anikka

Checking in at the hospital..I'll see you all on the other side

I'm also not normal LOL. HBP runs in the family and there is according to my doctor a strong genetic component.
I was on a combo pill of 3 different meds. Doc reduced it to a pill that is 2 meds in one. So a decrease of med for sure. He tells me I will likely always need BP meds... as he put it "even skinny people can have HBP".
I did however come off all diabetes meds completely after surgery. At one point I was taking three different pills and 55 units of insulin. Just got my 6 month post op blood work back this week and my a1c is 5.3! ☺️

Welcome! These first few weeks/months post-op will require a lot of patience and adaptation. If you run into any snags, feel free to post here with specific questions, worries, accomplishments, or anything else you want to share. One thing I'll warn you about right now is the dreaded "week 3 stall". Since you are 5 days out, within the next two weeks or so, you probably will see a stall or major slow-down on the scale. It's very very common. Most people's bodies go into a kind of "self preservation" mode after the trauma of the surgery and the initial rapid weight loss. So if you see the scale stop moving for a week or two, DON'T PANIC. Keep following your nutrition plan and walking as much as possible and drinking all your Water and the scale will eventually start to move again.

Okay. Here's the deal. You ARE NOT going to see constant weight loss through out this process. Right now it is physically impossible for you to be gaining weight by what you're eating alone. So just breath and relax. You're not doing anything wrong.
The body has normal stalls and fluctuations every day. It's constantly doing adjustments, especially the first couple months. Just continue to follow your program and try not to worry about the scale fluctuations. That's why Kindle recommend you stay off of it for a while. If you can't handle the normal day to day fluctuations without it ruining your whole day, then just weigh once a week or even once month. That way your aren't seeing them. I promise the weight will come off. Just be patient.

Yep.......and so do a lot of folks. But be aware that stalls are like lovers. Your first will probably not be your last!

I lost 22 pounds on the pre-op diet. It took a week and a half to lose that, then I started soft foods and gained a few ounces again. Then I started losing and at three weeks hit the dreaded third week stall. Then at week four started losing a few pounds a week.....slower than some folks, but the process works. I am one of those people that does weigh every day. That is a crazy-maker for some folks but it keeps me on the straight and narrow. Stay with the particular plan you were given, chin up, and good luck.

The only thing you are doing wrong is weighing too often.
STAY. OFF. THE. scale.< /p>

Thank you all its nice to go to a place where people understand

Everyone goes through this phase. You have not failed. Stick to your nutrition plan, walk walk walk, sip sip sip, and the scale will start moving in the right direction again. I promise!

We have all been frustrated by the stall but hang in there...the weight loss will start again. The body is going through a major change and it needs time to regroup. I know it is frustrating to not lose and to even gain but the weight will come off if you stick to your plan and exercise. At times you will see no change on the scale but will see a change in your clothes. Try not to be too compulsive with the scale (should follow my own advice lol) and keep going. I have stalled once so far and it lasted a week. Then suddenly it started again.
As you can see from posts here, we all experience it and everyone says it passes so relax and go for it!! Good luck!

My daughter in law had horrible reflux before surgery and post surgery she's had none at all. She's also on almost regular foods.

Obviously I can't say anything about your specific case or evaluation, but I can say that I have seen plenty of people approved here with illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, etc. The common theme seems to be that they want to see that your situation is stable, you are addressing it with meds/therapy, and are prepared to cope with the changes that will come in your life after surgery. Good luck!

I totally respect everyone's choice, whether to tell or not is personal business. For me, I tell just about everyone. I'm so proud of my choice and accomplishment so far that I want to talk about it if it comes up. I also figure if someone else can benefit from knowing about my successes so far and it helps them in some way, I'll feel good about that. No one has been cruel to me or made insensitive comments (at least to my face) and I sincerely don't care if someone thinks I took "the easy way out". We all know that that is NOT true. Those people who would say that are ignorant of the facts. No more negativity for me. I'm embracing the positive!

@@Squizzo the reason you can swallow a pill but have to chew your food is because the part of our stomach that was removed did the grinding up of our food. The pill will dissolve in your stomach. I can take pills whole and I am 3 weeks out today.

Cottage cheese was on my full liquid diet and it helped to feel like I was eating real food. I also had soft cheese (like cheddar) that chewed up really smooth and went down nice and easy.

My time in the surgical OR was 66 minutes. The nurse reiterated it over and over again. I was in recovery for about 90 minutes then in my room. Discharged the next afternoon.

I had a hernia repair done. I didn't even know I had a hernia. I'm 4 days post op today and haven't had any issues other than gas pains, but even those are manageable.

While you are waiting and hanging out here for support, you can initiate the following steps that most of our plans have us do for our pre-op preparations.

Drink no calories.

Drink Water until your eyeballs float - 64 - 80+ ounces per day.

Don't eat anything made in a factory. You can do this by shopping the perimeter of the supermarket and avoid the aisle unless you need a spice or paper towels...that kind of stuff.

Eat at least 60 ounces of Protein per day, and at any meal, eat your Protein first - then veg - then fruit.< br />
Dessert should be something like an apple, not apple pie with two scoops of ice cream.

Avoid sugar, grease, and salt as much as possible. Eating clean will help you discover the real taste of natural food. If it weren't for sugar, grease and salt, McDonald's would have no business. When I gave up candy bars and started eating dark chocolate, I realized that it wasn't the chocolate I missed - it was the sugar.

Try to wean yourself off of soda and diet soda. Most bariatric plans discourage soda pop and anything with bubble post-op.

Reduce starchy carbs like bread, flour, sugar, rice, noodle, biscuits, white potatoes, macaroni, spaghetti etc.


So what is left to eat? meat, eggs, cheese, Beans, Peanut Butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, and fresh fruits and non-starchy veggies. You can adjust your current recipes to reduce carbs. The World According to Eggface is a good place to start. We have a forum here for recipes. Also, Sparkpeople.com and Myfitnesspal.com.

Many of us use Myfitnesspal.com for logging our food every day. It is really an eye-opener if you are honest with yourself about what you eat.

Weigh and measure your food to acurately acknowledge your actual portion size. There is a scientific principle that says, "You cannot control that which you do not measure."

Exercise where you can. Move your body every day. Don't become part of the sofa. I have 35 exercise DVDs of all kinds and variety from bedfast exercises to chair exercises, to Zumba, Hip-Hop Abs, Pussycat Dolls, Bollywood, Salsa, Strength Training and Toning, etc..... and ridiculously enough, my favorite is still Richard Simmons Sweatin' to the Oldies. If you can't afford videos, crank up some loud music and dance like nobody is watching, or take wal There are also a TON of Youtube videos with exercises you can follow.

Now is a good time to make regular visits to a physician so that your weight can be monitored. Many plans require several months of medical diet supervision as a pre-requisite for approval. My plan was two years. You may also have to provide a list of all the different diets that have failed you.

I wish you best and hope that you can have your surgery with an uncomplicated recovery. Good luck, and visit us often. And just so you know, opinions and tact will vary here.

Many of us being sleeved on 5/28 will be on our liquids tomorrow. Some of you may have already started. It's almost time to get a fresh start.
How are you all doing? I am feeling anxious as I'd just like to get the surgery over with so I can deal with the aftermath. I'm not nervous about the procedure itself, but the anticipation is driving me bonkers.

So excited and nervous!! I need to start getting on my short term disability paper work!

You'll be able to drink lots of Water just not all at once. Sometimes I am really thirsty and I go gulping like I used to and then my stomach tells me that I need to chill out. So then i drink a little here and there. Its the new normal.

Nope, mine is pretty strict. Most green smoothies have fruit or agave nectar or honey or something else to sweeten them. That would effectively ruin the point of the pre-op diet. Just suck down the Protein Shakes like the rest of us...

I agree! Same goes with alcohol. Each drink is loaded with empty calories. My torture the poor pouch like that, and sabotage your success? Some foods are slippery slopes, but a lot think this surgery will fix everything. People still need to retrain the brain for success.

Amen, brother.

I had my sleeve operation 3 months ago and have lost 80 lbs. I read some of the questions on here from folks who are just a couple of weeks or months past their surgery and wonder if they ever talk to their bariatric staff, especially their nutritionist. I get the feeling that a lot of them will not be successful when they ask how long it will be until they can go back to eating the crap that made them obese in the first place. My surgeon told me from the get go that the success rate of this surgery was around 50 % and that is NOT a good ratio. When I see questions like "When can I eat potato chips or pancakes again?" I have to wonder if they will be successful. The surgery is a tool and gives you a second chance to get your life back but 99% of this is mental.
This is a serious lifetime commitment and wondering when I can eat mashed potatoes again is not even a thought for me anymore. If you cheat a little bit here and a little bit there it will not be long before you are right back in the same shape you were.
I am off of the CPap machine, I am off all my meds, I have lost 14 inches in my waist and gave all my clothes to the Vietnam Veterans Association. I hired a personal trainer to get my butt back in shape and I feel better than I have in years. In short, this has given me my life back. My wife went on the same eating regiment I did and had lost 35 lbs and dropped from a size 16 to a size 6. I don't know if I could have done all thus without her complete and total support. If I eat 4 ounces of steak for supper, she eats the equivalent of Protein.
I am only 3 months out of surgery and have set my future goals for the rest of my life. Remember, this is mental and you must get yourself into that mindset. Don't sit around wondering when you can eat junk again...you will surely be setting yourself up for failure.
Michael G.