GradyCat

Good luck, you're one step closer to surgery

My surgeon told me not to touch them. Mine were covered with bonding glue of some sort, so I never had the sutures showing or had any bleeding. I think my surgeon said to call her office if there was any bleeding, so you might want to call your doctor.

I know that that handouts given to me by my surgeon's office said to limit grains/breads/pastas/starches the rest of my life. Some sites they recommended for food ideas included here at the recipes page on Bariatric Pal, skinnytaste.com, hungry-girl.com, and livingafterwls.com. My handouts said to make 1/2 of your plate always protein and eat it first, then 1/4 of your plate non-starchy veggies and eat them second, then 1/4 of your plate carbs and eat them last.

They're just going to ask you if you have a support system around you to support your WLS efforts, determine if you have depression or anxiety that might affect your ability to follow the program successfully, make sure you have realistic expectations for the outcome, and stuff like that.

I would think it would vary widely depending on high high your deductible is, what is your maximum out of pocket expense limit under your plan, etc. For me, last month, the surgeon and hospital bills totaled around $56,000 billed, of which the insurance paid at their negotiated rate $23,000 and my portion out of pocket was only $600

Same here. My dietitian said it was normal. I lost weeks 1-3, then stalled weeks 4 and 5. I had surgery 12/11, a week before you did. The scale is just now starting to move again at 5 1/2 weeks. I was worried something was wrong, but it's just my body adjusting to the surgery and now starting on food again.

I thought it was from the anesthesia and pain meds and the stomach's swelling and healing. It's a major surgery and traumatic to the stomach. I was told to expect nausea post-operatively anywhere from a few days to a few weeks and luckily I only had it Day #1 post-op and was fine upon discharge on Day #2 and haven't had it since. I was discharged with pain meds (which I didn't need) and also Zofran for nausea (which I didn't end up needing). Good luck when you see your PCP.

From initial weight loss seminar getting information until surgery date was 8 months. From initial surgeon meeting until surgery date was 4 months. I have Humana insurance.

I have stalled during Weeks 3 and 4 post-op but it's finally moving again in Week 5. I will just stay the course because I know I'm doing everything the way I'm supposed to be and that my body is just confused with all that's happened to it. I'm eating between 800-900 calories per day at 5 weeks post-op and my dietitian said that was a normal amount for the next several months, so 1500 sounds like a lot to me, but I could be wrong.

I think they want you to restrict it to decaf if you do it (dehydration from caffeine) and also the acid in coffee might not agree with your stomach right away. I'm 5 weeks post-op and am drinking decaf coffee now and not having any problems.

Once you have the surgery you won't be able to eat fast because it will hurt to do so. You'll get a lot of air in your stomach that way and it'll hurt. My dietitian says to chew everything 20-30 times and take 20-30 minutes to eat a meal.

Luckily I didn't have either of those two issues, but I heard they're both very common. The shoulder pain is from the anesthesia and gas, which will go away eventually. Walk as much as you can and it will help. I could feel stuff going down into my stomach when I drank, but it didn't hurt. You had a breathing tube in your throat while you were under anesthesia during surgery, so that might be what's a little sore now.

Good luck on your surgery, you'll do fine! Yes, I both think about food all of the time but don't think about it if that makes sense. I'm 5 weeks post-op and I eat every 3 hours, only 2 oz at a time, but I think about what I can and can't eat and keep rehearing the rules in my head every time I think about having something to eat. It's okay and it'll help me down the road as I get further and further away from surgery. It's a lifetime commitment.

So sorry that you're feeling down. Take it easy on yourself. Are you taking your meds? I am just 5 weeks post-op and for the last two weeks the scale didn't move but this morning it did. So it just take patience. Our bodies sometimes have to adjust to all of the changes. Like others have suggested, it really helps to log EVERYTHING you put into your mouth, including your two glasses of wine, into a food tracker. I use MyFitnessPal.com. Also, are you getting enough water in daily? 60 g of protein daily? 64 oz of liquid daily? You've got a couple of barriers with your health conditions that's going to make it a little slower, so you just need to know that in advance and be prepared for slow but steady. Take care!

You'll get used to it. Also, no drinking through a straw. Like the others have already said, drinking flushes the food right through and can keep you from absorbing the nutrients you need as well as possibly make you overeat. Wait 10 minutes after drinking before eating and 30 minutes after eating before drinking.

I didn't have any trouble getting my fluids in either. I'm 5 weeks post-op now and still chugging along getting in at least 65 oz./day

I'm taking GNC soft chews. I'm taking one a day of each of the following four: (1) Calcium Citrate with 500 mg of calcium citrate, 800 iu Vit. D3 and 60 mcg of Vita K-2 (2) Vitamin B12 2500 mcg (3) Vitamin D-3 , 1000 IU (4) ultra-mega women's daily soft chew multivitamin

Yes, those are normal feelings. I was sleeved 5 weeks ago and on Day #1 post-op, with all the nausea, I was wondering if I had made a huge mistake. Then I was kicking myself thinking "If I only had more willpower, I could lose weight on my own without having surgery" - so yes, emotions and hormones kick in. If it helps any, I have been in no pain and no problems, no constipation, no problems getting down liquids since discharged from the hospital and things get a little better each day. I lost 15 pounds and 15 inches in the first 3 weeks, but have stalled for two weeks, but it's just my body adjusting to the new me, so I'm trying not to worry.

Happy Anniversary! You're an inspiration to me as I'm just 5 weeks out and wondering if the weight is going to continue to come off or not.

That's good to know because I miss using a straw!

My doctor says no caffeine because (1) it dehyrates you; and (2) it stimulates hunger.

I'm taking GNC soft chews of multivitamin, vitamin D, Vitamin B12, and Calcium and they work just fine.

For me as a gastric sleever I'm supposed to get 60 g of protein a day but it's okay to get more and you can't get too much. I also have to take Vitamin D, Calcium, a Multivitamin, and Vitamin B12 as chewables each day.

Everything I've read says you'll lose 33% of your excess weight in 3 months, 50% in 6 months, and 70% in 12 months.