BJean

I slept sitting up for the first 6 nights because my doctor's surgical assistant said that if you sleep lying down and favor one side or the other, the gas would settle in your shoulder or side. That had happened to me when I got the band and I knew I didn't want to feel that pain! I don't know why they don't explain better what helps you deal with that. Like the walking. It is such an amazing help to get rid of the gas pain and swelling discomfort. If you're feeling like posting you're doing better so good for you! I've learned that each and every day brings some improvement. Before you know it, you're going to be forgetting all about the bad and painful moments you went through and looking at your scale with a big smile on your face. Good luck!

Hi Swifty. Good operating tip for today. I'm supposed to get tuna with some low fat mayo so I'm glad I read your post before I attempted it. Gotta go grocery shopping for the ingredients. Did you have any crackers? Guess I will have an episode like yours at some point - that's a real reality check, eh?

You're still very early in the game. It sounds like you're doing just great!

I'm having a terrible time getting the Water down. Everytime I drink more than about 4 ozs, it gives me heartburn and I am NOT drinking fast. I'm drinking very slowly and just sipping very small amounts at a time. If I drink water before bedtime I have to use Mylanta to stop the burn so I can go to sleep. Anybody else have this? ouroborous, I can eat more than it sounds like others can eat too. And I'm a short person. I could eat a whole container of yogurt (6 oz) at one meal, over about a 30 to 45 min. span within the 8 day mark. I'm losing a little everyday, but no major drops. I think I can be satisfied with losing a little slower than some people do especially if it means that I feel better in the process. I have to keep reminding myself that as long as I don't eat the junk, I'll lose over the long haul.

goodlife that sounds like an absolute blast. One of my fondest fun memories was of a few days in N.O. with a couple of my friends. Turned out to be one of those times when you hope that whatever happens in New Orleans, stays in New Orleans! LOL

Frankly anything that Tiffy suggests should be golden words for me since she's had such amazing success. Those little mounds of crunchy cheese sound delicious. I am not to the point yet where I crave crunchy. And I'm definitely a crunchy food lover. Today I get to try tuna and salmon and I'm really excited. It even says I can have a few saltines so lunch is going to be a treat. I have only eaten things on my meal plan and when I tallied up the count last night I had eaten a whopping 995 calories! Everything is sugar free and low cal. I just had a day where I couldn't stop eating every couple of hours. And I learned real quick that a few Beans with a little cheese on top really runs up the calorie count. At first they were worth it, but I can have a whole glass of skim milk and Protein powder and have less than half the calories of a small amount of beans and cheese. This is a learning process, for sure!

agives I'll bet pnw is right and you got more swelling from the irritation of the throwing up. It's really good news that you're feeling pretty normal now. I'm still improving everyday and I am so surprised that I think I should pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. The first few days were so awful! Who knew healing would take place so quickly! Hope you're even better tomorrow!

I was thinking about this some more and I thought of another reason why your diet may be better than mine (and iluvaleo's bf's) is that I may not be getting enough Protein because I'm filling up on other things that are better tasting. They print in big letters that it is very important that you drink 3 whey Protein drinks per day. I'm only getting in about one of maybe 2. This whole discussion has made me think better of what I'm doing. I'm going to work harder at drinking the shakes. I don't have that much hair to start with!

I haven't had any trouble taking them since I got home either, goodlife. But I am very very careful.

That definitely IS amazing goodlife! I wonder which of our doctors has been doing this the longest? That may have nothing to do with it. However the doctor's surgical assistant and I had a talk last week and I was bragging on the way they've structured the post-op diet. She said that they used to have their patient's coming after one week and then again at 3 weeks saying they were starving to death. So they had their dietician re-do the plan and she said she worked it out to the letter. Now they have a daily plan that adds up to 1200-1400 calories per day but there is no way in the world that anybody can actually eat it all. So not only are the foods varied, but their patients feel like they're really accomplishing something by not eating everything on the list. I'm easily influenced by reverse psychology, I guess because I fell for it hook, line and sinker. And interestingly the only discomfort I've experienced, food-wise, is a burning sensation in my mid-section. I also learned that I have a hiatal hernia so it could be from that. Or it could just be from having the tube down my throat during surgery or whatever they manhandled during surgery. I do get the messge real quick that I should stop eating and have only had a couple bites too many once or twice. And don't want to do that again. My heart goes out to you. I'm so happy and handling this so darned well that I feel really lucky. I know I would think I was starving to death if I were on your eating plan. But like I said, I'll bet you drop some significant poundage much faster than I do. That will make what you're doing all worthwhile because that's why we did this, right? Keep me posted on your progress, please. It really helps to have someone else at my same surgery date, to compare notes with. BJean

jack I really enjoyed reading your experiences! All I can say is what a wuss. KIDDING!! I am so glad that you're on the mend and I second that emotion, Swiftflow, don't try to pick up anything or scratch anything lower than your butt. KIDDING!! I do not know what's happened to me you guys, but I seriously have been acting like I'm trying out for the comedy show. I think I am already very happy I've done this or maybe it's just that I got that freakin' band out of my system. Whatever it is, I'm in a great mood and although Swift has me beat by a mile with his weight loss, I'm real happy with the way things are going. Hang in there jack, like stacy says things get better every day! And goodlife, symethicone is what GasX has that makes it effective. And my doc gave me the go ahead on that if I need it. Which I have not. I've had a soft scrambled egg, a poached egg, applesauce, banana, cottage cheese, pears, chichen & tomato cream Soups, yogurt, mashed potatoes, baked potato, soft cooked carrots and green Beans and tonight I get black beans and salsa. I am thrilled with the way they set up my eating plan to add something good every other day. In fact, it's probably too good because I'm not drinking as much of the Protein powder as I should in order to get 64 gms. of protein everyday. (goodlife you'll probably NOT lose your hair and you'll be saying "ninnie, ninnie, na-na" when mine does.) I also have trouble getting in all that Water. But I'm not complaining! Tuesday I start fish. Whoo hoo!

My doctor sent me home with the anti-nausea suppositories. I thought everyone got them. They sure don't want me to be nauseated with uncontrolled vomiting. Which it sure sounds like you have. Dang it girl! Just a tip that I've learned... if I eat some Soup or something and then follow it with any Water at all I get that horrible pain that makes me want to pace the floor until it eases up. I looked and my post-op requirement page says no water before or after eating. Not that this is your problem, but it could have contributed. I do so much better when I understand what medications are supposed to do and why I need to take them. I've never heard of Carafate and haven't taken anything like that at all. I can't take codeine so I was sent home with Darvon. It worked well but only needed a couple of them. And the doc did find a hiatal hernia that he didn't know I had. It's still there I think. So when I had some burning when I was first home (I had surgery 4/28 too) he said I could take a little liquid Mylanta. I couldn't sleep last night because of the burning in my mid-section (after eating about half of a small baked potato, so I had some Mylanta and fell right to sleep. Don't try to be strong or tough, listen to your body like everyone has suggested - they said that dehydration is one of the most important things you need to avoid. Keep us posted when you feel like it. We're sure pulling for you that this is a short lived problem!!

Pammi, you're doing the right thing by trying to figure this out now. I was worried about one pill in particular that I was taking because it was rather large and dry (no coating.) I thought I could just crush it but the instructions say to never crush them. My doctor didn't know it but the pharmacist did, that they make it in a crushable form in a smaller dosage. So the doc ordered it for me and I take them twice a day instead of once. You should get the Centrum multi-vitamin that is chewable to take care of the Vitamin thing. They do not always have the chewable ones, so either order them in advance or find a place that carries it. They're great and you can get them in several kinds of dosages. For the other things, you might check into a pharmacy that actually mixes the meds themselves. Your doctor may know of one if you don't. But they will be happy to discuss the possibilities and find a remedy. My doctor had a sleeve patient who had always taken a load of vitamin supplements pre-surgery. He thought he was fully recovered from the surgery, swelling, etc., but one morning he took his pills as usual and wound up aspirating them into his lungs. He almost died but the doctor did an emergency surgery to retreive them. Came up with a handful of Vitamins and saved the guy's life. This is not something to take lightly. It's real important. I haven't had a moment where I thought I would throw up or aspirate anything. But I'm being very careful and only taking one small whole pill per day (blood pressure.) But my recovery is young. I only got the sleeve last week. Take care and keep doing your homework! Hope you get your sleeve date soon.

Cleo's you're good! I don't have time to do the research but you take care of it so well. I heard yesterday about the gains in employment this quarter. Wow. This means so much to America's recovery! I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when I saw Republicans speaking about Obama being slow to react to the oil spill. They not only can't read graphs, they're completely nuts when it comes to criticizing Obama. They complain when they should be bragging. The political division they're encouraging is so mean and counterproductive for this country. I hope their selfish ways come back to bite them.

Cleo's you're a veritable font of knowledge. So many people who have seen their savings go down the tubes but who have an income that has kept them afloat still support Republicans, like they always have, because of the political myth in this country that Republicans want smaller government and encourage individual wealth. What the Republicans have actually given us is encouragement of the extremely wealthy and no serious cutting of taxes or slashing of government programs. When you get into a conversation with them, you realize that they're operating on the great Reagan-isms and myths that the Republican party has always claimed as their own. Furthermore, it makes sense to think that the Democratic ideology of helping others is a threat to their personal fortunes. And if you look at the real evidence the Democrats haven't really been that successful in any meaningful socialistic-type reforms. But the thing that they promise that actually helps everyone but the extremely wealthy, is the protection they try to provide to middle class Americans from the greedy, dishonest predators of corporate America.

Liegha I too think we should all be gun toters. I'd love to pack heat everyday and flash it at anyone who starts acting like an idiot or threatening me. I am pretty sure that a heckofa lot of this angry, mean garbage that gets tossed back and forth by everybody today would come to a complete halt if people knew that anyone who disagrees with them could blast 'em, Al Capone style, if they wanted to. And funniest thing I've noticed... I'm taking my meds, my incision is healing nicely, I'm losing weight quickly and geez, I still find patty's posts revolting. Go figure.

Hey I just realized that I didn't answer your question. No, I do not think that he repaired the hernia. From what he told my husband after surgery, it was in a spot at the back of the part of my stomach that he was saving. So I think I'm stuck with it. But he said that he did not think that it would give me any trouble. But of course I wonder... My doc also said that we can have suger as well. I think that's rather a mixed blessing for me, but I really wouldn't have wanted to deal with the unpleasantness that gastric bypass patients have when they eat certain foods! Have you tried "truvia"? I've had Stevia and didn't think it was that great so I bought truvia but haven't tried it yet. One of my friends seems to think it has an aftertaste.

Well I have a confession.... I'm glad!! He's real, real conservative and we butted heads from time to time. So if you're real conservative, we shouldn't talk politics. LOL I've always been one of those people who doesn't tan easily (or at all) and I burn bad and then do the disgusting peel. So my heart goes out to you. At least during the peel state, if you burned that bad, you'll probably be getting some good drugs and it won't be too unpleasant. Hydration has always been the key to feeling better after a sunburn. Man, I'm thinking of you. I had my sleeve revision 6 days ago. It is rougher than I thought it would be, but it is doable and each day you see an improvement of some sort. I have been surprised at how much this site helped me during the first days. If you have a question, there's somebody who has been there and glad to share their experience. I thought I'd feel too bad to be on the computer. But it's a godsend and please know that we really are all wondering about you and wishing you well. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Brilliant!!! That's a really great idea. I'm going to have my dh go to PF Chang when I can handle it and bring some of that home. My daughter has promised to make her special zuchinni vegetable soup (pureed, of course) when I can have that - which is this coming Wednesday. Truly something to look forward to. Thanks for the tip!

I am pleased as punch! I can't believe I've gone so long with a naked signature line. You sound chipper today, goodlife. I'm feeling a little rough, but certainly bearable. I think the multi-vitamin (chewable) was a bit much this early in the game.

goodlife, where do you get your "brownie mix"?

Whoo hoo. I was making it harder than it really was. I'm a genius. Er, well, maybe not.

I'm sure this is a stupid question, but whatever I have to ask... are you by any chance the same jack (super-mod) as the one at LBT? We go waaay back is why I'm asking. I just tried to post my first ticker after over 4 years. Letsee if it worked. If it didn't, stick a fork in me.

Is there an problem with using skim milk to mix your protein powder for a shake - only 6 days post op?

That artificial taste? No, it doesn't. Honestly the thing it reminds me of is a nice Nestle's Quick drink - a little thicker though. I like the chocolate. I have used the vanilla before and mixed it (upon their recommendation) with a little sf/ff pudding mix and it makes a really delicious concoction. But I like the idea of not having to use the pudding mix and I like the way the chocolate tastes. brownie mix?? yum!!