Brandeis

It's exactly one month now since I had my surgery, and I've lost...22 pounds, which is pretty exciting! But I'm definitely still experiencing some hardcore fatigue. I feel fine in general, I'm just sleeping about nine to nine and a half hours a night, ugh! It has me stressing my Protein pretty hardcore, even though I'm pretty sure I'm doing fine with it. My brain just won't let me alone.

Are you getting enough protein? I was told that making sure to hit my protein goals would help a lot with preventing too much hair loss...

Mostly, my suggestion was to walk around -- I was still in the hospital for an extra night [my doctor does 2 nights] so I got up and walked the length of the hallway at least once every hour. The more you walk around, the more things move around inside you, the more the gas works its way out!

I had the exact same pain! A stabbing ache in the left side of my chest. It was totally gas, and once I started burping [and burping, and burping...] it went away. Did you get in all your water and protein from the start? I was released from the hospital yesterday and could only drink 17 ounces of water throughout the day. I don't want to get discouraged too early, but... well, aim discouraged. Surgery was Friday. Sent from my HTC Desire 626s using the BariatricPal App I also definitely didn't get in my water the day after my surgery -- not at ALL. But I managed it the day after that. So if you can't manage the first day, don't stress too much...

Are you taking zantac or something equivalent?

Ask for some ice chips! You can't drink, but if your mouth is dry they might give you some to suck on, to just wet your tongue.

I'm in almost the exact same boat! Pureed ends Tuesday, I've been stuck around 15-16 pounds since surgery, and 10 of that was lost the first week. Thank you so much for posting, it's so reassuring. T___T I've been thinking that once I get some real food in me my body will stop storing all the calories I AM taking in...

My doctor didn't tell me to start taking mine until after the 1 week check-up, aside from the liquid b12! I was still on fluids only for all that time, and so they didn't have me take anything chewable or any swallowed pills aside from my zantac.

I didn't have a pump, but if I was in a lot of pain -- which I was, at night -- and I went to them, they put a dose of morphine into my IV. Otherwise, it was just liquid tylenol.

Yep, I too lost 10 pounds the first week after surgery [liquid diet] but since I've been on purees [10 days] I've only lost 5 pounds. I think it's just the body figuring things out...or I hope, at least! 15 pounds in 3 weeks is nothing to turn your nose up at, it's just annoying that it's hit a wall for a bit. Maybe it'll all come off at once, though...!

Isopure makes a clear protein drink -- not milky -- and maybe this would help you? My NUT suggested it pre-surgery, but I haven't had any problems with the milky ones so I didn't give it a try...hopefully it's something that'll pass! Or maybe force yourself just a little bit at a time until you get used to it.

A lot of the replies in here confuse me because I'm about 2 weeks out and it's every other day, pretty much; I'm extremely regular, now...I don't eat much, and I don't "put out" much, but it definitely happens frequently! It probably depends on the specific person. Also, maybe, how active you are? Activity can help move it faster through your system, if you know what I mean. I definitely am more likely to ahem the day after I get my steps in!

I don't know what your nutritionalist said, but mine is ADAMANT about only eating 3 meals a day -- and not snacking throughout the day. The entire point of the sleeve is that it shrinks your stomach so you can only eat a little bit; if you're eating constantly throughout the day, you're basically undoing what it's done, because it doesn't limit your intake at all. I'd definitely suggest cutting back to 3 meals a day plus MAYBE one snack. That seems to be standard with everyone I've spoken to, and every meal plan I've seen anywhere... It'll also help with the Water, since you're not supposed to eat & drink at the same time. If you're always eating, how do you wait 30 min before/after eating?!

Literally the only things I used were chapstick & my cell phone [which also served as my kindle to read books]. I took so much crap with me, and didn't end up touching any of it but those two items. >_> No, wait -- a hairbrush, too. Your hair will be a disaster from sleeping in the hospital beds...!

Hmm. It's a lot like my diet, only some minor difs! I have full liquids for a week after heading home, followed by 2 weeks purees [so that sounds like your soft foods honestly, except i'm allowed to do cooked fish & boiled chicken too!] and then I'll move onto soft foods, which for me is anything but raw veggies and red meat, pretty much. Is there a support group in your area? I strongly suggest looking into it. There's one run by the bariatric program I went through, and it's very helpful about reasonable goals, and figuring out what's 'normal' and what's not...

Maybe it'd help if you talked a bit about what your diet plan is...? And also exercise! Exercise by itself isn't going to help you burn the calories, but it helps get your metabolism moving and that will push weight loss along for sure.

Just to be clear -- are you having Dumping Syndrome, or is it just nausea? There's a major difference, and when you call your doctor you should make sure you're using the right terminology! What you're describing [vomiting, nausea, etc] doesn't sound like dumping syndrome to me. It just sounds like your stomach is rebelling against the foods you're introducing. It doesn't change the advice above, though...! Small bites, don't try to eat anything too rich, maybe stick more to fluids if you're having trouble getting down anything pureed.

I barely ate or drank anything in the hospital until the 3rd day -- at which point I easily hit my liquid goals. I think it's fine to not worry too much about fluids the first day or two, since you're still on the saline drip!

Hi. That's almost the same. I'm always in Yonkers. Have you had surgery already? 11/14! Just got on solid foods a couple days ago. I'm already down 12 pounds, it's amazing.

I think a lot of the pain is from the incisions, but not from the cuts -- the problem is that the doctors stab you through the muscles of your stomach, and as a result you have a lot of muscle damage. The "internal" pain, imo, comes from this. It aches when you bend/twist, since it pulls at muscles that are still working on healing. For me, incision pain is the worst pain, in this regard. I can't sleep more than ~4 hours in a night without having to adjust position due to the ache. But it's not a stabbing pain, just a lingering, dull throb.

I'm in Yonkers; not NYC but not far away either...

If you do online dating, absolutely do not give in to the urge to talk to the person endlessly before actually meeting up for a date. It can be very tempting to chat via text or email or what have you for days or weeks before you ever see them face-to-face, and this can always be a huge let down. People are different, online, than they are IRL. And you'll never know if you have that chemistry until you're with them! Online dating can be a great way to find like minded people, but schedule the date as soon as you know the person isn't a creep/annoying!!

I think the big thing that could help you is pointing out statistics about the long term failure of weight loss without surgery -- which was a huge part of why I got surgery in the first place. In fact, keeping off weight after you've lost quite a bit is a near impossible task. Two people of the exact same height & weight; one has always been this BMI, and the other was once obese, and lost the weight. The person who ever was heavy has to consume much fewer calories in a day simply to MAINTAIN this weight. It's not simply as easy as 'diet and exercise'. For most of us, a change has been made to how we metabolize food, and how our body stores away calories in fat, leaving us heavy even when we're being careful.

I'm nearing the end of liquid stage and I definitely am having these dreams too. For me, they're anxiety dreams. It's always "oh shit, what did I do?" when I wake up. They're not happy; they're nightmares in which I mess up, eating turkey or brussels sprouts or something that causes me sickness when I swallow...