justbeingme1972

I'm 11 days post op, I ate some questionable food and made myself sick. I've chewed and spit but inevitably some food has gone down and again, I made myself sick. It has been a real struggle, and as many others have said I didn't get to the point of WLS surgery because I knew how to control myself. I'm eating a lot of Soup right now. I don't purée it, I make sure if it has distinct pieces to chew rigorously. I ate an egg 9 days post op and tolerated it well. I dunno, it's not an exact science, and my DR was sort of like ice chips first day, liquids next few, then start out slowly with what you can tolerate. Admittedly, I have both staples and sutures. Good luck!

Addiction? I replaced my thoughts of food with thoughts of vaping-nonstop. Havnt picked it up yet though.

5-6 small meals is grazing to me; as I mentioned I went from one meal to several. I'm not suggesting carrying a bag of chips and eating all day. The point is to eat small and space it throughout the day, and honestly grazing for some people work in terms of weigh loss or maintenance. It's a question of what your body needs and how well it responds to it.

Preach it! I don't know what to do with myself either when food is not the focal point of my life. I'm 10 days post op.

Dear God I am 8 days out and I wake up wanting to gnaw my arm off in hunger.

I'm with you, everyone else sounds like their guzzling thiers compared to me. An 18oz drink takes me a few hours, but perhaps I am not wholly concetrating on getting it down.

I think most of us can relate to how "addicted" we are (or were) to food (and especially carby junk food). Why else would we all have resorted to surgery? And it looks like you DO totally hear what the other poster are saying about the harm you can do to yourself by not following your post-surgery Bariatric Eating plan closely, especially during the first six months of healing.
Please be gentle with yourself, but also think about maybe prioritizing having a long talk with yourself about what your actual, real, in-writing PLAN is going to be to change your old eating habits and creae the NEW eating habits and lifestyle that will be what you do FOREVER. This surgery gives you this awesome gift to be free from having to be on "diets" for the rest of your life and being a slave to the scale for the rest of your life IF you take control NOW to CHOOSE to take responsibility for yourself and your eating. Is it easy? Not for a minute. It is hard, hard, work. But it is so worth it.
You can change your thinking to use food as medicine and fuel for your body, not as your stress-reliever, your friend, your reason to Celebrate, etc. Once your brain and your body truly get used to eating good, nutritious food they know what to do to keep your hunger/appetite and your weight in proper balance. When you have consistently/continuously practiced that, it gets a lot easier. (It really takes about that first year to really break all those old habits and get comfortable with new eating). Will you be perfect? No. The difference is you don't have to think of yourself as a guilty person who is "cheating" anymore if you have an occasional cookie (for instance) after that first year, because what you do normally on a daily basis is eat healthfully. Still have to work at it? Yep, every day...
Hope your therapist will guide you to a good starting point. Maybe you can also discuss/ask about or search on your own about mindful eating. There are a lot of books and online programs available on the subject.
Be healthy and wise.

How much more drastic? You think what you're doing isn't pretty extreme? Interesting.
Leaks happen. Infections happen. Missing your biggest weight loss window happens.
You are going to be really angry with yourself if you don't make this surgery a success. Aren't you worth better than this?

Girl, I am weary to even post on here in fear of someone finding out. Probably irrational, but where I am at right now with it. I really didn't want my step-daughter to find out. I mean I am a low bmi'er, and I don't want her feeling like she always needs to diet or be thinner. At first I didn't tell my mother, she can be a bit judgmental at times, like all of the time. I did tell her when I returned from Mexico,after the surgery was finished and she seems to be dealing with it okay. Girl, like the other posters said, do what you feel is right. I don't think there is a wrong way to go about telling or not telling people.

Dear God I am 8 days out and I wake up wanting to gnaw my arm off in hunger.

I have issues with food, I do. I had surgery on Sat.. On Wed.,I tried to eat roast beef. I threw up. I tried to eat it again, after which it felt like the food was oscillating between my esophagus and pouch for, like, 45 minutes to an hour. Seriously, a huge lump waning to and fro. So effing uncomfortable. Think that would deter me the next day? No ma'am. Until 5 pm I consumed nothing but Clear liquids. After 5 I fell off the wagon I tried eating some chips, which I got away with without feeling too uncomfortable. Then I engaged in an old eating behavior; when, I'd self-restrict during the day, I would wake up in the middle of the night to eat. I tried that last night with chips and 1 extremely small sip of Fresca. BAD IDEA!!! I immediately experienced the most terrible stomach pains and this morning my digestive system is feeling rode hard and put away--you get the idea.
As an aside, my sleeve was reinforced with both staples and sutures, so the likelihood that it will bust is minimal, unless, of course I do something drastic. I mean I hate that I even chance it at all. Right now I am realizing that while the physical part of me that contributed to my overeating has changed, my relationship with food remains and is still in need of repair.
Thanks for listening.

Awww Coleen it'll work itself out with time. I know exactly what you mean and how you feel. I wish I could say that these feelings will pass in a couple of days and you'll be overjoyed. But I'm going to tell you this instead:
It's hard to change your entire way of life. In fact it really blows at times. Let me tell you what the sleeve did for me. I lost weight - yes ma'am. I like my new appearance. It's been over 2 years now. In that 2 years I've been through every emotion imaginable. Some good and a whole lot of frustration and having to learn to fight off the demons that made me overeat and be fat in the first place.
That was the real struggle. But I did it. I came to terms with my feelings, my shortcomings, and my dysfunctional mind that equated contentment with a big ole cheeseburger. For a good while I secretly hoped the people around me would choke on whatever delicious thing they were scarfing down. Then I was angry. Then I was regretful. Then I was sad.
Then I pulled myself together.and found out that I didn't need my good friend food to be happy. I could be happy all by myself and actually come to like the person I was becoming. And now here I am telling you about it.
You'll make it too:). Hang in there and work thru this process. You will end up feeling beautiful inside and out.

Hi my name is Ashley, and I am 31 years old happily married to my DH since August 2011. He is a former Army member, so we have had our fair share of moving, but as of now we are living in Colorado Springs, with another move in the works to who knows where just yet. (He is retired but still likes to move around). We have 2 lovable 60 pound furbabies. I was diagnosed with PCOS after gaining 100 pounds following a foot surgery. We have been trying to expand our family since before we were married (when I thought I was at an OK weight of 170). I have always been overweight, but never obese until recently. I lost my mom at age 53 due to complications due to her being obese,smoking and eating bad foods. She weighed just over 300 pounds and was 5'3. I reached my highest weight at 289 pounds and I freaked out,not wanting to end up like my mom. I knew my days of being obese were numbered. My husband Jacob is completely supportive of all of my decisions I chose to make in the name of being healthy and happy. My mother in law on the other hand is less than helpful, ( she lives with us, for now.) She came out and said that I was taking the easy route and I should try different options and just try to lose weight that way. When she found out I had miscarried a few months ago, she just said its all for the best... Just want to smack her sometimes. Her negativity fuels my desire to rub it in her face when I finally succeed at losing weight and finally becoming a mother. Sorry its so long, that's just how this journey got started.

I appreciate that. I understand the urgency in what you're saying and plan to abstain. Thanks for the advice

I appreciate that. I understand the urgency in what you're saying and plan to abstain. Thanks for the advice

Thanks, and of course I have a therapist, and I plan to fully disclose at our appt on Tues (first time I will see her since the surgery). I don't think I could talk about it so freely if I didn't. I mean, look, I'm not talking about like a large amount of food here. And, I mean, it's not like I can be the first person experiencing this, right?!
Also, don't worry about me physically because I totally would never let myself get that out of control. Right, though I get what ya'll are saying, and thank you for your concern.

Why are you eating off plan? Think about why you had surgery in the first place. To stop the madness, right? Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to change your relationship with food. If I may be so bold, it sounds like you could use a professional counselor to help you get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, make a decision right now to start following all the rules. If you do, I promise it will change your life for the better. And once you detox from all the crap you've been putting in your system, it get so much easier. Good luck, I wish you all the success in the world, but you'll need to put in the work to make it happen.

It sometimes will be a daily mental and emotional battle! One that you will have to win! You are in charge of your mind and body, not food or your cravings! Set your mind to staying on track, don't give in to the temptations. You are just a week out and you are trying to force real food down? Not a good idea! You should be on full liquids only at this point. You have a chance to change all of the unhealthy ways that got you to where you were at. Do not go back to old habits and expect things to be different now, you have to work hard at staying on the plan, it works.
Today get back on the wagon and next time s craving hits remind yourself how bad it felt the last time you indulged. You can do it, you are stronger than the cravings.

Your new tummy is now the boss of you. It is the parent and you are the child. Go to YouTube and watch a video of your type of surgery to remind yourself of how brutalized your stomach is right now. It is an internal organ - vital for your survival - not a picnic basket. Please, please stop and be strong.
The liquid stage will pass soon enough. Would you give roast beef, chips, and pop to a newborn baby? Of course not. Its little baby tummy can't handle that stuff yet. Well, neither can you right now and your tummy is trying to communicate that to you. Take care of it and it will take care of you. Now, young lady.......you behave today. Hugs from Chicago.

So I have two reasons for wanting to write about my experience:
1) When I was looking for information on Low BMI'ers, and I mean really loooow I came up with very little and really nothing about Sleevers with BMI's as low as mine. I am sure I will get some flack for having this surgery at such a low Bmi, but we're all on our own journey, and trollers are gonna troll.
I am 33 years old. On Sleeve day my height was 5'6 & 3/4 inches and weight, I estimate, was about 183 lbs. I say estimate, because the last time I got on a scale was a week before going to Cancun (179 lbs) and I spent 2 days in Cancun vacationing. Okay so at the most my BMI was 28.7. Not only that but I wore a size 8/9 on sleeve day.
2) I could not find much information about my doctor, Dr. Hector Perez Corzo in Cancun. He was exceptional. He called, e-mailed, we had a pre-op appt where he assuaged all my fears. I want to do him a service by telling my story.
Here is my story:
I am Josie the eater. My friends and family are astonished at how much and how quickly I can eat. My heaviest weight was 220 lbs 13 years ago. I grew up overweight, and had a BMI considered obese in my teens and early twenties. The past thirteen years i have kept my weight between 160-180 with stringent diet and exercise. It felt like I was constantly fighting a losing battle. I thought about surgery for the past 7 years, but never thought I could find someone to do it on me. I finally did some searching online and found a patient facilitator, Bianca, at Medical Tourism.com. She put in some requests and Dr. Perez approved me for a gastric sleeve. I traveled to Mexico on 4/22 with my dad and my boyfriend.
4/23/14 I met with Dr. Perez 2 days before the surgery, at my request. He told me what to expect, that he basically blows gas into the abdomen to separate everything so he can cut the sleeve. He says that most of my pain will be from that and that painkillers are not likely to help with this pain. He assured me he had done sleeves to low BMI'ers, and even models after they've had children. I liked his professionalism. He was clear cut, and he wanted me to be at ease. He showed me around the clinic where I would be having surgery. I went home to the resort I was staying at feeling confident about the decision and Dr. I had chosen
4/25/15 Surgery day- Holy freaking smokes! Pain, pain, pain, pain. When I woke up from surgery, I thought WTF have I done. Maybe if I don't move or breathe the pain will go away. Because I had a tight abdomen from an abdominoplasty he had to blow extra air into it and I was freaking miserable. The nurses told my father (a Spanish speaker) that I had to get up and walk which i refused for like 5 hours. However, as soon as I got up to walk the halls the pain slowly dissipated. And I mean slowly. That ish hurt. Every hour or two my dad would wake me up, we'd walk, and that would tire me out then I would sleep a bit. The nurses set a timer on my IV and whenever it went off they would bring me nausea and pain meds. If i needed meds in the interim, my father would tell them and they would bring me them as needed. I have to say having a Spanish speaker with me was comforting. The hospital/Dr. Perez provides you with an English speaking patient helper but I never saw her. Admittedly, that could be because she knew I had a translator (my dad) staying in my room. I was truly lucky to have him there.
4/26/15- Up at 9 am. I feel good enough to check my phone (Clinica Victoria has wifi). Dr Perez comes to check on me and says everything went off without a hitch. He said I paid to stay two nights but i can go home later if I'm feeling up to it. I am prompted to drink some blue gunk which I down like a tequila shot. I did throw a little bit back up. If the blue gunk shows up in your drain you're leaking. No blue gunk in the drain! YAY! Twenty minutes later I am taken down one floor and put in front of a real-time x-ray. Dr. Perez is there, and hands me a styrofoam cup of some clear sweet liquid. I drink up, then watch the liquid go down into my esophagus and into my new little sleeve. Everything is working fine. I leave at 3:30 pm that day. My pain is still a 6 out of 10, and comes and goes. Back at the resort I sleep the rest of the night and don't get up for much. I don't want to be talked to or messed with. I do not take any painkillers though the Dr. sent me home with some.
4/27/15- I'm in bed. I don't know how to handle this. I doubt myself. Everything I read says I should get in 64oz of liquid, but every sip I take (Dr sent me home with three bottles of Gatorade) I feel the liquid moving down, expanding my new sleeve uncomfortably. I do what I can. I stay in bed ALL day. I watch about 2 hours worth of movies. I rest. I shower about 8pm. i lie down some more. The next resort over is having a dance party, the booming beats are not conducive to me resting. I get up and go outside and suddenly feel the urge to dance. So I dance a little. I pack my bags. I sleep okay.
4/28/15- Up at 5am, at the airport. No more pain really, just discomfort. liquids start to go down easier. At one of my layovers I have the broth from a small bowl of miso Soup. Its delicious. Now, I am home and feeling pretty darn good. I fixed my family dinner and now I'm ready for bed.