I am six days post op and panicked about my decision. I had my surgery on 1-23-12.

I am nauseous. I have heart burn. I am having difficulty sleeping due to discomfort.

I think the worst part is that I am hungry. I am on a liquid diet for four weeks. I'm not getting enough protein down. I can't stomach the drinks. They make me gag and my stomach feels upset afterwards.

I don't know how I am going to survive this faze and I'm scared my symptoms aren't going to go away.

Help.

Hey we are sleeve sisters! I was sleeved on Jan 23rd as well! I know excatly how you feel! At one point I thought OMG what have I done, but I think everyone that is going through the first stages feels this way. I can only tell you what has helped me. Warm tea with a little artifical sweetner, chicken broth, and sf popsicles. I tell myself that when I finish a good 4-6 oz of Isopure then Popcisle! I take my prilosec in the am with my tea. I had some nausea but the under the toungue tads prescribed by my doc really helped. I pray all the best for you and remember this too shall pass.

I had a few days of "What the @$#%! was I thinking," but after the nausea died down, I pulled out of it. Tiny sips of PowerAde Zero, walk a bit, regularly, and give your stomach time to get over the shock, because that's what it is. Call the doc for a different anti-nausea and PPI. You need them. It WILL get better soon. Don't give up.

I went through that too but when I started losing a ton of weight, it was all worth it. Buy a lot of bottled water or get the Sobe lifewaters to make sure you keep hydrated!!

Chin up, it gets better I promise!! My advice is probably very similar to everyone else's (I didn't have time to read each one though).

First, are you on a PPI (a proton pump inhibitor, it is an antacid)?? If you are not, call and ask your doctor for one. Many people who feel "hungry" after the surgery are actually having acid problems and this seems to help dramatically.

Second, if the nausea is that bad I would ask for an anti-nausea medicine such as zofran. My surgeon gave me this before the surgery to have when I was at home and it helped a lot. It dissolved under my tongue so I didn't have to force it down with liquids. If they won't give you the prescription, ask if there are any over-the-counter remedies you could try.

Third, at this point stop trying to choke down the Protein shakes. Focus on getting Water down. It took me a few weeks before I could handle any Protein Shakes. My surgeon wasn't worried, just said to focus on the water and work on increasing the protein as I could. At about a month it was sooo much easier for me! What I did in the meantime was I had some cream of chicken (no chunks), or milk (not everyone can tolerate it, I could luckily). When I was brave enough to start the protein shakes again I made them super watery and sipped, sipped, sipped. I even contemplated using the medical tape to stick the darn straw to my face because I was sick of holding it!

There is also a Protein Drink called isopure. It is thin, very similar to water. My surgeon suggested I drink this, but I couldn't stomach the taste. It seems like people either hate it or love it. It may be worth a shot for you though.

Good luck and don't regret this. You chose this for a reason and it will work out! You are at the hardest stage right now, I promise!

I had trouble with the powdered protein drinks, but if you are near a Costco, try the liquid Premier Protein in chocolate. tastes just like chocolate milk and is much easier to handle. At this point, water is important so you won't get dehydrated. That's one thing you don't want to do. If the water makes you gag, then drop a packet of crystal Light in and it may be better. Also try a sugar free popsicle which is still aliquid diet item, but I heard makes some feel better if they feel nauseated. Try some chicken broth too and see if the warmer broth goes down any easier. Please hang in there. It will get better soon.

broth saved me during the Clear liquids stage! Even my beloved hot tea tasted icky, so I tried the broth. It's kind of salty and when it's warm it goes down really easy on an uneasy tummy. You definitely need an acid reducer. Your doc should be more than happy to give you a new one if the one you're on isn't working.

Good luck!! It does get better!!

I am six days post op and panicked about my decision. I had my surgery on 1-23-12.

I am nauseous. I have heart burn. I am having difficulty sleeping due to discomfort.

I think the worst part is that I am hungry. I am on a liquid diet for four weeks. I'm not getting enough Protein down. I can't stomach the drinks. They make me gag and my stomach feels upset afterwards.

I don't know how I am going to survive this faze and I'm scared my symptoms aren't going to go away.

Help.

its amazing how alike i felt too! I had mine on 1/17/11 and for days afterward i was crying and so depressed that i might have made the wrong decision. it wasn't until about a week and a half out that i started to feel a bit better. i have to be on liquids for 4 weeks too and i'm barely getting one 8 oz shake a day. i know that it's more dangerous to become dehydrated ( i think i've heard it takes a month to die from starvation but only 3 days without Water... i don't know how true that is though so don't quote me!) so i've been trying to drink gatorade and water more than anything. and about the heartburn, i found that not drinking 1 hour before bed and taking prevacid 2 x a day helps. and for some reason, if i have some yogurt an hour before bed i don't wake up with heartburn! It's a miracle!! lol also, until i started feeling better (about 1.5 weeks out) i took my nausea and pain meds on schedule, i didn't wait till i felt bad to take them. this helped alot to prevent the time difference when meds start to work. and walk!!!!!!! it's so important!!!!! I hope you start feeling better!!!!!!!!!!

I am so glad I got up this morning and startred searching for answers and ran across this web page. I was sleeved on 1-25-12 and was discharged to home on 1-27-12, I understand you completely. I don't have the nausea anymore I think it is because I have stopped using so much of the pain medications. Last night I said to my boyfriend I hope I don't end up regreting this. It has been very hard for me to get anything down, due to the fact that I can't stand the feeling my stomach makes everytime I try to drink something ( I call them stomach spasms). Now I am worried that I will become dehydrated. I have another issue I take high blood pressure medication that needs to be crushed up, is their anyone who has had problems taking there medications and if not what were your methods used. pls help me too.

Lots of great advice has already been given but I just want to add some words of support! It does pass and it does get better. I focused on one day at a time. I was prescribed raglan for the nausea which helpd tremendously. I took it for at least a week after surgery. And as others have said, I was on prilosec.... big difference if I didn't take it. Also, I made sure I took some walks/strolls around the neighborhood and deep breathing helped too. I spent about 2 to 3 minute doing rythmic, meditative type breathing. I did it thoughout the day but especially before bed. It really helped me relax all the muscles that tense up when we feel so misserable - especially nauseaus! I found that my neck and shoulders were like boulders! So the relaxing and breathing made a big difference in just loosing that area up and it helped me rest.

Best of luck guys! We are all rooting for you. You will get through this tough healing and adjustment stage! I am sure! Remember we all go through it - it stinks, but it's a necesary step! Hang in there! Gets better each and every day!!!!

I just want to add that suppositories for the nausea medicine will probably work better for you at this time. It worked for me, ask your doctor and see what he/she thinks. Hopefully that will break the vicious cycle and you can start drinking more room temperature or warm clear liquids and take your antacid medicine.

Lastly, I was told NOT to drink my medicines with tea (as someone else said). I drink my PPI with a sip of room temperature Water first thing out of bed and I drink my warm tea (or anything else) 30 minutes later. I learned it here and it works like a charm. (Keep in mind that some antacid medicines take some time to work. It is not immediate) To be able to do this, your nausea has to get better of course. The suppositories will help with that. Best wishes! You can do this!!!

My dr. prescribed Liquid Lortab 10-15 cc every 4-6 hours for the pain.

For the PPI he prescribed Dexilant, 1 capsule every day

For Nausea, Reglan, 1 pill, 3 times a day.

I was sleeved on Friday, Jan 27th and (knock on wood) haven't experienced any nausea at all. I've taken the pills as prescribed and I also have been adding the Gas x strips after my meals and 1 before bed.

I am six days post op and panicked about my decision. I had my surgery on 1-23-12.

I am nauseous. I have heart burn. I am having difficulty sleeping due to discomfort.

I think the worst part is that I am hungry. I am on a liquid diet for four weeks. I'm not getting enough Protein down. I can't stomach the drinks. They make me gag and my stomach feels upset afterwards.

I don't know how I am going to survive this faze and I'm scared my symptoms aren't going to go away.

Help.

Of course everyone here has great advice, but I wanted to ask you about your feeling of hunger.

Where are you feeling this hunger?

The reason I ask is that your hunger pangs, if in your abdomen, are probably not hunger pangs, although they feel like what we used to experience. You may be having "head hunger"! You can talk to your nutritionist or surgeon's office about that.

I know that I have had feelings I used to think were hunger, and even growling noises, but there is no stomach in that area anymore. What I am feeling is digestive noises and not hunger. If there is an "empty feeling" it is possibly head hunger, which we all have to learn to get over, or we will not win this battle.

Realizing this has made it so much easier, although I have to remind myself that it is not hunger. I am surprisingly never really hungry.

Also, when you are able to get your protein intake up, if you are having real hunger, protein will knock that hunger back.

I had the exact same regrets, I cried every day for over a week and a half :-( My husband reminded me I felt the same way after having both knees replaced five weeks apart in 2008 :-) I had the "foamies" every time I'd drink - it just bubbled up no matter what I dranl (Liquids two weeks prior and two weeks after surgery). So, I got back on my antacid. It really helped. I started baby foods (because of my lifestyle it was more convenient than trying to blend meats, etc. on my own). I'm currently at 3.5 months out and have feel fabulous. You have to find what works for you - a lot of good advice has been given - know that you are not alone! I had to sleep sitting up for about five weeks also - I couldn't eat or drink within an hour of going to bed. Hang in there and good luck!

Sue

Sleeved on 10/13/11

Total weight lost: 78 punds (53 since surgery)

Ask your doctor for an anti-nausea suppository. It's not a glamorous option, but it's one less thing you have to worry about swallowing. They work fast and have staying power. You can also make Jell-O but, instead of letting it set up, drink it while it's warm. It's very soothing because it's thicker than other clear liquids.

You'll feel better soon, I promise, and then you'll really begin to experience the wonderful new world that your sleeve provides!