Naughty Glitter Goddess

Gastric bypass plus a hiatal hernia and umbilical hernia

I'm only 4 days post op. I'm on liquids for 2 weeks, then purees 2 weeks, followed by soft foods 2 weeks. I already know my first soft food is going to be refried beans.

Doing a little poll... How many days after surgery did you have your first poo? Assisted by laxatives or unassisted? I'm only 2.5 days post-op so I'm just gathering data. But if you want to tell me your poo story go for it. I'm all ears.

Yes, grandma! I have some stretchy slip shorts I wear under my dresses that I'm going to switch to once my incisions are a little less tender.

1. Belly wrap or abdominal binder. Ask your doctor about this first!!! This has made a big difference for me in the first few days I only wear it when I'm getting up to do my walking as it keeps my belly from jiggling and pulling on all the suture sites. I wear it as loosely as possible for light support then I slip ice packs under it for 20 minutes when I'm done lifesaver! I should note my doctor has specifically asked me not to wear this tightly and not to wear it when sitting or sleeping. 2. Ice packs. We bought the small square gel packs I believe they also make circles. These have been fantastic for managing pain especially when I'm coming up on the end of my pain med window or just after I've done some walking. I'm noticeably more comfortable within minutes. Pick two three or four spots that are the worst and go for it! 3. Walking and breathing. So simple! I really think the greatest source of pain has been from gas pain which is usually alleviated within a minute or two on the laps I'm doing around my living room. In addition when I've been resting or sitting for a period of time and I first stand up to take a deep breath it always hurts. But a few breaths on my breathing exercise contraption and the tightness is gone and feels much better. I'm so pleased to say that I'm doing very well 3 days post op with no problems drinking. I even showered today! Hopefully this was helpful for you and if it was keep reading! Because I got all these tips from other folks on this site. Ijust wanted to bump them forward for those of you preop who are searching for ideas and tips. Good luck!

In my pre-op weight loss group there was a bariatric nurse who was planning to undergo sleeve surgery. She told us all a bunch of horror stories about what can happen when people move too quickly on their diet. It cured me for sure! Apparently it has very little to do with how the patient feels and a lot to do with the possibility of leaking at the surgery sites. She said it can be caused by too much pressure, foods that are too irritating, and a host of other things. The problem is no one knows which camp they fall into until they try it. I'm happy to hear that you're doing well and feeling well enough to try something like that. Your nutritionist and doctor would probably be pleased to hear it as well and might even give you the go-ahead. But if they say no I'd stick to it.

Thanks for asking I'm doing really well. I had surgery Wednesday, came home Thursday, and now two days later I'm feeling as well as can be expected I guess! As long as I keep up on my Tylenol and Oxycodone my pain is fairly minimal. I'm able to move around quite a bit, showered today. I'm also having pretty good success with keeping up on my water and protein intake. It's been slow but steady and nausea and vomiting have not been a problem. So far I'm really pleased ?

You're doing the right thing Ellie! I had my surgery on Wednesday and a few days leading up to it I was just absolutely terrified. I've had anesthesia a few times before and did okay with it. I don't know why this seem like so much bigger of a thing to me. Anyway, lots of people responded and told me that it would be okay and gave me their experiences and even though I'd read all of those same things on many other people's posts having them say it directly to ME somehow made the difference. This site is magical in that way. Lots of people in the same boat who truly care about how you're doing. All that to say I woke up feeling okay, very groggy and slept quite a bit the first couple of hours. I had some pretty serious pain and nausea throughout the night but was very good at advocating for myself with the nurses They got things under control pretty quickly and the next morning I was able to do really well with drinking both water and protein. Good luck, I hope you do well!

Yes, i had this too. Yesterday was my first full day at home after my bypass. Ive noticed its better already. First couple of days felt like I was in a half dream, half awake state anytime i tried to sleep. Propping myself up, doing the walks and taking deep breaths regularly helped it improve quickly. Slept 4 hours straight last night, awake for an hour than 3 more. It gets better fast!

I made it! Overnight was a little rough, nausea being the main issue. I anticipated that, it's common for me after anesthesia. I wasnt able to start drinking yesterday due to nausea but have been doing well with it today. The most pain by far is from my umbilical hernia which ended up being very involved. But now i have a cute new belly button! Should be headed home this afternoon. Let the real work begin!

Cats for cannabis!

Great thanks. So how long would you say it lasts? Like 2-3 hours? We take it twice a day and it provides pretty even relief that way. Start at the lowest dose on package and see how you feel. Give it a few days and you should be able to tell the difference if it works for you. Should also say that CBD oil quality varies greatly. Your best bet is to purchase from a supplier that also sells medicinal cannabis at a dispensary. Those folks are using the whole plant to make the CBD oil instead of just stems and leftover industrial by-product from hemp. There's lots of information, do your research and you should be good.

Right?

We take it sublingually. One of the budtenders I know says his mom uses it for arthritis pain and she uses it topically for that.

My husband and I both use CBD and have been doing so for about a year. We live in a legal state but due to my huband's job in the medical profession he steers clear of THC as a precaution. We initially tried it for helping with anxiety and joint pain and we've both had huge success. Here are our findings... Several companies make disposable vape pens with CBD only. We take 2-3 puffs from this to calm anxiety in the moment. Works really well for both of us and we have not experienced any side effects. Also works for pain but doesn't last as long. We use CBD oil for body pain. My husband finds that it works to relieve his sciatica pain as well as lower back pain. He's getting back in to running and this has been particularly helpful to mitigate some of the muscle soreness as well. I use the CBD oil for knee and foot pain primarily. It really helps me pull out of a plantar fasciitis episode more quickly. I did use a combination of CBD/THC for insomnia. When I was doing that, I found that it worked much better and longer lasting on my pain the following day as well. I highly recommend it for folks in a legal state. I have managed well on CBD only for the past 3 months as I was preparing for this surgery. Hoping that many of my aches and pains will be alleviated with weight loss and I can go back to using cannabis products intermittently just for fun! And finally, my cat has been on it for 3 months for arthritis pain and she is more active than she's been in 5 years. I'm a fan, obviously!

Thank you, I'm a litter curious about how the umbilical hernia is going to go. Hopefully I won't have a huge incision but we'll see. I think my stomach muscles are going to be pretty angry for a while. I'll update in a few days!

I’m having all three tomorrow and have spent so much time reading, lurking and commenting on this site re: the bypass that I have neglected my info gathering on the hernias. I’ve read several posts regarding hiatal hernia and a couple of folks out there with umbilical hernias but none with my special combination. I know you’re out there! What is the most challenging part of the recovery with all three? Personal experiences and anecdotes from friends wanted!

I am hoping this is the case for me. I definitely rely on the caffeine - I am currently nursing a massive headache. But I absolutely love the taste and the ritual of coffee. Hopefully I can just go with decaf from now on and I will be counting the days until I can even have that.

I've recently had success cutting down on saturated animal fats (for health reasons only - I love butter for god's sake!) I really enjoy the way my eggs taste now. I use a great non-stick skillet, rub the entire surface with a dash of olive oil before heating, then add a teaspoon of butter just before cooking the eggs. A great pan is key!

oops double post

I love this idea! I tried this a long, long time ago on one of my many failed weight loss plans. (when I gave up at the 10-15 lb mark) I think I'll resurrect it just in time for my surgery tomorrow! I tend to prefer fashion, spa or skincare incentives - looks like you have plenty of those already. Travel is at the top of my list right now - we're taking our kids to Disneyland for the first time next August (ages 6 & 9) since I'll be able to fit on the rides for the first time since their adoption. Hubby and I are planning a trip to Kauai for our anniversary next December as well. I think I'll make my goals small items that I'll need for those trips. Also plan to steal some of your great ideas - especially the fitness related ones!

I'll be here ASAP!

Yes, Matt! It was based on several posts I've seen from you that I decided to order the scale for tracking fat loss. Thank you for that!

I have surgery tomorrow and started working on losing weight with the keto diet in early June. I'm down about 35 lbs. My doctor's preop diet was 3 weeks and very lenient, basically low calorie, low fat. In the first week of sticking closely to that diet including portion sizes, I gained 4 lbs. They told me to go back to keto since it was working for me! Anyway, my liquid diet was just yesterday and today but I'm down 6 lbs this week total. (keto Fri, Sat, Sun; liquid Mon Tues) In my experience with liquid diets in the past, there is in initial big drop the first week then more slowly after that. I think you could reasonably expect some good progress this week. Good luck to you! Such an exciting time for all of us!

I'm one day preop but I've read that so many people have stalled early on so I'm anticipating that happening to me. Good job on doing measurements - seeing that progress has got to be so hopeful when the scale is looking a bit disappointing. I'm also considering getting a scale that measures body fat based on some other poster's recommendations. I bet even when the scale doesn't change, your body fat is dropping. Exciting times!