Sleeve101

And another thing I didn't even think about before my surgery - alcohol! I miss drinking ice cold beer!!!! I tried sipping wine, it was a tad painful, but I still wish I could drink more than just a few sips....

Oh, but let me add - I've lost 70 pounds in 6 months.....so I can live with eating ice forever!! :-)

I'm 6 months out and I still can't drink water without it hurting....I kinda fear water now...I eat ice all day just to be sure I stay hydrated. Big gulps or chugging anything will painful! I was extremely thirsty one and I took 2 big gulps of water and had to throw it up...gross I know! I'm not sure how long this will be the case, but like I said - 6 months out and it still hurts me...

I take the walgreens brand lemon flavored....get it cold....chug it...tastes just like a sprite! With a little bit of an alka seltzer after taste....not too bad and works really well...

Just keep calling the doctors office everyday to get your appointments moved up....maybe they have a cancellation... :-) don't sit and wait if you don't really have too....who cares if they get annoyed with you calling to check.... :-D

I travel a lot for work too...I pretty much survived off smoothie King and strawberry smoothies from Starbucks...they were filling and didn't hurt my stomach as much...plus they're everywhere and easy... I still wasted a lot of money buying food I wanted, but could never eat, so it went in the trash after a bite....just don't rush it at first...it will be a while before you will eat anything that isn't liquid or very soft/smooth....so find what you can tolerate in the form of shakes/smoothies and you'll be ok! :-)

@glittereyes Thanks for sharing about not being able to tolerate plain Water....I thought I was the only one...it's so weird not to be able to tolerate it...I can only eat lots of ice and drink sips of other stuff.... I hope I can get back to drinking plain water some day...

I'm 4 months post op and Water still hurts me, so I eat a lot of ice...I buy bags of ice from Sonic... I also like to freeze Powerade (it has B vitamins) and I drink "aguas frescas" cucumber water....they're a lot of sugar I'm sure, but I need something to drink...I drink very little eat the ice mostly.... I'm down 55 pounds since Nov 20....I look amazing! ;-D

I say absolutely no carbs....when I did that in the past, I'd lose about 7-10 pounds the first week... If you go full pre-op, just try to make everything sugar free....that may help....

@@ProjectMe ooooohhh....good points... I just had 1/2 a fried chicken drum stick and about 3-4 spoons of mashed potato...I stopped after that...no pain! Maybe I'm just eating way too much of the solid Proteins and that's why it hurts... I know fried isn't good, but I'm glad I got some chicken down...if you can do it 3 months post op, I should be able to as well. I think I've just been too scared of the pain. And maybe I don't chew as well as I should. Thanks for sharing!!! :-)

@@ProjectMe how far along are you post-op? Does it still hurt to eat? I'm 4 months post op...it still hurts... :-(

You should be ok...I'm not a "smoker" (none of us are - right?? Lol )...anyway...I was smoking a few a day upto two weeks prior to surgery. I did have a blood test and my doctor kept asking me of I smoked and when I quit...I kept lying, but I think he knew. They did my surgery anyway but I think he was a little upset. Plus I had my surgery I'm Mexico so perhaps they weren't as strict. If you quit months ago you should be ok...just don't take the chance...you never know what could happen...not worth having your surgery cancelled of postponed. :-)

I'm 4 months post op, and although the crabs and sweets are forbidden, that's mostly the only things I can tolerate. I don't want to encourage anyone to do what you're not supposed to do, but I still lost 50 pounds in 4 months and I'm still losing. It does make me sad that other foods hurt - like chicken, Pasta, salad, veggies....but I try to eat what I can to at least get some nutrition in my body. I live off smoothie King and Starbucks strawberry smoothies (they have bananna and Protein too). Don't be afraid...these foods will most likely not be what you'll want afterward, if you do, you will only be able to have a bite or two and you'll be done. For me it's not a carb/sweets death sentence...if I want some, I'll try a bite. Eventually we should be able to eat some...it's not forever! :-) Good luck!!! You will be ok!! :-) Blessings!

AMEN!!!! :-D And good luck! I'm 4 months out...down 50 pounds....it works!!! Lol Highest: 220 Now: 170

Hang in there Mary! After surgery you will not be able to fail - you will not be able to eat like before. I totally binged and had "my last meal" as if I were in death row..Lol..sadly I did that several times! But then I got to the point of no return with the pre-op diet and somehow I flipped a switch - a happy switch - realizing I was about to change my life forever! Each day is a new day and a perfect time to start over...you can do it!!!

Yes, I paid 3,950...

The clinic is very basic - your room has a bed and an old recliner for your companion. The operating room looked like it was sufficiently equipped, but not as fancy as it would prob be here. I think they only have 1 operating room. The anesthesiologist looks like she's 25...that kinda made me nervous, but I didn't question her expertise. :-)

@tashaharris the doctor is good, but I think I risked more than I should have. It's a clinic and not a big hospital. I was very uncomfortable after surgery and in a lot of pain. I don't think they gave me strong enough pain medication. The bed was like sleeping on a kinder mat. The nurses didn't automatically wear gloves, so I was kinda nervous about their the sterilization process (or perhaps lack thereof? Shouldn't they know basic safety process like always wear gloves?). Also, the way they stitched me back up was not pretty. My regular doctor here made a comment that it wasn't the best - like old school techniques perhaps. They also use clear stitching so getting them removed here was difficult, since my doc couldn't see them well. Luckily she got all of them and I didn't have any problem afterward. Overall, I survived, without any post-op complications (no infection), so I'm happy with that! :-) I hope I didn't scare you too much. The doctor is really nice and thorough, the nurses are very sweet, the driver that picked us up in San Diego named Joel was awesome! And you'll meet a lady named Veronica who is like a liaison, she's great too. Let me know if you have any other questions!

@@toohighofa# I went through Medical Tourism Corporation ...I recommend choosing a hospital vs a "clinic"....I used Clinica San Juan and if I could choose again I would have selected a doctor at an actual hospital....but I do recommend Medical Tourism Corporation....Regene was my rep and she was awesome and the driver in Tijuana was awesome...so was the Ticuan Hotel...

@@joatsaint at a year are you still eating very little? Like do you still get full after a few bites, or can you eat a little more?

Try walking around, if it's gas, it will go...if not, maybe call your doctor for advice...

@@CowgirlJane does the uncomfortableness of eating eventually go away? I'm 2 1/2 months out...I still fear eating and it's always uncomfortable....and I fear never being able to eat normal food again...I still regret having my sleeve... :-( I wonder if this will be the rest of my life...

Totally! Everything made me nauseous...my co-workers thought I was preggers... At 8 weeks post op, it's not as bad, but I'm still sensitive to smells...

Will do @@Edavidson ! BTW - I'm so glad you posted this...I thought I was the only one struggling for nourishment! I tried a thin slice of mont/jack cheese (abt an ounce) and a few saltines last night....OMG...it was like a dream! I didn't feel any pain at all and I felt satisfied. But now what? Can't live on cheese n crackers either! You know, I feel so guilty eating what I can tolerate to survive instead of Protein protein protein. Do you ever feel that way?

Edavidson - Im having the same problem. I don't think I'm getting enough nutrition. I rely on shakes/smoothies, but I'm hungry soon after and I can't really eat anything. I'm scared of the discomfort that comes with eating so I just don't eat. Not good, I know. But what can we do? What can we eat? I'm out of ideas...