KarenLR75

I was told 2 week as well and I had my RNY on 7/25 so I'm a little over a week 'post-op'

I remember that now. Yep, I have to get my BMI down in order to replace the entire knee. LOL, maybe will be ortho surgery siblings too!

Wow, that's pretty cool in that you get everything for sure 'topped off'. That would be rough for me to schedule as my job skips time zones all over the world so some nights I'm working until 4 AM with one part of the world and others I'm back to trying to get up in the AM to pull a long stretch. Have to deal with a lot of shift work disorder so the less 'daytime' appts I have, the better. Interestingly I saw that my doc was going to prescribe me some sort of B12 to take but I thought it would be some type of sublingual pill. Turns out it is a once a week nasal spray. I'm glad I read the directions on the label or I would have been possibly doing it every day. Don't know what an overdose of B12 would be like but I'm sure it's not good.

Girl you are rocking it! I was hoping to keep the NO hunger feeling for at least more than 2 days..BUT, I do feel the restriction which is critical. My gosh you are losing weight fast! How awesome!!! My body just does not want to let go of the weight. I'm...9 days post-op and have lost a whopping 8 lbs. I know that probably seems like I'm ungrateful..but maybe I've just read too many post of incredible 10 - 12 lb losses per week after surgery. And these are RECENT posts..lol. You know..I guess I'm not that far off from that...and I'm very very inactive due to a messed up knee but I've been trying to push myself to walk more each day regardless. I'll just keep focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. I know I'm in major ketosis as the test strips cannot get any deeper purple than the highest range one. Sometimes I see it slip into the next highest one (1 shade down?0 so I know my overall calories are low. A couple times a week I will chart my "eating" and I range between 300 to 350 calories a day. I really would like to keep it under 200 but I do not know how much that would help my weight loss.

Same here..along with something to take care of my GINORMOUS arm flaps! But for me....will be a long way away. Guess it is good in that I should start trying to stash money now and if I change my mind down the road...I can have one HECK of a VACATION!!! Win-win!

oh my Lord...SO RIGHT!! Have loved them since I was a kid...man, now I'm craving a deviled egg..LOL

Felt same way but after a lot of time reading through hundreds of posts ALL by diff people, the enormous consensus is the MAJORITY just wish they had done it sooner. That was rather affirming to me. I'm a week post-op and got really jittery 1 wk before...then a few days before. The night before I had actually was calm about this decision that has been a LONG time in coming. Even in 'newly post op phase' where I don't have the large weight loss YET to additionally affirm what I've done..I still feel NO regrets about the surgery. I was not heading anywhere that was going to have a good outcome for me. With every 20..then 30..then 50 lbs I gained (I was not super-morbildy obese until my late 30's so it's only been a decade for me but man, what a toll those pounds took on my body! I can't imagine what my poor body would have done if I had carried the weight longer. Or...as someone said "tried yet again". To me this surgery is not about another "trying"..it is more of the Yoda equivalent of "Just Do" or I guess as he said in the movie "Do. Or do not. There is no try." I think I got that quote right? lol You got this, crashsmash12!!

Oh my gosh you answered something that has been puzzling. I've been trying to tell my dr's office that I've been having a GREAT deal of nausea (something I've never handled well). They prescribed me zofran even though I told them I was allergic to it. I was at CVS the other day - one of my first outings - I'm a week post-op...and between the heat and just not feeling "good"..I felt a surge up my throat...and then it went back down. I had been thinking..well, I couldn't have almost vomited as it didn't have that 'vile' taste....but it's hard to mistake the feeling of that moment right before you vomit. It was too close to comfort for me. I'm still at 300 or less calories a day..and all liquids...so am not sure what is causing the constant nausea. I do know that further stressing my body with things like extreme heat..seem to bring it on even more. I SO miss that patch they had me put on before surgery. I've gotta call Dr's office back and remind them I CANNOT take Zofran and I'd really like to not feel so sick every day (have developed sudden major allergies to so the drainage does a number on me too).

wow..demanded it. I know most of us are told not to..but before I even started this journey I started using straws as a barrier for my teeth which suddenly don't handle cold sensations as well. When I started on this journey I tried to make a habit out of tiny sips..and using my tongue to block the straw..almost as a dosing system. OK, I know that probably sounds all kind of weird. No one could tell I was doing it. I've been missing my big -generic Yeti water containers that I had a plastic straw (reusable) that I adored. I love having a huge cup with a lid as I have 3 cats and if they even spot an open cup from 100 yards away, you can blink and suddenly there is a furry head drinking your finest filtered water. Now I'm having to remove the lid off the cup I'm currently using & try to bring it to my mouth to take small sips..usually with a cat cuddled on my chest...and they are like "what do you have there"..then their bobbing and weaving heads get in the way of me trying to drink and I end up spilling water...ok..see, I've talked myself into it..it is for safety and the ability to keep hydrated that I should be allowed to have my big girl cup back WITH a STRAW. Sigh..I'll keep being compliant for now (sans straw)...I did manage to frustrate my cats by pouring water into those little disposable 2 oz containers with lids. I swear they have expressions and they were not amused..but I got my water...2 oz's @ a time.

From what I've read here and having had 'different surgeries' before, mood swings (hormonal or otherwise) are actually experienced by most although different ppl may process (or not) in other ways. It is very very normal I totally get what you said about everyone going and doing. I posted on another thread lately I feel..super ALONE. My family eats out "because they are uncomfortable" eating around me or as they also say "they don't want ME to be uncomfortable". I'm PEEVED because all they are doing is making it WORSE. I've said that I need to be able to be around food although I'm not inviting them to make all my fave foods and have a buffet either. What they are doing is making me feel more left out than I did before. I feel LONELY. My husband & I would go to dinner once or twice a wk and now that is done so he and my youngest daughter are now going "out". Am NOT begrudging family going out to eat & continuing with their life as I have to keep reminding myself that this..almost quarantine like part of the journey is about keeping ME safe and honestly, I am a week post op myself. I think there is some truth in their comments but there is a load of truth that they are eating foods I already was staying away from (did keto for 15 mos) and eating/drinking too much (not being rude, I was queen of overeating..I think THAT makes them uncomfortable AROUND me maybe? It is hotter than Hades here in TX and I did not do well in extreme heat before surgery and I've got to remember - I just had major surgery. Just made a major change to my body & it has to HEAL. I remind myself that before I know it I'll be able to go 'out again' but there are also temptations there that for now..I choose for myself to avoid. I have stated what I am and am not comfortable with. If someone is making or bringing something around that is tempting. I will move to another room and read a book, play some games...I just started buying jigsaw puzzles cuz it reminds me of my mother. I have found them to be very therapeutic. I come here & read the 'headwork thread', the JULY and now AUGUST challenges greentealael (is that right) posts have been enjoyable even on the days I didn't participate. There is a humor thread that is hysterical. Give yourself a break and a big dose of self love. We are JULY surgery siblings! I've given myself permission to have a good cry and I know there is a big emotion shift of finding new ways to fill up my time besides eating. Sounds like a good time to get to know ourselves better. You know you are amazing and worth it! Remember what a brave thing we just did..as 99% of everyone on here did. We did it because we MATTER!

At first I wasn't sure but as I stared at the ingredients all I could think of was "that sounds DELICIOUS!"

This! Even said a long time ago I've been very disappointed that my family cannot tell I've lost 67 lbs. I know it is probably because I started at 390...but I can SEE it. Am newly post op and am lonely as everyone keeps going 'out to eat' so they won't be 'uncomfortable' eating around me or making 'me uncomfortable'. What MAKES me uncomfortable is being left all alone all the dang time.

Congratulations! It is truly inspiring!

I have not been through anything that you went through, I just had RNY on 7/25 but I identified with this part strongly. Although the first 24 hrs after surgery I was only allowed ice chips and I still had enough meds/anesthesia on board that my stomach was 'subdued' by meds is all I can guess. Later that evening I noticed I could literally HEAR and FEEL liquids hitting my..um pouch. I'd get the sound of gurgling as it went down my esophagus and literally feeling it "land" in my pouch was honestly weird. I will say that most of the things I drink seem to end up with me cramping - almost on queue with the liquids landing. I'm still on an all liquid diet although I can eat jello. Jello seems less..."noisy". I've heard the lecture (don't mean in bad way) that all the cramping/shoulder pain/other pain is gas and I 95% believe that. What's hard to discern after you've reached dosing limits on Extra Strength Gas-Ex, you are walking more than ever walked before...are some ppl just more resistant to getting gas efficiently removed from their bodies. In my case what 2 days ago spiked into almost unbelievable pain and caused me to almost vomit as much from pain and distress and my stomach deciding it was done, happened at CVS and I was so embarrassed. I ended up leaning almost over a cart (incisions don't make this easy) and intense back pain set in and I realized I've been thru this before! Constipation will kick your tush! During my best friend's 3 year battle with brain cancer, she shared that out of everything she had been through, constipation, especially from super high doses of chemo, was something that literally would wreck her to the point of despair. Sometimes I wonder are we too cavalier about this subject...are our doctors? I know mine, who I like, seeemed pretty cavalier. I think sometimes they forget that while they have 'seen it all', we are all unique and different. I've been wondering as my stomach continues to cramp/clamp down on what little liquids i send it...is when do we ask the question if we have a bigger issue going on. I don't want to bother my doc or go to ER for no reason.

The first few days after surgery were relatively easy. It was when all the meds wore off (they gave me some sort of 3 or 4 day lasting 'pain block' using a medicine that starts with an 'E' (Experal?). I am losing weight but my body isn't caring for the even closer to starvation level calories well. I am getting intense hunger headaches. The hunger is so bad I get that..well, it used to be a normal nauseated feeling you'd get when you truly hadn't eaten and your stomach was so hungry. I had hunger relief for just a few days and man do i miss them. I'm still tracking at about 300 to 340 calories a day so that explains the weight loss but my body is refusing to gracefully accept it. I still have lower abdominal cramping/muscle spasms throughout the day. I FINALLY had my first..um..BM yesterday. It had been almost 10 days and my dr's office SEEMED to have a blase attitude about it. I finally took some dulcolax. I had already been taking stool softeners for several days but nothing was happening quickly. My constipation was SO BAD that I got extremely nauseated and my lower back was killing me. I couldn't sit in a chair for long as it hurt too much. I'm just trying to hang in there and survive this first week..well...actually first 2 weeks since as of today, it has been 1 week since surgery. Does anyone else's doctor have you not taking ANY vitamins at all in your first 2 weeks? I was surprised when mine said to suspend them. Sorry for whining..I knew this would be hard, that is no surprise. What is surprising to ME, is how hard it is to go through this and work 60+hrs at the same time. Also, I NEVER noticed food commercials nor was bothered by others eating in front of me during my LONG 30 day (cumulative pre-op diet phase)...I'm startled now by intense cravings when I wasn't even THINKING about xyz food until I saw a commercial for it! I feel like my brain is waging war with my body.

OK, when I first was struggling with keto diet 15 months ago, I had ordered some protein powder to make protein shakes with. Flash forward to today, I ended up finding premier protein shakes ready to drink and got a good subscribe and save deal via Amazon. Now I'm scheduled for gastric sleeve surgery on 7/1/19 and am taking stock of what I can still use that I had ordered before but never opened. I have choc celebrate protein powder - expired as of Feb 2019 and I think a cookies and cream one that 'expired' Dec 2018. We all kind of learn what we can/cannot use, taking our own risk of course, throughout adulthood but when it comes to protein powder, I have no idea if it's a definite 'MUST TOSS' as it could cause all kinds of problems or...'CAN STILL USE'. Anyone have any experience with this? Since the one that expired as of 'Feb 2019', well NONE of them have ever been opened...I am SO TORN.

My doctor doesn't let his patients start on the pureed stage until Weeks 3 - 4. The amount of calories he expects us to max out at due to our restriction (mine was a bypass) roughly works out to around the same amount the Mom_of_Chaos mentioned. If your doctor gave you a post op diet to follow, I'd check to see if the calories were supposed to be limited. If it is not clear, but sure to call your doctor's office and ask. I know the first 3 to 5 weeks after surgery is a time of healing and adapting so I'd ask sooner rather than later about the number of calories you can consume, but that is just my own thought. At least you would have peace of mind based on checking. Best of luck!

I have sent a message to my Dr's office asking what they want me to take/do. My abdominal cramps are worse today - maybe it is from the 'need to go'? Going to keep drinking water and staying hydrated.

I'd say YAY for sure. This has been such a nice way to see things about people, places and things. It has been very encouraging to read even on days where I missed participating.

Thanks everyone. I've just been taking Dulcolax/Colace and nothing has happened. I'm on day 3 post-op but I had not have a BM 2 days prior to surgery. We just found some MOM that is still sealed (never been opened) but it expired in 2016...sigh..

Had RNY surgery on the exact same day. My surgery took twice as long as expected but I'm home now. Dealing primarily with discomfort, hoping it approves substantially within the next week..

Still in some discomfort which is frustrating to me as I usually have a decent pain tolerance. I figure most of it is gas as my stomach is still distended and tight like a drum. Just how much nitrous did they use?? I am also getting headaches which I figure are related to the low # of calories I'm taking in. Hopefully these issues will subside in the days to come.

Yeah..same here. I'm still showing a GAIN of 2 to 3 lbs vs. when I went into the hospital. Let's see, my surgery was 7/25 and I was discharged 7/26. On PM of 7/26 I tried sipping my first 'post-surgery' premier protein shake and got 1/2 down. Outside of that the only thing I 'sipped' was water so I was definitely under 200 calories on 7/26. On 7/27, I was able to sip an entire protein shake over MANY, MANY hours. In the evening, I tried some broth/protein soup. Was only able to sip 3 oz's of that. A few hours later, went to a new Premier shake and sipped down about 1/3. Maximum calories would be 300 and it was probably much less. I think I may have husband hide the scale for a couple of days. When you know absolutely/with no doubt that your calories are definitely under 500 (& less than that, even), then it starts to trip me out when I step on scale and that stupid number hasn't moved away from the 2 lb gain I've been carrying since I returned home.

Side question: How many days did you wait before getting on the scale?

1 day post-op here from RNY surgery. Was up and walking within 3 hrs of surgery. I knew this was important to help with gas but also to help prevent me from throwing additional clots (DVT's, etc.). I was surprised that they only kept me one night.. Have had an extremely hard time alleviating the 'gas issue'. My stomach is swollen and very tight feeling. During my 24 hrs at the hospital, I did the 'walk' they required 9 different times and am just now am barely getting the gas to leave my body. It's one thing reading about how much pain this type of gas pain can bring, it is totally another thing to go through it yourself. At home since about 2 hrs ago and am sipping water primarily. Have just started sipping on Premier Clear Protein drink (Tropical Punch). Goal right now is to hydrate...and then work my way up to the # of grams of protein that my dr. wants me to be at (as a minimum, I think).