1SuperBonBon

Oh gamegirl, I feel for you. I have battled depression my whole life until I finally got properly medicated about 5 years ago. Thank god I didn't have to stop taking my meds before or after surgery or I don't know what might have happend. Athough everyday I am worried that something is going to change for me, like my current med cocktail is not effective anymore because my body chemistry has changed. I have read so many threads about the emotional impact and roller coasters this surgery can cause. I in noway think I am in the clear, especially only being 2 weeks out. I would talk to your doctor and see if there is any medication that could help. I know that people think there is a stigma with treating mental health, but why wouldn't you treat it? I hope you feel better soon. I love following all your posts and blog Take care. oh and btw...nothing wrong with a mental health day and trashy TV. I love it!

I agree with Art. I am 2 weeks out and I have no trouble drinking fluids. I can drink just about the same as pre-surgery. Even after a few days it was pretty easy for me. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. As far as alcohol, I am not planning on consuming alcohol. I was never a big drinker anyway so this might be easier for me than others. I am planning on finding new things that give me comfort and happiness. With my imporved health and new figure, I am sure I can think of a lot of fun things to do that do not including drinking empty calories. Bonnie.

I love Proactiv. I use all their products. I never believed it would work, because I have tried everything. But it does!.What I would recommend to the OP is their Green Tea Moisturizer. It is fabulous. It feels great and soaks in wonderfully.

Oh so it isn't so! LOL

Yeah I was definitely worried about this until I started pureed protein food and found that I can't even get down 2 tablespoons at one sitting. I am not nearly as concerned about the yogurt thing anymore after all it is 12 grams of protein and only 80 calories.

I will definitely tell him hi Laura. I did mention you at my pre-op appt. He was asking if I needed any names or "buddies" for support. I let him know that I met you on VST and how helpful you have been. Of course he played it cool b/c of HIPPA and didn't say much. You know he can't confirm you are a patient. I definitely have the fat girl sleeve. But "fatty" has lost 13 pounds in 13 days since surgery. So far "fatty" and I are getting along just fine. B.

yeah I figured it could but I was kinda looking for information about what causes it to stretch, how long it takes to stretch and things like that. Especially since I, like you, can eat an entire yogurt at one sitting I haven't seen Zare since I left the hospital. I go this Thurrsday for my first post op appt.

So today is my first day back to work (13 days post op). I finally get to participate in this thread Here is what I have heard so far. I am not sure what category they fit into. None of them offended me. I just kinda laugh at the funny things people say. 1. A good friend of mine at work saw me today for the first time since August 1 (she was on maternity leave when I started my journey). So called me over so she could take a good look at me. Made me turn around and looked me up and down. Then this came out of her mouth. What size pants are those? I told her 16s. Not gonna lie. I just bought them last night so I had something to wear to work that fit. I said, "Why?" and she replied, "Because they are too big on you!" she told me they were too baggy and loose. Like I said I am not sure what to make of that. She was not mean about it. Quite sweet and all. I think she was trying to tell me that I have lost more weight than I think. I am down 41 pounds since she has last seen me. 2. Another co-work said, "you look good. It looks like you have had a facelift" Again not sure how to take that one either. But okay. 3. My other two closest friend at work were super nice and just said wow you look great you can really tell a difference. These pretty much are the only people at work who know, but if others ask I will tell. Thanks for reading. I have enjoyed following this thread while I have been home recovering. Bonnie

I am with Laura piggy piggy BonBon! I have been able to eat an entire 5.3 oz greek yogurt since about day 6 post op. This kinda worried me. I was starting to think I got the fat gurl sleeve. Thank goodness once I started eating some pureed Protein I could only get about 1 1/2 tablespoons down before sleevey told me STOP. On topic. I have no idea why they stopped making lids for the yogurt. I liked 'em! Back to the best Greek yogurt. I like the Dannon Light and Fit Greek Yogurts. Here are the nutritional facts Nutrition Facts Dannon - Light & Fit -greek Yogurt - strawberry Servings: 1 container (5.3 oz/150g) Calories 80 Sodium 55 mg Total Fat 0 g Potassium 160 mg Saturated 0 g Total Carbs 8 g Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 0 g Monounsaturated 0 g Sugars 6 g Trans 0 g Protein 12 g Cholesterol 10 mg Vitamin A 0% Calcium 15% Vitamin C 0% Iron 0%

Hello All: I found this information today while cruising the internet at work (I know I know, but it is my first day back and I am trying to stay awake). I pasted the hyperlink at the end so you can figure out the source, but the information seems reasonable and accurate. One of the first questions patients ask about food. The surgery has a nice benefit of reducing the hunger inducing hormone reglin. But ultimately, its the restrictive nature of a smaller stomach that leads to weight loss. So its normal and smart to ask, “What happens if my stomach stretches and I gain weight back?” Your Stomach Can and Will Stretch After Surgery Our stomachs have the amazing ability to stretch and expand as a result of our food intake. The walls of our stomach are made up of folds of tissue called ‘Rugae.’ These are folds in the stomach wall that expand and contract as a direct response to food entering and flowing through your stomach. Hunger and How Food Flows Through Our Stomach When we eat food it enters through our mouths, gets chewed and swallowed. It then flows through our esophagus into our stomach where acid starts the process of breaking the food down. As we continue to eat, more food enters the stomach and joins the rest of the food – all of which is waiting to be broken down by stomach acid. Our stomachs expand to accommodate all of this food. When our stomachs expand far enough a signal is sent to our brains telling us, ‘That is enough food, I’m full now.’ After you’re done eating, the food is slowly broken down by your stomach acid and then the folds in your stomach contract to push the food into your intestines where digestive juices further digest your food. The Problem The reason many people are overweight is not because they like food more than the rest of us. Its because their hunger and full signals are broken. Once you continue to stretch out your stomach by overeating on a regular basis the signals your stomach sends to your brain indicating fullness and hunger start to get skewed. After a while your stomach only says, ‘I’m full,’ after its severely stretched out. And it may start saying ‘Feed me,’ when its still half-full. This is why losing weight is so difficult. When Overeating Leads to Stomach Stretching After gastric sleeve surgery its important to keep your stomach away from the overeating cycle that can lead to a stretched stomach. If you ate too much on Thanksgiving your stomach will stretch. If you binged one night on KFC, your stomach will stretch. Your stomach is just doing its job. The good news is that it will contract. However, if after a large meal, your next meal is a large meal and you continue this on a regular basis you risk permanently stretching your stomach. The danger is not in the size of your stomach. The danger is that you will skew the triggers for hunger and fullness. This will lead to a continued cycle of overeating, which will then lead to weight gain. How to Prevent the Stretch After Gastric Sleeve Surgery Eating one or two large meals will not lead to a permanently stretched stomach or issues with your hunger and fullness triggers. However, doing this multiple times can lead to issues. The list below hi-lights key points to reduce the risk of stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery. Limit volume not sweets. Instead of totally limiting every aspect of your diet, give yourself a reward once a week with a special treat limited in size. But do not go out and eat a large meal – regardless of the type of food. Reduce the amount of fluids that you drink when you eat. Its not a bad idea to drink before you eat so that you feel full faster. But its better to drink your fluids an hour or two before eating and/or an hour or two after. This lets the fluids digest and they won’t increase the amount of gas that can build If you do have a bigger than normal meal, make your next meal small and make sure you don’t make larger meals a habit. If you are always feeling hungry, then eat small amounts of healthy Snacks in between meals. Almonds are a delicious and healthy way to feel satisfied in between meals. Get a good book with healthy recipes that are geared for people who have gone through gastric sleeve surgery. We’ve got a list of ourbooks here. DO NOT get discouraged. If you fell off the wagon and binged one or two meals or even the entire previous week. The stomach and the mind is an amazingly resilient thing. Start over and start eating normal meals again. Call your surgeon and ask for help before it gets too far out of hand. Get on the online forums and ask others for help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Here is a list of our favorite forums. So stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery is not a myth. It can happen and it does happen. Be aware of it and prevent it. Remember how hard the surgery and recovery was? Remember what a big decision you made? Its never too late to change your habits and get back on the right track. http://216.70.100.66/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeve-will-my-stomach-stretch

No Sh*t erp is in the house! I am getting out of the way. You go get 'em!

I can relate to this. Sometimes I feel like I am afraid of succeeding. I think I fear the perceived expectations people will have of me when I lose weight. Like everyone is watching me and judging me. I just want to crawl back into my safe zone. About 8 years ago I went on a diet and exercise plan and lost 90 pounds. I looked fabulous. I had so much trouble with haters. I even got talked to by my manager about "toning" it down. She told me that I should want people in my meetings to remember what I have to say not what I look like. WTF? This time around I am not going to let anything discourage me. Haters can go pound sand. You can do this!

Very interesting. Who knew? Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Sleevie! I see it now. phew!

I still don't see it... but if you say so LOL.

This is fantastic news Mel. I have been following your story for awhile. I am really proud of you. Soooo exciting. Like Laura said, keep us posted. woot woot.

Good Morning, I have celiac's disease and was sleeved 10/22. I am with you GlutenFreeSingleMom; I can't have ANY gluten or I am soooo sick. It is not worth it. I don't even eat out at restaurants because I have gotten sick from cross contamination. I have only been diagnosed for 11 months. I have found some aspects of the sleeve plan has been easier for me because I already had my food funerals last year. But of course I am only 11 days out. Bonnie

I am glad you posted this Pjackson. I was just talking about this with my sister about an hour ago. I had surgery the day after you did, and so far I have had no trouble with anything. I am almost drinking like I used to before surgery. I am still on a full liquid diet, but can have light yogurt, SF pudding and SF Jello. I can easily sit down and eat a 5.3 oz cup of Dannon fit and light greek yogurt in about 7 minutes. I feel full afterwards but doesn't hurt or come back up. I also can't tell when I am hungry or not. I have this feeling in my tummy all the time like I am on verge a stomach growl, but it never materializes and settles down. It doesn't go away after I eat. IDK... I guees my sleeve and I have just not gotten on the same page yet. So I try to eat based on time, calories, and Protein. Thank you to all the other posters. Especially the one who explained about differences in swelling. I know heal quickly from surgery. So this could explain a lot. And I am glad to hear that yogurt goes down so much easier than when I advance to dense protein. I will just keep following my staged eating plan and take it day by day. Thanks, Bonnie

More power to you that you even got one of these god awful drinks down. I just tried one tonight for the first time. One little itty bitty sip and I wanted to puke. It tasted like children's flavored medicine mixed in thick vanilla milk. I have never tasted anything that bad in a long long time. Good Luck to you.

I feel you on this one. I had the same issue. I was on a 10 day Protein liquid diet (5 shakes a day). They were gross! I even got violently sick off them one day. So I went on Clear liquids for a day. I begged my surgeon to not make me drink them. They really wanted me to try to reintroduce them and drink them. They suggested I mix them with non-fat milk instead of Water and add crushed ice. That did help, but there was still noway I was drinking 5 of them a day. I could only get in 3. I called the Dr. back and asked if I needed to drink all 5 everyday. And they really wanted me to, because they didn't want my electrolytes depleated for my surgery. I tried and tried, but most days is was only 3 shakes and sometimes 4. All my pre-op labs were good and I did fine in surgery. So after all that.... I feel ya! I would probably call the Dr's office and discuss this with them and see if you can come to a compromise than just go off on your own plan. probably not much help lol sorry but I can relate. Bonnie

Genius I say! Genius!

Yay! WTG! you are moving along now. There is no stopping you.

I have no tips. I think you pretty much covered all your bases. I just want to wish you good luck! I want to hear how it goes tomorrow. I am pulling for you. Bonnie

Oh Goodie! November 4th is less than a week away. Good thing you didn't have that pie. It will be great and you will do well. I am 8 days post op and fortunately I have had a very smooth recovery. I can hardly believe I have had this done. Sometimes it doesn't feel real. But my scales says it is so. Good Luck! Bonnie

Since my surgery, I have not had any cravings. Maybe some head hunger because I am on full liquids for another 8 days. I just want to taste something different and chew. I do really miss coffee though. I used to get a venti non-fat iced white mocha from starbucks everyday. I have not had coffee in over 3 weeks. I would love me some coffee. I know I will never get to drink my old drink again because it has way too many calories, but maybe a skinny vanilla latte every once in awhile would be nice. Good Luck to you! Bonnie