Trinn

Set them aside and try again in a few days.

I had my surgery on Tuesday Sept 1. I went home on Wednesday. My surgeon is fine including Protein shakes in the stage one post-op diet, so I tried that. UGH, no. No no no. Felt thick and gross in my mouth, the smell bothered me, I kept thinking maybe the shake had gone bad.

So, I went back to just Syntrax nectar flavors. Two days later, Friday, I tried again. A *little* better, tasted okay. The next day, a shake again made me queasy, so I set it aside, went back to nectar.

Today, I'm having a PP chocolate, with almost no problems. Now, I'm gonna be honest, today, the flavor isn't there -- my taste buds have shifted from day to day -- but the shake doesn't feel too thick, and the flavor isn't gross -- it's just not very chocolatey tasting to me.

My point is that your taste buds and experience of stuff will change every few days. If something isn't working, don't force it. Set it aside. Come back in a couple of days. And practically speaking with shakes, I like adding flavors using Mio drops or Torani sugar free syrups. Orange/Tangerine Mio + vanilla PP shake = Creamsicle flavor. :-)

Hey hey! I'm gonna be blunt -- have the surgery, and have it soon.

In 2003, I had increasing gall bladder attacks, and surgery was suggested. However, I didn't want to have surgery, and I was busy with a custody dispute and life -- so I put it off. And it got worse, but I kept saying, "No, I can't do that right now, I have to go to court, I have to work on this thing, I have important stuff, my life won't wait...."

Eventually, it got bad enough that I ended up in an ER with inflammation -- I was told to get an ultrasound and that I really should get surgery soon. I put it off longer. A few weeks after that, I woke up in so much pain one morning that we had to have an ambulance come for me. Diagnosis -- life threatening pancreatitis and extreme inflammation. Again, I tried to avoid surgery, but it was bad enough that they *insisted* I stay in the hospital. It took a week for me to get well enough to have the laproscopic surgery. I did, and almost immediately, I was SO much better that I felt silly for having put it off for so long.

Honestly, folks are not clear on this sometimes, so I'm gonna tell you up front -- you can *die* from gall-bladder related inflammation. You can permanently destroy enough of your pancreas that you're a Type 1 diabetic for the rest of your life. Looking back, I do not regret having surgery at ALL -- I regret that I kept putting it off and thinking that I was too busy to have it. And my life was so much better! I hadn't realized how much the gall bladder issues were causing me health problems until I had it removed. Now, it wasn't perfect -- I have had some digestive issues ever since, mostly when I eat fatty foods -- but man oh man, I look back on that delay as one of the silliest things I ever did.

The sooner you have the surgery, the sooner you'll be well. I'm a grad student myself -- I just had my VSL last week and my classes start next wee! -- so I know how pesky it is to have that happen. But trust me, you want to do the surgery now, and not have a worse emergency and recovery for waiting until December. In my case, I was always, "Just a couple more weeks, just next month..." and I really regret those decisions.

Also, I would say that the recovery is *easier* than WLS, so if you've had that, really, it's about the same. Please, schedule your surgery ASAP. The school will understand. It will be okay. Really, seriously, do this. :-)

It's interesting how different surgeons are! My surgeon checks for hiatal hernias, but if he sees evidence of one, he just makes plans to repair it -- he has no problems doing a sleeve with a hernia repair at all. On the other hand, I think if I had more history of GERD or reflux, that would have affected his opinion. In my case, I haven't had much reflux in years and years, though I did as a child. Also, he expected a hernia repair, but when he did the surgery, one wasn't needed. OH, and my surgeon said that a lot of older surgeons prefer RNY, because that's what they were trained doing and have been doing for years, but the next generation tends to be more likely to suggest the sleeve.

The seminar I went to was crazy. It was very informative and some people asked really good questions but some people man, I was wondering if there were even in the same room listening to the Dr. Lol.

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I was in the pre-admit seminar at my hospital, and of the other two people, one didn't actually understand the surgery or what was going to be done to her. Both of the others were still having carbonated sodas -- one Diet Coke, one regular Coke -- and seemed surprised they were not going to be able to continue drinking them after surgery. Like, "WAIT, WHAT? But how will I manage that????" level of surprised.

It amazes me how many people had surgery and are not getting any onfo to go by afterwords WTF I think there is no excuse to treat you this way are they in it for the money and just throw you to the curb ..Thank God for bariatric pal and the support you can find here..

To be fair, I saw and heard people *in my program* who have had all the same education I had, and were still asking questions that made me wonder if they had not really been in the room with me the whole time. So, I don't think it's all just people not getting education they should -- some folks seem to just not have it sink in.

Don't spiral! It'll be okay! Of all the things you could have chosen to eat, string cheese was at least soft, and protein!

Even though a "goal weight" for me would probably be losing 150 lbs, my surgeon *never* pushed bypass. He will do them for people who really want them, but his preference is for the sleeve. He makes it clear that he thinks it's the option with the best balance of risks and benefits. He's also really well known for his excellence in doing sleeves. I was sort of leaning towards the band at the beginning of the year, but my surgeon and his staff were pretty up front that they see better long term results from the sleeve.

AT least right now -- 3 days out from surgery -- I'm happy with my decision.

I feel ya. I did my last pre-auth hurdle on July 31, but it took them 3 weeks to actually submit the pre-auth claim. I kept being told " We are submitting it today!" and then they didn't -- over and over. What finally got them moving was that I went up the food chain and talked to the insurance management folks who tell the surgery scheduling people that insurance is approved. I explained to them why I was trying to get sleeved before the end of August (doing it before school) and they lit a fire under everyone. In the meantime, I made sure I had done EVERY OTHER thing they asked or were going to ask for, so there wouldn't be any other delays.

. Yes, EXACTLY!! I am in school as well and wanted to be sleeved the beginning of the school year versus the middle or the end. It seems like as of now, they are waiting on the surgeon to do his part before they can submit to my insurance. How were you able to get the insurance approved before they submitted to the insurance company? I have united healthcare.

The insurance company kept telling me that they would approve in 5 days -- that's their policy now -- and that they could work on my timeline if only the surgeon's office would get the pre-auth request filed. The surgeon's office was *sure* it would take 30 days to get approval and would not believe me. Also, my insurer changed their requirements in July -- they went from a long list of requirements and a 6 month supervised diet to basically a statement that they trust the surgeon's judgement. My doctor's office didn't believe that. So, I didn't get the insurance approved before the surgeon submitted it -- but my insurer was totally ready to approve, and to work with me.

At some point, the nurse/coordinator made it clear to me that she didn't think I could do all the things in a timely manner and that's why she hadn't been pushing it. She thought I still had to do the EKG, etc -- and I had done all of that. So, even after I got my insurance approval, she was like, "Oh, well, but it will still be two weeks or more to get the rest ready." I had to point out that I had already DONE all those things in the first week of August, just to be ready to go.

I'm glad I pushed, and it looks like I won't have to miss more than 1 or 2 classes total -- but I am a little irritated at the surgeon's office's handling of it. However, I am VERY happy with my surgeon, the care I've gotten, all that.

I feel ya. I did my last pre-auth hurdle on July 31, but it took them 3 weeks to actually submit the pre-auth claim. I kept being told " We are submitting it today!" and then they didn't -- over and over. What finally got them moving was that I went up the food chain and talked to the insurance management folks who tell the surgery scheduling people that insurance is approved. I explained to them why I was trying to get sleeved before the end of August (doing it before school) and they lit a fire under everyone. In the meantime, I made sure I had done EVERY OTHER thing they asked or were going to ask for, so there wouldn't be any other delays.

When I had that same feeling with my gall bladder removal, I was told it was probably a gas bubble caught between layers of muscle tissue in the abdominal wall. It was the worst thing I felt during the whole recovery, and I was sure there was something terribly wrong with me -- but I waited a day or two, and sure enough, it did go away.

The gas is pesky. In the hospital I would sit up in the chair every two hours, taking sips and sort of straigtening my neck to get the gas out. My sweet was also 'burping" me on the back to help. :-) When I would like down, I could be in bed for about two hours, but then the gas would wake me up, and I'd sit in the chair again. :-) It's not as bad as I remember my gall bladder removal being, though -- that I had some really intense gas pains that were like heavy duty stitches in my side. Today I've gotten in two Protein Drinks so far, and about 45 oz of Fluid. :-)

Me! Had mine around 11 AM on Sept 1. Was in my hospital room by 2:30 PM, and check out the next day about noon. So, this is my first full day home.

I'm allowed to go to full Protein drinks as soon as I like, so last night, I tried my beloved PP, but it just seemed too rich for for me. This morning, however, I managed all of a Syntrax nectar Roadside Lemonade. I'm also on liquid Vicodin every 4 hours, omaprazole once a day, and an anti-nausea drug when I need it. Last night I was up for my 4 AM dose and threw up a little bit. I think I was taking too big sips. Anyway, I used the anti-nausea drug then.

Right now I'm having small cups of cinnamon tea and of PP chocolate, with the aim of finishing up the chocolate shake by six PM. Painwise, I'm most sore getting out of bed, but sitting in my chair or walking have been pretty okay for me. Ooo, and I have passed gas and a tiny uh, poo. :-) I'm watching out for sharts, though. :-)

I used BS of CA, and in network providers, but I haven't gotten my bills yet. OTOH, I used the online calculator, which specified my out of pocket maximums and let me know what I could expect the total cost would be. Yes, they should be paying a percentage, but there should also be caps for your max out of pocket for the year, etc.

Up at 4 AM, taking my liquid vicodin. I threw up a little -- mostly saliva -- because of taking sips too big. I just want to go back to sleep, but I have to finish sipping my medicine first. After being sick, I took one of my teeny tiny pills for nausea, so we'll see how that goes. On the up side, I am "passing gas" and I know they'll like that when they call me in the morning for my aftercare call!

How is everyone? It's midnight and I'm up taking my liquid Vicodin and having more tiny cups of ginger lemon tea. I think this may be my low point so far -- I'm achy and tired. But I hear that the third day is the worst, and i'll get better.

Also, did everyone get a bariatric surgery card to provide to restaurants in order to be able to order from a children's menu or smaller portioned menu? And if so, did it actually work for you? I am not quite to the point of trying to use it yet, but just curious.

Yes! the nurse coordiinator of the surgical program at the hospital popped in just as I was leaving to give me a laminated card that has a medical alert on one side, and the restaurant request on the other side!

Yeah, the problem with egg drop is that some restaurants add a fair amount of cornstarch. I had some 3-4 days before surgery, but not in the stricter Clear Liquids phase two days before. I also can have it pretty soon after surgery. I also get to have Premier Protein shakes as soon as I get home, too. Trying that *right now*

Surgery yesterday, home just now! I feel good! I'm about to take a nap, though. Mmm, liquid Vicodin....

Got my last sips of Water in! GO TEAM SEPTEMBER ONE!

Tomorrow is the big day! I was stressed about the Milk of Magnesia dose, but I got the cherry flavor, and it wasn't that bad. OTOH, I was driving back from errands when it kicked in. I was like, "Please let there be no traffic! Please no traffic!" and barely made it home in time!

Heh! My current annoyance is a friend of mine who has a friend on the other side of the country who had WLS like, 3 months ago. While my friend is sort of supportive, he keeps acting like he knows better than I do because his other friend has had WLS. And that other person, well, she's been off work for 2 months, or something, and had a lot of problems and complications. So when I talking about the future or my expectations, he says, 'Oh, no, that's not likely, you will probably..." and then whatever his ONE friend experienced. He thinks I won't be able to go back to classes two weeks after surgery -- all I do is sit, because my classes are all in the same room in the same building -- or that I won't ever be able to eat this or that food that is entirely reasonable to have in small portions. I want to be like, "Your friend has not made you an expert! STFU!" But I'm too polite.

Okay, here's my exciting/crappy wrinkle for the day. I got up this morning and felt fine. I was doing some things, tidying the house, and I sat down on the bed to look at something, and suddenly it felt like someone grabbing my sides -- like a big stitch on either side, right at my ribs, in the middle of my back. And it got worse. I appear to have some big old intense muscle spasm in my back, making it hard to move. Of course, I'm off all my NSAIDS, and there's nothing to do for pain relief. I have put on a heating pad. If it continues, I am worried it will delay my surgery. *sigh*

Wow, I hear you on this! I was at the bariatric pre-admission program of my hospital on Thursday. There were two other patients there: a guy who looked to be 18-20 years old, with his mother, and a woman in her 60's. The guy was on his phone texting the whole time the education was going on. He was scheduled for a gastric bypass. At some point his mother mention that she'd had the bypass, and then later, that all his sisters had, too. He never asked any questions, but when the dietician told him he'd have to stop drinking Cokes (not diet either) after surgery, he seemed surprised -- he said he was still doing that right now.

The older woman (also a VSG like me) started off by asking how in the WORLD surgery through "pinholes" works, and the representative started to explain the surgery to her again. The woman clearly had NO clue what was going to be done to her -- she said, "So, do they cut the stomach, then? How do they do that? do they just glue the part back?" and then when told they cut out part of the stomach, seemed very surprised. She asked how they got it out the "pinholes" and it was explained to her that the laproscopic cuts included a larger 2-inch one. This was apparently news to her -- she mumbled she didn't think her doctor did it that way.

The other two patients also had a different doctor, who had no pre-surgical diet; their only limit was they were not supposed to *gain* any weight before surgery. All of the information about the post-surgical diet seemed new to them.

This is the 3-4th time I've been presented with this information; I can't imagine they've *never* heard it. So, it just seems like some people just don't get it? I have no idea. And I cannot help but shake my head at a family where everyone has a bypass. *sigh*

I have a Fitbit One and the Fitbit Aria scale. I love both of them. With the Fitbit app, they give you a set of tools that really complements WLS.

I'm also Sept 1! I was 9:30 AM, but was moved to 12:30 PM. So, yay! Three days!