rosefromcali

I eat the same thing every day. (I am the kind of person that can do that, but I understand that everyone is not wired like that.) I eat 7 times per day, about 2 hours apart. I drink 32 oz of Water after Meal 1, another 32 oz after Meal 2, and 16 oz after Meal 3. I also have 16 oz of Powerade Zero after Meal 6, and 8 oz of water mixed with 8 oz of PowerAde Zero after Meal 7.
The meals look like this:
Meal 1: 1 scrambled egg with 2 oz grilled chicken breast
Meal 2: 4 oz cottage cheese with 1 T of sugar-free strawberry preserves
Meal 3: 1 string cheese, 5 ParmCrisps, and 2 oz grilled chicken breast
Meal 4: 3 oz salmon with 1 oz green Beans
Meal 5: 2 oz hamburger steak (90% lean) with 1 oz green beans
Meal 6: 3 oz grilled chicken breast with 1 oz green beans
Meal 7: 4 oz cottage cheese with 1 T of sugar-free strawberry preserves
I've been eating this way since I finished working through my food stages at about 2 months post-op. But, I kept my carbs below 20 grams even during the food stages. I stayed on liquids an extra week because I wouldn't eat the next stage's foods (ripe banana, cream of wheat, etc.), and I just avoided anything on my NUT's list that had carbs. It was tough, but it was the only way I knew that I could be successful.
I hope this helps.

What a rude response. You're only 4 weeks post-op yourself but purport to be an expert. Sad.

A long gulp of ice cold Water. That's what I miss the most. Yes I can sip water, which tastes nothing to me like it did before the surgery, but it's not the same. Feel like I can't quite get my thirst quenched. Anyone else miss this?

You made a permanent irreversible change, which likely included a fair bit of pain and struggle to make it through, and for which the rewards aren't always immediate or tangible.
How could you not have some regrets? @Ray august above is right on the money. It's human to regret big decisions. Hell, I booked tickets to Disney World this winter and have regrets about that!
Make a list of positive changes you have made and experienced, or journal about all the things you are looking forward to. It helps to really put effort into focusing on the good aspects of this decision sometimes.

I went on the same way, but I sure wasn't told to expect this. Apparently this is common for most people. You must be ones of the lucky ones. The thing about implement long term changes is that it takes time and you have to break old habits while creating new ones. That is not an easy thing to do. Congratulations on your achievement of never having to experience that liked the rest of us.

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They did give me some but my surgeon only gave me 5. I have my first post op tomorrow and I'm hoping he'll prescribe more. Liquids have been so hard to keep down, I'm dreading being re admitted for an IV.

I'm with you there. I was sleeved 5/4 and I had to stay 3 days in the hospital for constant vomiting. When I got home on day 4 and I was still throwing up I must have cried my eyes out for 10 minutes straight on the toilet I was puking in. A lot of people have said regret seeps in during the first week and I found myself telling myself I wanted to go back in time to not do it. But gas is finally starting to exit my body. Chest pains are still very horrible but I'm down 13 pounds already and that tells me this is worth it. This procedure is definitely mentally challenging but you have a great support system here. Everyone is always so good at reminding us that this will pass. Keep your head up, you're doing great!

You're ahead of me by a week but I've definitely had my buyers remorse days. Especially when I was told I had to stay an extra day in the hospital. As soon as I got home I was still vomiting and crying into my toilet. My husband has been very caring and telling me it'll be ok. I think for me it's the pain from gas, and the fact that Water makes me nauseous. It's getting better day by day and hoping once I start on full liquids, my attitude improves.

I'm with you there. I was sleeved 5/4 and I had to stay 3 days in the hospital for constant vomiting. When I got home on day 4 and I was still throwing up I must have cried my eyes out for 10 minutes straight on the toilet I was puking in. A lot of people have said regret seeps in during the first week and I found myself telling myself I wanted to go back in time to not do it. But gas is finally starting to exit my body. Chest pains are still very horrible but I'm down 13 pounds already and that tells me this is worth it. This procedure is definitely mentally challenging but you have a great support system here. Everyone is always so good at reminding us that this will pass. Keep your head up, you're doing great!

I'm with you there. I was sleeved 5/4 and I had to stay 3 days in the hospital for constant vomiting. When I got home on day 4 and I was still throwing up I must have cried my eyes out for 10 minutes straight on the toilet I was puking in. A lot of people have said regret seeps in during the first week and I found myself telling myself I wanted to go back in time to not do it. But gas is finally starting to exit my body. Chest pains are still very horrible but I'm down 13 pounds already and that tells me this is worth it. This procedure is definitely mentally challenging but you have a great support system here. Everyone is always so good at reminding us that this will pass. Keep your head up, you're doing great!

Hi I am 11 months out and I wasn't given a binder but about week 2 or 3 I started wearing compression garments and still do till this day. Makes clothes fit better and hides some of the loose skin around the abdomen.
I buy them at Ross, Marshall's or T.J Maxx..

I was on Clear Liquids for a week post-op, and then full liquids for another 2 weeks after that for a total of 3 weeks of liquids.
Yes, it is a tough time in the journey. By the end of the 3 weeks, I was over everything liquid. But all of you need to keep your eye on the prize. This is a short period in the grand scheme of things, and it is a time to really work on getting your head in the right place if you haven't already.
The time will pass and you will get to start adding other foods into your diet very shortly. food is supposed to be fuel anyway. If you stick to your plan and do what you are supposed to do, this journey can be life changing. But the sleeve won't do that for you by itself.

I went through this first few days, and I was reminded why I wanted my stomach reduced! I would literally gorge and eat whatever and feel sick afterwards, never going back to that. We had a pizza party yesterday at work and all my coworkers are eating this greasy huge slices of pizza & guess what? I didn't crave an ounce of it! This is a new chance for me & im so excited! 12dpo

A lot of people feel this way. Once you move away from the liquid portion of your food stages, it gets better. @Sleeved3 made a good point, though. Nothing about this journey is easy. NOTHING. It is hard, grueling work that requires patience, grit, and perseverance on a daily basis FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. And you haven't really even begun the real work yet. That comes later when it is much more about the choices you make than it is about the sleeve itself.
Hang in there. Focus on meeting your Protein and Water goals and work your plan. That is all you can do at this point if you want to be successful.

Post-Op regret is usually because you're in the phase where your surgery is all sacrifice with very little gain as you're still heavy.
Old bad habits are still wanting to be satisfied, you're on a restricted diet, it's tough.
This surgery is not a 1 week or a 1 month thing. It's a lifetime change. If you got it not knowing that, you're probably going to underperform in terms of your weight loss goals. If you can't manage some degree of food intake self control for the first few months while you're healing, you probably need emergency psychiatric intervention as this isn't something you can screw around with and not risk a potential blowout or tear.
When you go this done you signed up for a new life. Welcome to it.

Hey all, I was sleeved on Monday 3/27 and I'm starting to wonder if it was worth it. The gas pains are real, and I know they will soon go away but I can't seem to swallow my liquids without pain. Please tell me this will too pass quickly.

For the person that is pre-op right now wondering if this is really the right decision for you while you struggle with your insurance for coverage, I was you.
For the person that is recently post op and has a million and one questions, excitement mixed with regret and is scared to death to drink Bc of that weird, heavy and sometimes painful feeling, I was you.
For the person in the first 3 phases after the surgery struggling to get down their Protein, Water and Vitamins in.. or these vitamins, I was you.
To the person that is weighing themselves every day, twice a day and finds themselves stalled even though you are doing EVERYTHING right, I was you.
To the people on this journey that are learning more and more about themselves every day, finding the strength in will power and the empowerment of eating to live instead of living to eat, gaining back your confidence while on some days still struggling with poor self-consciousness, I am you.
This journey began for me 8 months ago, and what a journey thus far.. there has been struggling, feelings of defeat and many tears.. but I would do the VSG again in a heartbeat Bc I have my life back, I am no longer a prisoner in my body and I have grown so much as a person. People sometimes ask me if I have any regrets, the only "regret" that I have is that I didn't do this surgery sooner.
Wishing everyone on this journey (pre and post op) support, love, and light.
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Below is a pic I took the day of surgery August 24, 2016
Next to it is a pic that I took exactly 7 months post op on March 24, 2017
I'm down 68 pounds.

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What you are experiencing is just from swelling, drink slow and drink constantly
Also it is just a different feeling. I was trying to explain it to my friend the other day. When you have a normal size stomach, it goes off to the side and down, so things sit kind of to the lower left of your rib cage. With a sleeve, all of your stomach is just in the main part of your chest with your other organs, so you feel it more, because it is right by everything else. so if I am greedy and over eat, or my sleeve is just feeling tight that day it feels like a baby elephant is standing on my chest.

One of the funniest things about this surgery for me was getting applauded by the nursing staff every time I burped or past gas. As I was walking around the ward and they would hear my burp or fart they yell "good one" "keep it going" kind of made me laugh - and honestly, next to your liquids its the most important thing you can do - it gets the gas out of your system that is pumped in from the laparoscopic surgery, and helps disseminate the referred pain. The gas puts pressure on your diaphragm, and that is where your venus nerve is, the pressure on the venus nerve cause extreme pain in your left shoulder. They call this diaphragmatic (sp) refered pain I was in agony for weeks after my band in 2005 - had very little pain this time around by still some - still had to burp and pass gas - so my advice to everyone is stand back, walk, burp, fart and enjoy it...

I had my surgery on 5/3 and was never more miserable post op in my life. My procedure was much longer because my stomach had attached itself to my liver and they had to separate them. This was from a badly botched gallbladder removal surgery 3 years ago. I have 6 laparoscopic incisions which look a mess. Because the surgery took longer more air was introduced i to my abdomen. I looked like a balloon ready to pop! I am just now getting over the nausea and vomiting. When they gave me that horrible dye for my upper GI scan I thought I'd lose it right there. I managed to get thru it and barely made it back to my room before throwing up. I'll telling y'all this because misery loves company and I think many of us newbs are dealing with these same horrible conditions. On too of everything else I've only lost a pound! I go to counseling for emotional eating issues and it helps a lot. I'm taking everything one day at a time and hoping for the best. Hang in there guys I've heard from everyone that the first weeks are the toughest.

I wish I had known the recovery would be harder than I thought. I had the misconception that a laparoscopic surgery would be easy and I'd be back to my normal self within a few days. Had my gall bladder out 12 years ago and I recovered quickly so didn't think this would be much different. Little did I know!! 3 weeks post op and I'm still not my self, still experiencing pain, and still exhausted like whoa!

Thank you so much. What an insightful reply. I have had control issues with my hubby for a while and the monster had reared its head so much more since surgery. I think he like fatter me because that made him feel secure because he would tell me how great I looked when I knew I didn't look great. But now I can count on my fingers how many times he has really complimented my body. When I lost like 15 lbs he was on me like white on rice but now I have gotten way smaller and he never compliments me about how my body looks at all... only when I'm going to church he tells me I look pretty and that's because my makeup is on and hair fixed cute. But nothing about how my body looks.
I am just really facing the reality of maybe my marriage is gonna end because he is too stubborn for counseling and tells me he doesn't need it but I do cuz I'm too sensitive about everything so I'm crazy.
I pray for my marriage daily and I know God wants us to be happy and have peace in our hearts as well as our home. He grants us peace. I'm just pondering on how long do I continue to be unhappy. Not yo mention I just caught him talking to a girl on Facebook that was very thick . He says he was mad at an argument but im like so you give your number out to a girl to chat with over our argument, which wasn't even a bad argument. So I'm looking like a dummy yet again. But I pray for strength and for God to lead my next steps because I'm almost positive I will be single before this year is done.sad but true.

You look great I'm starting to get some of the same mess if they love us they will adapt and keep it moving ... if not well... We should have known a long time ago ...keep up the awesome work

progress starts in the mind

First off, you look great. You should be proud and so should your husband.
One of the things I've read about WLS is that it puts a lot of strain on marriages and relationships.
The divorce and breakup rates of folks who have one of the partners go through a WLS is higher and pretty significant. There are different reasons for this. But it differs between couples. From what I've read, it's usually about acceptance and a denial of the other person "changing". People don't like change, especially when their the ones who have to accept it.
At first glance, I highly suggest getting some marital counseling before you go down that path of not coming back. It could just be that your husband is having a hard time seeing you the way you've changed and is feeling a bit intimated. But counseling is something I recommend based on his words to you. Words mean something.

Personally, I believe if you've got a healthy and strong relationship, WLS should be no different than getting any other surgery that someone has gone through. I think where people run into trouble is that if their relationship isn't healthy, this surgery can really bring out the ugliness quickly because your changing so fast.
I also think there's a dimension to this surgery that doesn't get discussed enough.
I've said many times here (on my different posts) that I think that WLS is different for males and females, dramatically so -- I've read a lot of posts, the differences of experiences and the emotional aspects of getting WLS is so incredibly different between men and women, especially ones that are in relationships -- there probably should be a major forum topic for this particular issue.
With that, I think your husband is being really unfair.
He got on your case about eating unhealthy prior, then tells you that you aren't the one that has to be happy with your looks, he's the only one that does? Yeah... that's not supportive. Anybody who knows anything about being in a relationship knows that you have to love yourself before you can truly (note: the word "truly", it's important) love someone else. Having self-esteem, self-worth and confidence in who you are as a person is the ONLY way that you can respect your mate and treat them the way YOU want to be treated.
I think there's some level of "buyers remorse" with the partner when it comes to this surgery. As their partner gets more and more healthy, often times it's hard for them to accept the new person and the new confidence. Men in particular (and I've seen this first hand with a friend of mine) can be hard on their partner for improving their looks or the overall appearance. The reasons for this vary, but often times it has to do more with them than it does with you.
I recommend having a long hard conversation with him to ensure he's supportive and if he's unwilling to do that, you might need the next step, which is counseling. Which if he can't fix the situation through that support system, you might be looking at irreconcilable differences.

Buy a blender and do it yourself, I've got 10 days of puree left then I'm on solids and can't wait.

I honestly buy weight watchers meals and then blitz them, one meal makes about 4 servings.

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