KateBruin

I got my period hours before surgery and I haven’t had it in about 9 years because I take birth Control packs back to back. It was seriously out of left field and awful! I guess the anxiety of surgery messed up my body. I got some super sexy mesh undies in the hospital.

Head hunger is seriously real. I have to practice serious mindfulness. I take Prilosec 2x a day to help reduce stomach acid, which reduces my stomach acid so I don’t feel hungry as often. It’s amazing that stomach acid can make me “hungry” even when I’m not.

I’m 6 weeks post op and my life revolves around water so some days I only manage 400 calories. I’m allowed around 900 and 1100 on days I workout. My intake is still so low I can only manage my heavy workouts 3x a week. Honestly, at the point you and I are at, a lot of it seems to be head hunger. When I’m hungry I drink 25 oz of water or half a protein shake and reevaluate. I’m not a doctor or other medical professional, but depending on your lifestyle you might need to increase fats soon. We’re told to focus on protein but healthy fats are really good at keeping you full and promote ketosis. My diet is protein then fat then carbs if I have leftover macros.

Around 3-4 weeks I was allowed rinsed canned fruit in water. It was hard to find so I bought fruit in syrup and just rinsed it more. Canned pears were my favorite. I just made sure the carbs fit into my daily macros. I’m 6 weeks out and eat an Asian pear daily, and frequently eat Korean melons and cantaloupe.

Personally, when I’m drinking a shake it’s a meal replacement or snack so I do drink the whole thing over an hour or so. I can share my list of protein suggested by the dietician. I use vitamin shoppe or premier. My dietician has always said 2 oz max for snacks and 6 for food but I think I’ve read less for some people. The ability to eat that much or less greatly depends on the type of food and way the wind is blowing. Since I moved to solid food I eat less than 6 oz cause I get full much faster.

I was told nothing over 10 lbs for 6 weeks. I had to cheat because my brat 25 lb dog can’t jump on my bed and demanded lifts several times a day from the night I was discharged. I did it carefully, lifted with my legs, etc. Started the gym last week at 5 weeks. Yes, it was early but I felt healed. I have to take my HIIT classes slowly because I eat so little my BP and blood sugar occasionally makes me dizzy. Until I’m over 1000 calories, I’m only doing the intervals twice a week. You can 100% walk at a gym but that’s about it. I walk around 2-4 miles a day and did once I stopped pain meds and wasn’t worried I’d get lost.

I’ll just say I started using straws maybe 4 days after surgery. I was grabbing an iced tea for maybe the 3rd time and didn’t realize till that one that I had been using the evil straw for all of them. I have no problem at all.

Honestly, all the research I’ve read says dumping applies to RNY only. I will not discount your experience though, but maybe the mechanism is different. For example, some days my protein shakes go through me so fast I might as well drink it on the toilet but I also take medication to slow my rapid gastric emptying that existed way before surgery and is sort of a pre-crohn’s ambiguous area. I hear dumping syndrome is useful in the long run because it’s so awful people learn to avoid trigger foods. I’ve experienced the foamies so I am definitely not unsympathetic.

My surgeon told me a pound a day but didn’t specify for how long. I lost about 26 lbs my first month, so a little short. I’ve been losing weight slowly but I’m size wise not that large, just my BMI. I think it’s because I’m actually not eating enough. I was sleeved 8/23 and was 246.9 day of surgery and am currently 217.8. 11.8% of my body weight sounds more impressive.

I have a similar problem from time to time and get the foamies where I vomit up mucus and foam. The sensation of having something stuck in my esophagus is awful and completely unpredictable. Personally, I’m not concerned because it’s just occasionally but if you have it all the time or frequently, you need an upper endoscopy or something.

I actually hate pickles but love them chopped up in tuna. I actually started doing it as soon as I was cleared for soft foods even though it wasn’t technically allowed. The crunch was really nice and I just made sure to chew well.

Good luck with surgery!!! I had a very difficult time during the night because the hospital bed caused horrible back pain (had a L5-S1 fusion in 2007) but otherwise hardly needed my pain pump. The next 2 days at home were awful, sleeping upright on a couch for maybe an hour at a time. Since then it has been smooth sailing with a few hiccups. I’ve gotten what’s known as the foamies a few times from meds and once when I took a sip of water during a meal [emoji849]. Had some bad days but otherwise surgery was awesome! If you feel anxiety the night before or regret immediately after, you aren’t alone!

I was cleared around 35 days for all foods except for steak, which is 3 months to never. I’ve had grilled and steamed veggies and have a Trader Joe’s Chinese chicken salad waiting for me but I am a little nervous. Tomorrow I’m making a Mediterranean quinoa salad that I’m super excited about. I don’t advocate cheating on plans but my doctor seems to have one of the most strict one I’ve heard of and I was allowed them 3 weeks before you.

You look happy and healthy. As others might have said (didn’t read all comments) sometimes Friends, significant others and family have a difficult time coping with the weight loss. I’m only down 30 since late August surgery and my mom treats me like she wanted me to stay unhappy and progressively unhealthy forever. Keep up the good work! [emoji854]

Had a few diet cokes and La Croix. Flavored seltzer is my weakness and diet Coke was before surgery, though I get little pleasure out of it so I don’t drink much. I had a few jumping the gun Pinocchio’s (from Washington post gauging Trump’s lies). Had some scrambled eggs a little early and some technically solid but still softer foods early. Barely and sparingly. Don’t always eat protein first I chew gum daily Use straws My b complex is gummies Sometimes eat too fast and chew too little. Drank once during a meal and got the foamies. Won’t do that again for a while. I’ll drink right up until a meal though. Got one La Duree macaroon. It was heavenly and 100% worth every gram of sugar. There’s probably a few more but they’re all pretty minor. I plan on drinking before I’m allowed to. Probably in 2 weeks when I watch football at a bar.

If you’re still exclusively in the liquid phase you can do like 1/4 juice and 3/4 water for the flavor and volume but less sugar. I’m almost 6 weeks out and on solids so I forget when I started protein shakes but I believe it was almost right away. Few days at most. I could crack open my binder if you want photos of some of the diet plans I was given.

I got my pain med (pure oxycodone) in liquid form because I was worried about pills. If you get prescribed something with Tylenol mixed in and it doesn’t come made in liquid, a compounding pharmacy should be able to make it for you.

I have issues with finger monitors getting a low o2 read even though my body is totally oxygenated so the nurse set my alarm at 87 but the jerks downstairs somewhere kept changing it back to 92 so as soon as I’d fall asleep it would go off. I also must be sensitive to anesthesia. The night felt so awful I hardly touched my pain pump. I just felt so out of it and needed sleep but nope.

Congratulations for being under 300!! I’m at 220 and my immediate goal is to get under 200 then I’ll set my new goal. Weight is coming off slowly and I’ve stalled, which sucks but there isn’t much I can do.

A phone is essential. I only slept for 10-15 minutes at a time and texted people or cruised social media. I also downloaded a bunch of shows from Netflix on my iPad, which I watched basically the whole next day I was there (discharged 6-7pm). I woke up around 7am and just sat in a chair downing fluids because I had to drink x number of oz before I could be released and the hospital bed was so painful I couldn’t handle a second night. Netflix saved my ass. Didn’t want to deal with the hospital TV

They didn’t let me wear underwear. I probably could have if I begged. Ended up needing the sexy mesh undies cause I got my period (lucky me!!). You probably don’t need shampoo but it can’t hurt. UCLA just required me to wipe down my body using the chlorhexidine wipes. I also used their toothbrush and toothpaste because I was too messed up on drugs to go in my hospital bag. Bring a face mask! Even more essential than ear plugs but I also brought a little fan for white noise. Oh, and I’d bring my own pillow and a throw type blanket. The hospital pillows suck and I used my blanket to snuggle against for comfort and it felt good against my incisions. I slept on my side.

Sadly, it doesn’t help. I’ve suffered from insomnia for probably 15 years. I take enough meds to knock out a horse and it barely helps. I also rarely get REM sleep. You’re right about the protein shakes but I try and get at least 120 g because I workout heavily and it’s difficult for me to get that much in food since my first solid meal isn’t until later today.

It’s the same concept as diet sodas. Some people say it stretches the sleeve, but the research I’ve done just says the carbonation can make you uncomfortable. I love la croix so I just drink slowly and burp when I need to. Ladylike, I know, but it makes drinking them painless.

It’s apparently natural and whichever sweetener is in crystal light is artificial. But my protein shakes and basically everything else is artificially sweetened so I’m not listening until I have to buy more then I’ll give it a try

I honestly think I’m not eating enough as well. I started interval workouts again today and everyone went on about how amazing I look so that felt really good since it’s hard to really see when I see myself every day. I’m allowed solids this week and also have been allowed up to 1100 calories but today/yesterday (Monday/Tuesday morning) I only ate about 300 calories and worked off at least that much with a 30 min hard workout + 80 minute dog walk. I’ll most likely have another protein shake and snack but that will still be 600 max. Totally having half an in n out burger protein style later today though. I’m so excited.