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I read things like your friend, Will's recovery update and feel silly for even posting these questions. I don't mean to whine. And I'm certainly relieved to hear he seems to be out of the woods! I'm on my second day home from the hospital and my fifth day out from surgery. (Pre-ops - ignore this - it is just me being hormonal I think) Today I had two weeping sessions when i became frustrated and confused..I was, what I thought was hungry, and then tried drinking some of my Unjury shake and was suddenly so repelled by the texture etc that I had to force myself to get in any. -I get the hiccups when I drink anything and it hurts! (I had lap RXNY) -Twice today it crossed my mind " what did I DO to myself?" -I craved a ham biscuits and hotdogs and burgers all day - head hunger. -nothing tastes good. -um...the diarrhea? (sp?) Does that ever end? because if not - what would be the point of eating? -crushing pills made me gag twice (prescription pills) -my tummy is still so sore and a bit swollen still (I had my gallbladder removed at same time) -I just paged my great surgeon who now thinks I am even more of a nut - I asked " diarrhea ok every time I drink? Or can I take something?" He calmly said " you have just had major surgery. If it is still going on in three-four days, we will talk about you taking something." I cried after I hung up. again. -Why does it feel like all the posts I read about ya'll - you are all jogging a week post post-op and feeling great? -I am so hungry for something beyond gross liquids that I bought a little carton of egg beaters and planned to fix a tee-tiny bit to see how it went down. I know I'm not supposed to bc I'm still on liquids but something has to stay in or I'll go crazy. Death by egg beaters?

Oh Julie... You are not whining AT ALL. You are actually grieving a past way of living that you had a love hate relationship with. Saturday was my daughter's birthday and DAMNED if I didn't try to get my fingers in the cake the entire day..and today when I got home !! I would do anything to be able to eat dessert again on some days...Sugar is an addiction for me. It is still going to take me some time to get use to all these eating patterns..and I am 4 months out !! You are very fresh post op. I would have to look back at my profile, but I think I snuck a cracker on my 2nd day home from my surgery...and was wondering afterwards if I just sentenced myself to death !!! You have a lifetime of eating patterns to relearn..the WLS way !! It doesn't come overnight. I was so hungry at first too..I know it was all head hunger because I really wasn't hungry hungry. I am still considering hypnosis to enhance the surgery... Hang in there. All this takes time, Julia. You are not alone in your feelings. I went through the same sort of withdrawals...and so have many others. Hang tight..each day gets a little easier !!! Dana

Hi Julia....one of the more experienced folks should respond to this in detail but I just wanted to say....I am pre-op and I do not think you are a nut. It's helpful to us to hear ALL the stories and you are simply being honest about what's going on with you. All surgeons feel differently about the post op diet. When I come home I am allowed some scrambled egg. Also a small amount of very very moist chicken, tuna or beef as long as it's not stringing and it's further moistened with gravy or a little mayonnaise. I would say if your eggs went down comfortably and stayed down then they probably work and are ok for you. They are healing protein that you need. Also applesauce or other pureed fruit in it's own juice. We were also told that normal bowel function doesn't return until 48 to 72 hours....and to be very careful when attempting to pass gass. So I'm expecting runny stools for a bit. Liquids in....liquids out. Try mixing your crushed meds in if not regular applesauce then a little bit of baby applesauce. Here is a trick for Unjury that might work for you. I do this every night. Heat 1/2 a cup of water in your microwave (half a coffee cup). Pour a little out and then replace it with a little cool water to cool it down some. Stir in a scoop of Unjury chocolate. You have to work at it to get the lumps broken up but it's worth it. It's not as instantized because of the warm water.....no different that any hot cocoa mix in my opinion. I'm praying I'll still like this after surgery because that's 20 g protein. Pre-op I've been making it a double. I wish you continued recovery and what you will also read in the posts of others is that by and large....each day is a little better than the one before it. Take care! Amy

hun, trust me you are not nuts nor do any of us think you are whining! it is no cakewalk, trust me. i a m only 7 months out and it was a rough road. i am still getting used to the fact that i cant have things i want. i slipped up and ate pizza not long ago, turned 12 shades of green!!! it is a learning process because everyone is different. all dr.s are different as well. my dr. had me eating eggs the day after surgery. runny eggs but eggs. some people can tolerate things others cant so it is different for us all. i cant tolerate milk products anymore, and whey protien does make me sick also. at first i was sooo upset and felt like such a failure because i wasnt just breezing along with everything. i posted about the protien issues and felt like i was being blasted out for not getting my protien in. turns out i really cant take it. i had to switch to soy, per dr. instructions. just take things SLOW! find out what YOUR body can tolerate and follow its lead. do what is right for YOU and things will be ok. the road is bumpy at first but it gets better with time. your hormones and everything else are adjusting right now too, so take things slow and easy for now!! good luck! susanne~

Hi Julia! I'm sorry to hear that you are having a rough time and please don't ever worry about whining or anything like that...we all do it at 1 point or another and that's what we are here for...to help and support each other. First of all, I want to tell you that I was miserable and whiny for about 3 days home (6-7 days post op). I went from feeling miserable to great literally overnight. U woke up on Wednesday morning and felt like my old self! I was amazed because on Tuesday afternoon, I was ready to call my boss and tell him I'd be out for 6 months! LOL Then on Wednesday, I walked almost 2 miles...go figure! The other things that you must consider are 1. My surgery went like a "textbook case"...you ended up in ICU. 2. You had your gallbladder out too...I did not. Those things may add a little time to your recovery time. Also, I walk 2 miles and then I crash out for 4 hours. I feel ya on the hiccups...I hiccup whenever I eat...I think it must be when I get full but hiccups can be so annoying and so fresh out, they hurt. Are you taking baby sips? Try getting a kid's sippy cup. That's what I used my first few days at home. They kind of force you to take tiny sips. The head hunger thing is a problem for everyone. Dana and I spent one evening emailing each other about different food and then another night talking on the phone about this food and that one. Not sure about her, but for me, it made me laugh and kinda took the stress out of it. I was truly on the verge of breaking down because I was sooo tired of the liquid crap! As far as nothing tasting good, that's kind of a good thing...you won't want to overeat something that doesn't taste good. We are learning to make food something necessary to live...not a source of enjoyment. When I was on liquid, I got real tired of the sweet stuff so broth and cream soup really helped me. Diareah (sp)...enjoy it! Soon enough you will be constipated and will be looking back to the times when going to the toilet was not a job! LOL Remember, you are losing all of those yucky fluids and weight is going so enjoy! Do you have to crush the pills? From day 1 I swallowed my pills whole. I made sure there were a few minutes between each pill but had no problem at all...some do and some don't. Instead of egg beaters, have you tried the cream soup? It really felt more like eating than clear broth. SF ice pops and fudgsicles were a lifesaver. On full liquids, you can also do yogurt and SF pudding...do those help you? Please remember that even once permitted a lot of people have problems with egg so be careful. Sorry my answer was soooo long! Hope I helped a little. Please feel free to email me if you need anything or just need to talk. I am only a little over 2 weeks so all of this is still so fresh for me. Christine 253/235/134

Oh wow! I remember this! I had your WHOLE LIST of complaints when I was first post op. The hospital sucks. You want to be home so badly and you're so glad to be home for about 5 minutes. Then you try to walk ANYWHERE and the staples pull and it hurts like hell. Then home sucks. All you can see on the TV is commercials for KFC and Red Lobster. (it would have pleased me to no end to bash in the TV like they beat the fax machine in Office Space those first few days) Trying to drink water is hard, trying to drink protein is HARDER. The diarrhea goes on for days, and you can't reach around and wipe yourself when it's over because it hurts. I have one of those handheld shower heads next to the toilet, it was a godsend when I couldn't reach. Here's good news: it DOES stop. Then you get constipated. A good way to get prescription pills in that taste horrible is to mix them with something and drink it like a shot. Since you had your gallbladder out, I guess you won't have to start the Urso Forte. Congratulations on that! I am in awe of this pill. I didn't imagine something so horrible tasting existed, but it does. Now, everyone recovers differently. Some people can walk farther than others. We all have different amounts of weight to lose. Me -- if I could make it to the front door and maybe to the mailbox and back, I wanted an Olympic medal. I also fell flat on my face out of the recliner one night. Not fun to do, and even less fun when everyone else thinks it's funny. Don't eat anything other than liquids. Have some broth. Have some sugar free popsicles. Have as much protein shake as you can take. I know how tough it is, you'll be able to eat late next week. For now, don't overextend your pouch. Get in as much fluid as humanly possible. It's not what they say you should be having, but you'll work up to it. I couldn't get 20oz a day in that first week, now I get between 64 and 128. You can do it too. Let me know if I can help you in any way, I really feel for you right now. Julie PS: You will feel about a thousand times better next week when the staples come out. Trust me on this one.

Oh Honey....We all have felt this way...but it does get easier. I promise. I had mine surgery open and two days out of the hospital, my husband threw me out!!! I had alot of strange emotions....I wanted to eat so badly because that was always my crutch when I was feeling bad...I was on liquids for 4 weeks...still had a "G" tube in for 6 weeks and I was feeling exhausted. I got moved into my new house within a month and felt so alone....never would have made it if it hadn't been for my angels on this board. The support here on this board is amazing and to this day, I know that I can count on everyone of them...I know that we have all felt these emotions in the beginning but you forget quick...I have. My life has made a 360 degree turn around and my life is great. Don't be so hard on yourself. It does get better. I think we all get a little depressed in the beginning because our life style has to change. Good luck, Sweetie and keep your chin up... Hugs, Betsy

Julia I am 10 and half months out. First off..no you are not nuts. These feelings and "symptoms" you are feeling are...believe it or not...very normal. As time goes by these things diminish or even go away. As for the diarrhea, just be sure you are drinking plenty of water so you dont get dehydrated. those crushed pills are pretty bad, but you will not have to crush them forever . Please drink slowly..even at 10 and half months out..if i drink too fast, i get the hiccups and my tummy hurts for a little bit. At some point, i believe almost everyone who has the surgery thinks, "What have I done to myself?" I know I did, but as time passed, I thank God everyday I had this surgery and regained my life back, So will you!! Time heals all wounds they say, and it is true. When the "head hunger" strikes you, try walking and drinking water and focus on something that you really like to do (read, cross stich, etc) It really does help! I cannot wait to see you posting about your weight loss and how all these trouble spots are no longer trouble for you. Please keep your head held high that you have done something for yourself to regain your life and live a healthy active life. Hugs Judy B