My surgery was May 18th. My first week was ROUGH to say the least. The gas pains, constipation from the pain drugs and dehydration made it hard to recover! I walked about 1/2 mile a day, but didn't get any relief until I stopped the Hydrocodone and relied on chewable Tylenol - the liquid burned the new tummy. I ended up having a couple of days of laxatives and gas-x along with the Tylenol-Worked like a charm.

During the second week, It took forever for the stomach cramps to go away - especially the ones that hurt as soon as liquid hit my tummy. Figured out that hot/warm water was the best way to go. That helped get me hydrated, at least. The protein shakes I had were all cold and felt thick and gross (previously LOVED them and didn't much mind the 2 week liquid pre-op). I ended up getting the ProtiDiet Hot chocolate . It was great! Existed on that stuff for a few days until I could tolerate cold things.

My third week is going very well. No more pains! I did sneeze and get a sharp incision pain, but nothing crazy. I'm freely drinking cold things, which is great. I made a giant pitcher of coffee+Premier protein caramel to drink at my leisure - that's been delicious. AND....finally eating fooooood! It's great to have a couple of bites of actual food. I know this restriction is temporary, but I'm absolutely loving it. It's the best of both worlds-especially after a month of liquids!

The only thing I'm dealing with now is the reflux. I've read all about other people's battle with this, so I knew it was likely to be an issue - especially while my sleeve is healing. It's no fun. Sometimes it's so bad I can't take anything down for a while. Yay for tums and omeprazole, but yeesh!

Congratulations! It gets better every week!

Thanks for sharing your story with us! I hope your healing goes smoothly

Thanks for the update. Glad things are going better for you. Today is my first day of Puree and the first thing I had was the Ricotta Bake so yeah, I know what you mean about how great it is to taste actual food again. LOL

So happy to hear you are on the mend! And Wow! 46lbs lost so far! You are doing great!! ???

My surgery is scheduled for June 23rd… I’m getting nervous … thank you for sharing

I'll take all advice and suggestions, that's for sure. Eating feels foreign like a weird new sensation.

Hang in there! I’ve had a rough time too, but with nausea and vomiting. Even though I still vomit once every few days, at 7 weeks out, I will agree with a previous poster that it does get better each week overall! I am able to eat a greater variety of foods, get in most of my goals each day, and drinking fluids has gone faster.

For the first two weeks, I was wondering if I made the right decision. Now I know I did. ?

I am 5 days out and have yet to experience nausea (knock on wood) My surgeon included anti-nausea meds in the pre & post op med regime. I have avoided narcotics other than what they gave me the day of surgery. The only med I'm taking 5 days out is 1 ES Tylenol a few times a day. Everyone's experience is different. I don't have pain per se, more so discomfort. Similar to a feeling of fullness. (Sometimes hunger pangs) I'm really not sure what is going on in there, I'm sure my body will figure it out eventually. Plus I have to remind myself that I'm still healing! I just keep sip, sip, sipping away at fluids.

Hang in there! I’ve had a rough time too, but with nausea and vomiting. Even though I still vomit once every few days, at 7 weeks out, I will agree with a previous poster that it does get better each week overall! I am able to eat a greater variety of foods, get in most of my goals each day, and drinking fluids has gone faster.
For the first two weeks, I was wondering if I made the right decision. Now I know I did. [emoji3]

Oh yikes! I can't imagine how crappy the nausea and vomiting must be. So far I've been lucky to avoid that. I'm really struggling with getting fluids in, honestly. I get that full feeling and it's hard to keep making yourself drink.

Just thought I'd do an update!!

My Surgiversary was May 18th - I'm officially 1 year post-op and LOVING IT!!

PROs: I can eat literally anything and I love it. Tiny portions were easy to get used to. I wouldn't change a thing. The portion control I used to struggle with is now effortless. It's nuts. Also, I ALWAYS have leftovers and it's pretty awesome. Weight fell off faster than I could keep up. My obsession with tracking calories is optional now. That's been nice. I can RUN up a flight of stairs - or two! It feels great being active. Now I understand why it was so hard to do things when my weight was higher. I can finally function.

CONs: The HORRIBLE constipation/gas pains the weeks following my surgery cannot go unmentioned. The pain meds that constipate are a special kind of hell. It was worse than my c-section BY FAR. At week #4, I was getting back to normal. Now that I'm a year post-op, The reflux is still plaguing me. It's MUCH better than the 4 post-op months. I can definitely live like this if this is as good as it gets. I go between taking 20 and 40 mg omeprazole depending on what the food plans are that day. Pretty easy to manage now.

Walking by a mirror is still odd. I've changed so much that I'm still surprised. When I buy clothes, I'm still confused by the sizes I'm fitting into. Never in a million years thought I'd lose so much in the 1 year post-op. Buying/fitting bras has been a nightmare, but that's for another post.

Glad I did it! I would do it again! I can run and jump like a kid again! It's GREAT!