Iambeautiful

I couldn't get anywhere near that amount of Fluid in or Protein but also I was warned about getting dehydrated to I made a conscious effort to keep sipping on Water all day..... or broth.... the shakes count as liquid too. I still probably dont' get 64 oz in at five weeks post op..... somedays. But i try to do the best i can to get close to it.

I had my surgery on February 26... the gastric sleeve. All during my consultations prior to surgery I was never told quite how bad I would feel after surgery. All I heard was that you'd probably not feel a lot of pain after surgery and would be able to get up and walk the same day. What??? I wish someone would have prepared me for what was to follow. I went into this thinking that this would be somewhat of an easy operation. Listen ITS MAJOR SURGERY....... WITH MAJOR SUGICAL RISKS.... DO NOT TAKE IT LIGHTLY. i Think if I had been clear of some of the real life side effects would have been that it wouldn't have been such a shock to me when i woke up after surgery in so much pain. After I woke up from surgery I had a stabbing pain on my left shoulder and under my breast. The first thing I thought of 'my heart' but the nurses said the pain was from the carbon dioxide that they use in surgery to fill your abdoment with gas to be able to view all the internal organs more clearly. my surgery was done laporoscopic so I didn't have a large wound on my abdomen. The wounds themseves caused me no discomfort due to the long acting anesthesia that the doctor injected into the abdomenal wall by the incisions that lasts for three days. I couldn't understand why i felt so horrible. Now all my pre op tests indicated that my heart was in GREAT shape.... I had the echocardiogram done and the stress test then a couple EKG's before surgery that were all normal. I had the Pulmonary Function Test, The sleep apnea studies (i do not have sleep apnea) blood tests and the Egd.... yes they did say that i had a small hiatal hernia that would be repaired during this surgery. SO i didn't understand why my Blood pressure skyrocketed after surgery and stayed high during my stay even with blood pressure medicatons. My heart rate was dangerously high. I had severe nausea. I couldn't even drink Water sometimes and the Protein drink made me sick and I vomitted it along with Jello and nasty chicken broth. the only thing that i could half way eat without extreme nausea was the sugar free popsicles and sips of hot tea...(but it had to be hot and not cold) I couldn't even take my liquid medicine without taking two different anti nausea pills beforehand. I gagged when i tried to take it because the taste was so nasty.... Liquid Lortab after surgery...... ughhhh what are they thinking? I couldn't even fathom walking in the hall the first day. All I wanted to do was to sleep and take my pain meds. I only walked from my bed to the bathroom and back several times a day. I had nurses coming in every two hours around the clock either taking my blood pressure, sticking my finger with a needle to test my blood sugar (standard testing there for WLS ptsl) taking my temp. putting meds in my Iv etc etc...... I did have the test where they took me down to X ray the following day and made me swallow a milky substance (lucky i didn't vommit it up) to allow them to see the fld as it went down into my sleeve to test for leaks..... I had NO leaks thank God. I felt hot all the time in the hospital but didn't have a fever. My face was flushed. They told me to keep using the spirometer so I wouldn't get Pneumonia. I tried to do it as much as possible. they said i had to be able to drink a lot of water before they could send me home. I ended up staying in the Hospital for four days.... not one like promised. I felt like a train wreck.... I know everyone is different but I think everyone should be warned of WHAT COULD HAPPEN...... and not go into this lightly thinking it's a piece of cake. I went home on the forth day still feeling horrible.... still with high blood pressure and now on meds for it (i did not have high blood pressure before surgery) Still in pain.... Now the surgical sight is aching as the long acting med done locally has worn off. Still can't take the lortab liquid without feeling nauseated....... Still sleeping most of the time but now at least I was able to drink more water and maybe a half of a Protein shake. I felt better after seven days when i went back to the doctor but was still very weak..... still on liquids. Now I am six weeks out and finally feeling more normal again and happy I went through this.... BUT the hard work is still ahead. This surgery is NOT magic...... you have to follow the guidelines and instructions they give you or you won't be successful....... I am on phase 3 diet and have lost over 20 lbs since surgery...... I t is still Hard..... and had nausea today after eating scrambled eggs. I am not trying to scare anyone but be prepared, ask questions.... This surgery is NOT easy.... don't ever believe what some people say here..... I just don't go into this thinking it's easy ,cause it's NOT......... I'd still do it again...... No pain, No gain....... well I don't want to gain lbs just good health........

Pedant.... :)

@@Steph W-O well you must be one of the very lucky ones I'd say. My experience is similar to the post here. After four weeks I finally felt close to normal again. You didn't say your age. I think the younger you are the faster you may recuperate and how healthy you were prior to surgery and your activity level as welll before surgery. I think the majority of people feel like crap for the first two weeks at least... I didn't have pain on the incision sites but my pain settled in my back for some reason...... Some of us have other health problems as well so everyone isn't going to be able to do what you did after surgery. It would be a miracle for me to have done what ou did with my pre existing arthritis which probably will improve greatly with a big weight loss. I am already moving better now that i've lost over 20 lbs.

@cherbear33 I was just wondering what your diet consists of ... Most people that lose a lot of weight fast seem to be staying on a low carb diet.

?@bagonian74 did you stay on a low carb plan to lose that much weight

@AprilHansen I had a gastric sleeve and had no problem with leaks. If that would happen it would be detected right after surgery as they did a special test on me the next day to check for leaks. They wheeled me down to XRay and had me drink a small amout of a substance that when swallowed would show a leak on Xray. I don't think leaks occur later on down the line from what i can tell. There are side effects and complications that could occur for any of the WLSurgeries. It's up to the indivuidual to do their research on all of the surgeries available and with the help of the medical team to make the right decision for them. I am happy with the gastric sleeve. No problems at all.

Nine pounds but I couldn't keep anything down for the first four days. I was on liquids only and couldn't deal with the Protein shakes too much.... I tried.

Look... don't feel bad. I too had trouble staying on the liquid diet and gave myself an off day or two on it.... I wished that i had been more strict with the diet for sure. I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia after surgery and wonder sometimes if I'd been 100% compliant with the two week Protein drink fast that the out come would have been better. Please try to stick with it as much as possible so you can have the best possible outcome from the surgery. Listen after surgery I didn't even want to think about food and you won't either. I have lost all my bad cravings now and feel in control of my eating for once in my life. You won't be physically able to overeat bellieve me! I eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food and I'm full.... Yes there is hope for you and surgery definitey helps...... just get back on track now and forget your mistake......

I think the bariatric advantage whey protein shakes are good too but they seemed a little bit too sweet for my liking for some reason..... the one I hate is Optisource and Isopure...... the liquid proteins are made from collagen protein and are horrible and is a much infrerior protein.

I used the low carb atkins shakes as well..... they only are good when served cold like most shakes. I've never tried the Premier Protein.... I tried to apply to get my insurance to cover them from Insure Nurtrition but i was denied..... they give the Premier Protein if you are approved... I got a generic brand from a Schnucks store here of Pure Whey Isolate vanilla protein powder and it's low carb and high protein...... you just got to look around. I like the vanilla because you can add flavoring to it. I was actually getting tired of the chocolate. Look online for the NOW products .... natural flavorings to add to anything that are sweetened only with Stevia so are very low carb and calories.... They come in all sorts of yummy flavors and very low calories.

I had my sleeve done laporoscopic surgery on Feb 26... I can hardly see the tiny marks from the surgery... I wouldn't even call them scars at all....... the only ones that are darker are the two tiny marks on my navel.... that really aren't noticable and even if i ever got thin enough to wear low wasted pants and short tops ( mid drift) exposing my abdoment people would probably just think that the marks if they are stil there on either side of my navel might be from a belly button ring piercing LOL...... My doc is an excellent surgeon .... he did a wondeful job and didn't make my abdoment look scarred up....

I am on phase 3 of the diet and was told that i could have toast or crackers. Now I am trying to really stay on a very low carb diet as that seems to be the best way to get a lot of weight off fast. I have read that the 0 carb bread does not affect the blood sugar or there is also a very low net carb bread as well. I've bought the bread form the store with a net carb value of 5gms per slice. Every once in a while I just crave a piece of toast with the PB2 or my homemade chicken salad with low fat and low carb dressing.

The sleeve Does NOT have malabsorbtive features. What it can do though is that if you drink high calorie high sugar drinks like shakes etc and things like kool aid and ice cream shakes. candy and any high carb liquids..... it will be absorbed completely and you WILL gain weight from this.

I was told to NEVER use extended release meds of any kind anymore after the sleeve..... even vitamins that are ex. release as well.

Agreed... We should listen to our medical team foremost in all things related to our WLS

The cure for diabetis is contigent on losing excess weight and keeping it off it seems. If you gain back 2/3 of the weight or more or less the high blood sugar can return at any time. This is not a permanent do nothing cure for diabetes...... I have read a lot about this already

I debated between the bypass and the sleeve and finally decided on the sleeve. It has less complications for the future in regards to possible nutritional deficiencies and risks of ulcers and hernias of the intestines. I found that the sleevers lose just as much weight as the bypass in the long run and actually have much less risk of stretching out the sleeve vs the pouch of the bypass imho. I personally didn't want the side effect of diarhea that a lot of bypass pts. endure. And it's a foul smelling diarrhea at that. I've seen bypass patients get very sickly if they were not careful and also notice that they age considerably in appearance afterwards from what I've seen I would never get the lapband.... Ive seen more failure cases than any of the surgeries. You know after a couple of years the bypass often stops working as far as the malabsorbtive feature goes. Be sure to read all you can about both surgeries. I know that complications can occur with any of these surgeries but inmo the sleeve is the safest. I think I made the right decision for me. What I love about the sleeve is that they take the portion of the stomach away that cause hunger hormones (Grehlin) They do not do this for the bypass. With both surgeries strict compliance is the key to success of course. I have also read that sleeve patients have also been able to be cured of their Diabetis. but if you happen to gain yur weight back after surgery the Diabetis will return again like it did for Carnie Wilson.

There are practically NO yogurts beside the plain unsweetened that would be appropriate to use post op. They all contain too many carbs and sugar. The plain greek yogurt is allowed but i find it to be more on the sour side like sour creme. I had to add Stevia to it and sugar free Jello to be able to eat it. The only one I could find that was not so high in Carbs was the Light and Fit brand of Greek Yoghurt by Dannon but not the one in the big containers but the individual containers or i serving size has about 7 grams of Carbs. I tried the strawberry and the vanilla is excellent. You could add flavorings in the mixture when you blend it. I'd add just a little milk to it but not too much to make it watery then freeze it. Take it out of the freezer after frozen then let it thaw just a bit to be able to get it out of the carton then put in blender and whip it up. It does taste good like frozen youghurt.... You WON'T find ANY ready made frozen yoghurt that is Not hight in sugar and carbs. I guess you could try the plain regular low fat yoghurt and it wouldn't be as sour and add your own sugar free flavors to it. Check online for the NOW brands of little bottles of all sorts of flavorings to add to anything and it's all low carb and low calorie and sweetened with stevia only. I am going to order some from the i herb website for natural foods. they come inall sorts of interesting flavors like pineapple, orange, strawberry, mango, blueberry, blackberry etc..... Enjoy!!!!

@Iamspecial http://www.insurenutrition.com/index.php also if you have had your tests done then Dr. Morales will go over the results and let you know if any other tests need to be done before surgery is scheduled.

Hi Iamaspecial Have you had all of your pre op tests done?? And will you have the sleeve or the bypass? The doctor will go over the surgery that you are having and be prepared to ask him any questions that you may have about the surgery. He will order more tests if he feels you need them after the interview. He probably won't be the one to schedule your surgery. Tha t will be done later. Make sure you follow all the instructions to the T. It's very important for the successful outcome of the surgery and afterwards. The nurse will tell you (or you can ask how long it will take to schedule surgery) Once they have a definite surgery date they will advise you when to start the Protein drinks. Be sure to stick with that as much as you possibly can. It's very important. I did NOT buy the shakes from the pharmacy. I bought my own shakes that were not Bariatric Advantage brand. The bariataric advantage shakes taste good. But if you buy them online I think they might be cheaper if you are on a budget. I used Dr. Atkins shakes and a generic brand whey protein isolate that I bought at Schnucks stores. You don't have to use the brand from their pharmacy. I hear Premier Protein is a good brand. You should check with the website "Insure nutrition" and see if your insurance will qualify you to get free shipments of Premier Protein Shakes and Vitamins. I did not qualify but maybe you would. it would be worth checking into. The application that you do online is painless and short and they will notify you quickly if you qualify. Good Luck....

@tjfergus@tjfergus I had the sleeve done in February. Dr. Morales is a wonderful doctor. He has a whole team that will work with you in his office. You will meet with a nutritionalist, a psychiatrist, and a nurse at first. Dr. Morales did such a great job with my surgery. He did my gastric sleeve laparoscopically and I have barely any traces on my abdomen of ever having surgery a month out. I have total confindence in this weight loss institute. They will walk you through this every step of the way and be there for you afterwards. Good Luck!!!!

@dreamscometrue Now that this is over, you can begin to focus on 'YOU' and your WL goals. I wish you every success in reaching your goals. I know that your dreams will come true as will mine.... I can't wait to see a pic of you by the wedding.... You are going to look fabulous!!!! And Hope I will look better by then too. I'm only one month post op but have already lost 20lbs. since surgery. The NP at my Dr. Office said that i was doing great! Going to start exericise of some sort soon...... maybe aquatic exercises to start because of my arthritis.....

I went on pureed foods after one week after surgery. At first all i could tolerate was very small amounts of yoghurt and cottage cheese. I tried the egg beaters and that was really hard to get down. I tried mashed potatoes but only 1/4 cup prepared without butter. I used almond milk to mash them with and used one slice of laughing cow cheese to mash into the mix. I served the potatoes with creme of chicken soup on top. It tasted good to me as it was at least something hot to eat. I did puree a can of Healthy choice soup and measured also 1/4 cup but this did not fill me up and stay with me as long as the Protein foods so what I'd do then is to only drink the broth from the soup and count it as liquid. I could handle Jello still and SF pudding and tea. Some days I just drank my Protein shakes because it seemed like on the days that i ate three small meals that i didn't have time to drink all my fluids. I am on phase three now and still struggling with food. I tried toast but it was hard to get down. The egg beaters are going down better now if i scramble them with a little milk. My fave thing right now is Chicken salad.... it goes down easy. I'm not in a hurry to try any other new foods right now..... this is a slow process for me for sure. I made homemade soup today but mostly just drank the broth.