Orchids&Dragons

I'm nearly six weeks out and my stomach is still so "acidy" that I wouldn't dare add wine!

I am so happy for you! YEAH!!!

Congratulations on your excellent adventure! I'm looking forward to the non-extended seatbelt while flying!

A lot of people stall as early as 3 weeks. Just keep on doing the right things and it'll catch up to you

I paid approx $3,000 to the surgeon up front, and $3000 to the hospital up front. We'll get refunded the extra once the insurance settles out.

Good luck! Looking forward to your progress reports!

OK, I'll admit to being selfish here. During the pre-op clear liquid phase (just 2 days) I asked my family to eat dinners out. I was soooo hungry. After the surgery, it wasn't nearly so challenging. But still, if you can avoid cooking foods that smell really deliscious and have to cook for hours, that would be kind. (Smelling chili cooking for 3 hours just about did me in!) Depending on his doctor, he may be on liquids for 2 weeks or longer after the surgery. I found that to be the hardest time. Once I could get something even a bit solid, like applesauce, it wasn't so bad. A lot will depend on whether he experiences a lot of nausea, too. Good luck to you both!

Go with your instincts. One bad thing about sharing is that it brings out all the negative Nellies and you have to be ready to deal with that. Some of them can be really hateful.

Oh, yeah, even the first hour. In fact, I'd drink the little cup of water, then watch the clock tick sloooowly for 10-11 minutes before I could have the next one. After a week, the doctor released me to drink as much as I wanted, which went up to about 100 oz. per day pretty quickly. I know a lot of people struggle with the water, but I wasn't one of them.

My heart goes out to you. Hope it works out all right.

Me, too! But other people have mentioned it. Pretty embarrassing, but if that's the worst side effect I get, I can't complain too loudly :-)

No, I got out around 7:30 pm the day after surgery. Thank heavens! That was a looooong day.

Wow! Congrats! Keep up the good work! It's very inspiring!

That's interesting. My Dr. does an upper GI the day after surgery to ensure that there are no leaks. No drinking before that. Then, my upper GI got delayed until afternoon, so I didn't get to drink anything until about 4pm the day after surgery! Man, did that water taste good!

It's just a timing thing! So long as you're doing what you should, the numbers will drop. One thing at this particular point is that part of the weight you've already lost was from your intestines "emptying" during the liquid diets, both pre- and post-op. They were clean as a whistle! Once you get off liquids, your body starts to create bowel movements which increase your weight a bit. Once you get regular, it all evens out. Sorry if that's TMI.

Definitely! And then they compare your results to other people they've known, too. I know they're trying to be supportive, but it gets old. My surgery was 5 weeks ago and I haven't lost 50 pounds yet? Just hang in there, in a year, you'll be the benchmark they compare others to!

Don't forget the toothpaste! Your mouth will get all dry and nasty, and even though you can't drink, you can brush your teeth. I must have brushed mine 10 times in the first 24 hours! Flavored dental floss is great, too!

SF Jello counts as a liquid, but gives you a "full" feeling for a while if you don't drink anything. Good luck!

I didn't wear one at all the first week. I was back at work the second week, so I wore tank tops under very "busy" shirts to try and disguise the girls. I could wear a loose bra after the second week. My problem wasn't the surgery, per se, but that I had 2 incisions that fell right where the bra band sits.

Although I'm not a big vanilla fan, I used the Premier Protein vanilla instead of creamer in my chai tea - delicious!

Thanks, Angyplus5!

I didn't care for the pureed texture, either. Other than blended soups, I pretty much stayed with liquids until I could do soft foods at 4 weeks.

Hi all. This is my first post on these forums. I was sleeved 2/26; I see that several others were as well. Just want to get to know you and share the experience with others in the same boat!