karen_marie

I'm almost 6wks out, and I don't remember having any one specifically bad day or days during my recovery. I only used one pain pill in the hospital (just to make sure I could get some sleep), and one dose of prescription pain med the first night I was hope (for same reason). Otherwise, I was like you, not much of any pain afterwards, no nausea - really happy about that lol. The gas pains were there for the first couple days, but I knew to expect that and did countless laps around my living room. For the most part, I think the most annoying part of early recovery was being a bit constipated (normal) and just general discomfort while my incisions finished healing. Plan for the worst, but I suspect you'll continue on your current pain/discomfort level for the initial recovery stage. Best of luck!

Not sure where in IL you are, but I'm out in the NW suburbs. Had my surgery on 10/27/17 so I'm not too far ahead of you. Feel free to reach out

I had sushi for first time post-op this past weekend. I’m only 4.5wks out, so I just had some sashimi without the rice. Just ate the small bits of tuna and salmon on top. It was DIVINE. Also had maybe 3 pods of edamame beans.

Amazing job, @Henning!! You can really see it in the pictures I'm a little over 4wks out. I weigh once a week - week to week any variance in normal fluctuations will work themselves out in the grand scheme of things. So far, I've lost 21 lbs since surgery! 10/27 surgery day: 279.4 11/3 1 week out: 269.8 (-9.6) 11/10 2 weeks out: 266.8 (-3.0) 11/17 3 weeks out: 261.4 (-5.4) 11/24 4 weeks out: 258.4 (-3.0) From my highest of 300, I'm down 41.6 lbs total. I couldn't be happier with my progress so far. I'm prepared for the inevitable stall, and I know to just keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and it'll work itself out. Same here, no regrets on deciding to embark on this journey

Thanks @FluffyChix! I hit my 4wks mark last Friday, and that was crazy! Can't believe it's been over a month already since surgery! BTW, my laparoscopic surgery scars are like a weird half moon shape - looks like a weird shark bit me lol They're all closed up and healed, but I can tell everything inside has just a little more to go before being fully healed. So the 6wks is definitely right on for your insides to heal 100%. But it's nice to be able to bend over and squat down again without fearing for my life lol

hahaha trust me, it's like palming a basketball for me LOL I'm not any closer to getting rid of the FUPA, but hopefully over time it'll deflate haha. I'm doing great! Have my 6wk appointment with my surgeon next month, but I'm doing really good. Was lucky and had no issues with nausea or pain after surgery. Part of that was probably just my body reacting well to surgery, part of that was my awesome doc. I'm eating more solid normal food now, but it's still trial and error as to what my body will tolerate and what it won't. I've had a time or two of having a few bites too many, and had to go spit up some of the food - I say spit up because it barely qualifies as vomiting lol. I know the signals my body sends when I have to spit up, and I am getting better at knowing when to stop eating. And it's not like I'm pounding back nachos (although, MMMM NACHOS LOL). I have like 3 bites too many and I know I'm gonna need to spit up within minutes. So I'm focusing on eating slowly, feeling when my body is starting to feel 'full,' and getting my fluids in. The fluids seem easier in this second to last stage, only because I'm not constantly planning my next mini meal/snack. I have more time between eating to be able to get fluids in.

@FluffyChix one of my friends got her tummy tuck the day before I got my RNY done (she had her RNY 3yrs ago). The first thing she was showing me and her other close girlfriends was how good her lady bits looked now LOL she was like 'look how pretty my bits are now! no more FUPA!' (TMI but FUPA (pronounced FOO-pah) stands for fat upper pubic area)

My doc said I can't do any birth control with hormones (which I had been taking for PCOS), so either an IUD with no hormones or simply use condoms. I've never liked the idea of having an IUD in, so we're gonna opt for condoms at least at first. DEFINITELY don't roll the dice with just pulling out! I was surprised when I got my period on my own without the birth control pills, so I think the body shift will be fairly swift.

I actually had the bypass, but I too have experienced super dry skin. It's probably one of the weird side effects from the change in diet and hormone levels. I just slather on lotion every day lol. Hoping someone further out from surgery may have some insight on if this balances back out again at some point.

I already told my dad and step-mom that I'll be bringing my food scale with me to measure out the turkey meat that I will eat, as well as the steamed sweet potato that she is leaving on the side sans butter and brown sugar lol. They're all super supportive, so holidays should be fairly easy :knock on wood: I don't really crave much, except nachos lol strange but true. I'm still only a few weeks out from surgery, so nachos will just have to wait

Definitely invest in a scale. It is your best ally and tool before and after surgery. Hat's off to you for going this long without one! My docs told me between 600-800 calories a day, 60-80g protein a day over the course of 3-5 meals a day. Depending on my schedule, I may just have 3 small meals, or I'll have two small snacks and 3 small meals. Just depends on what I'm up to. I have started keeping at least one Quest protein bar in my purse at all times for those weekend days that I'm running around and don't want to worry about lunch. I drink a lot of caffeine free hot tea, powerade zero, and water or water with crystal light to try and get my liquids in. I also use MyFitnessPal to track everything I eat, and keep an eye on the nutrition breakdown as the day goes on to make sure I'm at least hitting my protein goal.

It's not necessarily that your tummy loves unhealthy foods (good news!), but stuff like cookies are what people refer to as slider foods (not so good news haha). Slider foods are are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. When slider foods are consumed, they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of protein so little metabolic energy is expended. The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. Definitely keep talking with your doc and nutritionist if you continue having issues with solid foods. Maybe try some vegetarian options that are higher in protein, like chili with beans but no meat. Good luck and keep us posted!

Are you just walking on the treadmill at the gym? not even 2wks out from surgery and being at the gym sounds concerning to me, but if your doc cleared you then go for it I wasn't allowed to do much more than walk and could only lift up to 10lbs first week or so, then was allowed up to 20lbs. But I won't get full clearance for all activity until 6wks out. Until then, walking and light exercise are ok, moreso to keep your body moving while your insides finish healing up.

I did choose what I call an initial goal weight based on the weight charts. I chose 160 for this initial goal, since that's still in the overweight category. Once I'm close to that or there, I'll decide on if I want to keep losing weight or start maintenance. I'm also taking into consideration that my body composition may be different (more muscle than fat), so I may be small already but weight more than 'normal' because of the muscle mass, not fat. But at least it gives me a bit of an anchor to swim to. And yeah, I LOL'd when I saw that 114lbs at the bottom end of 'normal.' I probably haven't weighed that little since grade school Height Weight Normal Overweight Obese 5' 5" 114 to 149 lbs. 150 to 179 lbs. 180 to 234 lbs.

Glad to hear you found a center of excellence! And to share a quote from my surgeon, who is not only my bariatric surgeon but the President of the Illinois state chapter of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Knee surgery is actually more risky than laparoscopic WLS nowadays. Crazy isn't it?! Depending on how long ago the friend had the surgery, her age, underlying health conditions..... the list goes on and on as to why everyone reacts differently to the surgery.

I'll add my love for my Instant Pot. It's been great in making large batches of soft chicken that I can shred up, and has allowed me to make good meals for my hubby with leftovers to spare. I can't wait to make more recipes in it now that I'm able to add more foods to my diet Mine also came with a little wire insert for cooking/steaming fish and veggies, which I will DEFINITELY be making use of!

OMG that moose is sooo cute! Kinda want one now haha I found a link to buy the bear or moose for anyone who's interested: http://teddy-tech.com/product/bari-buddy/

Today is my 3wks from surgery date. I weigh once a week - week to week any variance in normal fluctuations will work themselves out in the grand scheme of things. So far, I've lost 18 lbs since surgery! 10/27 surgery day: 279.4 11/3 1 week out: 269.8 (-9.6) 11/10 2 weeks out: 266.8 (-3.0) 11/17 3 weeks out: 261.4 (-5.4) From my highest of 300, I'm down 38.6 lbs total. I couldn't be happier with my progress so far. I'm prepared for the inevitable stall, and I know to just keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and it'll work itself out. No regrets on deciding to embark on this journey

Be mindful that it's also the end of the year, so insurance providers are being inundated with paperwork for procedures before people's deductibles reset on Jan 1st. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL, and my doc says they normally will turn around and give approval to shut and close cases like mine within a week. However, it took a little over a month to get my approval back. The contact at BCBS IL told my doc's office that because of it being 4th quarter, it was just taking longer to get through all of the paperwork. Hopefully that's not the case for you, but if it takes longer, don't stress about it! My doc still scheduled me for surgery because they knew they'd get the approval at some point beforehand.

I've been meaning to share since I got home from my 10/27/17 surgery and just keep forgetting - until now! My hospital is AWESOME - they give you a 'Bari-Bear' for stomach support after surgery! They gave him to me while I was getting prepped for surgery, and he's the cutest thing! He's not a normal teddy bear though. He is very firm, and has more of a flat body shape than rounded. He's perfect to hold against your tummy when coughing, moving, walking, etc after surgery. I don't really need Barry (that's his name haha) very much now that I'm about 3wks out from surgery, but I do still keep him in bed for a little extra support when I sleep on my side. Did anyone else get something similar from the hospital, or did you bring your own??

I'm thinking I'll do a progress pic on each month anniversary. Any more than that and I don't know if I'll be able to really see the difference, which may be a tad discouraging (even though it shouldn't be haha).

That’s an AMAZING gift from your family!

I'm a HUGE Disney World fanatic/traveler, and I've been thinking about this, even though I won't be going again until next year haha. Few ideas off the top of my head: Natural peanut butter (can grab a banana as a snack at the parks to have with it). See about finding a good healthy option in those individual serving containers, or pre-pack servings into small tupperwares. You can also get powdered peanut butter - get a skim milk and add some to it, shake it up, and voila - a semi-protein shake Tuna packets (just grab a fork/spoon from quick serve restaurants) Unsweetened oatmeal packets (be creative with how you want to add flavor - I'm a fan of sugar free maple syrup). You can get a cup of hot water around the park to 'cook' it a bit. Not ideal, but it's an option. Bring stevia packets or the like for an easy way to sweeten it up. Or add banana or other fruit from a snack credit. Protein powder packets. Not ideal but may be your best option to have a handful on you just in case. Bring a shaker bottle with you to the parks if you bring these, just to make sure they mix up well.

Good on you @Wanda A for deciding to do the pics! I actually took 2 sets of pics: one set with t-shirt and shorts on, one set with bra and undies on. That way, I can share the clothed 'before' set with whoever I want, but I'll still have the undies 'before' set so I can truly see how much my body has changed. Not sure I'd every be comfortable sharing those with everyone LOL! The 2wk pre-op liquid is not fun, but try different recipes for smoothies so you don't get bored. It made those 2wks much easier for me