hey dawlin', i purchased some french vanila protein shakes from GNC and they are actually pretty good. the one that i purchased is 17oz and has 42 grams of protein - which is GREAT!! they also have chocolate shakes which you may like better. what i do to keep them down is drink slowly 6 sips, wait 15 minutes and drink 6 more sips slowly, wait 15 minutes until i am full. in the 15 minutes, you should tell if you are full or not. try it, it may help - let me know. tamu

hey girlfriend. how in the word, did you eat a chicken enchilada and get that down?? what in the world. more power to you sista' - i wish. i notice that the liquids for me even take a little while to go down, so i don't know if i am going to chance it on anything heavier. i wish you the very best and i am so happy for your surgery - i am actually 1 week post-op and by the grace of God, i am doing well. i agree w/ the other responder that it is just your mind - you can try to busy yourself if you are feeling well enough to do so to keep your mind off, but give it a few days and i believe that those cravings will pass. also, i don't know if you are a christian or not, but i find that fasting a meal helps to alleviate or "kill" alot of desires (according to isiaiah 58, a true fast is supposed to break the yoke or any bondages that we have). i hope that this helps, but be encouraged

As of today, I am 1 week POST-OP (I love saying that....lol ) and I am feeling GREAT!!! I have went the past two days without needing any pain medicine! I weighed myself when I woke up this morning, and I am already down 17 pounds! I am so glad I did this!

Mike, Congratulations and thank you for your post, as I will be having surgery in 4 days. Pain was the only thing I was not sure of, so you have put me at ease.

Hello December People, I had my RNY on Wednesday the 19th and was released on Saturday. They kept me for an extra day of observation although all is fine. The pain is kinda minimal now. I'm not even taking any pain meds. The worst for me was the first 21 hours, because I was stuck in the recovery area (PACU to be exact). My heart-rate was higher than they liked, but all other tests and indicators were positive. Still they kept me there under close observation for 21 hours (instead of the 'normal' 5 hours). They would not let me wal****il my heart rate came down so I was stuck in the bed, on my back (not comfortable) in a room was too hot for me, coupled with very slight post-op fever. Altogether, it was a very long 21 hours. Once they were convinced that I was not bleeding internally, I was released to a normal room and things improved immediately. I got more rest and was more comfortable. The staff were all fantastic, even when I was feeling my worst. Still working up to the minimal required amounts of H2O (64 oz) and sustenance (70 grams of protein in various liquid forms). It will probably take a few more days before I can reliably get down all of that volume. For those anxious about the pain, be comforted. The worst part is the dire thirst and sore throat right after surgery. You can't have anything to drink for 24 hours and your mouth and throat just scream for moisture! But you *will* get through that. The pain and nausea meds do the rest. Fours days down, the rest of my life to go