mngreeneyes

Congrats for taking the first steps. Good luck with your continuing steps to surgery! WHOOOHOOOO! pam

@@Indieflickers hmmm. That's frustrating about the breathing. Sounds like the infection isn't all gone yet. I've had lung infections that hung on a long time which is frustrating. I am glad your shin splints are doing better. Hopefully your knee and lungs will improve soon. Good luck! pam

@@Indieflickers I also have battled shin splints in the past. It helps to go slower to let your body adjust to running. Also make sure you aren't overstriding. If you take steps that are too long, it can cause shin splints and all kinds of other issues. I know the feeling about being frustrated. You will get there. Start slow and perhaps do the C25k at a very slow pace to allow your lungs and legs to get back into shape. Another thing would be to make absolutely sure that you have the right shoes for you. I had issues with the running store people putting me in the completely wrong shoes because they looked at me and saw fat girl so put me in motion control shoes. I have high arches and am a neutral runner. The wrong shoes will also mess you up good. It took going to a different store and getting refitted after I had healed to realize what had happened. EIA-albuterol is your friend. My PCP keeps me up on my prescription. I only use it when I must. pam

@@darinak I have been super impressed with Fairview Southdale and their team. I had Dr. Pierce for my surgeon. I loved him. He was the surgeon who did my initial information meeting and I was so impressed with him, I never considered either of the other surgeons. I've heard great things about both of the others as well. I also had never had surgery before my surgery, except the stitches I got when I took a header into a metal door frame at the age of about 4. The only issue I had with surgery was that they tried to make it less painful to put in my line/iv and kept giving me pain killer and it kept causing my veins to collapse in that area! It took 7 tries to get one in for surgery and that one had problems post surgery so they had to try again. The 8th one lasted the rest of my stay. Have you been to any of the support group meetings? I highly recommend them. Both the ones I go to are amazing groups of people who genuinely want to help. We don't meet until the 20th this month, but if you can make it to Fairview Riverside next Wednesday from 6:30 to 8, we would love to answer any of your questions and alleviate any fears we can. In fact, this month's speaker is one of the U surgeons talking about complications after surgery. That alone might help some of your concerns. My attitude going in to the surgery was that I wanted to know the worst, but expect the best. I had a really smooth recovery so the best was what happened, but I am also glad I knew the worst because I had figured out how I wanted to react to each of the complications as they happened. Once I came up with a plan of sorts for complications, I knew I could deal with whatever came my way. Best wishes, and feel free to private message me if you have any questions or just want to vent or whatever. pam

I second @@James Marusek on the walking and caffeine. I did both and it helped immensely. I actually was so terrified of going through caffeine withdrawal after surgery that I gave up my 25+ year Diet Coke Habit before I even had my first appointment with the NUT! I did it slowly, taking a full month, weening myself off a little at a time. First I drank less, then I drank smaller containers. Until I stopped. I still had another 2 weeks of headaches, but now I am great. As far as messing up, liquids are hard. You messed up. Its good that you feel bad because it means you really are trying, but let's face it, we have lots of issues to overcome and slipping up is going to happen. The only thing you can do is acknowledge your goof, IMMEDIATELY get back up and get back on track. The longer we wait to get back on track, the harder it becomes and that's what causes weight gain after surgery. "well I've already messed up so I'll just X." Don't beat yourself up, just get back into the plan. Mistakes happen. Its how you recover that is the measure of success. Good luck, pam

I just started month 5 post op and there are several veterans/people who had surgery before me that I look up to and look forward to reading. I have appreciated the truth, the back to basics, and the cheerleading. I have noticed that some have gotten upset with answers to their questions and sometimes I understand their sensitiveness and sometimes I can't figure out what got their undies in a bunch! But @@CowgirlJane I have yet to see one of your posts that I thought was actually mean in any way. I am pretty empathetic and sensitive myself and I just haven't seen it. I wonder if the webpage medium/writing is part of the issue. It is hard to convey emotions in writing sometimes and if someone is worried about being judged, will transfer that to a writer who was in no way judging and get defensive. I have to say I try to judge tone on a persons body of posts not on individual ones and as someone pointed out earlier, I don't think that everyone is doing that. Thank you to all the vets for everything in the last 9 months since I joined. You have been invaluable to me. pam

Not embarrassed to cry. Just haven't done it yet, although last night was a close thing. If I had had my sunglasses on I might have let the tears flow, but there were too many people around who might have called the cops on the sobbing woman on the trail! I got home last night after my run and texted my sister-in-law who I worked out with over the weekend to let her know that I made it. (She called me at work yesterday to help her sign up for the triathlon that I am doing in August, but she is afraid to swim so she is going to work on getting past that by August!) When we worked out this weekend she commented that I walked faster than she does. I am at least 3" shorter and have really short legs. She has really long legs. She still runs faster, but I walk faster! pam

I can attest to the wonderfulness that is C25k. Last night I ran week 5 day 3 of the plan. It is warm up 5 minutes run 20 minutes, cool down 5 minutes. It is a big psychological hurdle that I have never been able to pass in previous attempts. (previous longest run segment is 8 minutes!) I planned carefully. I didn't want to get bored so instead of doing my usual run on the treadmill, I took it outside and ran on the streets and local trail along the Mississippi River - lots more to see and keep me from being bored. Although I was incredibly thankful that the one stoplight I had on my run turned right before I got to it so I stopped for a short breather, I could have kept running and still would have made it. I evidently run faster outside too, as on the treadmill I never have any problems with my exercise induced asthma, but running outside causes me problems. Gotta remember the inhaler before a run now. As it was I made it better than 1.5 miles during that 20 minutes. That distance alone is a new personal record! I have never gone that far or that "fast". I RUN my first 5k on April 9th. I intend to run a minimum of 80% of the race. I am slow and the 30 minutes of running at the end of the plan will not carry me the full 3.1 miles, but I will be on week 8 day 2 of the plan on race day and plan to kill it! And when I cross the 50 yard line at the football stadium/finish line, I will probably cry! (I almost did last night when I finished my 20 minutes!) The only other thing that I would add to the wonderful information that JamieLogical posted is to take it slow. keep your eye on becoming a runner. You can add speed later. One of the fastest way to get injured and give up is to go out too fast before your body is ready for the pounding. This is a big reason why I have never gotten this far before. That and an extra 62+ pounds. Because I won't be able to run the full 5k on April 9th, I will start the C210K (run for 1 hour) training plan as soon as I finish the C25K (run for 30 minutes). I have another 5k in June that should be no trouble to run the whole thing, although it is a killer hilly course so I will need to work on hills at some point. I have always been active, but never LIKED exercising, but I have found that there is something amazing about putting your body through a challenge and it doing what you never believed possible. I know people who hate to run. I was always a little jealous of those who could. I may never be fast and at 44, I am past my "peak" for ever being as fast as I might have been, but I only have to keep improving. I like having a race to train for as it gives me a goal and motivation not to slack off. I used to run with a friend, which was great fun, but we haven't been able to get our schedules to sync since my surgery. We were both similar sizes and kept having issues with our legs so we never got as far as I am in the plan now. Another suggestion/hint I would like to share is schedule your workouts. I currently have my workouts, including where I am in my plan, on my calendar so if I skip a workout, I have to find a way to get it in somewhere else so I don't' get behind. It also means that I have blocked off time for me each day. I am not good at getting up in the morning so I go after work. Its becoming a habit, but I have learned that Fridays are hard to convince myself to work out so that is my one day off each week. Otherwise, I alternate swimming and running with a little bit of weight lifting. Find something you like to do. don't worry if you don't think you can because of your size. Do it. It will get easier and you will get smaller because of the exercise. Walk, run, swim, Water aerobics, yoga, bike, whatever, just move. You'll be glad you did. Maybe not the first day or week, but it will get better and you will be glad you kept it up. Whoops that got really long. I guess I am a little excited! pam

Glad you are doing better. Hope the monitor helps find the cause so it won't happen again. I can completely understand how this can be an NSV. Thanks for sharing. pam

I was diabetic for about 5 years before my surgery. I have never been insulin dependent, just metformin. While I was in the hospital after surgery they gave me insulin because my numbers were elevated (150-180) and I couldn't swallow my metformin yet. I went to my PCP three weeks after surgery and was taken off my high blood pressure meds. My PCP and I decided to wait until I had an A1C that was totally post-op before taking me off my diabetes meds. After three months, my A1C was 4.9 and we decided it was time. Now I have normal numbers so I guess I am in remission, but it took three months to be certain. pam

I had a very similar recovery to what James described. I had very little pain and when I did, I pressed my button and went to sleep. I wore out really easily so as long as I walked as soon as I woke up, I could get several laps in before I tired out. They called me Speedy in the hospital because I wanted to get up right away and after my first shuffley walk, I was almost up to speed. Overall, I had a dream recovery and aside from tiredness, I was very lucky and blessed. Sounds like you might be too. Just be careful and take things slow and you should be fine. pam

They will get better. pam

I lost 20 pounds each the first two months, then 15 the third, I am now more than for months out. I lost 5 pounds in month 4. Between months three and four I started eating regular food. I think that explains my drastic slow down. In the first two weeks of month 5, I have already lost about 3 pounds so I think my combination of working out religiously and eating carefully has helped already. Sounds like you are doing well! pam

I flew about 10 weeks after surgery (Minnesota to Atlanta). It was no problem. I don't' know that I heard anything about not flying. pam

You look great! Congrats on your loss. pam

Congrats. You look great! pam

Congrats! Way to Go! Keep it up! pam

By the first day of summer my goals are to: 1. RUN two 5ks (I already am scheduled, but as of this moment I still can't run long enough to run the full 5k.) 2. Start training for my super sprint Triathlon that will be in August. 3. Get into Onederland! I have just over 19 lbs. to go. pam

We have similar goals. I am in the 4th week of the couch to 5k program and I just recently bought a road bike so I can do a triathlon late this summer. I highly recommend the couch to 5k app, very cool. It coaches you thru the whole process. Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App Ryan, That's awesome. I am in week 5. I love the C25K app. It is so much better than when I used to have to run on the treadmill so I could watch the time! As soon as I finish the C25K I will do the C210K alternating days with swimming and start my Triathlon Training Memorial Day. I am so pumped. Keep me posted on how you are doing. pam

@Kaite-grimmo93 - I was an active, but not consistent exerciser before my surgery. I think I am becoming a bit crazy now. Since my surgery I have lost almost 65 pounds and exercising is so much easier. I have tried during previous attempts to lose weight to complete the Couch to 5K training program, but always quit or was injured. I am now more than halfway through and still going strong. I am even approaching my high school (very slow) mile time! But since that was 26 years ago, I am doing a little jig about that. As others have said, find something you like to do. I used to think I needed to take classes to be motivated because I am rather social, but I am finding that I love putting on my headphones and running or jumping in the pool for a solo swim. As it is, as a kid I loved swimming and biking and now I like running so with that knowledge, I will soon start training for a super sprint (very short) triathlon in August. I find that having a training plan also keeps me more motivated. @A New KK - I love the tea bag thing! I'm going to borrow that one. pam

I have lost mostly all over, but my belly is still really big. I can tell it is smaller than it was, but I carried most of my weight in my abdomen and so it is coming off slower. I have been weight lifting lately as well as swimming and running and I can see definition in my shoulders/arms and legs that I have never had before, but I need to build a better foundation under the flab on my stomach. That is about the only thing you can do. No exercise is going to spot reduce, but you can prep it to look better when the flab finally lets go! I am hoping that because my stomach is going away slower the skin, of which I have LOTS, will also shrink better than it has on my arms where it shrunk fast. I also have some crazy side book under my arms that could go away any time, but I suspect that may be slow also. Keep on keeping on and eventually it will shrink more. pam

Congrats on taking a great step. I had weight lifting on Tuesday and must have done too many/much squats and dead lifts because my butt hurts. Let me tell you that's a great feeling! We have some very similar goals. I have my first 5k on April 9th and will be doing a super sprint triathlon in August. Good luck with your training. Its amazing how one's attitude changes after surgery. For me, its the one area where I think they did brain surgery on me while they were doing my bypass! Keep us posted on your training! pam

I also had an easy recovery. I was able to eat the full amount allowed from the moment it was allowed. I am now just over 4 months out and on solid food, and the restriction is kicking in. I had times I felt full on soft foods and occasionally things that did NOT like me, but that has been worse as I have added in "real" food. I can eat steak, but not roast beef. I can eat fancy lettuce, but not iceberg. I can eat tuna, but not crab. I am still eating less than 1 cup of food each meal, but it has definitely increased. I still drink a Protein drink a day and am able to get all my Water and protein. At this point, I would just relax and enjoy the ride. Your pouch is likely fine. Just stick to your instructions from your NUT. pam

They used to always say for "normal" people that you should drink 8 ounces of Water 30 minutes before a meal so you feel full faster. That worked, I suppose, if you actually had the feeling of being full. It never seemed to make much difference to me. The 30/30 rule was important to practice before surgery. I frequently found myself unconsciously drinking water when out at a restaurant. I didn't realize how ingrained that was. The more conscious I was of doing it, the more I could fight it. Keep trying. Its worth the effort. Coincidentally, my NUT, psych, and surgeon all told me that not following the 30/30 rule was the #1 reason that people gained their weight back after surgery. I don't have any hard stats on that, but they all said it. pam

I don't have any experience with your situation, but I feel for you. I'm sure it will get worked out. Soon all this will be just a blip on the journey to your new life! pam