5 weeks out (kind of long)

Yesterday was my five week mark. I am down 17 pounds since surgery and 49 pounds since I began this process. I am satisfied with the rate of weight loss and hope to see it settle in at 1-2 pounds per week. My doctor's goal for me is only 15 pounds away, but I am aiming for at least 20 beyond that.
I returned to work a week ago and (go figure) was surprised at how exhausted I am. I guess a month off let me forget how insane my job is, and since I am basically starving it is really kicking my butt. I am pretty grateful that I am only committed to 4 days a week. I usually pick up an extra shift if they need me, but I plan to stick with my four days for a few weeks.
I have started talking about the surgery with my coworkers and that is going well. I did not tell them what I was having done beforehand because it was such a hard decision and I could not face the court of public opinion. Now that it is done, they can talk all they like! I even authorized our schedulers to use me as the excuse when they did not want our boss to bring them her leftover Easter candy. Having 85 percent of your stomach removed gets attention.
I am also surprised at how concerned people are about eating in front of me. I keep explaining that although the food looks and smells good, I am just not interested in it right now and plan to appreciate this phase while it lasts.
Anyway, that's where I am at 5 weeks. All in all, pretty good.

Hi, congrats on your weight loss! Could you please tell me how the recovery was for you and what you're eating now as opposed to before the surgery? I'm going to be doing this surgery and was wanting to get input from those who have already been through it. Thanks!

Thanks. The whole process has been pretty easy. The stay in the hospital was rough be ause I woke up from surgery with terrible back pain that lasted for 24 hours. I was never really able to get comfortable in the bed and just ended up stoned on pain meds but still in pain. By the second day after surgery, I was felling better every hour and ran errand with my daughter on the third day. She drove, of course.
Food wise, I am eating very little these days. I start my day with a protein drink that has 40 - 50 grams of protein. It is usually about 14 to 16 ounces and I can get it down in less than an hour. I have had an egg, some deli turkey and ham, string cheese, a ricotta cheese bake, some found turkey with cheese and taco sauce (I ate that for dinner five nights in a row!), and still rely heavily on Greek yogurt, almost always mixed with protein powder. I have had a few bites of applesauce and diced pear. A bite to two of squash and some Vienna sausages. Two of them fill me up. I get about 1/4 cup down at a meal. Today was my highest calorie day since surgery at 720. I have been in the 500 to 600 range most of the time. Yesterday I only managed to get about 450.
Before surgery, I was following a meal plan required by my program that was a 1200 calorie, low fat, low carb, high protein diet of around 1200 calories a day. I ate a lot of Greek yogurt, frozen berries, deli turkey, crackers, eggs and light cream cheese. It was easy for me to follow because I am happy to eat the same things over and over if they are things I like. And I make it a habit not to eat things I don't like. I do miss my bell peppers, though. I ate a sliced raw orange or yellow pepper with lunch every day.
I think this is different for everyone and the main thing is follow your program and have a support group. Good luck to you.

Oh girl, that wasn't long at all. I've seen some damn short stories written & some novels. LOL

That's great that your coworkers are supportive. Let em talk, who cares.. I'm sure 99.9% of them would have something fixed if they could.

I was 6 weeks post-op yesterday & I've got to say that I am completely drained all of the time. When I wake up in the morning I don't feel rested. I swear I could sleep the whole day away. On the weekends I do. Some days I feel that I have a lot of energy, I get bursts of energy here & there but for the most part I'm a zombie. I quit taking my B-12 which may be part of the reason but my surgeon said that my labs were fine. I'll be starting the B-12 shots on Friday & I'll continue to get those monthly.
Overall I think we're so tired because our bodies are still healing and our bodies are still in shock from the procedure & such sudden weight loss.

Good Luck to you!!

XO,
Hilary

I have to agree with you as far as being tired iI"m 3 weeks out and I have NO energy . I think I will go purchase some b12 maybe that will help. Congrats to both for your weightloss.

Hilary,

Good to hear from someone in the same boat.  I kind of hit the wall yesterday at work.  My boss asked if I was okay and, to my horror, I teared up and told her how exhausted I am .  She would like me to do half days, but we really don"t have enough staff for that.

Just out of curiosity, why are you getting B12 shots instead of using sublingual?  (This from someone who will do almost anything to avoid a shot! I thought I was going to die in the hospital when they kept giving me heparin shots.)

Connie

 

Hi Connie,

 

 I am 4 weeks out and overall I feel terrific.  I have lots more energy now than before the surgery.  What may contribute to that is that my surgeon required a sleep study and it was discovered I have serious sleep apnea and have been on a CPAP machine for 5 weeks now.  I also have just hit the 50 lbs lost marker since I started this process last September.  My labs for nutrition will be done next week and I'm curious what they'll say.

I had an easy recovery.  Only had to use the pain medicine one day after leaving the hospital (was there one overnight).  I am so glad I did this surgery!!  If I had to give you advice I'd say shop around for the best Dr in your area.  Most all bariatric surgeons offer free seminars.  Check everything out thoroughly first.....I am sure you will as you are on here trying to learn...............smile.

 

Carol

Thanks for the encouragement Carol. I'm glad to hear you are doing so well. It was really just going back to work that kicked my butt. I felt fabulous and bored before that. I am very happy with my surgeon and the support I am getting there, and I have a couple of support groups that meet in town. I am also lucky enough to work with our local doctor who provides interim support for WLS patients since my facility does not do them. I really think overall I am doing very well. Just trying to run a busy GI practice that is spread out in three locations on two different campuses. It made me tired before surgery, too!

Congrats to you on your weight loss and how well you are doing!  We had surgery the same day.  I have hit my first stall in losing weight, but i am still losing inches.  I know how you feel when people and/or family gets weirded out eating in front of me.  I tell them its ok, but i think it bothers them more than it does me.  Actually i don't miss anything (well except my whole wheat toast in the morning) , and i don't feel hungry at all.  i just know when i need to eat.  Eat to live right.  I hope you are feeling well and keep up the great work.  

I hear you on the lack of energy!  I'm six weeks out and just this week I think I have more energy!  Yeah!  And I had my biggest weight loss this past week - 3.8 lbs.  Before that I was just around 2 lbs a week.  

I'm glad your co-workers are being encouraging!