JamieLogical

Check out the Self Pay & Mexico forums if you haven't already. http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/486-mexico-self-pay-gastric-sleeve-surgery/

Are you allowed soft foods now? Day 18 was my first day of cottage cheese and scrambled eggs. Once I was able to start getting more real foods in, I turned a corner with my energy levels. I think it was mostly because I was finally getting in more calories. If you are only getting 350 calories a day, of course you are going to be fatigued and exhausted! That's not enouhg for a human to function on for any period of time!

I agree with all the others who say to try to get a detailed plan from your surgeon/nutritionist. In my very early days post-op (within the first week) I was encouraged to get as much Water as possible, but I was also allowed to drink decaf tea, 50/50 fruit juice and water, Vitamin water, and G2. I was told to cut out the caloric beverages ASAP, but if I needed them to get in all my fluids in the first week, it was okay. I was allowed my Protein shakes two days post-op and drinkable yogurt at 4 days post-op.

@@connor0331 I wish you the best of luck with your new beginning. At least you've caught yourself early, before putting any weight back on. That's a huge accomplishment, just in and of itself. You have a chance to turn things back around and not deal with the frustration of having to re-lose weight you've already lost. Stay strong though these first couple of weeks and I bet you can get back into positive habits again pretty naturally.

I lost 90+ pounds "on my own" back in 2010/2011. My boobs were never large, but after the weight loss, they were completely pathetic. They were like two tiny little empty sacks hanging from my ribs. It was awful. I decided to have breast lift with augmentation along with a tummy tuck. Best decision ever! I love love love love love my boobs now. And my flat tummy. Even after regaining 80 pounds and now re-losing it post-sleeve, my breasts and tummy tuck are still amazing.

Um, tell him to read up. That is clearly untrue. There have been multiple studies concerning the loss of excess body weight from WLS and all of them are well above 10%. Studies have shown that VSG patients lose on average, over 65% of their *excess* weight within the first year. Obviously what percentage of your total body weight is excess weight is different for every person, but it's HIGHLY likely that for anyone undergoing WLS, 65% of their excess weight would account for much more than 10% of their total body weight.

I was in the same boat, but my drain hole was covered with steristrips and i was told to just leave them on until they fell off on their own, so I didn't need my own bandaids or gauze to cover it.

Oh yeah. I was in compression garments forever it seemed like. The first one I had was so tight, it took two people to get it on me! But no amount of compression was going to do anything about the severe soft-tissue swelling in my back. @@gowalking Despite my complication, I still think having my plastics was one of the best choices I ever made. I did eventually fully recover and now I have been just enjoying the results for the past 3 years and will be enjoying them for MANY years to come. Even while I was going through my extended recovery, I had no regrets. The results are just so amazing and my flat stomach is now probably my favorite part of my body. I NEVER get tired of feeling it and looking at it. It is amazing being able to put on any pants or dress and have them lie completely flat in front. I would say the one down-side is that it's hard to find pants that are tight enough in the waits for my tiny stomach, but wide enough in the hips/butt. It seems like if they fit my butt, they are too loose in the waist. Not the worst problem in the world to have though.

Wait. What are you having to put gauze and tape on? I didn't need any bandaids or gauze post-op.

As long as you are getting all your Protein in, I don't think there's anything wrong with 1000 calories a day.

Wait, if you are getting 1000 calories in and NOT getting your protein, where are the calories coming from?!?!

I also have swelling in my lower back. It's been 10 months, and I'm not sure if its swelling or fat. I think it might be a little of both....but I don't think I had that before surgery. My surgeon said it could just be that the fat just got pulled down. How long did the swelling last? My swelling was a real complication that caused me a LOT of pain and kept me from working full time for about 4 months post-op. I couldn't lay on my back or sit up in a chair for any extended period of time because of the pain. The only comfortable position was lying on my side. Standing or exercising made the swelling much worse. It was due to the damage to my lymphatic system and the fact that there was only that little 4-inch space for Fluid to travel between the upper and lower halves of my body. It was like a bottle-neck and the fluid would just pool there. The worst of it lasted about 9 months. That was about when I was able to start seriously exercising again. And, like I said, I was only working half-days at work for about 4 months.

It is completely normal to stall out or even gain in the second or third week post-op. It's called the "week 3 stall" and if you do a search for it on these forums, you will see HUNDREDS of posts about it. It happens to almost everyone. Stick to your plan. Get your protein and water and do some walking. The scale will start moving in the right direction again soon.

My PCP has been great about my follow-up care. I met with her before I left for Mexico and she went ahead and ordered bloodwork for when I got back. I saw her at 1 month post-op, 2 months, 4 months, and 8 months. All my blood work has come back perfectly ever time. I'm not scheduled to see her again until 1 year post-op. She's been very happy with my weight loss as well.

I am jealous! I wish I had been able to get up to 1000 calories at 7 weeks. I was pushing hard to get 800 at that point, so I could start exercising more intensely. I don't think there's anything WRONG with being at 1000 calories at 7 weeks, I just couldn't manage it at that point. You should feel lucky that you can. It will make your recovery easier and let you get back to a more normal activity level sooner.

I hope your sleeve handles it better than mine. I'm 9 months post-op and can't do raw vegetables at all. The cause me tremendous amounts of pain. Tried a bite of salad at lunch again today and, yep, still a no-go for me. I can do fine with crackers, but don't eat them often, since they are a slider food and high in carbs.

I don't have that requirement with my nutritionist. My Snacks just have to be "high protein", no specifics that it has to be milk protein. I WILL often have a reduced fat cheese stick or greek yogurt as a snack, but I will also just as often have nuts or a meet stick (like a beef stick, but with turkey or leaner meats) for a snack. I know a lot of people also do Jerky as a snack, but I can deal with the texture of jerky.

Yeah, it really depends on the chili. If it's very thick and chunky, then it will fill you up pretty much as well as any solid food with sauce would. If it's more runny or soupy though, then the liquid will help the solids pass through your stomach more quickly, so you just have to be careful. It's basically pretty common sense about what will stay in your stomach for a while and what will just pass right through.

I've had my moments. Especially in the early days/weeks/months post-op. At first I was in pain and so miserable and uncomfortable and wondering if I would ever just feel "normal" again. Then I was really struggling with not being able to turn to food for comfort. I struggled with figuring out what to eat when out at restaurants or parties. There was just a period of adaptation that was rough to get through. I would say that since about the 4 month mark, I haven't had any further regrets. I found my new normal. I'm not having to consciously think about what to eat and when to drink and all of that stuff anymore. It has become second nature now. At nine months post-op, I very rarely have any qualms about my choice to have surgery. Today I went out to lunch with my coworkers to Red Robin. Pre-op, there were several burgers there that I LOVED and gladly overate. When we first sat down to look at the menu today, I had a very brief twinge of sadness that I couldn't get one of those burgers. I mean I *could* but I would only be able to eat like two bites with the bun or maybe half the burger without the bun, so why bother? I ended up getting the Ensilada chicken and it was delicious. So I moved past that moment of "regret" very quickly and went on to have a perfectly lovely lunch.

You might want to thin them out with a little broth in the beginning, but you shouldn't have to puree them.

I was told to try to get in 60 minutes of "brisk walking" per day, but not all at once. Like a few 10-20 minute walks each day. I honestly didn't get in that much in the very early days/weeks, but I tried to work my way up to it as soon as possible.

This is VERY VERY common post-op. Try mixing powdered fiber supplements into your protein shakes.

I think a lot of people lose weight that way, in big chunks and then stall out for a bit, then lose another big chunk. And seriously, complaining about "only" losing 47 pounds in three months will get you smacked around here! I've "only" lost 60 pounds in NINE months!

Eating every 3 hours is pretty much the norm past-sleeve. Since you can't eat very much at once, that means you can't eat enough to tide you over for as long as you used to be able to. The important thing is to stick to only eating at scheduled/planned times and only be eating high Protein Snacks. You do NOT want to fall into the trap of grazing or eating things that won't keep you full as long as possible. At a month out, I was "eating" 5 times a day. I put "eating" in quotation marks there, because I was still doing Protein shakes back then, which were technically drinking. Now I am 9 months out and eat six times a day. I found that I needed to add a snack in between breakfast and lunch once I started working out intensely.

I never once blended anything. The idea of pureed food seemed gross to me, so I just ate the approved soft foods on my list for that phase.