gr8ful1

35 minutes ago, ALEandVSG said:

1 hour ago, gr8ful1 said:

What the hell?! So why couldn't you breath when you woke up the first time? And how and why would they put you back under!?

I think she may have said, "we're going to give you something to help you sleep" or something like that. So I'm not sure I was given more propofol. More likely they put something milder in my IV.

Also, I could breathe, but I could only take very shallow breaths. I thought that my abdomen was over-inflated. I'm not sure if that was really the cause though, because when I woke up for the 2nd time, I could breathe a bit deeper, and I never really had any issues with gas pains that night or any other day after surgery.

I'm going to be honest with you, not to scare you, but to prepare yourself for what might happen. Keep in mind that not everyone's experience is like mine.

My surgery was just a few weeks ago. I am no stranger to surgeries and anesthesia, as this is my fourth. I woke up in the recovery room in sheer panic. I didn't notice pain, but I felt like I couldn't expand my lungs enough to breathe and I said so with my first breath. A nurse standing over me said, "you are doing fine, your oxygen saturation level is 98%. We'll put you back to sleep to give you a bit more time before we take you up to your room." And just about the time she finished saying that, I was out again, and don't remember waking up again until they were wheeling me down the hall and into the elevator. And I could breathe much easier then, though I still couldn't take breaths that were as deep as I wanted to breathe. I felt *much* better as the hours went on. Nurses told me that pain meds could cause nausea, so I refused them. Never even had Tylenol. And honestly, the pain was never above 3 out of 10, so I didn't miss them.

53 minutes ago, Kookies said:

Hey, my surgery were July 17 I am doing great

Good to hear! Mine was on the 25th and I'm doing great, too. It looks like I hit the infamous "3 week stall" about 4 days ago, but I'm sticking to my plan and hoping to see a big weight loss one day soon.

@mercmerc I don't measure food in ounces because it can be confusing. 4 liquid ounces is 1/2 cup in volume, but it does not equal 4 ounces in weight for all foods. I use ounces for measuring my Water consumption and nothing else. I forgot to mention another food that I'm enjoying now: egg salad (no celery yet)

6 hours ago, mercmerc said:

Hey ya'll! I start classes tomorrow what can I take for lunch??? And Snacks?? Im in college junior year so my classes give me a break at 11-12:30 but im there from 8am-about 3:20! Any Snacks and food ideas? Also portion sizes?

We had surgery on the same day, but I don't know what's allowed for you at this stage. For me, I'm supposed to be working up to 1/2 cup of food this week, but I should stop eating if I feel full before 1/2 cup. Some of the foods I can and do eat now, and will pack in my lunchbox next week:

- canned tuna with mayo

- ritz crackers (snack or side item)

- fruit cocktail (don't drink the juice)

- cottage cheese

- refried Beans with some shredded cheddar cheese on top

- baked fish (salmon, cod, tilapia) - probably best eaten at home. :-)

Multivitamins are best absorbed when taken with food. Some Vitamins, namely the fat-soluble Vitamins, are ONLY absorbed with food. Since I don’t drink Water while eating food, even just a small sip with a pill, I will never take a non-chewable Multivitamin pill again.

On 8/8/2018 at 12:01 PM, gr8ful1 said:

Just got this message about the 2018 support group schedule from Fitzer's support group leader:

Sept 4th 6-7 pm which is the day after Labor Day, on Tuesday. ... October 1st 6-7pm November 5th 6-7pm December 3rd 6-7 pm.

Change to the change! The next support group meeting is on September 11th, *not* September 4th. Deby decided to keep it on the 11th because that date is on the schedule that Dr. Fitzer's office distributed to his patients.

11 minutes ago, Roxine said:

PPS - I'm going to try and make the September meeting! And maybe the Hospital one next Thursday...

Awesome! It would be great to meet you. I should be able to make the September meeting on the 11th, but I have a scheduling conflict for next Thursday evening which means I'm probably not going to be able to make it to the "Staple Club" meeting. It's really frustrating, because I wanted to show up for the first meeting after surgery and share my experience there. Oh well, if I don't go until September, I'll make a more dramatic appearance. LOL.

@tera73 brought up an excellent point regarding the dietitian helping with food choices. Good to hear you're doing so well after surgery, Tera!

@FINFAN3DP, I am thankful for the 6 months of dietitian visits before my surgery, because that gave me time to think about my own issues and readiness for surgery and life after surgery. Like I said in my first post, you've got to get your head in the game, and although we all want to see you succeed and get healthier, I wouldn't want to push you into getting surgery when you don't yet have that "let's do this!" feeling in your head. Why not go ahead and see the dietitian once and see how it goes? I think it's worth the out-of-pocket cost. She's really terrific.

I also have my gastric bypass on 7/25, and you're both doing better than me. I am down 16.5 pounds from my morning weight on 7/25. Add 7.5 pounds to that if you want to count my 3-day clear liquid diet immediately before surgery. I think I'm just about where I need to be. My first goal is to lose 16-19% of my excess body weight and 2.5-3" from my waist by my 1-month weigh-in. This will put me at the 50th to 75th percentile for gastric bypass patients according to one large peer-reviewed study.

My plan says 1/2 cup per meal, 3 days per meal, no snacking or grazing. This is the permanent phase starting 7 weeks out from surgery.

Just got this message about the 2018 support group schedule from Fitzer's support group leader:

Sept 4th 6-7 pm which is the day after Labor Day, on Tuesday. ... October 1st 6-7pm November 5th 6-7pm December 3rd 6-7 pm.

3 minutes ago, reboot said:

One more quick thing I wanted to add, that really resonated with me when I spoke with Dr. Fitzer.... I have roughly 170 lbs to lose. For most of my adult life, I have been "dieting", losing 10 lbs here, regaining, then losing 20, or 30. I think the most I've ever lost in one stretch was 50 lbs.

His words - "Statistically speaking, your chances of losing all the weight you need to lose on your own, is practically 0".

I was shocked, and even mildly insulted. It was hard to take, but once I processed it, I realized he was right and I am grateful he said it because it was exactly what I needed to hear.

The truth is, most of us fail on diets, especially those of us who are severely obese. And guess what? While it may be our faults we put on the weight, it's NOT our fault that we are unsuccessful at taking it off. Its not just as simple as will-power or calories in-calories out. Even with the surgery, YOU still have to put in the work to lose, but the surgery is a very powerful tool you can use to get there.

Well said, my friend! My wife is a family physician, and she had always cooked for me and encouraged me to eat better, exercise, and eat less. I too was "successful" at losing up to 60 pounds at a time. But it would always come back, usually with more pounds added before I got my diet back on track again. On day she eventually told me, "I hate seeing you struggle like this. I didn't want to tell you this because I believed you could lose and keep the way off on your own, but the truth is that almost nobody at your weight is able to lose weight and keep it off through diet and exercise alone. All the best studies agree. At your height and weight, weight loss surgery is the only thing that works for most people."

One question that sometimes comes up is, "any regrets?" The most frequent answer I've heard is, "My life has been great since surgery. I regret I didn't have this surgery even sooner."

Oh, and regarding your tastes in food, I don't think that should be a factor. Many patients' tastes in food change post-op. Expect some new likes and dislikes, and be open to trying new things. Protein is the name of the game post-op, so if you hate veggies, you're not longer going to be encouraged to eat five servings of them per day post-op. LOL

Fitzer's support group usually meets the first Monday of each month at 6:00. The first Monday of next month is Labor Day, so the group won't meet then. Deby, our support group leader, will announce the September date soon. It will probably be 9/10. The printed schedule says 9/11, but she thinks that's a typo. So stay tuned for more on the September meeting.

Reston Hospital also has a bariatric surgery support group that meets on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30. Next Thursday, 8/16 is the next meeting date.

Both support groups meet in the same conference room at the hospital: Pavilion II, 2nd floor, Conference Room A.

You are welcome to drop in!

22 minutes ago, FINFAN3DP said:

Hi All,

I had my consultation with Dr. Fitzer about a 3 weeks ago. Since then, Heather has called a couple times to set up appt with dietician. I haven't called her back. I'm 390lbs, but have only one health issue, sleep apnea. Everything else is good. I'm scared to make the next step because i don't want to be sick to my stomach for the rest of my life. Happy to read you guys success stories, but still don't know if this is for me.

Fin

Hi Fin! I too had some serious doubts when I first started considering weight loss surgery four years ago. It's not just a surgery, but a new lifestyle, and you have to get your mind right before you proceed. Would you consider attending a support group? Dr. Fitzer's office offers 2 monthly support groups to his patients. The groups are especially welcoming to pre-surgery patients, and everyone is very open about sharing their own experiences and answering your questions. The support group definitely helped me with my fears and made me feel less alone in my journey.

By the way, I am exactly 2 weeks out from gastric bypass surgery, and sleep apnea was my only major co-morbidity as well. But I knew that I could be told I have diabetes or hypertension at any given checkup, and I didn't want to wait for that to happen, or worse. I am doing great. I am not disgusted by food now, which was one of my fears pre-op. I feel like I now have a control over food, as opposed to food having control over me. And that is a GREAT feeling. :-)

On 08/05/2018 at 18:56, mercmerc said:

In a week I lost 11 pounds but i've been stuck on the scale for 2-3 days now .. my stomach is definitely smaller and my clothes are loose

The clothes tell the true story, so don’t let the scale get you down. I went UP half a pound a couple days ago, and I was wondering how, because I am eating less than 100 calories a day! But weight fluctuates naturally from day to day, so it shouldn’t be surprising. I’m going to focus on my weekly average weight. This week’s average minus last week’s average is my weekly weight loss. I am sure I will still see stalls, but I think weekly averages give a more accurate picture of what’s going on. I’m also measuring my neck, abs, and waist.

On 08/05/2018 at 18:49, GeminiSky said:

How much have you lost since the actual surgery not counting pre op diet?

Down 14 pounds from the morning of my surgery, which was 11 days ago.

On 08/04/2018 at 15:07, mercmerc said:

I can't wait to eat cheese and eggs omg

Im allowed to eat cottage cheese now, but I can’t wait to eat Laughing Cow! I can eat half a scrambled egg starting this Friday.

3 minutes ago, mercmerc said:

Howwww!!! How are you spacing your protien and water!! To fit one day?? Are you eating Soup? Or anything else??

I *always* have a water bottle with me and sip from it all day long. I also drink 4 oz of Protein Shakes 3 times per day as directed by my program. They let me count this as "water," so that's 12 oz of it. I also drink 4-6 oz of cold brew coffee, and about 4 oz of broth per day. All of it counts.

In short, it’s going great! I’m having no problems getting 65-70 oz of Water and 9 oz of Protein Shakes down daily. I never took any pain meds, either at the hospital or at home. I have taken some gas-x, but honestly, I don’t even know if I need that. I do toss and turn in bed and get some lower back and hip pain while trying to sleep. Probably because I’m on my back 98% of the time I’m in bed. I do have an adjustable bed, so I don’t think sleeping in a recliner would be more comfortable. And I love my bed!

3 minutes ago, mercmerc said:

5 minutes ago, gr8ful1 said:

@Laura7 and @mercmerc I hope you both are doing well and free from complications. I convinced my surgeon to discharge me when he made his evening rounds yesterday. The main thing he was concerned with was that I could drink enough to get off of the IV fluids. I was up to 4oz per hour, so he gave me a stern talk about not "popping my pouch" by drinking too fast the first 3 weeks, then he let me go. It's good to be home.

What did he mean by "popping your pouch" I got discharged yesterday, by noon. I never even heard of "popping my pouch"

Good to hear you made it out! He meant rupturing the staple line before it has healed. It's pretty rare, but serious enough to be 100% fatal if not treated fast enough with emergency surgery. Basically, he said to stop drinking if I get a feeling like bread is stuck in my throat. Take small sips, and wait about 5 seconds between sips to see if I get any "I'm full" feedback before taking the next sip.

It gets better every day. I'm very blessed to have had a complication-free experience so far.

@Laura7 and @mercmerc I hope you both are doing well and free from complications. I convinced my surgeon to discharge me when he made his evening rounds yesterday. The main thing he was concerned with was that I could drink enough to get off of the IV fluids. I was up to 4oz per hour, so he gave me a stern talk about not "popping my pouch" by drinking too fast the first 3 weeks, then he let me go. It's good to be home.

On 7/25/2018 at 10:10 PM, KristinaC said:

I'm 2 weeks out today. I actually sat in a recliner a lot in the hospital, I was so uncomfortable in the hospital bed.

Best wishes to you as you recover!

Thank you and best wishes to you as well! I was ok with the hospital bed, but on the morning after my surgery, one of the nurse techs asked me if I wanted to sit in the recliner, and I said, "sure!" She lined it with a sheet and a pad, and moved the leg cuffs over to the chair for me. It was ok, but I didn't find it more comfortable than the bed. The main advantage was that it was easier to get up from, and I got up more often from the chair.

Had bypass surgery today. Hope I’ll be much more mobile tomorrow.