Please Let This Work - Warwick, RI

I am 5 days post op and now cranky. My weight on surgery day 257lbs. I came home after one night in the hospital weighing 267.2! I knew I would be up from surgery but wanted to monitor. The pain was a little overwhelming as I was told it was similar to having my gallbladder out. Well it is nothing like that. I was out and about after that surgery with no pain. I vomited a few times on post day 2 and could barely get any fluids in. By day 3 I was staying on top of my meds to avoid pain and did better with fluids but still no shakes. Day 4 I felt great! I only needed some acetaminophen and drank plenty of fluids coming quite close to my goal of 64 ounces. I woke up in the middle of the night with hunger pain. I got up and drank some shake and water. That helped. Day 5 (today) in the morning I tolerated another shake but I feel so weak. So here is the current situation. It is the 4th of July and I am home feeling lousy, hungry and missing out on all the festivities. I am drinking plenty of clear fluids and a couple of shakes but the cravings are intense. I also realized that 1/2 of all commercials on tv are food related, the news is doing food segments, the Today show is doing nothing but food segments....I am feeling sorry for myself and questioning what I have done while also arguing with myself about how good this will be in the end. I have been walking since hours after surgery. I take walks around the block but now my knees feel like jello. I had to nap today, partly exhaustion and partly to avoid thinking about the hunger. My current weight is 262. That is depressing. I am generally a positive person but feeling blue right now. Can someone plaease tell me it gets better?

So I survived my holiday blues. It has now been one week since my surgery and I am doing ok. It still hurts to swallow but I think maybe my volume is just too big and I need to work on tiny sips. I couldn't really drink the shakes so I made a pudding consistency and that was better. My hunger is gone. I went for a nice walk and my energy increased. Just did some weeding and vacuuming and still feel ok. I think the hardest part is that I am keeping this quiet so I am not doing anything social and that is hard for a social butterfly as myself. I am looking forward to returning to work and getting into a normal routine. Also looking forward to weight coming off.

I finally started to feel better around day 11. I transitioned to full liquid diet on day 13 after seeing my Dr. Amazing how good a few tablespoons of butternut squash soup tasted. I have always preferred savory to sweet so I was sick of fruity clear liquids. The best part is I really don't feel hunger anymore. The first 7-10 days were brutal because I was starving but now that has gone away. I am getting my fluids in and about 50gm protein. I will never buy the pre- made shakes again. They may be good for convenience but I like my powder in a blender so much more. I hope everyone is doing well and for anyone struggling, hang in there. It does get better. 18 days and down 15lbs!