2goldengirl

Great job, especially on pulling back and following directions!

Why were you against it, originally? One thing I would really encourage you to do is to look inside and ask yourself why you have been treating yourself this way. If insurance is to pay for your surgery, chances are you will need to show that you have given an honest try at losing weight on your own. What have you tried? The sleeve can be a fantastic tool and solution for many, but it isn't for everyone. Good luck to you!

An exclusion from coverage is just that - an exclusion. Not covered, for anyone, under any circumstances. Don't waste your time with an appeal, explore alternatives, such as self pay in Mexico.

Forgive me, but I think this is really irresponsible of your surgeon No, you will NOT "explode and die". However, most sleevers do find that carbonation does not agree with them postop. In the immediate postop period (4-6 weeks, while your stomach and body heal), it's critical to follow your surgeon's guidelines. But your body will tell you, bite by bite, what it will and won't tolerate well after that. You have to learn to listen to your body and let your need for fuel outweigh the pull of the desires in your head that lead you toward unhealthy food choices. Some surgeons flat-out lie to their patients to scare them into adherence to postop guidelines. I think it's insulting.

Yeah, My husband already told me the garage is off limits before he agreed to drive me home. He did allow me to walk UP the stairs from the garage into the house when we got home. I'm contemplating a very short walk outside early tomorrow morning, but I think Huz would likely take a dim view of me heading down the two steps outside without a spotter, and he doesn't get up as early as I do.

Truly outstanding work. I hope you feel twice as good as you look!

Do what I did: "I'm fine. I just have a little something I need to take care of". It worked!

Anybody wonder where I've been? Well. I was sleeved on Thursday, 3/10. I went home Friday afternoon (the following day). Before I'd been home 15" I fell in the garage (I missed a step cause I wasn't looking where I was going). I fell forward, and bruised my ribs in the front. By midday the next day I couldn't keep anything down and everything came back up nearly as soon as I'd swallowed it. Called the on-call surgeon, who told me to go to ER. They did a CT scan and I hadn't hurt anything in my fall, thank goodness - other than severely brusing my dignity. I got admitted and put back on IV fluids and meds. What happened was, the swelling from the fall combined with the postop swelling about my hiatal hernia repair site, and nothing was making it past my esophagus. The only solution was to keep me in the hospital until the swelling subsided. I came home today. I never had any nausea. I never had any gas pain. I did get motion sick from my wheelchair ride down to the car and on the way home today. My worst pain immediately postop was trying to get in and out of bed, especially my incision site on the right-hand side. After my fall, my worst pain was from bruising my ribs on both sides when I fell. A note on weight. I was loaded up on IV fluids during my first stay (everyone is), and came home 9 lbs "heavier" than preop. All I had to do was the math (and look at my feet) to know that. I've had another five days of IV fluids, about 600 calories a day (each liter of basic IV Fluid is about 200 calories from the dextrose). Fortunately, I have a body composition scale. I weigh a total .4 lbs more than my day of surgery - but here is the other info: my total body Water has increased by a bit more than 11 lbs. As a healthcare professional, this kind of thing is very familiar to me. Someone else might have gone through all this and panicked, thinking that they'd gained weight after 5 days of eating absolutely nothing. A scale that measures only weight isn't telling you the truth, because it can't. Honest.

I would really take the time to educate your PCP on her assumptions vs. your reality. It will help you to advocate for your truth, and help her be a better doctor. Win-win there.

Brag all you like, you've earned the right! Fantastic job!

My surgeon required the sleep study, and I'm glad she did, because it turned out that I do have sleep apnea.

That sounds like total hogwash to me! Your immune system is not centered in your stomach, for heaven's sake.

I brought stuff to take a shower my first day postop, but my surgeon said no showering until this morning (I came home yesterday). I brought my hairbrush, a hair tie, and the face wash & moisturizer. And a pen to keep track of how many 1-oz cups I drank.

Today is postop Day 2 for me. I came home about 4 PM yesterday. Honestly I was more comfortable in the hospital. I started getting the foamies yesterday afternoon. Two areas of pain - my big incision, and my esophagus. Esophageal pain is the worst, I had a hiatal hernia repair. My liquid pain meds are vile, and they hurt going down. Not passing any gas yet, just lots of burping. I know this is temporaty, and that today and tomorrow will probably be my most uncomfortable. I'm sipping on my Water though it makes the pain worse. I had my AM omeprazole, now for the Zofran. I'll try pain meds after that.

What the insurer is looking for is a history of trying to control your weight, and repeated gains after losses. They don't want someone using WLS as a first resort. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thanks everybody! Just sippin' and strollin' . got my first liquids at about 2pm. It's 10:30 now, I've gotten in 30 ounces. IV is still in, so no worries about that not being enough. Laps around the floor here. No nausea at all, incisional pain mainly on my right side. Walking and getting myself in and out of bed. Getting in hurts when I lift my legs up. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Just need to dry my hair and we're off for the hospital. Not the least bit anxious or scared, just excited. Let's get this party started!

My RD gave me some very sound advice: "treat your new tummy like a baby's. You know, try one food at a time, a little bit, and see how it goes". Be aware that there is a VERY big difference between "weight" and "fat". If you do increase cabs to the point that you actually replace the stored glycogen in yoru body, you will increase the Water your body stores as well, at a ratio of 4:1. Water is not fat! The scale can't tell us the whole story if all it measures is pounds and ounces.

Congratulations! It seems much more real now, doesn't it? You'll survive the liquids. Promise!

If you've upped your activity, you may need more calories. You may well need more fluid as well.

The waiting IS hard - partly because what's coming next is beyond your control. You can't control when things get scheduled, or when the approval will come though, so many other things. I'm thinking that's good practice for postop - we can control what we eat, and how much activity we get, but we can't control the scale. Hang in there!

Fist bumps and high-fives, I'm right behind you (tomorrow is my big day).

Silly. The cream is right under the fingers!

I'm just a day behind you! I'm bringing one of my towels from home because I DO plan to shower. Hospital towels are dinky and scratchy. PJ pants for walking the halls. Chapstick, moisturizer, hand cream (I'm picky). I may toss in my favorite fleece throw, because it makes me feel cozy. I may throw in a couple my favorite flavors of decaf/herb teas. Hot Water is easy to come by in the hospital. Is your preop day full liquid or clear liquid? I've got V-8 in the house, and I made beef and chicken broths this week so I've got those on tap. I can add unflavored Protein powder. I took a vanilla Premier Protein shake and tried adding a Starbucks Via decaf to it, it was good! I'm not so big on the sweet.

That's fantastic! And of course, we always knew you were right. Always!