Hello everyone,

I finally got to have my surgery this passed Monday. I had a vertical sleeve done. Pre op I went from 255.9 to 239.6 so very excited for that. Sadly that's not the reason I'm writing today. Sorry in advance this may get TMI.

So for me it is day 4. I called my nurses because I had only been on water this whole time and just felt awful. They told me to just rest get some protein water and apple juice because even though I was following the liquid diet to the letter my body needs those to function.

What I wasn't warned about was the bathroom issues. I literally take a sip and almost instantly to and hour later I'm upstairs with bad bathroom issues. My stomach feels like I have a kicking baby in my abdomin and the gurgle wow.

Did anyone else experience this? How long did it last?

It sucks. One more thing to worry about. My doctor said it will balance out once we get more food in me starting Tuesday. Help me survive the next few days. Please?

I gave up the disgusting shakes once I was on purées. Found a high protein yoghurt (20g) & yoghurt drink (25-30g - you can make your own drink by blending yoghurt & milk). So much more tolerable to eat/drink. Still eat the yoghurt a couple of times a week if I’m a bit low on protein.

Oh yeah, forget your PPI/antacid & you know it.

42 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

I gave up the disgusting shakes once I was on purées. Found a high Protein yoghurt (20g) & yoghurt drink (25-30g - you can make your own drink by blending yoghurt & milk). So much more tolerable to eat/drink. Still eat the yoghurt a couple of times a week if I’m a bit low on protein.

Oh yeah, forget your PPI/antacid & you know it.

What was the yogurt brand you found you liked? I'm using chobani zero sugar. The protein part is the hardest but I'm hoping moving to purees I can get the smoothies and shakes in but made at home.

As far as antacid it wasn't painful or anything just noticed uncontrollable hunger. I just worry I overdid it is all but if I did I bet I'd be in pain. So no discomfort so ?

It’s a brand called YoPro. I’m in Australia & don’t know if you have it. Annoyingly they don’t produce their yoghurt drink anymore. I like it better than Chobani which I found too sweet & was only 15g protein. But others have mentioned 20g protein yoghurts available in the US I just can’t recall the brands.

2 hours ago, Arabesque said:

It’s a brand called YoPro. I’m in Australia & don’t know if you have it. Annoyingly they don’t produce their yoghurt drink anymore. I like it better than Chobani which I found too sweet & was only 15g Protein. But others have mentioned 20g protein yoghurts available in the US I just can’t recall the brands.

Nice! I'll do some research. I appreciate the help so much

I know its tough some-days more than others. I remember thinking ....I thought I would have no more hunger!!

That was only true the first 60 days, but my feelings of hunger returned shortly after.

Commercials never bothered me, I

I find years later what bothers me , is I no longer do not enjoy any meals.

They over before you know it.

So take your time when you can eat.

I do have one regret, I wish I would have had to see a shrink more than just one time to see if I was ready for the surgery , it would have been nice to get to the root cause of the reason why I gained so much weight.

But I am happy and doing the head work years later.

58 minutes ago, DebsHealthJourney said:

I know its tough some-days more than others. I remember thinking ....I thought I would have no more hunger!!

That was only true the first 60 days, but my feelings of hunger returned shortly after.

Commercials never bothered me, I

I find years later what bothers me , is I no longer do not enjoy any meals.

They over before you know it.

So take your time when you can eat.

I do have one regret, I wish I would have had to see a shrink more than just one time to see if I was ready for the surgery , it would have been nice to get to the root cause of the reason why I gained so much weight.

But I am happy and doing the head work years later.

One thing I've noticed mentally with this surgery and I've already had to explain it to so many people that think it's th easy way out Is that ...

1) my stomach is the same as your stomach just smaller.

2) It just reminds you of what you already knew what to do, you just didn't.

3) I still have to work as hard as everyone else I just have a harsher reality check now because I lacked discipline or whatever. (Medical issues etc.)

Like it's insane to me how much of this had to happen for half of it to stick. I know a lot was education the other half was convenience getting the best of me. My pcos etc played a small part. But I'm glad I'm here. And I am kicking butt and working through it.

On 3/27/2023 at 1:01 AM, Dfidelman said:

Do you guys have suggestions besides premiere Protein Shakes. I stocked up on them then found out they make me sick as a dog 3 weeks out. I hear fairlife is a good option but don't want to find out the hard way.

I can’t stomach Premier Protein shakes unless just a little mixed with coffee. Somebody recommended Owyn (plant based) and that’s been better.

On 3/28/2023 at 3:35 PM, DebsHealthJourney said:

I know its tough some-days more than others. I remember thinking ....I thought I would have no more hunger!!

That was only true the first 60 days, but my feelings of hunger returned shortly after.

Commercials never bothered me, I

I find years later what bothers me , is I no longer do not enjoy any meals.

They over before you know it.

So take your time when you can eat.

I do have one regret, I wish I would have had to see a shrink more than just one time to see if I was ready for the surgery , it would have been nice to get to the root cause of the reason why I gained so much weight.

But I am happy and doing the head work years later.

My hunger was week 2 into 3. The 2 tbsp amount could alway be more. Idk if it was because I wake up late in the day so body needs catch up but the first part of the day it's like I could down my yogurt cup no problem. Not until early evening did I feel content with small portions. I never felt pain or whatever I still took it slow. Which brings up a question...

1) how do you tell when you are truly full not just eating to fast or too much at a time?

I burp all the time so I scrapped that one. Sometimes I just want to anymore. Other times when I wait I get a hiccup so stop but can feel Hungry again a bit later. I don't feel in distress or anything besides trying to navigate everything.

Also random question.

Do you still have back and incisions pains? I'm 3 weeks now and the back pain is strictly right side.

I use Oikos tripe zero yogurt they have 15g per small container, they also have Oikos Pro (more sugar) with 20g and Ratio yogurts have 25g of protein. If you like chocolate milk, Fairlife Core Elite protein shake taste like it (or what I recall choco milk tasted when I was little, do not care for chocolate much as an adult) and its 42g of protein. I use those if I'm low on protein but use a 14oz bottle in 3 servings since I stay at 60g now that I'm 4 months.

I did not have any back pain but I still have discomfort and numbness on the left side where the stomach went out, is not by the incision but near the belly button. The RN said it was normal since nerves are cut and can be 6+ months for it to heal.

Regarding fullness cues, at the beg is hard because your stomach is healing and even just eating something new or a new texture will have some sort of reaction which we confuse with fullness or damage. I will usually get hiccups at the beg and sometimes I do now too, but its usually more about me not chewing properly or eating too fast. My guidelines say to eat slow and take 30 min, so I will eat, take a break and continue if I want more within the timeline, otherwise save it for later.

2 hours ago, NP_WIP said:

I use Oikos tripe zero yogurt they have 15g per small container, they also have Oikos Pro (more sugar) with 20g and Ratio yogurts have 25g of Protein. If you like chocolate milk, Fairlife Core Elite Protein Shake taste like it (or what I recall choco milk tasted when I was little, do not care for chocolate much as an adult) and its 42g of protein. I use those if I'm low on protein but use a 14oz bottle in 3 servings since I stay at 60g now that I'm 4 months.

I did not have any back pain but I still have discomfort and numbness on the left side where the stomach went out, is not by the incision but near the belly button. The RN said it was normal since nerves are cut and can be 6+ months for it to heal.

Regarding fullness cues, at the beg is hard because your stomach is healing and even just eating something new or a new texture will have some sort of reaction which we confuse with fullness or damage. I will usually get hiccups at the beg and sometimes I do now too, but its usually more about me not chewing properly or eating too fast. My guidelines say to eat slow and take 30 min, so I will eat, take a break and continue if I want more within the timeline, otherwise save it for later.

Ooo good to know. I wrote those down and I'll go check them out at the store next time I go.

I've always thought I was weird my body had been give me more. My doctors have been persistent though just because tou can do a yogurt cup doesn't mean you should stick to 2 tbsp. I try to but dang it's Hard sometimes. So I think I might try slow and steady and increase protein intakes and if I'm not having a problem I should be ok. 3 days away from pureed phase. Woot.

So I just got into the pureed today. I'm glad I got to experiment before going back to work tomorrow. Sweet potatoes are wonderful. Refried beans are a sometimes. I think it's more the texture thing or how dry they are. I also has potatoes salad today it was good but we had an issue. I felt my insides getting very active as I was eating. 20 min after eating I went to the bathroom. Would this be considered "dumping syndrome" and a food I should avoid?

So I just got into the pureed today. I'm glad I got to experiment before going back to work tomorrow. Sweet potatoes are wonderful. Refried Beans are a sometimes. I think it's more the texture thing or how dry they are. I also has potatoes salad today it was good but we had an issue. I felt my insides getting very active as I was eating. 20 min after eating I went to the bathroom. Would this be considered "dumping syndrome" and a food I should avoid?

You can try adding some greek plain yogurt to the beans to thin them out or broth.

Not sure about the dumping. But I was advised to stay aeay from starchy veggies in pureed food since they are high in carbs and sugar, and do not provide any protein.

I mainly had crab salad, soft fish, hummus, beans, soups, chicken mousse

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You’d know if it was dumping. Cold sweats, heart palpitations, nausea, cramping, dizziness, etc. More likely just your tummy reacting. The potatoes could be too heavy/dense because of their starch content. I wasn’t allowed potatoes (for the starch reason too) until maintenance though I know many are allowed them from purée. I still can’t eat them - too heavy in my tummy. Could have been the mayo too. Lots of trial & error as your tummy is healing & recovering. The taste, smell or texture of some foods can set off your tummy.

On 4/4/2023 at 9:58 PM, Arabesque said:

You’d know if it was dumping. Cold sweats, heart palpitations, nausea, cramping, dizziness, etc. More likely just your tummy reacting. The potatoes could be too heavy/dense because of their starch content. I wasn’t allowed potatoes (for the starch reason too) until maintenance though I know many are allowed them from purée. I still can’t eat them - too heavy in my tummy. Could have been the mayo too. Lots of trial & error as your tummy is healing & recovering. The taste, smell or texture of some foods can set off your tummy.

I am moving g to soft food Monday. I am so excited. Does anyone have recipe ideas? I saw a young lady go to qudoba. She had chicken, beans, tomatoes. Sour cream and veggies that was it. It was all in restrictions. So I guess that was good. And I k ow we don't want to go out to eat if at all. I'm just grateful I have access to so many healthy food options at work. Like smoothies or power bowls. Etc. And the only reason why I keep it In my mind is because flavor, and because if nothing else sticks from what I bring from home this might. Or if I forget to restock and I feel it's a good skill to learn sort of thing. If that makes sense.

Anyway.... does anyone have a super favor recipe? I'd love to know all the ins and outs of what you did during this phase. Thanks for the help. Be kind, please.

So I progressed to soft foods today. I noticed that I stay fuller way longer, yay! I am a lot happier. But I also noticed I can sometimes seem to eat a lot. Like 1/2 a cup or more and then other times just 2 tbs depending on what it eat. I guess why I bring this up is because my doctors guidelines leave me so damn hungry. I get 65g of protein per day but nowhere near calories to function and I'm always tired. If I eat til I'm happy and content with no pains I feel wonderful. ? did anybody else have this problem? What did the doctor say? Whats a fave cheat recipe during this phase?