Arabesque

Unfortunately, apart from what you are doing, you just have to wait it out. I had no gas pain with my sleeve (don’t hate me) but with my gall removal oh yeah. I walked, I stretched (though because my abdomen had been distended with the gas & gallons of fluids they pumped me full of to up my low BP I had a lot of strained tummy muscles it wasn’t easy) but I totally forgot the gasX. It does ease a little more every day. Took about a week. You can have shakes, broths, soups, clear liquids. As long as they are completely smooth & free from any residual bits of meat, vegetables, herbs, etc. I strained all my soups just to make sure.

I was drinking green tea a few days after surgery without issue (the heat was soothing) but we’re all different. Sometimes our healing tummies just don’t like something & will let you know pretty quickly. Take a break from the peppermint tea & see how you go. All because you can’t tolerate it now doesn’t mean you won’t be able to drink it in the future. You could also try an alternative herbal tea & see how you go. Are you eating/drinking anything else or taking meds before you vomit, have nausea, etc? It could be something else that is upsetting you. How far out from surgery are you? I had a lot of salvia the first few days because of swelling (carried a vomit bag with me everywhere). If it persists give your medical team a call. Good luck.

They happen. Just stick to your plan & they will break. Your body is taking a break to catch up with all the changes - diet, weight loss, surgery, etc. It’s been through a lot. I never changed a thing I was doing (why stress my body more) & I always started to lose again. You will too. Good luck.

Hospital now!!!

I was swallowing meds from day two. Wasn’t easy at first as I had a lot of swelling but I just spread them out. But as the days passed it hit easier. If the meds were prescribed by your surgeon they should be fine but if you’re unsure or they’re hard to swallow just contact their office & ask.

Some do have a tougher time post surgery & I’m sorry you are. But it does get better. The pain subsides, the swelling reduces, you’ll move more easily, …. Just give yourself time to heal. Honestly, there will be days in the future when eating or drinking may be tough or your tummy/body will throw you a curve ball. There’s a lot of learning & new things to discover about yourself & your body. It is soooo worth it.

Everyone’s plan has different requirements & expectations. Everyone heals differently & our tummies have different tolerances (sensitivities). Some people take longer to get through the stages, others move through quickly. We’re all different so there’s no real right or wrong way to recover. If things are going smoothly for you that’s wonderful. Some people do progress easily. People usually post because they wonder if what they’re experiencing is ok or should they seek help … which is really what you’ve sort of done too. 😉 This is all very new to everyone’s it makes sense they post to ask questions & reassurance. Congratulations on your surgery.

Actually I can’t remember exactly when I first ate lettuce but I do remember eating cucumber towards the end of month 2. Cooked with tomato, celery, mushrooms, etc from purée. I think it was around the 3 or 4 month mark. I’d probably tread carefully with coarser leaf salad greens - they can be too dry & cause discomfort. And of cause watch any salad dressings you use. As with anything check your plan & if it’s ok go slowly. You can only try. Personally I eat a heap of iceberg lettuce (cups of the stuff every day) - think it’s a bit of a slider for me. Plus it’s full of water so great for hydration.

@catwoman7 is correct. Plus the crampy pains are from your surgery. Pulled muscles, internal stitches, etc. Perfectly normal just some people experience more discomfort others less. BUT, if they get worse contact your medical team. Congrats on your surgery.

It depends upon how much you want to lose. And everyone loses at their own rate - lots of factors influence this (age, gender, weight loss history, metabolic rate, activity, etc.). Generally you lose more quickly to begin & then slow as you get closer to goal. I took 6 months to lose the 31kgs (68lbs) to my goal. I lost an additional about 11kgs I over a year as I was trying to find my way in maintenance. You’ve lost 81lbs in your first 6 months that’s great. You’ll get to where you want to be. It’s not a race.

You look fantastic in that bikini @Kris77. Your legs look pretty darn good from what I can see in your pxt.

Happy birthday for Monday @STLoser. Hope your dream comes true soon. Book the ticket soon.

Well I’m beginning to think this outfit is jinxed. The two times I’ve been going to wear it the event has been cancelled due to COVID. First time was my birthday dinner two weeks ago. Second time is dinner tonight as we’re going into a three day lockdown from 4pm. 😥 Wonder what will happen if I decide to wear it again? Is a H&M buy. Spied the sequins as I was walking buy. What a wonderful time together @WishMeSmaller. And glorious weather too.

Nope not diabetic @johnm so that’s why it was never a consideration as a possible cause for either of us. Plus it happens so randomly. I hope they can help you manage your sugar levels. How long post surgery are you? Your taste buds can go a haywire for a while after surgery & I found protein shakes made my teeth revoltingly grainy - I was always having to brush my teeth. So if you’re not long post surgery that could be contributing to how things taste & feel for you. It does pass & get better.

The truth is the average weight loss at three to five years is about 65% of the weight you have to lose (that is the weight that puts you in the healthy BMI range - higher end if you are a larger frame, lower if you’ve a smaller frame). Your surgeon may have given you a goal weight of where you may end up at based on these averages. Better to under promise & over deliver thinking. Some medical teams discuss where you’d like to be. Mine did. Mine was based on the lowest weight I could always get down to before gaining again which was on the upper end of the BMI range (cause I thought I had a larger frame - turns out I don’t). It was deemed a reasonable, healthy & attainable goal based upon my history. I know many people poo poo BMI but look at it as a guide, not a hard & fast rule. Amend it based on your body type, frame, muscle mass, etc. Plus you know how your body works & functions best - it may be at a higher or lower weight. You know you functioned well at a lower weight when lifting so that may be somewhere for you to aim as against what your surgeon suggested. I’ve lost way more than my goal & have been working at maintaining it for about 10 months - so I’ve got a long way to go. Looking at my stats, you may expect me to be bony but I’m not. But that’s me. Someone with a different body shape & frame may be very bony at the same BMI. As long as the weight you reach is healthy & sustainable everything is great. The surgery will rest your basal metabolic rate & that will dictate how much weight you lose too. This video by Dr Matt Weiner may be helpful. He has a lot on this topic. Good luck.

It doesn’t seem like anywhere near enough but what do your dietician & surgeon say? Are you recording your food? What does your plan require & recommend? I was eating three meals a day from purées - small portions about 1/4 -1/3 cup. Each meal contained protein. The portion size slowly increased to less than a cup as I progressed adding more protein & vegetables & I added an afternoon & evening snack usually fruit & yogurt. I was focussed on developing good eating routines & incorporating a balanced diet & what would be sustainable in the long term to maintain my weight. I wasn’t really hungry or all that interested in food but I knew I had to eat. By about 5 or 6 months I was eating less than 900 calories I think. I stopped multi vitamins at 8 months with my surgeon’s approval as my blood work is as very good so I was getting all the nutrients I needed from what I was eating. I maintain at about 1200 calories (not tall, smallish frame, not very active & in my mid 50s), blood work is still good. Some people can eat more than others & some people’s plans require to eat more or less than others. I do believe you can only eat what you can eat at each meal but I’m concerned you are really only eating one meal & a snack a day. You’d be better off eating smaller portions more frequently through the day. Add a protein shake or yoghurt for more protein - you can’t be any where near meeting your daily protein goals - you can sip the shake & graze on the yoghurt for ages at work if you need. Are you eating slowly? I take 30 - 60 minutes to eat even now. If you don’t have a dietician, I’d ask your team for a recommendation & if you don’t track your food, I’d also start doing that too.

Perfectly fine to ask these questions more so if you’ve never had surgery before. I stayed a couple of days (back spasmed - existing condition). I too wore the same clothes to & from the hospital. I wore slightly stretch pull on pants, a loose over shirt & flat shoes. When I left I actually liked the gentle supportive pressure of the stretch pants on my incisions but could have folded the waist band down below my incisions if it was uncomfortable. I wore a bra after without issue. The upper central incision was below my bra band but yours may be a little higher. You’ll probably just have to try it & see how you go. Take a loose jacket just in case. I slept a lot too. I downloaded things to watch or read on my iPad but I couldn’t really concentrate so 5 minutes in I’d give up. I took my own toiletries including shower gel. Personally, I enjoyed changing from those gaping, flapping hospital gowns into my own pjs - felt so much more comfortable. (On my first ward walk I came upon a man still in his hospital gown. He was standing in the sun & believe me those gowns are extremely transparent & it was all hanging free 😂😂😂) I’m a bit of a just in case packer so I threw in extra pjs & knickers. Super glad I did because I experienced one of those unexpected, extremely sudden diarrhoea attacks. 😱 I used a small wheelie bag - you can’t carry anything heavy after surgery usually nothing more than about 10lbs. My bag was stored & taken to my room when I got to the surgical waiting room. The clothes I was wearing were put in a named paper bag when I changed into the hospital gown, non slip socks, anti clotting hose & those very sexy disposal knickers & also taken to my room. Good luck with your surgery.

My thought would be your old scale was out too. The old rotary type scales do become less accurate over time - dust, moisture, etc. But if you weigh 1.8lbs more now you likely weighed 1.8lbs when you began so you’ve still lost the same amount of weight. That’s still a win in my books. 🙂 You’ve done fantastically - congrats.

You can only eat what you can eat. Some days you’ll meet all your goals, the next you may not. That’s ok. As long as you work towards it every day. It does get easier as you heal. You’re all very early out. I don’t meet my protein or fluid goals every day now either but some days I exceed them. It averages out across the week. As to food, some things I grazed on for ages, some things I put in the fridge for later or froze or ate the next day. There were the odd things I tossed (like turkey, ricotta & cottage cheese - blah!) Honestly, I still do this. I love my microwave. Go through a lot of cling wrap & zip lock bags though. The people from Glad must love me LOL! Good luck.

We call it the three week stall but it can happen before or after that point. It’s just your body taking a breath & playing catch up. It’s been going through a lot - surgery, change of diet, reduced caloric intake, etc. You’ll likely experience other stalls too as you progress. Stick to your plan & you’ll start to lose again. It may take a week or 2 or 3 or so. But you will happen. I like Dr Weiner’s videos. Hope this one helps you. (The question is a little long but the answer is great.) Good luck.

Well, I’m glad we’re not the only ones but it mustn’t be very common & it’s still very weird. Neither my friend nor I ever experienced it before and it doesn’t happen often - go for weeks between episodes. I’ve taken esomeprazole for years though of course not as frequently as now but when I used to take it I took twice the dose I do now. I don’t think my friend takes it at all - will ask her. Apart from the esomeprazole, I only take HRT & again been doing so for years. Will look at getting some Biotine or similar to keep beside my bed. Bit wary about toothpastes at the moment cause I got a terrible ulcer sore thing on my tongue apparently from the sulphites in the charcoal toothpaste I was using. Owww! The acid thing is a worry too @catwoman7. I’m a twice a year dentist girl & got him to specifically look for any early acid damage my last visit. He found nothing & teeth & gums were very healthy - gold star. Hope it continues. 🤞🏻 Always appreciate your advice ladies. 😁

For me, I become light headed, vision narrows or I temporarily lose vision when my blood pressure is low. When my sugar drops I experience combinations of becoming weak, have cold sweats, vision narrows, blocked ear/s, sometimes think I need to vomit or have diarrhoea, my nose runs,… I’ve never fainted or collapsed but have come close. I had these things occasionally before my surgery but now my BP is low most of the time. I suffer from drops in my sugar randomly - usually if I’ve been exerting myself but on occasions for no reason. Sitting down, sipping water, a little juice, a cup of tea, a protein bar, some fruit all help. Yesterday after a bush walk everything crashed & foolishly I had forgotten my protein bar & had meant to add some electrolytes to my water. Thankfully we had just got to the cafe & I could sit down & have a cup of tea. Keep your fluids up, ensure you’re following your plan re food intake, calories &/or portion size requirements & meeting protein goals. Get some electrolyte drinks or add electrolyte powders to your water. Go slowly when getting up - stand & wait before moving. Does your local pharmacy offer blood pressure testing? May be easier to do that if your BP machine isn’t working & before you can see your doctor.

This happens to a lot of us. Your tummy is still healing & can be very sensitive for a while. Take your time & don’t be afraid to go slowly or take a step back for a couple of days as @NovaLuna suggested. Good luck.

It’s also to start to break some of your food cravings & get through the withdrawal side effects of stopping caffeine, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. as required by your surgeon. You don’t want to be experiencing those side effects while you’re you’re managing post surgery effects. Good luck.

So fantastic. Congratulations.