sillykitty

It depends on your surgery, and surgeon. I was sleeved and I have no "forbidden" foods.

I work from home so I took no time off work. But a week to go back into an office, desk job would have been fine. I started traveling for work at three weeks post op, so I certainly wouldn't have needed to be off and at home for more than a few days.

Oh man, what terrible news. Sorry, been off the site for a few days and just saw your post. It does though explain the problems you've been having. I would get in to see a Gastroenterologist ASAP. I wouldn't at all be happy with the "see you in September" response that your surgeon gave you. Honestly, he should have refereed you to an GI specialist! Your surgeon may never have seen your issue, but a Gastroenterologist will have! You need to get your esophagus issue sorted first, and your surgeon is already thinking a revision!?! Now this might be the biggest tragedy of all, lol!

So much this! I'm the same, I NEVER spoke about my weight or indicated I was in anyway unhappy with that aspect of myself, to anyone, ever. So yes, people mentioning my weight loss makes me so uncomfortable.. I know people mean well, but it forces an acknowledgment there was/is an issue with my weight.

I chew gum with no issues. Personally I would be insulted if my surgeon banned gum because "it gets swallowed". I'm an adult, not a child, I'm sure I can handle not swallowing gum.

I work from home, and I technically took no time off from work. My work is no more physically taxing than surfing the internet, so it didn't make sense for me to take time off work. If I had to go into an office, I would have needed no more than a couple of days once I was out of the hospital. I was able to do laundry, water plants, cook meals starting day 3 post op, so I would have been able to do a desk job.

I became intolerant to why protein isolate about 1 month post op. It made me extremely nauseated. I eliminated Premier Protein drinks, and Isopure powders. I switched over to Muscle Milk Pro premade shakes, which have casein as the protein source. I also use Medifast powders for shakes when I'm traveling, which are soy based.

I agree, I use it and it's great!

There are a lot of liquid options! How many broths have you tried? Have you strained soup? Popsicles, jello?

Rant here .... Why are there separate plus size clothing manufactures and separate regular size clothing manufacturers? I'm about to start needing regular sizes, which should be great, right? BUT, my favorite clothes are made by plus size companies, and don't go below a size 14. Shopping has been so easy for me for years now. I have my favorite brands of work slacks, work dresses, and jeans, I just order online. As I've lost weight I just have been ordering progressively smaller sizes. But now, since I can't order below a size 14, I'm going to have to venture into to the department store and start all over and find new favorite brands. Ugh, quite honestly I don't have the time or patience for it.

I didn't receive these instructions from my Dr., but they make sense to me. I stop eating when I'm full. I could keep eating as the food goes down, if it's a long meal or I could keep going back to it. But that seems to me to defeat the purpose of my sleeve.

I am very much looking forward to wearing sheath dresses, pencil skirts with a blazer, and having my feel not hurt so badly in heels!

I was instructed to start taking mine immediately once home for the hospital.

I was sleeved two weeks before you. It sounds normal to me. I definitely can't get all my protein in without supplementing of some kind. My stomach capacity is only about two ounces. I'm honestly grateful I have this level of restriction. Do you have to eat the whole mini bowl at lunch? That seems like a lot to me, and by your description like you're forcing it down.

The HELP ME's kill me! Seriously, we are just people on the internet!

That all should be no problem once you're allowed regular food!

I travel for work nearly every week. My first trip was 3 weeks post surgery. For that trip, it was similar, an event where I had no control over my meals. I completely over thought it and packed a tons of stuff like shelf stable hummus, mashed potato cups, protein muffins, etc.. I didn't touch any of it. I just ate the meals as scheduled, breakfast, lunch & dinner. There was no need nor opportunity to eat any of the foods I packed. The only items I think that are of value to bring with are protein drinks/powders and protein bars, because it's hard to get all your protein early on from "normal" food. As for air travel, it's actually pretty easy. All airport stores have good choices among the bad, jerky, nuts, dehydrated cheese snacks. Cheese and fruit packs are easy to find as well, often able to be purchased on the plane too. Sandwiches can be disassembled and the meat and cheese eaten. You can eat the meat out of entree salads, etc. I would ask your surgeons team about seeing if you could start your transitions to soft & regular foods a little early. That way you can test your reactions at home, and not risk it at an event. Good luck!

I'm doing plastics after I lose my weight. I've done a lot of reading about how to minimize scaring. Silicone tape, gel or patches are almost universally recommended by cosmetic surgeons and their patients. I'm using this on my sleeve scars. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VE9AL8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I knew going into this that there was going to be some food waste. I really didn't think it would bother me. But it does. I eat out very frequently due to traveling for work. Even appetizers are much more than I can consume. For instance at an Italian restaurant I ordered meatballs, it came with 5, I could eat one. I've ordered carpaccio, seared tuna, etc, even smaller appetizer portions are wasteful. I do best with a cup of soup, but more often than not it's cream based it seems. Of course sometimes the appetizers are either not appealing or not a healthy-ish choices, so I have to order a main. That is even more waste. It is ridiculous to have a whole plate of food be tossed after eating only about 2 oz of it. This also keeps me from sometimes ordering what I really want, like fresh fish or lamb. Even though it's not my money, I can't justifying ordering a dish that costs $40+ just to see it thrown away. I'll order the chicken or a salad instead.. The eating out waste even happens when I'm home. I'll take home leftovers but not have time to eat most of it before I have to leave town. Unfortunately this issue even spills over when I'm at home too. Cooking is discouraging because small portions are hard. Two oz dried protein pasta, 2 meatballs and a half cup of sauce is 4 meals. Some of my favorite meals in the Instapot or slow cooker are just impossible to scale down. I only have so much freezer space. Fortunately I have a good rotation of prepared or simple food that are healthy in the house. But I miss some of the things I used to cook. Last week when I was traveling I struggled with hunger. I'm unsure if it was real hunger or head hunger, since they are sometime tough for me to distinguish between. I made some not so smart choices with what I ate. So I wanted to set myself up to eat healthily this weekend. I grilled some fish and veggies. I peeled and sliced up a cucumber. I made some fat free coleslaw. And now I'm leaving in the morning, and most of that is going to go into the trash. I know I can somewhat control the waste at home. I need to buy chicken tenders, instead of full breasts for instance, buy just a few spears of asparagus. But it just feels like the rest of it is going to be my life forever now. I'm not even getting into the attention my eating habits attract when I'm dining with colleagues and customers. I don't regret my sleeve at all. I love being satisfied after eating so little. I am just taken by surprise how much all the food waste I generate gets me down.

Each plan is different. Not all plans require soups to be strained. Mine plan for instance was full liquids once discharged from the hospital. The rule was anything that would go through a straw. So I made soup, pureed, but did not strain. I was also allowed yogurt, pudding, and other very soft foods during the liquid stage. So just because your surgeon requires this program does not mean that others will stress their stomachs or threaten the "seal". As long as everyone follows their surgeons plan, it's all good.

I love the Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper best, and the Organic Creamy Tomato is good as well. Another option to find these (at a lower cost) is the Trader Joe's brand, which is made by Pacific

Same here, no swimming until the incisions have closed. Was able to take a shower straight out of the hospital, no restrictions on that.

Congrats! You look amazing!

Thanks for empathizing everyone, and for the advice. Funny @Creekimp13, I was thinking today that I wish my dog were still alive, she'd be loving all the proteins she'd be getting, and I wouldn't feel near as guilty! @Orchids&Dragons I totally love buffets. I feel like people pay far less attention to what's on your plate, and I create very little waste. And I wish I wasn't single right now. Then I'd be able to cook and send almost all the leftovers home with him! As for the work travel thing, it's complicated. When I'm eating alone I customize the crap out of my meals. But when I'm dining with others I do so only minimally. First I don't want to attract any more attention than necessary to my eating habits. It's also not viewed favorably at all with in my company to be "picky and demanding". I have a peer who customizes everything, but not due to any dietary issues, just because he is a self absorbed PIA. He is definitely looked down up by our management, and it is viewed as unprofessional. Being able to be flexible and go with the flow is highly valued where I work. @Pearldrop I unfortunately don't go any single place more frequently than quarterly. Even in the same city I don't have a lot of frequent repeats, unless it's the hotel restaurant, lol. I think the hotel chain I stay at sent me a summary last year saying I stayed in 54 different cities. Since I am traveling to my customers or collegues area, it is customary for them to pick the restaurant. Wine and dining is a requirement, I'm afraid. But it is not only customers, but colleagues as well. Going to a nice dinner with drinks flowing is a way to relax and break down barriers, and form relationships with people you deal with frequently but see infrequently. My company is very frugal in a lot of ways, but I have no T&E budget, and have never been questioned on a dining expense, so that's how important it is to our corporate culture. (Also part of why I needed WLS!) I'll definitely have to look into the shelter or Ronald McDonald House idea. I like it a lot, it's killing two birds with one stone. I've just never heard of any place being willing to take home cooked food. I think in the US we might be too afraid of liability for a charity to accept such a thing. I'll look into it though!

Refried beans with a little cheese and hot sauce. It was so good after liquids!