Any suggestions? My new stomach still seems to be real tender. When I take my pills it's a real struggle to get them down and occasionally quite painful. I have to go slow....and even then it's a real ordeal.

I find myself really hungry for solid food, but of course I can't. Probably the solution is that I ought to be eating more protein shakes and/or broth, but although I still enjoy the taste of them I am starting to find that a chore. I guess if I am way under 1000 calories a day it is natural that I would be hungry.

Did most of you require the full two weeks before going to mushy stage or do most of you go faster? Anyone need more than that? Anyone deal with the fear that I am that the new stomach will NEVER open up and I"ll be drinking my meals the rest of my life?

I could use some encouragements from the vets around here.

Thanks!

Hopefully your pills are very small. Most of the time patients crush them, cut them, etc... But don't do that without your doctors permission because some pills can't have that done.

The swelling in your tummy will take weeks to go down. Usually the first three weeks everything should be runny enough to go through a straw. Follow your doc's meal plan.

At one week out, hunger is usually either acid (you should be on acid medication), or "head hunger".. Where you actually are just having cravings, not real hunger. If it's real hunger, a cup of milk or protein shake should take care of it.

No worries, in a few weeks the swelling will go down and you'll feel better.

I've heard about the head hunger. Yes usually when I have a craving I have a protein shake and it's OK for awhile. I bought some Ricotta cheese a couple days ago with the hope I could have some soon but I am getting discouraged.

I am on acid medication.

Several weeks, huh?

I remember when I first had the sleeve done, my doctor told me the longer I held off having solid foods, the more weight I would loose. Eventually you will be able to eat, but then it's only a few bites. 4 years later, I am still limited on how much I can eat in 1 sitting, but it's more than I could eat in that first couple of months. I believe he had me on shakes/broth/water for the first month. Then I was able to introduce soft foods after that. Need to find something else to do in the meantime.

As for your medication, I would take my tiny pills, 1 at a time & would have crush the larger pills & mix with my water to swallow (as long as the bottle doesn't say, don't crush).

Had mine done in 2013 & if I remember correctly, it took a month to feel ok with medication & about 3 months to eat an entire egg in 1 sitting. In the meantime I would eat 1/2 & then a couple hours later, eat the other 1/2.

Your doing great! Getting a sleeve done was a big commitment & you will be glad as you see the scale go down!

Ironically the biggest pill I take (Oxycodone, for the pain) is one that definately canNOT be split, according to the Interwebs, because it is time released. Splitting it can result in an overdose.

FML.

My NUT said that moving on to "Phase 3B" (mushy food) is entirely dependent on the patient and that I will "know" when it is time to do that based on the lumpy feeling when swallowing water (the swelling between the esophagus and the top of the new stomach) going away. She says that this can happen two days after surgery or two weeks, and that it varies from person to person.

Does this sound kosher? Sounds like maybe two weeks might even be a bit optimistic.

I wasn't aware it was going to be so tight for so long. ((TWSS...)

The goal is to keep it tight for as long as possible! I believe my "solid" food was a spoonful of jello in that first month. Take it slow & when it does allow you to eat more - it's not by a plateful, it's forkful to forkful (also use the tip of a desert size fork to start). I think I was eating less than a toddler! If you wish to eat ... say chicken, make sure it's moist & mince it, then chew well! Your main meal even at this point is your shakes!

Good luck! It does pass & will become a distant memory!

Yes I am aware of the portion restriction- that's why I had this done in the first place! But right now it feels like it's glued shut. Thanks for the encouragement!

Your ticker isn't updated- how much have you lost total?

I"m kind of scared to continue on to the mushy stage, i had a lap band which was a nightmare as i was always throwing up i'm on week 4 and barely eating pureed food.

I think I was 4 weeks out when I tried hard boiled eggs.. by 5 weeks I could eat a whole one in a sitting. At 12 weeks, I can eat at least 2 at a sitting.

So everyone is different. I'm to the point where I can eat more than I SHOULD, so my scale is super important.