B.Annie

I never knew if I should believe it or not but 1/2 cup of "full liquids" is too much! This is only my second lunch being on full liquids- after surgery I was on clear liquids for the first week. I got myself a 1/4 cup of fat-free cottage cheese and 1/4 cup of tomato soup. I was eating slowly and at one point looked down at my bowl and for the first time in my life thought I had too much food left! Then I noticed I was very full (tight feeling in chest) when I was only half way done. I'm still getting used to the practice of leaving food on my plate because it feels wrong but I'm so glad that this tool is helping me literally not be able to finish. I was never sure if I should believe that or not either lol.

I have been on anti depressants / anti anxiety pills since I was 15 and diagnosed with chronic depression/anxiety. I was off pills for a few years and then had such bad post partum after my third son, I was put on 100mg of Zoloft. It was the best anti anxiety med I've ever been on, didn't cause weight gain (because I was overweight to begin with and every doctor will tell you the "weight gain" happens with people who have weight to gain and it's usually only 5-10 pounds). I am now taking it post surgery and since I'm only a week out, my hormones are all messed up and making me very cranky. If I weren't in the Zoloft I believe I might have had a break down yesterday. (It was a bad day). Talk to your PCP. If they're any good, they'll start you on a small dose and monitor you. Natural pills never have worked for me in this area simply due to the severity of my anxiety Lastly, take this as concern only, if your anxiety is triggered by a plateau and weight, I would believe counseling or psychology would be the best first step. Then reassess during that process to see if pills are a good idea. I went to a few years of counseling before I was put on pills at 15. I went to a few more years of counseling while off pills in my late 20s. The only reason why I went back on was due to major hormonal shifts from pregnancy. I plan to get off of them again as soon as my hormones finish adjusting from weight loss. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

HW means my high weight (the weight I was when I made a decision for surgery) HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

Roasted red bell pepper and tomato. Got it from Trader Joe's. it's very good with cottage cheese. Reminiscent of grilled cheese and tomato soup. [emoji5] HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

The only information on the bottom that leads anywhere is the website www.jarretindustries.com Unfortunately I got it as a set of 10 (all different colors) at the local thrift store. Sorry I can't point you in a more productive direction. lol. But they are absolutely perfect for portions! HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

My first meal since the week before surgery!!! It is glorious. The roasted bell pepper and tomato soup tastes overly sweet and the cottage cheese overly salty, but when you eat them together, it's magic. Finally something that doesn't make me gag. [emoji847] HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

I followed my dr recommended diet of 1000-1200 calories, very low carb (including natural carbs), very low sugar (even natural) and high lean proteins. Example would be Breakfast: 1 egg omelette with half bell pepper, half tomato, half avocado, and cilantro Lunch: chicken breast and salad with chopped veggies no dressing (or tbs max) Dinner: 4-6 ounces of protein and steamed or grilled veggies. Snack: almonds No root veggies and if I needed a snack, I could have some nuts and a half of a citrus fruit or berries. Looking at the macros each day with food like that, my protein, carb and fat grams would almost always equal each other. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

One week post op and I'm never hungry so I don't miss food in that sense. My brain misses the idea of food. I had a mini rant yesterday when I tried sf pudding (an old favorite pre surgery) and I couldn't go past the first taste. Every single thing I've tried so far tastes different in a bad way. I taste the chemicals in food now. There is not a single thing I've wanted to go back and have more of - so far I've tried sf jello/pudding/tapioca/popsicles, all kinds of broth and protein powders, tea, a finger swipe of ice cream, an inch of a ramen noodle, a bite and spit of a banana muffin (these last ones I was starting to get mad at food and just tasting things my family had to see if it was all gross... it was), and a sip of juice. I am both scared and excited for "real food" (fresh not liquid or processed). I hope it's not as disgusting as everything else so far. What's hard is that, apart from my husbands beer (I only smelled), all of these things SMELL normal and good. Nothing else in the world smells good anymore. Lol HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

A little over a week ago I was speaking to my father on the phone. He was sharing with me the details of his brother who was living in the hospital again due to his health issues. My surgery was scheduled, but I felt guilt because I didn't think I had a valid enough reason for it. Then my father said something I will never forget. He described my uncle as a sad blob who didn't have a tooth in his head. A burden on his family because he couldn't care for himself. When I realized that being fat not only turned my uncle helpless but categorized as a burden, I immediately knew I was doing the right thing. I don't want to be a stereotype/burden/blob/etc to my family. Last night my uncle died. It feels odd. He was only 65 and never really lived. He was the final straw for me proceeding with this surgery and now that he's gone, I feel like his last moment unknowingly saved my life. I just want to say, to those fearful or unsure if this is right, how could it be wrong if it could be the saving grace in your life? HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

Thought of this as I read the past few responses. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

I'm not that far out yet, but my entire experience has been a success. Starting just at the week of surgery, I lost 9 pounds on the clear liquid diet and my date was bumped up from the 26th to the 24th. I had the nicest nurses and surgery went very smoothly. I woke up with discomfort but no pain and no drain or anything like that. Just 6 incisions glued shut. I was proactive in drinking water and getting out of bed so got my catheter out quickly and discharged a day early. I wasn't passing gas except for burping but that was the only issue that made it more uncomfortable. I never woke up "regretting life" like so many because I was prepared mentally for this and expecting a hard first month. Day 3 post op which was the first day home was the worst. I was having withdrawals of being put under so had major bloating and migraines. I decided to get off of the liquid pain meds asap and that helped. Along with walking. I gained 18+ pounds from all of the surgery fluids and swelling (finally weighed myself on day 4 post op) and decided to slowly take a walk around the block each day to help. I lost 11 of the 18 pounds in the last 48 hours due to that and sipping water all day. It's been tight and sometimes downright uncomfortable, but I've gotten down 60-90 ounces of water each day plus 50-68 grams of protein (powder mixed with water). I lost 57 pounds in 3 months preop and at least 11 since surgery 6 days ago. I did go through a 2 week stall preop and am expecting another stall in a few weeks. I know the reasons behind stalls and how to break them. I keep educated and calm because I have found that the "freak out" moments come from when you expect more than you should. I've followed every plan given to me and have been successful. I don't expect to fail now because I do expect to have speed bumps that will slow me down. So I've planned how to get over them. Good luck on your surgery. Take deep breathes and relax after. Enjoy the opportunity of a new life. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

I had premier for preop and then when I started my liquid preop diet my doc banned all premier, boost, ensure and all other of the "yummy" protein shakes. He said they were not approved and shouldn't be used due to sugar or carb or calorie and protein ratios being too poor. The best one I found on the list (highest ratio of protein to calories with no carbs sugars) was isopure powder HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

I'm on clear liquid diet for a week post surgery and can only have my protein powder mixed with water - which is the worst experience so far. Yesterday I was still trying to gag down one scoop of protein powder in 32 ounces of water (diluted to try to make it go down better) and had a great idea that now I'll be doing daily this summer. I took ice and a scoop of chocolate protein powder and blended it up using the rest of my above mentioned protein water (about 10 oz) to make a protein icee. It was so much better than I expected and I was able to get the full 28 ounces down within 2 hours. I feel tons better now that I got that much more water and protein in on day 5 post op. It's not exactly ice cream, but it's certainly enjoyable.

How is everyone feeling now? I took a dose of pain meds for the first time since the day I came home from surgery last night. I very much over did my walking and chores yesterday and couldn't get comfortable last night. I also had my first experience with dumping by eating two baby spoon bites of sf jello congealed in sf gelatin pudding. It was odd and I think I might have just not chewed well enough. Took a good hour and a half to get out of bed after the start of dumping put me there. Now I want nothing to do with that jello even though it was most likely my fault lol

Happy surgery day! I hope all goes smoothly and you're not riding too much of an emotional roller coaster later today. If you are, it's so very normal and let us know how we can best support you.

I had completely forgotten this topic and even my response when I had my first movement yesterday on day 5 post op. My movement was such a victory for me but was very tarry and odd that I casually mentioned it I my husband and he said "well yeah that's probably old blood from the surgery. I read that, apart from having an ulcer, your stool will have tarry old blood in it". I was immediately reminded of my surgery and this post. It was wonderful to have such a quick accurate and simple answer from my husband (I didn't know he has even researched any of this!). This is not something at the top of the information given during the preop process. It's good to have this post.

So many factors apply with this. The marriage wasn't healthy anyway - at least not to both parties Someone had a jealousy issue flare up Someone wanted to sow their wild oats now that they were getting attention Etc etc If your marriage is committed and strong. If your honest and faithful. If you both CHOOSE to make it work, it'll work. My husband told me the day I came home from surgery that he only hoped I wouldn't become "stick thin". He's really not attracted to thin girls who have thigh gaps. I told him I would continue to lose weight as long as it was healthy and of course we would keep communicating once I reached a goal we both agreed on, to see if we wanted me to lose more. We are a team and that's how we make the best couple for us. We agree and compromise. Then we reassess. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

I can't wait to be able to fit into my husband's pants. He wears a size 34 and never in my life I've been able to fit into them. I'm sure when I'm finally able to put them on lll find that it's time to get new clothesAndrew got me home safe and sound. Resting now in his recliner. Hope you're doing well! HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

So.... I did what I swore I wouldn't and stepped on the scale yesterday. I was up 17 pounds from the time I was weighed before surgery. That got me motivated to try to walk more and get more fluid in. My problem is I haven't had a bowel movement since the morning before surgery and I know I'm super bloated. After walking a little over a mile and a quarter yesterday and drinking more water, I was down 5 pounds this morning. PM me if you wanna chat. I've been frustrated at the idea that I now know what to expect and am not surprised by any of it. I think I'm just cranky because of surgery HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

I didn't get the sleeve but I did get the RNY on the same day as you. Welcome to being a loser (lol, I love saying that because it's such a good thing here and such a bad thing elsewhere. It's silly) HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

Yes I absolutely agree with all of you. I'm not stressed. I specifically said a few times in my original post that this is all expected and normal because of what I've researched - mainly through this forum. It will pass and i look forward to that. I'm only slightly disappointed that so many people ARE shocked by this and post the same questions about it over and over for the past few years. It made me realize that there is nothing new or exciting about this forum anymore until I reach a good year out. And then I wonder where all the veterans will be.... certainly not here because everyone whose a veteran here is just venting about bad weekends or regain or whatnot. My only frustration is with what I have left to gain from the forum now. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

Day 5 pot op and things are just getting better in the bloating/gas. I broke my own rule and weighed myself yesterday. I was up 17 pounds since surgery. That's hard to see even when I know it could only be from swelling, iv and bloating. This morning I physically felt a little less bloated and since I took a mile and a third walk last night, I'm sure it's due to that. I'll weigh myself today or tomorrow I'm sure just to see how much the extra walking helped. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

Oh, and not being able to pass gas, let alone have a real BM is a thing. Even with gas X and laxatives. Hmm. Just doing what I can. HW: 328 (02/21/17) SW: 271 (05/24/17) CW:

I've realized, now that I'm 4 days post op, that there's very little im expecting or shocked by. From the posts I'm seeing, there is not much different in the experiences. Bloating and gas is real Walking eases it Deep breathes hurt and help Water water water sipping all day Food tastes gross (especially protein powder/shakes) Incisions hurt and itch You gain surgery weight from water/gas Pain meds are bad and good but mostly have worse side effects It feels like it's pulling Feels tight and hurts to drink a lot Pain radiates elsewhere on the body And of course there are those few who don't feel a thing and wonder if it "took". The forum has the same topics and answers that I've been reading since my first consult and I'm grateful for it in a way because I'm not worried about any of these normal effects. So far, I'm just looking forward to the maintenance phase lol. Forcing myself to drink fluid is more frustrating that I thought it would be. Especially since I know I'm thirsty for it, but feel very full. I keep thinking that when I heal, everything will go back to "normal" but that's not the case. The only thing that will return to normal is the bloating and pressure plus incision pain associated with surgery. In 2 weeks, I hope that will be gone. Other than that, it's a bit of a shock to think I am going to live with stomach discomfort for a long while. HW: 328 (02/21/17) CW: 275 (preop 53# disowned)

The bad taste in my mouth is a sweet one. It just taste like I am constantly sucking on a sugar cube. It's fine and dandy for water but for any other drink it makes it horrible HW: 328 (02/21/17) CW: 275 (preop 53# disowned)