Cujucuyo

Here's an animated video showing how the stricture is "removed":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK24oR1qhsI

Only complaint I have is I still haven't lost one pound and it's been 3 weeks

Oh you'll lose weight, trust me. There's no way you can stall for a truly long time unless you're drinking lots of sugary drinks like shakes or smoothies.

Don't worry guys you WILL be able to drink normally soon, I was also like you all dehydrated; it sucked for me because I used to constantly drink Water or diet soda and I was eager to drink more at that time.

I'm two months out and I can drink all I want now, no uncomfortable feeling or pain (unless I chug down a glass of Water, I just fill my mouth and then swallow), give it time, I know it sucks right now but hang in there!

At week 3-4 I couldn't even pass tuna... blended tuna, my esophagus was still healing from the tube they put in, after week 5-6 I could eat "normally", food doesn't get stuck on my throat anymore unless I take a huge bite out of things or if I take a huge Multivitamin, nibbling would be good in your case, that's what I did, and don't worry it won't be forever like this, give time some time and you will feel better but keep following up with your doctor and have him go through with you every step of the way to rule out any complication.

What helped me through this was to get some of those Minestrone condensed Soups that Campbell makes and blend them, they have Beans and other good stuff that will help you feel satiated.

I'm currently taking "Equate", these things are huge and make me nauseous for 2 hours, even if I split them in half and take both in... avoid them. I'm going to change to chewable ones or grind these and take them with a half a Tsp of sugar.

My doctor prescribed me some Lansoprazole (30mg) packs, these are supposed to help you in the first few weeks to manage your stomach acids and other related complications, ask your doctor if they might help.

Don't count calories, stick to what your nutritionist says and try to follow that, Protein Shakes and Water are your best friends right now.

Small sips is key right now, 1-2 weeks more and you should be able to drink a bit more. Your stomach is healing so it's best to take it slow.

Completely normal, here's a breakdown of the things that worried me that would be permanent and went away with time (I'm 2 months post op as of today):

1.) Drinking Water hurt my throat or my stomach as it went down: Went away after a week or two, now I can drink much bigger gulps than before and can finish a 10Oz glass in 2 minutes.

2.) Stomach pain as I ate Jello, soft foods, etc. ~ Went away after 1-2 weeks.

3.) Not being able to eat semi-solid foods without pain ~ Went away after 3-4 weeks. (Follow your doctors orders)

4.) After eating some semi-solid foods it got stuck in my throat - Went away after 4+ weeks (5 for solids), your esophagus is irritated/damaged from the tube they inserted during surgery. You WILL get that feeling if you do over eat a lot, right now I can eat 3/4 of a deep fried chicken breast without feeling like I'm about to vomit.

Welcome to hell, but don't worry, it's temporary, we've all been there and it's all downhill from there.

Mussels!??? The seafood?

Yup. Though I mistakenly said "in water", they're marinated in some sort of acidic broth, probably lemon or vinegar; you can scoop out a few spoonfuls, add some of the liquid they come in then add some Tomato paste or ketchup and you have yourself a mini-cocktail. They're soft, so they're easy to chew/digest and provide good Protein.

Are they fishy tasting?

Not at all, they have their own distinct taste and they're very soft to boot.

Mussels!??? The seafood?

Yup. Though I mistakenly said "in water", they're marinated in some sort of acidic broth, probably lemon or vinegar; you can scoop out a few spoonfuls, add some of the liquid they come in then add some Tomato paste or ketchup and you have yourself a mini-cocktail. They're soft, so they're easy to chew/digest and provide good Protein.

In my case I have hunger every few hours, however I just eat sparingly due to my restriction. For example today all I had was 2 1/2 Jumbo, panko breaded shrimps for lunch, 1 snack sized bag of Doritos as a snack 3-4 hours later and some mussles in lemon/tomato along with 1/4 of a chicken breast for dinner.

I keep several bottles of mussles in Water to munch into if I get hungry but I don't want to cook, usually I'll just eat 2 spoonfuls and that'll keep me going.

I'm 6 weeks out.

Thanks for your replies everyone, I'll keep exercising and see how well I fare, crossing my fingers here as I have some stretchmarks along the abdomen.

Hey guys, I'm 3 weeks post OP and have already lost 19lbs, however I've been thinking about the possibility of loose skin, I wasn't overweight by a lot (285lbs), target weight is around 200Lbs as per my doctor, mainly due to my height (1.80m). Is it true exercise cannot tighten the skin? I'm currently exercising at the gym and eating properly as expected, this worries me because I'd hate to have a surgery only to remove excess skin.

While I do have stretch marks my doctor said my skin heals abnormally fast (which is good), but I don't know if this would apply to when my skin is tightening up.

I'm kinda lucky, my co-workers were supportive and a bit horrified when I explained that they were going to cut most of my stomach, lol.

I too had my surgery one week ago, ive only tried to drink Chrystal lite once, Water, and Isopure but as soon as it trickles down to my stomach I would get this "contraction" then it would release followed by a fizzy bubbly pop rocks sound and a big bubble....then it would be done. I ended up in ER yesterday dehydrated from the annoying little pain with every sip and the doc ran tests and barium swallow and everything is normal. Just remember everyone heals differently. I actually didnt experience it too much today so maybe its healing better!

Hope you feel better as time goes by.

I found out natural coconut Water was excellent to drink and kept me hydrated the first 3 days after I left the hospital, it's the one that caused the least discomfort to me, give that a try.

Today's my 8th day after surgery, trying out some Nestum Wheat & Honey baby Cereal and it's good so far, no discomfort.

http://www.amazon.com/Nestum-Baby-Cereal-Wheat-Honey/dp/B00MFBLR36/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426052451&sr=8-3&keywords=nestum

However I can only withstand an amount the size of a snack Pack cup, lol.

I also cannot stand my Splenda Green Tea and Honey powdered tea anymore, so I ordered these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MRLWJU4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

they should arrive here to El Salvador in a week, hopefully they'll be good so I can ditch those darn powdered drinks.

Got it now, Cuju. I feel relieved. Hope u feet better soon. It took me some time in the beginning to realize I needed to measure my liquids also. I was over doing it and didn't know it, causing myself extreme discomfort at times. Try slowing down between sips , making them smaller and measuring your servings... That helped me a lot.

Thank you, I'll try that I think I've been drinking too quickly at times.

could be the artificial sweeteners that aren't being well tolerated....

Plain, room temperature Water causes the same reaction.

Not sure what you mean by soft drinks but make sure there is no carbonation. Most diets post op do not include carbonated drinks from what I've read. Could be causing irritation.

Sorry for the confusion, by soft drinks I meant Crystal Light and other powdered sugar-free drinks that I mix with Water, as for Soda (coke zero) I drink it flat and cold (Doctor just said today I could drink cold beverages again). I also purchased some of those Coconut flavored water enhancers made with Stevia from Amazon, hopefully they'll taste good so I can ditch the powdered drinks.

For weeks post-op, almost everything caused my sleeve to feel like I was being stabbed. Only Cream of Mushroom Soup was well tolerated by Frankensleeve. The pain faded over time as my sleeve healed and retrained itself to digest food again. But even 2 years out, Taco Bell taco sauce still gives Frankensleeve fits for some reason. It's his only Kryptonite.

Thanks for your reply, glad to hear it's due to the surgery itself, I'm guessing I should only panic if the pain is too sharp.

My surgery was a week ago also. I haven't had any pain in my stomach. Anytime I drink something my lower abdomen hurts, right around my belly button. Super uncomfortable. Also when I lay down at night to sleep that same area cramps up every couple minutes for the first 15 minutes

Sounds like what I have, every small sip takes about 5-10 seconds to reach my stomach and then I feel a slight discomfort/pain, then it goes away. Just had my appointment with my Doctor who did the operation and forgot to mention this to him.

Hey guys, I have a question, had my gastric sleeve done exactly one week ago, I'm still on liquids, current food is limited to soft drinks made with Splenda, sometimes flat coke zero, gerber fruit blends and Soups (campbells, strained).

Is it normal to have slight pain as your food gets to your stomach? It seems every time I swallow and once it reached my stomach there is a very slight pain, I'm guessing this is due to the operation being so recent, but did anyone else have something similar occur?