Day Dreamer

Hi there. Congrats on your upcoming surgery. I want to stress that everyone's experience is very different. I was scheduled for 1 night inpatient and ended up there for 5 nights. I could not get any fluids in at all. I had spinal cord surgery last year and I think this is a bit worse, but in different ways. I was just sleeved on 6/6/11 and already starting to feel a bit better. I am sure your experience will be good, and even if there are bumps in the road, you will be able to overcome them!!! Good luck!

I am 1 week post op and not on full liquids yet. I was in the hosp for 5 nights due to not being able to get in enough fluids. I am home now, but still having issues with getting enough Water. I can't drink water alone. So what I did was buy Smart Water and use it in everything I make. It has electrolytes to help you stay hydrated. So I might get in a small cup of broth every 4 hours but since I use the Smart Water I dont feel dehydrated and my urine is partially clear - always a good sign. Keep pushing, and I will too!! We will get better everyday!!! :cheer2:

I forgot to tell you but there is a East Coast WLS meet and greet in Atlantic City!! I am trying to find an excuse to get out there!! Saturday, August 27 · 1:00pm - 5:00pm More info: check http://www.facebook.com/tom43010 on Facebook for the directions!! Great talking to you!!

I was sleeved on 6/6 but not on full liquids yet. Question for ya, you said Dumping? I havent had a BM since the night before surgery!! I am pretty freaked out but I havent had anything except broth. So do you mean you have to use the restroom?? So confused! TMI I know.. sorry

I am 1 week post op and cant get down Water either. Even warm or room temp water makes me gurgle like an Alka Seltzer was released inside my tummy and then the acid burps come. The Prilosec is not very helpful. So what I am doing is take a sip of water (baby sip) and then a sip of warm broth to flush it down. I also bought Smart Water because it has electrolytes already in it. I use the smart water to make my broth. Granted right now, I probably get about 30oz or less of anything in one day. Hopefully it will get better because right now I have buyers remorse~~

Thank you for the perspective. I do sometimes forget to think of things from his point of view. I will try to quit moaning so much and that might lift the stress off him a bit. Congrats on your surgery next week!! I am sure you will do great - look at how great you motivated me!!!! :cheer2:

Hey Diva, I dont think one bowl of rice is going to ruin your diet. In fact, 2 days before my surgery I was on liquids and well... I broke down and had my "last" meal. LOL It felt good going down but I felt guilty afterwards. Just get right back up and finish your diet! You can do it!! Hugs

It is nice to hear that I am not the odd ball out with my issues. I really felt like it was me making it so hard. Especially since one of the nurses said if I dont relax it will cause spasms and pain. Geez! Never had a C-section but darn right I rode home (1 hr) with a teddy bear strapped to my tummy under the seat belt hahahaha!! I took a Prilosec [about 1 hr ago] to help with the acid and no change yet. I was hoping it would allow me to get some Water in. I am rolling on my side and using my elbow to push off the couch and bed when my DH isn't around to help. Funny thing, he was somewhat supportive pre op... but today he made a nasty comment. I said wow this worse pain than I would have imagined. He says, well you made that choice so deal with it. Funny thing, I thought he would cheer for me... not hurt me. Yeah I know it was my choice, but that choice was based on tons of information, statistics and my other health issues. I am very sad that he thinks I should "deal with it" or get over it. It is a little hard trying to deal with all these emotions on my own. Yeah I have great friends [in other states - just move to KY] but I hate to burden them with my woes. Moving on. I am having a really hard time with my Vitamins. They go down ok after much chewing and dissolving, but then I get these nasty tasting burpies and acid. It seems like I can still taste my Vitamin from 10am right now at 3pm. Odd? Did I mention I took my first post op shower. WOW WOW WOW. It was nice but I was totally worried about getting the incisions wet LOL. I step under the shower and back out very quickly. I don't have any gauze or bandages - instead they look like they have some type of clear seal on them?!?! Ok well I am back to resting and sipping. I am burning the carpet with my walking hahaha! I do have to use a walker though. My spinal cord surgery last year left me unabl to walk without it. Seems this surgery may have irratated my back again. Thanks for all the kind words. _ Heather

I am home now! It feels good to be home, moving around and getting some fluids in. I have not tried to push my vitamins. Any suggestions? I have the chewables but a part of me really hates them LOL They are a little chalky. Any tips?

Hey stranger! It was probably me. I had surgery on Monday and just got discharged last night (Friday). So it was MUCH longer than I expected. Today is better than yesterday. I can drink warm liquids and they feel good. But if I drink maybe 2 oz in a sitting (over an hour or so) I feel so full that I get bad pains in my chest. Otherwise I do feel much better. Being home has helped expect for being able to get up and down out of my super comfy couch and bed! LOL There was a guy that had VST when I had mine and man he was up and running the next day. I was so jealous!! LOL He looked great - walking the halls and sipping easily. I would like to think that I am not a big wimp, but compared to him, uhh yeah - wimpy wimpy wimpy me! BTW Dr O called me minutes ago. I was shocked. He wanted to check on me and make sure I was getting some fluids in. I really like that he seems very caring. I think it was day 2 or 3 and I told him I felt bad because he looked so disappointed with my progress - he totally cleared that up and said he not disappointed at all with me. Instead he was worried I would get dehydrated. That is why I had the week long stay at the hospital. Are you having your surgery at Baptist East? The staff there is AMAZING!! They were so nice. All my friends that came up made mention of how good-looking the staff is! LOL That was just an added bonus hahahah!! All, thank you so much for the encouragement!! Today is going better and I hope everyday gets a litter better.Thanks for the tips. I loading the couch with pillows right now!! xoxo!

Hey guys, well I am home - finally. The Dr would not release me until I could get some liquids in. And right now I can get in maybe 6 oz a day.. not good. So the basic run down was that I could not swallow anything = hot, cold or otherwise. I was on IV fluids all this week. Pretty scary. I had some pretty nasty burps that produced hot acid. Water was the worst for me - still is. Not sure why but in order to get my fluids in, they have to be warm. I get pretty bad spasms in my chest even with the tinyest baby sip. Was told that it is gas. Well... hmm.. not sure about that one. 3 or 4 baby [non warm] sips later, I am dry heaving. It hurts so freaking bad. They sent me home with Dilaudid (sp?), Ranglin (sp?), Prilosec and Nogfran (cant remember the name but it is for nausea). They were going to send me home with the Lortab elixir but I just cant get it down. Incisions? Oh yeah those nasty little buggers. They hurt like hell! How the heck am I supposed to get up and down? Did you roll in and out of bed? I dont have a recliner so it is the bed or couch for me. I literally need someone to help lift me. I feel like I am ripping my incisions open every time I move. That in turn causes nausea. Sigh. I have two massive bruises the size of melons on my personal / inner thigh area. That is scary all by itself. The Dr said they took blood from the femarol(sp?) and that caused the massive bruising. So how do I feel right now, it is nice to be home. I know I have to get liquids in or I will end up in the ER. So I am sip, sip, sipping. Sigh. Would I do it again? WOW not sure if I should answer that right now. My answer today would be not just NO but HELL NO! I am sure a month from now I will have a new answer for you. Right now, I am freaking a bit. It hurts so bad to move, cant get liquids in and yes I am hungry and broth doesnt cut it. Anyway, not meaning to be a pity party but I wanted to share my still biased opinion of the surgery. I will update when things start going better. If you have any tips for me, PLEASE inbox me. I am very scared, nervous and sad about my progress. Thanks for listening!!

Hi all you Jewels of June!! I just wanted to say thank you for the support. VST has been a huge help in my journey especially since my support system at home is not that great. My surgery time got bumped up so we are taking off earlier than expected!! Don't know when I will have internet again to update you guys - hopefully I will be home Wednesday. What did I pack: Gas-X Heating pad Change of clothes Personal items Phone Charger I am sure I missed a few things. LOL Oh well. Ok Jewels - see you the flip side!!! Thank you again for all the support and motivation!! :cheer2: Luv Heather

You are doing amazing!! Thanks for sharing your inspirational pix!!!

Good luck hun!! I am sure you will do great!! Keep us updated! :cheer2:

Well here it is.. my day is quickly approaching. June 6th, Monday and the countdown is on. OK well the countdown was on since approval LOL but this is the T-minus 72 hours type of countdown!! So my knees are knocking - well as best they can with these wonderful thick thighs blocking the way hahaha! My feet are tapping like mad under my desk. My mind is racing with thoughts - some good, some scary. Debating whether or not to write my final good-bye's - just in case! I mean, there is so much going through my head right now. It is really a roller coaster ride and it is about to peak! Start to finish, this has been a long journey. I started looking into WLS many years ago - off and on - losing insurance multiple times and resetting the journey. This time it was quick. I mean WOW that was quick type of quick! Seminars in March, approval, pre op labs and test and surgery in June. That is not as long as it felt. And I felt saying I can't wait till my surgery. Well Heather, here ya go! Your day is here and now you are a big chicken. (MMM chicken.. curry chicken... fried chicken... General Tso chicken..mm.... sorry.. shake diet does that to ya.) So this weekend I will be gathering my thoughts and getting my house post op ready. I need to stock up on SF Jell-O and SF ice pops. I have my 2nd order of Syntrax Nectars in route and should be here tomorrow. My heating pad is lovingly placed next to my side of the bed. Although being a tummy sleeper, I will have to learn to sleep on my back!! (I don't have a recliner.. Boo!) This is it. A farewell to Tula - my tummy. Tula has been really good to me. We have been through a lot together - thick and thin. Tula allowed me to enjoy many things in life and sometimes she was a bit fussy but overall she was a good tummy. So Tula, I love you and I will miss you but part of you will always remain with me (hehe). Side note: you guys are the best. Believe it or not, VST is like a lifesaver to those of us with weak support systems. I have learned so much, got so much support and felt so much love here. These boards are very helpful - in fact, they are priceless. Ok enough mushy stuff!! <3 Heather 6/6/11

I cried when I got approved LOL I just couldn't believe it! You would have thought I won the lottery or something!! Congrats! :cheer2:

Can you give us a run down on your daily food intake??

That really made me laugh! I can't wait to be able to say WOW that is TOO BIG of a portion! My pre-sleeve life was pretty much super sized; which led me to this point. But one thing I have noticed since I started my shake pre op diet is the amount of food everyone eats. I sit here sipping on my shake and think WOW did I eat like that? Well ok ok I also think YUMMM can I have some?!?! LOL Thanks for sharing your story! I think it is wonderful to hear about the little things that will make this whole process worth it (well besides the weight loss LOL)!!!! :cheer2:

It takes making the first step to get to the goal!! You are on your way!

Bloomin!! Your post made me LOL. I too bought the undergarmet with the little slit (I think it was a Spanx suit) and my hubby said OMG what kind of porn thing is this?!?! LOL I was like ummm.. it isn't for THAT, it is for using the restroom without taking the whole darn thing off. His reply, well wouldn't that be messy seeing how you guys can't really "direct" the flow! LMAO hahahahah! Too funny. So I have the comp garmet, but i do take it all the way off if I need to use the restroom - unless I am in a hurry. Oh and I got mine from Lane Bryant but I also bought some Kohl's comp garmets - much cheaper than LB's. BTW How long after you are Sleeved can you wear a compression garmet?!?

Scary stuff.. I wonder what they consider "stuffing yourself". Is one bite too much going to hurt me? What about rice that expands in the tummy? Scary .. but good to know. Glad to see you are doing well.

My NP suggested we do it 10 times a day as well - 10 reps each spread over the day. (Like do one set of 10 rep per hour.) Good luck!!!

Welcome!!! There are so many wonderful people here,w ith tons of information and support! :cheer2: Hey ~ nice screen name! LOL

June 6th here! Nerves are setting in. As for the Protein drinks; I have been using Muscle Milk chocolate and Atkins Mocha Latte (YUMM), Chocolate and new strawberry Banana. I have Bariatric Advantage powder but I can't get it to taste good - I add SF syrup, Crystal Light, Freeze it.. you name it. Bleh! I also have the Syntrax nectar sample bag and so far they are OK. I want to try one of the fruity cooler ones tonight for dinner. We shall see. *nerves setting in* (BTW I use Atkins bars for breakthrough hunger and it really helps!)

VS has brought me to tears recently. For my birthday my DH got me a gift card for VS - which I never - ever shop at! They do carry my size (38D) but only in select styles and it is hella-pricey. So when I saw my gift card I literally started crying. He had no idea and I had no want to explain to a perfectly fit man why this overweight girl doesn't want a VS gift card. So I held on to it for months and finally got tired of him nagging me to use it. So I did; I bought two bras - one of which I wear almost daily because it bumps me up to a DD - WOAH! and the other - a super sexy red lace number that has disappeared off the face of the earth! Oh yeah $125 for two bras - no thank you. I told him to please never - ever give me a gift card from VS again! Even when I finally lose weight, I do not want to shop there for bras. Shampoo (YES), body spray and perfume (YES) but bras - NO! Too expensive and no support. I am super worried about needing implants. I keep seeing it brought up. I don't want foreign objects in me That is why I wanted VSG over the Band (as well as a few other reasons). But I also dont want to have to roll up my boobs to create a booblet to fit in my bra. Do you think halter boos will ever be in style? Pull them up, tie them behind the neck like a halter top. Might work... LOL idk...