bewell

I had to have soft foods way past the scheduled move to real food. Everyone is different. My tiny tummy really revolted with regular foods. I am just starting to eat a little lettuce etc. It does get better but it can take a while for some. I definitely had to get used to not always eating. The first 4 weeks were pretty hard. I was so used to always "thinking" about what I was going to eat or what I had just eaten. It took me a while to fill in my thoughts with "NEW" thoughts about things other than food. I had an addiction and with the sleeve it changed everything. I'm not suggesting this, and it may have been a bad idea but I did chew some solid food and not swallow it. I spit it out. I just had to chew some food. It got me thru a few rough times. It only lasted a week or so.

Oh, I forgot. I posted above. I'm traveling for 3 weeks......and no scale in the suitcase so no weighing for at least 21 days.

Just flew an international flight-Seattel to Singapore. I didn't need a seat belt extension and ate very little of the food service. Had my Protein drinks and some nuts/fruit and that was all I needed. Also was able to walk the long jet ways from flight to flight. Made this trip much easier. Now for the adventure to see how eating in Singapore will be. Off to the market to get what I need. And yes, we walk every where here. Pubic transportation. PS-also will visit Bali for 6 days and swim in the ocean. I'm loving it.

Congrats to you who are just getting sleeved! I was scared too and the first few weeks were a bit of a challenge but it gets better every day and there is no looking back for me now!

This might not be related to what your are going through ....... but I was struggling with some old "cravings" but when I got really honest with myself, they were emotional cravings. Since I can't numb myself out with food anymore, and believe me I've tried a few times. I even planned a evening bing and ate broccoli till I vomited. I wanted that old temporary feeling that food gave it and it didn't. It scared me. I started seeing a therapist and it's helping me identify the old behaviors that got me where I was pre-surgery. I had many issues that contributed to my obesity. I keep hearing the old-timers on this site saying ..... they operated on your stomach not your head. Well, I'm working on my head too. BTW: your weigh loss is fantastic. If it were me, it would be scary to see my body fat melt away so fast. I'd feel out of control. But that's just me.

Hair Loss: I think you'll know it if you have it. When I wash my hair instead of just a few loose hairs coming out, I'll get a 30 in my hand. Also the pillow I sleep on has hair all over it. That never happened before. My brush when I'm done, has a lot more loose hair in it. More hair around the sink et. I had loss before with a lap band and it lasted about a month and then the baby hair came back in. It's hard to take pills of any kind let alone horse pills but my doc said eventually I should be able to take them again. I feel like I got all my protein but I expect the hair loss is the result of the surgery and recovery. Good luck to you all!

@@BLERDgirl Yep, thanks but I know that. I think its very interesting that they tell you not to, but there is no way I can. I have to take my pills and Vitamins with food in my stomach so I have to drink something. I had trouble swallowing pills even pre-surgery. Taking pills with food doesn't work with the sleeve. Then get stuck. So I have to drink a little Water. I try to do it mid-meal and that seems OK. Just a few sips to wash the pills down. But if I wait till after a meal, even 30 mins, it is bad. I couldn't take pills for the first 5 weeks after surgery. They'd come right back up. My doc said we can drink before eating. I do and it's fine.

It was very hard for me the first 4 weeks. Water tasted really weird, almost metallic. Most liquids tasted weird as did all food. I had to force myself to sip a little all the time. I got dehydrated the first week and ended up in the ER for IV fluids. I also had diarrhea and slept a lot the 1st 10 days so I didn't drink enough. I would not suggest this, it was not good. It's better now at 10 weeks. I can just about gulp a glass of water after 3pm. Before 3pm it seems my tiny tummy is still waking up so I just drink slowly and do Protein drinks. By 6-7PM liquids are easy. I CANNOT drink after eating at any time, it is very uncomfortable and might come right back up along with part of my meal.

Anybody have hair falling out? Mine is getting worse now. Slow at first but more now. I am just starting salads, just a few bites. I did eat an apple without the skin with a little cheese with it. Yummy! I still find a protein drink the easiest to drink if I'm in a hurry. Yesterday in a hurry, ate some chicken too fast and back up it came. Sitting down and chewing 2-3 oz of chicken takes to long. But I'm sure not hungry for a long time after that. Not much more exercise than pre-surgery but I have so much energy now, I am moving around a lot more. Instead of sitting all the time.

Good news: Traveled 2 weeks to see relatives and lost 3 pounds and finally moved off a stall. Bad news: My hair has started to fall out. Slowly at first but it's starting to increase.

What happened post-op that no-one told you about or "you just didn't see that coming!" For me: Vomited brushing my teeth (didn't see that coming....nurse said it can happen) Water tasted terrible....pre-op water is mostly what I drank...it took 6 weeks for water to taste sort of normal SMELLS....everything smelled funny.....and often made me nauseous. Also 6 weeks before it was better, still not normal Amount of food.....for weeks my cat ate more than I did and I was jealous the way he wolfed it down! ONLY 300-600 calories......OK, maybe someone told me but I was certain I'd starve to death if I only ate 600 calories for days on end. BUT NO and now I accept that a max of 800 calories now and probably 1000 a day, for the rest of my life will be the new NORMAL!! Didn't see that coming.

Today I made my first flying trip since surgery and the fantastic news, I could use the seat belt without an extension! Whoohoo! The not so good news, 4 days ago I had a planned binge on steamed broccoli and it turned out bad. I knew what I was doing, I wanted my old favorite evening activity of constant grazing and TV. Zone out...feel full, some metal hunger that wanted to be soothed. But of course it didn't work. I vomited hard, felt terrible all night and the next day. The emotional journey with this WLS is hard. The old ways of self-medicating with food doesn't work now. I knew it was not a good choice to overeat any food. It could possibly stretch my new tiny tummy and challenge the new staple line of my new stomach. But I did it anyway, just had to have it! NOT a healthy choice. I did meet with my shrink the next day to work on those old emotional wounds so hopefully I won't have to do that again. Today I am getting a good laugh at my binge on BROCCOLI!! It tasted so good it could have been ice-cream. Only fellow WLS folks to relate to this. (I HOPE!??) A "normal" eater just wouldn't get it. Anyone else having some emotional challenges now that we can't eat our way through them? Stall over I guess....I lost one very precious pound.

@@shellyd88 Shelly, you describe pretty much how I felt. First, it does get better. My doc said to just focus on healing and getting liquids in. I also was weak and shaky. I had diarrhea and had a very hard time getting liquids in. Yes, everything tastes terrible but just sip and get it in. I did get dehydrated and had to go to the ER for fluids and I felt much better after that. Keep in contact with your surgeon, it's very important. Complications are really rare. You just had major surgery. I know we read on here how some sleevers feel great right away and can eat anything. It is an individual experience, everyone is different. Just pay attention to you. One thing my doc said to watch for was a high temperature (101+), racing pulse, chills and sever abdominal pain which could be a leak. I know, you just had surgery so of course you abdomen hurts but a leak is the major complication they are concerned with. If you don't have a fever, chills, or a racing pulse you are probably fine.

@@Veronica Page Great idea to lock up the scale. I think weighing once a week might be as hard as the pre-op diet!

@@JamieLogical Well said Jamie. You are logical.

Glad you are asking questions and checking weight loss surgery (WLS) out. This is a great place to get a lot of opinions! Here is one more opinion---I had continual complications with my lap band for 10 yrs and just had a revision to sleeve in jan. Short story of lap-band-I hurt every minute of those 10 yrs. Now for the 1st time in 10 yrs my stomach and belly does not hurt. And that is after major sleeve surgery. I just heard this and wish I had heard it 10 yrs before........when you look at the statistics for complications after 3 months after WLS surgery, the lap-band has the most ongoing complications and problems. Yes, the others sleeve, bypass etc have more in the first 3 months but the band by far has the most after. A foreign body in your belly that can slip, erode, get covered in scar tissue...a port that turns and hurts.....well just had to say that. As for cooking----I never cooked before my sleeve and now I am! I'm always looking for receipts that are healthy and taste good, easy to make, and can be made in small batches. It's still early in my sleeve life but I think cooking will be fun Zakly, I bet as a chief you can cook up an amazing book of receipts for us WLS folks.

@ Oh, I just noticed you still have a lap-band. I'm sorry if I bad mouthed the band. It works great for so many, it just didn't work for me. All the best to you.

@ Hi Jake, We are all here to help each other. The thing I had to learn is that everyone is different. The speed of recovery from surgery and what we can eat and when. And right after surgery is very different from where I am today at 8 weeks post-op and I'm guessing it will change again and again. The band seemed different. I was eating most things pretty soon as long as I chewed like crazy. Like the band surgery, I had no real hunger for weeks. Someone told me, the sleeve (and all WLS) allows us to hit the pause button while we figure out how to make serious life style changes. Eventually that honeymoon is over, just like the band. I say this for me, cuz this is my last chance to get it together. With the sleeve I was on mushies longer than most cuz I kept vomiting. When I could eat mushies I did measure out a small amount but it turned out to be too much. Realized too late. Also if I went too fast I'd vomit and believe me it didn't feel like I was eating fast. So to answer your question, no I didn't seem to have any clues that I had eaten too much or fast. ((but some sleevers do) I kept having a band mentality, thinking I would know immediately. So I had to learn, to eat a very small amount slowly, just a few tiny spoonfuls and then wait. It was a while before i could eat 4 oz and even now I can't eat 4 oz of chicken at one sitting. I have to be careful about introducing new foods. There are some in my January group that are eating salads and all foods. The only vegetable I can eat is steamed broccoli and steamed squash. Still no raw fruit. I also can't eat Protein and vegetables at one sitting. I have to eat the protein, then wait 30-40 minutes and eat cooked vegetables. I expect at some point that will change when the swelling from surgery is gone. Also I have been told that it can take 2, even 3 months for the sleeve to heal completely. The band healing is much faster. Today I feel real hunger. With the band I could get satiated when hungry with a small amount but it always hurt so bad. The sleeve at 8 weeks does not hurt at all. If I feel real hunger I eat 2 oz of chicken (I weighed it initially but now I know what 2oz is) and slowly eat it. Within 10 minutes I am no longer hungry for hours. At first I could only eat 1/2 cooked egg taking 30 minutes to eat the egg and then I wouldn't be hungry for hours. Now I can eat one egg. My Doc and NUT told me that eventually I will be able to eat more and then to plan on 3 meals with Snacks. But for now, they told me to eat when I have real hunger. Keep track of protein etc. And get the fluids in. Doc said I probably had more swelling than some (the vomiting didn't help) which is why my tiny little tummy couldn't hold more than a few tablespoons. Having said all this, the sleeve is much easier than the band and it doesn't hurt. What they don't tell you with the band is that after surgery, when all is healed, the band has far more complications than bypass, sleeve and RYN. Because a foreign object is in your body can erode, slip, break, etc. The sleeve once it is healed has very few complication risks. Now no one told me that when I got the band. I am SO glad my band is gone. No more tightness and pain in my stomach, no more port moving around tugging at me. Do you feel that freedom from the band too? Probably TMI, but there you have it. Best to you!

I had a lap band for 10 years with constant complications. Also gained all the weight (50 lbs) back and then some (15+). Just did lap-band to sleeve revision in one surgery 8 weeks ago. I am too new to give long-term advice but I a so happy to have that "THING" out of me. From day one after sleeve surgery I felt better and today it feels so good not to have content pain from the lap band. But what I can tell you is that for me, eating with the sleeve is very different than a lap-band. With the band, if I could chew it long enough I could eat most anything and usually a lot more than I needed. But when I moved to food with the sleeve, I kept eating too much, and would vomit. The lap band gave me an immediate notice if I didn't chew or ate too fast. But not so with the sleeve. My tiny sleeved stomach would fill up with such a SMALL amount of food post-op. Like 2 level tablespoons full. Eating too much might only be ONE teaspoon too much. Our new swollen tummy is very small and tender. So be prepared that eating is different with a sleeve than a band. At least for me it was. And unfortunately, I was a slow learner!

Isopure got me thru the clear liquid phase but did taste bad as did everything that went into my mouth. After the clear liquid phase, the only Protein drink I could do was Sytax fuzzy navel. I love it and still drink it daily. It's tasty and not thick. (Thankfully someone told me about it on this site. Saved my day!) Sorry you have to go back to work so soon but get it. Take care.

@@glitter eyes This is such a great thread. I needed to hear this. I am a recent lap-band to sleeve revision. 10 years with lap-band complications! I am terrified after the sleeve surgery is healed, it won't work because it doesn't hurt all the time like my lap band did. Doesn't help that I've been on a weight loss stall for a week. Hearing about all of this long-term success, combined with focus and hard work AND the sleeve, I am feeling relieved. My eyes are set on the long-term goal----an active rest of my life time at a normal weight, with daily vigilance about what I eat and staying active. I can do it and it WILL WORK!! Thank you!!

You won't believe this (I didn't) but right after WLS you won't miss those foods you are thinking about having with your daughter. Instead, you will be overjoyed to simply drink a glass of Water or eat a vegetable/fruit. My first divine food after surgery was steamed broccoli; it was nearly orgasmic! Honest