Everything

I was self-pay and did the online version. I wanted to say it cost 250

I am 5 feet tall and low BMI. I have chronic back pain and need a breast reduction. (but hey -That’s between you and I. Oh, And my doctor). When I was admitted into the hospital on Wednesday, the nurse started conversing with me. First she had me weigh on a scale and I was surprised to have lost 9 pounds on the pre-op diet. I made a remark about how much weight I had lost. That really opened up the gates. She asked me if I was sure I wanted to do the surgery (As I was standing there in a yellow backless hospital gown. AND $10,000 poorer than I was a month ago). Then she went on to say that if I could lose 10 pounds that easily maybe I should reconsider. Just wondering how you would have responded to this situation. It caught me off guard and I eventually starting disclosing all the health issues I had and reasons I was doing it. I should NOT feel Iike should need to do that (I didn’t need her validation) and I don’t know why I did. Did I just become a victim of “low BMI discrimination”? Sounds silly but maybe it’s a thing?!? Am I not entitled to have a surgical procedure that my doctor and I have decided would be the best thing to improve my overall health? I expected questions from friends and family (though they were actually all supportive) but not a professional. Has this ever happened to anyone? What would you have done? Any good comebacks?

Thank you Yes I was supposed to have surgery just yesterday but they bumped it up so I am now two days out. I had it on Wednesday morning around 11 AM. Day two was OK. Mild discomfort nothing to talk about really. I couldn’t urinate for the entire day but otherwise it was fine. Probably feeling OK from the anesthesia. The second day I started getting really sharp pains in both shoulders and all through my abdomen which they did explain before surgery. Again , gas Got kind of irritated with one of my nurses yesterday because she wasn’t giving me the prescribed medication. She was keep asking me to hold off on the pain medication to see if I really needed it. I’m getting Oxycodon every 4 hour and some Other pain medication (starting with the D) In between. She was just discouraging me from taking both of them, even though the doctor allowed for me to have them And I was asking for them on schedule not trying to double up. This morning when I woke up I was in horrible pain with the gas. Finally that nurse went off shift and my doctor showed up and they adjusted my doses. Again all gas related I’m sure. However I am having difficulty swallowing. Just some pain when it’s going down into my stomach and walking! Every‘s nurses I can have the gold star for walking. I literally walk all day long starting right after surgery. I like it before my back as well because if I sit in one place for a long time my back starts to hurt. So that has worked out well that I’m able to walk as much as I do. Wish that would hurry the gas along a little bit faster! So far the journey has been pretty good and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Only thing that kind of bothered me was when I first came into the hospital I had a nurse setting my IV. She asked me to weigh myself and I said “oh that’s good I’ve lost 10 pounds!” (Referring to the pro-op diet) Then she said are you sure you want to have the surgery? Look how much weight you lost in that short period of time. Have you ever tried dieting before? Did it not work out? And here I am talking to a stranger who doesn’t know my medical history, trying to justify why I am having a surgery in an hour. I thought it was very unprofessional. Otherwise everything’s been great, the staff has been great, the hospital is very clean and efficient! Just barely eating and today is the first time I’m having pain swallowing water.

Gas gas gas!

I am getting on the road to go to the hospital! Going by myself and will be there all by myself for the majority of the time until my husband comes later in the week. I have been having such an awesome week. We put an offer on a home and it was excepted yesterday. Then I got an amazing job opportunity yesterday. So instead of feeling nervous I simply feel really confident about the procedure today. I’m on a winning streak! Hoping all goes well today.

AMAZING!!!

Two more days. Thank goodness I have Ativan. They told me I can take one the morning of. I think I’ll take that advice.

Read that hair loss is typically 5-15%, which I can live with. Something about how your “resting” hair falls out. I do hear protein can offset this. I love my hair and hoping to keep it on my head!

Hi All!! I haven’t been on in a week or so and just seeing all these AWESOME comments!! Yes, I have already over bought many, many things. I have purchased enough broth to float a small watercraft ( I misunderstood how long I will be on clear liquids!) . My packing list for the hospital is outrageous. And I have a friend who is a paramedic who has acquired four IV fluid bags for me and has volunteered to set an IV line for me at home after surgery ( because I’m scared of dehydration). I’ve lost about a pound a day on the pre-op diet ( which made me second-guess why I was doing the surgery, but come on — who could sustain that kind of diet!). Nice to see some pre op weight dropping off though. I was in the hospital for gallbladder surgery so I am definitely (over) prepared for my hospital stay. I am driving three hours away for the surgery (alone) and will be by myself so I’d rather have too much than not enough. Here is a glimpse of my packing list (which is not inclusive of clothes, toiletries, etc.). Anytime I’m nervous about something I always overplan/overpack/over prepare! Locking suitcase Extension cord Phone charger Computer and charger Pajama pants Slippers Socks Heated blanket Gas x thin strips Compression type Capri pants Soft bras Bioteen mouth wash Toddler spoon Headphones Pillow Eye mask Makeup face wipes Tea bags Hibiclense Hair bands Dial

Steve you’re more than halfway there! And in such a short time! I have surgery in one week and two days. I finally feel ready! Still buying things for post surgery diet but emotionally I am ready.

Yza- I’m so happy everything Has been working out for you except for the loss of appetite. Which could be a good thing I guess! I also thought about going to Mexico but I was a little intimidated. I’ll be paying double in the states but the only person I know who went to Mexico speaks Spanish and said that helped her a lot in the process. Glad everything went well and congratulations on your weight-loss!

Same here! Thank you for sharing your journey!

Jazzy I lived in Orlando for four years. Well, Sanford and then lived off of Econlockhatchee near Waterford Lakes!

Love love love all these great positive comments! Thank you everybody for sharing your experiences. And I have my preop tomorrow and will discuss the Endo swallow test stuff with the doctor. Only two weeks, 3 days till surgery! I’m on the fast track.

Thank you for sharing Grady! (Grady is actually a family name in my family!) Happy that you too enjoyed “smooth sailing “! Frustur8- Wow! You have a really battled through a lot on your journey. Sounds like you have held your head high and pressed on. You bring up a really good point. Sounds like some of your original support system on this forum has stopped posting. Similar to what someone said earlier about if things are going good people don’t post about them. You made another great point... You really have to advocate for yourself with doctors. I had something like that happened to me. Dr wrote me off and told me I was overreacting. 24 hours later I’m on a life flight to a hospital in another state! I almost lost my baby twins because he didn’t take my concerns/complaints seriously. I knew something was wrong. After that I always spoke up! Again and again and again if necessary!!! Keep your head up and THANKS for supporting everyone on bariatric pal!

I have a strong opinion on this. I started taking Phentermine in 1996 or so. My doctor prescribed 37.5 pills two times a day, one at 8am and one at 3pm. I was about 40 pounds overweight. I was basically high all the time. It made me want to drink alcohol to level me out. He’d refill my script when I weighed as little as 115 pounds ( I am 5 foot tall so I was hardly overweight at 115). Back in the 90’s-early 2000s I Could get it on the Internet easily so as they lost effectiveness I would buy it and take it from online vendors. An a point was taking four+ 37.5 mg a day. Besides the fact that I felt like I was basically on crack, a couple of other things. They give you dry mouth and bad breath. For me the dry mouth led to gum recession. They also cause me back pain, heart palpitations, etc. Phentermine makes me high and then irritable and then completely made me want to isolate myself from other people. But for me, being “hot” was always worth these risks. I was taking pills and counting calories at 97 pounds! Around 2002, my now ex-husband got into them and took like 6 in one 24 hour period and had to be admitted to the ICU for 3 days. His pulse was racing at 200 for almost 2 straight days. These days I don’t think any doctor their merit would write a prescription for two of those a day. It set me up for 20 years of weight loss and gain. I just stopped taking them in 2016. I literally took them off and on all those years. Not to that extreme of course. I put on about 30-40 pounds and for the last 10 years would take 1/2 to 1a day them to maintain that weight. Anyway, That’s what led me to the surgery decision and ultimately to this forum. I will never live that way again. That’s an extreme example (and an example of drug abuse/misuse) but that’s my truth. It’s a quick fix for a lot of people myself included. I’m sure there are some people that take them successfully but I was not one of those people. Hope I didn’t scare you; just wanted to share my story.

Oh and I meet with the NUT for the first time at 11 AM on Tuesday and then have my preop at 3:00 PM - should be quite the whirlwind. I haven’t bought one single thing yet and then I have to be out of state the week between the preop and the surgery for a job interview. This should be interesting!

I go Tuesday for my preop. I have not started any sort of diet yet and I’m not sure what to expect. Tentative surgery date is Feb 21st. I think they will confirm with me at my preop. Probably shouldn’t admit this but I have still been somewhat on the fence about what surgery to do. I was hard-core sleeve, then Bypass, then sleeve again. Will talk to Dr on Tuesday!!

Thanks Viz! So happy everything went smoothly and it sounds like you were up on your feet moving around very quick! Although unpleasant, I could live with a little constipation if I have to! I’m starting to get the picture that a lot of people actually have seamless surgeries. I feel like I may have been stressing myself out!

Jacksonville area. You?

Aggi- that is awesome news. Congratulations on your results and NO complications! WOO HOO! Notmyname - very true... I guess I haven’t looked at it that way! That’s so true - I bet more often than not that ppl are out enjoying their new health; not posting on forums! thanks for the link green! I had no hair thinning/breakage after after my gallbladder surgery. No thin brittle nails either. I have always had long thick hair and nails but I want to be mentally prepared for that trade off (if it happens). Hopefully I’ll get lucky this time too!

I’m going to focus on positive thinking; this support group is truly invaluable!! Thanks again to all...

Wow! That’s great Bari! Green - good advice!

All good advice. I’m just basing all of this off of what the nurse in the surgeons office told me. And I will call on Monday and get more details about the plan myself. I think I need to discuss this with my insurance company first hand.

I’ve been seeing posts about people having sepsis and being hospitalized for months. Just basing off my past experience I’m thinking those cases would easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars. I am just getting to a place financially where something like that would totally destroy me. I’m trying to buy a house and I would definitely have to file bankruptcy If I racked up some huge self pay bill for a complication. Basically I’m thinking worst-case scenario. But you guys have helped me get some perspective.