Bubbaloo10

Good for you....go for it. The treadmill will get your cardio going and that will equal more weight loss. The nice thing about the treadmill is that you can measure your speed and endurance. Don't push yourself to the point of exhaustion, but every few days, try to increase either your speed by .1 mph OR increase your time by five minutes or more. You'll be doing more than you thought you could in just a few weeks. Try not to miss out on resistance training, either by pumping light weights or working with exercise bands. I'll admit to being lax on that but I keep trying.

I left the hospital the day after surgery and went out for a walk around the block that evening. Slow, to be sure, but made it all the way and felt I could have done more. The next day, I went to the exercise room and began my treadmill routine. 20 minutes at 2 mph at first, then 30 at 2, etc, until I got up to 60 minutes at 2, then 30 minutes at 3, 40 minutes at 3 and again up till 60 minutes. After that, I increased speed every so often when I felt I was ready. Now, 10 weeks after surgery, I am up to 4 miles at 3.5 mph, which takes me about an hour and 9 minutes. I haven't had a stall yet and I'm down 59 lbs. Ya gotta exercise. It's kinda like banging your head up against the wall cause you feel so good when you stop.

I had, and still have occasionally that feeling you describe. It does get better with time (I'm 9 wks out and it's getting better). I have found that when I take Omeprazol (Prilosec) I don't get as much problems as without. I never had acid reflux or acid problems of any kind, but the Omeprazol seems to ease that feeling.

This is no problem at all for me because I don't mind telling anyone and everyone about this miracle surgery I just had. My wife and I usually share a meal and even then, we sometimes wind up taking some if it home with us. When I order something small for myself and don't eat more than 3 ounces, I am sure to tell the wait staff that it was very good but I can only eat 3 or 4 ounces at a time.

At only two days out, you don't need to worry too much about getting your protein. Yes it is important, but hydration is more important. Keeping drinking water. As for the pain, if your doctor prescribed a pain med, be sure to take it, especially if it is in liquid form. My doctor gave me liquid Lortab and it was great. Being liquid it went straight to the source of the discomfort and stopped the pain right a way. I only had to use it for about 3 nights and not at all in the daytime. It does get better. Just give yourself a little more time and get the protein when you can.

Ah yes, Obesity, the death that keep on killing.......

Before surgery, I would sweat like a pig a the drop of a hat. People would often ask me if I was feeling OK. I was always fighting the thermostat wars with my wife. Now, at 7 weeks post op, the only time I sweat is when I go to the gym and even then, not nearly as heavy as pre-op. This is a NSV you can look forward to.

The biggest part of her comments is jealousy. The rest may be genuine concern for your wellbeing. Point her to this website and let he read the success stories. Of course there are also stories about complications, but they are far outnumbered by success stories. Maybe she'll feel better about it.

I'm also on My Fitness Pal and i highly recommend it. You can track your food, exercise and water intake every day. They have a database that includes almost any food you can think of and, if it's not in the database, you can enter it yourself and it will be there for others. Try it!

Keep this in mind....it's hard to have a stomach the size of a footbal and have nothing but shakes and/or 3 oz meals and convince yourself that you're not starving to death. The sleeve makes it much easier to do what you need to do to drop the weight.

I'm at 7 weeks out and I eat about 700-900 calories but I work off 400+ with exercise (treadmill). I make sure to get at least 70 grams of protein a day and drink at least 64 ounces of water. So far, it's working well. I'm about to cross over 50 lbs lost, hopefully tomorrow. Rebecca, you're doing great!

I was sleeved 4/16 and I'm pretty much on par with you. Getting 2 oz of meat down is a real struggle, but I can eat up to 6 oz of mac and cheese or any other soft food. I know some are staying away from pasta, and I do it only once a week, but it does make a very satisfying meal without feeling that awful lump at the top of my sleeve. I'm gettin my 70 grams of protein every day and staying under 1000 calories without too much trouble.

Mexican food was always my weakness, so as soon as I hit the mushy stage I tried refried beans with a little pico de gallo mixed in. Great!! Then when I hit the soft food stage I had half of a cheese enchilada. It was very good, but I filled up very quickly and did not crave it after that. Then I went on to a soft taco....a real treat, since I had been craving the lettuce. I stay away from chips though. Too harsh on the sleeve.

You don't really want to take 30 minutes to eat, but when you don't, you will experience pain at the top of your sleeve, just below the sternum. Believe me, when you experience that pain, you will slow down. It morphs from an unwanted discipline to a choice.

The docs took almost as much time to intubate me as for the surgery itself. Apparently I was a tough subject. I woke up with the usual sore throat, but was hoarse as hell for 2 days.

I was having a mild version of the same problem. Assuming you are eating very slow and not eating too much, try a PPI such as Prilosec (Omeprazole). My doctor wrote a prescription for a 90 day supply before my surgery, and I didn't think I needed them, but they definitely helped when I started to take them just on a hunch.

Is it possible to arrange the pictures in my gallery in chronological order? For example, I uploaded some AFTER photos last night and to my dismay, they placed themselves right in the middle of my pre-op photos. Is there any way to re-arrange them or must I create a separate album?

Lortab may taste nasty, but not as nasty as the dye they make you drink for the leak test. The good thing about Lortab is that when you have stomach pain post surgery, it goes straight to the source of the pain and you are feeling good again almost instantly. If you have to, down the Lortab, then wash it down with something more palatable. Good luck......

When I saw my surgeon for my pre-op appointment, he gave me (among other things) a prescription for Omeprazole (Prilosec). After surgery, I didn't think I was having any problems with acid reflux and I couldn't understand why he prescribed 180 capsules for me. At the rate of 2 per day, that's 90 day's supply! When I started to move into mushies, and later to soft foods, I experienced mild discomfort, the kind you get when you're testing the limits of the sleeve. I usually stopped eating before that discomfort turned to real pain. A few days ago, I started feeling like I was getting slight discomfort between meals from acid, so I began to take the Omeprazole, 1 at morning and 1 at night. Surprise! I no longer get that discomfort when I eat and I'm much more comfortable after a meal. This doesn't mean I can eat whatever I want as fast as I want, but it took the tentative feeling out of eating that I was feeling before. So, if my story sounds like yours and you have Omeprazole, you might want to try it, even if you think you don't need it.

Most of us have had some kind of waiting game, some longer than others. Sometimes I think that's why they call us patients. Best advice, be patient....it'll happen. Good luck.

Documentation is the key. If the documentation was not submitted by your coordinator prior to submittal this is her fault, not yours. I would think you have more than enough history to warrant the surgery. Get back to your coordinator, get her to pile up the documentation and drop it on them...you're sure to be approved...Good luck

You will have some hoops to jump through, as most of us did. There will be medical tests, insurance documentation, psych eval and othere challenges, but the biggest one will be the pre-op diet. Some of these run 2 weeks, others up to 6 months. The two week pre-op diet is usually an all liquid diet, though some are allowed one sparse meal of real food per day, depending on doctor's orders. The object of the pre-op diet is to shrink you liver so the doctor can get at your stomach without nicking it. It's tough, but not impossible. Most of us had the same doubts, but got through it. The first few days are the worst, then it smoothes out. We all faced challenges during our pre-op diets like birthday parties, holiday feasts, etc, but if you make it through (and you will) you will have demonstrated that level of commitment. After surgery, you can look forward to about 6 weeks of liquids, then mushies, then real food. Here's the neat thing though.....you probably won't be hungry, and you will find that many of the things that led to your weight gain over the years you won't be so attracted to. Couple that with the fact that initially your stomach will only hold about 3 ounces, you will feel full very quickly when you eat. Good luck, and I assure you that you won't regret this decision. We're all here pulling for you. Use this site as a support resource and post whenever you have question.

I think you should lay this at the feet of your bariatric surgeon's insurance person. Most bariatric practices have a person (usually a lady) who is well versed in what it takes to get approved. They talk to insurance companies all the time as part of their job. After all, the doctor's success at getting patients is primarily up to this person. They need your insurance money more than they need you, so let them find out the criteria. Then, if they're worth their pay, they will do everything they can to get you cleared. Don't stress over this...it's just another hoop you have to jump through. Good luck.

The only thing I can think of is to warn him that hormone changes post surgery may cause you to get a little crabby. I had read enough on this forum to know it was coming and I warned my wife, so she wasn't too upset when I bit her head off a time or two. Happens for men and women too.

I'm only a week behind you and I am looking forward with some trepidation to trying meats. I do know that eveyone is different and some will handle it bette'r than others. Remember, you are being released to eat full foods AS TOLERATED. What you don't tolerate at 6 weeks may be tolerated at 8 or 10. Keep trying, and don't beat yourself up if you can't handle a food by a certain time. Your sleeve will tell you when it's ready.