NewBeginning2015

@@gowalking, Thank you for sharing your story, it is very inspiring. Your renewed joy for life shines though and helps this newbie (17 days post surgery) get motivated to move past the pain and get to work on reclaiming my own life! Appreciate the open, honest post and pictures. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

@@brandytanny, Congrats! How exciting to have a date. I took the normal stuff to the hospital - slippers, pjs, toothpaste, mouthwash. Didn't really get to use them. But the one thing that was a lifesaver was my kindle. It really helped pass the time up until surgery, and hanging around after surgery. I think it helped keep me calm and from focusing on the pain. Good luck -- keep us posted on how it goes!

Glad you survived the EGD. It will be interesting to see what the monitor finds. @@greatestnameever, I think it is weird to hear such things too. Apparently my surgeon interrupted my surgery to ask how old I am...she said I "look young and healthy" inside and was afraid she had the wrong patient!

Thanks @@CountryGirl5584! That is reassuring to have it confirmed. I've yet to see a bill from Aetna (had my surgery on 31st Dec) so am waiting to wee wha it ends up being. :-D

@@Thinkbruce, that is a brilliant video, thanks so much for taking the time to make it and sharing it here! Very inspiring, and some great advice.

I am a week post op (yay!) and really healing well, feeling pretty good in general. But OMG a simple sneeze just KILLS me! I can't sneeze without cursing, because the sneeze seems to cause all my incisions to burn and hurt, for what seems like ages. Does anyone else experience this? Any ideas on how to avoid sneezing (or how to minimize the pain of sneezing)? I am in fear of sneezing in public and shocking everyone around me with the curses! :-s

That is awesome! I never thought of the pillow. Will give it a try! Thanks much.

I was afraid of losing food too. My nutritionist is wonderful, and we talked about this. She said I should explore why I want to eat (is it emotional, boredom, etc.) because once I stopped having eating as an outlet, I would need another way to deal with whatever was making me want to eat. She had some great stories about people who suppressed their anger with food, then had surgery, and afterwards had huge fights, that sort of thing. Anyway, I took her advice and read the book, "Intuitive Eating," which helps you identify why you eat. Of course we all probably have a million reasons, but one thing the book taught me was that I often eat for comfort. So I've been looking at options...petting the dog, hugging the kids, cuddling up in a fluffy blanket with a book. I think it has helped me -- another tool in the arsenal, anyway. Good luck, @smile121! And thank you for starting this very interesting thread.

Woo Hoo, doing the happy dance with you!!! (But stiffly due to the incisions, lol) So happy that you accomplished it! What a great feeling of relief and joy it must be to clear that first hurdle. And just think about all the practice you've had for the post-op diet...you'll be a pro. ;-p I know what you mean about it being suddenly real. It was that way for me too. I was very nervous on day of surgery. But you just have to do all the homework and be sure the decision is right for you. Anyway, you have a few weeks now to work through things. Congrats!!! PS, edited to add that the EGD gave me a bit of practice for the surgery. I got to see the hospital, recovery rooms, etc. So if your EGD is at the hospital, then that might help you as well.

@kyleebean, you have done absolutely awesome! 100 pounds lost is an entire person! Good for you, and Celebrate that victory! I can't give you advice from the perspective of how to get thru the stall, as I was just sleeved a few days ago. Hopefully someone else will jump in with some tips. What I can recommend though is that you look back to when you were me...three days out of surgery and in pain, barely able to get your Protein powder and liquids down. Think about how you mastered that, and kept moving forward, and showed the strength and willpower to lose and lose and keep losing. Think about the victories, too, the new clothes and stamina and compliments. You know you have what it takes. You've already proven it. This was a siesta, and not even that big of one. Now it is time to wake up and get moving again. Tackle it with all the strength you did at the beginning and you will be a success.

How did the weigh in go, @2NewBeginningsxoxo? Dying to hear. Hope you did it!!

UPDATE: Jan 4, 2015 This is still available as a 15 pack for $15 plus $1.99 shipping. It is offered by the manufacturer of Syntrax, SI03. http://www.si03.com/reg_index.htm. I like syntrax nectar a lot. Does anyone know the difference between Syntrax Nectar and syntrax matrix? My surgeon recommended nectar but I wonder if matrix is fine too.

Hi @@majorsmama, post op has been worse and better than I imagined. The pain of the incisions isn't the worst thing, for me. The worst thing has been the adjustment to the new size stomach -- pain upon drinking too much, belching, heartburn, grinding up pills because I cant take them whole, etc. It is just way more uncomfortable than I anticipated. But I am only in day four, and already am seeing a positive change in adapting to the new stomach, so I think/hope that this may pass soon. The scales are certainly making me happy! :-p

Great tip, @Mike4132 ! I will try that too. @@lynziv, I do think that moving will help you feel a bit better. I have been walking every day since surgery, first only about a block but now I am up to a mile. I go very slowly and it hurts more in the beginning but then seems to feel better. Maybe a combo of increased movement and more Protein will help give you that extra push to heal, sleep, (and normalize your BMs too!). Also forgot to mention, but if you use blender balls for your shakes, they have sleeves that you can buy which insulate and help keep the shake cold. They seem to help. Good luck -- and congrats on the loss, too! So exciting, and makes all the discomfort worth it!

Hang in there, @lynziv, it should get easier. I am on day three and am just now getting in my 80 grams. I am doing it by mixing 1 scoop of Protein powder (Syntrax nectar) into 4 oz of milk. It is half the amount of liquid Syntrax recommends using, but it mixes fine, isn't thick, and is easier for me to get down. I carry that a little Blender Bottle with a shake, and another with Water, and alternate between them all day. BTW, I had the BM problem, too, and yesterday mixed some MiraLAX into my bottle of water so when I was getting water I got that too. Worked fine and things were back to normal this morning! Good luck.

Great job, @2NewBeginningsxoxo! Only 3 more days -- you are almost there! How are you feeling? You should be feeling very proud of yourself, a 1000 calorie diet is hard to stick with, pre-surgery. I remember the NUT telling me that I probably wouldn't be hungry after surgery, that most people struggle to keep up with the shakes, and that's been true for me so far. I am day three post surgery and have not yet been hungry, and find the shakes very filling. I imagine that other people have different experiences, but wanted you to know that it may be easier after the surgery -- it sure has been for me. Let us know when you weigh in!

@lisaabrumfield, thanks so much for sharing. I am two days out from surgery, and it is very encouraging to read that it gets better. I am having a hard time keeping my fluids down, dealing with the gas, etc. and reading your note reminds me to keep the eye on the goal. Thank you!

I'm just a day out of surgery, and wondering whether there is anything I can do now that will help my skin retain its elasticity? Has anyone tried supplements, lotions, exercises, etc., to care for their skin as they are loosing weight, and help prevent saggyness? Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

Thanks much, @BLERDgird and @@James Marusek!

Hi there Majorsmama, I was told by the surgeon's office that they find Aetna the easiest to deal with, and very responsive. Personally I found Aetna a bit frustrating, especially when I called. I would get different info from different reps. I later discovered that i got better answers when I used Aetna's secure email feature. Hopefully that will help for you. 1. I was approved in 13 days. 2. It was pretty straightforward to deal with them. But I understand that Aetna plans can be different so called, and it was difficult to get info about what they covered up front. 3. I had surgery 2 weeks after the last day of my 90-day supervised program. I was trying to get it in before the end of the year, so my surgeon's office helped by booking me immediately when we got the approval -- which meant surgery on new years eve. :-D 4. The 90 day diet I was a part of had a psych eval and regular PT and nutritionist appointments. I did actually gain weight during the 90 day program, but it did not disqualify me because they said they only counted weight at the start of the 90 days and weight upon day of submission for approval (at the end of the 90 days). Hope that helps! Let me know if you have more questions.

I was super worried going into my surgery yesterday, going through all the what-ifs...I had signed a medical directive and did my will, all that, as a lead up to the surgery, and I think that got me in the wrong state of mind. But the neatest thing happened! When I checked in to the admissions desk at the hospital, the man who signed me in saw my surgeon's name and said, "Dr Halpin was my surgeon, too -- 5 years ago." I confided to him that I was a bit worried, and so he took a break and escorted me to the surgery prep room, and told me his story. He lost 110 pounds and has kept it all off. He told me that he sees bariatric patients come through all the time and reassured me that they all come out! It was a wonderful contact, and just the reassurance I needed. I went into surgery very calm. It all went well and I was discharged this morning. Am off the pain meds and feeling positive. Happy New Year everyone!

JamieMurphy, glad you are doing well! I just got home from the hospital today and feel really good, too. I was very worried going in, and it's such a relief to come out of surgery and feel decent. I'm excited to start 2015 with a new stomach and new lease on life.

Ah that makes so much sense! Thanks so much for explaining. I'm chilling out now! Just enjoying the last evening with my hubby before surgery tomorrow at 7:30 am! :-D

Good job Brandie! I will be in the same situation tomorrow - can hardly believe it! Woo Hoo.

That is wonderful! Looking forward to it.