Mab

Last night I started getting uncomfortable, like really uncomfortable after I "ate" some tomato Soup. By bedtime, the discomfort had turned into pain. The pain is in the middle of my chest and comes in waves - like contractions. I finally got to sleep and when I woke up I was uncomfortable again. Fast forward to lunch - I was trying to eat my mushed up chicken and my laughing cow cheese, but every time I swallowed I was hit with that pain in the center of my chest. I gave up eating and the spasms continued on for a couple hours. I should add that drinking Water does not cause me pain. The same damn thing happened when I tried to eat dinner. What gives? The pain radiates down my arms, up my neck, to my face and even my ears! For reference: Surgery - 4/10 (with hiatal hernia repair) Medications - Levsin 2 every four hours Protonix 2x's a day GasX strips as needed Should I go back to full liquids for a bit?

Thanks to this board, I knew that I was going to gain weight in the hospital, but I was still shocked at how much. It came off pretty fast, though. I think you're doing a great job! Don't get discouraged and try to give yourself a break from the scale (I know, I know, easier said than done).

Your doctor only wants you drinking a cup of water a day? I'm supposed to drink 48-64 oz. a day.

Dehydration sucks. I got dehydrated after coming home from the hospital. It not only messes with you physically, but mentally as well. I was weak, nauseous, and really depressed. As soon as I got fluids in me I felt better immediately. Keep your Water bottle, cup, whatever IN YOUR HAND. Let it be an extension of your hand. I found a flavored drink mix that I absolutely LOVE and it has helped tremendously. Ocean Spray White Cran-Peach. So good. And popsicles. Remember all liquids count.

This is exactly my experience. Now I'm almost out of Lortab and I don't want my doctor to think I'm a junkie by asking for more.

And stock up on SF popsicles. When I have a bout of head hunger now, I grab one and suck the heck out of it. It has really helped me. My favorites are the Popsicle brand (yellow box) tropical. I like the orange and the pineapple and let my husband have the fruit punch. Blech.

What you're feeling may not be hunger at all - it could be acid rolling around in your new tummy. I asked my doctor why my stomach was growling and he asked me why I thought it was growling. I told him because it's making noises and I can feel it. He said that stomach's do that. I think that several of us are on PPI's post surgery, ask your doctor if that's a possibility for you. This surgery has changed everything that I thought I knew about hunger. I only trust my tummy to tell me when it's had enough because differentiating between actual hunger and head hunger - not to mention my perception of actual hunger - is really difficult. Basically I eat 3 times a day and that's it.

Talk to your doctor, he may be able to prescribe something stronger. I'm taking Protonix although I'm now beginning to doubt its effectiveness because I went to bed with heartburn and woke up with it, too. Hope you feel better soon.

I used to drink up to 8 diet cokes a day. I was told I had to stop before surgery, so I did. Enter Hell Week. Migraines every. damn. day. But it passed. I'm not touching that stuff again. (No matter how much I want to.) According to a youtube video by Dr. Alvarez the soda will not stretch your sleeve.

I have an incision right between my boobs. I've only worn my bra once and when I did, I put a piece of gauze between my bra and the incision. I was perfectly comfortable. However, getting it on wasn't. I put my bra on like the above poster and that twinged a bit.

Yep he'll fix it. I didn't know I had one until I woke up from surgery and my husband told me. Sure helps to explain why I was having such horrible heartburn the past year! Just an FYI, a few of us have experienced a little extra discomfort from the repair - it has to do with something being tightened during the fix. For instance, I was and still am not really able to burp, which can be uncomfortable and frustrating, but I think it's only temporary. Thank goodness we have another place gas can escape!!! I'm going to be a real pleasure to be around when I return to work next week!

You look at least 10 years younger. Congratulations, gorgeous!

I was sleeved on the 10th. I bent over for the first time today and was "rewarded" with a vicious cramp in my belly. My back constantly aches - in fact I'm taking pain medication for that rather than abdominal pain. I also had a hernia repair so my esophageal sphincter is pretty tight - can't burp so I feel like I have a rock on my chest. I was also having some awful heartburn, but my surgeon prescribed some Protonix and it's really helped that. I think we all heal at different rates so lots of things are normal to feel right now. But we won't always feel this way.

I'm not eating anything I'm not supposed to. My surgery was 4/10 it has been 8 days since then. My post-op appointment was today and I was cleared for soft protein. Eggs are on my list - boiled eggs to be specific. Now I'm not denying that *i* might not be ready for that, but I would rather it not be insinuated that I'm doing something I'm not supposed to. Perhaps my body isn't ready for the transition, but I am following the post-op plan set forth by my surgeon.

Not gonna lie, I cheated every day of my full liquid pre-op diet AND go cold turkey on caffeine (8 diet coke a day girl). I'm not advocating that anyone cheat, but I couldn't do full liquids. When I went for my pre-op appt, the doctor couldn't even feel my liver - he said that meant it was where it was supposed to be and not enlarged. For the record, I cheated with eggs. I had scrambled eggs every night for dinner - it was the only thing that got me through that week. However, I did not cheat on the clear liquid diet before and after surgery, nor did I cheat on my post op full liquid diet. And I haven't had a diet coke since March 27th.

I'm going to show off my scars. Gonna say I was in a knife fight.

So today I started on soft Protein. About an hour ago I had the most delicious, delightful, wonderful, amazing deviled egg. I got super duper full after eating it and now I'm nauseous. WTF Sleeve? Please tell me this is normal at 1 week post op. Please don't tell me that delicious, delightful, wonderful, amazing deviled egg did it. ALSO I am down a total of 17 lbs! 5 pre-op and 12 post-op.

Hell, I gained 7 lbs in the hospital. Luckily, thanks to this board, I was prepared for it. But considering I only lost 5lbs pre-surgery, I had to make up for quite a bit. Have you been able to poop? Are you peeing lots and is it clear or is it yellow? I never thought that I would ever pay this much attention to my pee - my husband, too. LOL Don't get down on yourself. Some crazy weird sh*t is going on in your body right now.

Btw, I am so sorry this happened to you! What an awful thing to happen on top of having the stress of surgery. I hope you're on the mend now.

There's no pus - no leaking of any kind. It's just tender to the touch and pink around the edges. It's pretty darn dry and just has crusty blood in it. As a matter of fact, there was very, very little blood on the bandage when we first removed it. I just don't like having a frickin' hole in my side. CREEPY. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday - if anything super red or anything at all starts leaking out of it, I am going to FLY to the ER. However, I tend to overreact so I just wanted to see what you guys said. Meanwhile, my husband, the clown, is coming up with suggestions as to what we can use the hole for - holding pencils, my medicine, Snacks??? That's just gross. LOL

I had a drain for a day after my surgery on 4/10. They bandaged it up before I left and my doctor told me to remove the bandage and let it breathe yesterday. Today it's a little tender and a teeny bit red/pink around the edges. Is this okay? I am so creeped out by this black hole in my side and so worried that it's going to start leaking green stuff, or a bug is going to crawl in - IDK, I am just thinking the worst.

Perhaps your coffee today was hotter than yesterdays? I've heard that some of the Protein powders don't mix well with hot things.

I was sleeved on 4/11. I knew there would be gas pains, but OMG I HAD NO IDEA IT WOULD BE LIKE THIS. I am taking Levsin and using Gas X strips. I am walking like crazy, too. Any idea how much longer I'll feel like this? Any tips? Also, it hurts when I drink. Are my sips too big or is something wrong? Oh! This is probably pretty common, but my doc found a hiatal hernia and repaired it. I guess that explains my last year of heartburn issues.

My hospital stay is $37000 and of that I had to pay (up front) 10%. That doesn't include my surgeon and anesthesiologist. I'm to be sleeved on 4/10 and I expect to be treated like a GODDESS for that amount of money. We're talking massage, mani/pedi, around-the-clock back scratching... Your surgery bills are the last thing I would worry about if I were you (unless they need to be paid up front). Once you get billed, make payment arrangements. They're usually pretty nice about it as long as you pay according to your payment schedule.

I would gather 3-5 years of physician progress notes (specifically the information that the nurse records prior to seeing the doctor). My assumption is that they want to make sure that obesity has been an ongoing issue and not something that happened within a short period of time. While my insurance did not require a diet, they did require documentation indicating that I have been obese for at least 5 years.