LosingItForMe2011

It's good that you talked to him but, hold him to it! DO NOT let him drive your car especially if you can't afford to replace your car should he wreck it. No license then no insurance will cover you if they find out you allowed him to drive it. Definitely hold him to helping around the house if he's home all day. There is no excuse for NOT helping you out there. With kids houses won't be spotless but, the dishes can be done and things picked up and heck..dinner on the table or at least started. Resentment can build up and override any love that's in your heart so if you feel you love him but, this stuff is buggin' ya...definite say something and hold em to it. Good luck!

I was going to say 3 weeks is way too soon for solid foods like that unless your surgeon/bariatric center said it was ok. The last thing you want to do at this time is have to throw up. You want to make sure your stitches, staples, incisions are healing up ok inside before taking on the solids. Blending foods will help make them into the mushy stage that you're probably on. I can't tell by your post if you just threw up today or not but, don't be surprised if it's harder to eat for a few days. Throwing up sometimes will make your pouch swell and feel as if it can't take in as much. I know that happened to me when I threw something up. I had to switch back to liquids/protein shakes for a few days after. Good luck and I hope you're feeling better.

Is the prior hospital far from you? If it's not I'd call them up or visit them, sign the necessary release papers and tell them you're going to pick up those records yourself on such a such a date. You'll get those records faster if you say you're going to pick them up. Then you can take them to your surgeon. It's faster to get copies yourself than to have them make copies and then mail them to your surgeon. You have a right to get your own records and within a reasonable time.

Jami...what info are you looking for? You'll always hear horror stories from people and you'll even read some here on the boards but, you'll also read how wonderful everyone is doing and what they've accomplished. The best thing to do is research on your own, read plenty of books (I recommend Weight loss surgery for dummies - very informative and an easy read) It's normal to be nervous and to have 2nd thoughts - if you didn't you should then worry why not LOL. Know that the best thing you can do for yourself is to follow the instructions given to you by your surgeon/bariatric center. If you follow those then that's the biggest step in staying healthy. Rethink about all the reasons why you chose this path...what brought you to this place and time of this decision to have WLS etc. Concentrate of getting the items you'll need for your recovery...protein shakes, trying them to make sure which ones you like or don't, get your vitamins that you'll need, find a program you like to log your food....get shaker bottles, water bottles, soft foods etc. Keep busy taking care of YOU and what you'll need and the time will fly by. Congrats on your surgery date and it will be here before you know it!

OH and stress will play a BIG part in how your pouch feels. I know all too well what stress does to eating and drinking. I have been practicing Reiki, meditation and playing soothing music while at work. They all tend to help me relax. You need to find what works for you and take the time to do it. It's not easy, I know that first hand...but I've been trying to put myself and health first for the first time in my life. Work will always be work.....as I've once read.....On your deathbed you won't be saying Gee if I only worked harder and longer, you're going to say....I wish I took the time to (insert). One day at a time, one issue at a time and remember to take time for you

hey stephanie - at 5 weeks it was rough for me as well. I can tell you that getting fluids in is tough and my pouch hurt as well when I drank the Water. But I kept drinking anyway...you just have to. Eventually your pouch will give in and you will be able to drink with no issues or pain. It's very important to make sure you get in as much as you can. I can't say I got in all 64 ounces myself and still can't get all that in all the time but, I do sip all day long. It really does help you feel better too. As far as eating.....it's actually harder to eat too if you're dehydrated. It all revolves around staying hydrated. I highly recommend trying different temperatures of your fluids, sometimes that's what it takes. I also had to try different flavorings etc, until I found what would sit right. Keep pushing yourself to drink, you can do it and it will get better Thinking of you

it will be here soon! Congrats and keep up the great work!

Things do happen for a reason whether we understand those reasons or not, it will come to us later. Take the time to research further, get to understand what you'll be going through later etc. that will help the time pass for sure. It will be here before you know it!

turkey chili....hormel makes a good one. You can put cheese on it and melt it.

Nows the time to prepare your home, your family and your mind for whats to come. Get all the Vitamins, Protein powders, Water etc that you're going to need after the surgery. Read some good RNY books (suggest Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies book - it was great), do more research, try lots of shakes and protein foods, get a nice blender etc. it will help you pass the time and get you prepared. Good luck and congrats!

When we start feeling like that is when we start looking for answers....RNY is one of them. Have you started that journey with a surgeon? You're in the right place for info.

congrats!

Yayyyyyy Great job Don! I'm actually all excited for this weekend because someone is handing down clothes to me. What a big help it will be. So glad you could use the clothes and if he cleans more of his closet I'll keep you in mind!

There are trolls in every chat website and that was probably one traveling in here.

Well, I've been having issues after my surgery. The first was the infection in the left incision site. That incision had to be opened back up and it's had to be packed daily since so it can heal from the inside out. At one point they thought I might be getting a second infection in the same site so being a weekend, I was perscribed hefty antibiotics. I ended up having to see my surgeon because the visiting nurse was concerned and it turned out it was healing great and my surgeon said I could stop the antibiotic if I wanted. I took it one more day then just couldn't take how it made me feel so stopped as she suggested. Well that was about 10 days ago. Since then I've had bathroom "issues" but, I figured it was the antibiotics the day it was bad and then after that figured it was my diet because I'm on the Protein only stage....no carbs, Fiber etc. I won't be on stage 5 which includes fruits, veggies and healthy carbs until next week. Anyway....I couldn't take it anymore. Today was bad and I felt I couldn't leave the house so I called her. She said it's either this C. diff or I've become lactose intolerant. I told her I thought about the lactose too so didn't have any and it still happened. She said the testing will show which it is. The visiting nurse came today to pack my wound and they naturally ask questions on how I'm doing each day. I told her what was going on and explained what "it" looked like etc. She said it really does sound like C diff. So we shall see. I read about this C. diff and it said some relief can come by eating starchy foods. I didn't have anything to eat today because I just wasn't up to it. I've made sure to keep hydrated. We have saltines in the house and the explanation said they were a good choice so I had about 6 saltines today so see if it helps a bit. Mashed potatoes didn't help when I had them yesterday or the day before. (sigh) I know after this all clears up I'll feel better and be grateful that I've done this...but for right now man oh man, I'm tired of visiting the restroom and feeling like a prisoner in my own home. I'm also hoping if it is C. diff we've caught it fast enough so that no other complications happen. I guess a few days will tell what's going on. I just wanted to let folks know what's going on so that if you're going through any of this you'll know too. Thanks for listening/reading.

Welcome to the boards Karen. Good luck with your journey and post away with the rest of us!

I see...no you can't drop your employers insurance if you're on state medical as your secondary. I'm surprised your doc doesn't take bcbs though...most do. Perhaps its your specific plan of bcbs? Sorry I can't help more here. Have you tried calling your BCBS plan to see if they'll cover the surgery since the nearest center is 2 hours away? It's worth a shot. BCBS is always advertising how they help their patients.....I"d try callin.

Being in ketosis will cause bad breath. Not too much you can do about it other than keep your teeth clean because it's really caused by your stomach not so much your teeth/tongue. Maybe some of the medical experts can help with this?

hello joyaskins34...yup it was and I pray I don't get it again. It's finally gone for me but, took two rounds of antibiotics and florastor to get rid of it. Hope you're mom is doing better!

When I say drop I mean by one of your employers that you obtain it from. You can't just pick one to not submit to because there is a specific order you have to use depending on the insurance carriers. But if you get both insurances through employers or if you purchase both yourself you should be able to drop one. What insurances do you have?

my stool softener is gel pill that my surgeon perscribed. My Biotin is also gel pills.

AKC I think you're going to have no problems. It's already winding down a bit here. I'm 40 minutes south of Boston. Had my surgery in Boston this past July @ Tufts Medical. Where are you having yours?

NurseTAB.....You don't have to have fat free yogurt or milk....why not 1%? Greek yogurt is best for everyone but, again..why not regular low fat yogurt but, add some Protein powder to it? You can get pure protein at Walmart in a big jug for about $20 and that will last you quite a while if you add it to other foods. Add it to foods that don't have all the protein you need but, by adding some of it you get the protein level up higher. Natural Peanut Butter vs regular peanut butter...you're kids probably won't realize it. There are newer brands that don't separate as much that you can use. Eating healthy is expensive but, you should be able compromise on things that will fall between what your diet requires and what the kids like or require. Heck even mixing them together would help stretch it out.. I've found for me making Soups stretches the dollar for my family, fills us up and I get protein in easy that way. Beans are another great resource for protein and added to soups help bulk them up. I hope this helps a bit. Hope you're feeling stronger soon!

If you have two insurances...can you drop the first insurance that you state does not cover surgery at the doctors office you want?

Hi folks...I'm a band to RNY revision. I had my band in place 2006, revised do to a slight slip in 2008 and then finally removal of my band in 2010 because of severe prolapse that made it so I couldn't eat, drink or sleep. So much reflux I woke up startled because it was as if I was drowning in my own stomach acid. Because of the throwing up and reflux with the prolapse I had to wait at least 6 months before I could consider another surgery. I took longer than that because it took quite a while for me to accept the fact of all the issues I had with the lapband and whether or not I wanted to put myself through anything more. I struggled with reflux for at least 2.5 years. I had lost close to 80 pounds with the lapband in the first year...but will all the issues I gained some back, then after it was out gained a little more. So before I gained it all back.....I researched RNY, sleeve and other options. RNY was it for me....if I was going to do this I was going for the whole thing. I had my RNY 7/11/12. I'm doing well with it and happy I made the decision. My insurance changed a few times between the surgeries for the band and then with RNY. Surgeon's office got it approved though.....but, I had a denial at first. Had to postpone the surgery a month because of the denial but, once the additional paperwork was submitted the insurance approved it. Believe me your surgeon's office team KNOWS what they need to do to get approval. It's not often that they don't get it...they just sometimes have to try a few times to complete it all. It's important to call your insurance yourself as well and push them for approval. You're allowed to talk to an advocate/nurse yourself...you can explain why you're going for the surgery, ask how the process is going, ask if they've seen your doctors paperwork and where they are in approval etc. Go for it and don't be afraid to ask directly.