cajun

Chat room still down.

I went to a party today for the first time post op and was able to feel like a normal person. There was a nice spread of finger foods. I put one little finger food item of the ones I thought I could eat on my plate, and really enjoyed nibbling on all of it over two hours while we watched a football game. I felt so normal and no knows I had the surgery! It was amazing. No pain, no burping, just fun! What a blessing!

How are you feeling now, Daisy?

Sounds yummy. I bought a spaghetti squash today. Once that's gone, will try the butternut recipe.

Artteacher, Isn't it incredible, the high quality care you get in Mexicali? US Hospitals could take lessons from them. Drs Aceves and Campos have the rare combination of outstanding skill, and phenomenal bedside manner...they are just real, caring people who love what they do. Glad you experienced it too. Keep in touch with us all on the forum.

Dr Aceves gives his patients Toradol injections, which gives better pain relief than narcotics like morphine, demerol, or codeine. It also does not cause constipation stomach irritation, or groggyness, like the narcotics, and no chance of "becoming dependent on it like narcotics. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread! Before leaving the hospital, he gives patients a supply of sublingual Toradol to take home. I don't think that you can get the sublingual in the USA. It was great though, no need to put anything harsh in the new tummy. I did not need any pain medication after day 5 post op, so I still have some left. I never had such attentive pain management after surgery as I did under his care.

Chancie, Hope Santa brings you a new computer! There are two things that make me absolutely crazy. The first is when my car does not work. the second is when my computer does not work. How did we ever survive without one? Don't worry...now we know about your dilemma so will not expect answers. Once when my computer was on the blink I went to the public library and used one...they have a bank of them. Free use and Fast! Don't know if you are near a library. Have a nice turkey day!

Glad you are better Chandra. I found warm decaf tea and warm broth very soothing...tiny sip then burp then another sip, burp...I had to wait to let the burp come up, then the chest pain was not so bad. A heating pad helped me too...and the walking. Be kind to yourself...healing thoughts coming your way!

Great News Judy! Now relax!

It may also be due to the large amount of caffeine in Red Bull. If the headache is a true migraine, once the caffeine wears off after drinking Red Bull, the headache could come right back. Caffeine is a migraine trigger for some people.

Yippee yi o....wonderful! Congratulations! Keep up the good work Ky Hen!

GRRRRRRRRR. Hope you are home soon.

1 cup of banana contains 200 calories, 51 grams of carbs, 28 grams of sugar. Instead of eating all that "sugar", I put a few drops of banana-flavored extract in my chocolate shakes. Still tastes like banana but NO calories!

I think her question was if you can only eat a few bites, how in the world do you increase calories enough to stop losing? From what I understand, the amount that you are able to eat increases quite a bit after 6 months or so, so that you can eat portion sizes equivalent to more like 1200 calories. Is that correct? I guess the sleeve relaxes or stretches a little bit, so you can put more in it. Once you are at goal weight, unless you are into marathons etc, that amount should hold you steady at the goal weight you have achieved. If you're doing marathons etc, you'll have to work harder to find calorie-dense foods and/or eat more often, to replace what you are burning up so you don't keep losing too much.

Great! You probably know this already, but expect diarrhea if you eat anything with fat in it. I had that off and on for over a year after gallbladder surg. Not so much after that.

Yep, normal. Once you start on more solid food, you might want to take some miralax or similar product on a regular basis to prevent constipation. It can get pretty uncomfortable. Keeping things moving along also helps prevent "constipation stalls" in my opinion. One day I "dumped" four times and lost three pounds overnight!

Best of luck on your surgery...let us know how you are doing afterwards!

Ginny, Best of luck on your surgery! Looking forward to hearing how things went!

We all experience this, and worrying about it never seems to help. So put away the scales for a week, and enjoy life! I'm almost two months since surgery and have already had several stalls...that's what I do and it seems to make life more enjoyable. As long as you are eating what the program suggests, the weight will come off eventually.

Janette, I am relieved to hear that you are feeling better and are now home with your family. What a scary time you must have had. I can't imagine how you must have felt. Along with so many of our fellow forum members, I'm sending healing prayers and thoughts your way, and hoping you will be able to regain your energy and hopeful spirits really soon.

I can easily forget to eat, but there is not much time to get in all the protein and fluids, between work tasks, etc...so I have to constantly be mindful to be sipping or stopping for a meal. Once I'm at goal I won't feel bad about forgetting though.

You'll be sleeved before you know it! Nice family pics...is that your daughter's wedding? The pre surgery diet may get tough early on but then it gets easier as you lose the hunger feelings....I did anyway. Hang in there...look at your pics when you feel tempted..that helped me. You will be so glad you did this!

What a bummer! But it is true that adding this to the VSG expense will be better for your tax refund than if you had it next year. Lemonade from lemons! My gallbladder been out for about 10 years and it was not any more painful surgery than the sleeve, hopefully you will have the same feeling after the surgery. I presume it will be done by lap and not open. Pancreatitis is no fun and it is good that you are getting the proper treatment...am sure you are already feeling better since you are resting the GI tract... Let us know how much weight you lost once you get home...after your body dumps all the extra IV Fluid they are pumping into you. Keep your chin up! We are all rootin' for you!

And those of you who are going to Dr Aceves are going to love him and Dr Campos! You won't believe how much better the care is in Mexico compared to the USA.

Are you still taking a PPI?