Schmincke

Well I am 6 days out and doing fine after surgery. So very blessed to be a sleeved sista and be on the road to healthy new me!! My surgery was just 1 1/2 hours the hardest part was I was the 2nd to last patient and no drinking Water for over 16 hours was hard. I was in the hospital for two days beleive me that 4am visit from the pain can be a doosy I found out the hard way that sleeping through more then 4 hours means you wake up in pain which is no fun. All the sugestions on what to take really helped too especially the extension cord and my little hot pad!! A must for any one who wants to heal quickly!!

I am already home! Went in at 5am on Monday and home by noon on Tuesday. I did great. My doc said all had gone flawlessly and there was no reason to keep me there. I live about 20 minutes from the hospital, so I felt fine about leaving. Am up to 3 oz. Per hour and only a little gas pain. Sleepy but not in pain. He gave me Lortab and Oxycodone. But so far I've only needed the Lortab. It's good to know I have the other if needed.
The pain is kind of a gnawing pain like hunger but harder. There is some soreness in my belly, but mostly when I cough or move suddenly. In a resting position I am comfortable. My throat has been really sore from being intabated and I needed chloraseptic to numb it. Also biotene spray was a great move. It kept the dry mouth at bay. I took a sleep mask and earplugs and the staff told me I was a brilliant patient. I hope this helps someone!

Hi Everyone! I've been creeping on here for a while, and thought I'd finally make an appearance. My surgery is tomorrow morning (Jan 21) so I'm on liquids now. Hasn't been too bad so far, I'm not hungry at all.
I haven't told anyone I'm having surgery except for my husband, boss, and a couple of very close friends.
I really am not very nervous about tomorrow just ready to get it done.
You have all been a huge help getting ready for surgery and through out the process. Thanks so much!

I am day 5 too, and gained 5 pounds in hospital. My MD said they over-hydrate us with IV fluids so we have extra fluids in our system when we get home. That makes us less likely to get dehydrated and end up in the the ER. He said it is like watering a camel before a long trip across the desert. So - it's just Water not fat!

Also some kinds you need to rinse well before cooking or they can be a little bitter. They can substitute for rice or couscous. Nice!

THE FIRST SUPPER: I am Day 8, puréed food. Today I craved meatballs and creamed spinach. DH got a meatloaf dinner plate for one at Boston Market. I got out my little 2-TBSP cups: one with puréed meatloaf; one with creamed spinach; one with mashed potatoes. Ate the meatloaf first, half the spinach (too fibrous), then the potatoes. Sat at table with my DH and ate a civilized hot meal. Chewed each bite 30 times. Two meals for half the price it would have been a month ago and I had leftovers for another meal! Major morale boost.

This probably isn't the response you are looking for, or the person who is qualified to give it. I haven't even technically had my six month surgiversary yet, although I did have my six month follow up yesterday. I was nervous about giving up certain foods "forever" before surgery because frankly, they were one of the main sources of pleasure and comfort in my life. So I know where you are coming from. pizza, eh, not so much, I was never a pizza fanatic. But big slices of lovely toasted artisan bread slathered in butter? I could go through half a loaf in a single afternoon, easy.
Anyway, here's the deal for me. I've lost 134 pounds since my first visit with my surgeon. I've still got a ways to go (50 more pounds? Don't have an exact goal weight yet, I'm thinking of a clothing size and body fat percentage). I haven't had anything made with any kind of grain, any starchy veggie, or anything with refined sugar since my surgery. And I don't care. It doesn't bother me. I don't feel deprived. Sure, sometimes I see something yummy like those boxes of Trader Joe's pumpkin spice toaster pastries or the Peanut Butter Cookies from my neighborhood bakery and I want them - but I don't seriously consider actually eating them. The only thing that matters to me is getting to goal. When I get there, then I'll worry about whether I can have a piece of toast again. I may not be able to, whether because it's physically uncomfortable, or maybe it leads me to a bad path of eating horribly and not being able to maintain my weight. I'm not at goal yet so I can't say for sure, but I think I am going to be okay with that. There are plenty of other foods that I enjoy eating and can take pleasure in and that are sleeve and health-friendly, so I am not "depriving" myself of the joys of eating - I am abstaining from the things that got me to a 60 BMI and in need of surgery.* I would encourage people going in to surgery to train yourself, as much as possible, to have the questions in your mind about the future be things like "what are the strategies I can use to most carefully follow my surgeon's dietary plans?" and "how can I most quickly and safely get to my goal weight/size/body fat percentage?" instead of "when can I eat pizza/rice/cookie again?" or "will I be able to eat a half a loaf of toasted bread slathered with butter again?" Do your best to focus on the health challenges in front of you rather than the unhealthy foods you may be leaving in your past, at least for a long period of time if not forever.
I know that's easier said than done! As I said, I have been there and completely understand what you are going through and the mourning process that goes along with the thought of losing that source of comfort and pleasure. It got a lot easier for me when I saw the pounds coming off, the sizes dropping - that became a big source of comfort and pleasure as well. Good luck!
*thanks to Nikke and the other posters at the OH sleeve board for the discussion about the language of deprivation - it helped me a lot!

Your story is you, unique and personal, yet everyone's story. God Bless you for reaching out for help and taking this wonderful journey that will lead us all to a better place. One day there will be no childhood sexual abuse. One day. We will all follow your journey because you are in the right place now.
Best wishes, and today really is the first day of your new life. Rejoice. Best of luck!

Group hug.....There is a very sad common experience among us that goes much deeper than going back for seconds at dinnertime.
1. Child abuse is much more common than we want to believe, even among "good" families who are pillars of the church (whole 'nother story-don't want to go there).
2. Body dismorphia, no thanks to TV, magazines, rude and painful comments from people around us.
3. Bullying and name-calling. I was anorexic in school, but my oldest sister was called "Dinah Dinosaur", my next younger sister was called "Marshmallow McFluff-fluff".
4. Abusive relationships, rape, violent crime, lousy example from parents' bad marriage / divorce.
5. Broken home
6. Disfunctional family
7. Foster care (my parents took in foster children as my siblings got older and moved out. One girl was a 14 year-old prostitute run-a-way who had been raped by male relatives
8. Poverty and poor nutrition Including the Clean Your Plate edict
9. Bad genes and family medical history
10. etc.
It seems like we all have been hurt in ways that have caused a curious disconnect between us and our food. Thank goodness for this amazing surgery that is putting us back in contact with the human machine we were meant to inhabit during our journey on earth.
Allegra, you will make it. You may have to make a few more laps around the track that some of us, but the race is yours to win, because each of us only competes against themselves to beat out old habits and painful memories. Keep going, girl. There have been many who have succeeded before you, and many more who need your example. Hugs.

Lost 10 lbs. in the week before surgery on liquid diet and have lost 11 lbs. this week. Total of 21 lbs. Yippee!!!
Just put on some jeans that hardly coveerd my butt before and the waist pulls all the way up in the back!!!
Went through a box of clothes last night...Found pants the next 3 sizes down from what I wear now. At least that will help get me through without buying a lot. I have a lot of stretchy tops that will work for a while...instead of being stretched out they should start fitting well.

Not going back to work for 4/6 weeks as I'm a nurse and can't afford to be pulling and tugging on ppl.
Week 1 weight loss: 14 lbs!!!! Anyone else get on the scale today?

Thank you for sharing. Yes, I can relate. Your words on filling the emptiness resonate so strongly with me. I understand what it means to grasp for control (of any sort) because of the trauma of childhood where you are trapped in an abusive environment. I also understand what it means to repeat those relationships as an adult.
What I choose to take away from this is one of my own mantras: the choice to live. All these things you have faced, you could have stayed where you are. But you chose to keep going forward. I feel so impatient as well. It's as though I want to just fast forward past the day by day of this and be at my goal weight. That said I think there is some important internal healing to do that no one will ever see. I think this inner healing is what really gets us to our external goals (whatever "weight" that happens to be).
Living belongs to us only one day at a time, you've chosen to live and you are amongst a community of people who are here fighting to live right along side you. I wanted to offer one of my favorite poems for you:
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -- over and over announcing your place in the family of things. Wild Geese, Mary Oliver

I contemplated having the gastric bypass off and on for about 10 years and ultimately decided against it. The surgery seemed so drastic and back then you really couldn't get solid research on how long a person lived post-op. The interesting thing is the same thing can be said for the gastric sleeve but it did not matter any more. It was time for me to make a change.
My highest weight measured was 402 lbs. I lost about 20 lbs and lingered there for nearly a year until I started preparing for surgery. My weight at surgery on December 2, 2013 was 368 lbs and I am 5'3". Fortunately I was never immobile or using assistive devices but life was/is hard at 300lbs.
There is no great mystery how I got to this weight - I ate my feelings, every pound. I have had a lifetime of traumatic experiences beginning in early childhood too numerous to dwell though probably not unlike some of you. I was abused as a child and starved as a young child. Through my teen years I became a bulimic to try to gain some semblance of control over my life. , To be honest I got the idea of binging and purging from an actress who appeared on TV talking about it and though already thin at the time, I could eat all the food I wanted and just throw it up. I couldn't deal with what was going on in my life any more and food became my way to escape. I finally stopped throwing up in my early 20's after I became pregnant but the binging never stopped.
You would think adult life would relieve the trauma but I found abuse in my relationships too and continued to eat. I won't even pretend that I needed an excuse. Food was my best friend, my source of comfort and I could control when and how often I ate which was all the time. Other traumatic experiences continued to fuel this....emptiness....that no amount of food could seem to fill and for over 14 years I have been over 300+ lbs.
In July 2009, I was a victim of a violent crime. It shattered my world to the point I left my job and became reclusive for a long time. I still haven't returned to work and am on disability. The truth is I believed my weight was my protector from the outside world. I had worn it as a shield, learned to pretend I didn't care what people thought of me, didn't notice the looks, held my head high and I was a leader in the community I worked. I couldn't reconcile what happened to me at my size. It was something that only happened to skinny beautiful people. It is just not something you ever hear about but I guess that was my own disillusion and now everything has changed.
It's been 7 weeks since my surgery and food no longer gives me the comfort that it used to and eating is this chore that I have to do. Initially all the same urges to eat were there but that has passed, Now I lay awake some nights with the aftermath of what food has done to my body and it seems I can't lose weight fast enough. I just want to wake up and it all be gone but I know that is not real either. My current weight is 312 maybe less but I won't be sure for a few days and I realize how close that is to 299. I haven't been 200 anything in 14 years. I think I will cry the first time the scale says anything under 300. That will be a day to celebrate!
Can anyone relate to what I said?

My NSV today. Got my haircut tonite. The gal that normally cuts my hair hasn't seen me in 2 months. When she saw me she was all OMG. You look great. When she put the cape on me. She says your neck is so smalliI had no trouble snapping it. What a great feeling. 65 lbs pre-op just short of 4 weeks post-op another 45 lbs gone. Love my sleeve. It is gonna be a fun ride.

I am craving steak too!

Wow - you are awesome! I haven't been snowmobiling in years - actually decades!
My non-scale victories...
Buying smaller clothes
Giving away clothes I can no longer wear
I can workout at the gym for 90 minutes and not want to take a nap
I'm more confident when I walk into a room - still a little self-aware, but much better than before
And today - I walked 3 miles on my lunch hour and wanted to more, but had to get back to work! Activity doesn't wear me down any longer and I actually enjoy it.
Congrats to you on your success! You look great!

Went into single digits! Size 8 jeans!!!

I am three months and a half months out, sleeved October 7th and down almost 90 pounds and wanted to share a non scale victory and was hoping to hear other. Yesterday for the first time I was able to go Snowmobiling and oh my goodness was it amazing! Attached is a before and after pic as well as a pic from yesterday, hope to hear yours!!

I'm sorry to hear that you're not feeling so well. I'm getting sleeved later this month and have also invested in a lot of Protein products as well as liquid Vitamins. If they don't agree with me I'm going to scream.
I know that you've spent a ton of money already, but you might want to think about getting some unflavored Protein powder. You can mix it in your hot Cereal, puddings, mashed potatoes, etc. I have the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury brand and Syntrax makes a good brand as well.
I hope you feel better soon.

I had my second appointment since my surgery on December 5th> I am doing the Happy Dance. I am down 45 pounds!! HAPPY! HAPPY! HAPY!

It likely just a stall - that happens to everyone. Don't get upset by it! You need to talk to your nutritionist if the stall keeps up. My 5 cents worth:
It might help if you look at your Water and Protein intake.
Water over 60 oz?
No more than 4 oz of fruit juice a day?
At least 80 gm protein a day ?.
I am trying to keep my carbs at 35%, protein at least 35%, fat below 30% of daily intake. My Fitness Pal helps me look at the overall nutrient profile through the day. If I get lots of protein and water, I am not hungry at all.

There is an app called power walk. I started it two weeks post op and am almost five weeks out now. It slowly increases you time and you can adjust your pace as you heal. I walked a 26 minute mile the first day and couldn't even do the whole mile. Now I'm on week three and completed 1.6 miles with a 19 minute pace.
Take your time, don't over do it.

Hi DeAnna,
My surgery was Dec16th13.i had lost 15 lbs before surgery then i was 3weeks post op nd lost 18 lbs then the forth week past nd nothing ,i started getting fustrated myself .my Dr. kept saying my body is still healing nd its going to take time. yesterday i weighed myself same exact weight . i got down. then i weighed myself this morning nd i lost 3lbs from yesterday morning . so i was very happy. but this forum will tell us don't go by the weight go by our clothes nd our inches .
did u measure urself before surgery i did. nd I'm getting smaller....even if the scale kept reading different .
I'll say this.... this surgery is teaching patients !
congrats on ur surgery .

That is only 5 days. You may still be carrying Fluid and/or need to have a BM. Be patient.

I woke up in the recovery room asking, "Am I thin yet?" I don't think I started losing weight until the 2nd week post-op - and then only slowly. I still had lots of Fluid in me from surgery. And I was very swollen. You will lose the weight, just hang in there and stick with your program.