Tauruslady5

My sister was in with me until it was time for my surgery. At that time, I actually walked to the Operating Room, which I felt was a good thing because I remained relaxed. While in there I looked at the clock and it was 9am, they were hooking me up for the sleeping meds and then I awoke in recovery. Was a quick time and I was not alone long. Annamaire

After I posed it, the "tickler" appeared up by my name. I now have one..........thanks Happy New Year

Hi. Those surgeons who have performed many of these operations do not use them because there is no medical reason to do this. I have read others who stated their surgeons did not use them either. Those surgeons who were not so trained seemed to use the drain. I am thankful I did not get it, I heard it hurts to be pulled out and would not want to go through that pain. Annamarie

I, too, just looked for that and it was not there. How do I get it? I use a laptop computer.

I cried day 3-5. I had no energy....no one explained to me that this would happen. If I had known in advance, it would have been much easier. Also, can anyone tell me how I can get that cute little BMI/Weight marker that most have at the bottom of their post? Thanks.

Here is my question to your question: My surgeon stated there was no medical reason to have a drain tube, why is your surgeon doing one? Have you asked this question to him/her?

I am at 7-weeks out as of today. I am just able to start introducing new foods. Week 1-2 was liquids only (no food intake at all). Weeks 3-6 were mushy foods only (maybe 200 calories per day). Our calorie intake now is anywhere between 200-400 daily. Maybe it is what state you are from but it seems alot of individuals on this site have a "drain site", eat food way too early after surgery, staples/steri-strips or glue plus many other differences. Surgeries ranged anywhere from 40 minutes to 5 hours depending upon what was being performed. What I did notes is that we all went through the 3-4 day post op depression/crying. Which made me feel good because I only thought it was me. To date I have lost 50 pounds and loose about 3 pounds per week now. I am able to start doing more intense exercise minus stomach crunches. Have a happy and healthier 2015..............

It seems like alot of people also had a drain site. My surgeon did not do that either. Why would they do that when there is absolutely no medical reason to do that? I ask my surgeon this before my surgery and that was his answer.

Remember they did surgery on your stomach not your brain. So you now need to train your brain when you should eat. My daughter would always tell me to sip Water because it usually means you need water and not food. try that. After my surgery, I had NO appetite. I didn't even like drinking water. I stopped doing the Protein drink because my new stomach said "NO WAY". It made me feel yukky, so I have not had a Protein Drink since 11/22/14. By the way......Happy New Year and New Life 2015. You will have an amazing journey......

No bandages here. They used a special purple glue that came off within one week. I am in CT, where is everyone else from that they had staples and bandages?

Glad to see you did okay. So you had to do an extra few days in hospital. It was worth it. Congrats on the 7 pounds. Wasn't as bad as you anticipated. I will warn you that in a couple days you may cry or become overwhelmed thinking this was the wrong decision. It will pass. Also, the pain you feel in your chest, arms is from the gas they put into you stomach. Best way to help with that is walk, walk, walk. It, too, will go away. Take it easy and enjoy your new life. Happy New Year's.

I am assuming you made sure your insurance paid for this operation. I have only received a 200 co-pay for the surgeon, a 200 co-pay for my hospital stay and a 35.00 nurse visit charge for my 2-week f/u. If you are receiving bills, and your insurance was to pay, then you need to get ahold of them because they need to make sure they put in the correct codes. Annamarie

Hi. Sorry to hear about the gas pain. Here is what I was told to do and it worked great. I had 2 teaspoons every 2 hours. I would take those two bites slowly meaning, I would take one teaspoon then put my spoon down for one minute, then take the next spoonful. Then I would put the plate away and in 2 hours do it again. I never felt hungry at all. After awhile, my tummy knew when 2 hours was coming because I could feel it. You have to keep it up and train your brain. I had my surgery 11/21 and I am still on mushy food, but just this week did I start to even try 1/4 cup of food. Annamarie

Ohhhhh heck yeah. By the 3rd and 4th day after surgery, I was crying so much it was killing me. I ended up talking for hours to one of my friends who had the surgery. She made me feel better and told me it was normal to feel this way. I wanted to put up my Chirstmas decorations and I would move aund for about 2 minutes, and then have to sit down to catch my breath. No one ever told me during my pre-op that this was going to happen. I make sure I tell everyone what really goes on. Don't worry, it will go away. Walking helped me. Annamarie.

Hi. So I had my surgery on 11/21/14. To date I have lost 50 pounds. When I started eatting after my 2-week f/u, I was allowed to only eat 2 tsp every 2 hours. I did this until about last weekend. I now eat 1/4 (2oz) every three hours. I eat at 6:30/9:30/12:30/3:30/6:30. I do not feel hungry. Remember, your doctor only did surgery on your stomach and NOT YOUR BRAIN. If you want this to work, you need to really watch what you eat and ask yourself "Do I really want to have that food". I, too, have eatten until my stomach hurt, but after a few times, I decided it was not worth it. So I now think when I eat, I take a bite, put my spoon down for 1 minute, then I take another bite. I am making my BRAIN realize I am full, not my stomach anymore. Good luck, you can do this. If you worked this hard to reach this point, then you will continue to do what you want until you SUCCEED. Annamarie

Hi. I was totally honest from day 1. It is not normal to loose 30 pounds in one month. If co-workers have a problem or give bad comments. Remember it is their problem not yours. What you did was for you and no one else. You made the decision to become healthier. Just remember, don't give food advise to them. I will not tell anyone what to eat or not to eat. They have made their choice on their livestyle just like WE made our new choice. Congrats on your success and you have lots more to go and will be amazing when completed your goal. Have a sparkling day

Here is my only suggestion to you. Have them inject the HEPARIN in your stomach. This way you do not have the hugh busing. It did not hurt there either. I ended up staying an extra night because all I wanted to do was sleep. I did not drink alot of fluids after I left the hospital. I did, however, keep a bottle with me at all times because I did not want to become dehydrated (which is very easy after you are discharged). You will do fine. Just relax and realize you have made the right decision to start a new you. Annamarie

Congrats !!! I started at 300 pounds, now down to 250 in 1 month, goal to be 150. I just had my surgery on 11/21. You did great. How long did it take?

I was sent home with Omeprazole. Even though I have not had any reflux, it is mostly given so that you do not get any ulcers while healing. You end up taking this medication for 2 months then they discontinue. Also was sent home with pain medication. I did not take it because the pain I was feeling in my shoulders was from the gas they used when they were operating on your tummy.

Being you were getting the "elephant" feeling in your chest, I would recommend contacting your doctor ASAP and let them decide if it were the food or something may be going on that you cannot see.

Congrats. I will let you know by the third day you will be feeling like you made the wrong decision. You will get past that feeling. I have seen me plus many others go though this feeling. When going to the hospital. Just wear sweats & sneakers (comfortable) and nothing more. They supply your toothbrush if you did not bring one. You will be in bed mostly anyways until they have you walk around. As for when you come home, it is liquid diet for 2 weeks anyways. I did mostly broth, tried the Protein drink (i could not even fathom the taste). I also drank lots of Water. I even had one in my bed with me so when I woke up it was right there. I also would by cans of Soup and just drink the broth, nothing more. I did not do applesauce or yogurt just plain old liquids. I would also do Jello and pop cycles that were sugar-free. My Vitamins were my synthroid, MVI and the Omeprazole they prescribed. I would have to open the Omeprazole and put the little tiny pills on a tsp of applesauce to swallow those tiny pills. (that was the only time I had food in my mouth). The Protein Drink I do now is called Spiri-tein (has NO artificial sweetners and has a great taste). Just relax and remember this is a tool to help you. The doctors are only operating on your stomach not your brain. It is up to you to make this work. Annamarie

www.vitacost.com/ https://www.naturesplus.com www.vitaminshoppe.com › www.amazon.com/‎ Here are some of the websites I would go to. I used Spiru-tein because you can order individual package set instead of paying alot for something you did not like. I hope this helps. I also used Spiru-tein because there was NO artificial sweetners in this product. Annamarie

The pain you are feeling is the GAS they put into your abdomen cavity before the surgery. You need to move in order to make this disappear. My pain was mostly in my shoulders. Like you I felt I should have never done this but after finally feeling better, which for me was one month, I am glad I did this and it was the best decision ever. I for two weeks had Thrush, which made me now want to eat or drink. I had to make myself do this. Now that the Thrush is all gone, I drink like a fish and am able to eat 2 teaspoons of food every 2 hours.

I am a little confused. If you are 7-days post op, how are you eatting food? You should be only doing liquids for 2 weeks no food. You are healing and if food gets into those small little incisions, you could cause an infection. How is it your doctor lets you eat food? As for the energy, I did not have any at all. I MADE myself move around (walk, clean house, etc). I would do 2 minutes, then take a break because I wanted to push myself, but realized I just had major surgery and my body needed to rest. It is MIND over MATTER. Remember the doctors gave you a new tool to help with your food intake. They did not do surgery on your Brain, that you have to work on to make your new life work. It is just a new baby tummy you have, not a whole new you. Only you can make it work.

Don't worry, you were not the only one to do that. Mine wasn't food though. I was upset because I had no energy and so wanted to clean my house and get Christmas decorations up. I ended up talking to one of my friends on Facebook to help me though that tough day. It was exactly day 3 just like yours. I did, however, by the 2nd week of only broth, wanted to chew anything. I wanted a pickle. So my daughter cut up a slice, let me put it in my mouth, but stood there until I spit it out. Plesae do what you are told regarding food. Another one of my friends friend actually died after having surgery because she decided to eat regular food after surgery, not listening to her doctor, and had a bad complication. Most likely she broke open her staples and food got into her cavity and caused a bad infection. I know the first 2 weeks is hard, I cried alot. But I made it through just like you will. We are all here to help each other out............ Annamarie