JoiaRox

Who says you have to eat/drink when out socializing? Chances are, no one's paying attention to the food/alcohol you're consuming - it's more about the atmosphere, friends, conversation, jokes, etc. Sip away on water and just enjoy the camaraderie! I'll admit, I was anxious heading to a party last night at a wine bar...but my ice water was just fine and I enjoyed catching up with people I hadn't seen in awhile! My boyfriend later asked me what food they served and, honestly, I had to answer "I dunno...I think I saw some cheese?" I'm still on the "full liquid" stage so I steered clear of the hors d'oeuvre table completely!

Normal is whatever your body allows - 48 lbs?! You are a ROCK STAR! Sounds like you are well on your way to a new life! I'm envious of your loss, so you should be celebrating that!

I'd recommend that you call your doctor first thing tomorrow to have the conversation - whether it's good or bad news, you need to know...and your doctor will be the best person to give advice on what to do.

LOL! No worries

Also? I would like to be a "Pretty Pretty Princess." How do you customize your title?

That sure is love!! I bake most weekends for my office and baked some coffee cake while I was on my pre-op diet. I return to work tomorrow for my first day since my surgery and am contemplating baking some Breakfast Cheese Danishes today...while on full liquids. LOL! I'm either a glutton for punishment or stupid.

Best of luck to you! While I didn't have a LapBand as long as you did, I was ecstatic to have it out in March...and was sleeved 9 days ago. I, too, felt better prepared mentally for this surgery than my previous one. I'm hoping our extra work makes all the difference this time around!

I had my surgery on a Friday and took the following week off. I return to work tomorrow for a total of 6 days off (plus 2 weekends). While I can't report yet on how it goes, I'm sure I'll be fine to work but tired at the end of the day. I went to a retirement party last night that was 80 miles from my house - handled the drive there and back fine, but was weak/tired after 3 hours of chatting with people I hadn't seen in awhile and being on my feet. Despite the party being at a wine bar, I happily sipped my Water all night . Work tomorrow won't be as draining (I won't be on my feet nor talking to people constantly), so I'm confident I'm ready to go back! At 9 days post-op, I'm pain free for the most part and able to get all my liquids and Protein in each day. My only residual symptom is weakness...but, heck, I'm taking in very few calories - that's to be expected while my body continues to adjust! Factor in what type of work you have to do - if you have a desk job, a week should be plenty of recovery time. If you want to take more, do it!

8 days out and I'm able to take large enough sips where that "OHMIGOSHI'MTHIRSTY" feeling is finally disappearing.

As an FYI - as I've gone through the process of both LapBand removal and then a sleeve with my doctor, I've gotten more into "vaping" nicotine. He's always eager to see what new apparatus I carry with me - he thinks it's totally neat! Clearly, he has no issues with it. Again, that's MY doctor. YOUR doctor has to be comfortable with your health.

If you're talking LapBand removal and the sleeve, yes. My removal was done in March and then I was, essentially, treated as a new patient applying for the sleeve. Luckily, the requirements were fairly easy and I was approved on the first submittal.

Found a similar thread for ya: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/27894-no-straws-after-gastric-sleeve-surgery/

Do what you feel you need to do if you're unable to reach your doctor over the weekend. Personally, I didn't have liquid bandages - I had steristrips. 4 of the 6 had come off prior to my 6-day post-op visit with my doctor and he peeled the remaining steristrips off that day. As long as the wound has closed, it should be fine without anything holding it together at this point.

The warning against straws is that (a) you can introduce more air into your system and ( you tend to take larger "sips" with them. Having said that, I've found that I'm fine with both warnings and am happily sipping an unsweetened iced tea through a straw as we speak .

Overeating got me to my highest weight - and, as others have said, I LOVE that I'm not hungry anymore. Granted, I'm only 8 days out...but I'm forcing myself to sip some soup right now just because I need the protein. I can recognize that I'm not hungry, and I sat right next to my boyfriend as he ate chicken nuggets on our way home this afternoon - no interest in them whatsoever!

I was amazed that I *didn't* have gas pains this time around (I previously had a LapBand and LapBand removal - bad gas pains both times). I flew through recovery other than being tired! I'm 8 days post-op now and looking forward to work on Monday .

Since yesterday wasn't a model day, let's talk about Thursday (6 days post op): Breakfast (8am-ish) - 3 Multivitamins (chewable) and a cup of coffee with SF creamer; took about an hour Trip to Doctor for 10:15am post-op appt. 1 hour away, drank 24oz. Water on the way and bought a 32oz unsweetened iced tea for the way home (took me the rest of the day to drink, off an on) Stopped at grocery store to buy some more yogurt, Soup, etc. lunch (2pm-ish) - Campbell's Cream of chicken soup mixed with 1 can of water and 1 scoop of

I switched to ecigs (WITH nicotine) and have been fine without cigarettes. Nicotine, according to my doctor, is as harmless to your body as caffeine and he's okay with my vaping habit. Heck, I was vaping in the hospital post-op! If you're able to jump up to a nicquid with some percentage of nicotine, you may fight the urge. To each their own.

From what I've heard, it's a combination of dehydration and the calorie reduction. If you've been focusing on protein, your body is going in a carb-starved state called "ketosis" which results in halitosis and smelly urine...lol!

If you're up for the challenge, go for it! I didn't have to do full liquids pre-op, but I had a 10-day pre-op diet. I struggled to make it through but kept my eyes on the prize. There's nothing wrong with starting early and jump starting your weight loss! Rather than get bored/frustrated when it counts, though, (when you're actually required to do it), my advice would be to start supplementing 1 meal a day with a protein shake to ease into it.

Woo hoo!! You go girl!

Yup, and I deleted it instantly. I saw "Favor" had just joined the site 15 minutes prior to me seeing the message.

I'm a workaholic, so it's been tough to have time off this past week. Luckily, I've slept most of my days away in between social media and TV! It's been an amazing week of R&R for both physical and mental recovery. I'm ready to head back to work Monday! It's tough to let go and enjoy the world of "nothing," but I highly recommend it!

My NUT recommended Miralax...just bought some, so I'll start tomorrow!

I'm officially one week out today and, to be honest, I've had a speedy, textbook recovery. After staying overnight in the hospital, I was discharged and came home to sleep. I stayed on pain and anti-nausea meds regularly until Day 3 post-op simply to make my recovery easy (I chose to stop taking them then; there are still plenty of pills left). Over the past week I've been pretty self-reliant - I've been drinking fluids, Protein shakes, etc. and just sleeping and taking it easy. I haven't really been in much pain (I was shocked!) and have had no problem getting in and out of my recliner and bed. I walk around my 2-story house fairly easily, albeit slowly, and was well enough for a Target shopping trip for necessities on Day 4. My only limitation, really, has been lifting - I'm not to lift over 10 pounds (doc's orders). As such, I haven't been doing that because I don't want to harm anything in my stomach/abdomen. I'm eager to return to work on Monday, although I'm still sleepy! Taking it easy and drinking water/protein has been my job this week and, in all honesty, has been the best thing I could have done for myself. As a note, I have no kids and my 2 kitty cats have been very loving this week . My other trips this week have been to the doctor's for a post-op visit on Day 6 followed by a quick grocery shopping trip, and a trip to the vet with my kitties today (while I had time off!) - my boyfriend carried my kitties for me in their carriers. I'll be heading to a friend's retirement party tomorrow night and looking at houses on Sunday (we're moving later this summer). I know I'll be tired, but hydration and protein are the key! As for work next week, I anticipate early bedtimes .