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Welcome to the Loser's Bench and VST!!! I'm still a newbie (11 weeks out)... and I have to say, this was the best decision I ever made!!! Please utilize the board, you'll find a wealth of information and great people to talk to!!! Congrats again!!! Enjoy your journey!!!

So i had my RNY surgery last Friday, and was only down for the count for about 2 days (meaning didn't feel well and only did the required amount of moving/walking around) but since then, i've been on the GO! It's hard for me to stay put and I'm not sure if I should be staying in the office, but it drives me crazy. My biggest frustration post op is how thirsty i always am, and due to my stomach still being in the healing stage, I can't take large gulps of Water like my mind wants to!!! I went out dancing with friends last night, and was so thirsty and it took me forever to finish one cup of water.......matter of fact i never even finished it. So since i started the pre-op liquid diet, i've lost 20lbs, and since surgery last friday I have lost an additional 11 lbs. So within the last 3 weeks 31 lbs down and I'm really happy about that. But i want WatER WATER WATER!!

so this is it! about ready to hit the bed soon. operation is 7:00 am in the morning, 5:30 i got to be at the hospital. whew! what a day emotionally. i thankfully didnt have to do a pre-op diet execpt for today which was all Clear liquids only...its sucked today, but even on just liquids, blood sugar in the 170's (im 30 years old guys...im so glad im getting sleeved!!!) i didnt have a food funeral this week, but i ate some tasty things, and finished it off last night with a nice stake and salid.. ill be missing those things i guess. kind of emotional tonight actually. im not the typical fuzzy guy, im 6'3 306 pounds, im a merchant marine by trade, so i can throw out the hard core tuff guy act... i could cry. i think im scared im going to miss not so much eating, but just some of the things that i enjoyed, and maybe enjoyed too much lol! No matter why we are the way we are, once you are sleeved or about to be sleeved you are part of a new family. im scared about a leak, and hemorrhaging during the operation, also concerned about post surgical infection. im a pretty big worrywart. can anyone tell me what to expect? my surgion is a total pro Dr. Terricina in newport news va...totally trust him. I guess im scared is all. im going to be a different person now, and im leaving behind this old friend of mine, while he hasn't been all that good to me health wise, he was still a friend. thanks everyone.... -Mke

I'm hoping the chili and soups do it for me. I'm a bit worried about it. Right now, it's a consistency thing. A full bodied soup full of veggies and meat, I love, but something like cream of broccoli, or broth, I have a hard to stomaching. I'm hoping things like chicken salad in a food processor work for me, but I'm not too excited about going through these two weeks before I get to soft foods.

I had terrible pain right at my sternum when I woke up in the PACU...bad enough that I was crying and they did a 12-lead EKG to rule out anything cardiac. It subsided with an IV dose of Dilaudid. I was on a morphine PCA pump and stayed 2 nights in the hospital as well, and I'm now down to two doses of oral oxycodone daily. I tried to skip my daytime dose today and paid for it with a great deal of pain I'll try again in a couple of days. My surgeon said it's absolutely normal to need pain relief for a week or even longer. My surgery was Tuesday 6/21.

March 6th had arrived. I was so freaking excited!! My parents had decided to take the boys to the lake for a week so I could recover. The only thing that was giving a twinge of worry was the drain. I am not good with medical things. I even hide my eyes and gag a little when a doctor gives a shot on TV. So this drain is a huge source of panic in my world. My surgery was scheduled for noon. I had to be at the hospital at 10 am. That gives me time to sleep in a little, spend a little time with my family, and reassure my husband that this is what I want to do. I am going to a side note here, but this is not a sillly observation, it is a sincere one. My husband is someone that I can say truely loves me. Not who I think I am or who I want to be, just me. He has loved me at size 12 (when he met me), size 18 (when he married me) and size 22 (when he followed me into the hospital that morning) and all the ups and downs in between. He has never made me feel fat or ugly. He is truely a beautful human being. When I made the decision to do this, I saw the panic on his face. Not because of the money or time, but because he said he is scared to live without me. I have had to give my brother my medical power or attorney because my husband said he won't pull the plug. He said he can't be the one to kill me. He did assure me that he respects my decision and will not fight my brother; he said he just can't be the one that makes that decision. So, at 9:30 we dropped my boys off at daycare. With tears in my eyes, I kissed them each good-bye. I knew that I was going to be fine, but there is always that chance. Telling your kids good-bye is a little scary when it might be the last time. I sent my step-daughter a message telling her I loved her. Then, we started out for the hospital. I was chatty and my husband was nervous. He did not feel like talking so we fussed at each other. I took it with a grain of salt. I knew he wasn't mad at me. When checked into the hospital, we were immediately sent to the pre-op (no time to change my mind). I weighed in there and I had officially lost 20 pounds before my surgery. Woo-hoo!!! I was put in my room, changed my clothes, and met all the pre-op nurses. My parents and mother-in-law joined us and helped me pass the time. I cherish those moments. I guess when you are in a situation like this, you sit back and thank God for the little things that make us happy and my family is it. The nurses came in and tried to start an IV. Because I had been on a liquid diet for a week and clear liquids the day before and NPO since midnight, I was a little dehydrated. It took two nurses one hour to find a vein they could use. They kept saying, "Your veins are so deep". (Sidenote: If any of you are nurses reading this, when you say something like "your veins are so deep" what your patient hears is "You are so fat, your arms are even carrying a load. Stop eating cake, fat butt" Well, they finally got the IV started in my hand using a baby needle. If that didn't solidify my decision about having this surgery I don't know what could have. The time had come and they were finally wheeling me to the OR. The nurses are just talking away. I finally looked up and said "You know I know what you are saying". The nurse looked at me in shock. They apparently forgot to give me the wacky juice I was supposed to get before they carted me off. When I got to the OR, a line of nurses was waiting for me. They even did the wave as I passed by. I said "They forgot the wacky juice, I am soooo going to remember you doing that!" Everyone laughed and began talking at once. I was able to help them get me to the operating bed. I talked to the doctor that was going to put me to sleep (Side note: I know what the name is and no idea how to spell it, so don't judge!) I mentioned to him that I was going to remember speaking to him and I BETTER NOT remember any of that surgery. He promised me that he hasn't had a patient remember in 18 years, and he promised not to blemish that record. Thankfully, he was right. Unfortunately, when I woke up, I did not like him or anyone else very much. I HURT!!!!!. . .

I let my employers know approximately six weeks in advance so we could plan for my absence and I would have time to train someone to take over a few of my critical duties during my absence. I also needed to submit FMLA paperwork and short-term disability paperwork 30 days ahead, so made sure the doctor's office had all of their pieces of that paperwork filled out prior to submitting.

You're too funny. Thankfully, I am in an insolated situation. Husband works a lot, live in country, no family around me, etc... so won't have temptation near me. I don't have to cook for 2 weeks (check). Going to Cancun, Mexico for surgery and I can have a small meal the night before (check). Keep up the great work!!!

After 6 weeks I could eat normal food.

I was full liquids for two weeks then soft foods for 2.... Then adding real food in little by little to see what I could handle. Take it slow...treat yourself as though you are a new baby learning to eat. Try one thing at a time. Good luck!

About how many calories do we vsg people consume a day. I am 5 weeks out of surgery.

September 8th is almost here!!! Eeeeeekkkkk!!! We are dropping the kids at Grandma & Grandpa's, the 2 dogs at a kennel and heading over the passes tomorrow. I'm not really even nervous yet. Just more excited, so far. There might be a tad touch of anxiety. I clean when I get anxious and well, my house is spotless. After deciding on the Sleeve 5 years ago, then waiting for insurance to add it, doing the 6 month diet, the 2 week pre-op low carb diet, the BIG day is finally just about here! I'm anxious to get the old me back, be happy & healthy and feel confident about myself again! Let's do this!!!

I feel you! I had surgery 4/18 and haven't had all the exhausting additional medical issues you have had, and have good emotional support, and still feel exhausted at times, feelings of hunger, feelings of sadness from loss of food pleasure and food sociability, and intense irritability with the limited food choices that are presently before me. I think you need to give yourself credit for having been through the medical wringer and persisting. I totally get the food issues you are talking about - I HATE artificial flavors, I HATE most fake sweeteners, etc. I've gone with unflavored protein powders and liquid Stevia - I'll make myself a protein drink with skim milk, unsweetened cocoa and a couple of drops of stevia. I have found that when I've been diligent about having two protein drinks a day with skim milk - for a total of 58 grams of protein from that alone - my fatigue has felt much better. But my physician's assistant said it can take up to three weeks, and you have to factor in the additional surgery, etc. I think doubt and self-reflection are part of this journey - sometimes when it gets overwhelming, it's easier to just break it down and think about what you have to do for this afternoon, this evening, etc. Hang in there, I have faith it will get better!

You got this @Frankin Texas how exciting! I can't wait to be there soon too, I'm only about 2 to 3 weeks behind you I think. All of you who are starting your 2 week liquid diet I am keeping you in my thoughts and prays it will become easy for you to master

I have the same pain on left side of my belly button, it hurts real bad to do any sort of moving, sitting down to use the bathroom is killer. I am 3 weeks post op and didn’t expect to be in this much pain for this long. I was sleeved on 1/25

My pre-op diet was simply to go without carbs for almost 2 months before surgery. THAT was really the hard part! I was a total carb addict - pasta and bread were my dearest friends! When the doc said no carbs, I thought it would kill me, and that I'd never be able to survive without them. But after a month or so without the carbs, I started not to miss them as much - I really got into the swing of eating without them! Trust me - the first month was toruture. But then it got much easier. I got the sleeve 2 weeks ago. NO urge whatsover to eat those carbs at this point! I am rarely hungry, and really, I am just focusing on getting in my fluids, proteins, and calories. Food is not what it used to be for me. There are still moments when I see people eating pizza or other things and I'd like to have a bite, but it is not NEARLY as tempting as it was - I am already feeling much better about things.

Hang in there. It's rough for the first few weeks, but you'll be surprised how quickly time goes by. Before you know it you'll begin feeling like yourself again. In the meantime rest, stay hydrated and get plenty of sleep. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi there! My name is Tiffany and I am a 26 yr old mom of 2 from Louisiana. I have started on my sleeve journey this week! I have gotten the go ahead from my psych visit, I have my 6 months of non medical, and I have a bmi of 40. I am 5'5 with a weight of 241. I also have some weight bearing joint issues, but with the bmi, I do not need to document the co-morbidities. It is a blessing that my insurance will cover the surgery...we pay enough per month for it. lol I am a little nervous about the surgery and complications. I got a sheet today from the seminar that the morbidity percentage is at .39 percent, which is a little scary to think that around 1 in a few hundred ops, someone doesn't make it through the surgery. I would love to get some feedback about anything and everything in regards to the sleeve. I have had a great time looking at the success stories!! Congrats to all those that have had such amazing results and good luck to those that are at the beginning of your journey! I look forward to getting to know y'all!

I have just medicaid and The only thing I had to pay out of pocket for was my liquid diet kit. For me that was $332 for 3 weeks before surgury and 2 weeks after. What I would do is get a refural from your primary doctor and then work with the surgon. Once My approval came back from medicaid They told me that I would not have any co pays. If i was you I would just try and see you may be lucky and not have to pay anything out of pocket ecept for the liquid diet. Good luck

I'm just glad I am finally feeling better and feel like I have enough energy to exercise. The first couple weeks were brutal on my system. Lol thank u all! This is the best support I have found. I get so excited but don't want to talk much about it to the friends and family that know I had the surgery. I'm afraid they will get jealous or get tired of hearing about it. So I just scream happy on the inside ☺️

I had my psych eval last week. I have an appt with the surgeon on June 6th.

honestly, it's kind of foggy now. I am guessing about a week- or 10 days? I had a nerve block in my abdomen so my pain was never really bad, and I did not have a hernia repair or anything else.

3 days out and starving sounds like acid, gas and not getting enough Water in to me. I'm 5 weeks out and still on liquid diet. Tomorrow.....I hopefully get moved to purees. Drink more water, try something like decaff tea with your fav. artificial sweetener, I use Truvia. If you ate, you would hurt yourself so darn bad. The pain you feel in your stomach cannot be "hunger" pains, that's healing pains, gas pains, acid reflux, or just your stomach adjusting and for sure healing. Right now you are going through something more psychological. Try drinking more water or try a decaff tea (my fav. is peppermint) it sooths. Get some Gas-X chewables or some pepsid. Good luck.

That is a rough diet when you are doing it for long.I did the same diet but only for 3 weeks. I found the protein shakes seemed to stay with me better if I made them with lots of ice and sipped them slowly. Can you have salad as well as the veggies or would a salad be your veggies? Good luck.