UXgrrl

Morning of my surgery I was 267.5. When I weighed myself Friday evening after I came home, I was 259.5 (!). Today (following Wednesday) I was 249.5. Down 18 lbs in the first week. I'm pretty sure I'm through my Water weight now and into actual fat loss because my emotions have been roller coastering :-)

Wow. I'm so sorry that happened to you. Seriously, I'd consider lodging a formal complaint with your hospital's Patient Affairs office. I think she's giving out medically unsound information, and delivering it in a very insensitive way. I would love to lose anywhere close to that much in that sort of time. Holy cow.

GasX... OMG they saved my life. You can get them as strips or as a chewable, as I did. The first and second night the gas pains hurt my chest so bad they brought tears to my eyes and made me fearful of swallowing anything. I was taking them 5 or 6 times a day in the beginning, especially after eating and before laying down. They will get better. I'm 6 days post-op and today was the first day that I noticed that I am not clenching my teeth whenever I swallowed.

I can so, so, so relate to what you're feeling right there. I know how it feels to be completely and totally fed up, how this whole g-d process is taking so long, and why aren't things working out the way it's supposed to. The medically supervised diet is supposed to be a test, to see if you will follow directions, and in a way you're supposed to fail. If you can diet off your weight, then you wouldn't need WLS, right? It feels like the whole system is set up to make this as hard as possible. Like it's a punishment for being fat in the first place. That's why I want to kick people in the teeth who believe that WLS is "the easy way out". If they only knew how hard it was to even QUALIFY for it... much less DO IT. That being said, you have to get your mood up out of the gutter. A good attitude will carry through the end of this. You're so, so, so close. The advice that the others have been giving -- about taking a hot bath, being kind to yourself -- that's all good advice. The sooner you can figure out how to comfort yourself with things besides food, the better off you will be in the long run. I'm sounding a tad bitter because I had my surgery almost a week ago and its just dawning on me now that I can no longer eat easily and mindlessly. Plus, I'm coming down with a headcold so I feel like poop. There's absolutely no way out of this except through it. You can do it. Thousands of others have done this, and I'm sure at some point they all thought to themselves that they couldn't do it anymore. But they reached down inside of themselves and figured out how to keep moving forward, and you will too. And you will be SO PROUD of yourself, when you've accomplished this.

No drain at all, and no sutures on the outside (as I am discovering, now that the scabs are starting to peel off). My incisions were closed with adhesive and I woke up with five regular-sized band-aids on my stomach.

Argh I had one of those moments last night, and then again tonight as well. I made the mistake of trying to wrestle my wild 2-year-old into PJs tonight and I think I pulled something. As soon as my stomach settles from my protein shake I'm going to cave and take a pain pill (I've been avoiding them for the better part of two days). I'm getting tired of the merry-go-round of "how long has it been since...?" and getting REALLY tired of the heart racing, nauseous, lightheaded, sweaty feeling. It feels exactly the way that I did when I got so wrapped up in something that I forgot to eat, and then I would go and binge on something to make that feeling go away. Except now I can't eat. Coming to that realization was a true moment of desperation for me. I keep telling myself that this has to get better. I'm trying to address all the likely suspects (dehydration, protein, electrolytes, my meds, dumping, lactose, calories) and I think I might have narrowed it down to the protein shakes. I think I'm digesting them too fast, so tonight I switched half the powder out for 1/2 c. Greek yogurt. So far so good... Good night everyone...

Sounds like people who have been suffering for years have a shot at real, sustained, non-medicated relief for the first time in their lives within months after this surgery! Has anyone noticed a change in fibromyalgia symptoms (better or worse)? One of the docs I spoke with while I was qualifying for surgery told me 50% of FMS pts get worse and 50% get better. He wanted me to do an outpatient 3-week long pain management course to deal with an increase in case it happened. Those didn't sound like good odds to me (I refused to do the course, I didn't want to spend three weeks going "ohm.." in a group setting ) From what I've read, most if not all FMS pts have a bad flare immediately after surgery -- no surprise, since any kind of heightened stress can trigger a flare -- but I can't imagine not having at least SOME relief.

I couldn't find any Gas-X strips so I bought Gas-X softchews instead. I brought them with me to the hospital and just started taking them the day after surgery, about 4-6 times a day, and didn't ask for permission. They're simethicone, which is the same stuff you give babies to help with gas (some people know it as "gripe water"). They're helping me a lot. The dose for adults is "as needed", but not to exceed 500mg in 24 hrs (without a dr approval). Simethicone causes small gas bubbles to combine together in the gut & stomach so you can burp (or fart :blush5:) more easily. It's not absorbed by the body so its considered pretty safe. I needed them a lot in the beginning; now I'm only taking them before I lay down for a period of time.

So sorry to hear you're having a hard time. Is it possible that you're trying to do too much? I'm only 4 days out but the fatigue is much worse than I expected with this process. I have two kids myself - 2 years and 5 years - and I have a great partner who is pretty much handling everything in the household which is giving me time to rest and heal. You HAVE to get the Water and Protein in. You can't expect to feel better until you do. I hear you're bored, but you mentioned you are a good cook - how about finding some broth or milkshake recipes you can try? Make some Soups to serve your family for dinner, then strain out the pieces and drink the liquid. Go back and review your guidelines for full liquids - is there something you haven't tried yet? Do smoothies count as full liquids or purees? I don't think anyone is a fan of the Protein drinks but you have to choke down least one or two a day to meet your protein requirements. Are you making them with milk? That will give you liquids and protein in one drink. I've been having them for Breakfast, since I've never been a breakfast eater, and it helps. Keep trying and try to focus on this a day at a time, or an hour at a time. Be gentle with yourself.

Quick check in at 3 (technically 4) days post-op... doing OK for the most part. I think I'm handling liquids and purees without too many problems, as long as I don't consume either too quickly. It's kind of funny, everything I swallow (liquid, food, pill) results in a burp of gas about the same size. Like it has to do a switcheroo down there. I can tell if the bubble doesn't up out right because it HURTS until it does. Feeling mostly tired and weak, like I'm dealing with a bad bout of the flu. Each day is a little bit better. There's an incision on my left side that falls right under my bra line, so I've kind of been going commando these last few days The main thing I'm struggling with is that ribs on the left side of my chest hurt quite a bit, so much so that I can't breathe in all the way and find myself getting breathless while talking. It also is difficult to lay on that side in bed. I do have fibromyalgia so my overall pain tolerance is low, which could be influencing it. I've been taking my pain meds religiously which is helping keep it controlled. Sounds like everyone else is doing pretty well... I'm still sort of shocked at myself for actually going through with this. Go us!

I also didn't do any kind of a pre-op diet, I could eat up until 8 hours before surgery. My surgeon told me I didn't need to take the magnesium citrate that the surgical service automatically prescribed, which thrilled the heck out of me! When the surgery was approved my surgeon sent me a very sternly worded letter, stating that if i had any weight gain between then and the surgical day, the procedure would be delayed. Since I had to get through Thanksgiving I tried to be a very good girl, and ate lightly the last few days before the procedure (Cereal & milk, Protein bars, etc). I was told later that my liver did look like it had some evidence of Fatty Liver Disease and he took a biopsy while he was doing the surgery to rule out anything else. Losing weight is the best treatment for FLD, he said. I haven't gotten any more phone calls from the hospital so I'm assuming all is well. I'm kind of glad that I didn't have to do a pre-op diet because I think those that did seem to be getting sick of liquids and Protein shakes pretty quickly, and might be tempted to advance their diet too fast. I actually like the way my Protein shake tastes. :tongue2:

I asked the dietician that in the hospital because I thought it sounded odd too. In fact, the nutritional booklet that they gave all the bariatric patients had meal plans for both 3 and 6 meals a day. Here was her logic, and after she explained it to me it made sense: since you have to stop drinking 30 minutes before and after each meal and since it should take about 30 minutes to eat a meal, that means you have 90 minutes x number of meals every day that you can't be drinking fluids. For 3 meals a day that's 4 hours off, for 6 meals that's 9. Considering a lot of us have trouble staying hydrated in the beginning I think it's a reasonable concern. One of the things they pushed hard on during our healthy eating class was breaking the "snack mentality", and there is concern about eating small amounts multiple times a day leading to all-day grazing and never really feeling full. That being said, the dietician did mention that some of her patients come back after a month or so and complain that they feel hungry all the time, in which case she suggests they add in an additional fourth meal, but just keep track of everything. I don't know much about the research relating to metabolism -- I know mine is low due to a lifetime of no exercise -- but I've heard that muscle building can help raise it as well, since it takes more calories to maintain a pound of muscle than a pound of adipose tissue. Until I get my asthma under control enough to do cardio I plan to do some light weightlifting to help with muscle toning.

Uh oh... not good news for me. I already have extremely dry, flaky skin (especially on my face from rosacea) and I was just sleeved 4 days ago. All these factors, along with heading into Minnesota winter, spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E. I'm getting itchy just thinking about it... if anyone has suggestions I'd be grateful...

If you like dance/club music, there's a podcast called Podrunner that's been around for years -- they have free mixes put together by a DJ and they are timed to a specific BPM: http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html They are MP3 files so any audio player can play them. Also there's a free Podrunner app in the iTunes store.

I had my surgery on Wednesday and did not have a leak test, and they started bringing me 8 oz cartons of Lactaid FF milk as soon as my diet advanced to purees (for dinner the day after surgery).

Not crazy at all! Awhile back I went on a research bender about the vagus nerve when I noticed that I was sometimes getting this feeling of extreme nausea -- watery mouth and everything -- and then I would sneeze, and felt immediately better. Apparently the vagus nerve goes from your head all the way down to your stomach, and some branches go even further into your genitals. This nerve is separate from the normal parasympathetic system and currently there is some weight-loss research being done on the effects of blocking vagus nerve signals from the stomach. Apparently the whole sneezing-when-nauseous thing is pretty common.

Mine was just yesterday so it's fresh in my mind I was told to report at 10 AM by the automated answer service the night before. I checked in and was shown to a small waiting room with a few chairs and a TV. This is where I changed from my clothes into a gown, bagged up my personal belongings, and had the IV started. We ended up waiting in there for almost 3 hrs before an OR room opened up. About about 1 PM they came to get me with a hospital bed; I said my goodbyes to my partner and our 2-year old daughter and climbed in. They wheeled me down to a preop room -- kind of an alcove with curtains -- where the anesthesiologist talked to me a bit, had me put a hair net on, looked in my throat, and measured my neck. From there they wheeled me to the OR -- very bright and busy and cold. Lots of people rushing around, all of them trying to do something to me at once. They strapped down my IV arm and put compression pump cuffs on my calfs. Several people introduced themselves to me as being various team members, but I didn't catch their names or what they did. They were all women, I did notice. They asked me to verify my name, birthday, and the procedure I was having done. Finally they put an oxygen mask over my face and injected some relaxing medicine. It burned a little bit when it was going in but it passed quickly. The woman holding the mask asked me to pick a happy memory and I panicked for a minute because I couldn't think of a good one and I wanted it to be the best (I'm a bit of a perfectionist). I did settle on one quickly and felt myself drifting off to sleep... I woke up in the recovery area, and immediately started complaining because I had two of the WORST charley horses in my calves that I've ever had! The pumping cuffs were hurting because they were squeezing right on them so I kind of kicked my legs a little and dislodged them, rotating them a bit so they weren't right on the sore stops. They asked if I was in pain from the procedure and I nodded -- they gave me a couple rounds of pain medicine and it helped a bit. I spent maybe an hour or two in this area. I drifted in a out, dozing, and I was glad to get out because there was a woman next to me crying and begging people to help her. It was distressing to hear. The caregivers were trying to calm her down but it didn't seem to be working. They wheeled me to my hospital room from here. I'd asked for and gotten a private room, which are so worth it. I was hooked up to the IV in my left forearm (saline & pain meds) and had a backup IV in my right hand, which annoyed me because I'd specifically asked for it to be installed in my left (I didn't know they like to have two IVs for surgeries). I had a catheter in and the leg cuffs on. They gave me a PCA button (patient-controlled analgesia) which I could hit every 10 minutes. I got to my room about 6 and my partner came to visit about 7:30. They didn't want me drinking anything yet; they gave me a cup of Water with a little sponge on a stick that I was supposed to swab my mouth out with. My mouth was really dry. I'd brought some lemonade-raspberry flavored chapstick which I used a lot. I drifted in and out of sleep the whole night. They woke me up every hour to take my blood pressure, check lungs, incisions, etc. so I didn't sleep much at any one time. Each time I hit the PCA button I dozed off again. Around midnight I started getting a headache and stiff neck and upper back; I complained to my nurse, and she brought me my neurontin and savella (for my fibromyalgia) in pill form to take. I usually get nauseated when I take the savella on an empty stomach so they also gave me an antiemetic. Once I had my usual meds on board I felt a lot better and watched a movie around 2 AM. Dosed off again and was awoken at 3:30 AM for a blood draw (which annoyed the hell out of me). They couldn't find a vein which made it worse. Dozed again for awhile and by 7 AM they started bringing me cups of various liquids to drink; first cherry koolade and lemonade, then a few hours later a cup of this bitter clear liquid that was supposed to "wake up my intestines". For "lunch" I got a mug of beef broth (which was tasty and salty and made my sore throat feel better) and lemon Jello and some more cherry koolade. They brought a stack of 1 oz measuring cups and I was supposed to drink at least 2 cups worth of liquid every hour. The first few times I swallowed liquid I was confused because I was getting this weird heartburn feeling, except it was in my back. I figured out it was what I was drinking, so I tried taking smaller sips, which worked better. I've been drinking pretty consistently for about 4 hours now and if I forget and take too big a gulp I still get that feeling, but it's better now. So far I've been able to walk the halls and go to the bathroom on my own, and finished all the liquids they brought me. Iced water has been bothering me more than room temp or warm water. They told me I can advance to purees tonight and will be able to shower and go home tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Hello everyone, I've been lurking on this board for months while I've gone through the approval process but somehow I forgot to introduce myself in this area. I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow, Nov 30, at Mayo Clinic. In two hours I can call and find out what time to check in. I'm feeling a little nervous but firm in my decision to go through with this -- my partner asked me tonight if I still wanted to do it, and said she wouldn't think less of me if I cancelled even at this point -- I appreciate the sentiment but I'm pretty positive this is the right decision for me and my situation. @dying2Bhealthy: You posted a GREAT list awhile back about all the things you were looking forward to after surgery. I could relate to every single one, but I especially liked the one about how none of your photos are of you. Its amazing the things we miss out on in life because of our weight -- I'm taking about the stuff that doesn't easily come to mind, like nice clothes. I've made several lists myself for past failed weight loss attempts and they just keep getting longer. I'm trying hard to not get my hopes up too much about this one... I've tried so many times in the past and diets, habits, systems, programs, Ways Of Eating (WOEs), whatever they are called... nothing has ever worked. This is the first glimmer of real hope I've had in years. You are all so wonderfully supportive, I'm glad that I've found you all. Good luck to everyone!

Hi HD, my date is November 30th too. I guess this is my official de-lurking post I've been working through this process since April of 2010 -- medical, dietician, psych & more medical visits & evals, a 12-week healthy eating class, and finally approved by insurance. Can't believe it's finally a go. I was afraid of the surgery ending up right around the holidays and lo and behold that's exactly what happened... but I guess that's how it's meant to be. I'm feeling all the same feelings that you are! UX