GradyCat

Congratulations! I'm six weeks post-op sleeve. I took pajamas to the hospital and never needed them. But I did end up using my toothbrush, toothpaste, lip balm, and hand lotion. Other than that I can't think of anything you'll need there. Believe it or not the liquid diet isn't as hard as you'd think. I had Gatorade Zero, Diet Peach Tea, Protein Shakes, sugar-free popsicles, and sugar-free jello on mine.

I haven't tried any fruit other than a banana yet.

No, I don't drink alcohol, but I didn't before getting the sleeve either.

I use the pre-made GNC Lean shakes, but the only time I ever used powder it was to mix with water. You were genius milk. Powder would be cheaper for me. Perhaps I could mix it with almond milk. I might have to try it. Thanks for the idea.

I have obstructive sleep apnea as well but I look forward to not using the CPAP machine any longer at some point if I've lost enough weight and a repeat sleep study says it's okay to stop using it. I can't see the harm if you kept using it. Perhaps with adjusting settings and pressures to account for the weight lost? Skinny people can have sleep apnea too.

That's good to know. Thanks. Yes, I used to also be one of those who laughed at the serving sizes on a bag of something and think "This is more than one serving? No way! Who could eat that small of a serving?" Now I know who can eat that small of a serving . . . ME!

Only my husband knows. I'm not telling anybody. I don't want the judgment and the constant sizing me up each time they see me wondering if I'm progressing or screwing up.

No, no problem with dry eyes since surgery six weeks ago. Dry skin, though, but it is Winter and I never remember to use moisturizer, so that's probably the answer to that issue. I am getting in my 64 oz of liquid each day so I don't dehydrate.

No, I didn't have that issue. I'm six weeks post-op VSG now and have had regular bowel movements the whole time.

I'm only telling my husband. When others ask if I've lost weight I'm just going to shrug it off and say, "I dunno, I don't weigh" and then they hopefully won't ask how much or pursue it any further. I am happy and confident with my decision to have had the WLS but it's not anybody else's business and I don't want them sizing me up every time they see me.

I've never heard of insurance covering protein. My surgeon wrote me a prescription for soft-chew vitamins, but my insurance doesn't cover them, so I'm buying them out-of-pocket at GNC.

Me too, needing 85 or 90 pounds to lose total and now just 75 at six weeks post-op. Everything I've read says that the number of pounds lost may vary depending on how heavy you were to start with but that the percentage remains the same. 33% loss of excess weight at 3 months. 50% loss of excess weight at 6 months. 70% loss of excess weight at 12 months. So while the total # of pounds will vary from person to person, the % will be similar.

Here's me at 3 weeks post-op, plus a little weight lost during pre-op surgery diet. Only about 15-20 pounds, but I can still tell a difference.

I didn't know this until the morning of discharge from the hospital, 2 days after surgery, when the surgeon told me upon disharge no NSAIDS for life. Thankfully Tylenol works for me.

Are you still in the liquids stage? Once you get to soft foods there is cottage cheese and soft flaky fish or chicken and scrambled eggs. And of course once you hit the real food stage your protein options are unlimited.

From what I've read you're supposed to wait until 6 months after you've reached your goal weight and stabilized before undergoing any plastic surgery for excess skin. I don't know if this would apply to breast implants or not, but you want to be sure you're at your final weight before having anything dramatic done so it'll fit your body correctly and your body won't still be changing.

Congrats! I only had to do a two week pre-op diet and I lost a few pounds, it was a calorie-restricted 1500 calories per day. My guess is twofold. One has to do with water weight pre-op and losing a lot of it. The other is that your body went under something drastic and traumatic and doesn't know how to respond just yet to the post-surgery you. I'm just 6 weeks post-op myself I stalled during Weeks 4 and 5 when transitioning from fluids to soft foods to real food because my body just didn't know what to do with all of the changes, but now in Week 6 the scale is finally starting to move again.

No, I stayed within 600-800 calories and got my liquids in. Wait, yes I did! I started going to the gym during and ever since Week 4!

Thanks for the reminder. When I just don't feel like sipping anymore, I grab a sugar-free popsicle to get more liquid in.

Same here. It'll be six weeks Tuesday and I didn't lose anything during Weeks 4 and 5 but finally the scale started moving again today, so I have hope.

I'm that way now, just six weeks out, would rather have a protein bar or protein shake and skip the food altogether.

Thanks for sharing this info. At just 6 weeks post-op this confirms for me that need to stay on track and follow the program and that the surgery was only a tool and the rest is up to me. Thank you for your honesty.

It should be fairly easy. I already work with a therapist due to depression, so I didn't have to see a psychologist per se but I did have to meet with the psych lady at the surgeon's office for about 30 minutes and all she wanted to make sure was that I had a support system in place for post-op and that I had realistic expectations of the results.

I "trained" myself about 5 weeks prior to surgery to stop using a straw because I knew I wouldn't be allowed to use one after I got my sleeve done and it worked . . . although I would rather use a straw, I have adjusted and know that I'd drink too quickly and take in too much air if I used one. So I just sip out of a Tervis Tumbler.

I'm fairly new too, just 5 weeks here, and have learned so much just by reading through the threads to understand that we are all going through similar issues, have the same concerns and questions, and can learn a lot from each other's experiences. Welcome.