I had a really uneventful surgery and hospital stay. Now that I'm home my sleeve is kickin my ass big time.

I feel like i'm hungry at times, so I sip on some Soup or a little of my Protein shake. I feel ok at first, then i begin to get these horrible hiccup-like spasms that hurt like hell.

I'm at my wits end because the emotional side of me keeps chiming in, telling me that I shouldnt have had the surgery. I'm trying very hard to remain on the positive and "it'll get better soon" side, but I feel like if I hear that one more time I may go postal.

My nutritionist told me to concentrate on staying hydrated for now. 60 to 80 grams of protein should be my goal each day, but she doesnt want me to focus on that too much just yet, just try to get and keep as much Fluid down as I can. I've been trying to drink Water, my shakes, and soup, but i dont feel like I'm getting that much in. I was sooo not ready for this part of the game.

They want me to take Omeperazole (prilosec) once a day, but that just aint happenin. Am I sabotaging myself by not taking it? I tried once in a little applesauce as recommended by the doc, and almost threw up which was enough for me to realize that I just can tolerate it right now.

Why didnt yall tell me about this part? OMG, I just want to run to Popeye's right now and get a 4 piece (dark meat) and bury my troubles in the box. Of course I know that cant happen, but it's really how Im feeling after dealing with this discomfort.

Hiya: I had the anti-nausea patch on and was so dry I couldn't swallow - was told it was the patch so I took it off...kind of a vicious cycle to dehydrate self with patch. Get some other anti-nausea med.

It will be two weeks for me this coming Monday. I had a horrible time ...I mean the pain for me was unbearable and I was so dehydratied that it was unreal... 2 sips and I'm nauseous still and I take the prilosec daily and have a anti nausea medicine patch on. My emotions are still going crazy. I keep thinking the same thoughts...why did I do this to myself? I will say it is definitely getting better day by day. Take it easy though. I thought I was doing really good and I went out for a shopping day and the pain came back with a vengeance...I definitely did too much. Try to get at least some warm chicken broth down...SIP it..and also sugar free vitamim Water worked for me. Hope it gets better...just know that u are not alone

Hi all: I had the painful incision site at the end of my second week...thought it was an incisional hernia and freeked. I went to emerg and they did an ultrasound and confirmed it was just scar tissue formation. Now at the beginning of my forth week, it's totally fine...from sharp pain getting out of bed to totally fine so hang in there. What seemed to help for a few days is a lower back brace that goes around your middle and supports your abdomen - I wouldn't recommend it for long or your stomach muscles will get weak. Ab exercises aren't supposed to be done until after 6 weeks if I'm not mistaken. Hang in there...it all gets better. I don't take any acid reducer...I wasn't advised directly to and I figure the smaller stomach won't produce enough acid. Honestly, I don't know about this.

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks for me and I'm also not feeling so great, but I'm managing. I actually felt better last week. I'm able to swallow pills, but it is true that warm liquid is very soothing and goes down easier. I actually find puddings and yogurts go down easier than liquid. My doctor also told me hydration is priority right now, nutrition is second. I do start my day with an unjury Protein drink with milk and I warm it for 40 seconds in the microwave just to get it a little warm. It goes down easy and I am getting 8 oz liquid and 30 grams of protein all down at the start of my day. The rest of the day I'm sipping liquid, I also make sure to have a chobani yogurt a day as they are really tasty and slide right down and there is another 18 grams of protein.

My biggest issue right now is the incision sites. One in particular, the big one where the stomach came out. It is in such a bad spot and it is killing me every time I move or bend. The other incisions don't hurt at all but my entire stomach area in general hurts. Have you every done any ab workouts like crunches or something? My stomach feels like the day after doing 100 crunches. I don't know why but that is the exact feeling. Weird.

I'm sure we'll all feel good soon enough. Stay strong everyone! It will all be worth it in end!

I'm just a week out and feeling ok, I think. Every challenge that comes up, I try to find a solution so I don't hurt or feel ill. Here are my suggestions that are working for me:

Incision site - a heating pad. This has been my god send. I change the settings depending on how I feel. I sleep with it and use it all day when I'm sitting. It has really helped. I'm sleeping on my side now a bit and even on my stomach a little last night (my favorite positon) and can't belive I could do it.

For the pain of the incisions I just switched to liquid tylenol and it is really helping me relax and makes sleeping easier.

liquids - I can only tolerate room temp or slighly warm liquids. I tried cold and that hurt too much. Take tiny sips and space them apart. I got a little timer that I use and set it in 15 minute increments to remind me to take 2-3 small sips. This is working so I recommend it. Focus first on the Protein shakes. As long as you get them in, you'll be more hydrated. Then you can use broth or other beverage to fill in the gap to get your liquids up. Plain Water isn't feeling good for me yet.

Gas - I have Kaiser and they gave me a disolvable prylosic and also chewable gas tables that I take every day. I can take up to 6 of the gas tablets so I space them out and this is really helping. When I start to feel pain or pressure, I lighly rub on my lower chest/upper stomach area and it seems to break it up.

These are just things that are working for me. Maybe they will help you too.

P.S. I shoudl add that food looks incredable to me and I would just love to eat some french fries or even grapes but I know this can't be. So I look forward to the future when tiny amounts will be there and that will only be what I will any anyway. Just shelve these thoughts away until later down the road!

Stacy

Honestly you will forget all this stuff ever happened. Three months out and I can barely remember the first few days. I did have hiccups on days 2 and 3 and they were miserable. My surgeon just said to take the liquid Lortab and wait for them to go away. I did and went to bed and eventually they did go away. Mine didn't seem related to eating or drinking, they would just even start in my sleep. For the nausea I has some suppositories. Not that great of a thought to use, but you won't throw them up and they do help quickly with the nausea. The acid reducer meds are almost always a must. Most of us who have felt hunger have found that the acid reducers really help with that sensation. If the ones you have now don't agree with you call your doc and try a different one. Keeping liquids down is so important. If you are dehydrated you will feel miserable. Good luck, I promise in a month you will hardly remember the rocky start.

I took Prilosec for the first few weeks they instructed me to open capsule and poor contents on my tongue and swallow with a small amount of Fluid...what ever kind I want. I ended up switching to Nexium about 3 months out and I still open capsules. I feel like it works much faster this way.

Saying a prayer things get better soon.