Hi everyone. Finally got sleeved! At home and feeling ok but still dealing with gas pains. I’ve been an overeater most of my life and now that I am here, two days post-op, I’m afraid to over eat again. Not sure if it’s really possible and it’s more of a mental thing but I’m afraid it’s having an effect on my ability to eat anything right now. Just tried some jello and had maybe 3 bites and that’s it.

I don’t want this to affect my nutrient intake and become sick or dehydrated bc I’m not getting enough in. Does that make sense? I don’t know that I know what being full or even being hungry feels like bc I used to eat all the time. And now that I’m having some pain I’m not sure if it’s bc of the gas or bc my stomach is telling me it’s hungry bc it’s had nothing for the past few days. I’m really freaking out!

Any advice? I want to make sure this works for me and that I don’t mess it up. Thank you!

Everything you're feeling is normal. It can be crazy difficult to try and sort through all the feelings and signals that your body is giving you. The nerves to your stomach are in complete disarray right now. It will take some time for your new tiny stomach to get in synch with your brain. We all experience it differently but typically when you’re in the liquids only stage (which does include Jello) you may never actually experience a full sensation. Liquids pass through much faster than solid foods, and things like Jello break down and turn back to a liquid state quickly so unless you eat too much too fast you’ll likely never get a full feeling.

Measuring out your portions and taking time between bites is key at this stage. When I was able to start having yogurts I used a baby spoon. I’d take a bite (if you can call it that) and then set it aside for a few minutes. Then I’d try again and repeat. It can be maddening when it takes half an hour to eat a couple ounces of yogurt but being patient is worth it. Allowing yourself a few minutes between bites will give your body some time to send signals saying “hey…back off now.”

Just be sure you’re accurately measuring your protein & water intake. As long as you’re hitting your daily goals and getting your vitamins in you’ll be good on the nutrient side of things.

First off, congratulations on a successful surgery and welcome to the new journey!!! You are only 2 days post op, best I could do then was just sip sip sip at the liquid protein meals and my water. Basically non-stop. There is no "full" right now in the sense that your tummy is like a swollen banana. All that can get through is about a straw sized amount of liquid. So don't worry about that right now. Just sip sip sip.

Did you do classes or have any kind of data given to you like a binder with information? You should know that once your stomach heals you can hold about 1/4 cup/4oz of food/liquid. This means that you can simply avoid overeating - since that is your primary concern in this post - by measuring your food. Get a cheap small food scale and a measuring cup. Some foods measure by weight, some by size. Anyway, you just measure your 1/4 cup/4oz of food and you know for sure you won't overeat. Then you will eventually find you can trust yourself.

But this is all months down the road. Right now you just know you can't eat solids as that could kill you by ripping your stitches. You know that you have your water and protein goals. Did they tell you that your protein soups and drinks count as both protein AND water? So there is that. Anyway, my point is, right now, unless you do something really stupid like try to eat solids or pureed foods, you can't really overeat right now. You can just sip sip sip. Jello is fine, but it's got a bit of mass so of course it's going to fill you up. Your tummy is swollen and only has a tiny passway for the "food" to go through and jello is not liquid at first unless you strain it through your teeth to make it liquid.

Sounds to me like you are doing GREAT! This is exciting, you have a good outlook, you are trying to do the right things and following your protocol, you are going to do fantastic!!!!!

Edited January 17, 20188 yr by LittleLizzieLilliput

Oh!! And regarding pain, take some Gas-X maybe and keep walking. I had pains too. Your tummy had 80% of it removed and each laparoscopic incision is the same as getting stabbed. So you have 5-7 stab wounds, your abdominal wall was punctured, your stomach has a hundred or so stitches and your body is in a bit of shock. They also blow air into your abdominal cavity to be able to see what they are doing, so there is all this gas floating around your body, walking is what helps push the gas back into your different functions and works itself out - literally. So the Gas-x strips have helps folks out in the process. You are going to have some pains and odd sensations.

Just keep walking, try the Gas-X strips, get a liquid tylenol pain reliever as well. It's OK to take pain meds and stay on top of the pain, you had something major done to your body. And don't worry, if something is really wrong, tylenol would NEVER be able to dull the pain. So don't worry about masking a problem with taking an OTC pain med.

If your pain level stays below a 4, you are probably just experiencing post surgical pain. If your pain goes above a 4 it's time to call your surgeon's office and tell them. If it goes above a 7 just head to the ER. It's ok to have a false alarm but dying really sucks.

Hang in there, it sounds like you are going to do great, I know it's rough. The 1st 3 months were a real gauntlet for me, but I'm 15 months out and so happy and healthy. It's gonna be ok!!!

Edited January 17, 20188 yr by LittleLizzieLilliput

Everything you're feeling is normal. It can be crazy difficult to try and sort through all the feelings and signals that your body is giving you. The nerves to your stomach are in complete disarray right now. It will take some time for your new tiny stomach to get in synch with your brain. We all experience it differently but typically when you’re in the liquids only stage (which does include Jello) you may never actually experience a full sensation. Liquids pass through much faster than solid foods, and things like Jello break down and turn back to a liquid state quickly so unless you eat too much too fast you’ll likely never get a full feeling.
Measuring out your portions and taking time between bites is key at this stage. When I was able to start having yogurts I used a baby spoon. I’d take a bite (if you can call it that) and then set it aside for a few minutes. Then I’d try again and repeat. It can be maddening when it takes half an hour to eat a couple ounces of yogurt but being patient is worth it. Allowing yourself a few minutes between bites will give your body some time to send signals saying “hey…back off now.”

Just be sure you’re accurately measuring your protein & water intake. As long as you’re hitting your daily goals and getting your vitamins in you’ll be good on the nutrient side of things.

Thank you! Great idea on a baby spoon. Will definitely be using one

First off, congratulations on a successful surgery and welcome to the new journey!!! You are only 2 days post op, best I could do then was just sip sip sip at the liquid protein meals and my water. Basically non-stop. There is no "full" right now in the sense that your tummy is like a swollen banana. All that can get through is about a straw sized amount of liquid. So don't worry about that right now. Just sip sip sip.
Did you do classes or have any kind of data given to you like a binder with information? You should know that once your stomach heals you can hold about 1/4 cup/4oz of food/liquid. This means that you can simply avoid overeating - since that is your primary concern in this post - by measuring your food. Get a cheap small food scale and a measuring cup. Some foods measure by weight, some by size. Anyway, you just measure your 1/4 cup/4oz of food and you know for sure you won't overeat. Then you will eventually find you can trust yourself.
But this is all months down the road. Right now you just know you can't eat solids as that could kill you by ripping your stitches. You know that you have your water and protein goals. Did they tell you that your protein soups and drinks count as both protein AND water? So there is that. Anyway, my point is, right now, unless you do something really stupid like try to eat solids or pureed foods, you can't really overeat right now. You can just sip sip sip. Jello is fine, but it's got a bit of mass so of course it's going to fill you up. Your tummy is swollen and only has a tiny passway for the "food" to go through and jello is not liquid at first unless you strain it through your teeth to make it liquid.
Sounds to me like you are doing GREAT! This is exciting, you have a good outlook, you are trying to do the right things and following your protocol, you are going to do fantastic!!!!!

Thanks for the info! I think they told me about the 1/4 cup but it’s so much info that it can get overwhelming! Now that I’m home and the surgery is done I plan to read over everything.
But something they def did not tell me was about drinks counting as both protein and water! Thank you! I was wondering how I could posible get all that liquid in! I did just eat a whole sf popsicle and I was both petrified and excited about it lol. Had to remind myself that it’s all mostly water. Thanks for all the support!!

Oh!! And regarding pain, take some Gas-X maybe and keep walking. I had pains too. Your tummy had 80% of it removed and each laparoscopic incision is the same as getting stabbed. So you have 5-7 stab wounds, your abdominal wall was punctured, your stomach has a hundred or so stitches and your body is in a bit of shock. They also blow air into your abdominal cavity to be able to see what they are doing, so there is all this gas floating around your body, walking is what helps push the gas back into your different functions and works itself out - literally. So the Gas-x strips have helps folks out in the process. You are going to have some pains and odd sensations.
Just keep walking, try the Gas-X strips, get a liquid tylenol pain reliever as well. It's OK to take pain meds and stay on top of the pain, you had something major done to your body. And don't worry, if something is really wrong, tylenol would NEVER be able to dull the pain. So don't worry about masking a problem with taking an OTC pain med.
If your pain level stays below a 4, you are probably just experiencing post surgical pain. If your pain goes above a 4 it's time to call your surgeon's office and tell them. If it goes above a 7 just head to the ER. It's ok to have a false alarm but dying really sucks. [emoji6]
Hang in there, it sounds like you are going to do great, I know it's rough. The 1st 3 months were a real gauntlet for me, but I'm 15 months out and so happy and healthy. It's gonna be ok!!!

Yes, definitely still have gas in there and trying to get it all out! Hope it goes away soon bc that has been the hardest part so far!

Early on you won't be able to tell if you're full. If you over eat / drink you will know though, most likely through severe pain and nausea. Just sip slowly and time out meals so they're at regular intervals throughout the day (my program says 3 - 4 hours apart). If you eat / drink slow then you will start to feel some discomfort before real pain, the second you feel any type of discomfort just stop. If you feel lots of pain it usually passes in about 30 minutes as stuff empties out. You're likely swollen so probably can't get in the full capacity yet. On liquids and purees its hard to really get 'full', but you can have too much too quickly.

When you start soft foods and solids and are a few weeks out you start feeling more traditional fullness, again the second you feel it stop eating immediately. Tiny bites are key as is chewing (I do 25 times). If you eat too fast you will feel pain and/or get full really quick. To help I use cocktail forks and spoons (baby silverware works too, but the cocktail ones were cheap in huge packs on amazon).

Once you get to soft and regular foods you can pre-portion out things to cut down on the risk of overeating and feeling sick. I for example will usually have 3.5oz of most protein and if I feel full I may not eat the last .5 OZ, 4 OZ is too much and hurts.

Go slow, pay attention to how things feel and know that you'll have times when you don't feel great because you ate too much. Good luck!

I remember day 2 post op...I ate 1/2 a popsicle and then started crying cause I couldnt finish it...its a daunting feeling...I promise later on you will look back and giggle about this stage