Ginger Snaps

I thought I would be back working from home Monday after 1 week but ended up on a detour being readmitted to the hospital for pneumonia over the weekend. I worked yesterday (8th day) from home and lasted most of the day but had to take off early because I was just so sleepy! Working from home today and riding in with a friend to the office tomorrow. For me, I just feel really fuzzy-brained so don't want to drive on the highway and Turnpike. With the complication I had, two weeks would have been great but I have a trip to Belize planned in August and can't afford too many more surgery days off.

@@Drummergirl505 Please call your doctor and ask! I had gas pain the first 4-5 days but it got to where it hurt to breathe deep because there was so much pressure in my chest. He sent me to the ER and turns out I had pneumonia. Chest pain or shortness of breath is also a symptom of a blood clot in the lung. I kept thinking mine was just gas pressure but it was more. Ended up in the hospital on IV antibiotics over the weekend and feeling a lot better now.

I agree about the doc and I'm glad you're checking with him. My guess would be no because those coaster put a lot of g-force on your body... not just internal but external. They older I've gotten the harder I've found it to be to catch my breath on the really fast coasters. And I don't even have any pulmonary issues. That with the Jerky action -- I'm thinking probably not.

Oh, I'm a terrible IV stick too so I know that anxiety. I'm glad it went smoothly for you. It's so hard to get the IV when you're dehydrated.

I was surprised he dropped them too and my brain has been a little (ok -- maybe a lot) fuzzy but I feel ok. I still don't really understand why he did it because I had stayed on the pills the week before (first 6 days after surgery). I think some of the brain fuzz may just be the super low cal diet, too. Maybe part of it was because he knows I'm working from home part time this week. I'll see how it goes for the rest of the week and what he says and make a decision whether to pick the meds back up or stay off. I've been on Wellbutrin for 8 years and Lamictal (mood stabilizer) for about 6 and have been very well managed but I have talked with the psych a lot lately about trying to go off. So many things in my life are better now than when I started the meds. I've drop 260 pounds since I started meds in the form of an ex-husband who made my life miserable! lol

@green*eyed*girl maybe if the clothes are good quality you could have them altered? Still a great "problem" to have!

@iamsoworthit WOW WOW WOW!!!! Can't wait for the day! Congrats on the hard work paying off!

@betsy1871 Can't wait to hear how you're doing! Hope you surgery was uneventful and you're home recovering and learning how to work with your new digestive system!

Please give your surgeon a little mercy -- They work SO hard all the time and deserve to take time off to recouperate. I know last week, my surgeon was in surgery all day Monday (from the earliest surgery to mine which ended around 8 pm). Tuesday he had office hours all day and came to see me during lunch and then again after hours (around 7). Wednesday he does surgeries again but I don't know for how long. Thursday he has hours in his other office and Friday in the office where I see him. He came in over the weekend to see me when I was readmitted for pneumonia So, he's probably putting in 60 hours a week regularly. And those 12-15 hour surgery days have to be so stressful and demanding. Given all that, I can understand your frustration. I have a big trip to Belize planned for August and wanted to be sure I was at least 7-8 weeks out from surgery before going. On my plan, I'm ok for soft foods after 3 weeks, so at 3-4 weeks you will have some "normal" food choices you can do while traveling. But, if I were you, I'd just plan to take things that are still OK -- lots of Protein shake powders and maybe unflavored Protein powder to add to a soft baked potato... thinks that can let you pump up the protein in the softer foods you know you can tolerate. You've come a long way and sometimes any little bump in that road seems like a road block but in the long term scheme of things, this is just a speed bump and you can get over it. Best wishes!

I don't mean this in any offensive manner but I don't understand why people are so afraid of the bypass. I was MUCH more afraid of making my reflux worse. As far as recovery or pain goes, I think the bypass and sleeve are very similar. With the bypass or sleeve, you still have to take Vitamins and supplements for life. Bypass does has the possibility of dumping syndrome but I consider that to be a helpful thing -- negative reinforcement of my body teaching me what I should NOT be eating. Only 9 days out but haven't experienced it. And, I've heard some sleeve patients also have dumping syndrome. I chose bypass because I also have GERD and bypass is more successful for curing that. My doctor explained that most acid is formed in the lower part of the stomach and by bypassing that, you won't create as much acid. With sleeve, the lower stomach is still producing acid and the stomach is smaller so the acid can reflux even more than before surgery. Both surgeries are pretty dramatic and invasive. The bypass is the gold standard with the most proven benefits and long-term safety data. I wouldn't let the fear of bypass stop me from gaining health and losing weight. Again -- not being offensive to anyone -- we all have our own priorities and factors that weight in to decision-making.

I'm 9 days out and I can tell you, I was in VERY LITTLE pain -- more just that gas pressure in the chest and shoulders. I had a dose of pain med the night of surgery and had regular tylenol IV while in the hospital and that was it. I never had a pain pump and would have refused it if they offered because I just really didn't have pain. I've had c-sections and this was NOTHING compared to those. No stomach pain at all -- just a little "discomfort" when swinging my feet off the bed, stuff like that. You can do this! Best wishes!

@Kimteehee The gas is trapped in the abdominal wall -- it's not gas in your intestinal tract. A lot of times it travels up into your shoulders. So, Gas-X won't really help with that. Moving around and breathing deep help clear it out. And, it's more pressure than pain -- like hard to breathe in deep because you feel pressure on your chest. It's certainly bearable and temporary, so don't let that scare you too much from sugery. You can do it! Just get up and move as much as you can (and then some) and be sure to do the deep breathing exercises they give you.

If you didn't feel a little apprehensive, you wouldn't be normal or taking the surgery seriously. Sounds like you have a good understanding of what to expect. Once you get there, you'll be surprised how fast it all moves. I'm a little over a week out and even with a little bump in the road and a second hospital stay, I feel great and know this is the best things I could have done to improve my life. You can do it and you'll find lots of help on the boards. Best wishes

Wow... you've waited so long I'm SURE it's so hard to be patient now! Maybe try distracting yourself with some of your favorite things to do. Go window/dream shopping at the mall and ust imagine yourself in all those cute clothes. Here's one I did presurgery... I went through my closet and packed up the old, larger sized clothes that were the wrong season (so, in spring I got out all the large winter clothes) that I didn't even like -- put those in donate bags. Packed up the nicer large winter stuff into boxes (just in case something happened and I didn't get surgery, I wouldn't have gotten rid of everything I owned!). It gave me something to do and made me feel good to know I'm not going to see those sizes again!

Way to go!!! Fantastic progress!

First day of full liquids. Had some Muscle Milk this morning and for "dinner" I had a 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 a sugar free jello cup added in. Nice to mix in the jello since you can't have the chunky fruit in it yet. MUCH more filling than just the clear liquids although the week flew by with all the hospital stays. Not hard to avoid other foods when everything available to you is on a tray labeled "clear liquids".

Eight days out from surgery and doing good. I had a little detour over the weekend with a trip to the hospital for pneumonia but that's better and I'm home on full liquids now -- moving on. So, tonight I get home from the support group meeting where we talked about food triggers and there's a package from my company. We just merged with a big company and they sent us appreciation gifts for making it through the integration, blah, blah, blah. So, I open the box and there's a really nice insulated Water cup there. Nice -- I can Protein drinks or just water in that. There was also another box dressed up with a big blue bow. I slipped off the bow and opened the box and dropped it like it was full of snakes. A bag of popcorn, some M&Ms, tiny twist pretzels, Twizzlers, Life Savers and chocolate covered sunflowers. ARRRGHHHHH.... of course I didn't have a bite of anything -- I'm on full liquids. My kids enjoyed it, though and I got a kick out of it. What a challenge for a noob to the surgery! Ginger

My surgeon changed my plan after surgery. Surgery June 9th. The first week I took my anti-depressant and mood stabilizer pills. After a stint in the hospital this weekend with pneumonia, he told me to stop all the psych meds until I see him this coming Friday. I thought that was a little weird but I'm all for it because I really want to get off those meds anyway. He really didn't tell me why and I probably should have asked but I'm ok with that for this week.

@@beachgurl84 I had the same experience... three different masks before I ended up with the nasal pillows. And my machine has that ramp up feature that starts with lower pressure and builds up over 20 minutes. I agree -- I had no idea how bad my sleep was until I started using the machine. It actually took me 2-3 months of the machine to start really noticing a difference but MAN is it better! @@ChristmasJanet -- I'm not encouraging you to cheat at all -- I firmly believe apnea is SO dangerous and needs to be treated. Mine also has the modem and if I'm not compliant enough, insurance will stop paying for it. But, my insurance considers 4 hours a night to be compliant. So, you really should try to use it and get used to it but if it is completely bugging you and you've had it on for at least 4 hours, you'd probably be ok taking it off then. And a missed night here and there wouldn't cause them to take it -- I think my insurance requires 6 nights a week but I always use 7 and get more than 4 hours with it because it just works so darn good! Maybe you can call your insurance and ask them the requirements. At least then you'll get a little peace of mind if you just really get frustrated and need a night without it. And do talk to your doctor and try different masks and pillows. The pillows come in different sizes. Don't think because you're a big lady you need a big size. My nose is pretty small and the nostrils are close together and I wear an extra small in the ladies version. The only thing I ever use that's a size extra small! lol Best wishess.

They let me go today with oral antibiotics so I'm a mug happier camper. I'm ready to start (again) moving forward with great success!

We'll my surgery was uneventful and all was going well for about 40 hours after release. Then I started having shortness of breath and the doctor sent me to the ER. After ruling out cardio and blood clots they decided I have pneumonia and I'm back in the hospital. Ugh! I still feel ok just pressure in the chest need to be here so I can have antibiotics. Still know I made the right choice and this is just a bump in the road. Ten pounds lost in the first four days! Shocker!

Good luck to all you Monday ladies. I had surgery las Monday at 5 (surgeons got really backed up) and I went home Wednesday. Very little pain just a lot of chest pressure. Friday morning was very short of breath so my doc sent me to the ER. I have pneumonia and have been back in the hospital since Friday. May go home later tonight or tomorrow if all goes well Still very little pain just the chest pressure. Be SURE you get out of bed and walk and move around the room. Sit in the chair when you can. I got sent to the cardiac floor because there was no room on the bariatric floor. The nurses kept telling me to stay in bed. Would only let me go to the bathroom I am convinced (and so is my surgeon) that this could have been prevented, So get up and move. I hope you have just as great an experience as I've had minus the bump in the road,

Little update... Landed back in the hospital Friday with pneumonia. Really think it's directly related to not being allowed to walk that first day. Still just pressure in the chest. At least now they are letting me roam the halls all I want. Should get out late tonight or Monday. Very easy to stay compliant when they're bring your Clear liquids on a tray. Even getting the hospital's bariatric Protein drink! When I was admitted Friday I was down 10 pounds from Mondays surgery weight. Probably in one-derland right now. Need to have them weigh me again! Lol

We are in such a similar situation so I can totally related. I was 210 at 5"4' so was a relative lightweight for surgery. I'm a 48 yo single mom of 3 (23 20&14) I have sleep apnea and GERD and some Ortho issues I'm not kaiser but my first visit to surgery last Monday was 84 days. Seemed like forever but here I am 6 days out. I had surgery Monday and was released Wednesday then landed back here Friday with pneumonia. Even with this little bump I still feel like this was a great decision. Very little pain except for this chest pressure lost 10 pounds in 4 days. I'm looking forward to a healthier life, shopping for regular sized clothes and dating with a lot more confidence. I am also treated for depression If you'd like a support buddy in addition to all the great things you'll learn on the boards feel free to private message me. Best wishes!

My trainer is 60 an hour if you buy an 8 hour package. It's not cheap but I look at it as an investment in my health. And when I see the results after just 8 sessions it is so worth it!