This is my journey and i am having a love and hate relationship with it

I was sleeved end of September 2014 so in my 4th month now .

* I cant take the Protein shakes, i tried all kinds and still cant swallow more than a few sips.

* I can drink all the Water needed because all day i am trying to get some food in and cant mix with liquids

* I still cant eat solid foods, trying to have fish, avocado, eggs, seafood, in but after a few bites i am done

* My weight loss is going well but slow. Lost 15 Kg to date

* yes i eat chocolate because it is the only thing that gives me pleasure right now and energy

* Heartburn is a B**** i need to take a pill every morning to survive the day. ( anyone can tell me at what point will the heartburn stop ??)

* I use to be too tired to exercise but i think i am able now to start

* My hair is falling off like crazy, every time i pass my hand over it i get 5 to 10 hairs our. My clothes always have hair on them.

* i am enjoying my new body even though it is floppy but wearing new clothes and not feeling tight is a great feeling.

* i try and take daily Vitamins and Iron chewables

* The iron pills are causing me major constipation.

At what stage can i eat normal but in small quantities ?

Please i need your feedback!!

I still felt weird... no appetite,food didn't taste good etc but was eating normal foods before 4 months out

Hi...

So here is some good news. You will be able to eat again eventually. You have a BABY tummy, so you have to think like that. Babies start off with liquids, few months later they graduate to mushy foods (one at at time), then you move onto the next stage. I think this way and I am doing great.

I had my surgery on 11/21/14 while my sister had her on 8/21/14. She can eat anything, drinks her Protein shakes, eats about 4-6 oz of food per meal, and she does not exercise.

Me, on the otherhand, I cannot drink any Protein Drinks (so I don't worry), I can only get in about 2 Teaspoons of food every 2 hours. Right now I am lucky if I can eat 2 oz of food. I try, but my stomach tells me NO.

As for the hair loss. I don't see it on me or on the floor of the shower or in my hairbrush, but I know my hair is thinning. My hairdresser as well as the APRN has told me to take Biotin for this. I started it on Tuesday of this week.

For my Vitamins, I have broken them up into different times. I take my synthroid at night and in the morning at 600 I take my MVI, then at 630am I take a Fiber Vitamin. In the afternoon, I take my Omeprazole and my 2nd MVI. Around 3pm, I take my 2nd Fiber vitamin. I found that if I take them all in the morning, my stomach feels yukky and I ache.

Constipation.............we now all have to deal with this issue. I take a Stool Softener and Once a week I do MIRALAX. I still have the problem, just not as bad. Remember, you are not taking in alot of food, so there is no FAT to be released. Don't stress it, it will eventurally be back to normal.

I have cheated a few times by having a SMALL piece of chocolate. I had always hated Chocolate and now I always want it. But...I know to not let my brain overtake my new stomach.

Relax and enjoy this ride. I know it is tough, but in the end. SO DAMN Worth it. (even with the loose skin....who cares, at least we are healthy.)

Have a Sprking day.................Annamarie

When my oldest daughter was a teenager, she and her BFF had a fiery argument and parted company for a few days, until a card arrived in the mail from BFF. It said "I HATE, IHATE YOU, IHATE YOU!" love, Christine

I feel that way about my sleeve sometimes, too. But I got a new respect for it on Tuesday when I got an upper GI barium follow-through to see how Miss Tummy was doing. I saw on the imagess that my sleeve really is just a small tube, and I am going to have to be considerate of it forever.

The best way I can avoid reflux and heartburn is to do what I was told:

Take my Omeprozole every morning 1/2 hour before I eat anything.

Avoid hot peppers, greasy and strongly spiced foods for three months to give Miss Tummy time to heal properly. I was eating Wendy's chili as soon as I was cleared for whole foods, but I can't eat things like the homemade jalepinos stuffed with cream cheese that my boyfriend makes. Hard miserable lesson learned.

Measure out my food and never eat the last bite.

To address your other issues...I have dark chocolate or hot cocoa almost every day, just not as much as I used to.

I did not lose hair. The debate on the value of Biotin will never resolve, but here is what I was and still am doing: Some people take 500mg of biotin a day. I get the 10,000 mg from Walgreens and take one in the morning and one at night. Did that make a difference? I don't know, but I will put it in the "Don't mess with success" catagory.

However, at two months my skin got really dry and my fingernails started chipping and shredding. My doctor advised me to have sugar free Jello or Soup with bone broth every day, to get Gelatin in my system. When I started that, the problem started resolving within a couple of weeks.

My plan requirements after the first two months were 80 grams of Protein, 80 ounces of Water, and 800-1200 calories of real food. At that time, I was advised to wean off of the Protein shakes, so I only have one on strength training days.

Hang in there. My first year went by like a comet.

This is my journey and i am having a love and hate relationship with it

I was sleeved end of September 2014 so in my 4th month now .

* I cant take the Protein shakes, i tried all kinds and still cant swallow more than a few sips.

* I can drink all the Water needed because all day i am trying to get some food in and cant mix with liquids

* I still cant eat solid foods, trying to have fish, avocado, eggs, seafood, in but after a few bites i am done

* My weight loss is going well but slow. Lost 15 Kg to date

* yes i eat chocolate because it is the only thing that gives me pleasure right now and energy

* Heartburn is a B**** i need to take a pill every morning to survive the day. ( anyone can tell me at what point will the heartburn stop ??)

* I use to be too tired to exercise but i think i am able now to start

* My hair is falling off like crazy, every time i pass my hand over it i get 5 to 10 hairs our. My clothes always have hair on them.

* i am enjoying my new body even though it is floppy but wearing new clothes and not feeling tight is a great feeling.

* i try and take daily Vitamins and Iron chewables

* The iron pills are causing me major constipation.

At what stage can i eat normal but in small quantities ?

Please i need your feedback!!

My NP wanted off the protein shakes at 3 months and get my protein from food. I still drank one a day because I had a stricture and could barely eat anything but mushy until my 4th or 5th month.

Drink as much as you can. If you can get 40oz in, you are doing great.

I am 19 months out. A few bites and I am done, too. Welcome to your new normal.

Your hair will grow back. Promise.

Metamucil in your coffee or water will help with the constipation. You can't taste it and it works wonders.

Find something else that makes you feel good. Relying on food to make you feel good is what probably got you here in the first place. That's a slippery slope you are treading so early out. Chocolate isn't giving you physical energy, either. It will give you a sugar rush and then you will crash. Bad bad bad cycle.

Heartburn may never go away. I never had it before but I do know. I take my PPI and tums regularly. You don't want to hear this but chocolate gives you heartburn:

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20443643_2,00.html

Chocolate

Bad news for chocolate lovers: Chocolate seems to cause more reflux than any other food. It’s a triple whammy:

1. Chocolate contains caffeine and other stimulants such as theobromine, which cause reflux.

2. Chocolate is high in fat, and fat causes reflux.

3. Chocolate is also high in cocoa, and cocoa causes reflux.

Theoretically, dark chocolate isn’t as bad as high-fat milk chocolate, but let’s face it—all chocolate is bad for reflux.

Thank you guys for the support !

the funny thing is my doctor never told me to take Protein shakes or Vitamins, i decided to add those in because of all the post on this forum. His list of what to do and what not to do was super small and i was even allowed to drink diet coke after the liquid stage (which i never did).

I feel my doctor is not really looking into the health side of things but i am.

today my assistant made the comment that since last month my body has slimmed a lot. it felt really good as i wore a tight dress to work.

i will keep believing that there is hope and things will get better. i guess i will continue taking each day by day and try to enjoy the ride.

Guys, can anyone tell me if the heartburn will eventually go away or is it a life long problem now ??

For som e people it's a big problem . Mine went away but stats show it can comeback later. What are you taking for it?

i am taking Omeprazole, one every morning. Sometimes the heartburn wakes me up in the morning cause the effect of the pill wore off. I cant see myself taking a pill every day for the rest of my life

My heartburn went away early on about 3 weeks out. Before that it was horrendous. Be sure not to eat (especially chocolate is a killer for heartburn) at least 3 hours before you go to bed. That really helps.

Thx Alfie, i am getting in my fourth month so i don't see it decreasing any time soon.