ouroborous

Once your body starts running lower on fat reserves to burn (and it doesn't have to run "out," just "low"), you have to make sure that you're getting enough calories to fuel you for the day or you'll be very low energy and weak. If your labs are good, I agree w/katt that you're probably undernourished. You may not lose weight quite as fast if you bump up your calories (or who knows, you may lose weight *faster* -- the body is a strange and wonderful thing), but you really don't want to start scavenging muscle and brain tissue for calories. Trust me.

Five weeks out sounds a little late for a leak. On your RIGHT side (your stomach is center-left)? Right upper quadrant pain could be gall bladder issues, especially in a WLS patient. Definitely ask your doc about it tomorrow.

Angie, it's so great to hear that you're doing so well! Sounds like your recovery is going as smoothly as mine did (I'm 4 days ahead of you Believe what they tell you: the first few days are the hardest, but it really does get better every day. After a week or so, you'll be a whole new person!

I can't wait! It's been too long since I felt like... well, like a man!

I was able to walk 1.5 miles in 30 minutes today, so my stamina is definitely back (if not even slightly higher than it was pre-surgery)... and I'm less than a week out of surgery. This surgery is amazing.

Are you working with a nutritionist? I'd definitely talk to them about that!

Thanks! :001_smile: I go back to work on Monday. I've arranged it so that I don't HAVE to walk the half mile hill right away, but I might do it just because it's good exercise. I want to come out of this looking as great as you and the other success stories around here!

I just had my first post-surgery followup with the surgeon, and I'm doing well! My incisions are healing up nicely, and pretty much all of the various aches and pains and gurglings I'm having are normal. I've been prescribed a new drug to help with the ongoing acid reflux I experience: carafate. Apparently it's a very, very safe drug (since it doesn't get absorbed) and it might eventually let me reduce my omeprazole a little bit. Plus, my weight is already down to 305 (from a high of 330, and 328 before starting the pre-op diet). Huzzah -- sub-300, here I come! Should be there by next week. Life is good. I can't wait till I can start having foods with some more texture and flavor. I'm getting tired of everything being cold, sweet, and creamy (or water). I would KILL for some mashed potatoes or mac 'n cheese!

The bone loss thing has been known for a while; this plus the reduced intake is one of the reasons why everyone post-sleeve is put on a calcium sup. The C. difficile thing is news to me, however. My long-term goal is to wean off of the PPI's, but I'll take the risk if it's a choice between a possible infection and the certainty of something like esophageal erosion or Barrett's esophagus.

My experience is that the first day was cake, since I was so stoned! It was day 2 and beyond where I really started feeling it...

Anyone know if isometric (stationary flexing) exercises are safe to so post-op (until cleared for lifting)? I'd really like to try to build or maintain a little tone while I'm waiting for the go-ahead for full exercise again!

I'm curious about this myself. I wasn't told anything about being "allowed" to sleep on my side or not, I was just told that it might be painful. Here's a tip; if you have apnea problems sleeping on your back, try sleeping in an easy chair or use a wedge pillow. Sleeping more propped up like this keeps your airway from collapsing as badly and may be the edge you need.

Thanks! I'm finally starting to get excited. I'm finally starting to really believe that yes, I WILL lose the weight! I've NEVER not been obese. I wonder what it will be like?

Thanks for the encouragement. What you guys said was true; every day is much easier/better than the day before. At this rate, in a week or so, I won't even know I had surgery!

I had a couple of mild bouts of nausea in the middle of the night, but nothing serious. I woke up with a burning throat, so my very first thing consumed was about an ounce of skim milk with 40 mg of Omeprazole. I'm not going to erode my esophagus just to be sparing of the Omeprazole! Overall I think I'm healing much faster than my girlfriend did; I took my milk in a single gulp -- not to show off or anything, but simply because I know that I can drink that much (but that's about my max) in one mouthful without pain or restriction. She was astonished and a little worried because she said that would hurt her. That made me a little concerned that I'd stretched my pouch, but honestly, I've only had about a half dozen times where I had that "stuck" feeling, and I listened to it. It's not like I'm eating solids or regularly, intentionally gulping food. I just am able to consume more than her; I think that my sleeve is longer (which must account for something), and I think I heal faster -- I bet my swelling is already better than hers was at day 6. In short, I'm going to stop worrying that I've stretched my pouch. I'm just grateful that getting in all my liquids and nutrients isn't such a chore as it was on the first couple of days (I think I got in over 120 oz of Water yesterday). My incisions look good -- dry and not oozing at all. Mostly they're bruised! My stomach is a little sore around them, but not too bad -- I can lie on my side without too much discomfort. I still haven't had that weak feeling. I felt a little wobbly at times, but never fatigued. I'm already losing weight; I think my CPAP pressure (which was already reduced a point after my pre-op diet) is too high again. I woke up with major dry mouth and a massive fart (sorry, TMI, but there you have it!) which is usually the symptom of too much pressure. That's uncomfortable, plus I don't want to be inflating my sleeve like a balloon, so I may drop it another .5 cm tonight. I just weighed myself -- 307.0! That's down 21 pounds since about three weeks ago, and 3 pounds since yesterday. At this rate, I might make it under 300 before the end of the week. That would be SO exciting!

Well my girlfriend (who went to the same clinic) was on 40 mg/day after surgery, and is now on a 20 mg/day maintenance dose. I had pretty bad GERD before the surgery, so maybe I need more. I've decided to take 60 mg/day until I see the surgeon for followup on Wednesday. I don't think everything I'm experiencing is acid. The "ahems" (constant cough that's in the throat, not the lungs) are definitely acid, but I think something else is causing the gas pain/cramping. It's possible it's still surgical inflation gas (although that seems like a long time to pass it -- 5 days?) I know that when the gas pains come on, it feels like my sleeve just clenches down. It sorta hurts, but mostly it feels uncomfortable. At its worst it makes me feel kinda nauseous. The doc prescribed me Valium for muscle spasms, and I'm thinking that might help. He also recommended Mylanta, Gas-X, and folks on here recommended chamomile tea. So right now, after having taken 1 tbsp of Mylanta, I'm drinking a cup of hot chamomile tea laced with a crushed Valium. Hopefully the combination of all of these things will make sure that I can sleep soundly.

Wow, so Dr. L said that instead of 20 mg of Omeprazole/day, I should be taking 80 mg/day (40 mg in the morning, and 40 mg at night).

I'm leaning more strongly towards the acid reflux theory, since I got the unproductive coughs that were initially diagnosed as GERD, and it felt like my throat was swelling up. I popped another 20 mg Omeprazole capsule with some apple juice, and I've got a call in to Dr. L to ask about it.

I went through the same mental debate -- take pictures of myself (which I HATE) or not? I finally decided that (a) it would be important to remind myself of how far I've come, and ( I will be less embarrassed to show them later when I'm much thinner. It's much less embarrassing to say "look how fat I USED to be." So I got some pics taken (clothed in shorts, and also wearing only boxers) that will only ever see the light of day if/when I start getting towards my 220-or-less goal mark.

I'm glad to hear that you're home and healing!

Yeah, I'm learning quickly what goes through fast and what doesn't. Oddly, I can consume greek yogurt faster than water! Water makes these hard "balls" in my throat, but yogurt just slips through.

Dr. L thought the pill was too big at first, so until I get to the mushy/solid phase, I'm supposed to open these capsules and sprinkle the contents into my smoothies, etc.

Yeah. I'm not sure if it's enough dosage; I'm taking one 20 mg Omeprazole capsule sprinkled into my morning smoothie, and one 20 mg before bedtime. I wonder if I should switch to 40 mg all in the morning, or something.

Good to hear that I'm not alone in my food volumes. I'll be really careful when I get into the mushy/solid phase.

So here on Day 5, things are a bit easier so far. The fever is mostly gone -- I have little blips of temperature where my temp will spike up to as high as 100, but usually it doesn't go higher than 99.5, and mostly it stays around normal. More importantly, I don't feel that all over body "ick" that I felt before. My incisions are healing up well -- no bleeding or oozing, just some lovely bruising coming in. Apparently the MA was really impressed with how well they're healing -- they hardly even bled. I'm finding it easier and easier to stick with my Protein and hydration and Vitamins -- it's 8:30am and I've taken in half of my day's protein and vitamins, and 20 oz of Water (plus a little watered down apple juice for some blood sugar). On the minus side, I think I've basically exhausted my "reserves" -- I'm feeling a little "wobbly." Nothing major, I think I've just exhausted my free blood sugar reserves and I feel like I have to be a little bit more careful and deliberate in my movements. sleep is still a little challenging; I get tired early so I've got on a sort of bizarre sleep schedule. I'm sure that will work out as my sleep becomes easier and more restful. The biggest problem I'm facing right now is gas/cramps. It feels like hunger because I get these crampy pains in my stomach (actually in my intestines, I think), with lots of rumbling. Going to the bathroom (bowel movement) helps -- it tends to be lots of gas and little solids (sorry, TMI, but again, this is a medical board). Also, it's hard to say but it seems that eating helps, and possibly the Gas-X strips. When the gas is happening, it's pretty unpleasant because I feel like I'm starving (since that stomach grumbling/crampy feeling is one of the ways I used to experience hunger). Also, it makes me a little nauseous. However, I suspect it's a phase. I'm worried that it's real hunger, because I didn't want to FEEL hungry. But even if it IS hunger, it seems like a 100-200 calorie Protein shake pretty much nips it in the bud (which is a big change from before). So, aside from the gas, things are doing better.