Daydra

I would say that while the new and exciting part of losing weight so quickly at first felt like it "solved" the depression you felt pre-op, it just masked it for a short time. I think that likely happens to most people that suffer from some type of depression that come to the decision to have weight loss surgery. I was advised not to stop taking my antidepressant, regardless of if I felt like I didn't need it anymore, until after I had reached maintenance. There are so many emotional issues tied up in our lives and in being overweight, that we can't expect the success of surgery to solve it all. I would encourage you to consider discussing your feelings with your doctor or finding a therapist, going back on meds if you have stopped, or maybe you should consider starting one if you are unable to get a handle on your feelings through therapy or other means. Just know that it's normal to experience a whirlwind of emotions as we go through all of these changes, but also that the only thing that's really changed is our weight, not any of the underlying emotional struggles. I promise, you're not going crazy. Good luck and take care.

The guidance I was given basically states that it happens due to the shock of surgery and weightloss, and that for those patients that experience the hairloss, 30-40% of it could fall out, several months after the shock occurred that put them into the "resting" phase. Guidance states that it's not likely due to nutrient deficiency and there's really no intervention necessary or particularly effective and that it will begin to grow back and you don't have to worry about whether or not to shampoo or how vigorously to shampoo, because all that does is loosen the strands that were going to come out anyway. I think this is one of the side effects where "Suck it up, buttercup" applies, unfortunately. Might be a good time to develop a personal style that includes some cute hats... Good luck!

My clinic guidance just says that if you choose to drink alcohol, make sure that you are aware that it will likely stall your weightloss and to be sure that you are willing to make the trade. Personally, I'm planning to wait until I'm well into maintenance before I throw that into the mix, but I've never once craved an alcoholic drink. I almost never have a drink unless I'm out with friends and we're all having drinks. Even then, it's not uncommon for me to order a "mocktail".

Our brains do play tricks on us, don't they? I took 2 weeks off from work, mostly because I was afraid of going back too soon and I don't have a desk job. I'm a solid waste inspector, so I have to go around to all sorts of unsavory properties telling people they need to clean up. I didn't want to have to run away from a dog or a tweaker with fresh incisions... I was sleeved on Tuesday. I'm feeling really good, with only minor discomfort. If I had a desk job that allowed me to move a little slowly for a week, I could have gone back yesterday when I quit taking my pain meds. I would feel pretty comfortable going back on Monday if I had too, so that would have only been 4 days off of work, since I worked a full day the day before surgery. I certainly can't guarantee that you'll have the same experience, but for me it has been way easier than I imagined. Fear and anxiety is totally normal and to be expected, but if you're truly not ready, or it's going to be too much of a hardship to do it at a specific time, there is no shame in rescheduling. This whole thing is all about taking care of yourself. Don't feel like you need to sacrifice one type of self-care (making sure that you can earn the $ you need to live and managing your stress levels) for another type of self-care (having surgery to improve your health). Best of luck, there is no "right" decision here...

Yikes! I'm not struggling as much as that, best of luck to you, and I hope that the discomfort and swelling goes down quickly! So far, I'm still up nearly 4 from before surgery, but I know that will change pretty soon. I was happy to be able to get my meds down with about 4oz of Water in less than 1/2 an hour. The last 2 days, it took nearly an hour to get them all down. Every day is better. I also was comfortable enough to drop the liquid Percocet (That stuff is so nasty...I swear it was 1/2 my problem trying to get the rest of my meds down.) so I've been in a little more general discomfort, but it's really not bad. I'm really only uncomfortable when I'm getting up or down, or rolling over in bed, otherwise, it's not an issue. Just gotta get through the clear phase, thankfully starting full liquid tomorrow. I might be able to get down some nutrition! Good luck! Hope you continue to feel better!

Congratulations! Every surgeon has different instructions. My post op diet starts reintroducing solid foods (cautiously, of course), after the start of week 5. If you don't have instructions from your surgeon, you might give them a call. It's likely to be different than mine.

Congratulations! Wishing you the best for recovery! To those that are nervous and quickly nearing surgery, I had a very similar experience. I was sleeved Tuesday 7/23 at about noon. I spent the night at the clinic and had almost no discomfort whatsoever, had great color and it was easy to walk around the nurses station. I was even walking around the station with no escort within a few hours of waking up from the anesthesia. I was discharged yesterday morning at 7am. I'm a little less comfortable at home since the clinic has all the good drugs, but I'm totally mobile, have little pain, no nausea, no vomiting, only minor gas. The hardest part is getting all my meds and fluids down. Showered this morning and still having no problems. Hubby doesn't know what to do with himself since I don't really need care right now. Best of luck to all!

It might be. I had to use mine as a "bridge loan". I have a Health Reimbursement Arrangement through my employer that will likely reimburse me the cost of the surgery, but they can't pay up front and my clinic requires self-pay to pay 2 weeks in advance. So for now, I will make the payments until the denial from my insurance company comes through and I put in my reimbursement submission, then I'll pay it off. It was stupid to have to do it that way, especially since I have over $20k in my reimbursement account and still had to take a loan. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Good luck, and I'm glad you don't have to use it for the whole thing. Interest rates for medical procedures aren't that good, though my clinic staff say that Springstone rates are lower than Care Credit rates.

I used it. My first payment is due on the 5th, so I don't have a lot of experience with their servicing yet, but it was super easy to get set up. Good luck!

I was discharged yesterday morning around 7am. Very little discomfort. The thing that bothers me most is drinking and taking meds. Feels like they're pushing their way into my stomach and I have to sit or stand ramrod straight to get them down the easiest. More discomfort than pain, though. Have a minor sore throat. No other problems. No nausea or vomiting. Gas doesn't seem to be a significant problem either. I'm still about 4 pounds up from the iv fluids. I only managed to get about 24 oz down yesterday. I do find that warmed broth goes down easiest, but my dry mouth really just wants Water. Right now, I'm at about 16 oz for the day and it is slightly easier to get down than yesterday. I'm sure tomorrow will be better and I'll be able to get more down. Still on clears through tomorrow, then can start full liquid on Saturday. Hope everyone recovers well!

Great work!!!

14. That must be an horribly difficult decision for you to have to make for your daughter. It sounds like you really want the best for her, and I totally admire that. I would be really concerned about her maturity not being ready to have wls surgery. For me, personally, from about age 17 to age 21, hanging out with my friends and drinking, eating poorly, and various other immature things were a big part of my life. If I had had wls before that point in my life, I would have ruined myself because having fun was more important than taking care of myself. I was on Phen-fen about this time and I couldn't or wouldn't make the necessary decisions to follow my doctors instructions and ended up gaining back all the weight and then some over a short period of time. At about 24 or so, I looked into gastric bypass. There were a lot of reasons I ultimately chose not to get it done, but the biggest thing that I realize now, was that I was not emotionally ready and wasn't ready to make the lifestyle changes necessary to be successful long term. I've now made most of the other changes in my life that will now allow me to be successful, I've recently developed triathlon as a hobby, so I'm far more active than I used to be, I've changed my eating philosophy to a much cleaner diet, where 10 years ago, I was still perfectly willing to eat fast food and other garbage. She's got a lot of teenage years and early 20's ahead of her, and that age group simply isn't known for making a lot of responsible decisions. I'm not a parent, and I'm certainly not your daughter and don't have any way to assess whether she could be ready or not, but if I were to base this decision from my own life experiences, I wouldn't do it. In your role as parent, I would probably try to work really hard to provide the healthiest food possible and try to get her into therapy to see if there is an underlying emotional/psychological reason that she finds it so difficult to lose weight. Best of luck to you and your daughter. I hope that whatever decision you make works out well for you both.

Ah. I get it. Glad that you just had that one sore spot!

Yikes! I have to admit, I could probably get by with just ibuprofen, but I would not be very happy about it! Why be forced to tolerate pain if it's unnecessary? Good thing recovery time is fairly brief with laparoscopic procedures.

Thank you so much for the support and well wishes! I plan to keep updating here as I lose! I just can't wait to see what I'm capable of as I finally lose this weight that has been crushing me my entire life!

Thank you! I felt the same way, at the same time as feeling generally anxious. Best of luck to you on your surgery and recovery!! Sending supportive thoughts your way!

Thank you! I had my emotions in lockdown the day before and the morning of the surgery. I was really nervous and just had to maintain forward momentum. I was very settled with my decision being the right way to go. I had considered wls nearly a decade ago, but I wasn't ready and the only option available to me was bypass, which didn't appeal to me because of the rerouting of my system. I also wasn't excited about the band because I didn't want a device, and now that I've read here that there seem to be a lot of revisions to sleeve from the band, I'm really glad I made that decision. I'm sure you will do great! Just make sure you follow all of your doc's orders. I know there are a lot of differences between docs, but we trust and pay the one we've chosen to know what they're doing, and I'm not going to be the one that plays armchair quarterback with my surgery. Sending you lots of support for tomorrow!!

I can totally relate to your story. I was 11 years old as well, the first time my mom took me to Weight Watchers. I've done it maybe 7 times, and done tons of other diets and strategies in between. I'm 5'8" and my highest was 349. I would always lose some weight, but would eventually lose my motivation and obsession with doing everything right and quit. It never gained it back really fast, but I always gained it back. I was down to 230 this last time (115 lb loss from where I started that time), but eventually couldn't pull it back together after making a couple weeks of bad choices during a family medical crisis. I gained about 50 pounds back, and that's when I started looking into weight loss surgery again and was really glad that the sleeve had become an option since the last time I had begun the process to have bypass. Best of luck to you, I know you will be successful. You have already proven that you can!