LucyLinc
Three and a half months out...
Jun 11, 2012
I was reading through the boards today and I figured I’d pass my 3.5 month experience along.
THE SURGERY: When I was sleeved I spent 3 nights in the hospital. The surgery was pretty hard on me. I really tried to sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk right away and it does help. The first 4 days after I came home with my sleeve I felt like I was just trying not to die. I slept and sat in a chair and didn’t speak. Since then I’ve had a few rough days but I feel they are in the past. I’ve never thrown up but, I’m one of those people who has a lot of gas now (ugh). I usually feel pretty good but sometimes I’ll have an “off” day, but its all ok -- I’m still new at this and learning how my sleeve works.
MY HEALTH: I am so thankful for my sleeve. I no longer have high blood pressure, my sugar is not high anymore, my asthma is under control, my allergies are 90% better, I snore soooo much less, I do not pee myself anymore when I sneeze or cough. I am now able to walk/jog 3-6 miles. I started walking about 3 weeks out, adding a little more each time.
LOSING WEIGHT: I’ve lost 44 lbs since I started my liquid diet. I’m a little disappointed its not more compared to others’ quick rates of loss I read about here. But, I’ve gone from an 18 pants size to a size 12. I regret not taking my measurements before and I encourage everyone to do it before your surgery. I know in those slow loss weeks it would have been encouraging to know the inches that I was losing even if pounds weren’t translating to the scale.
WHAT I’M DEALING WITH NOW: I struggle to get enough protein in. I had allergic reaction to the shakes so I now do carnation instant breakfast drink with Skim Plus (11 gm protein) milk. I’ve started to lose my hair and thus will be adding another carnation shake in every day along with a Biotin supplement.
DRINKING: I couldn’t drink much at first and I just kept trying different drinks until I found “the one”: mine is Turkey Hill diet iced tea. So keep trying to find the one if you are having troubles drinking. I bought the cup/straw combo and carry my drink around everywhere -- and the straw thing doesn’t really make a difference. And just because this is labeled ‘drinking’ I will tell you I had my first alcoholic beverage last weekend. Just one, a “swamp juice” martini…Malibu rum, blue curacao and pineapple juice and it was tasty. Tasty almost enough to have another if I didn’t think to myself that I’ve been working too hard on getting healthier and what’s the point then of getting half my stomach cut out?
FOOD: I can’t eat a lot. I don’t do bread anymore. I’ll munch on cucumbers or watermelon or have a banana or piece of cheese. Ritz crackers were my salvation at the beginning. My restriction is very good and I can’t really cheat my sleeve. I can tell when I’m getting full and the window of difference between thinking about stopping and actually stopping is EXACTLY 2 bites. If I think I’m getting full and I have 1 extra bite, I will feel uncomfortably full. If I take that 2nd extra bite, I will feel awfully sick (for a visual insert mental picture here of a snake eating a rat) for 30-60 minutes. And its so not worth it.
THE EXPERIENCE IS YOUR OWN: A friend of mine had their sleeve done a few weeks after mine and their experience has been completely different. Their sleeve acts totally different than mine. So my best advice is listen to your body and use your head about doing what is right and healthy and works for you. Forgive yourself when you mess up and work smarter and harder to attain your goals. This site is a great place to exchange ideas and information and I’ve read many, many posts when I was worried or depressed or wanted to know if what I was experiencing was normal for anyone out there. Its great for a kind word or a kick in the pants when you need it. But the journey is your own so embrace it and be proud of yourself. Much Love and good wishes along your way!
3 comments
THE SURGERY: When I was sleeved I spent 3 nights in the hospital. The surgery was pretty hard on me. I really tried to sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk right away and it does help. The first 4 days after I came home with my sleeve I felt like I was just trying not to die. I slept and sat in a chair and didn’t speak. Since then I’ve had a few rough days but I feel they are in the past. I’ve never thrown up but, I’m one of those people who has a lot of gas now (ugh). I usually feel pretty good but sometimes I’ll have an “off” day, but its all ok -- I’m still new at this and learning how my sleeve works.
MY HEALTH: I am so thankful for my sleeve. I no longer have high blood pressure, my sugar is not high anymore, my asthma is under control, my allergies are 90% better, I snore soooo much less, I do not pee myself anymore when I sneeze or cough. I am now able to walk/jog 3-6 miles. I started walking about 3 weeks out, adding a little more each time.
LOSING WEIGHT: I’ve lost 44 lbs since I started my liquid diet. I’m a little disappointed its not more compared to others’ quick rates of loss I read about here. But, I’ve gone from an 18 pants size to a size 12. I regret not taking my measurements before and I encourage everyone to do it before your surgery. I know in those slow loss weeks it would have been encouraging to know the inches that I was losing even if pounds weren’t translating to the scale.
WHAT I’M DEALING WITH NOW: I struggle to get enough protein in. I had allergic reaction to the shakes so I now do carnation instant breakfast drink with Skim Plus (11 gm protein) milk. I’ve started to lose my hair and thus will be adding another carnation shake in every day along with a Biotin supplement.
DRINKING: I couldn’t drink much at first and I just kept trying different drinks until I found “the one”: mine is Turkey Hill diet iced tea. So keep trying to find the one if you are having troubles drinking. I bought the cup/straw combo and carry my drink around everywhere -- and the straw thing doesn’t really make a difference. And just because this is labeled ‘drinking’ I will tell you I had my first alcoholic beverage last weekend. Just one, a “swamp juice” martini…Malibu rum, blue curacao and pineapple juice and it was tasty. Tasty almost enough to have another if I didn’t think to myself that I’ve been working too hard on getting healthier and what’s the point then of getting half my stomach cut out?
FOOD: I can’t eat a lot. I don’t do bread anymore. I’ll munch on cucumbers or watermelon or have a banana or piece of cheese. Ritz crackers were my salvation at the beginning. My restriction is very good and I can’t really cheat my sleeve. I can tell when I’m getting full and the window of difference between thinking about stopping and actually stopping is EXACTLY 2 bites. If I think I’m getting full and I have 1 extra bite, I will feel uncomfortably full. If I take that 2nd extra bite, I will feel awfully sick (for a visual insert mental picture here of a snake eating a rat) for 30-60 minutes. And its so not worth it.
THE EXPERIENCE IS YOUR OWN: A friend of mine had their sleeve done a few weeks after mine and their experience has been completely different. Their sleeve acts totally different than mine. So my best advice is listen to your body and use your head about doing what is right and healthy and works for you. Forgive yourself when you mess up and work smarter and harder to attain your goals. This site is a great place to exchange ideas and information and I’ve read many, many posts when I was worried or depressed or wanted to know if what I was experiencing was normal for anyone out there. Its great for a kind word or a kick in the pants when you need it. But the journey is your own so embrace it and be proud of yourself. Much Love and good wishes along your way!
