laceemouse

I had my gallbladder out 15 years ago. The only pain I had was the gas pain. It isn't in your stomach, they blow up your abdominal cavity with gas so they can see what they are doing during surgery and that gas is trapped in you. It moves and can hurt in your neck, back, and shoulders. Mine hurt in my right shoulder, it was an achy feeling to me, like I had been beat up. The BEST thing to relieve gas pain is walking. Get up and walk as much as you can. That being said, I had ZERO gas pain after my sleeve surgery. In fact, I would say I had zero pain at all. I was in the hospital 2 nights and had a morphine pump (LOVED it). When I went home I had liquid Tylenol with codeine. I used it at night only for about 3 nights to help me get to sleep and haven't used any pain meds since. There have been plenty of other challenges since my sleeve surgery but pain has not been an issue at all.

I should add, most women lose their boobs too. Arms and legs can look a lot better if you work out with weights as you lose, the muscle expands to fill the loose skin somewhat. It really depends on where your fat is.

Almost everyone who loses 100 pounds or more has loose skin, no matter how they lose the weight. Go to YouTube and search "skin flicks" under WLS, RNY, WSG. People strip down and show you their skin. Most of these people are young and they still have it, especially on the stomach. You don't notice it when they are dressed. Many people have plastic surgery after weight loss. I don't think I would ever do that but it is an option.

Go to YouTube and search WLS, VSG, and RNY. The sleeve is by far the most popular weight loss surgery these days and many people have great success with it. There are people making YouTube videos who have lost 200 pounds with the sleeve. While it is newer as a stand alone procedure the sleeve has been around for a long time, they used to do it as a first step for other more aggressive weight loss surgeries because there is so much less time under anesthesia with it. Many people on this board have had great success with the sleeve as well, I am sure some will chime in

The anesthesiologist called me the day before surgery to see if I had any questions, but I missed the call. He came and talked to me before surgery though. Yes, they did give me something to calm me down (in the IV) before they took me to the OR. It knocked me out, I don't even recall entering the OR. The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. Stains???

Nope, it has nothing to do with helping you lose weight. I had mine out 15 years ago, had the sleeve on Halloween, and am losing very well. If anything it may make it harder for you to eat certain bad foods so it will aid weight loss. Having gallbladder issues is common after drastic weight loss. You will feel so much better without it.

I hate to tell you but I am 5 weeks out next Monday and I still have extreme food aversion. I don't want to see food or smell food. I don't want to watch people eat. The idea of watching cooking shows makes me want to barf. For a couple of weeks I was able to get down 2 Premier Protein shakes a day. It took me several hours to drink each one (I would drink a little, put it back in the fridge for a while, drink a little more, etc) I was really working hard to get those 60-70 grams of protein a day, plus my Water. I could also do some Soup, or maybe a little yogurt, every day. This past week I added scrambled eggs and was able to get one in most mornings. This morning I am trying oatmeal and only getting a couple of spoonfuls in. I know how hard it is, I am still tired. So thankful I don't have to work! My NUT says this will all get better in a few weeks. Next Monday I am cleared to eat anything I want to try and I hope and pray I can add tuna and some other protein sources. I don't understand people who eat real food a couple of weeks out from surgery at all. Some are allowed to and some are disregarding their surgeon's program but either way I just don't get how they are chocking down the things they eat. On a side note I have lost almost 30 pounds since surgery. I think having a tight sleeve, food aversion, and starting back slowly just may pay off. But it is HARD. Much harder than I ever thought it would be. I feel hungry but nothing sounds good and even things that do sound good are hard for me to get much down.

I think the majority of people in the US have surgery in the US. I had mine about 10 minutes from home, Plano, TX. Maybe most people just don't fill in the info under their name?

My #1 question was how long the pre-op diet was and what it entailed. Later I thought about things like pain management after surgery. On my first appointment they gave me a check-list of everything required to get approved by my insurance. Basically all I needed was a psych eval to be approved. Then my surgeon had some pre-op testing for me to do. Ask about a usual timeline from insurance submission to surgery.

Hey Ally I am in Plano I had the sleeve so a little different but as far as needing help keep in mind you will not be able to lift much for 5 or 6 weeks. What do you do every day? Take care of kids? Walk the dog? I didn't do laundry or load or unload the dishwasher for about a week. I went to the store with my husband but didn't lift anything. Of course, I have my hubby and 2 adult kids so maybe I milked it for all it was worth for as long as I could. I still make my husband take the wet clothes out of the washer sometimes for me because wet towels and jeans are heavy. I do understand maybe wanting to rest alone but it really depends on what you have to do every day.

First of all you should ask your surgeon these things, they all have different rules about what to eat when, etc. Some people are eating everything a week out (sounds crazy and dangerous to me!) I am a little over a month out and still on mostly liquids/very soft foods. I am cleared to try anything I want at 5 weeks. You should have been given guidance on this. I have been told to get 60-70 grams of Protein per day. Getting less will make it harder for us to heal. My surgeon says it takes 5-6 weeks to be fully healed. I was having similar pain last week, went to the surgeon yesterday (actually saw a nurse) and they prescribed medicine for gastric reflux. Many people get it automatically after surgery for a certain amount of time, my surgeon only gives it if he thinks you need it. I was fine until about a week ago. I think it's helping.

Every insurance is different. Some want a letter from the patient, others want a letter from you regular doctor. I didn't need either, my surgeon sent a letter to my insurance company saying I needed the surgery and I was approved.

I was in the hospital for 2 nights following my surgery and had the morphine pump the entire time. I LOVED it. I don't know why so many people worry about it. I would say I felt ZERO pain with this surgery. I went home with liquid Tylenol with codeine. I used it for maybe 3 nights to help me get to sleep but didn't need it after that. I never used it at all during the day.

The 6 month thing is usually required by insurance, I know a lot of the Kaiser plans in California require it. The purpose is not to get your body ready for surgery, it is actually more to get your mind ready. People have group meetings and see a nutritionist. They cut back on fast food, sugar, caffeine, etc. Some require you to lose a certain amount of weight, but the purpose is to prove that you are serious about this thing. SO MANY people come on this forum a week or 2 after surgery and are already disregarding their surgeon's advice because they just can't live without the crap food they used to eat. The surgery is not a magic bullet, you can't go back to eating the way you used to eat and expect to lose weight and get healthy. Plenty of people who have WLS fail to meet their goals, or meet them and then gain it all back. We need to learn a whole new lifestyle. I know plenty of people who did the 6 month thing and are happy they did it. It got them mentally prepared. That being said my BCBS Texas didn't require any of that. I had my first surgeon's appointment in August. I was right at BMI 40. All I needed to be approved was a psych eval, and then my surgeon ordered some basic pre-op testing. I had a very easy 3 day pre-op diet. My surgery was on Halloween. For me this was fine, I have been researching the sleeve for over 2 years. I have read everything I can about it, I have watched a million YouTube videos, I was 100% ready and I am doing fine. I have ZERO desire to ever go back to the way I used to eat. I always tried to eat healthy, and liked healthy foods, but I was too hungry to stick with it. I realize my sleeve is just a tool to help me manage the hunger, the rest of it will be work. I think many people have eating disorders that need to be addressed before the surgery. They operate on our stomachs not our heads. Having a support group is important too, I see so many people on here who have friends and family who try to sabotage them. It's sad.

I can't wait to get to that point, but right now I just can't get enough food in. Maybe next week?? I hope and pray??

You aren't doing anything wrong, you are just recovering from major surgery. Eat and drink SLOW.

I like it when people post all of their info on the side, it helps to know starting weight, when people had surgery, which type of surgery, how much they have lost so far, etc. As you can see I started at 248.2. I am 5'6" (that matters too)

I didn't have any classes, some people have 6 months of classes. Every insurance and surgeon is so different.

You guys need to research what your boobs are going to look like after you lose the weight. It ain't pretty.

I like the idea of fajitas, just don't eat the tortillas.

When I first heard of the band I knew I didn't want it. The idea of having something like that in my body all the time didn't appeal to me, and I also had no desire to go back and have another surgery if I wanted or needed it removed. I wanted one surgery and done. When I first heard about the sleeve I knew it was for me. My first surgeon's visit in early August he told me he rarely does the band anymore, however, he did blame a lot of band issues on "user error". Still, he rarely advises anyone have the band. I do have a story for you about rupture though, you may want to think about it since you job is so physical. I have a friend who had the band for several years. She had not met her goal weight but was losing well and was happy with it. Then she had a heart attack (I am sure it had nothing to do with the band, most likely years of obesity) Anyway, somehow her band itself ruptured. She thinks it had to do with the chest compressions she had during cardiac arrest. Now she is walking around with a ruptured band, scheduled to have a revision to sleeve in early 2017. I agree with others, talk to your surgeon. Your individual needs and challenges will be taken into consideration.

I am surprised you were cleared to workout at 2 weeks, my surgeon says walking only for at least 5 to 6 weeks. You are still recovering from major surgery and not getting in very many calories. I am 4 weeks out today and any day I don't need a nap is a good day to me. Take it slow, it will get better.

Best of luck!

I couldn't do shakes either. nectar was sorta kinda tolerable. cheese - babybels, string cheese, cottage cheese. Greek yogurt (i like oikos triple zero, 15g protein!) Once you're further out p3 packs. They have nuts which I would think you're too early for. 170-190 cal and has 11-13g protein depending on the pack. Avoid the ones with dried fruit, ups the calories by 100! Good luck - it gets easier! I can't wait to get the that stage. I am one month out tomorrow and have been forcing down 2 shakes a day because other than that all I could tolerate was a little yogurt. I can't add protein to my Soup because I get maybe 3 spoonfuls down. I have just started to tolerate eggs. If I could replace just 1 shake a day with real food I would be thrilled. I must have the world's smallest sleeve. I see what other people eat 3 weeks out and I am shocked. No way could I choke down that much food!

They don't have it in the store, at least not where I live. There is a lot of controversy about Genepro, my surgeon does not recommend it, but I was having the same issues as the original poster so I got some to try. Eh. I put it in a mixture of Water with a little grape juice (I am allowed unsweetened juices) People say they can't taste it but I sure could. Plus it make the color weird and the whole thing thick. But hey, it may work for you.