So, I posted previously that I was having a hard time getting all my protein and water in. That is still kind of true but at day 7, it's like I turned a corner. I can drink normally (not a gulp, but not a tiny sip like before) and I can get in 1.5 oz of food at a time (protein first, then fruit or veg, as per the diet) and an 8 oz shake so I can get closer to my protein goal. I am terrified of stretching my sleeve out because I can drink more and I can get more at day 10. I do 8 oz of protein shake before it gives me 42g of protein in one go. And NONE of my tastes have changed and nothing has "sat" wrong with me. I have tried pureed fruits (baby food), sugar free popsicles, eggs (they got "caught" the first time but we made them runny so now they are okay), ricotta bake, and tomorrow tuna puree. Nothing has made me ill yet. I don't get hungry like before, but I do feel hunger sometimes and it isn't head hunger.

The only problems I have now is the stupid redness from my incisions as an allergic reaction to the glue, I get hot flashes sometimes from the hormones I guess, and I am still very tired, even when hitting water goals.

I don't know, I guess I thought I was going to only be able to tolerate food a little, not like anything that I previously did, have no hunger pains, and get sick from a lot of the stuff I've tried. So far, none of that has happened. From what I read, my experience isn't super normal and I hope I am not doing something bad to my sleeve without knowing it. Anyone else have this? I am curious.

Edited to add: I feel very, very little restriction when I drink water now. It's there with food, certainly, but water seems to go on down easily.

Edited January 4, 20215 yr by ANewJourneyAwaits

liquids go right through you - so it'd be hard to stretch your stomach with those. I was always able to drink more than I thought I should be able to. I don't remember anything making me sick, either. Fortunately, I DID lose my hunger (it came back at five months out, though), but other than that, my experience was similar to yours. There were days early on that I wondered if I'd even had surgery!

Not totally the same as you but I've had no trouble with water from about 4 days out. Can finish 500ml (sorry UK) in about 10 mins but my surgeon did ask me not to & to try & do it over 30 mins. Apart from veg I've not had issues tolerating anything either, meeting protein goals & sometimes feel real hunger.

Please try not to worry, I know that's hard, I'm a worrier. This forum has helped loads though & I'm learning every person has a unique response to these surgeries. I've lost over 55% of my excess weight since late October by the way, so even people like us are capable of losing. You're not damaging your sleeve

Sounds to me like you’re doing great! I had more or less the same experience and I’m steady (slowly) losing.

congrats to being on the other side!

You're not going to stretch your stomach with water. And it would take A LOT, we're talking constant gluttony to stretch your stomach. I asked my surgeon about it and she said it is really hard to stretch your stomach. So put those fears behind you. It's okay that you're drinking a lot. When you start eating, just watch your portion sizes. Just because you CAN eat more doesn't mean you SHOULD.

liquids go right through you - so it'd be hard to stretch your stomach with those. I was always able to drink more than I thought I should be able to. I don't remember anything making me sick, either. Fortunately, I DID lose my hunger (it came back at five months out, though), but other than that, my experience was similar to yours. There were days early on that I wondered if I'd even had surgery!

Did you still lose weight as expected?
I experience similar things as mentioned above and same thoughts that its not going to work for me. I'm stuck.

4 minutes ago, sach1 said:

Did you still lose weight as expected?
I experience similar things as mentioned above and same thoughts that its not going to work for me. I'm stuck.

I lost over 200 lbs... (over 90 kg)

33 minutes ago, sach1 said:

Did you still lose weight as expected?
I experience similar things as mentioned above and same thoughts that its not going to work for me. I'm stuck.

I have lost 15lbs now since surgery (11 days ago). Also, I just went for my first 30 minute walk. Felt nice to be out in the sunshine and fresh air.

19 hours ago, ANewJourneyAwaits said:

From what I read, my experience isn't super normal

Actually I think your experience is normal. It's possible that you're more likely to hear or read about outliers at either end of the bariatric "success" spectrum on help sites than from people who had unremarkable surgeries and recoveries as there is little to mention.

Vets like @catwoman7 who have been around a lot longer than me may be able to confirm but there's usually a pattern to the posts you'll see and it's almost always someone seeking information or help for a concern or unexpected response to surgery. People who are fine check in less frequently.

Good Luck and Congratulations ♥️

2 minutes ago, GreenTealael said:

Actually I think your experience is normal. It's possible that you're more likely to hear or read about outliers at either end of the bariatric "success" spectrum on help sites than from people who had unremarkable surgeries and recoveries as there is little to mention.

Vets like @catwoman7 who have been around a lot longer than me may be able to confirm but there's usually a pattern to the posts you'll see and it's almost always someone seeking information or help for a concern or unexpected response to surgery. People who are fine check in less frequently.

Good Luck and Congratulations ♥️

Thank you for this. ❤️ I think I get anxious over the little stuff and I really, really want this to work. I had it built up in my head that it was going to awful with food for the first months and I guess when that didn't happen, I just kind of panicked. It sounds SO SILLY saying that out loud. Unremarkable is still great!

Also, let me clarify that I cannot eat much. My pouch is small. Tiny portions fill me up (1-1.5 oz) and I have lost weight since surgery. It's just water that goes through quite easily.

3 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

Actually I think your experience is normal. It's possible that you're more likely to hear or read about outliers at either end of the bariatric "success" spectrum on help sites than from people who had unremarkable surgeries and recoveries as there is little to mention.

Vets like @catwoman7 who have been around a lot longer than me may be able to confirm but there's usually a pattern to the posts you'll see and it's almost always someone seeking information or help for a concern or unexpected response to surgery. People who are fine check in less frequently.

Good Luck and Congratulations ♥️

^^^ this!

I had my surgery Dec.16 on purée stage. Anyone else have issues with their protein shakes. I can not stomach them they make me nauseous and sick. Anyone else?

5 minutes ago, Briannahalm620 said:

I had my surgery Dec.16 on purée stage. Anyone else have issues with their Protein Shakes. I can not stomach them they make me nauseous and sick. Anyone else?

some people become lactose intolerant after surgery (sometimes temporary, sometimes permanently...), so that's one possibility. Also, some people's G/I tracts react to certain artificial sweeteners - so it could be the artificial sweetener they use, too. Or some people can't tolerate the taste of the protein. I could never drink the ready-to-drink Premier ones because I can taste the protein in it.

see if you can pick up some individual packets of protein powders to try them out. Hopefully you'll find a couple that you can handle...

On 1/3/2021 at 9:53 PM, ANewJourneyAwaits said:

I don't know, I guess I thought I was going to only be able to tolerate food a little, not like anything that I previously did, have no hunger pains, and get sick from a lot of the stuff I've tried. So far, none of that has happened. From what I read, my experience isn't super normal and I hope I am not doing something bad to my sleeve without knowing it. Anyone else have this? I am curious.

Hey @ANewJourneyAwaits, I'm 10 days post-op too from VSG and I literally came on here today looking for an answer to the exact question you asked! I haven't been having any trouble with hitting my liquid or protein goals and I feel relatively normal. Sure, like you, I can't gulp down anything and I'm still pacing myself but it's not nearly as restrictive (or painful) as I thought it was going to be.

I made friends with a few of the other people who were having VSG at the same time as me and on our group chat I'm hearing a lot about how they're dealing with naseau, not being able to hit their goals, not being able to tolerate certain foods, etc. And, I'm sitting here thinking, "Am I the one doing this all wrong?" Because I haven't dealt with any of that.

So thank you for posting and everyone else who commented, that really did help put me at ease.

– Minnesotan-Guy

Edited January 8, 20215 yr by minnesotan-guy

On 1/8/2021 at 2:01 PM, minnesotan-guy said:

Hey @ANewJourneyAwaits, I'm 10 days post-op too from VSG and I literally came on here today looking for an answer to the exact question you asked! I haven't been having any trouble with hitting my liquid or Protein goals and I feel relatively normal. Sure, like you, I can't gulp down anything and I'm still pacing myself but it's not nearly as restrictive (or painful) as I thought it was going to be.

I made friends with a few of the other people who were having VSG at the same time as me and on our group chat I'm hearing a lot about how they're dealing with naseau, not being able to hit their goals, not being able to tolerate certain foods, etc. And, I'm sitting here thinking, "Am I the one doing this all wrong?" Because I haven't dealt with any of that.

So thank you for posting and everyone else who commented, that really did help put me at ease.

– Minnesotan-Guy

@minnesotan-guy Glad to see I am not alone! Over the past three days, I have been able to hit my protein goals. Today I actually exceeded it. But still, nothing has sat wrong with me really, even on soft foods. I am now not so tired (I think because of hitting protein goals). I was so nervous I was doing something wrong but I went to my two week check up on Friday and the surgeon was stunned with how well my incision have healed (other than the allergic reaction to the glue), how I can walk 1-1.5 miles, how I had no problem drinking from the get go, and just overall how well I am doing. He said I was doing great. Definitely helped put my mind at ease further. And to be fair, I am following their instructions to the letter. I hope it continues to just get better and better.

I am glad to see you are doing so well! Let me know what they say at your 2 weeks!