NotSoTall

Great post!

Not far out, but not planning to go back to the carbonation. The stretch factor freaks me out too much. And that's saying something considering the diet colas I've darn near lived on in the past That said it's easy for me to say this early out.

Thank you all for the feedback. Sounds like there are some common issues. My ugly one is above my belly button and a couple inches to the right. There is one closer to the bb that's doing fine. I'm hoping after they take the staples out that I can start putting something on them. Gotta love how many have the one that's fighting us. LOL

Thank you for sharing your experience. It makes me very hopeful for the future.

I was just curious how folks progress with their incisions. The instructions I received were keep them covered until the shower at 3 days out, then leave them uncovered. The exception was the drain site and to gauze it if it was weeping, but it's dry so keeping it uncovered. Only my t-shirts and nighties are over them. Shower daily with soap, Water and pat dry. Was told Absolutely no ointments, peroxide, alcohol, nothing. POSSIBLE TMI: So out of 4 incisions and the drain site only one big guy looks a bit angry. Sort of a big scab stretching open just a bit, but cannot see inside. That's the one that was used for the scope and such, and maybe the one they pull the evicted tummy from? Not sure on that last part and will ask next week. Next week the staples come out. So how are your sites progressing? What kind of stitches did you have? I know we're all different, but got curious as I again wanted to scratch near that ugly one. Surgery was 2/11. Thanks

Just trucking along, but today was a bit different. Had a bout of nausea seemingly out of nowhere. Felt really green. Never actually got sick, but felt like it could happen at any time. Placed a new patch behind my ear as a pill didn't seem like a good idea at that moment. Now I'm fine, though kinda weak. I did take a longer nap when I was feeling off and think that helped too. I'm not lacking sleep, but still nodded off easily. I attribute this all to the body still healing. My docs said you can feel off for 6 weeks or more, so a day like this one week out probably is not very unusual. Down one more pound today and still met my Protein and Fluid goals. Now sipping some Powerade zero to keep the electrolytes good and hopefully tomorrow will feel better. The bad thing today was no walk, but I'll make up for it tomorrow. Happy sleeving to all.

Thank you for the replies. Maybe I just misunderstood some posts. It just seemed like many had trouble getting in their water which had me wondering if that was all the could have. I can see how plain water can be tougher to stomach right off, but with the other fluid options I would hope there'd be alternatives to keeping dehydration away. I used to drink water all day long, but can only take 2 16 ounce bottles through the day, but fill the gaps with the other fluid options.

Adding some more prayers and well wishes. Take care and enjoy your new life!

You're working that sleeve. Great results! Posts like yours are so encouraging. Thank you!

Is there a contract that locks you in to purchasing from them? My bariatric group is through a university medical center and they just gave us suggestions on what's acceptable. Heck, I'm using Flintstones chewables at present, though they did show us some bariatric specific items too. They left it up to the patients what would work best for each individual. They should be more concerned about your healthful outcome versus an ongoing income stream.

One night, just about 36 hours from pre op to discharge for me. The doctor said to plan for 1 to 3 nights, with 1 night being most common.

My curiosity got the best of me so I have to ask. The common goals post sleeve are protein grams and fluids. Many people speak about the fluids as water specifically. The plan they gave me included a variety of liquids that count towards hydration goals, including my protein drinks. So do some plans only allow for water as the required fluids?

Very exciting time! Best Wishes and please share your experiences when you're ready.

I look forward to following your journey. Reflux is horrid so it's great you're getting the opportunity to resolve that. Best Wishes!

Hi Michelle. Thanks for sharing your story and please continue to keep us along for the ride. You've done a great job!

Hi jankirby. We are on a very similar path. I'm a little envious that you get your staples out this week. Enjoy the freedom! My postop appointment is 2/26 so another week of metal tummy for me. The pretend itch gave me a chuckle. Thanks! I've been scratching areas that aren't itching but are somewhat near the itches and it almost helps. LOL. I've been taking less of the effexor, but they did change my script for the 2 weeks to make it crushable. I'm not good about the flavor and grit that comes from the crushable meds so I'm backing off a bit without stopping and will increment back up when I can swallow the pills. That reminds me that I have to call them about the Actigall that's supposed to prevent the gallstones. It's important enough that I want to take it and try to, but the flavor is overwhelming and stays in my mouth long after the quick swallow I try to take of it. I'm thinking of asking how harmful it would be to skip that until the 2 week postop when I'm allowed to swallow the pills again. It's the only thing that makes my stomach want to wretch. sorry if tmi. That said I'll go through it if they say I must. I don't want any more surgeries if I can prevent them. Surgery was one week ago and now am down 7 pounds post op. So cool. I got a little concerned that I was taking in too many calories, but read a lot all over the net and decided to chill out and go with it. The calories result from the liquids I'm ingesting to get to the 60-80g Protein and 50-64oz liquids. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and not sweat the calories. The most was 700 one day, yesterday was a bit over 600. It's easy to get caught up in other folks info, and nothing wrong with learning from it, but must not compare as we're all individuals. Unless of course I was putting away so much that it would indicate a problem with the sleeve or taking in sugary things (no thanks, the RTD Proteins are sweet enough. I think the one thing keeping the calories a hair higher is that I choose 1% milk, 2% plain greek yogurt, etc. i'm deliberately not doing FF, but also not doing anything full fat. That's a personal choice. My body has historically reacted poorly to fat free living. Dry skin, foggy brain are a couple things that come to mind. That said, the choices I'm making fall within the dietary guidelines prescribed by my bariatric program so it's all good. Wishing a good, comfortable day to all! Time to go crush that yummy pill into the last sip of Protein Drink. Mmmmmm.

Wow. Sounds like your head is on straight and his, apparently not so much. To imply you were awesome because of him? Nope, sorry...he should be reminding you how awesome he is because of YOU! He's got things twisted. It's up to you to decide if he made your life any better, not him. Best of luck to you and you're doing a great job!! Take care of yourself.

When I asked in the hospital they said side sleeping would be okay, but try to do that with a drain and IV. Not successful. Once home and not hooked up I've been able to side sleep each night, but do hug onto a king size pillow. The only discomfort is when shifting from side to side.

My leak test was an abbreviated version of the upper GI. First I had to take lots of little sips of some sort of Fluid while 3 angles of pics were taken, then repeat with a thicker barium. It wasn't bad, but I definitely told the resident when I couldn't swallow any more of the barium and he didn't insist on more. That said I've read some other folks have docs who leak test during the surgery or others that haven't done any so there is definitely some variety out there. Congrats and best wishes!! It will be here before you know.

Good luck at your 2 week appt. Hope it's positive all the way around.

Tomorrow will be one week since the surgery. I'm feeling pretty good. I still get an ache at the largest incision site, but nothing strong and no other issues at this point. Yay. Except the issues of itching incision sites, keep catching myself almost scratching but one touch of a staple and I stop cold. Yesterday I felt really hungry for the first time. I had already had my required minimums of Protein and Fluid, plus some. Seriously debated ignoring the hunger as it was at about 8:30 which back in my GERD treatment days was a time you should not eat or the stuff would be flowing back up when I slept. Finally just decided to heat up a cup of soup, blenderized cream of mushroom. Spooned it bit by bit until over half was eaten and was finally feeling full, or satisfied not really full. Hunger was totally gone. First pleasant surprise, no GERD type symptoms overnight. Awesome!!!! After the surgery weight gain I'd dropped a pound a day so I figured this would be my first day that I might not lose that pound since my calories were up (like almost 700 total LOL) and lo and behold I dropped 2 pounds more when I hit the scale this morning. So it may not be lightening speed but I've lost 5 pounds post op and I'm tickled with it. I've always been a slow loser so this is quick to me. I'll enjoy it while I can. I have always been a daily weigher so the fluctuations do not bother me. Actually in the past when I ignored the scale for any amount of time I was met with a gain so I will continue the daily weighs my self accountability. It's also a great way for me to see patterns of loss, gains and plateaus. Now to go get something for breakfast/lunch and then another lovely shower and walk. Life is good.

Hi Izzy It's great you're feeling better each day and your sugars are fine now. Sounds like you're doing the right stuff. Good job on the walk. I haven't gone out today yet, but yesterday did a couple blocks and then walked a bit during a shopping trip. Asked hubby to park at the end of a row to force my hand even more, then up and down many aisles. Do any of you find you almost feel like an adrenalin rush (mini) after the walk as if your body is saying 'thanks, that felt good'. I had that yesterday and hope it happens again today. I'm still curious to see if I feel any changes to the PCOS symptoms over time. The hair loss is a little unnerving since I already have it from the PCOS so to magnify it with weight loss could lead to a really interesting look. LOL Today is 5 days post op and my energy feels pretty good. Just loaded the dishwasher while paying attention not to twist or turn awkwardly. My lunch was blended/thinned pea Soup. Tasted good. Waited 30 minutes and now sipping Water. Also organized my meds into the little weekly pillboxes, one for a.m. one for p.m. Suddenly they didn't looks so overwhelming. I noticed one incision has some gaps going on, but nothing leaking and no unusual pain or fever so I'll just keep an eye on it. The drain site weeped a tiny bit yesterday after the gauze was off, but that was it. We purchased some sf puddings and light sf yogurts since those can be included in the liquids stage, just not sure how to thin them. Maybe a little milk? Water just sounds wrong. LOL Time to go take a shower and keep those sites clean. Happy sipping!

Another way I looked at the water(IV) weight is that at least I'm really hydrated and would prefer that to the problems that come from dehydration. I understand though, I recall the feeling of looking at that scale and thinking "are you kidding me?"

Don't let those pounds depress you. It's totally Fluid buildup (in my opinion) and postop swelling. I had over 7 pounds up while in the hospital and now after being home a couple days those are gone plus 2 more. If your nurses were like mine they made sure the IV was always going full steam ahead. Even now at home I'm getting up several times through the night to tinkle so the fluids work their way out before you know it. Try not to let it anger you, just think about it as a temporary fact that will soon take care of itself. That said, it won't hurt to mention it to the docs so they can either confirm it's normal or see what's up.

Please check with our doctor about the nausea. Mine prescribed two different meds for it and presently am using a patch behind the ear. Thought that would be easier than taking another oral med. Take care of yourself!