lauraellen80

OK... I am not saying this is AT ALL the case with you... but from his perspective, he may have concerns about you following through with all the requirements. Only because you said that you asked for a referral to a psych. and never went, and that you were prescribed medication that you then did not take. With WLS, you absolutely have to go to all your appointments and take all the medications/supplements prescribed to you, and follow the phase diet before and afterwards. Again, I'm not saying that you won't be compliant; I'm just trying to consider what you told the psychologist from his perspective. In your next visit with him, I would be sure to mention that you understand the importance of post-op care, are committed to following the surgeon's instructions, and will promptly go to your surgeon, nutritionist, therapist, PCP, or whatever with any issues that may arise after surgery. Good luck!

I didn't get cleared right away by the psychologist at my surgeon's office, either. I have depression, but for me, the concerns were more due to my deep-seated need to be perfect (an "all-or-nothing" mentality) and my nagging sense that maybe I just don't "deserve" to be healthy and happy. So while I was initially upset that I "failed" my eval (hey, more "all-or-nothing" thinking!), I realized that, yes, I do need to be in therapy. I started going to a great therapist who is really helping me get to the root causes of my negative view of myself and will be able to help me throughout my post-surgery process. A lot of it has to do with making sure that you have a good support system and can manage the ups and downs of the process--yes, your depression may be directly related to your weight, but are you prepared if you have complications, or you don't lose as quickly as you want to, or have stalls? Not saying you aren't prepared, just that this is the sort of thing that the psychologists consider. Is the psychologist within your surgeon's practice or one that they work with routinely? If not and is just a random psychologist you found that takes your insurance, you might want to ask your surgeon's office for a referral to a psychologist that they recommend or that other patients of theirs have used. I say that because you mentioned that you got the sense that the one you saw thought you should try losing weight on your own. If he's not someone who routinely works with bariatric patients, he may have a bias against WLS and not be the best person to evaluate a surgical candidate.

My extra-wide flats are starting to gape on the sides. Hoping to be able to buy shoes in a store and not have to get them all online soon!

Totally normal. For about the first week and a half (I'm three weeks out now), I felt "blah," too. Just no energy, couldn't concentrate on anything. By the time I went back to work at the end of the second week, I was feeling much better, though still tired.

I'm almost 3 weeks out, and I felt a little left out of things over the weekend at the shore with a bunch of friends. There was some really amazing-smelling bacon for Breakfast one morning that I wished I could eat. I would have liked to have a chocolate-chip cookie another day. And there was a really delicious-looking Greek salad at dinner one night that I was sad I couldn't eat yet. I'm on soft foods, so I brought my own food, and my tiny portions and limited menu were depressing to look at. But, while I was taking my tiny bites of scrambled egg or refried Beans, I looked around at what everyone else was eating and picking out what I would choose to eat next year on this trip. I'd have a piece of that bacon with my egg; I could plan my calories out to eat a cookie one day; I'd have a piece of grilled chicken with a side of that Greek salad. And honestly, it was a good opportunity for my friends to see how I'm eating right now and that I'm still recovering. Most everyone seemed positive and supportive about my surgery, but if they had any lingering unspoken thoughts of "she took the easy way out," those would be quashed by seeing me sit there with my 1/4 cup portions!

I agree that there are a lot of people--not just on here--who seem to be either extremely ill-informed or willfully disregarding their surgeon's instructions... ...however, these types of threads make me really nervous about posting anything on this site in the future. I'm still pretty new, both to this site and to WLS (I was sleeved 3 weeks ago). I posted a thread a while back with that I thought was a reasonable question. I'd looked through search results, had left a message with my surgeon's office, and just wanted some opinions because I couldn't stop obsessing/worrying. A few days later, someone posted a ranting thread which mentioned essentially the same scenario that I'd asked about. I had to assume that it was a complaint against me, but I wish the member had sent me a private message instead of calling me out publicly. And yes, I agree with @@judyoz that it's usually not hard to figure out who is being ranted about, which I think is worse (and kinda passive-aggressive) than just bluntly responding to the post or PMing the OP. So, while there are certainly plenty of people who may just be on here to try to get someone to justify their poor decisions, most of us newbies are looking for a community of support when we can't even tell a lot of people in our "real lives" about our WLS, let alone talk about the nitty-gritty details.

Sticking my arms inside my knit tops when I put them on and pre-stretching them out so they fit better.

How far out are you from surgery? I'm almost 3 weeks out from surgery, and I still have some pain on the lower right where my larger incision is. The other day it started hurting more than it had been, and I was a little concerned, but then it was much better the next day. I've noticed if I'm bending or moving more than I should be, it will start to bother me, and I need to rest. I think that big incision just takes awhile to heal. However, you notice that the pain gets excruciating, you have colored drainage seeping from your incision, or that you are running a fever, call your surgeon ASAP to rule out infection.

My Fitness Pal app, Blender Bottle for protein shakes, Brita water dispenser for fridge, and child-size spoon.

I passed through the bakery section at the grocery store the other day, and the smell made me gag. I was at a different store today and walked through the bakery area there, and I didn't smell anything at all. I have a huge weakness for donuts and usually get seduced by the aromas in the store, but at least for now, that temptation is gone!

Update: I can, in fact, pull them off and on without unbuttoning them!

Einstein on Germantown Pike with Dr. Dallal.

I'm in the outer Philly suburbs and am post-op.

I'm almost two weeks out and frustrated at my first stall, but this morning I got dressed for work and realized that the pants I had been able to just barely fit into before surgery are starting to get loose. They sit lower on my waist, are really roomy in the thighs, and no longer look like high-waters!

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who went commando in the hospital!

First, I'm right there with you on the stupid scale. I weighed .4 lb more this morning than I did yesterday... on full liquids, less than 500 calories?? Second, I've never heard about drinking an additional cup of Water per 25lbs of excess weight. My surgeon's guidelines say 6-8, and I generally am getting 7. Plans vary, but my NUT said no caffeine for at least a month, and some say to avoid for life. coffee can have a laxative effect, but it may do other things to your body that aren't so good at this point. Take some Miralax or Colace if you're concerned about constipation. However my surgeon said that most people, especially in the beginning, will not have BMs every day, so unless you are not going for a week at a time, it's usually not a big deal.

I was sleeved on 6/15 as well. I'm on full liquids at this point and am doing well on strained broccoli-cheese soup, a Campbell's roasted poblano queso soup (chiles strained out!), and Imagine brand creamy potato leek soup. Sugar free pudding is good, but jello is not, and I tried Greek yogurt the other day and felt weird and gurgly with it. I've been making my protein shakes with light soy milk (started with almond milk but got really tired of the taste after a few days).

@fritochip--I was sleeved the 15th, and my surgeon's office said that my incisions have to be completely healed before I get in the pool. When I saw the PA on Wednesday, she said it would be at least another 2-3 weeks for me. I'm already anxious to get back to my water aerobics classes!

Wow, you're able to garden already? I'm about a week behind you (sleeved 6/15), and I'm still so afraid to do anything that might strain my incisions. I just started sleeping in my bed last night, rather than the recliner that I've been in since getting home from surgery, because I sleep on my side and felt a pulling sensation when I tried to do it. I'm walking about a mile a day, but I am still really leery of bending and stooping and pulling on anything. Maybe I'm being overly cautious...

You're welcome--I have plenty of time to stalk the boards here at the moment, as I'm still off work recovering from my surgery!

My surgeon didn't give me a goal weight, either. The goal weight I picked (145 lbs, I'm only 5'2") is still technically overweight according to the BMI charts, but it's a weight that I felt might be attainable and one that I felt healthy at in college. I'll be thrilled if I can lose more, but I didn't want to set myself up for failure, either.

When I was discharged from the hospital, the nurse told me I had to follow up with my PCP within a week of surgery. I called my PCP, and they told me that I didn't need to come in for an appointment as long as I was following up with my surgeon regularly.

You said you're 2.5 months (10 weeks) out and down 34 lbs. That means you're losing an average of 3.4 pounds per week, not 1. With gastric sleeve, 1-2 pounds per week is average. To figure out your percentage of excess weight lost--first subtract your goal weight from your start weight, and that is your excess weight. So if you started at 317, and your goal weight is 180 (no idea how tall you are or what your goal is, just picking a number), your excess weight is 137 lbs. Then you divide the amount of weight you've lost so far by the excess weight, and that's your percentage of excess weight lost: 34/137 = 0.248. So (again, assuming a goal weight of 180) you've lost 24.8% of your excess weight.

I had a 1-night hospital stay, and like a lot of others, I packed more than I needed. My hospital is about 25-30 minutes from my house. What I packed and actually used: Chapstick--my lips were really dry after surgery Heating pad--I put it behind my shoulder blades, and it helped a lot with the gas pain Pillow--it was comforting to have my own memory foam one in addition to the hospital ones Kindle--by midday the day after surgery, I wanted something to do between laps of the floor. The noise of the TV irritated me, so I just read something that I've read before, nothing deep. Scrunchie & hairbrush--the soft scrunchie worked better for me than a regular hair tie so I didn't have an uncomfortable bump on the back of my head when I rested it against the pillow My surgery binder--I have all my paperwork, instructions, etc. in a binder that I take to all my appointments What I packed and never used: Shorts--like others, I just wore a second gown like a robe when I was up. I also just wore the grippy socks they give you to walk, no need for slippers Multiple changes of underwear--I don't usually wear underwear to bed, and didn't want to be fumbling them up and down, so frankly I just went commando the whole time Incontinence pads--I have stress incontinence and was worried about needing them if I was throwing up. Never puked in the hospital, never wore underwear anyway Toothbrush & toothpaste--just used the ones the hospital provided, as they were already in the bathroom Face wipes--I went home the afternoon after surgery and just figured I'd wait until I got home to get cleaned up Biotene mouth spray--I was allowed ice chips once I got to my room, so I didn't need it Gas-X strips--the heating pad and walking helped my gas pain, didn't need them Phone charger--I didn't turn my phone on until just before I was discharged, so no need of it Extension cord--thought I might need it for the charger or heating pad, but my hospital is brand-new and tricked out, so there was a free outlet right next to my bed

I was worried about the psych appointment, too. I filled out a couple of questionnaires, but nothing like some of the tests some people have to do. The rest of the time was just chatting with the psychologist. I'll be honest--I did not get cleared right away. I have a personal and family history of depression, and I have some really deep-seated issues about my self-image and self-worth. The psychologist referred me to a therapist to start regular sessions. After a month, I came back to see her again, and she also called and talked to my regular therapist. She gave the go-ahead after that, with the understanding that I would continue regular therapy throughout the process. They really just want to make sure that you understand the surgery and the lifestyle changes required, that you don't labor under the delusion that it's a magic pill, and that you have a support system set up to help you through surgery and beyond (maybe that's family, spouse, friends... maybe it's a therapist).