mb20mom

You look amazing! Quite inspiring! Good job.

Stacy, I had the exact same thing happen to me this week. I had a few mini-Reeses, yogurt covered pretzels, ice cream...I felt so guilty but still lost a pound since yesterday. Any time I'm not eating protein I feel guilty. We were sleeved at the same time and I think we were just testing our tummies? Now that we can eat anything, lets just see what happens...and nothing happens! I don't understand the odd feeling I get though when i eat something sweet like ice cream. It's just not that great of a feeling but I can't really pinpoint what it is that my stomach is doing, like a churning airy feeling. Oh well, back to the plan tomorrow!

I had my surgery thru Kaiser and they required a 6 month program to lose 10% of your total body weight before surgery, but they used the before weight and bmi to determine the surgery qualifications. I don't think you have anything to worry about. We actually had to go to a class every week and weigh-in which at first, I thought was dumb, but now I'm very glad I had to do it because it taught me how to diet with a balanced 1500 calorie per day meal plan. I lost almost 30lbs during the classes and thought it was a great way to prepare for surgery. You'll be much more prepared for eating after surgery after going thru this, so you are lucky. Good luck!

I've been frustrated with hunger also. There's no way I can stick to just 3 meals a day. In the mornings I feel like a bottomless pit and have a hard time making it to lunchtime. I'm often hungry 1-2 hours after a meal. I've been on either pepcid or prilosec since day one, so I think acid is not the issue. I was so hoping the switch from mushies to solids would take care of the problem, but nope, still hungry all the time. I've lost 24lbs since surgery (after almost 8wks) which I'm fine with...sort of hoping that slow weight loss might prevent hair loss? Time will tell.

We were sitting at the dinner table last night and I got a big hiccup (the first one comes up big) and I said to my husband, "I think that's my full signal". I had noticed I get this when I get quite full, so it's nice to hear from others that I was on the right track.

Yes I add the protein powder to the Carnation Inst. Breakfast and mix with milk. I think it comes out to over 35 grams of protein. My husband mixes protein with water, but it sounds icky to me. And yes you aren't drinking milk during the clear liquid stage, only on the full liquids stage. I was on full liquids the first day home, so each surgeon has a different recommendation.

I think I was most unprepared for the nausea in the hospital, but it went away soon. I recommend getting some very small bowls or plastic containers with lids because you will open a can of soup and take 4 days to eat it. The Bullet is great for mixing protein shakes, and Carnation Instant Breakfast (sugar free) makes a protein shake taste much better!

For those of you who are pre-op, just know that immediately after your surgery, you probably WILL regret it and that's totally normal. I think many of us had these feelings. I wanted a time machine to put my stomach back and kept asking what had I just done to myself! But after a few weeks of recovery and healing I forgot all about those days. Now, after 6 weeks I feel great, my clothes are loose and for once I feel in-control of what I eat. I just started solid foods this week and feel like I made it thru the hard part and now it's back to a world of normal dieting. I feel like I have the greatest tool in the world to lose weight. I think the reason I didn't experience the mourning of food like some do, is that I had my surgery thru Kaiser, and they required a minimum of 6 mos of dieting and weight loss classes every week. If you didn't lose 10% of your body weight you didn't get approved for surgery. Fortunately I got into it and lost almost 30lbs by following a balanced 1500 calorie meal plan. Now with the sleeve I can be even more successful because my portions and hunger are controlled, and it's easier. I think for someone going right from gorging mode to sleeve mode, you couldn't be prepared for your new way of life. I highly encourage anyone to take their time and get used to the idea and try to diet as long as possible.

I was hoping this surgery was going to kill my hunger more than it has. That was my main motivation really, so I'm quite disappointed to still feel it so often. And although I don't crave food anymore, I'm not repulsed by it. I just eat to rid the hunger, but I wish I didn't have to eat so often. Nothing seems to stick with me. I don't know what size my stomach is but it's on my list of questions for the surgeon. I'm 6 weeks out and just starting regular food, so perhaps I'm not eating enough at each meal (I'm afraid to overeat). Right now I'm eating the chicken and veggies out of my first Lean Cuisine, trying to avoid the rice, and I'm fine so far with 1/2 of it down. Curious to see if it holds me until dinner.

Welcome to Sleeve Sisterhood! Sounds like you're having an amazing and effortless recovery, good for you. Keep us posted on your success.

I'm so excited that my scale finally moved today that I'm going to join in! After 2 weeks of no loss, today it went down 1.5 lbs since yesterday. I was going nuts. (After 5 weeks) Today's weight: 224.5 Lost since surg: 21.5lbs

Oh absolutely! I walked around holding the bottom of my belly up for days. To let go meant a burning pain immediately. The good news is it just went away one day pretty quick, I think within the first 7-10 days.

That's good to hear..I'm almost 6 weeks out and I'm always hungry! And lately I seem to feel a little sick to my stomach. Not quite nauseous, just icky/sour. Yesterday had my first sliming episode from taking my Vitamin. I just switched from Pepcid to Prilosec so I'm hoping that helps. And solid food might help. I'm so sick of yogurt and scrambled eggs, but I have one more week of mushies. I can't wait to try chicken and try a normal meal with my family. I keep cooking great stuff for them and it looks so good.

I still get hungry and find I need to eat about every 3 hours, even if I've eaten only protein. But I'm hoping that it's because I'm still eating mushie foods and they don't stick to you as well as solids. The hunger is different though, more like just an empty feeling and I can put it off longer, whereas before the sleeve, hunger was an all out annoyance that I had to keep dealing with all day. Eliminating hunger was my main motivation for getting sleeved, so it's a little disappointing to still feel it, but at least it's tolerable now.

Yes nausea is common. I was in the hospital an extra day because of it and to me it was the worst part of recovery. Thankfully though it goes away soon. I felt better by the 6th day or so. The only nausea I've had since then (I'm 4 wks out) is from taking pills on an empty stomach, which never bothered me before the sleeve, but I can work around that pretty easily. Congratulations on getting sleeved! Hope you have a smooth recovery.

No problem with scrambled eggs here. In fact it's my favorite thing to eat on my mushie stage, especially with cheese on top. But I still can't finish one.

Ya, it's really hard to take vitamins with food when you can't drink with your food! My multivitamin w/iron makes me nauseous the second it hits my emptly stomach. But if you have to stop drinking 15 mins. before your meal, how do you avoid taking it on an empty stomach? And waiting an hour after the meal seems too long and my stomach might be empty by then. Today I gulped it down with my yogurt and it felt okay, just not my favorite method. I may have to try chewables after all.

I was given Reglan in the hospital and took it once while at home. I was very afraid of the known side effects (depression) but it didn't seem to bother me. Lan2k has posted about the side effects alot. I also was seeing commercials on TV about law suits, so I didn't want to take it.

Glad to hear you saw the doctor about it. That makes sense now that I know it's nerve endings since I remember it being such a sharp, burning and shocking sensation. Enjoy the meds...ha ha!

Yes I know exactly what you are talking about. I'm 2 weeks out and twice now I've felt like I pulled something on the left side. Both times I was lifting my left leg to go up a step, so pretty sure it's an abdominal muscle that we're agrivating while it's trying to heal. The funny thing is it seems to go away by the next day, so I'm not worried.

I'm in a bit of a mourning period right now since I'm only 2 weeks out and on mushies, but I know that it's only temporary until I can have solid food again in a few weeks. But I'll admit I am reminded every day that what I've done is permanent and I will never be able to eat like I used to. It is reassuring though knowing that I will eventually be able to eat anything I want in the future, just not much of it. It's definitely something to think about thoroughly before getting surgery, so good question.

I had this exact feeling on my left side sort of between 2 incisions. I had to hold my belly while I walked or it felt like I would rip apart if I let it go. But no worries, it went away in a few days. I just woke up one day and it was gone.

I've had applesauce, mashed potatoes, and Jello sf/ff instant pudding made with added protein powder. Tonight I tried egg salad and it was great!

Well now I understand why everyone adds Splenda to greek yogurt...yuck! I don't think I can learn to like it. I might have to stick with my Yoplait light.

Yesterday at my post-op appt. the surgeon said to start on mushies! I ran home and made a scrambled egg and thought I'd never had anything so good in my life. I couldn't finish it, but it was so satisfying. I don't think I have alot of choices on my mushies list, but I'll take anything over a protein shake. Just now I ate some refried beans and it was just like eating a burrito. I managed almost 1/4 cup and stopped because I'm deathly afraid of over filling my sleeve. I know I'll have to supplement with a shake eventually since I'm not eating enough protein, but for now I'm enjoying every bite!