MsCook

It seems almost surreal to say that I am on my 5th day post-op. I had surgery on Friday 8/10 evening and came home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. What a whirlwind this last week has been! It somewhat surprised me how much I needed to take care of in the 24 hours or so before surgery: pre-meds, and gathering items to take to hospital, as well as preparing to be away from home for a few days. Then it was off to Palms of Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, where I was so well cared for by the wonderful staff. My surgery time ended up being a bit later in the day than anticipated; however, the hospital staff was wonderful about keeping me posted and comfortable. The next thing I knew I was waking up in ICU and it was all over. My surgeon/hospital always require ICU for the first 18 hours or so after surgery. My NG tube and catheter were removed the next day when I was moved to a regular room in the Bariatric Center. My pain was not horrible because they had a morphine drip going that I could activate with a button as needed. I found that I really didn't have to use it very often. For the first little while after surgery I felt "teathered" in so many different spots by medical equipment. One by one, they came out and I was so happy to be free of all of them just before I left the hospital. Since coming home, things have been good. My pain has been quite manageable with some discomfort at night and a very "full" feeling all the time. I really have not had hunger at all and am eating very little but making absolutely sure to get my vitamins and calcium in as instructed. I think the water requirement is really helping me to stay full feeling also. One thing I wasn't prepared for was coming home from the hospital about 7 pounds heavier than I went in. It may have been all of the IV fluids and swelling due to surgery, but by the second/third day home it was gone and the losing has started again. Thanks goodness! I mean, that was the goal of this thing, right?! I actually have six small incisions (three across the bottom of my tummy above the bellybutton, two up my left side, and one at the top a little left of center). So mine looks more like a "C" than a "Y". I have to say that my surgeon, Dr. Ernest Rehnke, is EXCELLENT! He's well known and highly respected in this field and he's been doing these surgeries for decades. My incisions are not painful and only one of them has any substantive bruising. Everything seems to be healing up well and the incision areas are now itching--which is a good sign of healing. For a busy person who never stays still for very long, it has been hard for me to take it easy and rest and not really DO anything. But I am trying because I know it's important to my recovery. I am also taking short walks as I can. It's August in Florida so I have to admit it's tough to make myself go out into the heat. Each day does get a little better and I hope by the end of the week I'll feel pretty normal... or at least my new normal. The doctor has me on full liquids until my 2-week post-op visit and if all is good he will move me to solid foods then. Maybe all of this is more than you wanted to know, but maybe it will help someone who is a few steps behind me on this journey. We will get there! It takes time, patience, perseverence, and the ability to change. Well, I'm off now to read or write some thank you notes. Until Next Time...! Starting: 317# Pre-Op: 296# Today: 294.5# Total Down: 22.5#

Sorry to hear you are having this obstacle occur during the pre-op phase. Just keep remembering that you are doing this to get healthy in the first place and if there's anything going on that could impact your health during surgery or otherwise, you want to get that addressed first. It's not easy to wait, but you'll get there. One step at a time.

Big congratulations on the littler you!

Roxyraquel, your surgeon's office should be of more help to you in getting this psych evaluation done. My surgeon's office provided a list of 3 different providers, all of whom were familiar with the process and required documentation. I chose one of those, went for the appointment, and they faxed the results over to the surgeon. Done deal. Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble.

Such a great call to get, right?! The time will go by so fast and most of us have been waiting for so long! Congratulations!

We've got this, ladies! I'm in the liquid diet phase also, with surgery scheduled for Friday. The time has flown by! I've lost 17 pounds so far on the liquid diet and am sooooo ready for Friday and to be on the other side of this surgery. Still hard work beyond that, but with this tool I look forward to success! And you will be successful too!

Awesome, Crystal! Keep up the great work!

My surgeon tells me he uses a drain tube only with an "open" procedure rather than the laproscopic method.

Hi Newbie! Welcome. We all had those feelings of doubt and being unsure. The best way to overcome all of that is by educating yourself. Only you will really know what is right for you. Read everything you can get your hands on, including the Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies book, which is quite informative. Also, peruse this site and obesityhelp.com and you will get all the good, the bad, and the ugly--and the remarkable and inspiring! None of us can tell you if this is right for you. But a good conversation with a gastric surgeon and maybe even visiting support groups in advance would go a long way toward making your decisions. Yes, start with your primary care doc as he/she will be an integral part of your care and pre-op activity if you decide to go through with it; however, your primary doc may not be the best source of information about the surgery. Honestly, they seem to know what it is and that it could benefit the obese, but not much more. After all, it's not their specialty. Information is your best bet! I'll leave you with what my surgeon told me: the lap band is a slight risk, the gastic sleeve slightly more, and the gastric bypass even moreso. But the most dangerous and risky thing you can do about your obesity is nothing!

Rabrijuno - my doc said to use 3 a day of the small 8 oz cartons of pre-mixed drink. Later I learned, from the nurse in his office, that they used to say 5 per day; however, people were doing that AND cheating and that was too much so the goal of liver shrinkage wasn't being accomplished. I guess they figure people are likely to cheat a little so keeping at 3 helps to somewhat allow for it.

Are you kidding me? Why do we have Pizza Hut ads showing up on the home page of RNY talk? Saw it today on the site and thought: You know, this was the one place I thought I could go without being bombarded with food ads. And it's here TOO! I know the site has to support itself, but pizza ads?! Please don't put temptation right in front of us!

Thanks, EEsMom! It's definitely a journey and one that will bring great results for us all. Looking forward to hearing how things go for you as well. How long until your surgery?

Whew! Day 12 of 17 on my liquid diet. Surgury date is one week from today. It's almost surreal to think I'll be parked in a hospital bed one week from tonight. It's been a rough week but I've done pretty well. Total of 13.5 pounds lost on liquid diet. Not as much as I anticipated in the last couple of days, but I think I might not be getting enough water. Tried to up that intake today and hope that will help the numbers drop again tomorrow. I would love to hear from anyone who is post-op about what you recommend taking to the hospital. That is, besides a healthy dose of optimism and patience. LOL!

Paul, how far post-op are you? Do you not want to eat because you're not hungry? Fear of pain? No desire to eat? Can you say more about that...?

I can tell how excited you are! The liquid diet is difficult; I won't kid you! However, it does get a little better after several days. My surgery is a week from today and can't come soon enough.

Today is day 9 of 17--made it past the half-way point of the liquid diet! It's easier than before but still not easy. Hunger is definitely there and I am learning to cope with cravings as they come up. I know that the rest of the time will fly and the big day will come up much more quickly than I ever expected. So looking forward to getting this done and being on the other side of this. And I've lost 12 pounds on the liquid diet, so I can't complain! Still, what I wouldn't do for a grilled cheese sandwich!

Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure it will be fine. Think of the many different varieties, and even absence of, pre-op diets we see posted here. I'm certain that all of that work from moving more than compensated for your slight indulgence. Good luck on Tuesday!

The Optifast is sold in my surgeon's office for $80 per case. It isn't bad tasting,either! My favorite thing is to put a french vanilla Optifast into a cup of black coffee, with one Sweet & Low. Yum!

Time to digest isn't the point, though. the purpose of the liquid diet is to shrink your liver, which sits right in front of where the doctor has to work. So, while it might be okay to "fudge" and eat some real food a ways out from the surgery, I definitely would not do it within the last 48 hours or so beforehand. Stay strong! You'll do great! Good luck Monday.

Hi Dominique. Welcome! And congratulations on your 25 pounds already lost. That's fantastic! I can sympathize with your dilemma. My husband and teen daughter can mostly eat whatever they want and not gain weight. However, I've been thinking of it this way: If something is not good for me, it's probably not good for them either. Maybe they can eat it and not gain weight, but it's probably not truly good for them. So, I'm trying to prepare healthier things in general. There are also some ways to slim down what they are eating or even do some simple modifications to the menu to make it suitable for you. For example, let's say you want to make a pasta dish with chicken and veggies. Grill the chicken (which is healthier for everyone) and steam your brocolli, or whatever veggies and then prepare your plate with those items. Go ahead and finish the pasta, add in the veggies, chicken, and sauce of your choice (maybe alfredo) and serve that for them. You're all eating similar foods, no one has to prepare two meals, and you can still loose weight. Stay encouraged! You're doing great and I know we will all be much happier when we get rid of the "extra" we have to loose.

Well, I've made it to day 6 of liquid diet. It is difficult, for sure, but I find that the busier I stay and away from network television (too many food commercials) the better off I am. I can honestly say I feel great, with the exception of hunger for some "real" food. Maybe it's just my brain telling me I'm hungry and i'm really not. Sure, we'll go with that. Anyway, I'm trying to stay super positive and revel in the weight loss I'm already experiencing (9.5 lbs in 6 days). Woohoo!

I know. I'm craving a good steak, but that's not gonna happen! LOL! Today, I had to push out my surgery date by 3 days due to an insurance company mistake on the procedure code. Uggh! So, I went from day 3 of 14 on my liquid diet to day 3 of 17 days. Disappointed, but the trade off is I will be able to participate in some training at work that was originally a conflict. Everything happens for a reason, I suppose.

Felt pretty good today and no headaches, as I feared. I am hungry, no doubt, but I try to stay busy and not focus on it. Got extra hungry around lunchtime today, so had an additional cup of broth than I had yesterday. Still should not be a problem. I was shocked to see 5 pounds gone on the scale this morning. Big wow!