nearperfectmess

@@MsB7 and @@SarahM76 - it will all be worth it! We've all been there. I had my appointments starting in November '15, and had surgery March 16 of this year. I'm down now 72 lbs and feeling like a whole new man. Congrats to both of you on your journey so far!

I've got a few NSV's I'm lumping together, because this weekend was full of 'em. I went to Orlando FL for a whirlwind, two day trip. I was overwhelmed by a few things that happened. 1 - No seat belt extender! Not only did the seat belts buckle on two different airline's flights, but I had room left on the belt! 2 - Disney World - I spent a whole day in the heat and humidity and felt I actually had energy and wasn't a giant ball of sweat (gross, I know, but...y'all know what I mean). 3 - Universal Studios. This was a big one for me. I've heard horror stories of bigger guys/gals not being able to ride 90% of the rides there due to the size of the seats/restraints. I went to go sit in the test seat outside of Harry Potter and the attendant looked at me and said, "Um, sir, you really don't need that. You're more than fine". Not having to use the test seats and riding every single thrill ride? Best. Thrill. Ever. Worth more than I spent on tickets, and then some.

I second the suggestion of the Premier Protein shakes above. I found I didn't tolerate a lot of the powdered ones well (most of them just had the weirdest taste/aftertaste that I couldn't shake). But I found the vanilla and strawberries and cream flavored Premier Protein shakes (almost every supermarket I go to has them, but Costco has them much cheaper if you have a membership!). They're ready made and 30g of protein in 11oz to-go containers. Once you get the okay, you can even blend some frozen (or fresh) fruit into them for a change. Worth a try if you haven't already!

I'm 9 weeks out from surgery today. Last night, I pulled some old pants down from the "One Day" pile in my closet, just for haha's. 9 weeks ago, heading into surgery, I was a size 50/52x30 pant. These pants were 36x30. And they FIT. I'm just...flabbergasted. No amount of research could really prepare me for SEEING it all. You can read the success stories, and cheer other people on as they go through the process, but until you look in that mirror and SEE the changes, it doesn't fully hit home (I mean, I still look in the mirror and see the old me, but that old me suddenly has 36's on...crazy).

We bought the second book! The first one was just recommended during my last bariatric surgery support group. I need to get it. I find I'm eating way too many of the same things and need to change it up a bit. Right now I'm probably eating about 600 calories. My nutritionist said as long as long as I'm getting enough Protein and fluids in, I'm okay, but I am worried, at 8 weeks out, I should be having a little more. My book from Mayo Clinic indications around 800 this stage, working my way up to 1000-1200 by the time I hit 3-4 months. I think as I add more solid foods (I got the okay to add very small amounts of starches, if I can get them down, during this stage), that will increase. I tried a Triscuit last night and it went down okay. Woo!

If you're concerned about your abilities to do your job, definitely bring it up to your surgeon. You don't want to hurt yourself! At three weeks out, I didn't really have any pain, just some mild discomfort. Be careful and good luck!

Walk. Walk. Walk. You'll probably hear it a lot, but walking was the NUMBER ONE way to relieve the gas advised by my team. They said to not even bother with Gas-X. It doesn't target that kind of gas pain. They actually kept me another day because I hadn't passed gas yet. But once I was really moving around, things...started moving. I wasn't allowed tea or anything besides Gatorade for the first week following surgery. Depending on your surgeon - that may be an option. Good luck - it'll get better soon!

@@BlueBongo I'm quite interested in this as well. I'm a fairly new transplant to the Phoenix area and just had surgery in March (RnY). I don't work outside as much as you, but I do worry about Fluid intake living in the desert. But drinking a gallon of Water a day, it sounds like you're above and beyond your required daily goals. Maybe break up your Protein a bit? If you're at the stage where you can have protein bars, maybe keep one with you and have that or 1/2 of it while you're working to give you energy through the shift? I find if I go too long without eating while at work, I do sometimes get a little sick/nauseous. When in doubt, check with your medical team/nutritionist.

That's crazy. I'm just at the chopped/small food stage now and couldn't think of eating a real taco. I did splurge and go to Chipotle to celebrate a little Cinco de Mayo but had meat, beans and guac. No rice, no lettuce, no sour cream or any of that. And I still have 3/4 of the bowl left. It was a NSV to me. But I made sure to be mindful. I couldn't imagine chowing down on a taco, especially right after surgery.

Prior to surgery I wore a size 50 waist pant... ...yesterday I put on a size 38. And they fit well. I'm 7 weeks out. I may have had a sudden onset of "allergies".

Everyone kept saying "You won't have any hunger" and I'm like "How is that even possible?!" Well, I'm 7 weeks out (yesterday) and I haven't felt any real hunger at all. It's the strangest thing. But it's kinda amazing. One less thing to worry about!

@@NewAngela - We're pretty close in terms of surgery dates (3/16 here) and I've found I can only have celery chopped up very small, as suggested above. Costco sells these amazing chicken salad cups made with greek yogurt instead of mayo that are 14g of protein for a 1/2 cup serving and have a small amount of celery. It's nice to have that little bit of crunch and I haven't had any dumping because of it. If making it smaller doesn't help, I'd hold off for a little bit. 2 months out is still pretty close to be having a lot of fibrous foods. I was told to wait at least 3-4 months before trying to add them in any significant amount.

What has your surgeon or nutritionist said about that? That's a lot of food you can't tolerate, you poor thing. The nutritionists is worry and told me to eat every hr. My surgeon is fine with it. He said that some people can't tolerate foods. The thing is that now that I start work out I'm getting hungry but I can't eat much. Have you tried going back to softer meats/lean Proteins? Meatballs, ground lean meat, chicken pulsed in the processor w/something to keep it moist? I'm only about 2 months out, and I'm able to get those down. I was always told if you can't keep those down, there may be issues with the opening into your pouch not being big enough (and a dilation may be needed).

The gas pain is really the one thing they never told me about, but thanks to BP, I was somewhat prepared. Walking truly is the best thing. Best of luck to you! So glad it went well. I had a surprise hernia repair during surgery that I didn't even know about until my post-op!

I was given 3 weeks (actually worked out to be about 3.5) by my surgeon. Physically, I would've been okay to come back after a week or so (I mostly work at a desk), but they explained a good portion of the time they suggest off is because you've just had a massive life change, and it takes time to adjust to that, mentally as well as physically. The huge change in diet is a lot to adjust to at first, so my surgeon stresses at least 3 weeks in order to be in a proper state to go back and do your best. I say I would've been okay going back after a week, but I know that trying to juggle that with 6 meals a day and the 64 oz of Water (sip, sip, sip) on top of the craziness at work would've caused a lot of distress.

So happy to hear it went well! The difficulty moving in the beginning is rough, but just brace yourself and take it slow. Once you're up - it's a lot easier! Sounds like you're doing great. Woo!

Congratulations! That's amazing. We went to a pool party last weekend and I had a massive amount of panic the morning of - my 2XL swim trunks looked massive and wouldn't even stay up with the ties. For sh**s and giggles I grabbed a pair of my partner's L swim trunks...and they fit - like REALLY well. And no belly hangover! One of my favorite NSVs so far.

With a pre-op A1C of 6.3, fingers crossed as your body gets used to things, and it'll go down into normal territory. I wasn't expecting to come off of mine completely, but I have. Here's hoping they're able to get you off a good portion of those meds!

Congratulations! The little victories all add up!

You can do it! I, too, questioned why I had done it the first few weeks after, but IT GETS BETTER. Trust. I'm 7 weeks out today and starting to feel more normal. The soft/pureed food stages are the hardest, but it's a great time to get creative. I've tried to think of it as an adventure instead of a hindrance. We've all been through it here. And if you can't get the advice/answers you need on here, contact your surgeon's office to see if they can connect you with someone who can help you through it. You're stronger than sausage!

I work in a hospital where Starbucks is on the first floor! It is so accessible, so I was always spending a small fortune to get Frappucinos w/ espresso shots and a bagel with lite cream cheese & a toffee doodle cookie. Every single day. I'll be glad I can't do that anymore! Right?! We have a Starbucks on campus at my hospital as well, and I don't even have the desire to go most of the time. And I've started putting my weekly Sbux fund into my savings account. I figured I'll buy myself something shiny and pretty once I hit goal with all of the savings!

I fancied myself a coffee addict, but now, at 7 weeks out, I can't even drink a full cup. I bought a tall iced coffee from Starbucks this morning and maaaaybe got through 1/3 of it. My tolerance has gone way down. In a weird way, I can't say I miss it. I don't have to leave 10-15 minutes earlier to hit Starbucks, nor do I have that $15-30 a week hitting my bank account. Besides, they just upped my fluids from 64oz to 80oz+ and boy, do I feel like I'm drowning just with that much Fluid.

I've been having the same issue. No blood pressure meds, but a lot of dizziness (especially upon standing). My NP last week said to increase Water to 80oz+ of fluids a day. Protein I haven't had a problem with (nor vitamins/iron). The 80 oz is very tough though - especially at work when I'm basically talking to people for 8.5 hours straight.

My major pain diminished after a few days, but I did have quite a lot of tenderness, achy-ness for about 2-3 weeks, particularly when sleeping (I'm a side sleeper and that was a no-go for a few weeks) and bending to pick up anything. I still do notice what can only be described as a weird pulling sensation on the side where my stomach is - I was told this was normal as my new stomach heals, but to keep an eye out for any major pain associate with the area. The best advice I have for you is to keep walking - I know it sounds counter intuitive when you're feeling achy, but it really does help, and you'll feel better quicker!

Echoing what was said above. I am 6 weeks out today (time has flown by!) and any expectations I had for myself post-surgery were completely off. I realize they don't tell you too much of what to expect after surgery, so as not to create expectations based off of others. Everyone really is different in this case. My mother also had surgery (awhile back) and it took her months to lose what I've lost in 6 weeks (which is BEYOND what I would've expected - I feel like I'm losing too fast). The biggest things are your Protein and keeping hydrated. I was told 64 oz of Water, but my blood pressure kept dropping, so now they have me on 80oz+ (which is a PAIN in the tuchus). And don't forget those vitamins! Stalls are to be expected. Some weeks you'll lose nothing, some you'll lose a bunch. Keep at it and you'll see it's worth it!