NYCNomad

I’m only a week post op and find that I struggle sleeping more than 5-6 hours because my stomach wakes me up with not just crazy noises but actual hunger pains. I’ve tried taking a Pepcid to help with stomach acid but only thing that makes me feel better is drinking a few ounces of protein shake. Meeting my liquid and protein goals and generally feel pretty good given the circumstances but these early mornings are killing me as I am NOT a morning person. Anyone else experience this? Does it pass? Tips to minimize this? Thanks!

Had the sleeve. Starting weight 262 (39 BMI) GW 170.

Sleeved 3/12 and and my doc sent us home straight to purée. In order to leave hospital, we had a tolerate a few bites of either cottage cheese or puréed tuna salad. Pretty sure you are fine with moving through stages fast but as others have said, the chewing and spitting out is a problem. When you feel that trigger find something to substitute it with.

3/12 surgery - Not itchy, first solid poop today [emoji119] and scale is down 2lbs since surgery. Still pretty swollen in abdomen but surgery gas is gone. First 3 days were rough! Felt incredibly bloated. Have been walking 2-3 mi/day and that’s helped a lot. I also have a belly binder that I bought from Amazon and it’s a game changer. My doc sent us home straight to stage 2 purée. I’m not pushing it but can handle yogurt and scrambled egg whites in addition to a protein shake and protein water. Drinking about 50oz/day, 50g/protein and 500 calories. I have energy and am not tired.

I was similar. The PA at the doctor actually suggested I use 5’8” for my height vs 5’9”. That increased my BMI by almost 2%. I also wore a coat and boots when I got on the scale for weigh-ins. Even considered putting a small weight in my pocket if needed.

Sleeved 3/12 and was so bloated the first three days after surgery that I didn’t dare step on a scale. Finally did today and down 2lbs which isn’t exciting but I can feel that my stomach is still swollen so I’m not worried. Someone I met in the hospital that I stayed in touch with got on the scale the day after surgery when she got home and was up 5lbs. With the amount of calories we are consuming, it is physically impossible to not be loosing fat right now. I wouldn’t worry about the scale for the first couple of weeks until your body heals.

I’m curious, why no gummies? I’ve been using calcium gummies to supplement a multi vitamin and I suck on them for about 10 min until they dissolve in my mouth. I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to take gummies and don’t understand the downside but have heard no gummies a few times in this thread.

I was sleeved 3/12 and for the past 3 mornings I’ve woken up at 430am with crazy noises and hunger pangs. Anyone else experience this?

I’m curious, does morphine make you extra gassy? I’m day 3 post-op and am so bloated and gassy despite walking 2-3 miles/day, burping constantly and following all instructions. I did take full advantage of morphine in the hospital and wondering if that had something to do with the way I’m feeling? It’s been a rough journey since I left the hospital.

Hi all! This community has provided such incredible support for me and I wanted to share what my journey has been like leading up to and day of surgery in hopes that it helps others. I’m 37 y.o., 5’9”, HW 265 SW 253 GW 170. Leading up to surgery, I did a 2 week liquid diet relying mostly on Premier Protein shakes, Protein2o water, bone broth and Mios favored drops that you put in water. The first 3 days I cheated by eating some eggs, grilled chicken and salad along with the shakes. My pre-op apt took place at the hospital 6 days prior to surgery. There they gave me a surgical clearance form that I needed to take to my primary care physician. I didn’t know this was a requirement ahead of time and scrambled to get an appointment. Also, during the pre-op apt I disclosed that I often take marijuana edibles to help me sleep. They said that wasn’t an issue but struggled to find the appropriate medicinal term in their system...yes, there was an actual code for cannabidiol. 2 nights before and morning of surgery I was given special soap to shower with. Day of surgery I was instructed to arrive at 730 but wasn’t told actual surgery time. Upon arrival I learned my time was 930 and I was second surgery of the day for my doctor. Actual surgery takes an hour. I was given an IV, Pepcid to help with acid and some other shot in my belly to prevent blood clots. When I woke up from surgery I was moaning with pain an felt like I was going to throw up. Dry heaved a few times but nothing came out. Nurses were right there and gave me zolfran for nausea and started my morphine drip. I remember it being very painful but it probably passed in 15 min and I fell asleep. Things were a blur until about 4. Not sure how long it was until I was taken to my room but once there, they checked vitals, drew blood, and put some sort of machine on my calves that pumps air to help circulation and prevent blood clots. At 430 the nurses helped me up to go pee and take my first walk. They had a special container in the bowl to measure my urine. First walk was slow and I did half a lap. Pain isn’t too bad. As people have said, it feels like I did 1000 sit-ups. Although I am fully taking advantage of the morphine! It doesn’t help with gas pain though, for that you have to walk. It’s 1230am and I just finished my 4th walk. After the first one, walking is easy and it makes me burp which is a good thing. I’m trying to push myself with walking and get all the gas out at the hospital while I have the morphine to help with pain from soreness. I also have a breathing thing I’m supposed to blow into every hour to help prevent fluid build up in the lungs and phenomena. I haven’t been as diligent there and surprisingly the nurses don’t remind you. Another tip, ask the nurse for wet, cotton mouth swab. It was a life saver. Worst dry mouth of my life! Now I’m just waiting for morning where they will have me drink some fluid in front of an X-ray machine to see if there are any leaks. Following that they have me going straight to stage 2 purée and I’ll need to eat/drink something else before I’m discharged. Provided everything goes well, they expect me to go home around 1. I’m going to walk as much as I can throughout the night to get the rest of the air out. Surprisingly, the nurses don’t remind you to walk (my roommate has only been up once) so you have to stay disciplined and lookout for yourself. Anyway, I know this was suuuuuper long but I hope it helps ease the nerves for some of you anxiety ridden, over-analyzers such as myself. Wish me luck tomorrow! I’m still super anxious [emoji12]

Hi all! Update here. No catheter while in hospital and made it home around 3. I’m surprised how fast the day went. Around 8am we drank the fluid in front of the X-ray and upon passing had to drink 8 one ounce glasses of fluid. I was so thirsty that the first 4 (all water) went down pretty fast (drank 4 in 10 min). I was surprised by the size of sip I could take without experiencing pain. It was more than I had expected. The second 4 cups took a little longer (30 min) and included juice and broth. Water was by far the easiest to drink. After that I felt bloated and went for a walk followed by a short nap. They also gave me some Pepcid to help with acid. At 1130 they got us started on stage 2 diet and we had a choice of cottage cheese or tuna. I was a bit scared but managed to eat half cup of the cottage cheese. Still felt bloated and uncomfortable. There was a group of 8-10 of us and most of us were discharged between 1-2. When I got home I took a 15 min walk then slept. I’ve felt super bloated all day since drinking on my own. I am burping ALL THE TIME. I took some of the one ounce hospital cups and have been using those to help drink. I can finish one in 3 sips with no pain but need to wait a few min before having another. Occasionally I’ll have a painful wave of gas but mostly just feel bloated and uncomfortable. Took 2 strips of gas-x, one when I first got home and one later when I was trying to drink broth around 7pm. Tomorrow I plan to do lots of walking so hopefully that will help. Taking it one day at a time!

Surgery is March 12 and what I’m most scared about is getting enough water afterward. Also, my surgeon has me going straight to stage 2 purred food. My questions: 1) Does protein water count toward your water goal? What about protein shakes? 2) I’ve read that it will initially take 10 min to drink an ounce. How long before you can just take normal sips? 3) Does yogurt, hummus, soup etc count as “food” i.e. will I have to wait 30 minutes after these foods to drink water? Thanks!

@charismatic I questioned this too. Especially because a 2 week diet isn’t required for everyone. From what I can tell, most doctors basically want a high protein low carb Keto diet. Keto shrinks your liver so why force liquid only version with artificial products when I can also achieve the result with real food? The only conclusion I came up with is that liquid only is a good blanket solution for everyone and has less a chance of people slipping up by eating too much, eating the wrong foods or having real food trigger a binge. With that in mind, I mixed in a small amount of real food (eggs, grilled chicken, cottage cheese) the 1st week and have been all liquid the 2nd week.

Im UHC and my doctor’s office handled all of that. I recommend first finding a doctor that works with UHC then they will take care of things. Until your post, I didn’t realize that I was supposed to meet with a NUT six times, rather I had to come into my doctor’s once a month for 6 consecutive months for weighins before we could submit my claim to insurance.

I’m looking for a sleeve buddy! March 12 surgery in NYC.

I’m looking forward to... Crossing my legs Not being squished in seats Shopping for clothes at regular stores Wearing stilettos Not being embarrassed in a bathing suit Feeling attractive Having energy Going on hikes Running races Playing soccer Skiing Dating Having a social life

That’s awesome! Who is your surgeon? I’m with Dr Holliver at New York Bariatric group.

I’ve told 2 friends that I’m having this surgery and they are both supportive but neither live here. My family doesn’t live here either and I haven’t told them because I know they’d be worried. I feel prepared and confident doing this alone with the support of forums like this and FB groups but I questioned that during my pre-op visit yesterday (March 12 surgery) when the nurses seemed concerned that I wouldn’t have anyone to take care of me at home. They are also requesting that someone pick me up from the hospital after surgery. I am single and live alone in NYC, none of my friends have cars (or know that I’m having this surgery), and the hospital is far. I was planning on taking an Uber. Any tips from people that have done this alone on things I should anticipate? For those that have a partner or help from family/friend...what do they help with that I will have to do alone? Thanks!

This is all very helpful. Thank you! I’m a little concerned about it being a requirement to have someone with me to go home. How is this enforced? Does someone have to sign me out? Can they force me to stay if I don’t have someone?

Depending where you live, edible marijuana can be a good option. You can buy liquid drops to add to drinks and completely control the dosage. The people at the counter can direct you on what is best for pain. I had singles a couple years ago and was in incredible pain. The doc prescribed me Percocet but I don’t like narcotics. I was living in Colorado at the time and for me, edibles were a better option. Good luck!

I regularly take marijuana edibles to help me sleep. Surgery is next week and I disclosed all of this to the nurses today during pre-op. They didn’t seem to have an issue but suggested I stop taking them this last week before surgery. From what I’ve read, marijuana can remain active in your system for 2-3 days. After that it can hang around for up to a month in fatty cells but it is inactive and has no effect on surgery. Blood tests show if you’ve used marijuana in the last few days. Urine shows for a month...but again, it’s inactive THC and doesn’t matter for surgery.

You are down over 50lbs and almost 16% body weight in less than 3 mo. That’s awesome! Also, I heard once that typically you go down a size every time you lose 10% of your weight. Keep up the great work! I get sleeves on March 12 and am anxiously counting down the days [emoji51]

I gained almost 20lbs during the 6 mo of insurance required weigh-ins. It wasn’t intentional but the weight gain took me from 38-40 BMI and insurance approved a sleeve.

I’m March 12! Today was day one of pre-op diet and I already cheated by having 2 hard boiled eggs and a cup of cottage cheese. I’m supposed to do liquid only diet for 2 weeks but after reading about everyone else’s diet I’m not going to stress too much if I have one high protein, low carb meal/snack in this first week.