Daisee68

I was going to say the same thing as @Djmohr. I am 17 days post op and go back to my desk job tomorrow. I have been working from home for the last week pretty consistently and just monitoring emails the week before. While pain level wise, I may have been able to go back, I am very glad I waited the 2 weeks due to getting used to new habits - getting up and moving at least every 2 hours, sipping Water every 5 to 15 minutes, figuring out how to make Protein shakes taste better and what the heck I was going to eat once I could convert to pureed foods. I started some foods on Friday and I was terrified I would be sick. So far I have not been, but remembering to not drink 15 to 20 minutes before, eating very tiny bites very slowly over 20 minutes and then no drinking for 30 minutes - that was hard. I am anxious about how to keep that all in check as I return tomorrow. I am very blessed with a very flexible job (though it is an hour drive away), so I likely will only work maybe 6 hours the first few days and ease in to it. (I left the house yesterday for about 5 hours of errand / shopping, etc. and I was pretty exhausted when I got home - though I only needed a brief rest before I felt better.) All to say - everyone is individual. My dr said I could go back at 1 week if I needed to, so if you have to, you will survive, BUT if there is anyway you can take 2 to 3 weeks, I would strongly encourage it.

I packed up a lot of clothes and shoes in my closet yesterday to donate. I am only 17 days post op and while some of it was too big (lost some before surgery), some of it was just old stuff that I didn't need to hang on it anymore. I require tall plus size pants which are hard to find, so getting rid of almost all my tall dress pants (which is all I wear to work) was very overwhelming. I did it and don't plan to ever look back. I'll have tall pants tailor made if I have to! Meanwhile, my actual NSV is that suddenly my stomach has gone down enough that I can bend over and buckle shoes that have a strap around the ankle! I love these shoes but avoided wearing them because it was so hard to twist and get my belly out of the way so I could fasten them. I just wore a lot of slip on / mule type shoes. Can't wait to wear all these shoes now!

LOL!! Everyone is different in that department. Afraid I am having the issues you are!

I don't know if that is normal or not honestly, but I just wanted to say I am so sorry you had such a bad experience. I did have some pain on my left side and I didn't have revision, just first time bypass. Hope it gets better for you soon!

Hmmm...well every surgeon / NUT seems to be different which certainly is annoying isn't it? Hopefully others longer into this will comment.

Yes, I did have heartburn and still do though it seems to be improving and yes it drives me crazy. Mine typically gets triggered with pain meds anyway, so not surprised by it though definitely annoyed. I am taking Zantac during the day and Protonix (Pantoprozole which is prescription) at bedtime. I had bypass though not sleeve. Call your dr and ask what you can take. I thought they normally gave you an antacid/acid reflux type med following sleeve for at least first few months.

Carbs or Protein? That sounds sort of high for carbs. Mine is that range for protein but much lower for carbs (ideally less than 50 grams I think).

I had Zofran too. They should give you one that dissolves under your tongue. It subsides eventually. Could also be from the pain meds if you are taking any. It gets easier with the Protein and Water, but can you not do Protein shakes? That is what I survived on for the first 14 days and it counts as Fluid. For your water, pour it in a 1 ounce medicine cup and drink 1/3rd of it every 5 minutes (set a timer on your phone). You get 1 ounce per 15 minutes / 4 ounces per hour. Promise you will feel much better when you can get more fluids in. I am 16 days out and still setting my alarm for every 5 minutes quite often during the day. I can now drink more like 8 oz per hour and have been able to do since about day 8. (By no means am I drinking 8 oz every hour, but I am managing to get in 60ish ounces now.) Good luck! You can do it! Call the on-call doc for Zofran now.

Congrats! I am 16 days post-op. I was just saying to my mom today that I remember saying in the hospital about the gurgling. I now think it was due to being too full from the ice (which I chewed A LOT of) because of the mouth dryness. The reason I think it was fullness (and yes likely partly because of the swelling) is that even after I came home, I would get that same feeling if I drank my sips of Water too close together. I started on pureed foods yesterday and a couple of times noticed the same feeling about 13-15 minutes in to eating. It does continue to happen if I drink too fast or gulp, so when I feel it, I back off. Best tip I got was to use a 1 ounce medicine cup, set a time for 5 minutes and sip 1/3rd-ish of the medicine cup every 5 minutes. That equals 4 ounces per hour. On about day 8, I was able to drink closer to 2 oz every 15 minutes. I know this is still new but I am still setting an alarm on my phone to remind me to sip every 5 minutes. If I get too full, I may skip one sip. If I feel behind on intake, I shorten the alarm to 4 minutes or so. I also downloaded an app that makes a sound of pouring water every 15 minutes to remind me to drink and allows me to track my intake. Back to work on Monday and not sure I will be able to have the sound every 5 minutes, but I think the 15 minute timer will definitely help until I can get in a habit.

I know it must be very disappointing to hear that from someone and when I started my journey, I would have been devastated if someone said that to me. But they are professionals who have seen a LOT of patients and are really only trying to look out for your best interest. I am only 16 days post-op and this is tough. I am definitely a food addict and have been working with a counselor since beginning of February and it took me a while to admit that I was an addict, but once I understood it and accepted it, I am able to look at this whole process so differently (though I know this will be a battle the rest of my life just like an alcoholic is always an alcoholic but just in recovery.). My counselor has been my single most important tool in this process for sure. I am not sure if I am reading you correctly, and I don't want to assume, but if it is what I think (and it is real), please don't do this surgery yet. If you are not seeing a therapist, please do that first. The goal at the end of this is to be healthy - mentally, emotionally and physically. Remember they are not doing brain surgery, just stomach surgery and the brain is really the driving force behind it all. HUGS!

Someone else posted about the exact same thing about the same time you did and I posted about it back when it happened to me. No worries. Get that Protein in. It is important for healing!

Yep same thing here and I was devastated. It is coming back off. As long as you are following the rules - Protein, Water, etc. - you couldn't have done anything to actually cause a real weight gain. Your body is just adjusting. It will come back off.

Wow 14 pounds in 3 days?! Amazing. Don't panic. It's not real weight. Your body is just adjusting. It will go away very quickly. As long as you are following the rules - Protein shakes, Water, etc. - you haven't done anything that could have caused that.

Welcome. here is another one - http://www.bariatriceating.com/2013/04/16/post-op-help-purees-soft-foods-begin-to-use-protein-for-healing/

Dealing with the "you can't have" is just part of the process as you prepare your mind. I cited those 2 things specifically for several years as the reason I would never have WLS, but I have finally come to terms with it. As you can see from above, all drs are different and as a general rule it probably just isn't the best choices you can make. I don't drink coffee but had to give up a bad Diet Dr Pepper habit. I think maybe someday I will likely try a soda, but so far, I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would. I am more scared of the pain carbonation would cause me than anything right now. 3 months from now may be a different story, but my therapist keeps reminding me to stay in the present and don't worry about 3 months away for now. Re the alcohol, I do plan to have an occasional drink eventually; however, I do have 2 friends who ended up as alcoholics following surgery -1 of them still drinking even after a revision. The risk of transferring addiction to alcohol is very very real, so I think for most this has to be approached very carefully. Don't let these 2 things scare you off. Once you get there, these 2 items will likely be the least of your concerns.

Ugh. Wait I just realized you said Pre-op not post-op. Ok will admit that is harder but same stuff still applies. You don't want them to cancel your surgery. The food is not worth that. This is the hardest part. It will get easier.

Ok, so definitely don't beat yourself up but learn from it. Understand that this is not about deprivation but truly about your stomach healing at this point. Just like you can't pick up a 20 pound weight 5 days after shoulder surgery, you can't expect your stomach to be healed enough to breakdown food. Now having said that, it is very good news it didn't make you sick (I am assuming). What are you eating? Try lots of variations on shakes. Try lots of broth and drink lots of Water. if you actually feel hungry it could actually be thirst and/or it could be acid reflux (which I read as hunger sometimes). You don't want to undo all the work, so just keep your eye on the prize. You have made it this far. You can get in a few more days. Get some variety in your liquids. That will help. And depending on your surgeon, you may be able to move to mushy foods in a day or 2. (My dr required 15 days but not all do.)

Have you tried PB2? A lot of fat taken out. It would have to be mixed with something to dip apples in but I have been using it in my chocolate Protein shakes and it is WONDERFUL!

You look great! Congrats! Love those black and white pants!!

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html Try the Ricotta Bake. It is WONDERFUL!

@@Rogofulm - Great list! I concur with many of those (at least those that I have experienced only 15 days post-op)!

Well first, congrats on your lost! That is amazing! I am just starting so I don't have that issue but I remember reading someone else on here recently that mentioned it. Something about the difference in not having the same cushion back there. Don't know what to do about it or if it goes away but just thought I would say I don't think you are alone!

I felt like the same. I am only 15 days out. You shouldn't have dumping this early if you are still drinking fluids only and not drinking anything high sugar. (Someone had to tell me this when I had the same question. ) I hope I never get it but I know some people hope they do. I learned today what eating too much might cause (and managed to stop just before), so trust me once you start with foods, you will know you had surgery. Incidentally I asked my NUT on Wednesday if it was ok that I was drinking 8 oz Fluid per hour on average already and she said that was great as long as it was in sips. The first few days I could only get 4 oz per hour but right about day 8 or 9 it changed. Its a good thing. As long as I don't gulp and wait in between sips, I cannot overfill my pouch.

@@sparksrn - The only way I have been getting my fluids in is by setting an alarm on my phone to beep at me every 5 minutes to remind me to take a sip. I found an app that reminds me every 15 minutes (and let's me track Fluid intake) in case I have to turn my alarm off for some reason. Including my Protein shakes, I am getting right at 60-64 oz fluid. Today since I had food, I have only had 1 Protein Drink so less fluid today but I have gotten 48 oz so far including a 12 oz shake. You might try something like that to remind you.

Ok, now I had my 2nd meal - Shelly's Ricotta Bake.http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html - O. M. G. If you have not tried this yet, please do. It is basically lasagna without noodles - just a bunch of cheese and marinara sauce. I used all light versions of stuff (i.e. light ricotta, egg whites, etc.) but it was really good and I'm not even a huge fan of Italian food. But when I can finally tolerate it, I am going to try this with spaghetti squash or zuchinni or eggplant. I was only about to eat about 3 tbsp. before I had that full feeling. Well, I am not sure that is exactly what it was. Wasn't a stomach full like was expecting anyway. I just ate tiny bites really slowly and then I felt it sort of tight in my mid-chest behind my sternum. I confess I probably took 2 additional bites after that but finally realized it was worth putting down before it made me sick. I SO want to avoid that but it was hard to put that spoon down. Now I am really starting to understand why the smaller stomach / pouch will help me lose weight. Refried Beans haven't hurt me and that was almost 6 hours ago, so hopefully I am good there. Hoping this one stays down as well. PS - I go back to work Monday. Just didn't want everyone to think I would be posting my every bite! That could be annoying.