macman

It is normal. I had a problem getting liquids in the first ten days or so. The previous advice is right on, sip, sip, sip!

I was on blood pressure medication that stopped after surgery. I had a hospital stay due to blood clots and I took oxycontin and oxycodone for three weeks. The surgeon has me on an antacid, colace and lo dose aspirin, all pills. The Calcium pills I took in the hospital had to be cut in half so I could get them down. I do know there are some medications that you might be asked to stop for a few days before and after surgery.

I love New England for the change in seasons, from Massachusetts. But I have to tell you Florida sure looks good in the winter, I think the older I get I tolerate the cold and snow less and less I have 3 trips planned to the Florida Keys in the next four months to do some fishing

Not a chance!

Congrats on moving to the next stage. I have been on soft proteins for about 2 weeks. Initially i was told to eat yogurt, cottage cheese, refried beans etc. I did that for a few days. There is a recipe for ricotta bake that is very good. It has been mentioned on here a number of times. Since I can only eat protein I enjoy crab cake, grilled scallops, grilled tilapia. Also canned tuna, ham and chicken mixed with Miracle Whip light mayo. For snacks: greek yogurt, string cheese. I have also hd roast chicken mixed with some bbq sauce.

Hey Recycled, I am glad you asked. I would be very interested in what others are doing. I am macman74 on MFP. I think I am a little behind you. I was sleeved 12/23 and currently eating soft proteins. I can't add vegetables and fruits until the end of February.

Right now I am drinking my morning breakfast: Unjury Strawberry Sorbet, 8 oz skim milk, 3 inches of banana, and 8 ice cubes all mixed in my Ninja blender. Terrific! Another favorite is Unjury Chocolate Splendor, PB2 peanut butter protein, skim milk and ice. I like these shakes because I can start my day with about 30 grams of protein.

I add skim milk or almond milk to the Unjury, mostly to get the extra protein.

Forgot to mention Syntrax. These are really good because you can mix with water. Fuzzy Navel is great! I also just bought a coffee flavored protein from Chike. I will have to let you know how it goes.

The answer is yes. I use unjury Protein and their directions are not to heat above 140 degrees. Two things happen: The protein clumps up and it is not very tasty and the protein breaks down. I never warmed up to Isopure drinks. I never liked how they tasted. Also according to my guideline I can only have 60-70 grams of protein and they always drove me too high in protein.

Hi There, just noticed this thread and thought I would chime in. I live in Massachusetts, on the RI line. Sleeved on 12/23 @ UMass Memorial in Worcester. On the ready to drink shakes, I have tried a lot of them, I settled on Premier Protein, available at Sam's Club or BJ's. They come in chocolate and vanilla and have 30 grams of protein. I also use Atkins RTD. I buy them at Walmart. They average 15 grams of protein. You can also make your own. Just need a good blender. For whey Protein powder, unjury is great quality and available at unjury.com. Chocolate Splendor, French Vanilla, strawberry Sorbet or unflavored. I enjoy them all. Good luck with your pre op diet. I did not have to do one because my insurance required a six month managed plan. I can tell you that it is great practice for the discipline you'll need after surgery, especially while on the liquid phase.

At my worst 362 lbs (surgery 320) Shirt: 4xl Pants: 56 waist Today 6 weeks after surgery, 282 lbs Shirt: 3xl Pants: 48waist Lots of goodness still to come!

The first 3-4 weeks after surgery I hd serious constipation due to liquid diet and high doses of narcotics.I tried everything. After 10 days of no movement the only thing that worked was a Fleet Enema. It was recommended by my surgeon and can be purchased OTC in a drug store. Since moving to soft Proteins, I take a daily dose of Miralax and one colace tablet. I also take a daily probiotic, recommended by my surgeon. I have become a regular daily contributor.

I have some of the opposite experiences. Since surgery I have slept like a baby!

Hello Everyone. I have been missing from this thread since my surgery on 12/23. The initial recovery went well but I developed a Pulmonary Embolism that became quite serious for a period of time. The good news is my recovery is going well and I have been cleared to begin cardio exercise. I need to slowly work my way back into regular exercise so rather than set a specific number of miles my goal is going to be completing cardio exercise on my recumbent bike 4x a week or 20x for the month of February. Good Luck!!

I have a flex. I purchased it 3 months ago, pre op, to help with monitoring activity. I wear it all the time, including the shower. I have no problems with skin rashes. I like it for the awareness it provides me about activity. I have it paired with "My Fitness Pal" and I also received the "Aria" scale as a gift so that is also tied into my dashboard It is a simple way to monitor my activity and motivate me to do more. I notice when I have been sitting all day, and if I am close to goals I have established. It will compensate for activity on My Fitness Pal but I have not eaten more because of the fitbit adjustment. I look at that as a bonus.

I feel fortunate being able to sit here and tell my story to all of you. We all have had issues, concerns and problems that we have to deal with as part of our decision to undergo weight loss surgery. At least in my case I downplayed some of the potential side effects. I did not think they could happen to me. But they did; here is my story. My insurance (BCBS of Illinois) required a six month managed plan before they would approve weight loss surgery. Although at times this seemed a long period of time, I learned a lot about the surgeries, my motivation to eat, the importance of following a food plan and taking on exercise, something I had never done. During the six months i received tremendous support from The Weight Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. I felt particularly good about the center. Not only did they house one of the best Trauma Centers in Massachusetts, they also hosted a Medical School and one of the leading cardiac care centers in the northeast. It was good to know there was a level of support beyond the surgery itself. During the pre surgery intake meeting I discussed side effects including blood clots with my surgeon, Dr Donald Czerniach. Blood Clots, although rare, do happen as part of any surgical procedure. I did not have a history of clots so no special attention was paid to this. He also emphasized that I continue with my 5-6 day a week cardio program right up until surgery. He made a point of telling me how important this would be in the recovery period. Little did I realize how critical this would be. During the six months I lost 42 pounds and felt very good about where I was going. My surgery happened on December 23. Everything went well. I was in the hospital overnight due to my use of CPAP. But pain was minimal, I stopped pain meds after 48 hours, I was able to drink Water and moved around well. I stopped taking blood pressure medication. Quickly I was able to get the recommended Protein levels and I felt good. In fact on my 2 week followup visit, I joked with the NP, wondering if 85% of my stomach had actually been removed. I got clearance to begin increasing my exercise levels, slowly building up cardio levels and they expanded my liquid only diet to include cottage cheese, yogurt and cream Soups. At that point I had lost 20 pounds and could have been the poster boy for a successful wls. The next day, I began to exercise with 20 minutes of cardio. I felt good but later that day developed a cramp in my right calf, below the knee. The cramp would not go away. I went to bed thinking I had pushed it a little and the cramp would be gone in the morning. In the morning the cramp was still there, as I walked to the bathroom for my morning usual, I became light headed, nauseous and eventually disoriented. My wife helped me back into bed, where I spent the day resting and sleeping. When I got out of bed later in the day all the symptoms were still present, so we called 911. At this point I was not sure what was happening but I was thinking about blood clots. After spending 6 hours in the ER at UMass Medical Center, and doing about every test possible, the diagnosis was that I had a blood clot in my leg. I also had a blood clot in my lung, and it was very large. Their thinking was that the original clot had formed in my calf, behind the knee. They were very confident that it had developed from the surgery a couple weeks earlier. A large piece had broken off the original clot and traveled through the vein, through the heart and lodged in the opening to my lungs. I was admitted to the Cardiac ICU. They began a traditional therapy involving heparin to stop additional clots from forming and allow the body to begin the process of breaking the clots down. They were very concerned about the Pulmonary Embolism moving. We discussed using a TPA clot buster to break the PE apart but one of the dangers was increased risk of internal bleeding, especially with surgery a few weeks ago. We decided not to do it. After 12 hours they switched to shots of lovanox in my stomach in place of the heparin. The Doctors thought it a bit more aggressive in helping to break down the clot. Later that day I suffered what everyone now calls the meteor shower. The PE that was lodged in the opening to the lung started to move. It totally blocked the vein, causing a back up of blood into the heart. Blood began leaking from the heart. At this point I was in incredible pain and thought "this is it"! Morphine did not help, finally a dose of fentinol slowed things down and allowed me to control my breathing. Blood was still backing up. One of two things was about to happen; the heart was about to explode from all the built up pressure or the clot would blow through the opening in the vein and break open. Luckily the PE gave way first, causing a "meteor shower" of smaller clots that proceeded into the veins entering the lungs and also the lung itself. I was one lucky guy! In the words of the Chief CICU, "I had dodged one very large bullett"! Over the next few days they worked on stabilizing me and started a pain regimen that would allow me to go home. I learned that blood clots are broken down by the body over time. They anticipated four to six moths before all was back to normal. Today I am home after spending 10 days in the hospital. I am on oxygen because my breathing is still impaired by the clots. I am taking 50 mg of Oxycontin slow release, every 12 hours. This is to provide a background layer of pain relief in case the clots decide to break apart. And I have 5 mg of Oxycodone for any short term pain issues. I am still on my liquid diet, 29 days, and I am looking forward to moving to pureed foods later this week. A couple thoughts: 1. I did a lot of research on wls. The sleeve was absolutely the best choice for me. I was warned about the possibility of blood clots, but I did not think it would happen to me. The reality is that it can happen to anyone, no matter how prepared you think you are. 2. When the surgeon talks about a pre surgery exercise program, do what he says. Pre surgery, I was out of breath after climbing stairs and knew I had to be better. Over 12 weeks pre surgery, I steadily increased my cardio levels until I was doing 30 minutes on a recumbent bike 5-6 days a week. The Chief of the CICU and my surgeon both told me I survived the built up pressure in my heart because I prepared my heart for surgery with cardio exercise. They said it was strong with no residual problems from the clots. I am thankful that I listened to the Surgeon and to members of the fitness challenge forum for motivation to push myself to my goals! Thank You 3. in making the original wls decision I choose to be involved with a major medical center, a program of excellence in bariatric surgery and a facility with all the life support I might need if something were to go wrong. I am glad I did that. It probably saved my life. 4. If given a do-over, I would do the surgery again. With the same doctors, hospital and support groups. The decision to do wls was not easy. But it is the right thing for me. 5. I knew ahead of time how important a support network would be in helping me through the plan. Little did I realize how critical it would become. I am thankful for the love and support of my wife of 34 years, Lynne. She has been an absolute rock and has been a huge, positive impact on my success so far. The importance of a support network can not be underscored. If it is family, friends, this forum; we all need one.

Congratulations and thanks for the solid advice!!

I use Unjury Chocolate Splendor, with PB2, ice and skim milk. Another good one is Chocolate Splendor with Torani Sugar Free Salted Carmel Syrup. Unjury French Vanilla with PB2 is also good. For the pre-made shakes I se Premier Protein in Chocolate or Vanilla, available at Sam's Club. Atkins shakes are also good. Both Premier and Atkins have lower amounts or carbs with healthy doses of Protein

Hey thanks everyone for the good wishes. After surgery I was on lovanox while in the hospital, but nothing once I returned home. My recovery after surgery was on schedule and I felt great. I was also pretty active. It was just one of those things! As an update; I am off all pain killers. The clots are still there, will be for a few months. I no longer need oxygen and my blood oxygen is 97% or higher without the oxygen and a heart rate in the 70's. The clots are having no lasting impact. I have been cleared to begin exercising once again. I am going to start slow but I got to tell you it's on my mind. The sleeve is progressing well and I am currently on soft Proteins, losing weight and feeling good

HW. 362 SW. 320 CW. 282 80 pounds lost total, 38 since surgery on 12/23.

My insurance required a six month managed plan. I had to show weight loss, but not a specific amount. At times the time seemed long, but I in looking back I am glad I did it. I would tell you to use the time wisely. I experimented with Protein shakes and foods that would help me after the surgery. I also started tracking, developing an exercise program and some routines that would help post op. I was able to lose 40 pounds before the surgery and 37 since December 23. So I am very happy with the 77 pound weight loss. I think the preparation, listening to the forum and developing some routines have made it easier post surgery to do what I need to be successful. My surgeon and the insurance company were very happy with my pre surgery weight loss. I was told it showed commitment to both the surgeon and insurance. One piece of advice I would give is to develop a cardio exercise routine to help get your heart and lungs in the best shape possible before surgery. This was advice I received early from my surgeon and turned out to be prophetic.

I had a morphine pump in the hospital and went home with Hydrocodone pills. I took them for two days post op and stopped.

Congratulations you are off to a terrific start!!

I was a guy that was never cold, in fact I would secretly turn down the thermostat when the wife turned it up! Boy things have changed. Since being sleeved on December 23 I am COLD!! it has been cold in Massachusetts, most days I wear my thermal underwear as a first layer, which rotates between Cabela's sub zero winter woolies to Under Armour thermal gear. If I move around and keep the blood flowing, I am ok. But if I sit in a chair to watch TV, out comes the fleece throw and the shivers start. The other night I even wore a pair of gloves with a beanie hat I was so cold. I desperately need the weather to change or seriously think about a trip to Florida to visit my Brother in Law in the Keys.