NO RESTRICTION

Hi all,

I have a question. I am about 3 1/2 months out from surgery. Three days out of last week I felt NO RESTRICTION. Today is better, much better. Has anyone ever had this happen after the sleeve. I mean I have been so scared, I have prayed, and cried out to God what is wrong. Do you think I hurt my sleeve from over eating and drinking, I mean I drank a lot at one time. I wil be so thankful for any replys.
God Bless
Evie

You had this panic a couple of days ago. I don't see how you could have stretched your sleeve in 3.5 months, but you've been told that. You are in a very stressful pattern. Perhaps you feel guilty about your choices of food and drink. Stress is so bad for weight loss. You need to see someone about this. If you are not willing to see a therapist who specializes in food issues, then at least talk to your surgeon's office about how you feel and tell them what you are eating and drinking. Maybe they will have an answer that satisfies you or want to examine you.

Go beyond crying out to God. Pray for peace of mind and do some reading.

Take action and do something different. Call a therapist and/or your surgeon's office.

BTW, are you taking ppi's? That may be something to talk to your dr. about also.

Terrific advice! 

I agree, Evie. You go into panic mode very frequently and I'm concerned about your state of mind. Praying is a wonderful thing and does wonders for the mind, body and soul-- but you frequently post basically the same messages every couple of days for awhile, then you won't post for a bit when I guess things are going more smoothly for you, and then you'll go through another spurt where you post the same "did I hurt my sleeve" posts again.

I worry that you aren't understanding something here-- that maybe there's a disconnect and I think the previous poster has a point. Calling your doctor's office for another educational meeting would be a great idea, as would scheduling a meeting with a counselor to work out some of your fear and anxiety related to eating and stretching out your sleeve. I also see in a lot of your other posts that you have a lot of anxiety surrounding your family, especially your two daughters coming for a visit.

And heck, I'd be lying if I said that visiting with my family wasn't stressful, but I am nervous that you're doing yourself more of a disservice than anything else by just going through the same cycle repeatedly of panicking, then posting on here and hoping or praying for a change to happen.

We are the change that we want to be in our lives... and God helps those who help themselves. Both true statements, albeit a little cliche. I'd encourage you to seek professional support, as well, to try to get a handle on some of your anxiety and panic cycles. I sure know it's helped me!

Best of luck!

 I have to agree with this wholeheartedly.

Other posters have addressed the emotional, panicky issue.  This is more about logistics.  It sounds as if you're eating until you feel full, or feel your restriction.  My advice would be to stop that.  Read Frisco's posts, and Elena's.  Weigh and measure your food, eat what you measure out, then stop.  The restriction isn't intended to be your stop signal, it's intended to help you feel satisfied with less food, and help you keep going until your next meal, which for most of us is about three hours away.

Drinking will not stretch your sleeve, liquids go either down or up if there's not enough room (the path of least resistance), but don't create bulge.

Good luck, sweetie, and take a breath.

I guess it would be more helpful for people if you posted your typical meals - quantities and such.

YOu should measure your food according to docs guidelines, and stick to that. The days of feeling stuffed and wearing "fat pants" (lol is that just me?) after a huge meal are days of the past. We are eating to live, not living to eat anymore.

How many times have you vomited after eating? Felt sick? Felt pain? How many pre-op size meals have you eaten? What exactly have you done that made you think you are over eating?

Don't worry about drinking unless its right after a meal. I am 6 weeks out, and I can chug water like a pre-op - it goes right through me.

I know this is the internet - I'm not sure how you are handling post-op life, but there is definitely an element of anxiety that I think most people go through. I definitely have a some anxiety about eating/drinking, but it's not controlling me. I know that as long as I am following docs orders, then I am okay. If you aren't sure whether your anxiety levels are normal, maybe talk to someone. This is the time of our lives where we are reclaiming our lives, time to enjoy life, enjoy the things we've missed out on. It's not time to obsess over food and eating - we've done that most of our lives. YOU WILL BE OK. Pray, do what you need to do, and have some fun.

You need to have a little faith that if you do what you are supposed to, avoid the bad habits that got us all here, things will work out.