PorkChopExpress

Congratulations! My surgeon advanced me to mushy after just under two weeks, and that was such a relief. I was so tired of the liquid diet

Mine took longer because I went in for RNY but they converted me to the sleeve, due to some complications from a prior surgery and scar tissue. I think my total time was in the neighborhood of 1 1/2 hours.

This is what scares me silly about the idea of having skin removal surgery. I don't want to be deformed.

DEFINITELY makes me full. I'm supposed to have 1 Protein (1oz), 1 Tbsp of vegetable and 1 Tbsp of fruit at a meal. But the thing is, those meatballs weigh 1.3oz each basically, so I end up having to not eat my fruit, because I get full just on the meatball and a Tbsp of potato...but that's okay! I get my fruit when I have chili and four cut green Beans from a can...that leaves me room for fruit. Or I'll have fruit with my egg. But right now I'm on a real meatball and potato kick, I love that combo. I'm the kind of guy who can eat the same thing over and over again if I like it, I don't need a ton of variety. Also, I bought a tub of the pre-made mashed potatoes in the deli section and then later realized that if I only eat it a Tbsp at a time, I'm gonna end up throwing most of it out before it goes bad. So I'm trying to use as much of that as I can. I'll still probably only get halfway through it, and next time I'm going to buy a box of the powdered potatoes, and then just make it as I go. Cheaper that way. Just one of those things where I was still in the old mindset of portions and didn't even think that it would be WAY too much potato for me to get through in a week or so. We'll see how far I get on it But yeah, liquids go down pretty quick and they pass through the stomach into the intestine pretty quick, but even chewing up my food to puree consistency, it stays in the stomach longer. They said to wait 45 minutes after eating to drink again, and when I do that I still feel like I've got food in there and can't drink that much at a time. I think it helps "grease the wheels" to help the food go into the intestine though, because after 10 minutes or so I am drinking fine. So far, so good. But after almost four weeks of nothing but liquids, I REALLY appreciate having something with flavor I enjoy and texture, and the need to chew! And I have to say, it is bewildering but also kind of awesome that I hardly need anything to feel full. My food expenses have been annihilated by this surgery

Yeah, just give it time. I'm just over two weeks post-op and I've reached equilibrium now, mentally. It was a huge help, being able to start having "mushy" foods. The doctor gave me a list of stuff and meatballs and mashed potatoes was on it. I was ALL over that! I got some of these little turkey meatballs frozen at Trader Joe's which work out to just about 1oz each, and have a Tbsp of garlic mashed potatoes with that. That's a meal, and I can't have any more than that. It's INSANE, because just a few weeks ago I could have eaten that whole bag of meatballs and the half that tub of mashed potatoes in one sitting, and been fine! Reprogramming my brain to have a different expectation of how much is a "portion" and what I should be eating is the challenge, now.

I took them fairly regularly the first week, just because I really wanted to get walking and moving, but I knew that would result in soreness...so I'd just head it off at the pass with the Tylenol+Codeine I was prescribed. It worked really well and I was able to get up to about 2 miles a day in walking, about a week after surgery. At the end of the week, I stopped taking it and haven't really needed it again. I have a bunch extra, guess I'll keep it around for nighttime headaches or something!

My gallbladder ordeal was such a nightmare compared to the sleeve, it isn't even funny. The sleeve was a cakewalk, by comparison. I felt sick after the gall bladder surgery, and although I was diligent and walked as I was supposed to, I just couldn't seem to shake the full abdomen feeling. I had no appetite. Finally toward the third day in the hospital, I felt like I could try a sandwich. I ate it, then went to sleep. Woke up the next day and since I had successfully eaten, they were prepared to discharge me. I got ready, sat on the edge of my bed and suddenly the saliva started flowing like crazy, and I felt sick. I projectile vomited all over the room, twice...completely emptied myself. Turns out I'd developed pancreatitis...something they told me only happens for like .5% of patients. Lucky me. So this necessitated two more days in the hospital on IV fluids only, and I couldn't even drink anything...I had to be completely empty so the pancreas could heal. After I was discharged from the hospital, the bloated and full feeling in my abdomen didn't get better, no matter how much I walked or moved. I thought it was stubborn gas, but after a week I had to finally go to the emergency room, because my doctor said there was no way that should be the case. They had me do a CAT scan which revealed that about a liter of bile had emptied into my abdominal cavity. Apparently, the bile duct that was cut from the gall bladder wasn't tied off securely or something, and since it was able to provide a place for the bile to go, the sphincter muscle that would normally work off of pressure from the ducts was no longer opening to allow bile to leave...it was simply dumping into my upper abdomen, as it was produced. I had to have two drains placed while I was in the CAT scan (my only anasthesia was Morphine, and if you know anything about this drug, you know that it doesn't kill pain so much as make you not care about it...so I felt the whole procedure, I was just too loopy to care). I then had to go in and have a stent placed in the sphincter muscle so that it would keep the entry to the intestine open, so the bile would drain where it was supposed to and my bile duct could heal properly. After about a week, the drains weren't producing anything else and I was able to have them removed, then go in and have the stent removed. Finally, at long last, the ordeal was at an end. I'm two weeks post-op on my sleeve and I feel almost normal, with the exception of not being able to eat much, and with just a tiny touch of soreness in the abdomen when I exercise, but nothing big. So to me, this surgery was completely easy and I didn't have anything I'd really consider "pain" associated with it...but you gotta consider my history. I think even my umbilical hernia repair was harder than this one. The difference is, the sleeve is way more psychologically demanding.

If you had less to lose to begin with, you're going to slow down faster than most people, too. But do you know what your TDEE is? (Total daily energy expended.) You can estimate it online with a calculator, just google "TDEE calculator." That will tell you how many calories your body requires just to maintain your current weight. Then you figure out how many calories you're consuming every day. Get the calorie counts of what you eat, by weight. Add all of that, along with the calories in the shakes. Anything you put in your stomach. Then you subtract all of your calories in from your TDEE. That will tell you what your caloric deficit is. After you know that, then consider that a pound of fat is 3,500 calories. Knowing that, divide it by your daily caloric deficit. For instance, if your daily caloric deficit is 1,000 calories, then the result is 3.5 - that's how many days it will theoretically take for you to burn one pound of fat. Then check your scale and see if that's jiving, over a series of weeks. I'd suggest four weeks to get a good sample, because the body loses fat on its own schedule, not Mon-Sun. But with that math, you can see that the less of a caloric deficit you run, the less you're going to lose per day...and the less you need to lose, the lower your deficit will be. An excellent way to increase your fat burning ability is by building muscle. Weight training! Muscle mass is what burns calories and increases your TDEE. Cardio is decent, but weight training is super efficient. And of course what others have said - water! Very important.

Not a lot. He'll evaluate your medical conditions and history, basically just an opportunity for him to quickly determine whether you're a good candidate for surgery. Every surgeon wants their practice to have good successes and good numbers. He'll send you for evaluations as needed, depending on what he feels is necessary. Sometimes they do want you to go on a supervised diet to ensure you can follow the rules and be disciplined, depending on your starting weight. You'll probably do a cardiology clearance (they test your heart rate under stress) to make sure you have no heart issues, they'll have you do a psychological evaluation...there are several routine things which may or may not happen because some of it is insurance requirements. I suspect if it's a decent practice, they'll have a nutritionist that you will meet with to discuss the whole process. But if your insurance isn't going to require anything (make double sure) then I'll bet you could be in surgery within a couple months. Nothing to be nervous about right now, just go in and ask your questions!

My wife's in the same boat you are. She has had to wait to get hers until the summer (she's a teacher) and she has a break with enough time for recovery...she's very jealous of me. But she gained enough to meet the 40 BMI requirement and she's been maintaining at that weight so that when she weighs in at the doctor's office, she has a history of being at 40 BMI. It sucks to have to do, but in this case you have to game the system to get what you need. Insurance companies are the worst.

Also, the reason the doctor wouldn't give meds for gas is, the gas isn't in your digestive tract or stomach...it's in your abdominal cavity. So meds won't do anything for it. The surgical CO2 passes through into your organs via osmosis, and that's how it escapes...but if you don't move, the gas will just sit there like a giant bubble in your abdomen. That's why walking and moving is so important.

Great job...this is the component that a lot of people miss. You can't just have the surgery and not change, yourself. It's all got to come from within. Changing all of those bad habits and that old, unhealthy mindset. I'm committed to this now, getting to the gym every day since I was 1 week post-op and working to make some real serious changes, and create a "new normal" for myself. I'm using this surgery as a reset button. That looks like exactly what you did, and the proof is in the result! Congratulations on your success, you've worked hard for it and deserve it

Not thinking about my weight and size.

I'm not sure how you'd define "too much" because I'm only able to eat 1/4 cup before I feel full. I can't define 1/4 cup as too much, no matter how you slice it

This one, you did for you...and it's your journey. Embrace it...even the ups and downs. This is something that you're doing totally for yourself, so keep your chin up and your eyes on the prize. I am two weeks post-op now...I went through the emotional swings, mourning food, and now I'm finally starting to get used to the new normal. It'll come, just give it time and go through your process, and really do some soul-searching about what you're thinking, and what you've done, and how you're going to attack this in the months to come. Your life has just changed, massively...but for the better. Now, just follow the rules, discipline yourself to stick with your program, and think about what you're going to be able to do and how you're going to feel, six months and a year or two from now. You're on your way. Nobody can take this from you.

You are mistaking the grumbling happening in your stomach for hunger. That's not what's going on. If you feel any pain/ache in there, it's because you just had 80% of your stomach cut away and it's still healing, while you put stuff in it But the gurgling is some combination of gas, acid and just your stomach "complaining" about its situation, more or less. But when you combine that with the "mourning" process of letting go of eating the way you used to, it can definitely be mistaken for hunger...but it's not. Give it a couple weeks and you'll get used to it, and your stomach will calm down a bit.

It's a great decision. Make sure you have them show you proper form, even if you're just doing machines. The thing with weights is, you need to be very focused on increasing the weight you can lift...so you'll want to look online for some programs that will have gradually incrementing your weight every session. If your gym has free weights, and I STRONGLY suggest you do free weights (you get more complete range of motion and recruit more muscle in other areas with free weights) and do a beginner program like Stronglifts 5x5. If you search that online, you'll see that Medhi (the guy who runs it) posts instructional videos that show you exactly how your form needs to be on each lift. There's also an iPhone/Android companion app that will help you track progress. You'll get really, really good results with Stronglifts...and as you get more knowledgeable, you'll be able to move into other programs to lift heavier and get even better gains. The other good program I recommend is Starting Strength, but it requires you to learn an powerlift called the power clean, which is a little more advanced than a beginner should really attempt. Before long, you're going to see that the weight training causes pretty massive changes in your body composition and shape, as well as burning calories like crazy. A lot of serious weight trainers almost never hit the treadmill except to warm up...the calorie burn all comes from the muscle. Plus, I just think it's fun to hit new milestones of weight that I can lift

It's a grueling diet, but stay disciplined...there's a time limit on it. In a couple weeks, you won't feel hunger anymore and you'll be just fine! Just remember that now is the time where you start re-training your brain. It's going to take time.

Make sure you're walking! Do laps around the ward, increasing in number if you can...or frequency, if you can't. That walking is the ONLY THING that will get the gas to work its way out of your body. Otherwise, it's just going to sit there, causing you pain. If you sit in your bed the whole time, it won't leave. So walk walk walk! As for Fluid intake, do the best you can. You're probably still on IV fluids, which helps with hydration. I wasn't able to do anywhere near what they said I "should" be able to do, with fluid intake, while I was in the hospital...I had to work up to it, by sipping at home. It took a couple days, but eventually I was getting 90g Protein from shakes and 64oz of Water. But my biggest recommendation is to walk. It may only result in belching right now, but in a few days you're going to be ripping enormous farts and feeling a LOT better.

I was just where you are and let me just tell you that it will pass...you're just going through the mourning period. As long as you're aware of this, and you know WHY your brain is doing this, you can come to terms with it. Just realize that you WILL be able to eat things again, eventually...and your focus will then start to be on the quality of the food, not the quantity. It's funny because my brain looks at small portions and says, "That's laughable!" And then I'm full on 1/4 cup of food and feel this giant disconnect between my expectations of how much will satisfy me, and how much actually does. It just goes to show you how psychologically trained we've all become, our expectations are set and our idea of what is "enough" is REALLY skewed.

I went through over a year of education and various hoops, and then just waiting for a window of opportunity to get the thing scheduled, and a TON of issues with the California insurance exchange screwing up my Blue Shield policy, over and over again. By the time I was on the pre-op diet and all signs were go, I was just totally ready to have it over with. I'm two weeks post-op now and feeling good, and just so glad to have the entire thing behind me, with the journey of weight loss ahead of me. Persevere, you are almost there and the next month is going to pass quickly, with all the pre-op appointments and various things they make you do.