Need to whine

Hey Mayers, I am having problems eating. One day I am ok the next nothing wants to stay down. Is anyone else having this problem? Also everyone keeps telling me they can see the difference in my looks but when I look in the mirror I still see the same Lisa as before. Is anyone else having this problem? Please send some advice. I just want to cry. Thanks, Lisa

Lisa, I'm not having the eating problem that you are. I think you should call your doctor and see what he or she thinks. Maybe you have a stricture? Pretty common, so I'd check it out. I do feel strange about losing 47 lbs (20 pre-surgery, 27 since surgery) and not being able to see any real difference in the way I look. When people see me they say, oh, your face looks thinner. I don't think I lost 47 lbs in my face, why won't my body change. I've also been measuring myself and it hasn't shown much, 1/2 inch here a 1/4 inch there. My health has improved though and that is what I need to focus on. My doctor took me off my blood pressure medicine and I'm walking very normally now (bad arthritis in my knees pushed me into the surgery, as walking became difficult.) So, I need to focus on that. I'll bet your depression has a lot to do with not being able to eat properly. Please contact your doc as it can probably be helped. Good luck! We can't "quit" this diet, we have to hang in there. Hopefully, by supporting each other, it is easier. Lori 384/337/170-goal

Hey Lisa, I also have good days and bad days. Some days I cant keep anything down, and other days I can eat everything in sight, with no problems. The only thing I can do is take it one day at a time. Good Luck Girl, and take care

Do you have any good full-face photos taken pre-op? If so, take one now and look at them side by side. It's easy to miss a gradual change when you look in the mirror every darned day. I couldn't really *see* the weight loss until I looked at photos (which are near the bottom of my profile), and then I was shocked! As for the eating problem, yeah, my pouch has suddenly become more cranky. Food has lost its appeal entirely, and although I can keep everything down I don't enjoy it, nor can I eat as much as I could just a week ago. Weird. Our pouches are just reminding us who's boss!

I to face that same problem. One day is good the next I am nauseated by everything. I have found myself several times over the past couple of weeks curled up in bed crying because another meal made me sick. Each day I get up and tell myself today is going to be better, things are slowly getting that way. I can only say some of us just have a more difficult time adjusting to eating after this surgery. I do suggest that you have yourself checked out by your doctor before just accepting this is how it is. If it isn't a stricture and just remember your body is trying to heal. You just recently had a major surgery, some of us take longer to heal. This is what my doctor told me. It didn't take away the feelings of pain and frustration, but talking to others that are going through the same thing or have been there has helped me. ----I will be keeping you in my thoughts that things will go better. Sabrina

You're not alone. I may be different, because I did develop a stricture at 4 weeks post-op, so it may be that just acting up again, since it sometimes takes several EGDs to get it dilated just right. However, having said that...I feel like @#$@ this weekend. I've been throwing up everything I try to eat (except very soft cheese and SF popsicles). I don't know if it's the stricture, if I'm eating too fast, or if it's the new foods that I'm trying now that I'm supposed to be on solids. I think at this point, we're just a the trial and error stage. Finding what works for us individually. I did have some grilled chicken yesterday for lunch, and that stayed down (with some effort), but the turkey burger from the day before was a total failure. Who knows? Julie

I will echo the sentiments of others about having good days and bad days since I am going through the same thing. Some days, like yesterday, I have good and bad within the same day - breakfast was fine, but dinner and everything thereafter, including water was . Regarding the weightloss, I understand how you feel. The scale says I've lost weight, I'm in some smaller clothes, but I don't see any difference. I do notice that my body is getting really flabby and squishy. Before, the fat packed into my humungous rear end was pretty solid, but now it's like a bowl of jello. I guess that's progress? Anyway, hang in there, because I hear that it truly does get better. Hugs, Tracy

I am having the exact same problem! I try to avoid mirrors in my house because I still see the old me even though 38 pounds are gone. I also have trouble eating one day and then the next day, I'm fine. This past weekend was a bad one because everything made me sick. However, I think that I'm having some other problems that are causing all of my nausea. Hang in there, we can do it!

The people in my support group here say that it is common. One day they can eat 2 chicken strips, the next day they can barely choke down one. Depending on the day depends on how much or what they can eat. One day they can eat tuna and the next day it makes them ill. And these are people that range from me (2 months out) to 3 years out. Just depends on the day! Michelle