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DeeJay, The remorse you are feeling is natural, and a lot of people have some regrets during the recovery period. I can't promise you that you wont have any regrets in the future, but I can tell you that it does get better once your stomach heals and you get into the solid foods stage.

One of the first things I tried on in the soft foods stage was pot roast and carrots, cooked in a crockpot until they were extremely tender and the pot roast was basically falling apart at the touch of a fork.

Try Crystal Lite. They have a lot of different flavors. I'm sipping on some grape Crystal Lite right now as I write this.

The pre-op diet is hard, but just remember it is not forever, and I can promise you that after the surgery you won't feel hunger in nearly the same way. It is much less intense.

I had the same problem for the first few days after the surgery. I could feel it when it hit my stomach and it was very uncomfortable -- to the point that it took me an hour just to drink 3oz, and that was a push. I did find that I tolerated warm liquids a little better. I also found that Water for whatever reason was the worst -- so you might try something like Crystal Lite to see if you tolerate it a little better. Some diluted apple juice also worked nicely. It should pass though. By day 4, it was a lot easier for me.

Why aren't you able to eat salad? I'm just shy of 3 months out, and every once in a while after I've hit my Protein goals out of the park, I have a salad as one of my meals. I mean, it isn't a big bowl of it, but it isn't very dense, so I can finish about 3/4 of a cup or so of it.

How much are you able to eat in one sitting? The sample meal plans in my take home materials were about 1/2 a cup (4oz), but at first I could only do about 2-3 oz. Soft food is definitely easier though.

It gets much easier to make your Protein goals when you move into the solid food phase. 2oz of chicken breast, for instance, which will be totally doable by the point, is almost 14g of protein. In the meantime, definitely supplement with Protein shakes as you can, but concentrate first on making sure you make your hydration goals.

No drain here.

I just cleared 1 month post-op, and I've lost about 26 pounds -- or worded another way, two jean sizes and one shirt size.

I'd definitely not expect to be able to walk around and do sightseeing anytime in the first few weeks post-op, to be honest. I think I went walking in my first week, and walking 1 mile wiped me completely out so that I ended up needing to take a 3 hour nap. You're going to be recovering from a major abdominal surgery, and you're likely going to be putting in a lot of effort just to get your hydration goals met. Other than some short jaunts in the neighborhood for short walks, I didn't leave the house for two solid weeks.

I had some of the same thing -- plus kind of a gross white color to my tongue. I started making sure to brush my tongue daily and that seemed to improve things. Try using a tongue scraper if you don't already.

Hydration is your #1 goal. Per my nutritionist, it's: 1) Hydration, 2) Protein, 3) Vitamins. You'll be fine with a protein deficiency for a while, but dehydration is the #1 cause of re-admittance to the hospital.

True, there are times of stalls, but also, you won't continue to lose 25lbs in a single week. I can't predict what yours might be, but I was losing a couple pounds a day or so shortly after surgery and that slowed down to a pound every 2 or 3 days -- at least so far at 4 weeks post-op, and I did have one minor stall so far.

That's awesome news! Just be prepared for that to slow down quite a bit.

It took about five days for me to start seeing any change on the scale. In fact, when I got home, my weight was slightly higher than when I went into the hospital -- and I was in the hospital for 3 days. I imagine it is on account of all of the liquids they pumped into me while I was there. But, from what I have seen others post, it really varies.

I haven't tried drinking yet, but I have taken zzzquil a couple of times to help me sleep since surgery. That has about 10% alcohol, and I can definitely feel a burning sensation as it goes down into my stomach.

Nic, you may want to sacrifice some of that protein to get more hydration. Hydration should be your #1 goal. I think the minimums the nutritionist mentioned were something like 48oz of liquid, with a target of 60+. Less than that and your going to definitely have problems with fatigue, headaches, and eventually worse. You also cannot count the shakes as part of your hydration.

My surgeon's instructions were not to lift anything heavier than 15 pounds for 6 weeks, so the lifting requirements alone might be a problem. I can also say that you are going to effectively be on a very low calorie diet. I'm two weeks out and just doing a little bit of walking can take a lot out of me. I'm going back to work tomorrow, but I have a desk job. As to FMLA, this absolutely qualifies. Your surgeon's office can fill out any paperwork your employer requires.

Although, your metabolism can and does slow down, and you can end up with a new BMR far lower than that calculation would suggest. Also, the BMR calculation is different between males and females and includes age as a factor.

Congrats on making it through your first week. I'm only a little over one week a head of you -- sleeved 6/21. I had the same kind of serious fatigue that got better in the last couple of days. Before that, I was taking at least one nap every day for about 2-3 hours. It gets better

You could also try canned tuna / salmon / or chicken with some light mayo. I'm looking forward to giving that a try today.

I'd have to echo what pppgobbi said here. My anesthesiologist stressed with me that she didn't want me to have any alcohol in the three weeks following my pre-op consult with her.

64 oz is the target my doctors set, and I can tell by other signs that it is about the right amount given no additional strenous excercise. How many days post-op are you now? I had a lot of problems drinking as well, but the doctos didn't release me from the hospital until I could show that I could at least come close to meeting my target liquids. Protein they weren't as concerned about, but hydration is super important. On my first day back from the hospital (post-op day 4) I was a few ounces shy, but I've made it every day since. I think OKCPirate has the right of it. You should probably raise this is a serious concern to your support team.

Wow. I'm on day 7 and it takes me between 15 and 30 minutes to finish a 1/2 cup of the Protein Shake. I definitely can't take large sips. If I do too much, it hurts big time. And, although I am finally meeting my hydration goals, I haven't yet been able to hit both hydration and protein. I'm surprised that 4 shakes is your target. Mine is drink 1/2 cup of something like the Premier Protein Shakes, 5 times a day. That's a little under two of those shakes.