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ABawdyMermaid

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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Everything posted by ABawdyMermaid

  1. ABawdyMermaid

    Under 400lbs in over 6 years

    Hey, I know the feeling! All of my clothes now hang off me like sacks, and I have worn out the one pair of leggings that I had until holes came in the crotch area of them, LOL. I finally broke down and bought a couple new pairs of leggings, but I don't really intend to buy much else until I've lost even more weight. I will just have to deal with the clothes being two to three sizes too big or more. [emoji14] Sent from my moto g(7) using BariatricPal mobile app
  2. ABawdyMermaid

    Protein and fluids!

    My goal is also 90 grams of protein per day, but I haven't gotten that even once in the last 2 months since my surgery. I asked why it was so high from my nutritionist, and she said that it had to do with my weight since I was a very big girl. There was something else as well, but I can't really remember now. The only thing I found that helps me is drinking 2 protein drinks a day to help add to the protein total. At best I can get around 50 grams of protein, but like you I eat so little that it's very difficult to get it at all. I'm a vegetarian, but have decided to start adding fish into my diet simply because I'm not able to get the protein that I need. Sent from my H60-L04 using BariatricPal mobile app
  3. ABawdyMermaid

    Almost 4 days post op

    Try not to be discouraged, as you will definitely get better in the coming days! The gas pains tend to be the worst, at least they were for me, and I was also light-headed as well. That could possibly be from the lack of food or drink depending on what you've been allowed to consume. Just give it some time and take it slow, one day at a time! [emoji170] Sent from my H60-L04 using BariatricPal mobile app
  4. ABawdyMermaid

    Pre op diet

    If you just want to update your weight, there's a huge counter on the far right side of the page (you gotta scroll down a bit.) But if you want to update other stuff, go to Patients (at the top of the screen) then hover over until you see 'My Surgery.' You should be able to update from there!
  5. ABawdyMermaid

    Pre op diet

    Very true, very true!
  6. So sorry to hear you are in pain! I wanted to ask, does it hurt when you breathe in or anything like that? Does it hurt all the time or just when you eat? I had a lot of weird pains post-surgery, but mine were between my shoulder blades in my back (and this happened weeks after.) It could be something like that, but I would be wary since blood clots can develop (which is something I am always worried about, I admit.) If in doubt, I would say to call your team and talk to them or even see a doctor just to be safe.
  7. ABawdyMermaid

    No protein shakes! Possible or no?

    I hate them as well, but I have to use them in order to hit anywhere remotely close to the 90g/protein per day. I am a vegetarian though, so it's a bit more complicated for me than meat eaters (or so I'm told.) Right now I am drinking 1-2 a day still, but I want to stop drinking them asap. I could be wrong (and feel free to correct me, anybody, if so!) but I think you only really need them for the first couple weeks post-surgery, and then you can phase them out? There are other ways of getting protein as well besides shakes, like yogurts, quarks, even protein water.
  8. ABawdyMermaid

    How much to eat

    Hi there! Firstly, very sorry to hear of your troubles with the vomiting and such. It's just awful, especially so close to when you had surgery! I wanted to ask, when do you experience the pain? Is it literally with anything/everything you eat? Or, is it only with certain foods? I would get pain with eating when I ate a bite too much (usually in the middle of my chest or around my right breastbone area.) It doesn't seem like you are eating too much though. Generally when you can't yet tolerate one stage of food, you revert back to the previous, so in your case that would be liquids (since you're on soft?) Are you still able to drink okay?
  9. ABawdyMermaid

    What just happened?

    It seems to me that your body rejected it, basically. When I eat something my stomach doesn't agree with, I now get immediate stomach pains, which aren't quite cramps, but I definitely 'know' not to eat that again. Being that your surgery was just a week ago as well, you are still healing, so try not to panic. I take it the pain is not continuous or anything like that? It was just a one time thing with the cream of wheat? Edit: I just read the others' posts now, and yeah, it could have been the brown sugar or possible dumping. I think I read it doesn't happen as much with the sleeve, but it's definitely still possible, so maybe try the stevia next time instead? Also, your tastes change (sometimes dramatically) after surgery, so it could be that you just don't like one or the other anymore.
  10. ABawdyMermaid

    3 days and grumpy!

    I cheated a little as well, though it was earlier in my pre-op diet, and I was alright. (And unlike you, mine was an unhealthy-ish cheat, lol!) I don't think one day is going to affect it that much though, to be honest, especially when your surgery is right around the corner. The diet is to shrink the liver and also get you prepared for eating much smaller portions, so yeah, you should be alright. Just try your absolute best to stick right to your diet for the next few days, since you don't want to mess that part up! It was also my first surgery as well, when I had my VSG. I was absolutely terrified, and I told my nurse as well as all the hospital workers that were prepping me for surgery. I mean, they could see my terror, lol! If you can, ask if they will give you something to calm your nerves (if you feel like you need it!) You will get through it though, however scary it seems right now. You can do this! And also, if you need anyone to talk to, feel free to message me! I'm happy to share my experiences! Best of luck to you! 🎉
  11. ABawdyMermaid

    Pre op diet

    I went from 435 to like 402, I think? Or maybe 399. I'm not 100% clear, but it was over 30lbs. My pre-op diet was 1 month long though (compared to most people's which is 2 days to 2 weeks!) I am 5'6 as well, if that helps, and obviously was a pretty hefty girl, lol! (Well, still am, but a smaller, hefty girl.)
  12. ABawdyMermaid

    How’d you Choose? Sleeve v.s. Bypass?

    Cheers! I wish you luck with your surgery!
  13. Mine was very similar! Five shakes a day and a meal at the end consisting of a small amount of protein along with very select vegetables. Is yours for two weeks? One week? Mine was for a month! It can be very hard to get through, but you just have to push through it! The first week or so I was very tired, no energy at all, and just laid on the couch a lot (outside of a bit of exercise.) It got better after that though. Try to get in your liquids, as they do help a bit at least (and a lot for some) when it comes to hunger. As for my surgery, it went very well! The first few weeks were no real issues, outside of normal post-surgery stuff, though now I am dealing with a lot of nausea and general sick feelings. I think it may be attributed to my vitamin pill, or at least that may be part of it. Thank you for asking though! Despite my frustrations and the nausea, I am still glad I went through with the surgery. It's been great to watch the scale go down, down, down!
  14. ABawdyMermaid

    How’d you Choose? Sleeve v.s. Bypass?

    I was absolutely terrified going in, plus it was my first surgery as well. I had no idea what to expect, but I'm glad that I didn't have any issues to speak of (in surgery, that is.) It's odd to think about how the 'safer' surgery is the one where most of your stomach is cut away, lol. 🤔 My first few weeks I did alright, but now I am having a great deal of nausea and sickness, but no GERD or reflux, thankfully. My nurses seem to think it's normal given my surgery date wasn't so long ago, but told me to contact back if it continues beyond the 2nd month out, to consider more testing and see if anything else is wrong. So for now, it's nausea medication and carefully watching the foods I eat so I don't get sick. 😶
  15. ABawdyMermaid

    Headache

    I was miserable the first week and a half of my pre-op diet. Headaches, body aches, just general malaise. Tylenol works for many, but didn't for me, sadly. 😕 I hope you are able to find something that helps you though! Is there any way you could contact your doctor to prescribe something a little stronger temporarily?
  16. ABawdyMermaid

    How’d you Choose? Sleeve v.s. Bypass?

    My options were the sleeve or bypass, and the surgeon recommended a sleeve first. That was also my first choice, as I'm not really interested in doing a bypass to be quite honest. The sleeve is touted as safer and that it has less complications than the bypass, and nothing is 'off limits' on the sleeve as well, which appealed to me. I am the type of person that if you say 'no', then I immediately want to do the forbidden thing, lol. Mostly it came down to safety for me though, honestly. I admit that I have also heard of more 'horror' stories with the bypass also, so that helped to affect my choice. My surgeon did say that if I wasn't very successful on the sleeve though, in a year's time, she would very likely approve me for a revision to another kind of WLS. She said it wouldn't be bypass though.
  17. ABawdyMermaid

    Need your advice

    Not this time around, but in the past, I lost something like 75lbs. when I was younger (like around age 20 or so) then gained it all back plus a great deal more. It happens to so many of us, I think, for whatever reasons. I think in my case, it was just poor eating habits combined with depression that wasn't treated. But yeah, there's plenty of us out there that have fallen off track only to later get back on. Also, I am glad you are seeing someone for the depression and anxiety! Here's to hoping they can help you out, which may also assist you in getting back on the bandwagon and starting the weightloss again! As for books, I don't know what kind you like, however. If you're familiar with Audible, they do have a free trial where you can get 1 or 2 (I forget) free audiobooks (which sometimes have a .pdf copy with them.) When I signed up before my surgery, they also gave me 5 free health and wellness books as well. (They chose the 5 though. The other 2 were my choice!) I would highly suggest it, just cancel after you've chosen your freebies.
  18. ABawdyMermaid

    Post-op upper GI this week - wish me luck

    I hope they're able to figure out what's wrong quickly! Nausea is just awful, especially since it's gotten so bad for you when you were doing well the first couple months.
  19. What does your pre-op diet look like? Is it liquids? Shakes? Combination of things?
  20. ABawdyMermaid

    Pre-Surgery Fears (2 Days Away!)

    Literally had every single one of those questions and many more! Too many 'what ifs' which are all brought on by my awful anxiety. 😕 I think you will do just fine though and get through it. I am no seer, unable to see the future, but as long as you work hard to stay on track and meet your goals, then you will do alright! It's normal to feel these kinds of worries, and I'm sure most people on the site had at least one or two of them. As for work, I can't answer that question. Unemployed here, but I know some people go back almost right away while others wait a few weeks. If it were up to me, I would say to use a couple weeks or so to really recover before going back. (But that's just me!)
  21. ABawdyMermaid

    Very upset after nutritionist appointment

    I am also a vegetarian, and even though I'm at the stage where I can eat most regular foods, I am lucky to get 30 or 40 grams of protein per day because I can eat so very little despite the fact that many foods I can eat have plenty of protein. Most foods that I eat have anywhere from 7 to 24 grams of protein per 100g of food. Even so, I am struggling greatly to get what I need. My protein goal is supposed to be 90 grams of protein per day. I have a nutritionist appointment coming up in the middle of March, and I plan to speak to her about that because I don't know what to do. Sent from my SM-J330F using BariatricPal mobile app
  22. ABawdyMermaid

    Chile? Hot sauce?

    So today I tried homemade veggie chili, and I want to cry.. I cannot tolerate it at all. It's barely spicy, too. It's upsetting since it's loaded with protein and fiber, too. Sent from my H60-L04 using BariatricPal mobile app
  23. ABawdyMermaid

    Can I afford the post-op diet?

    I actually found that for me, the pre-op diet was far more expensive. Here in Finland, the pre-op diet is for 1 month, and involves drinking 5 protein shakes a day, which are anywhere from 1,69€ to 1,99€ each depending on which brand. And then you have a small amount of protein and up to 500g (1lb) of select vegetables per day. We were spending loads just on the protein drinks alone. Now our grocery bill has decreased since I barely eat anything. For the most part, it's just my husband eating now, and I tend to take a little of whatever he is having, so long as it is something I can eat, and it falls into the healthy category. We still do buy some of the protein drinks from time to time, but usually only 1-2 every few days or so, versus 5 per day. They were the biggest chunk of our grocery bill each month.
  24. Yeah, I had the same sensations in the beginning, and even had some scary symptoms that I thought were possibly PE (or a leak) which just ended up being the gas they pump into you during surgery. I had the same sensation you mentioned, but also pain between my shoulderblades and in my left shoulder. I would still say to be cautious of it, and if it gets worse at all, please see a doctor because PE is very scary. At the very least, call your team and talk to them about it to get their advice. Definitely keep an eye on the pain, and if you have any trouble breathing at all, that's when I would head to the ER.
  25. ABawdyMermaid

    Chile? Hot sauce?

    I had my surgery on Jan. 15th and tried it last week, so like 3-4 weeks out? I have been able to tolerate the spices in TexMex type stuff with no issue, and regular black pepper is fine, but something about the sriracha just made me gasp for air, lol!

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