gonefromhere

Also make sure you're not dehydrated, that can make your urine smell much stronger.

I started getting comments when I returned to work after surgery (I had lost 20-25 lbs, but started at 250). The comments were only from people that I told I had WLS. My best friend said I look like shit, and other coworkers (who knew I had surgery but not what it was) were alarmed at my appearance and asked if I was okay.
I think I got it early because my face changed really fast, my clothes fit mostly the same, but I didn't recognize myself in the mirror for a few days.

I think it depends on your workplace norms and scheduling. I planned my surgery for the holidays because almost everyone is out of the office, so I told my supervisor a few months ahead of time, but I didn't tell the PMs until I had a date.

As others have said, if you have a ramp button, use it.
One trick I used when I was first diagnosed was to sit in bed and watch TV for an hour or two with the mask on. I was awake and could tell myself that I can breathe fine, I'm okay, and eventually would stop having to think about it and could go to sleep.
Please use your machine! I had a friend in college who died from sleep apnea (just stopped breathing in her sleep one night).

I tried the vanilla (pre-surgery) and wasn't wowed, but it was one of the lower "rankings" on that site, so maybe another flavor would be better. It wasn't creamy like ice cream.

As others have said, if you have a ramp button, use it.
One trick I used when I was first diagnosed was to sit in bed and watch TV for an hour or two with the mask on. I was awake and could tell myself that I can breathe fine, I'm okay, and eventually would stop having to think about it and could go to sleep.
Please use your machine! I had a friend in college who died from sleep apnea (just stopped breathing in her sleep one night).

I tried the vanilla (pre-surgery) and wasn't wowed, but it was one of the lower "rankings" on that site, so maybe another flavor would be better. It wasn't creamy like ice cream.

@@nicole1171 I got some of those yogurt tubes (Chobani has less sugar than Go-gurt, look at the labels) and stuck them in my freezer. They turn into creamy popsicles.
I've also put regular yogurt into ice cube trays and frozen them. Then I'll pop out one or two and blend it with some unfrozen yogurt and Protein powder. It's more tart than ice cream, but if you want cold and creamy it'll hit the spot.

Thanks so much for responding folks! I really appreciate all of your thoughts. I think triplethreat nailed it with this comment.
I'm not sure where to go from here, but perhaps I'll try to have a serious conversation this weekend. Unfortunately since I'm post op and she's recently out of rehab we can't use alcohol to make it easier!

@@computercat - based on some of the more surreal posts I've seen, not the worst idea.

If it helps, I told the PMs for the projects I'm working on that I was out for "surgery" (no details). I saw one today for the first time post-op. She asked how I was feeling, I said I'm fine, and then we talked about our work stuff. They'll probably figure out what kind of surgery it was in the next few months but they can have their own reactions to it in private.

My best friend started gaining weight this summer, and complained to me about it. When she got to her highest ever weight (still lower than I have ever been as an adult) I told her I could no longer talk numbers with her. It hurt me to keep hearing that she felt like garbage even when skinnier than I have ever been.
Maybe that played into my decision to have surgery, I don't know.
We went through fall and I took nutrition classes and saw therapists to talk about my relationship to food. She continued to gain, so at the end of December I had surgery and she was at my college weight (15 years ago!).
I get that she's at her highest ever weight, and random people (like the cashier at the grocery store) ask her if she's pregnant, but I am so tired of hearing about it. She told me today that she thinks she's going to hate when I'm skinnier than her, and that her husband told her that maybe she shouldn't talk to me anymore.
I just needed to vent with people who would understand.

Oh, and the thing that cracked me up was during my final pre-op appointment I had to take a test (so the surgeon could make sure I understood what was going to happen).

Wow. My surgeon wouldn't talk to me about my medications, expect to tell me that I can't take pills and I need to talk to the doctors who prescribed them to figure out if they were okay to crush/split/etc.
Fortunately I already had a psychiatrist appointment the next week (before surgery). It takes 3 months to get scheduled with my psychiatrist and I would have been SOL I guess.

@@nicole1171 I got some of those yogurt tubes (Chobani has less sugar than Go-gurt, look at the labels) and stuck them in my freezer. They turn into creamy popsicles.
I've also put regular yogurt into ice cube trays and frozen them. Then I'll pop out one or two and blend it with some unfrozen yogurt and Protein powder. It's more tart than ice cream, but if you want cold and creamy it'll hit the spot.

Thanks so much for responding folks! I really appreciate all of your thoughts. I think triplethreat nailed it with this comment.
I'm not sure where to go from here, but perhaps I'll try to have a serious conversation this weekend. Unfortunately since I'm post op and she's recently out of rehab we can't use alcohol to make it easier!

I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for the first 6 weeks. I asked about stretches (like yoga, and PT for my back injury) and was told not to do anything that causes you to tighten your core/ab area. If there's too much pressure in your midsection, part of your intestine may pop out through the unhealed incision. I had a coworker that did a full back stretch (leaned over backwards with his hands up in the air) a few weeks after gallbladder surgery and that caused a hernia!
My gym buddy thinks I may be able to do isolated arm/leg exercises, but so far I've just been walking on the treadmill. We go at lunch during work. Before I went back to work I walked some laps around my couch, but that was it really.

The goal of the pre-op diet is to reduce the size of the liver so that surgery is easier. It reduces the likelihood of an accidental injury to your liver or stomach during the procedure

if your liquid is too hot some Proteins won't dissolve properly and will turn into clumps that float on the top of the liquid (it reminds me of eggs, to be honest). powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury says to keep liquid temps below 140F, but I haven't found temperature recommendations on anything else

The goal of the pre-op diet is to reduce the size of the liver so that surgery is easier. It reduces the likelihood of an accidental injury to your liver or stomach during the procedure

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I had a therapy appointment last night and I honestly felt a lot better afterwards. We talked about how this is really me breaking up with food and it's okay to acknowledge that it's painful and grieve.
@@ahappycamper I hope things get better for you soon!

The goal of the pre-op diet is to reduce the size of the liver so that surgery is easier. It reduces the likelihood of an accidental injury to your liver or stomach during the procedure

The goal of the pre-op diet is to reduce the size of the liver so that surgery is easier. It reduces the likelihood of an accidental injury to your liver or stomach during the procedure

if your liquid is too hot some Proteins won't dissolve properly and will turn into clumps that float on the top of the liquid (it reminds me of eggs, to be honest). powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury says to keep liquid temps below 140F, but I haven't found temperature recommendations on anything else

Yup cried. It's hard, hang in there
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