A continuation of our Summer 2018 Check-In thread...

Welcome all Summer 2018 Surgery Post-Op Patients! As we make our way into the Post-Op zone, let’s carry on the conversation and support.

Everyone is welcome, if you had surgery in the summer of 2018 jump right in!

The Ponies applaud your Post-Op Arrival!

I was told no caffeine for 6 months post as well. I stopped drinking coffee in March when I started this journey and havn't had any since nor have I had any cravings. I'm not sure if I will go back to drinking it, but probably will.

What is n/v ?

I'm not sure I miss the caffeine as much as I miss the flavor of coffee. I will admit there are days when I'm dragging and a good cup of coffee would surely do the trick.

There is a green tea I enjoy, but it does not say "caffeine free" so I've stay cleared of it for now. Water is becoming my best friend. LOL

11 hours ago, somegirlsrbiggerthanother said:

So when does the "Funk" star? I'm on day 78 and feeling depressed. I don't eat enough and don't loose and almost feel like I don't care. My friend and I are going to something we have been waiting months for. why not? My husband does not ever want to do anything with me. Oh did I say I am working at home? Watch what you wish for! Let me tell you my dog and cat are cool to be with 24/7, but I need people.

Can I make a suggestion and ask you to start a new thread (so you don't get lost in this one) and ask for help getting through this. Talk to your surgeon and NUT and ask for help. Start caring, you had this surgery for a reason. Start taking in more calories, go for walks where there are people around. Go with your friend so you have some interaction. You will get a lot of support here and although it's on the net it will hopefully help you out. We're all here to help the best we can. Good luck to you and feel better.

On 9/5/2018 at 1:27 PM, photogirl70 said:

Thanks! My diet following surgery seemed pretty liberal compared to most! I was approved for eggs and soft foods after 1 week. At week 3 and 4, I was allowed ground/shredded meats and well cooked veggies along with any soft foods. I'm please that I'm loosing weight and able to eat. At this point, 5 weeks 1 day out, I'm able to eat pretty much anything but I have a good guideline of foods to avoid, daily Protein goals, daily calorie ranges, and volume/amount of food per meal. I'm pleased that I'm able to eat and enjoy food as well as pleased to see progress while I'm working on my "mind surgery". I know this is what is best for me and I will make it work. Smart choices are still important because there is a snack pack of Nutella in the pantry and at this point, it doesn't call my name at all.

(Glad to see you are doing better. I just got caught up on your scary experience!)

Wow you are so lucky. I have been cleared to begin trying out solids but haven't been successful at eating anything yet. More than a bite of anything and my chest begins to hurt.

Had my 2 wk post op visit. Down 24 lbs! Wooo hoo!

Tomorrow is my 6 weeks mark! I've lost 31 lbs from my pre-surgery weight! I went today for a follow-up with my surgeon due to the infection I had on my big incision. Everything looked good and she cleared me for any kind of physical activity I wanted to do, crunches, core work, etc. She said at the point where I am with healing internally and now, externally, there isn't anything I can really do to hurt my sleeve.

Here are some of the other tidbits I got from her and I thought I would share. We talked about various food I've eaten and the fact that I had previously had hpylori and gastritis/inflammation in my stomach. She said I was okay to eat spicy foods, onions, any anything that agreed with me but if I had heartburn or reflux from it that I should take that as a sign that it was irritating my stomach. She did say not to go crazy spicy. We talked about my fear of stretching my sleeve because I am able to eat a larger amount that I thought I would be and more than many I read about at this point. She assured me that basically, you can not stretch your sleeve. She flipped her computer around and showed me an image of a sleeved stomach with the staples and said those staples keep the sleeve from stretching. With that, she also said that you can still overeat and that future weight stalls (or gains) are not about the sleeve not doing it's job. It's about what and how much you are consuming.

I asked about headache meds because I am starting to feel sinus pressure. She said only tylenol (acetaminophen) because it is not an NSAID.

She approved for wearing any kind of compression or Spanx so if anyone has a favorite product, I would love to hear about it!

I'm a little over 2 weeks post surgery. At this point, did anyone else experience pain in the upper left abdomen area? It isn't unbearable, it's just a constant ache. The pain is close to the largest incision and that was the one that was most painful right after surgery.

Earlier this afternoon I messaged my doctor to see what he has to say about it. I'm just waiting for a response but thought I'd ask here if others experienced the same.

Hope this is okay to say here... Today was the first day I've actually worn a non-sports bra outside of the house since surgery. The band of the bra wasn't as tight so that made me happy. But the cups were way too big. The girls are going flat. Not sure what bra shopping is going to look like going forward.

Ugh I overate :( not as bad as I would have pre surgery but it hurts a little....

On 09/10/2018 at 16:33, Megan Sadler said:

Ugh I overate :( not as bad as I would have pre surgery but it hurts a little....

I did that today too/ate some things I shouldn’t. I’m feeling crappy and nauseous and headachey now, not the best feelings to be having because I was finally going to go to the gym for my first time in several months/first time since surgery! Hoping I can shake it off in the next hour or two so I can still make it...

@ChellNC I am 2 weeks also and have the same thing only upper right. Feels like the very beginning of a gall bladder attack but doesnt get any worse.

6 hours ago, J San said:

Can I make a suggestion and ask you to start a new thread (so you don't get lost in this one) and ask for help getting through this. Talk to your surgeon and NUT and ask for help. Start caring, you had this surgery for a reason. Start taking in more calories, go for walks where there are people around. Go with your friend so you have some interaction. You will get a lot of support here and although it's on the net it will hopefully help you out. We're all here to help the best we can. Good luck to you and feel better.

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I am calling the Doctors and I have a Post Op meeting tomorrow. In laws are coming to stay next week so on top of this I have major anxiety. (I only told my family and people that I feek care about me.)

i’m having such a hard time reaching my protein goal... any tips would be appreciated!!

3 hours ago, Chrisb428 said:

@ChellNC I am 2 weeks also and have the same thing only upper right. Feels like the very beginning of a gall bladder attack but doesnt get any worse.

Hopefully it isn't anything concerning for either of us.

43 minutes ago, saygrace said:

i’m having such a hard time reaching my Protein goal... any tips would be appreciated!!

Me too. My NUT suggests adding unflavored protein to some foods. The unflavored protein I bought is really no added flavors and it is not tasty. Hope you're able to get all of yours in soon.