JamieLogical

Eggs were rough for me the first time I ate them. Or should I say "egg" and "it", since I could only eat about 3/4 of one egg over a 45+ minute period the first time and I ended up lying on the floor in pain? I didn't throw up, but it definitely felt "stuck" for a while. The challenge when you first move onto soft foods is that you really have to chew and eat SUPER slow and stop at the first sign of discomfort instead of trying to eat as much as you think you "should" eat. My problem was I really thought I "should" be able to eat a whole egg at that point and I pushed myself way too hard to try to finish it. If you are still in pain and having trouble keeping things down later today or certainly into tomorrow, call your surgeon!

Yeah, I was only on clear liquids for 3 days and then I was allowed my regular protein shakes at least. I think it was closer to a week and a half before I was allowed any other "full" liquids besides the shakes. At that point I was allowed drinkable yogurt and strained cream soups.

Can you do clear protein drinks? Isopure, Syntrax Nectar, and Unjury chicken broth are all clear protein drinks. For my clear liquids phase I did a lot of strained broth-based soups. They had more flavor than just plain chicken broth. But I think it's nuts you haven't been given any instructions on getting any protein in for 3 full weeks!

I am going through a hormonal/emotional craving situation right now. I'm 20 months post-op. I can tell you that the struggle is still real, but nothing like what it used to be. Even if I completely lose it and overeat on things I shouldn't be eating, the amount of "damage" I can do is still very limited by the physical restriction. At most I can maybe eat an extra 400-500 calories in a whole day if I do a lot of grazing/snacking? That's nothing compared to the extra 3000-4000 calories I used to be able to put away with a whole pizza, bag of chips, and pint of ice cream. Yesterday I ate some chips and some Pop Tarts. Definitely NOT proud of that, but I've got it back under control today, eating on my normal schedule. I guess my point is that food is still a daily battle at times, but at least with the sleeve, you have a tool to help you win that battle far more often.

If you are on mushie foods, you should have no problem drinking a protein shake. Weren't you drinking them before this stage? But, as the others have said, not all protein shakes are created equal. You want to look for one with whey isolate as the main protein source and not much added sugar or fat.

Reflux may improve or get worse with sleeve. There's really no way to predict. I have reflux post-sleeve, but it's controlled by taking Prilosec OTC twice a day. Once in the morning and once before bed. There's certainly no reason you shouldn't be able to lose weight with sleeve though. As long as you stick to your plan, the restriction will definitely keep you from eating too much at one time. It won't fix anything else, though. So it's on you to make sure you don't graze, don't drink your calories, don't eat and drink at the same time, and don't eat slider foods. As for the pre-op diet, in my experience, it did NOT get better. It was a very very miserable two weeks for me.

You need to be taking your vitamins. You have to take them for life, so you might as well get used to it! Are you having regular blood work done to make sure you aren't developing any deficiencies?

@@nyseness The sleeve won't keep you from eating chips and Snickers. At least once you are healed. The bypass may not either, though. Not everyone who has bypass experiences dumping. I would never recommend bypass over sleeve for the SOLE purpose of having dumping syndrome, since there are no guarantees there. Also, long term, you can lose just as much weight with sleeve as with bypass, it may just not be as quick.

@@heather5565 I hope some of it prooves helpful. With your plantar fasciitis and knee issues, you will definitely want to take is slow and carefully. There are some techniques you can use (stretching, taping, PT exercises, icing, etc.) that can reduce your risk of further injury and help you deal with pain/discomfort, but definitely best to be cautious. You might find that you get some relief from those things just by losing weight as well.

I hope everything is okay! Hopefully it was just heartburn or reflux. Please let us know what your doctor says.

You should be near the end of your clear liquids phase by now I would think. I was only on clear liquids for 3 days, iirc? Anyway, if you still want to look for some clear liquid protein options, you can do Syntrax Nectar or Unjury chicken broth.

Don't fret. 3.5 months is exactly when my hair started to fall out. It only lasted about a month and a half, was never enough for anyone else to notice, and started growing back immediately.

There was a great post about this a week or so ago with a lot of good feedback from people who'd had the band: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/364619-sleeve-or-band/

I didn't need a transfusion after sleeve, but I did have one after another surgery. It made me feel like Super Woman! It was amazing. If you feel crappy now, you will feel SO MUCH better after the transfusion. Hang in there!

@@treblecutie23 Definitely just keep up with the hydration. For distance races, I've heard it can take up to a week. Oh, and make sure you are doing some "active recovery". Nothing intense, but a fair amount of walking.

"Cheating" post-op is not like "cheating" on a diet. There are serious health implications from progressing through the food stages too quickly. Your stomach has been BRUTALIZED. 80% was literally just cut off days ago. There is swelling, there is nerve damage, there is trauma. All of that needs to heal and in order to do so properly, your new stomach needs to be babied. You wouldn't go out and try to run a couple of days after a knee or hip replacement. You wouldn't try to drink whiskey a few days after a liver transplant. Your new stomach is exactly like that. Giving it more than it can possibly handle jeopardizes your healing and your life.

I had several reasons for choosing sleeve over bypass: Lower starting BMI (was around 42 when I began the process) No rerouting of intestines and additional "points of failure" like with bypass No long-term malabsorption No dumping syndrome Hated the idea of my old stomach being left inside me where it could potentially develop ulcers or cancer and not be accessible with a normal endoscopy. Retained the use of my pyloric valve. I liked the idea of keeping my functioning pyloric valve and hated the idea of it still being inside me, attached to my old stomach, just randomly opening and closing with signals from my new stomach. That really weirded me out. The sleeve is much harder to stretch than the pouch left after bypass, because it completely removes the fundus.

You will. I promise. At 3 weeks post-op, there is still a lot of healing that needs to happen. It' gets progressively easier and easier to eat more and more until you get about 9-12 months out and then it should stabilize. I am 20 months out and seem to have more restriction than most at this point, but I can manage a lot more than 2 bites now. I can do a good 3-5 ounces of meat at a time now, depending on the type of meat and how it's prepared.

Well, I have returned from my week of vacation in Tennessee. I know you all missed me desperately. I was actually surprised to see BariatricPal was still up and running when I got home! But don't worry, the dark days of my absence have ended. I am back to restore balance to the force. I had a great time on vacation. It was the perfect combination of relaxation, activity, amazing food, and exercise. I managed to do every single one of my scheduled workouts for my half marathon training. I did a long run (8 miles) on Friday before I left to head to my parents' house. Saturday was a "rest" day... all day driving through snow from PA to TN. Sunday I biked at the resort's fitness center. Monday I ran 5 miles on their treadmill. Tuesday was more biking. Wednesday was a "rest" day, though I did swim some in the indoor pool. Thursday more running. Friday more biking. Saturday was the loooooong drive home. And yesterday was my last long run (6 miles) before my actual race this coming Sunday. This week is my "taper down" week. So I just have short runs on Tuesday and Thursday with no other cardio. I can't believe the race is less than a week away! Despite all my workouts and averaging over 12000 steps a day over a 10-day period, I still managed to gain about 2 pounds on vacation. I'm not sure how much of that is "real" weight and how much is just Water weight. I did eat a ton of crazy good food on vacation. Definitely not the sort of things I would usually eat. I'm a little worried about not working it off this week, since I'm supposed to go so light on the cardio. But I figure if I survive my half marathon Sunday and haven't lost the 2 pounds by then, then I will start actively working to get it off once I've recovered. I am *this* close to committing to doing a full marathon in September. I already have a training schedule mapped out and everything. Just waiting to see how bad this half marathon really is. If I'm regretting even being alive by the end, I might change my mind about the full marathon and just sign up for another half marathon in September instead. Glad to be back to all of the madness that is BP! Not so thrilled about being back at work.....

This early on, I would agree with others that carbs is not the answer to getting your calories up. You can go for fats like cheese, nut butter, full fat dairy, and hummus for extra calories. The days of having to resort to carbs to up calories (I'm in those days now, training for a half marathon) are faaaaar ahead of you, if you ever even get there. Right now there are many healthier ways of getting your calories up.

How did your consult go?

Mine only worked out to about 450 calories a day. I was allowed three protein shakes a day, one green salad with calorie-free dressing, and sugar-free jello or popsicles. Since the only calories were coming from my three shakes and those were only 150 calories each, the total was 450.

Where are you at calorie wise? I needed to get up over 800 calories a day to really feel human again and up over 1100 calories a day once I was doing any kind of intense exercise. Otherwise I just didn't have the energy to move my body.

For me, walking was definitely critical for the gas pain AND the sipping. I found it easier to get my tiny sips in while marching in place. The gas pain lasted only 4-5 days, but the pain when sipping lasted closer to 2-3 weeks while my esophagus was swollen. Once the swelling went down, the pain/spasms from sipping stopped.

The nerve damage to your stomach can be very deceiving. That is why you should weigh/measure your food (only 2 oz. of anything this early out) and eat on a schedule. You can't rely on any signals from your stomach for "hungry" or "full" right now. And as others have said, stick to protein!