Daydra

Don't go by what your primary care provider says. By all means, take it into consideration, but your PCP is not a surgeon, and particularly not a surgeon that specializes in weight loss surgery. To tell you that you have too much to lose for the sleeve is complete bs, as previously mentioned, it started out as the first stage of the duodenal switch. They did the sleeve on super obese patients that they didn't feel were healthy enough to have the full procedure at once and frequently did not have to go back to finish the second part of the surgery due to such good weight loss with the sleeve alone. Don't make a decision until you consult with a weight loss surgeon. I would highly recommend that you seek out a surgeon that does the duodenal switch in addition to the other surgeries. That way, you'll get a better breadth of information over all the surgeries. Weight loss surgery is largely about personal choice and what procedure each patient is most comfortable with. I personally have a hard time putting too much stock into a nutritionists recommendation of a particular surgery. You're best off waiting to weigh pros and cons that are particular to your situation until after you have selected a surgeon. Best of luck to you as you decide and work toward a new and healthier you!

As far as protein supplements, that leaves you with hemp and pea proteins (I haven't found either to be palatable). Good luck!

Glad I'm not the only one! The scabby rectangles around my incisions almost look worse than the incisions themselves! At least they don't itch anymore... :-)

I'm only 12 days out and I completely understand where you are at. Right now, while following the post op diet (and don't forget, this part is about healing safely, not losing weight), it's a mind over matter thing. Find something to do. Come up with some novel sugar free drinks to have between mealtimes (I bought an infusion pitcher and made my own cucumber-melon Water (much more interesting than bottled stuff or plain water). It's a full time job right now to work on getting in your fluids and Protein. Maybe go to the grocery store and hunt down some more interesting Soups that you can have for the next week or however long you're on full liquids. If you only have a few choices, you will be super bored. I also hunted down more interesting protein sources. I found a kefir that has 16g protein/8oz (cultured milk probiotic drink, basically a thin yogurt). I found it kind of fun (maybe interesting is more appropriate than "fun") to read labels and really look at the sugar and protein in various yogurts and soups and whatnot. Time spent prepping for your next stage is never wasted. Good luck and keep up the good work! You'll make it!

First off, you're an ER nurse. I doubt you are lazy, you're probably just exhausted. It's hard to make good choices when you're exhausted. How is your sleep? If you aren't getting good sleep, you might consider addressing that right away to provide a better foundation for healthy choices. Second, from what you've posted, I'm guessing that there is some underlying emotional issue that is making it harder for you to make good food choices. Your choices to advance your food stages faster than recommended appear to be self-destructive behavior. I kind of view it as driving recklessly. Most people survive, but it's an enormous risk and the consequences could be deadly. I would strongly suggest that in addition to Laura-ven's suggestions of getting in touch with your surgeon and nutritionist, that you add a therapist into the mix. Hit this with everything you've got to give yourself the best chance of success that you can. You are worth it! You can do this! ER nurses are tough Cookies, I know you can handle the challenge. Best of luck to you as you work it through.

Yeah. I'm 11 days out and they're still on and are basically coated in dried blood. I kept them covered with waterproof bandages for the first week, just to protect them, but it turns out I'm allergic to the adhesive on the bandaids I used. (I was wondering why I was so itchy...) Ugly, but as they should be, it sounds.

It's pretty normal with the loss of large amounts of weight. It happened to me when I lost 115 from 09-11. All of a sudden, I was perfectly happy in long sleeve shirts and hoodies when before, I would have a fan on at my desk all the time.

Congratulations! Dang! I never thought of the cheek biting thing as an issue with weight. Another thing to look forward to! WooHoo!

Thank you for the update. I just had mine done at NWWLS in Everett. I'm 11 days out. I was discharged within 18 hours of surgery, no complications, very little discomfort, no nausea or vomiting. It's been super easy. I ended up paying out of pocket because my primary covers everything BUT sleeve and I was told that Tricare wouldn't cover it. I probably should have taken more time to research, but oh well. I didn't have to do the supervised diet and wait. Plus, I really didn't want to go to Madigan. About 8 years ago or so, I started the process of getting bypass done and I was really uncomfortable with the surgeon (treated me like I was looking for a magic pill) and I really haven't had good experiences at MTFs in general (Navy Hospital Bremerton and Branch Bangor), so I don't have a lot of trust in MTFs in general. (It's literally gotten to the point that I burst into tears during appointments if I'm in an MTF.) My primary insurance is covering some things that are related, we're just not sure yet of everything they will cover, billing is still in process. I took a loan to front the costs and I have a Health Reimbursement Arrangement through work that I had over $20k in, so I expect all my out of pocket costs will be reimbursed. I hope that you have recovered nicely, and I wish you success! Looks like you are well on your way! Congratulations!

Greetings All, It appears that I have made the fatal error of deciding on this procedure before realizing that it isn't as easy to get covered. Both my Primary Health Insurance and Tricare cover bariatric surgery, but from what I'm reading, only RNY and LapBand, not VSG. I have read that there is some discussion that Tricare may cover in the near future with the advent of coverage by Medicare, but I don't want to wait for a decision on some unknown timeframe. So, my question is this: Have any of you heard of getting authorization on VSG either through Tricare or another insurance carrier through some type of waiver process? I don't want to be funneled into a band, but I am unlikely to choose to pay out of pocket if the band is covered. Thanks for any information or advice you can provide... dd

You might try sitting in a crouched position, like sit on a chair with your feet on a small stool. Supposedly, that's the (natural, historic, whatever) position to poop. When I'm slow going in the morning, I'll usually sit on the edge of my bed with my feet on the rails and check my email or something. It often works. Aside from that, you might try a second dose of MoM. I have found that to be EXTREMELY effective, but sometimes takes more than the initial dose. Don't get too far from the bathroom, you've got a lot of things going on right now... Good luck!

I'm only about 10 days out. I am not liking the sound of this... Ah, well, such is life. I have PCOS, so this shouldn't be new to me, only that my symptoms were usually the absence of the period...

I've been boycotting GNC since 2009. I started training for triathlon with a group of women in my area. I weighed about 315 at the time. I wanted sports supplements that were appropriate and would help combat some of the extra difficulties I would experience being so overweight (help with energy, endurance, recovery, you know the drill). I hadn't learned very much about sports nutrition yet and was hoping for information and direction. They tried to push their vitamin multipacks on me. I was pissed. I walked next door to a locally owned shop and got about a 20 minute discussion with the owners son, complete with information and suggestions. I decided I was simply not going back to a mega chain for this kind of thing. Now, like Gmanbat, I mostly do my own research and buy online or go straight to the local store and look for the product there.

Congratulations! Great work! I have to laugh at myself, though. The first thing I noticed was that you were all wearing the same shoes in both pictures! I guess that makes me a girl, huh? But seriously, enjoy your success! You have earned it!

Thank you for sharing! It is truly a great help to those of us that expect to have reconstructive plastics in the future. I am really glad that you have had a great experience so far and hope that your recovery continues to go well! Best of luck and congratulations!

Really, as soon as you are off narcotics, you'll be fine. I came off mine on day 3 and felt well enough to have easily driven somewhere (although, I wouldn't have wanted to take a long roadtrip, but a run to the grocery store was fine).

Yes, definitely check with your surgeon. There are 3 responses and 3 different answers already!!! Mine said all my meds would be fine and said taking them one at a time with a sip of something warm would make it the easiest to take them. The first day, it took me an hour of sipping and pacing to get them all down. by day 7 I was able to take them all at once with a sip of protein shake.

Congratulations on your NSV!!! liquids definitely get old really fast, but keep reminding yourself, they are about safety, not so much weight loss (just an added bene!). Pre-op, to reduce fatty liver to make the surgery safer and post-op to protect your healing staple line from leaks. Keep up the good work!!!

Hang in there, you didn't fail. Sounds like it could be a stall. Just keep working on meeting your requirements, and the loss will come. There is lots of advice on this forum regarding stalls, and you're right in the window where one of the big ones usually hits. Whatever you do, don't get discouraged and start making bad choices, this is only temporary. Your body just needs a break to reset itself for continued loss.

Congratulations! Great work! No stopping you!

Best advice is to hang in there... Every day will get a little better. Keep trying to get as close to surgeon recommendations as possible every day. For me, the difference between day 3 and day 5 was like a whole new world. Hang in there! Keep up the good work!

Mine was one week of not complete liquids. 870 cal/day. 3-4 protein shakes during the day and a Healthy Choice or similar tv dinner at night. First 3 days felt like torture, but after that, it wasn't a problem.

Aside from complications, you should be just fine. You're fairly low bmi, so I assume reasonably healthy (ass-u-me, I know). If I had to, and could have guaranteed staying in the office, and not having to go out into the field, I could have easily gone back to work on day 5 or 6, with the only difficulty being making sure I got my liquids and protein in appropriately and I would have been in bed within about an hour of getting home.

Ha! I just assumed this happened to everyone! One more thing to look forward to! Congrats! Keep up the good work!