goblue9280

I can with near 100% certainty, guarantee that you will try food again, lol. Hang in there. Probably just a too bit thick for you... thin it out more with skim milk.

@ Thepostopt I ate pudding and it got stuck!' So uncomfortable!!!!! I am never going to try food again!!

Was on two BP medicines, came home off of both but on the first day home, my BP started creeping up and I got that feeling like when I would forget to take my meds... heart beating hard/fast. So I'm back on the atenolol for now and will continue to monitor my BP. I'm ok with it though as I'm sure I'll eventually come off of it as I continue to lose weight... as you will too!

I was terrified that first week after surgery that something wasn't right because I seemed to still have hunger/cravings. I was also having little issues introducing foods, and could eat 1/4 cup no issues starting around day 3 post-op.

Today marks 2-weeks since surgery and for the most part the cravings/hunger have subsided. I still have not pushed to find my limit of how much I can eat, but I'm starting to recognize a sensation of "fullness". I think what I was experiencing that first week was primarily head hunger, and I'm slowly retraining my brain on filtering it out. The cravings have started to disappear, though I still find I have a bit more of an appetite in the evenings like before surgery.

Yes and no it changed for me. My temper shortened during the 2-week all liquid pre-op diet. I flubbed the first couple days due to traveling for work, but hit the diet hard the 10 days leading to surgery. No doubt about it, it's flipping HARD! Your frustration, temper, mood swings are all understandable. As I got closer to the surgery date, I became so focused on the surgery itself, that I feel like things mellowed out a bit. My advice: try to focus on why you are doing this, lean on your family, and come around here to vent as much as you need!

Had surgery on a Thursday... Fri/Sat at home were awful. Felt bloated and like I had been kicked in the stomach a bunch. Sunday/Monday I felt much better and no longer needed any pain meds. Tuesday I felt pretty much normal and went back to work on Wednesday for about 6 hours (desk job.) You'll start feeling better pretty soon, so hang in there!

Test often, if you get that feeling of your blood sugar getting low, test it and you may need to drink some skim milk to bump it up.

I was on Lantus and glimepiride, but did not have my glucose levels under control in the months before surgery. I was on a two week pre-op liquid diet with Protein shakes. My blood glucose levels started going down immediately. I would test first thing in the morning and also around meal time. I ended up dropping the lantus completely and cutting back my glimepiride leading to surgery. My glucose levels were generally between 150 and 175 during this time. After surgery, my surgeon told me to follow up with my PCP and to stop taking the glimepiride. My blood sugar crept up a bit, so I reintroduced a small dose of the glimepiride (1/4 of the dose I was taking before) and my blood sugar levels have been right around 150. I anticipate they will continue to drop as I lose weight, and I should be able to come off of it completely in the next few months.

I was also very worried about my glucose levels, but with regular testing it was pretty easy to adjust my medication. I'm sure you'll find it easier than you think.

I told my parents and of course my wife and kids knew... the only other person that knew was a close friend who got the sleeve last year and has lost 100+ pounds. I told work I was going to be having surgery, but never told them what and they never asked. Grandparents and brothers found out the week of surgery, and called and were all very supportive. Since the surgery, I've slowly let friends know. Again, they all know how I've struggled with weight, and are all supportive.

"Easy way out" pisses me off like nothing else. My buddy that got sleeved would tell people when they asked how he was losing so much weight "I took the easy way and had my stomach stapled." I gave him so much sh!t the past couple weeks for those statements, lol. Nothing easy about this. liquid diet for 2 weeks pre-op, surgery and feeling like you've been kicked in the stomach 100 times, the regimental post-op diet, cutting out all sweets and carbonated beverages. You can't go into this thinking it's the easy way out and be successful, and many outsiders don't get that.

I would use skim or almond milk. I tried using my blendtec blender, but it was awful... way too foamy. So I used the shaker for the remainder of my pre-op diet. Every now and then it'd come out pretty smooth... but other times too foamy. I never got the hang of it. One thing that seemed to help was to get it as cold as possible, seemed to go down easier. So maybe try shaking it up and then putting it back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes.

I haven't used the BA powder since surgery. I've been drinking the premier Protein ready to drink shakes which have a much better taste with no aftertaste. One note though, the BA Protein uses 100% whey isolate while the Premier Protein uses a protein blend with whey concentrate as the third ingredient. You can research the differences between protein's, but generally, whey isolate is considered a higher quality protein and may be better absorbed. In the end, I decided I'd be miserable using the BA, so better to drink the Premier Protein than nothing at all.

I've now found that if I mix the Bariatric Advantage with skim milk tastes much better, but still have an issue with the foam created from shaking it. Any ideas?

I've dealt with anxiety issues for years. Also ended up in the ER a couple of times. Haven taken paxil for a number of years, which I just found out from my surgeon isn't the best because it can increase hunger. I would often stress about left side pain like you describe. Sometimes feel like a quick stop, and then almost like I catch my breath... but EKG's blood work always come out normal.

Anyhow, I have not any major issues since surgery (but it has only been 12 days.) Before surgery, during my endoscopy I found out I'm a GERD sufferer, and (although the biopsy came back negative) it looked like Barrett's esophagus. I've been on nexium since then, and it has me wondering if some of the weird pains I was experiencing in the past were actually GERD related.

@@Sande Also wanted to congratulate you on the big accomplishment of quitting!

This has been how my diet has gone the past couple days. I bought a few cans of hormel turkey chili with Beans and Goya refried black Beans. I blend each with a little Water and hot sauce into a nice smooth liquid. I then divide each can into 4 small containers... so I have 4 servings of chili and 4 of black beans. I found each makes around 1/3 of a cup (not the 1/2 cup I thought I was eating per the label.) I can eat one of those servings no problem without feeling full.

Yesterday my day went like this:

breakfast:

• 2 tablespoons of hummus
• sipped a premier Protein rtd chocolate shake over the course of the am

lunch:

• serving of pureed black beans w a small sprinkle reduced fat cheese (1 tblspoon)

dinner:

• serving of pureed turkey chili w a small sprinkle reduced fat cheese (1 tblspoon)

snack:

• half of a oikos triple zero greek yogurt
• a tablespoon or 2 of hummus

Had no issues with any of these foods... did not feel overly full after any of it. Got in 60+ grams of Protein and 600 or so calories which is what my Dr wants. Also took my Vitamins and had no issues swallowing those, including the large BA multi-Vitamin with Iron.

@@Cervidae Helps a lot, thank you for the feedback and advice. This forum has been an incredible tool!

So I'm 6 days post-op (Oct 1st) and doing great. Went home around noon on Oct 2nd, felt awful the first few days home, but today and yesterday have been great. Went back to work today feeling physically normal.

My concern right now is regarding hunger and fullness. I had my first post-op appointment yesterday and was placed on a stage 2 (pureed) diet. I've read through a lot of posts on this forum, and most talk about being physically unable to eat more than a couple tablespoons for the first few weeks even months post-op. They also talk about having zero hunger/cravings. I'm at the other end of the spectrum. I'm already able to eat in one sitting a 1/2 cup serving of either pureed black Beans, greek yogurt, or hummus etc without feeling overly full. I don't know what my limiting capacity is, as I have not pushed beyond the 1/2 cup yet. I'm also finding that my hunger/cravings are returning. Yes, a lot of it could just be mental hunger, but I swear some of it is my body telling me I need to eat more.

Am i being overly paranoid? My doctor did not seem concerned that I'm able to eat 1/2 cup of food right now, but it seems like I'm abnormal compared to most on this forum.

So going into my 4th day post-op (October 1st) and it's hard for me to distinguish between stomach cravings and head cravings. I wasn't able to eat anything until a bit of Water down Greek yogurt on my 3rd day post-op. I'm very sore and know I'm not hungry, but every now and then I see a pizza or Taco Bell commercial and get that hunger twinge in my stomach. I know it's really all in my head... but it feels real at that moment. Hopefully I can learn to tune those mental hunger pains out over the next few weeks.

Curious for those of you post-op, how have your cravings changed from pre to post surgery? Has there been change in the intensity of your cravings, or the type of food you are craving? I've heard the surgery can affect your taste for different foods. I'm going in for surgery on Thursday and have been on a 2-week liquid diet. I keep having interesting cravings... for awhile it was carrots with hummus, then lemons (sucked the juice from a couple wedges the other night) and lately I've been craving taco meat.< /p>

@@395Ron Taste and texture. I tried using my blender, but the frothiness was awful, so I only use the provided shaker now. Something about the taste of the Bariatric Advantage Protein powder just doesn't sit well with me. So now I make it with skim or almond milk (2 scoops to 8oz liquid) in the shaker and chug it while it's as cold as possible.

Thanks everyone for the support. It's definitely comforting reading your thoughtful responses! I know I'm doing the right thing, but my mind is running a million miles per hour.

Sookie, funny you mention c-section as all 4 of our kids were born via c-section. When I mentioned I was having some trouble sleeping the other night, my wife brought that up. She did great through all 4... but she's a trooper and I'm a baby, lol.

Surgery is Thursday, and I'll be honest, I'm scared. I've never had a major medical procedure before. Other than the endoscopy, the only other time I've had anesthesia was for my wisdom teeth. I know the risks are very low, but I'm still having trouble getting over it. I know this is the best thing for me (diabetes, HBP, high cholesterol at only 35) in the long run and I want to be there for my four kids down the road. My family is very supportive, but I don't want to scare them so I've been keeping it to myself. I'm just thinking about the surgery all day/night long. I'm trying hard to maximize sleep, but it has been tough and I've only gotten 6 hrs a night the past few nights. Sorry, just needed to get all of that out... just so worried that I will either wake up during the procedure, or have serious complications.

I've been on an all liquid diet for just over a week. The first couple days were tough, I had bad diarrhea. It has gotten better, but I'm still finding it tough to get my Protein shakes in. I'm suppose to have 3-5 shakes a day, but I've only been drinking 2-3 the past couple days. I'm allowed clear liquids as well, I enjoy broth made with "better than boullion." I also have gone through panera bread a couple times and they will make you a bowl of broth from their chicken noodle Soup. Surgery is this Thursday and I've found it mentally comforting to make it this far with the liquid diet... lets me know I can make the necessary lifestyle changes!

Yes, I posted on this the other day. My surgeon has me on a 2-week all liquid diet. 3-5 Bariatric Advantage Protein shakes per day. First day I started it, terrible diarrhea in the evening and overnight... went off of the diet over the weekend and started back up this past Monday. Diarrhea again Monday night, but have not had any since then. So it may very well clear up for you as well.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351287-pre-op-liquid-diet-issues/

Having had pretty much zero medical procedures other than being knocked out for my wisdom teeth, I was pretty anxious about the upper endoscopy. It really wasn't bad. They did a couple sprays of a numbing agent in my throat which was probably the worst thing I had ever tasted. Because I couldn't feel myself swallow, it made it feel like I was having trouble breathing... not a good feeling to have. I woke up a bit during the process, but it wasn't traumatic or anything. I remember burping when they had the camera in and being told to try and stop burping (like i had any control.) I vaguely remember them pulling the scope out, but was completely conscious as they finished and wheeled em out. I was good to go within 20-30 mins or so and my wife drove me home.

Update:

I was told that some diarrhea is normal the first few days. I've continued with the shakes... usually only 3 per day (2 with almond milk, one with skim.) I also do Clear liquids, mostly Water but also a morning black coffee and sometimes 8 - 16 ounces of Powerade zero in the evening. I also have had an 8 ounce chicken broth the past two nights. I still don't like the taste of the Bariatric Advantage Protein shake, but have found the faster I drink it (when it is cold) the more palatable it is. I also stopped making shakes in my blendtech blender as I found the frothy consistency made it taste worse... just using the shaker they gave me when I bought the powder. I have not had diarrhea since Monday night... in fact nothing at all has gone on down there since then, so I might be having the reverse problem.

Thanks for the advice and support, I will give them a call and see what they say.

I would immediately call the surgeons office and let them know what is going on.

...

Good luck on your liquid diet. You can do this you just need the right solution. Give them a call asap.

What is the reason for limiting Water intake during the pre-op diet? If they are worried about dehydration, shouldn't I drink as much as I can?

I'm currently making my shakes with almond milk as I found it tasted marginally better than with Water.< /p>

5 shakes plus 72 oz of water is too much in my opinion. Shakes count as liquid intake so you are drinking a lot!

As for myself, I only had 3 Protein shakes a day and liquid when I felt like it.

So my surgery is scheduled for October 1st, and my surgeon put me on a 2-week liquid diet starting this past Friday. I'm suppose to drink 3-5 Bariatric Advantage shakes a day and drink 72-96 ounces of Water. I made it through Friday fine but by Friday night I was having uncontrollable diarrhea to the point where I barely slept and had 2 accidents in the middle of the night. Saturday and Sunday I was travelling and in long meeting both days, so I did not follow the liquid diet... but did eat healthy (lean Protein, salads, veggies, etc.) I'm back on the liquid diet today and have only managed to drink one of my shakes because they completely disgust me. The smell of the powder by itself makes me want to throw up. I'm at the point where I'd rather not eat anything than drink another shake. Two questions:

1. Anyone know of anything I can do to get rid of the diarrhea, or will it simply go away after a few days? I'm choke down the shakes if I have to, but the thought of spending two weeks in the bathroom makes it harder to drink.

2. Is 96 ounces of water a hard upper limit? Is there any reason to limit the amount of water I drink right now?