chiquitatummy

Hi! 👋 I got my sleeve on 2/23 so I'm almost 6 weeks out. Overall I feel good and am doing really well. I'm in the pureed stage for another couple more weeks then on soft foods for 2 more weeks. I've lost 21 pounds so far - 9 of them in the first week! I would have been stoked to keep that rate up for a bit, but I'm happy with the steady 2ish pounds a week I seem to be losing right now. Besides sticking to the eating plan, my next step is to increase my exercise. I'm taking just a couple 20-30 minute walks a week right now, and am still pretty gassed afterward with my muscles feeling like jelly. The only way out of this is probably to power through enough to build my strength up. Gotta dig in and find the motivation to add in more walking and some strength training.

I had a few random pains and spasms during the first couple of weeks after surgery. They didn't stick around and it wasn't constant or accompanied by vomiting/uncontrolled nausea. There are a lot of potential reasons for discomfort in those first couple weeks that are (typically) not serious: incision healing, stomach acid, gas, constipation, a stitch getting tugged, tummy inflammation, drinking too fast...and probably more that I'm not think of. All that said...If you are worried contact your program. I called my program nurse twice in the first couple weeks to get reassurance that my discomfort wasn't an indication of something serious and it was great to get reassurance from a professional. Hang in there! It gets a lot easier after the first couple weeks.

The 23rd of March was my 1 month sleev-a-versary so I thought I'd post an update. I'd love to hear how others who are about a month out are doing, so feel free to share the good, bad, or gross (and I do mean poo talk). My recovery has thankfully been uneventful. I had the normal struggles in the first week (nausea, water/protein intake, gas pain, uncomfortable sleeping) but nothing terrible. I have had some poo struggle days, that has been the worst! Right now the pipes are working (cross fingers) but a week ago - hoo boy, not great. I've discovered that I need to take a stool softener at least every other day or things stop moving. My energy has been better, but there are still days when I can't believe how tired I feel just walking up the stairs. I graduated to the pureed stage this week (my program does full liquids for 4 weeks) which was exciting but also a little scary to try "new" foods on my tiny tummy and see how she did. So far, she has handled everything like a champ and I am really enjoying eating more than protein shakes, protein soup, and yogurt. I've lost 19 pounds since my surgery day and can feel a difference in how my body moves, how much less pain I have in my joints, and how my clothes fit. I can bend at the waist more comfortably, balance on one foot better, and crossing my arms or my legs is comfortable again. I tried on a dress that I wore to a family wedding in January of last year and was shocked to see how baggy it was on me. One of my biggest WLS fears was my emotional state taking a downturn during recovery and from not being able to eat normally. I'm happy to say that hasn't happened, in fact it's been the opposite. I feel like I have a stronger perspective and more balanced moods overall. I think seeing some immediate positive results in how my body feels is part of the reason, along with having finally done the thing I spent so long thinking and worrying about. Now that I am on the other side I am experiencing what the reality of WLS is for me rather than worrying about what it might be.

Ugg. So sorry for your moms BS comment. Not cool. Not ok. You deserve better. You are human and therefore worthy of feeling beautiful and good about yourself at any size. I've long been sick of hearing comments from people that link beauty, worthiness and self-worth to body size.

Congrats and you look amazing! You should steal that polka dot number from your daughter, it looks great on you!

so sorry, full liquid stage is hard enough without your main food source making you sick. A few ideas for you to consider (if you haven't already) thinning the protein shake or using them to thin greek yogurt. bariatric protein soups and protein hot cocoas (you can get them on Amazon). using plain genepro - it is nearly taste and textureless - in a cup of tea, juice, or milk. FYI - there is some controversy on the genepro claim of how much protein is in a serving. At my dietician's advice I half the protein they claim to have in a serving just to be safe. Adding powdered milk to milk to make a higher protein drink, especially if you use fairlife milk which is already higher in protein. making popsicles out of the protein shakes, maybe having them as a frozen meal will make a difference?

Happy for you!

what Jaelzion said. Follow your program and give it some time. You will see results.

I've noticed something similar too. I have a "bad" ankle that I sprained one to many times so it had a bunch of scar tissue around it and carpal tunnel in one wrist. Over my years of dieting, I've noticed that pain and daily swelling in both these areas goes down significantly when my diet has been low in sugar and included zero added sugars. on my pre and post op diets the pain and swelling in both areas has gone away completely.

thank you everyone for playing along with my poll and sharing your experiences and takes on sharing about your WLS. I've really enjoyed seeing the different perspectives and reading all the different experiences. This little community has become a real support to me since I discovered it. I appreciate having a place to come to where I can talk about my WLS experience and learn from others.

Pre-op one of my big angsts was talking to family about my surgery. I know that, for most of them, they would not be on board. I have a loving and highly opinionated family of people that view themselves as wellness and health experts and I swear if there was a family motto it would be "you know what you should do". All of this contributed to me feeling like telling them about my WLS would open a can of worms. Not telling didn't seem like an option until I realized that, because of Covid social distancing and other distractions in my family right now I could probably pull off a secret surgery. Which is exactly what I did. Only my husband and one person at work know I had WLS. And right now I am so happy about this. It has been a delight to not have to respond to a million questions about how I'm doing or field all the worry and misinformation I feel sure my well-meaning family would bring my way. I feel like I gave myself the gift of healing in peace. Right now I don't have plans to tell anyone else about my WLS unless they ask directly. I'll see how things go when it comes to handling food related get-togethers in the near future. I'm toying with just giving an explanation that includes the partial truth, that I am working with a nutritionist in a medically supervised dietary program. I am not ashamed of having WLS, I just don't want every person I know to feel free to be all up in my business regarding my weight, dietary habits, personal health, and medical decisions. Getting my mom and sisters to not take every opportunity to talk to/interrogate me about my weight and try to create dieting regimes for me was a hard won battle many years ago. Does anyone else relate to otherwise loving and well-meaning family members having no boundaries when it comes to wanting to "fix" your fatness? I feel like letting them in on my WLS would be a step back and they would revert to their old ways. I don't need or want that in my life. I just want my family to be my family and prefer not to give them any opening to try and act as my nutritionist or Dr. again.

so happy to hear you are home mending. You have been in my thoughts.

Putting the hammock back out Tulips blooming Going hiking with less weight on my body all the trees leafing out and blooming (sorry to anyone with spring allergies ☹) The beginning of berry season Chewing food, being done with the tummy healing portion of my diet Eating a garden fresh salad

I feel this, especially with people where there has been a history of harmful focus on your body and fat shaming. I am proud of myself for having the courage to take the steps to get WLS, the resilience to do the hard work involved, and the self-love to prioritize my own well-being. Unfortunately, many people in my life would miss all of these aspects that I find worthy of pride and focus on praising me for getting skinny. I don't want to be the recipient of this kind of praise and while I will enjoy many aspects of being smaller I don't want to hear praise for my smaller body at the expense of my bigger body. I want both to be shown love.

OMG - yes. the exhaustion during week one and two was intense. It got better in week three for me, but I still tire much easier than normal. I expect that this will go away once I am more fully healed and able to intake more calories.

Not cool, actually a super sh**ty thing to do to someone right before surgery.

I'm jelly of your pureed stage! My program does 4 weeks of full liquid then pureed stage for 3 weeks. I get to move stages next Wednesday - I've never been so excited for thinned down refried beans, lol! I just started being able to get in 64 (plus or minus a few) ounces in me, not counting shakes, about 4 days ago. Mind you, I am drinking from morning til night. I have been lucky not to have heartburn. My Dr. has me on omeprazole, so I'm not sure if that's saving me or if I am just dang lucky.

This happened to me too. I had my psych visit a few months into covid lockdown and I kind of melted down when the psych asked me about stress and how I cope. Like you, I also got super honest and talked about a fairly new realization of how much I have used food to resolve anxiousness. I don't have a clinical eating disorder but absolutely have had unhealthy eating patterns that include use of food as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiousness. The psych ended up scheduling one more visit with me and referring me out to a therapist who I still seeing once a month. I was cleared once I started therapy and completed a 2nd psych visit. Honestly, it's been really nice for me to be back in therapy again during this time. I was worried that being off work and recovering from surgery at home might be rough enough that I would have a depressive slump (I didn't, yay!) so it was really nice to be able to schedule an appointment for one week after surgery as a lifeline just in case that happened.

We are surgery week sibs; I had my surgery just two days before you! I have noticed the same thing in the last week or so. I'm able to take nearly full-sized sips. It's made a big difference in me being able to get my fluids in during the day. I'm still on a full liquid diet (one more week to go) but I no longer have to count my shakes as fluid since I can drink more in one sip. I do still need to pause between sips, no chugging for me, and a couple times I have gotten real wild and taken a really big sip that left me uncomfortable for a minute or so until I was able to get some air out.

The first week is dramatic! Everything feels so weird and out of wack. I'm three weeks post-op and it got much better for me in week two. The first 3-4 days nausea was a real thing (I had a timer for when I could take the anti-nausea medication) and I was in a lot of discomfort in general. I didn't have too much incision pain and was off pain meds by day 5, but doing anything that tugged on my stomach for the first week+ felt scary. I slept on the couch propped up on pillows for 5-6 uncomfortable nights before I felt like I could lay down in the bed and be able to safely get back up. At three weeks I'm able to take slow and steady walks around the neighborhood and my incisions are healing over but still a bit tender to the touch. The nausea has gone away (hallelujah!) and I am able to get fluids and protein in as recommended most days. The have been a few days when I just don't feel hungry, don't want to eat, and have to force myself to get some protein in. I'm still easily tired so naps are my friend.

Hi! Welcome to the other side! Sending good vibes your way for recovery and the rest of your journey.

Others on this board have mentioned that having high stomach acid can make you feel like you are hungry.

I agree! My healthcare decisions = my business.

Funny thing about that...I had my gallbladder removed about 7 years ago after a horrific few weeks of the worst pain of my life from passing one stone and my bile duct becoming plugged by another. I have well meaning "wellness expert" family members that still fuss over me doing something so extreme instead of treating it with milk thistle supplements and whatnot. 🙄 They have some pretty extreme views on medical intervention that doesn't fall into the realm of "natural".

Congrats! I'm looking forward to being where you are, staring down that first 50# loss. Thanks for the inspo.