ChaoticBliss

I second that. Work, home, and 5 kids just makes it so hard to make "more' time. I know I have to as well and just haven't figured it out yet.

Okay so I am 3 weeks out (almost). I went back to work 5 days after surgery (desk job). I have cooked my family dinner every night since day 3 and we have eaten as a family. No one knows about my surgery except my husband. My kids just think I was sick for a few days and then went on a 3 week cleanse right after. They have noticed I am not eating much at one time but they haven't thought much about it. My husband helped me grocery shop the first two weeks. I went alone today. I am averaging 6k to 10k on my fitbit without added exercise. On the long days my incisions do get a little sore. I can't wait for purée I have been on liquid almost 3 weeks now. I really don't feel hungry, just kind of dispassionate if that makes sense. Sometimes I do feel an empty feeling that's usually when I am short on Protein for the day. I have lost 20 pounds and already feel a thousand times better. The first 24 hours were rough, I slept mostly the next 48 hours. I do get tired by the evening, but other than that I have been great. I don't regret any of it. I am working on some behavioral therapy to help this tool really work for the long run and make permanent changes. I was self pay and had no insurance so I am so eternally grateful to be complication free thus far.

Thank goodness you are dong better now. It sounds like you had a great team and they took good care of you.

Thanks proudgrammy for the advice. I had my 3 week follow up today and I was told to start walking a mile a day with weights. Integrating exercise will definitely be my challenge. I already feel like I am going every minute of the day. But I gotta figure it out. Thank you for the well wishes.

Going back to work wasn't difficult for me. The hardest thing for me was my bra. I wear a 38G rather ill fitting right now because they are kind of small. The wire sat on my incisions and it was very uncomfortable. I was tired by the evening but overall it wasn't difficult. Just make sure you have a comfy ( not tight) waist band too.

Ugh I am so sorry. Feel better soon!

I am glad you have a friend, you do need the support. The only person who knows about my surgery is my husband. It is the right decision for me. Everyone is different. You will do great!

Amazing and inspiring!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

This was a major concern of mine. I did a ton of research and other than Blis ( which my doctor doesn't participate) I could find nothing. I found several sites offering "medical tourism" insurance but I contacted several by email and never got a response. I was not leaving the country so that might be why. I was self pay and am completely uninsured, so we ended up taking a leap of faith. I am 12 days post-op and so far so good. Very grateful. Good luck and let us know if you find anything.

I was very sensitive to vitamins pre-op but have always believed in supplements. I knew if I were going to actually take vitamins post op they would have to not upset my stomach or I would never follow through. I tried the bariatric advantage and not only was it horrible to actually chew and swallow. I got ready for work and then literally had to pause backing out of my driveway because I almost harfed. Finally I decided liquid might be best. I found a great brand for me. Wellesse. It doesn't make me sick in the least. It is kind of cumbersome because of the bottle but I figured out how to keep them at home and just add calcium chewables during the mid day. Anyway check them out it might be a solution for you.

6 days out. Went to work today and it was really crazy because I had been out for 4 days. I was up and moving more than I anticipated but I handled it okay. My main issue is my bust. I don't own a non-underwire bra because of my bust size and so the weight of them, on the wire, on one of the the incisions is my biggest problem. But as soon as I got home I remedied that! My incisions itch a little and I am a little bored with the liquid stage ( 2 weeks to go ... Ugh) but other than that I feel great. Getting my fluids and protein in. Couldn't ask for better.

Hey everyone. 5 days out and I feel great. The pain is gone all but a bruised belly. Keeping all liquids and protein down. Going out to a birthday dinner tonight. Soup is on the menu for me . Feeling really blessed right now.

So it is done. I had surgery on the 10 th and it was more difficult than I anticipated. My blood pressure skyrocketed and I was in recovery for 3.5 hours before getting moved to my room. My poor husband waiting and pacing. I had horrible nausea and dry heaves. The dry heaves were the absolute worst. You are scared that you are going to injure your staple line or you suture sites. It's miserable, and scary. I developed an agonizing headache in the night so now I had nausea and headaches. I would dry heave every time I got out of bed. I did do some walking. The next day my headache finally waned and the nausea was better controlled with phenergan (sp). The follow up test went well and I finally get the bariatric diet tray, now it's been 36 hours since I had water or even ice chips. That was extremely frustrating, I just wanted something to drink. Sipping was definitely welcome even with the bit of discomfort. I was able to walk and my stomach and incisions didn't hurt at all, just kind of tender. I.got released from the hospital around 4 pm. I did have some nausea on the way home but didn't quite dry heave. We picked up my prescriptions and went home. I went to bed. I woke around 9 pm, time to take medicine and such. One sip of water and I heaved it back into the sink. Took my mess and back to bed I went. On the way home from the hospital I began having very strong chest pains, but figured it was just gas pain. It continued through the night whether I sipped or not so I became worried. I could breathe just fine but I was beginning to worry. I was ready to go to the ER the next morning, but waited to call my doctor first. I explained to the nurses what was going on and the next thing I knew I was on the phone my surgeon directly. After explaining the pain, a tightening and then subsiding in my chest. He said that it is a known phenomenon, having to do with scraping the stomach from the diaphragm and to jus watch it and make sure I don't have shortness of breath. That made me feel a lot better. I think my anxiety was making it worse. My full day home went pretty well. I moved around some, did take some medicine to control pain and nausea but all in all I felt pretty well. Today is my second day home and I start full liquids and getting in my protein. I feel pretty well, I do still get the chest pains but my breathing exercises are still good. The nausea is all but gone (thank goodness). Everyday does get better. I am excited about the positive changes this will have in my life and so thankful for an amazing doctor and hospital staff and supportive husband, and no complications.

Good luck neck on your surgery nmck! I do believe I told myself a time or two, everyday gets better. And it does.

Thank you guys for your support and comments. This is such a great venue for learning from others experiences and every one is different.

Thank you for the heads up. I hope your incision is healing well now. i had not heard of this happening, but I am 3 days post op and know what to watch for.

July 10th here. A little anxious and happy at the same time.