Chicadee

I was just told to clip it close to the skin I had one poke out on two of my incisions.

I feel kinda weird going out and eating so little. The only time the waitstaff ever said anything to me is the very first time I went out. They asked me if everything was ok and I said yes without any further discussion. Any other time no one has said a word but I am sure as big as I am and as little as I am eating they must be thinking something. I do get a couple meals worth of leftovers every time. I am a pretty cheap date now.

Told my employer I was taking vacation for 2 weeks and that I was having a medical procedure. Told my co-workers I was taking 2 weeks off for vacation. Since I was on the pre-op diet for many weeks before I had surgery and it coincided with our annual healthy team competition, I was vocal about how much weight i was losing prior to even having the surgery, so when I got back everyone just thought I was still doing the same small portion, doctor supervised plan I was before I left. There is a small number of people in my office that know about the procedure but I decided I didn't want the whole world to know my business.

I bought a bunch of sobe lifewater and Vitamin Water, zero calorie, I am not a big plain water drinker. Lots of SF Popsicles, you can have Jello too but I didn't bother with it. Drank a lot of Isopure the first week although I can't stand the taste save for the pineapple orange banana. chicken broth was great, nice to have something warm going down. I was on a week of clear liquids then a week of full liquids and progressed from there. I had no restrictions on showering, my incisions were all glued. I did not have a drain so that wasn't a concern. I did have to give myself the injections for 14 days following surgery. I took Prevacid once I got home for acid reduction however now I take Prilosec. No difference for me really, just had more coupons for Prilosec. I only took the prescribed pain medicine (lortab elixir) once when I got home, I didn't need it. Also I did sleep in a recliner for a couple days once I got home. Getting in and out of bed was difficult, it was 2 weeks before I could sleep on my side again and a bit longer before I could sleep on my stomach. Make sure you get plenty of rest. I didn't have a lot of stamina and got tired out easily that first week.

My surgery was early morning, I think the second of the day for my surgeon. I was in pre-op at like 6:30am, everything was pretty calm. The nurse came in to start my IV line and for the next hour and half I had a variety of people trying to find a good vein. A couple nurses and an anesthesiologist all took turns. They even gave me a local in several places trying to minimize the pain. I believe i was stuck about 7 or 8 times in total. Luckily they got one 10 minutes before I was supposed to be wheeled in to surgery. The OR nurse came in and much to my surprise I had gone to High School with her and we were on the Pompon squad together. She offered to remove herself from my case if I felt uncomfortable but I said she was fine, no biggie. I hadn't seen her in 20 years what difference did it make. I walked to the OR took a look around at all of the equipment and sat myself up on the table. Once I was laying down I was out within seconds. I woke up in recovery, very groggy. They allowed my husband in there where he made several phone calls to family to let them know everything went well. I couldn't really look around but there was someone else in recovery, don't know what kind of surgery they had, may have been something other than bariatric and I kept hearing the nurses talk about how they were watching them and might have to take them back for another emergency surgery. I never did find out what that was all about or what happened to the person. I was catheterized while in surgery and that stayed in for all of the first day and I was allowed ice chips while still in recovery. I had the compression boots on and I kept pointing and flexing my toes just to keep things moving. I slept a lot that first day. I did get up to walk around with my IV pole and catheter, that thing is fun to walk with. My biggest pain was trying to sit up and i could not sit up unassisted and get to the side of the bed alone. Once I was up I was good but then getting back into the bed was painful yet again. I had no gas pain whatsoever and I did not have a drain. My catheter was taken out on day two.

The Fuzzy Navel nectar is like orange drink, it isn't peach flavored.

SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Chicadee..........326..................307...........299............8 almost there.....

I would like to eventually get a bike. I am not sure what weight I should try it again. I am still 310 lbs not sure if 250 would still be too big for a bike or not, perhaps 200?

i had a lot of flats and sandals in my closet that I haven't been able to wear for several years. Over the last two weeks all of them now fit me comfortably so with 80lbs lost my foot is shrinking. I was an 8.5 extra wide, so for years now I have been wearing sneakers every day. It is really nice to actually be able to wear something else for once. I can't wait to lose more and actually go shoe shopping one day.

i was told to take them for 90 days post op. I am at the 90 mark now but plan to at least use up what I have and we will see how it goes from there.

Surgery day was May 3rd. I have lost a total of 80 lbs. Today I wore a T-shirt to work that I have never worn before because it never fit and one of the girls saw me walking down the hall and called me slim and said I was inspiring her to do something with herself. While I still have more than half of my excess weight to lose and I am not slim by any sense of the word, I felt really good today. Also, I need all new bras again, the girls are shrinking but honestly that is not a bad thing. I never measured myself before surgery so the first time I measured myself was June 6th and as of today just about 2 months later I have lost 17.5 inches all around.

My surgery was on May 3rd and so far with pre-op and post I have lost 31% of my excess weight. My total is 80 lbs so far.

I was hoping to eventually lose 260 lbs. I have lost 80lbs since March, my surgery was in May. Still quite a long way to go but only 11 lbs to my first goal of being under 300.

I was not given a specific number of pounds to lose before surgery he wanted me to lose as much as possible. That being said I lost about 27 lbs all together before surgery. My highest weight was 390. Let us know how you are doing Jenny.

I didn't see this thread until now. I was sleeved in May by Dr Ehrlich. He used to be in practice with Dr. Floch. Had a wonderful experience with him thus far.

if your pain is on your left side it should not be your gallbladder. I had what they thought was a leak 2 weeks ago. For three days I had a random stabbing pain on my left side under my ribs and every time I took a deep breath I felt sore inside. When I had my CT scan they did not see a leak but what appeared to be air surrounding my stomach, they think perhaps I had a pinhole that sealed itself. I did not have a fever, nausea or vomiting which would be typical symptoms for a leak. I was admitted and given IV antibiotics in the hospital for 48 hours and they had me go back to the liquid diet for 2 weeks. I feel great now, like nothing ever happened. A lot of people report having that pain under the left ribcage and it turns out to be nothing. Just make sure you follow up with the doctor as soon as you can. And if your symptoms get worse especially if you have a fever, go back to the hospital.

My surgeon said the time when leaks show up most frequently is in the 3 to 4 week range. After that it would be rare however in my case I had what they think was a pinhole leak that fixed itself around week 11.

I never had the gas pain that a lot of people talk about. I was fully expecting it, then nothing happened. You should be good at this point.

I am almost 12 weeks out and today I had: When I woke up: Protein shake Breakfast: Chobani strawberry Yogurt Snack: 10 pretzels (not a good choice) Lunch: all of the broth and half of the stars in chicken and stars Soup. Dinner: meatloaf, green Beans Snack: 2 Popsicles

I get them randomly i believe when I am full as well, not with every meal though. It drives my husband crazy but there is nothing I can do about it. Even before surgery I probably got them more than the average person.

I've been eating beef and shellfish since I could eat regular food so after week 5

Update: SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Chicadee..........326..................315...........299............16

I am taking the Prilosec OTC and even though the caplet is slightly larger than a tic tac I still swallow it just fine. My Dr told me it was ok to take pills no bigger than a tic tac.

I like the Bariatric Advantage Chews as well. I have lemon and berry and they are great, like eating a starburst. I have never tried the caramel but I am a caramel lover so I may have find them and give them a shot.

are you taking an acid reducer? Most of us are sent home with a script for one after surgery. I am supposed to take one for at least 90 days. That could be the issue if you aren't taking one.