BOO!!!!!!

Hello everyone! The last few days have been what I would call an experience. I am in the stage now of saying "What have I done to myself?!?" It has been very rough. My stomach is sore. Not on the outside where the incisions are, but on the inside. It feels like I have a rock in my stomach. It is very uncomfortable. I am still getting rid of the extra gas. It hurts the worst when I have to burp. I was also doing really well with my fluids when I left the hospital. Now, I am not doing so well. I sip all day long, but I am not getting in as much as I would like. I want to move to stage 2, though. I know this may sound odd to some post ops, but I can feel when I get full. I can get full off of the liquids, I just want to taste something different. I love Carnation Instant Breakfast. I also want to taste something savory. I have heard that the flavored mashed potatoes have been a life savor for the second stage. I put in a call to Margie to see what she had to say about me advancing. My one week appt. is on Thursday at noon. If I can't advance before that, I know they will let me on Thursday. It is just soooo hard to wait. On to a brighter note, I weighed myself when I got home on my scale and it said 261.5 and I got on there this morning and it said 253. That is 8.5 pounds. Not to bad if you ask me. I know the scale says I am losing, I just don't see it yet. It will take some time before I see the progress. I commend each and every post op!!! It has been more work that I have every imagined, but when I saw the scale this morning, I knew I had made the right desicion. I have faith in God and a host of wonderful friends. Thank you all for your wonderful support. This is a time when I need you the most....

Yeah Kat we read and study and go to meetings and talk and listen to everything before surgery and think we are prepared and then wham we arent. dont get discouraged,. the water intake is what it is. you will get better. It has taken me about 4 months to be able to get on a good routein. of water, protein, food and such. but i am finally reaching close to it. The weight will still come off even if you do everything wrong or right. at least for right now. Just keep your eye on what you want to accomplish and it will happen. My first goal was to be able to get 64 oz of water down in a day ....took quite a while but i finally did that. fill something up with the amount you want to get down in a day. keep it sitting in the ref and then get a small glass or cup and put a time limit on yourself that wont be pushing it to get it down. each little glass not the big amount. dont worry if you dont do it today there is always tomorrow,. that is the wonderful thing about this surgery you have the tool to do it tomorrow if you fail today. soon you will have it. I think a lot of us about 4 or 5 days out wonder what in the world we did to ourselfs but it really gets better and better. lol,. Jan

Kat your doing so good so far. I read where you got to go home early to like I did, thats awesome!! I know that ride was a tough one, I had a 4 1/2 hour that turned into a lil over 5 hours, we stopped every 45 mins or so cuz I had to get out and walk around the car a couple times, boy I was uncomfy that night, thats about the only night I had to use the pain meds. I know a few nights after that I was uncomfy but it started getting better each day. I remember the gas pockets I had when I came out of surgery, ouchie!!!! Gurl you dont want to advance to fast silly, your tummy is just now getting used to the liquads lol. I know I was the same way but I was to afraid to advance to fast cuz I didnt wanna get sick. So far I havnt had the nausea or gotten sick, yay!!! Like right now Im on stage 2 and Im so ready to go to stage 3 lol Imma wait another 2 weeks til I have my 1 month check up tho. Yeah I have found the flavored mashed taters are so good lol If I cook instanst taters I use like chicken broth instead of water, or beef broth. My wife made some veggie soup and I had the broth off it, we had some broth left so I used it for makin taters and they were good. Also I've started using Mrs. Dash products instead of salt, they have several flavors in it and that makes the taters or whatever your eating really good. I've started doing what Jan suggested or does, I use the protein shakes as my meal and if I'm still hungry or get hungry a bit later then I use food as a snack, so far it's working out nice. I havnt been able to weigh for awhile but I know I'm losing cuz all of my cloths are now baggy. I have a couple winter coats that i havnt been able to get into and now I am able to get into one very nicely so I know I'm losing, I'm like you tho, I dont see it but others seem to see it. Hang in there tho gurl, your doing so great. Like you when I see that scale going down and pounds lost that you will NEVER see again, it makes it all worth while. For me just getting off all my medication I was taking has been worth it. I was on 9 different pills for various reason from blood pressure to diabetis and now I just take a half a blood pressure pill 2 times a day yay!! Be sure to take ya vitamins tho, thats so important and the B-100 with thiamin, I know cuz of that vitamin I havnt had nausea. Well anyway I've rattled on here enough, I havnt had power to get onto the puter in days so Im kind of a chatter box today LoL. Take care and hang in there Kat!! Bless ya gurl, Andrew

I remember those thoughts! I was wondering what I did to myself, and I said if I knew it would hurt this much I never would of done it. Well, I am over 2 years out and I would of done it all over again! The first 3 months were the hardest for me. Just take recovery slow, and don't over do anything, but...walk around the house as much as you can. This will get rid of that painful gas, help with constipation from those narcotics, and keep you from getting blood clots. You will be great!

Kat, I am so with you. I know exactly what you are feeling. I am a little over 2 weeks post op and just started semi-solids. I think I am not getting enough water in though, because I still feel like I am hungry. I have had the terrible gas pains though, especially if I drink too fast, get a big old gas bubble everytime and man does that hurt to come up. I am obsessing with the scale. I weigh myself every morning (probably shouldn't). I have only lost 2 lbs in the last week, after losing 16.5 by last monday. THAT is depressing. I am trying to kick it up with some walking and see if that helps. Things are happening that are so much more different than I expected. I thought I wouldn't feel hungry, I thought Iwould feel full after eating a couple of bites, but I don't. I have to make myself stop at the right amount. It makes me scared for my success. Especially as I do add more foods. But I am keeping the hope up and like Jan said, I keep trying tomorrow to do better than today. Hugs and hope it gets better for you soon. Barb S