My schedule wasn't that rigid. I had to get 64 ounces in every 24 hours, and it was a lot of sipping at first, but as long a I paced myself throughout the day, I didn't have to set a timer or anything.
Protein: while you are on liquids and purees, you'll be having Protein Shakes. I would suggest getting a boatload of samples of different kinds of protein and then start testing them AFTER surgery. What you liked before, you may well not like after. Don't buy big tubs until you know what you like. My favorite brands are Unjury and Syntrax Matrix.
Being "need ridden"? Not sure what you mean . . . I came home from the hospital and took care of myself, never felt particularly needy.
Vitamins: I take Trader Joe's High Potency chewable Multi-Vitamin (double dose), plus an Iron supplement, B-12, Vitamin D, and 1 calcium citrate petite. When I was on liquids, I took liquid vitamins from Wellesse.< /p>
How long should you wait to have sex? It upsets the nurses if you do it in the hospital. Other than that, have sex when you feel ready!
Constipation: I have had no Constipation, I poop every day, sometimes twice. (there's no such thing as TMI on this forum, right?).
Ibuprofen: I'm allowed Ibuprofen as long as it isn't a long term thing with high dosage, but I haven't taken any. I'm still working my way through the Tylenol I bought prior to surgery -- that is important, not to take Ibuprofen in the weeks leading up to surgery. I threw all the NSAIDS in my house out and replaced them with Tylenol because I was scared I would forget and mess up.
Good luck to you!

Your recovering from major surgery those first three weeks...You will be lucky to get even a little Protein and Water down...Your tummy is new and will respond accordingly....Give yourself time to heal and most of all do not panic....It will all come in time..But it takes time..most people drink broth and Protein shakes as there Protein in the beginning...You will struggle to get some down at first..Like I said it is a healing and time game at first...You cannot force your sleeve to do something it is not ready to do!
You have sex when you are ready and comfortable....That is different for each person. Constipation is a problem for a lot of sleevers....Taking stool softeners will assist in this area...
My Surgeon only allows me to take Tylenol..So that is the only pain killer I take and have not made a choice to take anything else up to this point.....
You should be given a list of Vitamins to take by your NUT. Follow that list closely...We can never eat enough to get our daily requirement...That will be a life long change....I know it will be for me.....
Hope I helped a little...

Thanks a Million
Keeping my fingers crossed

Most of my friends and family members know about my surgery and two of my close coworkers. One of my coworkers who didn't know about my sleeve has witness me eat and throw up right after a numerous of times. I am down 60 pounds so its noticeable that I am losing weight. Well she told some of my bosses and they were all concerned and called me in to a meeting to address my eating issues lol. They said that I don't eat much and then throw up right after, they gave me treatment options and information. The 2 people who knew about the surgery were laughing, they didn't say anything because it wasn't there news to tell. I had to tell them about my surgery. Guess the cats out of the bag. Their faces were priceless.
There hearts were in the right place.

The one that will forever be remember is "have you lost your f-ing mind?!?!! Why the f would you cut your stomach?!?! Are you crazy?!?!"
My best friend was like "meh... Your body, your choice. I'm behind you in whatever you decide"
My dad "..."
My brother "you're a lazy ass. We can exercise together and you won't need that stupid surgery"