Shock, excitement and time to get ready

[NotSoTall 33]

Tomorrow will be one week since the surgery. I'm feeling pretty good. I still get an ache at the largest incision site, but nothing strong and no other issues at this point. Yay. Except the issues of itching incision sites, keep catching myself almost scratching but one touch of a staple and I stop cold.

Yesterday I felt really hungry for the first time. I had already had my required minimums of Protein and Fluid, plus some. Seriously debated ignoring the hunger as it was at about 8:30 which back in my GERD treatment days was a time you should not eat or the stuff would be flowing back up when I slept. Finally just decided to heat up a cup of Soup, blenderized cream of mushroom. Spooned it bit by bit until over half was eaten and was finally feeling full, or satisfied not really full. Hunger was totally gone. First pleasant surprise, no GERD type symptoms overnight. Awesome!!!!

After the surgery weight gain I'd dropped a pound a day so I figured this would be my first day that I might not lose that pound since my calories were up (like almost 700 total LOL) and lo and behold I dropped 2 pounds more when I hit the scale this morning. So it may not be lightening speed but I've lost 5 pounds post op and I'm tickled with it. I've always been a slow loser so this is quick to me. I'll enjoy it while I can.

I have always been a daily weigher so the fluctuations do not bother me. Actually in the past when I ignored the scale for any amount of time I was met with a gain so I will continue the daily weighs my self accountability. It's also a great way for me to see patterns of loss, gains and plateaus.

Now to go get something for breakfast/lunch and then another lovely shower and walk. Life is good.

Edited February 17, 2014 by NotSoTall

[jankirby 0]

You and I are on the same time line. Surgery on February 11 and home February 13. I'm doing well except I had to stop my Effexor cold turkey and it's making me wacky light headed. I am on Clear Liquids until I see my Dr on Wednesday to get my staples out and I will start 2 weeks of full liquids. I'm never hungry, but I make myself eat and sip Water all day. My incisions itch like crazy and I walk around doing the pretend itch. My family thinks I'm crazy. Down 5lbs since surgery also.

[NotSoTall 33]

Hi jankirby. We are on a very similar path. I'm a little envious that you get your staples out this week. Enjoy the freedom! My postop appointment is 2/26 so another week of metal tummy for me.

The pretend itch gave me a chuckle. Thanks! I've been scratching areas that aren't itching but are somewhat near the itches and it almost helps. LOL.

I've been taking less of the effexor, but they did change my script for the 2 weeks to make it crushable. I'm not good about the flavor and grit that comes from the crushable meds so I'm backing off a bit without stopping and will increment back up when I can swallow the pills.

That reminds me that I have to call them about the Actigall that's supposed to prevent the gallstones. It's important enough that I want to take it and try to, but the flavor is overwhelming and stays in my mouth long after the quick swallow I try to take of it. I'm thinking of asking how harmful it would be to skip that until the 2 week postop when I'm allowed to swallow the pills again. It's the only thing that makes my stomach want to wretch. sorry if tmi. That said I'll go through it if they say I must. I don't want any more surgeries if I can prevent them.

Surgery was one week ago and now am down 7 pounds post op. So cool. I got a little concerned that I was taking in too many calories, but read a lot all over the net and decided to chill out and go with it. The calories result from the liquids I'm ingesting to get to the 60-80g Protein and 50-64oz liquids. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and not sweat the calories. The most was 700 one day, yesterday was a bit over 600. It's easy to get caught up in other folks info, and nothing wrong with learning from it, but must not compare as we're all individuals. Unless of course I was putting away so much that it would indicate a problem with the sleeve or taking in sugary things (no thanks, the RTD Proteins are sweet enough.

I think the one thing keeping the calories a hair higher is that I choose 1% milk, 2% plain greek yogurt, etc. i'm deliberately not doing FF, but also not doing anything full fat. That's a personal choice. My body has historically reacted poorly to fat free living. Dry skin, foggy brain are a couple things that come to mind. That said, the choices I'm making fall within the dietary guidelines prescribed by my bariatric program so it's all good.

Wishing a good, comfortable day to all! Time to go crush that yummy pill into the last sip of Protein Drink. Mmmmmm.

[NotSoTall 33]

Just trucking along, but today was a bit different. Had a bout of nausea seemingly out of nowhere. Felt really green. Never actually got sick, but felt like it could happen at any time. Placed a new patch behind my ear as a pill didn't seem like a good idea at that moment. Now I'm fine, though kinda weak. I did take a longer nap when I was feeling off and think that helped too. I'm not lacking sleep, but still nodded off easily.

I attribute this all to the body still healing. My docs said you can feel off for 6 weeks or more, so a day like this one week out probably is not very unusual.

Down one more pound today and still met my Protein and Fluid goals. Now sipping some Powerade zero to keep the electrolytes good and hopefully tomorrow will feel better. The bad thing today was no walk, but I'll make up for it tomorrow.

Happy sleeving to all.

[NotSoTall 33]

Not too far into the new day, but already my energy is leaps and bounds more than it was yesterday. Yes it is quite a roller coaster ride. Woke up earlier than I have this whole last week and couldn't get back to sleep, and I LOVE sleep. LOL

I'm happy that tonight will be my last Lovenox injection. The shots don't bother me, but it's nice to get one more thing past me.

One more pound down. Still have a BMI over 40, but not for long.

Starting to sort through clothing. It's amazing how much wardrobe there is when there are sizes from junior/misses all the way through women's. The stuff that really gets me are those items with tags on them. They fit when I bought them and before I could wear them out I outgrew them. Such was the curse of eating the wrong things and PCOS. So easy to gain, so slow to lose. This time I'll be pitching (donating) everything that becomes more than one size larger. No longer planning for that rainy (fat) day.

Wishing comfort, energy and health to all

[survivingsleever 33]

Time to continue my journey. I'm home now, actually got home last night. Surgery went just fine. I do have some discomfort, primarily the incision site that they put the camera through. And it feels like I did lots of sit ups. The experience in the hospital was fine. That staff were all very friendly and helpful. The only weird thing for me, but apparently not surprising, was high blood sugars. One reading over 200. For 3 out of 4 readings they shot me up with insulin. Before release BS was 118. I was very motivated to come home as I couldn't get good rest there. They were taking vitals constantly (good thing I know) but didn't help sleep which was maybe a half hour at a time. Walked the first day and night and several times on day two, multiple laps. They took the cath out the morning of the second day and the drain right before I came home (didn't hurt but felt very strange). They warned that if a fever of over 101.5 to call them. I had a fever of 100.2 when I got home (none at hospital), took the pain med and went to sleep. It was 99.9 this morning and took the med again. Now 7 hours later no fever. Last night slept in my own bed with a long pillow on my side, actually was able to sleep on my side and feel pretty good this morning. It was so nice not to juggle the IV and drain. Also glad to be home as my cycle started today (sorry if tmi), so better here than there in my opinion. Have lots of post op meds. Have the anti-clotting injections, had two in the hospital and will begin self injection this afternoon. They also prescribed Actigall to prevent gallstones, and protonix. If needed I also have pain meds and anti-nausea meds. And for the meds I was taking previously they prescribed 15 days worth to be crushed and then I can resume the extended release if/or until no longer needed (blood pressure, effexor). The only other thing to take is my Vitamins. I chose Flintstones. LOL Have been enjoying an EAS shake this thus far and am up to 16g Protein and 10.5oz Fluid so have to work on that a bunch more, but didn't get out of bed until late so got a late start. Did keep a water bottle next to bed for sips through the night. I guess that's enough of a novel for now. Off to read some more about everyone's experiences.

Thank you for the details. I will be scheduled by next week!

[NotSoTall 33]

survivingsleever - It's exciting. You'll be scheduled and moving forward in no time. Please share your experiences so we can all learn from each other. Best wishes!

Okay, it finally happened <dramatic pause> I didn't lose any weight since yesterday. I went to hubby and said that's it, I want a refund, get my tummy back. Then we chuckled and I went in to get my Protein Drink. It really is okay and just a taste of things to come. No matter what program I've followed I've had a really good first week and then the second week get a mini-plateau before things move on again.

The sleeve is my tool and it will help me stay on track, but there's no reason for me to think it will be magically different in it's path of weight loss. I think I mentioned before that I need to daily weigh (acknowledging that for others that can be a head game, understandably) so I've seen the stair step losses, the spikes up and down with an overall trend down. I think for me it's good to remember it's still me, the hormone issues are still mine, the PCOS impact of loose slow, gain fast is still there so if the weight stays the same for a day, a week or more I'm just trucking on. This tool allows me the luxury, if you will, of not playing games with myself. Cool Beans.

Wishing a successful, nutritious day to all.

[NotSoTall 33]

Okay, the scale gods are messing with me. I'm not talking about the weight staying the same, but the scales themselves. I'd been using a clunky older scale because my nicer one needed batteries. Got the batteries yesterday and it worked. Got on this morning and it was flying the numbers all over the place and finally landed on 10 pounds less than I am. Sure, would love that but knew it was a glitch. Then got back on my rickety one and it started doing the same thing only it finally landed on a number that would reflect a gain of over 2 pounds. Alrighty then. LOL.

Dragged hubby shopping for a new scale and we're back, the same weight as yesterday and you know what? I was happy to see it. After the morning's fiasco it was a peaceful feeling to see a number that made sense. Now to hope whatever gremlin got into the older scales doesn't jump ship into the new one by morning.

Wednesday starts purees so I purchased some tuna pouches and some veggies that I can whir up. Also some cottage cheese and refried Beans.

Also bought sublingual B12s and calcium citrate with D. Starting Wednesday I'm supposed to do a multi then the Calcium a couple hours laters, then another multi, then another Calcium. I'm glad to still be home to dial into these time frames, along with timing non-liquid meals so things will feel more natural by the time I do go back to work.

Now to do some research on the best way to puree stuff. Learning something new everyday.

[NotSoTall 33]

New day, nothing new to report. Good news is that the scale worked fine today. Mundane news is the weight is the same today. Just riding it out as the nutrient #'s average to what my doctor's office suggests. Average of calories: 550, protein: 68, liquids: 65, and though I'm not counting them carbs: 39. Two more days until stage 3 puree. WooHoo. LOL. I am seriously looking forward to some tuna salad. Go figure.

I did have another nausea moment yesterday shortly after taking meds, so I guess the tummy is still feeling fussy (healing), though I'd also done a little light cleaning with a bleach spray and the smell seemed to ramp the nausea up. My nose seems ultra sensitive lately.

[NotSoTall 33]

Puree day is here!!! (yeah i need a life) So after my 2 week follow up appt including getting the staples out I came home and made my first puree. It was tuna and tasted yummy. Hard to chew it 20 times, but I tried for practice if nothing else. I managed a quarter cup which was half of the 2.5 ounce pouch after I pulverized it. Ate it over 20 minutes and now I'm satisfied. I feel maybe a tad full, but that didn't hit until after I'd finished so that's a lesson to follow the rules and not eat more yet even if during the 20 minutes I felt I maybe could have. The hardest part is waiting for the first sips of Water, but I'll get used to that too.

Also dropped another pound after 4 (5?) days of no movement so dropped into a new BMI range by a hair. It's been a good day so far. It is raining so will have to get creative for my walking today. Somewhere I have those old 'walking off the pounds' dvds. If not maybe some music and walking around the house for 15+ minutes. Might look silly but who cares. The dog will probably think I lost my marbles.

Happy Sleeving

[birdmadgirl 154]

• Keep up the good work and keep us posted to all your successes. I'm 4 months out and doing pretty good. down 47lbs.

[NotSoTall 33]

• Keep up the good work and keep us posted to all your successes. I'm 4 months out and doing pretty good. down 47lbs.

Thank you. You're doing really well. You must feel great! I look forward to seeing such numbers. It's got to make a big difference in clothing and how you feel. Well done. It's results like yours that inspire me to be patient and just work the plan.

I'm trucking along and enjoying the puree stage. I've now tried refried Beans, an over easy egg whirred up. All have been tasty and satisfying, and a little cute in their size. Sort of like eating from kid's tea party plates. Weight sitting at 204.2 for a couple days now. It's all good. This is soooo my pattern, well documented on years of weight charts. My NUT was happy with the progress.

The newest thing...the waves of emotions. From out of nowhere my eyes will well up ready to start crying. Anything can trigger them, sweet stuff, sad stuff, motivational words, you name it. I told my husband not to worry if suddenly I'm weeping and he says he understands, though he had a little smirk so he knows me well enough that it amuses him. It's all good.

Still rainy so outdoor walks have been squashed lately. We desperately need the rain, being in drought situation. Some may have seen our local Folsom lake in the national news as it's so low an old town is re-appearing. So to be clear not complaining about the Water, just that walking around the house is a bit dull. LOL.

I do have one NSV. Prior to surgery I was wearing 2X shirts, often mens, and could have probably worn 3X without them being too baggy. The last couple days I've worn some of my old 1X and even one ladies v-neck shirt that didn't hug every bulge. Pants are still the same due to the belly apron area, but that's okay. Work in progress. Actually there is another one, stopped with hubby when he picked up some food so I sat in a booth while I waited and there was now space between me and the table. I'm a total apple so that space was nonexistent pre-op.

p.s. the food wasn't for me and I went willingly with him (stir crazy) and it didn't even bother me to be there. Maybe that's another NSV too.

We may have to approach things differently than the general public, but I think we're blessed to have a tool like this. At least I feel blessed. I finally feel hopeful about a healthy, active future.

[NotSoTall 33]

Today mark's 4 weeks since surgery. Progress is as follows: 10 pounds lost pre-op, 14 lost post-op, 24 down from my highest.

I suspect that doesn't look like much to some, as it doesn't to me either BUT then I apply my history to the equation and for me this is a great loss. Post op averages to 3.5 pounds per week. For my height with metabolic syndrome issues this is pretty darned exciting to me.

I haven't written much lately as things pretty much fell into a pattern. I tested many types of foods whirred up. Today I start soft foods for the next 2 weeks. Calories should now be falling between 600-800 per their plan. Sounds downright extravagant.

I'm curious to see how things progress now that the body is further out from surgery. It's as if month 2 will provide a better idea of how I'll really lose since it doesn't involve the quick flush of pounds after surgery. Who knows, just thinking out loud. LOL

Still on a lifting restriction for 2 more weeks but have worked with 3 lb. weights. Could be much better about walks. Rain has been a convenient reason not to get out as much as I should. Am trying to do energetic movement during chores to ramp up the exercise element. Not sure if it helps much, but it can't hurt. Fluids are tolerated really well at this point getting in around 80 oz a day.

I have met both liquid and Protein goals daily since February 14th. Premier Protein drinks help, and upon first coming home the EAS drinks were great as they're on the thinner side and the flavors are good to us (my son wants them when they're in the house and he's not following anything except his tastebuds). Also greek yogurt has been a blessing. Great base for Protein Shakes and great Probiotics for the healing digestive tract.

Incisions are mostly non-issue. One still has a partial scab on it but the rest are fine including the drain area. I do have one lumpy area in my lower tummy that is new, no pain or discoloration, no heat. It is in the area of the blood thinner injections, and that area is still bruised from those so I'll just watch the spot.

Hello Month #2!!! Whatcha got for me?

[NotSoTall 33]

Five weeks out today. Now down 16 pounds post op, 10 pre, 26 total. Nutrition has been good. What I'm finding more challenging are the vits/meds or at least the timing of them. Have to get that down before heading back to work next week. New lunch tote landed and freezer packs so I'm ready to haul everything daily so it's at my fingertips.

The other challenge this past week was painful. Possible TMI. Early last week started a painful Constipation episode which further agitated a chronic hemorrhoid issue. There was a lot of stabbing pain, bleeding, overall discomfort. Ick! Started taking Miralax and stool softeners. 4 days laters things resolved, but OMG I will not slack off softeners for a while.

Exercise is another issue. I'm really enjoying working on chores around the house with my new energy, but am not being good about exercise specifically. This is something I must work on.

I can tell as time goes on this becomes a bigger mental game in order to keep from slipping into lazy habits such as not tracking or not exercising. I'm okay with the tracking, but the lack of formal exercise shows me I've already slacked off a bit on the post-op plan. This week will be all about reeling back in so I go back to work with my head on straight.

[jankirby 0]

5 weeks today also and I know the Constipation pain. I woke up very dizzy on Saturday and ended up in the ER. I of bag of Fluid, bloodwork and a CT scan I was sent home with a fleet and that problem has been resolved. The dizziness is still here, but not as bad. My doctor feels I'm not getting enough fluids so today I have been getting so much Water in I might float away. Just ready to be happy with my decision to have my sleeve.