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Hi folks! I had surgery on Feb 27. Stayed at hospital overnight to verify I passed the swallow leak test. They also wanted to make sure I could drink. Now I’m home. Everything feels 10x better, but I’m still getting spasms in my stomach (nearly) every time I swallow something. It has prevented me from much intake since it is so exhausting. I’m never hungry though now so I just give up eating. My lack of interest in food is a bit scary. I feel like I’m flipping from an over-eater to anorexic. My doctor required a two week full liquid pre-diet and a 24 hr clear liquid only pre-diet. I lost 15 lbs pre-op. I’m 5’3” and started at 210. Since surgery, I’m down another 9 lbs. I’ve been averaging about 1.5 lbs down per day. Yesterday was the first day I was able to finish 2 protein shakes (finally)! I know this rate of decline won’t continue indefinitely, but I’ll be at my target by summer the way things are progressing. I feel like this is a roller coaster and I’m just barreling down a high peak. It is exciting and scary all at the same time.

I have not been big on taking body measurements during my journey so far. I’ve maybe taken 4 throughout. I’ve also tried to resist frequent weight taking due to the many warnings. I do biweekly (or occasionally weekly 😉) weighing. But!! I have lost 16 inches around my waist which seems like a lot, but I have absolutely no concept and can’t find any thing about expectations for losing inches or what is good for benchmarks. What have been your “YAY!” moments for measurements?

I never had any expectations re: measurements, but I lost A LOT of inches.

It really is. I am absolutely certain that I would never *ever* have lost the weight I did if I hadn't been here from day 1. 20lbs loss in a month is amazing. Compare that to ANY diet you did in your life before surgery - unbelievable. Yes there will be stalls and regains, but if you stick to your programme then the general trend will be downwards. I hope you will be happy with where you land 🤩

How exciting! They should provide most of everything so you don't have to pack much Button up shirts/pj tops and loose pj pants were what I used the most. I brought gas x and constipation meds because they only provided what the Dr prescribed. So extra stuff that you might use like allergy meds etc. I would bring. Also make sure you are allowed to take them. My Dr did not allow any arnica of any type even though that's a common supplement, So just double check. I spent the 1st week pretty much in bed and relaxing and then going to Drs appts. I did bring a lanyard to hold my drains and an extra long phone cord to keep my phone charged. Compression socks and faja if your dr doesn't give them out, mine did. Some recovery houses even give you all the toiletries. The hospital I went to sent me home with toothbrush, toothpaste, compression socks, slippers and a thermometer. So You might not even need basic stuff lol. Good luck though! What are you getting done and who are you booking with if I can ask?

Any recommendations on what to pack for the recovery house? I am about to book!

or maybe something like SIBO? Or IBD or IBS? Or even a redundant colon? (I have the latter - I'd sometimes wake up in a lot of pain because "stuff" would get stuck in one of the curvy parts). A colonoscopy would detect the latter, though (that's how I found out about mine). Not sure about the others.

My hair started thinning around 3 months post surgery. It thinned out until about 9 months out and then slowly stopped. I cut my hair to juuuuuuuust shoulder length and used volumizing and thickening shampoo and conditioner, and it's really helped. The longer your hair, the heavier it is and can make the thinning more noticeable.

I did not have to commit to any amount of time for my Dr but they do recommend 2 weeks because then you can usually get the drains and stitches out. I stayed 6 days at a recovery house and then another week at my moms because she lives just 30 min from the border. That second week I just sent pictures to the dr as needed for updates and then traveled once to go get my stitches and drains out before I flew home. You can travel the day after surgery if you wanted to but I would really not recommend that because I could barely move. I really had no pain and other patients of his seem to have no pain too. I was just on tylenol and nothing else for 5 days. But you are so stiff and numb its like wearing a plastic suit or something and makes doing anything so much harder. I am on several plastic surgery boards and so far basically no one is reporting any hair loss like after bariatric surgery. I have not lost any yet but it also didn't happen until 3 months after my surgery before. So I'm hoping it won't happen but its too early to say for sure.

Congratulations but also gracious what an experience. How fortunate you have such a wonderful & caring surgeon who was on top of your symptoms straight away. Hope the rest of your recovery goes smoothly. PS: Realising you weigh as much as you did as a child is a head trip. I remember when I realised I must weigh what I did when I was 12. Twelve! Back in the seventies! OMG! And I was just a normal sized child then (before puberty hit.) I actually dug out my tutu from then & it fit (actually was a little big). Freaky!