ouroborous

I second Tiffykins post. It's very common to get some numbness and weakness if you get swelling around a nerve cluster. I know this from experience; I had hand surgery a while back and had to be VERY careful to avoid exacerbating my carpal tunnel syndrome when doing the required rehab exercises. I think DVT's are extremely painful, too. I don't think it's just numbness and weakness. I could be wrong -- I'm no doctor :scared0:

Interesting... I was given *no* caloric guidelines. The 1200 calories was a SWAG, I haven't been counting. It's just that I've had very little problems getting soft foods (liquids, yogurt) down. Well, I'm seeing the nutritionist on Friday, so we'll see what she says I should do. Thanks for the info!

Yes, that's EXACTLY what I'm going to do. I was really eager to move on to more solid foods and thought I was cleared to, but after this little episode... It's far more important that my sleeve heal up nicely than that I have mac 'n cheese a few days earlier!

That's good advice, but I'm 99% convinced that it was just the lingering side effects of an acid "dump" triggered by Not Respecting the Sleeve. If smaller, slower portions and smoother food don't fix it (along with being regular with my omeprazole), I'll definitely try switching things up.

Well, the good news is that I didn't have any significant reflux last night.

Yeah, the weird thing is that I didn't really have any pain with the mashed potatoes. They just felt a little bit... heavy, and kinda got stuck. But I DO think I may have irritated my sleeve a little bit (which might explain all the acid), so I'm going back to just liquids and such for a while. Also, I just read that chamomile tea in high doses can actually cause stomach upset and cramps, so I may have been bringing some of this on myself. Maybe I'll just drink hot Water?

Thanks for the kind words. I've been having problems with acid reflux for a long time (although I only recently realized that -- I thought it was allergies because it just made me cough a lot). It's just that since the surgery it's gone up a thousand times. I know that acid reflux is really common for sleevers (you're lucky!), and since I already had it, I'm not surprised. However, I really think that I've been pushing my new sleeve too hard and it sorta pushed back. So yeah, I'm going back to slushy things for a while, partially to let any damage I may have just done heal, and partially so that I can "catch up" a little with where I'm supposed to be in terms of eating. I'm having no problems getting in my 64 oz of water and 60 g of protein a day (I've been averaging about 100 oz water and 70-80 g protein). It's just this darned acid (and today, indigestion) that's been bugging me.

I can't even imagine craving sweets. Everything tastes so unbearably sweet right now. I had a sip of apple juice (not sweetened, just the juice) last night, and it was so sweet it made me gag. I have to cut apple juice with 50% Water just to drink it! Most of the things I've been craving are salty!

I'm definitely going to have to pay attention to this. My girlfriend (who is about 6 mos out now) eats mostly slider foods -- her dinner is mashed potatoes, cheese, and chili. She's lost a lot of weight, but she's been complaining that it's slowed way down. I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I was just encouraging, but I was thinking "well sure, your dinner is a giant bowl of carbs, all of it mushy and easy to slip through the sleeve." By this point, I would assume she'd want to be eating "real" food, like a half (a quarter?) of a chicken breast and some veggies or something. The nice thing about the sleeve, however (Tiffykins, correct me if I'm wrong here, I'm only 12 days out!) is that (a) it warns you pretty quick if you overdo it, and ( your appetite (body hunger) is still way, way down. So, while it takes work, the tool of the lap sleeve makes it possible. Just doing it "au naturale" -- not so much (at least, not for me!)

Yeah, I figure everyone heals differently, and there's no problem in being more conservative than the guidelines say, as long as I'm getting in all my water/vitamins/protein, right? As you say, learning to listen to my body has been the most important thing. It's been saying "too much" for a couple of days now, and I feel like I JUST figured that out. Back to slushy/slurry things for a few days before I try again. Theoretically on Saturday I'm cleared for "mechanical soft" (mac 'n cheese, yum!) but I'm still going to hold off for a few days.

My post-op handout from my surgical center was WAY too aggressive about what I could eat in this phase, I think. It said melted cheese and mashed potatoes were okay -- I ate some and it damn near killed me. From now on, nothing that I can't blend until I have the okay for mushy foods and/or solids.

Well, today was surprisingly tough. I've been dealing with the after effects of last night's acid extravaganza all day long, literally. My throat constantly wants to get sore and swell up. Fortunately I've discovered that hot tea soothes the soreness and I can pretty much drink as much chamomile tea (and Splenda) as I want. I took the advice of the MA who I spoke with on the phone, and at around 8:30 pm I took another 40 mg of omeprazole. That makes 80 mg for the day; that seems really high, but my acid is just out of control. (TMI coming up, sorry...) On top of that, my intestines have been in an utter uproar. I was having sharp pains in my side (and, being a hypochondriac, my first thought was "aggh! gall bladder!") but it was just gas. Still alarming and painful. My BM's (I've had 3 today) have ranged from full and healthy to... not so healthy. No blood in my stool, thank goodness, but I've been pooping so much acid that my bottom is raw and bloody. It seems like everything I take in causes my stomach to roil and causes gas and stuff. First I thought maybe I was getting lactose intolerant because my last gas outburst happened when I was drinking my evening Protein shake, but my next one happened when I was sipping Water after my omeprazole. What I think happened is: My acid has been barely controlled for a while. I've noticed that it's been building up, and I think I have to work with the doc to really control it. I've been eating too aggressively and too much; even though I'm cleared for "puree" foods and my handout from my surgical center says that mashed potatoes and melted cheese count as "puree," it felt ... too much when I ate it last night. I think it got stuck or irritated my sleeve or something. I didn't puke, thank goodness. Last night I had an apnea attack that triggered a LOT of stomach acid to come back up -- I woke up gagging on acid. I think that burned the hell out of my throat and caused it to be swollen all day. On top of that, the acid has been going out the other end, and it's been wreaking havoc on my digestive system -- causing my guts to be in an uproar, giving me gas, etc. I think it's a sort of "perfect storm." Here's how I'm going to address it: I'm going to really step up the omeprazole. I don't know what the maximum safe dose is, but while I'm healing, I'm more worried about the effects of the acid than I am of the PPI's. The omeprazole is not an instant fix, but it does seem to help long-term. I'm going to REALLY dial back on the food -- portion sizes are going to get smaller, I'm going to eat slower, and I'm going to go back to mostly liquid or super-runny food. I just don't feel like my sleeve is ready for heavier food yet, and it's sort of telling me that. I'm going to be drinking a CRAP-ton of hot tea. It seems to really help with the reflux, and it's the one thing in the mix that I'm not worried about the side effects of! I think what really blew me away was that last week was such a breeze! I had one minor incident of acid reflux (which upping the omeprazole seemed to help), but no real intestinal pain or anything. I was even sleeping better. And then BAM, last night and today was really rough! I'm not looking for sympathy, just relating my experiences so you other new sleevers can be prepared for it. At least I don't think I've done any permanent harm to myself (I'm not vomiting or in unbearable pain, nothing's bleeding, I've still managed to get all my water, Vitamins, and protein today). I think that just basically I went too fast. Lesson learned!

Well, the volume and consistency of my food is changing -- from almost nothing (mostly water) just after surgery, to "full liquids," to "pureed." So I'm eating much thicker stuff, and more of it. That could be one factor. Another factor is that the first week I was off work and walking literally every hour or so. I cannot do that at work, so I get maybe a walk a day. I have discovered that hot chamomile tea seems to soothe my acid-burned throat a little (plus I think the heat relaxes my sleeve and helps it empty out instead of just churning acid back into my throat). I'll call my doctor tomorrow. I really need to get this under control.

Wow, I am really just not feeling well. This is getting scary. I'm having serious buyer's remorse about my sleeve right now... The first week of recovery was so EASY, and then BAM-- massive, constant acid reflux. At least I was able to choke down a Carafate. That should at least help protect my stomach and throat from the acid. It feels like my stomach just isn't emptying; I feel like I constantly want to burp, and yet every time I burp I bring up acid. The acid makes me cough and "ahem" a lot, and it makes me feel like my throat is swelling up and that's scary (I breathe with that pipe, you know). I went for a walk and that helped a tiny bit, but when I'm at work I just can't go for a 15 minute walk every hour. I just don't know what to do. Oy.

Thanks for all the good ideas and well wishes, folks. Hopefully some combination of the omeprazole, carafate, and changing my eating habits (along with losing more weight) will make this more manageable. Right now it's a pain (literally!).

Yeah I've been eating yogurt -- I don't think it's helping much. I've been taking Omeprazole daily... I don't remember which PPI that's generic for, but I'm pretty sure it's a PPI. I've been taking 40 mg, but the doc hasn't been really clear on what dosage I SHOULD be taking. Since I still can't swallow the generic (time release) pills, I've been taking capsules opened up with some Water, in the morning. I can choke down the Carafate (it's actually sucralate -- generic Carafate), even though it's sort of gross and annoying. The more annoying part is that the timing is so picky. You have to take it an hour or more before a meal, or 3 hours after. You can't take it within 3 hours of omeprazole. Juggling all of the pills I'm taking just to keep my acid reflux under control is a real bummer, but otherwise I wake up choking on acid, and every single meal produces reflux. I REALLY hope this isn't a "forever" thing, or I'm going to be VERY bummed out.

Oh, I forgot about this: yeah, I sometimes eat too late. I'm going to be trying to really rein that in (for a number of reasons, one of which is that it can torpedo my weight loss).

I tried the wedge pillow, but it's really uncomfortable. I am not sure why, but the wedge really makes my back and neck sore. After I choked down the Carafate (trust me, they're huge, almost an inch long, and fairly thick) I was finally able to sleep about an hour or hour and a half later. I'm going to talk to my doc about working to control my acid. I had a BM this morning that was mostly liquid and VERY acidic (I could feel it, trust me...) So obviously, my acid production is through the roof. Does this level off and improve with time? One of the things I was hoping for from weight loss and WLS was better sleep; have I simply traded one heartbreak (obesity) for another (lifelong constant reflux and heartburn and waking up choking on acid)?

So I've been having a problem with night time acid reflux lately. This is annoying because I didn't have this issue before, but it's now 1 am and I just woke up with a nasty apnea/reflux attack. My throat was sore and swollen plus I had all of the symptoms of an apnea attack (fast pulse, shaky, chilled, etc.) Those are fading, but now I have to figure out what to do about this. My doc has prescribed sucralate (generic Carafate), 600 mg to be used "as needed" with acid. From what I understand, this drug works a little differently than PPI's -- it's a cytoprotective and helps the tissue of the throat and stomach avoid damage from GERD. The only problem I have is that these 600 mg pills are HUGE -- even cutting one in half would still produce something that violates the "no bigger than a pencil eraser" rule I have. So I've been crushing them; the problem there is that they turn into CEMENT once you crush them and put them into your mouth. Anyone got a solution to the huge pill/cement paste issue? Also, does the "1 hour before meals" rule with Carafate apply to fluids, too? After having a pill, I really really want a drink of Water, but I don't know if I'm just washing the drug out of my system! Finally, I wonder if sleeping on my wedge pillow will be a better solution for this night time reflux. I'm hoping it doesn't last and is more of a healing/losing weight thing; the pillow is uncomfortable but I'm willing to put up with it for a while if it helps.

I had this exact same problem. Definitely don't strain. If you're newly post-op, it's likely just gas. Try to find positions that let you fart (to be blunt) so you can get it out. It's not pleasant, but it doesn't last long.

Please make sure that you're not having acid issues. A LOT of people on here have had "false hunger" triggered by too much acid after surgery (myself included). Once I got on a PPI, the "hunger" went away and now I NEVER feel hungry (I have to remind myself to eat!)

Yeah, I can eat pretty fast too. I'm still not TOO worried since I'm eating pureed food only -- I figure that when it's a liquid, I don't have too much restriction. Once I get to the solid food stage, hopefully I'll feel more restriction. Fortunately, I don't feel much (any!) hunger, so I don't have that working against me! I can just focus on pacing myself when I eat and controlling my portion size.

I know that this is going to be a difficult thing for me. I have such a bizarre, skewed perception of myself!

Angie, make sure you're hydrating. Nothing else is as important, and getting dehydrated will land you in the ER. After that, make sure you're getting your Vitamins (if your doc has you taking some, if not, why the heck not?!), and finally, Protein. If you're doing okay on those fronts, just take time and rest. A little post-op fever and ick is pretty normal. Just keep track of your temperature and sip, sip, sip. OT: the weather here has been much the same; last week was like early summer, with temps in the mid-high 70's (which is, for Seattle, amazing in May!) and now we're back down to 50's and 60's and rainy. Weird!

Interesting... I use this exact same brand and I don't get this. Weird! To each their own