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I gained ten pounds while living in a motel for three weeks (without my scale and with a microwave for cooking). Still not quite sure how that happened . . . have been staying with a friend and have lost that ten pounds again (and one more since then). So, back going in the right direction. It's been a rough few months--I should be able to get into an apartment of my own in three weeks, at long, long last. And then I'll be in charge of what I eat and so on--though, to be fair, the friend I'm with now eats very, very healthily. So that helps . . . but I really want to live on my own like a real grownup again.

So not, and I'm thoroughly sick of it. Yesterday it was 50 degrees and I took a walk; last night it snowed, and it's in the low 30s now. There is snow forecast for the next week. Seriously, it's April. It's (technically) spring. C'mon!

Moving south in a few years, I swear, but I want to stay here for medical stuff for a bit.

I'm another one who thought the surgery was fairly easy and ditto recovery. The worst issue I had was low energy for about the first month, not to mention kind of hating Protein Shakes and the liquid/pureed/slushy stages. Once I could eat tiny amounts of real food, though . . . it's all good. Just repeat after me: Protein, protein, protein!

You'll be good and will love the weight loss (especially the first month).

The number one thing I learned from this site that really helped me was about stalls. No one at my doctor's office said anything about them, but if you know that they will happen AND they will pass, you'll be much better able to cope.

Good luck!

As surgeries go, that was kind of . . . well, I was going to say, a piece of cake. Probably the wrong metaphor! But it wasn't bad at all--but I'm a veteran of about seven or eight other surgeries (tonsils, gall bladder, hysterectomy, carpal tunnel . . .), and it really was similar to the gall bladder removal (also laparoscopic).

As with everything medical, there are a lot of variations. But honestly, it isn't necessarily bad. I had pain for the first ten minutes or so when I woke up and pretty much none after that. No energy for a few weeks, but that's about it for the downside. Not a super speedy loser, but still, more than 70 pounds gone!!

Best of luck!

I can't remember where I got it, but I used a Ninja bullet blender, which was great for size and power. I didn't do much in the way of meal preparation--my big move in the pureed department was to puree a can of beef vegetable Soup. But after all the sweet Protein Shakes, I was so happy to eat something that wasn't sweet!

I also tried something with canned chicken, but I thought that was disgusting. Had about half a container of yogurt daily. I did not love the pureed or soft mushy phase at all--I simply put up with all that stuff for the first month. So happy to be eating real food again after that.

A lot of people swear by refried Beans or pureed chili, though, for what it's worth.

I had no energy at all for at least three weeks post-op: but the caveat is that I'm not in great condition at all and I'm 62 years old, so . . . without worrying yourself crazy, yes, maybe check in with your doctor? But realize it may just be a reaction to the anesthesia (really takes a while for some people to shake that from their system) or to the surgery itself. Just check.

Congrats!

Everything you are taking in now is liquid, or should be, so you will not feel full the way you will when you progress to solid food.

The tube is for drainage; it is a pain, but it will be removed fairly soon. I didn't have one with the sleeve surgery but did have two of them after my hysterectomy, so I know--I hated them, but they did what they needed to.

If you were given pain meds, maybe try taking one before bed to see if that helps you sleep. Otherwise, talk to your medical team--you need your rest (whether to heal from surgery or take care of five kids!).

Good luck.

It's hard to know how to answer because I don't know if you are pre-op or post-op, and, if post-op, how long ago was your surgery? If you are post-op and still on liquids, it doesn't make a lot of difference. The big issue with drinking versus eating is that with the small stomach, you need to have it empty for food--which will fill you up when it's solid food versus liquid or mushy food--and you also don't want to wash it through your system without having time to digest it. But if in the first one to three weeks post-surgery, go ahead and have the ice or popsicle.

If you don't have any trouble swallowing it whole, that's what I'd do. It's a fairly small pill . . . and, disclaimer, I was taking all my pills whole from the get-go, even the bigger Calcium and D3 pills. Recent blood work was all very good.

A friend told me that she has conversations with food items: "well, I like you, but do you like me?" There are plenty of items that fit into the first category but not the second. She's better than I am at cutting out things that don't like her, but this is a long journey for all of us, not a quick fix. As long as you didn't do real damage to your healing body, you learned something, and that's worthwhile. Take the lesson, leave the guilt.

Wondering when your surgery was?

My stomach has made all kinds of noises since the surgery! Sometimes I think it's hunger, sometimes it's just after I've eaten, so I'm assuming it's not.

Everyone is different, so I can't judge whether you are actually hungry or having head hunger. However, do realize that during the post-surgical phase when you are taking in mostly liquids, you will not feel the "full stomach" effect that you most assuredly will when you are eating solid food. So don't worry too much at this stage . . .

I'm curious to see up-to-date stats, too, but I understand that the app on the phone doesn't let people update and, generally, it's kind of up to the individual how much they want to share and how often they want to do housekeeping. But I'm pretty easygoing generally!

Look at it this way: you didn't gain your weight on a daily basis, so you're probably not going to lose it that way, either. I've had several quite long stalls--for a month!--and eventually they break. Sometimes you need to check what you are doing, but sometimes they happen even when you are a model weight-loss patient. Expect them, wait them out, don't lose focus.

My default advice for this is Protein water--there are several different brands and you can get it on Amazon if not in a local store. I still have shakes occasionally but have pretty much settled on chocolate as the only flavor I can stand. If you can find an acceptable way to get protein otherwise, go for it--maybe puree beef or chicken Soup, for example. Drink some milk if you can tolerate that? Try some Oikos triple-zero yogurt when allowed.

Good luck--getting sick of Protein Shakes seems to be pretty normal!

Let's see, your life/health is at stake--you could have this surgery, or you could try the other way, the one that fails about 95 percent of the time. What would he say if it were HIS health at stake?

Keeping him or dumping him is totally your choice--just like what you do with your body is.

Mine was also the fairly straightforward conversation for less than an hour, but I recently saw another thread on this topic and plenty of people said they had to fill out psych profile forms. So the short answer is, it varies. The slightly longer answer is, you probably don't have anything to worry about unless you are delusional in some way about the surgery and what it can do for you.

On 3/22/2018 at 12:46 AM, logicwand said:

I had to stop the Lamotrigine because you can't swallow pills post surgery.

Double-check this . . . I was swallowing Vitamin pills of a pretty decent size a couple days after surgery. Some people have trouble, some don't.

My survival aide was Protein Water. There are several kinds (Atkins LIFT, Protein2O), and if you can't find it locally, try Amazon. It helps with both protein and water goals and isn't as sweet as many Protein Shakes.

Yep--there seem to be two schools of thought on this--those who decide to reform religiously before surgery, and those who figure this is the last chance to have some food funerals. I had four of them (two fettucine Alfredo, one cheeseburger, one steak and baked potato). I still lost weight pre-surgery , stuck to my pre-op diet, and followed the rules (mostly) after surgery.

Don't beat yourself up too much for minor slipping before surgery, as long as you do your best to follow your program. This is a long haul--long to get to the surgery, but much longer after in terms of changing your eating habits. For what it's worth, I've had a cheeseburger (today!) and steak since my surgery, but in the past seven months, no fettucine and no baked potato. Haven't missed them, either.

Y'all can do this!

I don't have relevant experience to offer you, but do offer my support. Hang in there and come here for help when you need it. Rely on all your medical support, too, from nutritionist to surgeon to psychological support systems.

{{{Hugs}}} Good luck!

Different stages of this journey have different challenges. One of the hardest parts of the pre-surgical phase is adhering to the required diet when you still have the ability to eat a lot of food--and you may be feeling this is the "last chance." Opinions differ on whether to have "food funerals"; I did, because I knew I wouldn't be eating that stuff for a long time, if ever again (fettucine Alfredo, for example). But I had them before I started my pre-op diet, and I lost 25 pounds on that!

Take it one step at a time. You've done all the stuff you had to up until now and you can do the next steps, too. Everyone is different: I had almost no post-surgical pain, but I pretty much hated the first month of liquid and slushy stuff. Still, lost weight then. Still losing weight.

Best thing I learned on this site, I think: there will be stalls. They will drive you crazy. You can try different things to get past them, but whatever you do, as long as you follow your program, you will lose weight. And have the best chance of keeping it off you've ever had!

Good luck all.

I get hungry--later in the day--but there are several mitigating factors. One, I get full after a fairly small amount of food, and two, I just use it as an opportunity to get more Protein in! Tonight's "indulgence" is cottage cheese and cantaloupe. Don't think eating that is going to cause any guilt!

You should definitely make an appointment and have a discussion with a surgeon. He or she will be able to answer questions and advise you on which surgery is recommended. However, I know I've seen posts on here of people with weight in your range who have had the sleeve.

For what it's worth, my doctor didn't set a specific goal for weight loss for me before surgery--just wanted me to lose some, which I did.

Good luck!

Sorry: I misinterpreted. Well . . . nuts! that's the first crunchy thing I can think of, given that I just finished some walnuts. salad is good. Probably any of the non-starchy vegetables would be fine. If you're not doing low-fat, get some Pork rinds? If you are not doing low-carb/no carb, some whole-grain bread for toast? I eat rice cakes for snacks--there are a ton of flavors available now (had some Tomato basil recently) and you can put Peanut Butter or cheese on them for the Protein . . .