insta_adventurer

I got the shots while in the hospital- but didn’t have to do them after that. My surgery buddy who is 20 years older than me ask only received them in the hospital. The bruises from the shots were a bit nuts! My surgery buddy is much fairer skinned than me and their poor belly was a rainbow of blues, reds, purples, and yellows from the shots! Okay- so the bruises look bad, but the shots themselves weren’t that bad. I was sore enough from the surgery that I barely noticed them doing the shots! Now for smells- I haven’t noticed any body smells, but I do have stank breath. I still have this close to three months out. I think it’s all the protein. I keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in my cubicle at work to try and combat it, because I’m horrified by the thought of other people noticing my stank breath!

I would be furious, too! Did they give you an estimate to sign? Also- if it were going to be that costly- I’m surprised they didn’t demand payment up front prior to surgery. My hospital required me to pay my co-pay at pre-op testing. It sounds extremely dubious that they wouldn’t bill or tell you the full amount until after the deed was done. I would fight it tooth and nail.

Planks will tighten your core up and don’t have the crunching movement. Low planks (on your elbows) will engage the core. They seem hard, but just try to hold it for 20 or 30 seconds at a time and then add on time each week until you’re holding them for up to 2 minutes.

It could be a variety of benign causes when we’re only this far out. When I’m stalled, I fluctuate between 1-2lbs and just gain/lose that amount during the stall. The reasons could be being constipated, monthly cycles that cause women to retain water, hormones, etc. Or it could be user error and they aren’t weighing themselves at the same time every day. Sorry you have a cold! I dread the first time I get sick!

Agreed as well! I think part of the issue is that I hadn't signed the authorization to disclose my information and that could have prevented HR from moving forward and giving me the paperwork that my supervisor requested. Regardless, it's my fault that I'm having someone step in, rather than do it myself (my supervisor told me this is how he dealt with FMLA when two other of his people went out.) So I am just going to go on Tuesday and request the paperwork myself. You two are awesome, I really appreciate it. No problem! Yes, it’s overwhelming to deal with it all. I was super lucky that we have great HR people who guided me through the whole process and answered any questions I had. Hopefully yours will step up. It’s hard to be assertive sometimes and I’ve struggled with it, too. But sometimes you have to advocate for yourself to get what you want/need. This is a time to prioritize YOU and what’s best for you. Good luck! Can’t wait to hear how it goes!

Hi! For me- my surgeon’s office didn’t fill out my FMLA and disability paperwork until about a week after my surgery. Perhaps go and sign the paper at the doctors and have them submit a letter to your HR department saying you’re having surgery. Your employer probably wants the info to make a formal decision on granting you a request for leave under FMLA. The first step is getting the FMLA approval. You can get the FMLA form for employee illness here: https://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/index.htm Your employer may have their own request for leave form you need to fill out first. The second step is documenting the FMLA and reason for disability. The disability form is from whatever disability insurance company your employer uses. The way things work, is you have to be out of work for a week before disability kicks in. So you’d likely want to use vacation time for the first week.. and then perhaps see about supplementing your disability with any additional vacation time you have (this would allow you to still get paid your usual amount, as disability is a fraction of that). Your HR department should really be doing a better job at walking you through this process- as that’s what their job is! They should provide you with the necessary forms from the disability insurance provider.

I was going to buy special Tupperware... until I realized the little Rubbermaid red topped ones I had been using for dressings and sauces before surgery were exactly half a cup! 😂

Awww.. I’m sorry things aren’t going well at the moment. I noticed you said you take Wellbutrin and are having a bit of the blahs... I take Wellbutrin as well and had to switch from extended release to regular release post surgery. My surgeon said that not enough of the extended release would get absorbed. Also- if you are taking the regular release, it could be keeping you awake at night if you’re taking it too late in the day. I have to take my second dose before 2pm or I won’t be able to sleep at night. Hoping the EGD leads to some answers for you! I’ll be thinking about ya!

My new to me skinny jeans that were given to me a month ago (and we’re super tight!) are now too big.

aww i'm sorry you got sick, i hope you feel better. In my case, it's different. I'm a vet and i was sleeved not bypassed so i don't dump. I also choose to only do stuff like that rarely even though i have no reactions to food. Well, thankfully it was really just a little piece for a “taste”.. so I didn’t get the full on dumping that people talk about.. Yeah.. and I’m the same.. I try to stick to the plan for the most part and if I do cheat, I try to limit it to a small amount. I’d rather give myself a little treat on occasion than feel like I’m depriving myself. 😀

I can’t handle super sweet things like that! Someone brought cider donuts to work for someone’s birthday and I broke off a tiny piece (like 1/6 of a donut) to try... it didn’t taste as good as I’d imagined and I felt a little sick after. Glad I only tried a little!

Well at least he told you! You will encounter some strange on online dating sites. My mom tells me horror stories. I don’t recall it being that bad, but I haven’t been single in 7 years or so... and according to her things have changed!

I’ve lost a few band sizes, but no cup sizes yet. I plan on getting a lift/reduction post kids, as I’d like to attempt breastfeeding if we have kids and I’m pretty sure lifts and reductions will hinder that. One reason I started back into spin was because I want to keep the booty! I’ve heard I’ve lost a lot in my hips from a few people which is odd- because proportionally, I never had big hips to begin with? Much more of an apple shape!

Hey now.. I am the product of a barmance that turned into a very happy, very love filled 33 year marriage for my parents. 😂 Not all people in bars are bottom feeders!

I don’t know if I’ve ever officially been... I’ve just got to basically hear it at home (we live a crossed the river.. 😂)... What about hanging around Superior Merchandise? They have a wonderful patio to sip coffee or tea on... most of the Troy spots I know are bars.. and probably not helpful. I don’t know any single dudes. I know some single ladies, but no dudes for some reason? Maybe because single dudes don’t like hanging around coupled folks. 😂 Not sure if you’re into politics, but if you are and consider yourself a leftie, there is a pretty chill DSA meetup that happens at various local joints.

What about the Farmers Market? There’s always massive crowds there... or one of the Rockin on the River concerts?

I can totally see how post-op depression could be a thing. There are some that used food as a coping mechanism for their emotions prior to surgery and now that coping mechanism is unavailable to them. I had major depressive disorder and anxiety before surgery. I still take medications, because for me personally, neither of these things were due to my weight... so I never expected surgery to relieve me of them. The NP I see for these things says the only thing that will heal those wounds is time... and in the meantime, there’s medications to lessen the burden.

This is so true! I get frustrated, because I don’t think I’m losing as quickly as I should. However, then I remember to tell myself I am down 120lbs from my highest weight two years ago, and just had the surgery two and a half months ago. Surely if I lost the first 80 on my own (through exercise and trying and failing to fix my diet), I can losing the remaining 90 with my new tool! I’ve rethought my goals. I’m just tackling this 10lbs at a time. I’m currently 260.4 and trying to hit 259.9.. and then I’ll work on getting to 249.9 and then 239.9.. and so on. I feel like setting goals that are easier to achieve is helping to push me forward and encourage me. I think so often it’s easy to get caught up in the statistical expectations of this surgery.. that this soon out I should be losing 20lbs a month... and for whatever reason, I’m not... but I am losing... and focusing on 10lbs at a time.

3 miles a day sounds like a lot to me for 1 week post op, but it’s a great habit that you’re forming if your surgeon is okay with you walking that much so soon. I didn’t walk enough at first. In fact, I didn’t get my exercise groove back on until 10 weeks post op (I was cleared to do so after a month). But still- 3 miles a day sounds like a lot! Regarding eating too much... early on I found myself in that situation more than once! What helped me fix the problem was that I measure thing I think I could eat too much of. At my stage, they say I should be eating half a cup, so I put what I want to eat in a 1/2 cup measuring spoon and then dump that on my plate! At your stage it’s probably closer to 1/4 cup that you should be consuming per meal, but your surgeon can give you the correct amount. Measuring has really cut down on that dreaded “oh no! I ate too much!!!” feeling for me. Good luck! It gets better!

I really like the Syntrax Matrix and Syntrax Nectar powders. You can also get a variety pack on amazon for like 20 or 30 bucks that is a variety of single serve flavors to try out! Which is awesome, because I hate spending a ton of money on a tub of protein powder and then finding that it sucks! I did the Syntrax variety pack and then purchased a tub of one of the chocolate flavors. 😀

As long as you haven’t smoked for 8 days- you should be fine. I was worried about testing positive due to vaping and bought home test strips to be extra certain I wouldn’t test positive after switching to 0 nic juice. It took about 8 days for me to test negative on the home test strips.

I went to my first appointment undecided, but leaning towards the RNY, for the slightly higher percentage of weight I may lose. Through testing it was discovered I had bad GERD and that sealed the deal for me. My surgeon and I both agreed RNY was the best choice. I didn’t feel pressured. My surgeon also informed me that because they’ve been doing RNY surgeries for longer, there is simply more research available on outcomes. This doesn’t mean the sleeve is any less successful, it just means there is less available research about long term success/complications because its newer. As evidenced on these forums, there are lots of people who have plenty of success with the sleeve. I think it’s all about doing what’s best for you and your case.

I met the fella who is now my husband on okcupid. I liked it because it was free and asked a ton of compatibility questions.

I’ve changed it up and rejoined my old gym/studio. I’ve found that for me, my commitment is better if I sign up to be somewhere and I also get a much better workout. I don’t have to think of which muscles to target or how many sets.. I just have to show up and do as I’m told. So far, I’ve restarted spin classes and attended a boot camp. Boot camp was a bit brutal. Tomorrow I’m going to a boxing core class.. that is super intense (I used to do it before surgery..) I was falling off the workout wagon and not doing it nearly enough. I’m hoping this is what I need to get back into the swing of things.

So I can totally relate. I had a similar situation with my husband, but we’ve got a better compromise now. It’s cool that others have the willpower to have their loved ones eat crap, but the reality is most of us probably do not. Willpower fails, cause we’re all only human. I tried the laissez-faire approach at first.. I was totally cool with my mom and husband ordering pizza my first night home from the hospital... 🙄🙄. But I had zero appetite then... and then I did get my appetite back some and there were constantly salty snacks (my kryptonite!) around.. that I cheated with.. because like I said, willpower fails sometimes. I finally broke down and had a long talk with my husband about bringing crap food around. We compromised... he no longer brings salty snacks home, but I am okay with him buying sweets and the like. Why? Cause I can resist those... never have been a sweet person really. Also- he eats what he wants to eat when we go out or he’s out with friends. In my case, for me to have any chance at success, I needed him to come on board somewhat. Tell him how important this is to you!