OzRoo

It really is for life.
I recommend keeping one "before" item so you have something tangible to show as a reminder of where you came from and get rid of the rest.

you could also try calling the nursing floor of the hospital where you were.....they will probably be able to tell you what you can take OTC....just a thought.

I'm 7 days post op and only just went to bathroom. It's normal, especially if you took magnesium citrate prior to surgery. There's just not a lot of solids in your system.
I have been taking stool softners and Miralax just to make sure I'm not getting constipated but they didn't make it happen.
One thing you can pay attention to is gas. The gas pains are from the gas they used during surgery. As you pass them, you feel better but they are mostly odorless. They are your body passing that gas. When your bowels wake up, the gas will change into the typical fart smell. It's just a normal part of getting your digestion working again. At five days, you don't need to panic but hopefully the MOM will help get things moving.

Ok it's super super annoying that I can't get ahold of anyone at ththe surgeons office. No one gave me any instructions on my immediate post op BM instructions
I haven't had a BM for 6 days. I don't feel constipated but I do know that it's not good.
Anyone know what I can take that is safe?
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I thought I would give those who asked an update. Since Monday after I spoke with the NUT I have been getting in 61 to 87 grams of Protein. I weighed in as I am on a weigh in forum on MFP and today was the day to weigh in. I finally broke this 4 week stall and have lost 8 pounds. I have now lost 32 pounds since surgery and 70 pounds since I started the 6 month surgery supervised diet and a total of 215 from my highest weight. I have 32 more pounds before I can see the orthopedic surgeon to possibly have my back and hip surgery so I can walk again. I am getting so close I hope it will just be a few more months before I can go to his office and say ok I am 250 now please do my surgery.

i was told by my docs office that if the swelling of your actual sleeve goes down fast, which they think mine did, can make liquids and soft food go thru fast. some patients that have longer sleeve swelling can bearly get Water down. but everyone heals at their own speed. and my sugar craving is gone like your chocolate craving. i think its cause we went thru "detox" before and after surgery and got all that out of our system so the cravings go way down. plus the hormones produced by the missing stomach that cause cravings are gone. keep hanging in there!

@@Lacey09
Thank you
It gives me hope. I will wait till the real food stage, and see what happens. Frankly I am now sick of pureed and soft food.< /p>
My post op abdominal swelling is still quite pronounced.
I'll "just keep swimming" like Dory in Finding Nemo
On the good side, my chocolate cravings disappeared since my op! No longer do Dory's "Ooooh, look, Chocolate!"

@@Lacey09
Thank you
It gives me hope. I will wait till the real food stage, and see what happens. Frankly I am now sick of pureed and soft food.< /p>
My post op abdominal swelling is still quite pronounced.
I'll "just keep swimming" like Dory in Finding Nemo
On the good side, my chocolate cravings disappeared since my op! No longer do Dory's "Ooooh, look, Chocolate!"

I'm only 10 days post op and I'm hungry too. I've had smushies already with no problems even though I'm supposed to be on liquids only. I feel bad that I'm not following guidelines but I need food. I'm counting the calories and logging them but expected it to be more difficult to eat. What's wrong with me?

@@autymn You should be okay with regular Calcium pills in a couple of days if you aren't right now. That leave of swelling doesn't last much past a week or two. Some people cut their calcium pills in half to make them a little more manageable.

Well, I had my surgery in 3/23. On my good days, it's pretty much what @ mentioned. I do have bad days where everything seems to go to hell and I question everything. Too late for that now. Lol. I had my first follow up today and the surgeon said it was all normal from the chest pains, hiccups, one minute loving a particular food, then having the smell make me nauseas the next. Out of everything he said to me, the thing that really helped to ease my mind/fears is that as long as I'm trying to get in my Water and Protein, I'm still moving in the right direction and everything else will fall into place.

I'm less than a week out from surgery. I am not sure if I know what hungry feels like either. Frankly, I wasn't too sure before the surgery either. I still have "head hunger" where I feel I should be eating but it's greatly reduced since the surgery. I'm on full liquids now. I did have a slip where I had a thicker cauliflower-Protein puree rather than making a thinner cauliflower-protein Soup. I found out really fast what full is like. In three teaspoons, I was done and understood what other posters mean when they talk about "restriction". Clear Liquids and thin full drinks, I can handle with no problem.
I do chewable and liquid Vitamins. I tried one regular-size pill capsule and it was horrible. I couldn't choke it back up but I could feel it sitting there in my stomach. If I have to take a capsule or hard pill again anytime soon, I'm definitely opening the capsule or grinding the pill.
You should ask your doctor about the Levsin and the chest pain. I was told to call if I had any chest pain post-op.

This all sounds normal to me. Your stomach and esophagus are very swollen in the beginning and you are healing so there are going to be a lot of weird sensations and noises. Remember that when they cut out 80% of your stomach, they also damages all the nerves in there, so things you are "feeling" will be all mixed up. What you have to do is trust in your program. Sip, sip, sip. Get your Water and Protein in. Move through the food stages as outlined. Eat on a timer and measure your food. Do NOT rely on signals from your stomach to tell you when or how much to eat. It will take a while for everything to heal up in there and then you will have to learn all the new signals your stomach will be sending. But for right now, eat on a schedule and measure what you are eating/drinking to make sure you get enough, but not too much.

I'm 22 months out and I'll tell you what my reset is. I can easily go back to full liquids for 3 to 5 days with no issues. Kind of like the pouch test but I don't count everything. I just have my shakes all day long. When I'm ready to bring back in solids, I start with my lean meats, mostly chicken and fish. And then my vegetables.
It breaks my snacking. It resets my restriction. It gets me back on track to basics of healthy choices. Then I add things back in slowly.
Mostly I just have a Protein shake every day. I think that has always helped me.
And the funniest is I bring my Vitamins with me in my purse and have them throughout the day. They are like gummies and they do taste ok. Every little thing helps.
You need to think back to the things you did absolutely faithfully while you were losing during the first year and pick that up again. So if you've stopped tracking then start. If you were using almonds as a go to snack and you've stopped, then start again. If you swear you can never eat another yogurt because you've eaten so much, go back.
Sometimes we forget what worked because the first year was hell to go through but worth it.
Best of luck to you.

My NUT gave me a list of good Protein drinks. Be careful of the sugar content in some. Here's a few recommendations...MetRx Original Meal Replacement
Bariatric fusion Meal Replacement (gave me a sample but haven't tried it yet)
Nitro-Peak 50x
Isopure
Look for "Isolate" supplements. Avoid Casein Protein and collagen Protein.
Sent from my XT1254 using the BariatricPal App

I use Isopure low carb chocolate. I would recommend that you don't buy a lot before surgery since your tastebuds will (most likely) change a bit. I bought a lot, and I have two huge containers of different brands because they just didn't sit well or taste right after surgery.

i am six weeks out and before i was allowed real food i definitely had hunger!! i was told that if your swelling goes down fast the liquids and soft foods go through fast. Just hang in there. the real food, 3 oz of Protein like chicken takes a long time to eat and keeps you full for a while. you are not alone!

Glad you were able to find a good NUT. Your surgeon's 40 grams of protein guidelines were ludicrous.

Yes these stalls are very frustrating. But what makes it worse is when you have incorrect information. When I called to verify I was doing the correct things he said I was and if I am frustrated to see my psych again. My surgeon doesn't have a NUT so I was going by what he told me to do. I lost 13 pounds the first week and had a stall 10 days out that lasted almost until the end of the month when I finally dropped another 9 pounds. The second month I lost only 5 pounds and have been in a stall for over 3 weeks. I finally called a Bariatric Dietitian in my county and paid out of pocket for 2 hours of her time. She immediately upped my Protein from what the Dr had said 41 grams to 80 to 100 grams. The Dr had told me to stop drinking Protein and the NUT said to keep drinking protein. The Dr gave me no idea of what I should be eating and the NUT looked over my previous month's food meals I had tracked and told me what foods I was eating to take out of my meals as they were loaded with salt. She said within the next 2 weeks I should see a drastic change in my weight loss. I haven't weighed since I have made these changes. I do have my 3 month followup on April 20th so we shall see what results I get this month and it better be more than 5 pounds.
Best advise I can give is if you haven't been tracking what you eat start doing so. Also see a NUT.

For me it is very dangerous territory to set a timeline on the number of pounds lost. That can lead to some really destructive and counterproductive behavior.
Are you tracking your food?
Are you getting in all of your Protein and fluids? What is your protein target?
Are you avoiding starches, added sugars, and fried foods?
Are you taking your Vitamins and supplements as directed?
Are you exercising?
It sounds to me like you are doing fine, especially if you have noticed that you are losing inches.
Please resist the urge to restrict your protein, it won't help you lose the weight your surgeon expects and will slow things down even more.
Embrace the Stall!
http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

Ok, so, I'm 6 weeks today. I was prepared for the dreaded 3 week stall, so when I didn't lose week in week 3, I was ok. then it went on...and on... Now, 6 weeks out and I've only lost weight in the first 2 weeks post op. I lost 16 pounds in those two weeks, but COME ON! My clothes are looser, however what's going on? I know our bodies freak out because we're in starvation mode, but it's got to let go of some of this sooner or later! I'm following all the rules: Water, Protein, eat slowly, Protein first, low carbs etc. Also, I walk every day. Has anyone gone through this and any good suggestions? Thanks!

Hello everyone! I am MonkVSG, and I am currently 10 days post-op. I want to introduce myself, and share my journey so far...
I am a 44-year-old educator, mom of 5, and military spouse. I have been overweight my entire life, have been over 200 pounds for about 9 years now, but only after the birth of my 5th child (now 4 years old) did my weight spiral into the “out of control” range. I had tried Weight Watchers, MediFast, and counting calories, working with a nutritionist in a military hospital, all of which worked for a time before I would gain the lost weight back plus more.
I began researching VSG last summer, but it was only at Christmastime that I decided I would actually pursue it. I made sure I was completely up to date with all of my physicals, yearly tests, evaluations, etc. during the months of January and February. I did anything, in advance, that I knew (through research) I would be required to do for insurance approval (Tricare Standard). By mid February, I asked my PCM to suggest a Bariatric Surgeon, and she named Dr. Thomas Clark who had performed approx. 5,000 weight loss surgeries and over 1,000 sleeves. I saw Dr. Clark for the first time on March 8th and had my surgery on March 28th! It was a whirlwind! I had only 12 days of pre-op dieting, in which I lost 12 pounds.
My surgery went well, according to the surgeon, but I had a very bad reaction to the anesthesia. I just remember the nurses telling me how hard it was to wake me up. And then the nausea and vomiting began. I vomited nonstop (obviously with nothing in my newly stapled stomach) for over 48 hours. It was miserable. I couldn’t keep anything down – to include pain medicine, anti-nausea medicine, etc. So for over 48 hours I was in excruciating pain with no way of relief.
After the vomiting subsided, I began to feel better. My body was so depleted, though, that I couldn’t even walk without my legs cramping up with every step. It took 3 days to be able to walk without cramping, and at least 3 days after that to begin to feel like myself.

As of today, I am doing very well. I am getting liquids down easily (on liquid diet) provided they are a thin, water-like consistency. I am still not good with Protein shakes. They seem to get “caught” and I don’t feel good after drinking 3 -4 ounces. I am supposed to see Dr. Clark next Tuesday to progress to purees – I am hoping to get better with Protein Shakes before then!
So, that’s my journey! I’d love to get to know other sleevers, as I do not know anyone in real life who has had weight loss surgery, and I know that being part of a support network will really help. Please say Hi, and let me know a bit about you! I will be happy to answer any questions you have, and I am happy to be able to lend my support to all of you as well.
Excited to be on this journey!

Welcome to ,"The Losers' Bench", new friend.
You are certainly warmly welcomed here. We are a conglomerate of sexes, ages, personalities, races and religions. The one thing we do have in common is WLS--either post op or pre op.
Everyone that I know of tries to be supportive to the best of their ability. Sometimes we get a wee bit off tract and get "wacky", but always in a "lov'n" sort of way. We try to remind each other when we see some one edging off track.
We share our bitches and our brags and that's a good thing. Sometime we all just need to bitch--knowing that there isn't really anything that any one can do about whatever has made us "cranky", but that too is OK. --and isn't it good to have friends who share and appreciate our "victories" along our journey's path?
Feel free to ask ANY questions you may have,(hell, it doesn't even have to have anything to do with WLS--though it's probably should be ). Even if we individually don't know the answer, we as a whole will find one for you.
Again, Welcome!

I had my psych eval, dietitian appointment, and surgery coordinator meeting yesterday.......all that is left is my bariatric education class that is scheduled on the 25th......Once that's complete they will submit to my insurance!!!! I also got great news yesterday when the surgery coordinator gave me an estimate of my out of pocket costs.....looks like after insurance pays their part I'll be left with $345.00....I'm thrilled and excited and can't wait to get a surgery date!!!

Revised on 3/1/2016. Still on soft foods, but I feel less hungry as I get closer to regular consistency foods and do seem to do better with increased Protein.
I was wondering if it is only revisers who feel hungry like this?