bewell

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

I started my pre-op diet early and also went out to eat a few times. I practiced eating how I would eat post-op. VERY small portions and no carbs, low fat. It can be done! And it was hard but worth the effort. I got a good look at what life will be after WLS and grateful that WLS helps so much with the hunger and amounts.

FYI- My doc said the primary purpose of the pre-op diet it to shrink your liver so the surgery is easier. They have to move your liver away from your stomach. Suggest you consider your up-coming surgery and make it easy for your surgeon to get to your stomach.

I also had trouble with Vitamins (even liquid and melts) and DID vomit them up. My Doc said not to worry about taking Vitamins for the 1st 4-6 weeks if I was having trouble with them. He also said I would NOT get Vitamin deficient in this time frame. Focus on healing first most and fluids. Avoid vomiting no matter what.

It works but keep in mind that you have to work hard at it too. I KNOW there is no way I could have lost weight without WLS. But ongoing it is 40% WLS and 60% up to me to keep it working.

THE DREADED STALL at 8 weeks post-op. Had to come sometime.

Had my 2 month checkup and the nurse said to get off the scales so often. She said I'm losing even if the scales don't show it and try weighing once a month. Yikes!

Also noted that I am slow to heal and not to fuss about it. Everyone is different. My tiny-tummy takes a few hours to wake up each AM. I on liquids for the 1st 4 hours of the day. I'm still on soft food the rest of the day otherwise I'm pretty uncomfortable (not painful tho) and can still vomit introducing new foods. So I'm sticking to a small range of foods I know I can eat. Increasing exercise as I can.

The fantastic news is I can finally drink a glass of Water pretty much the same as pre-surgery. I sure missed that! And things are tasting close to normal.

The scary part is I think I'm starting to get tempted to eat carbs which to this point didn't interest me.

What a steep learning curve this sleeve is! I had no idea. (I'm a lap band to sleeve revision and this learning to eat is much harder. But the lap band hurt SO MUCH MORE. Nurse also told me that after the initial healing process there is a LOT LESS complications with sleeve, gastric bypass and other. Lap band has many more complications after healing cuz of foreign object which can erode, slip, break and just plain hurt. So happy to have that thing out of me.

Best to all of you January sleevers, we can DO THIS!

• 2/2015RN
• I had a terrible taste in my mouth for weeks. And as I said earlier, everything tasted weird. Only now 7 weeks postop can I drink regular Water. All I could drink for weeks was organic clear apple juice.

Some people don't have pain but I did. The oxy-codine liquid worked great for me and I used all of it.

I got shakes several times a day the first 3-4 weeks postop. It was usually when I didn't drink enough fluids or not enough to eat.

It went away but I still get it a little if I wait to long between eating and again, not enough fluids. I drink and eat right away and it goes away.

I always drink a small Protein drink before going to bed and 1st thing when waking up.

You look amazing!!! Love it.

If you can only name one thing, what was that one thing that contributed the most to your success (aside from WLS)?

What was your biggest mistake that took you back a step or two?

• wvanglahn
• Eli Alexander

WOW to both of you. An inspiration.

Keep it up. It is harder than any non-obese person could ever imagine.

Yeah, that's right. A too sweet Protein drink is terrible.

I had diarrhea for 5 weeks, not Constipation. It all resolved now, but my little toilet trout are so wee compared to what they used to me.

• Kindle
• You offer a lot of good council. I didn't know that we can absorb only 20gms of Protein at at time. THANKS!

As for vegetables-at 4 weeks i could do really soft cauliflower. Then I tried broccoli which tasted SO AMAZING, I had a second bite(s), maybe 2 small florets and it all came back up immediately. I think if I'd kept to just a few florets to begin with I would have been fine.

At 6 weeks I can eat 1/4 cup over steamed broccoli and it is so good. I also eat my protein earlier just because eating a mushed vegetable is such a treat! (Can't believe I'm writing that.) I can't wait for some raw vegetables but I'm told I am a long way out from doing that, a month or more before I'll try it.

FYI-I use one of those microwave ceramic cookers. It's small and is perfect for just a few steamed vegetables and chicken is very moist in it.

I got the garmin vivosmart with heart monitor. I bought the garmin because I swim a lot and it can go in the pool and get wet in the rain.

I have used it just 2 weeks. It was great for reminding me to MOVE. If I sit too long it buzzes me to move, so I get up and walk for 5 minutes. It does all the same as fitbit I think. They both link with My fitness pal.

However, I may return it (got 30 days Amazon). The reviews said all activity monitors may not track accurately the amount of exercise. That is my experience. One day I know I got more steps in than it showed, the next I was pretty inactive and it showed a lot more than I did. I can adjust it each day but I"m really not into another device (add it to my phone) controlling my life and time. I also had a hard time getting the heart monitor to work.

I'm not sure it was worth the money.

Yes, at first I was nauseated just thinking about eating. I also vomited very few days from eating 3 tablespoons of food intend of 2. It's getting better now.

The nurse told me that I can eat something that irritates my stomach and cause it to swell a bit creating less room for food. A couple of times I've had to go back on all liquids to quiet things down. She also told me it's pretty hard and pretty unlikely to be get malnutrition.

I have also found that one day I feel hungry and then the next few I'm not.

Best wishes to you!

You non-vomiters are so lucky!

I had a lap band for 10 years and NEVER vomited.

I vomit every few days with my sleeve. Even brushing my TEETH early on. (saw another here did that too, weird)

Most of the times I vomit it is because I eat too fast or too big of bite. I had a hard time adjusting to such a small amount of food. How can 3-4 level teaspoons be too much? Well, it is.

Not-so-lucky with the vomiting.

It is a huge decision, and much more significant surgery than the lap-band. It is wise of you to consider all your options and look and the pros and cons.

I am 64 and had the revision BUT I am 130 pounds overweight so it was a much easier decision of me. Also my band and port hurt al the time, an constant irritation. (That's gone!)

I can tell you I didn't have much reflux before but I do now. It is getting better but I wonder if it will ever go away completely. I'm still only 6 weeks post-op. Too soon to tell about any of this.

Best wishes to you in making your decision.