Mews

My doc gave me the clearance once I was off the meds completely.

How long before driving? As soon as I was off the pain meds I was allowed to drive. However, I felt very foggy the first few weeks of surgery so my husband drove me everywhere. How long before being able to swim in a pool or a lake or the ocean? Six weeks is what my surgeon required. Same for a bath where I would submerge myself. Supposedly as the incision is still soft it is prone to infection. What are the lifting restrictions and for how long? Nothing heavier than 20 lbs for the first six weeks. He said that this was to prevent a hernia from erupting at the incision site. Any others? Besides the food restrictions, nothing that I can think of.

I wouldn't worry about veggies for a while. I can only eat soft cooked ones right now at seven weeks out. Raw ones will take a little while longer. And yes, your taste buds do change. Ironically I can no longer tolerate any sugar substitutes (e.g., Splenda, NutraSweet, etc). I know I don't tolerate fried foods very well both in taste and in digestion.

My big one right above my belly button is hard as well. As long as it's not red and hot to the touch (signs of infection), you should be fine.

Think of it this way: what would your life span be if you didn't have the surgery? Considering that most of us here are either quite obese or morbidly obese our chances of living a long life are very slim. At least this surgery will help us get that long life. Also, from what I have read, and what Lissa had mentioned, is that other people have had this surgery for things like cancer and ulcers and have lived a very long life. Things to keep in mind.

More solid Proteins are more difficult to go down. I know with cold cuts I can only eat about two pieces before I feel very full. In terms of being full, I'm having a hard time figuring out when I actually am full. The only way I know is when I'm hit with a sudden wave of nausea and by then it's too late. I'm trying to undereat my sleeve but it has been difficult finding that "sweet spot" where I am full enough that I won't be hungry in an hour but not too full.

When in doubt, call your doc. They usually have someone on call to answer your questions. It's better to be safe than sorry IMHO.

I was able to take all my meds in pill form within a few days after surgery. My doc's only restriction was that the pills be no larger than an M&M. As for taking them, one at a time with a small sip of Water. It takes a while as I'm on quite a few meds. Now that I'm 7 weeks out I can take the small ones in one handful and just leave the smaller ones to one at a time. I would recommend talking to your surgeon about this.

Just an FYI, your tastes will change post-op so what tastes good now may not after surgery. This happened to me and I'm glad I didn't invest in a ton of Protein drinks beforehand.

I have chronic insomnia so I've been taking Ambien for many years. I also have sleep apnea and have been able to take it without any issues. In the two weeks right after surgery I had some wicked insomnia that Ambien couldn't even help. When I asked my doc he said that my body was dealing with major surgery and extreme diet changes and that could lead to insomnia. Thankfully it passes after two weeks.

It took me about a month to lose the weakness. I'm still suffering from fatigue but I'm more or less functional now.

I agree with you on that plus the fact that low fat products tend to replace all the fat with junk and usually more sugar. Also, I've stopped doing SF products. In my situation, I've had serious energy issues so the little bit of sugar helps. Plus, for some strange reason since surgery I cannot stand any artificial sweeteners. They all just taste wrong to me.

It seems that depression is very common post-op. If your symptoms last longer than what you are comfortable with have a talk with your doc. For me I was suffering from chronic depression pre-op so I was already on meds but even I started gaining symptoms post-op. I know it's rough but hang in there as it should pass.

I know that this is the men's room but I just wanted to chime in because I've noticed a difference too. Pre-op I would regularly go four or five times a day. Now eight weeks out I rarely go more than twice. I'm drinking the recommended amount of fluids and I don't eat much of anything with salt in it. I just think it's one of those weird side effects of surgery.

Technically due to HIIPA laws you don't have to tell your boss anything other than you're having surgery. If he wants more info then say its personal and you don't feel comfortable discussing it. I had to do that with my boss as he can be rather nasty. As for telling people, I pretty much told anybody I was close to about the surgery. Only my father-in-law was concerned because he remembered the days when the bypass first came about and was very risky. Still, he was supportive after I explained that this surgery was much safer than the old time bypass.

I'm a professor and went back to work after 10 days. I really should have taken a month. Most people need 2-3 weeks but as Lauranbob said, it all depends on your job. Just be forewarned, if you go back early you will be very fatigued. This is why I wanted a month off.

I agree with what everybody has said. Remember that your body went through some major trauma and is dealing with it by sleeping. Basically, your body is putting you to sleep so it can spend its energy repairing all of the damaged tissue. It will take a while for you to get back to normal but don't overdo yourself. I went back to work early and found myself crashing in bed the minute I got home from work. I didn't even have enough energy to make myself dinner. Eventually you will become more active and then you'll regain your strength. In the meantime let your body do what it has to.

I've lost 21 pounds in six weeks myself. Maybe we're just slow losers. It can be frustrating but the way I look at it, I'm losing weight that I wouldn't have lost on my own.

At six weeks out I have no problems with bread. However, it goes down easier as toast. I just keep my servings of bread to a minimum.

I'm not on any birth control methods and I've gotten my period three times in the past six weeks. I used to be very regular before the surgery.

My mother-in-law was on Topomax for bipolar disorder and she did end up losing quite a bit of weight but she was a zombie when she was on it. I'm really surprised the doc gave it to you. As you mentioned, it really does have some nasty side effects. I hate seeing docs pushing meds for weight loss. There is no miracle pill out there and a big part of our problem is that we need to learn to eat correctly. pills can't do that.

No problems here with straws. Everybody reacts differently to them. If they are not giving you problems with gas or pain then you should be ok.

When I first went to my surgeon's info session I thought I was going to get a lapband. Gastric bypass seemed a little too radical for me and I hadn't heard of the sleeve yet but it piqued my interest. A friend of mine has the band and she's miserable with it. She is literally becoming bullemic because of it. That turned me off to the band so I started doing research on the sleeve. It seemed relatively safe and my insurance would pay for most of it so here I am.

Do your knees feel loose? Have you lost a lot of weight already? My orthopedic warned me that if you gain a lot of weight the soft tissue in your joints like the ligaments tend to stretch. It's equivilant to how our skin stretches as well. Anyways when you lose a lot of weight you might get a looseness type of feeling in your knees because the soft tissue had all been stretched out. The soft tissue can be tightened with surgery. It's best for you to see a good ortho to rule out problems like these.