KimB7811

Ty for this encouragement! I do have a terrible time forgetting to not drink before and after....but I also think because my foods are still of a puréed consistency that it’s making me forget to stop drinking even more.

Welcome and good luck to you and your husband on this journey!! That’s great you guys are doing this together too!

Ok guys... maybe you can help me with some insight if what I am feeling and experiencing is normal. I had my surgery 8 days ago and I’m now on the purées/soft food stage as my surgeon requested. I’ve been keeping track of everything I put in my mouth on the Baritastic app and every night I end up with a total of 800/900 calories consumed. I was told that I shouldn’t even be able to get close to this amount for several months...let alone 8 days out. Everything I’m eating is sugar free or fat free. I’m drinking 2 protein shakes a day...a Greek yogurt or ff cottage cheese, about 1/2 cup of cream of Chicken soup and I have been able to eat a very small amount of the ricotta bake or some puréed beans. Just tried scrambled eggs for the first time today and only could eat about 5 bites. Problem is, I am feeling hunger a lot... but then when I eat I get full fast. I am getting between 60-80 ounces of water with crystal light in easily. I have gained 1.3lbs as of today too!!! Is this normal or should I be feeling not hungry and more restricted?? I’m starting to feel discouraged.

Oh, and also the elastoplast/bandaids made me itchy I think too, the sticky glue stuff. I ended up with a rash. Which I put Sudocream on, it’s a high zinc nappy rash cream that is really soothing. Wherever you are I’m sure they have something like it. Three weeks out and I still have faint marks from the rash. I was wondering if it could be from the surgi-strips as well! I know itching is a good sign that things are healing...but I feel this intensity of the itch is not just from the wounds healing. I usually get a rash from any type of surgical tape that’s ever used on me ( like what they use to tape down the IV or the cotton ball after you get blood taken) I just don’t want to rip these off before they fall off on their own and risk opening up some of the incisions

Omg the itching!!!! Is anyone itching like mad on their belly? My surgi-strips are just starting to fall off but the itching is becoming unbearable!

Tomorrow will be a week since my surgery and the pain is getting better everyday. It’s really just 2 incisions on my left side that seem to hurt the most. I still can’t bend down or over and I’m sore to the touch. The day after my surgery was pretty rough. The pain was awful and I actually ended up throwing up twice just from sucking on a sugar free popsicle and sipping water. I ran a slight temp that night and the next as well. I haven’t had to take my blood pressure medicine since the second day home from the hospital which is awesome! The first 2 days were so hard to try to take my pills and vitamins but now it’s not so bad. I’m squeezing in 30-40 ounces of water a day and about 2 protein shakes. I tried a ricotta bake recipe I found off the Bariatastic app today and I was only able to take about 5 bites. It was delicious though! I’ve tried a few nibbles of some baked beans and I can eat cottage cheese ok. Weird thing is I feel hungry a lot! I went expecting that but I get full so fast. I went for a 1.6 mile walk today which felt great and drove for the first time today too. That actually made me really nauseous though which I haven’t been feeling since the first day home. And I know this is TMI but had my first bowel movement today since the surgery . That was so painful though. I think I need to ask about some kind of stool softener! The part that makes everything all worth it is I feel thinner already! Clothes and underwear are looser and my hubby already noticed a difference! As of this morning I’m 13lbs down!

Ugh that stinks. I’m sure that must’ve been hell. That’s what they warned me about as far as possibly itching after applying the wipes but I did take my chances lol. Thankfully, I didn’t have a reaction!

Good luck!!! You got this!!!!

Oh the thirst was unbearable for me on surgery day! I remember waiting forever after getting to my room for some water! And then all I got every hour was 15 ounces of it! But just remember it’s for our own good. Good luck today!

I would definitely go see another Dr. my BMI at the start of this all was only 35.8 but I had comorbitities of high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and after having the endoscopy, found out I had GERD. My family history is very long of diabetes and heart disease too. It really helps to have letters of medical necessity from all the drs though. For instance, I need a complete knee replacement so I also had my orthopedic write a letter of necessity for this surgery.

Hi! Yes, I got the approval on the 23rd and they submitted everything on the 15th. They were off for Good Friday so it took 6 business days to get the approval. They did however, ask for more info on the 17th and my insurance coordinator faxed it over that same day. They seemed to be most picky about seeing my weights for the year. Here’s the requirements taken right out of my plan for the Bariatric surgery. I have the basic plan. Just make sure you get as many letters of medical necessity from all your drs. Especially your primary. That seems to help things. Good luck and keep me posted!!! Procedures to treat morbid obesity – a condition in which an individual has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more, or an individual with a BMI of 35 or more with one or more co-morbidities; eligible members must be age 18 or over. Benefits are available only for the following procedures: o Roux-en-Y o Gastric bypass o Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding o Sleeve gastrectomy o Biliopancreatic bypass with duodenal switch Note: Benefits for the surgical treatment of morbid obesity are subject to the requirements listed on pages 66-67. Note: For certain surgical procedures, your out-of-pocket costs for facility services are reduced if you use a facility designated as a Blue Distinction Center. See page 91 for information. Note: Prior approval is required for outpatient surgery for morbid obesity. For more information about prior approval, please refer to page 23. • Benefits for the surgical treatment of morbid obesity, performed on an inpatient or outpatient basis, are subject to the pre-surgical requirements listed below. The member must meet all requirements. o Diagnosis of morbid obesity (as defined above) for a period of 1 year prior to surgery o Participation in a medically supervised weight loss program, including nutritional counseling, for at least 3 months prior to the date of surgery. (Note: Benefits are not available for commercial weight loss programs; see page 41 for our coverage of nutritional counseling services.) o Pre-operative nutritional assessment and nutritional counseling about pre- and post-operative nutrition, eating, and exercise o Evidence that attempts at weight loss in the 1-year period prior to surgery have been ineffective o Psychological clearance of the member’s ability to understand and adhere to the pre- and post-operative program, based on a psychological assessment performed by a licensed professional mental health practitioner (see page 104 for our payment levels for mental health services) o Member has not smoked in the 6 months prior to surgery o Member has not been treated for substance use disorder for 1 year prior to surgery and there is no evidence of substance use disorder during the 1-year period prior to surgery

Lol...ty.

I am trying to avoid the Percocet they gave me. But it seems the pain sets off the nausea. I tried Tylenol but right now it’s not taking the edge off the pain. My one incision is pretty painful.

Thank you and good luck to you!!

I definitely have to invest in the clear flavorless protein powder

I am definitely going to try some of these. I’m able to do 1 protein shake a day now but that’s about it. I need more. Still not getting enough water in though but it’s increased. I didn’t want to call the dr that night with the throwing up because I did not want to end up back in the hospital. I think it was just from trying to get all my medication down. Thankfully the vomiting has stopped.

It is slowly getting better and I know it will be worth it in the end. It was just scary the first day home

Ty. Day 3 post op is slightly better.

Thanks GradyCat. I did switch over to crystal light in my water which is making it tolerable. The lemon propel almost made me lose it though!

Had my surgery on Thursday and came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. The pain is moderate but I was given pain pills for that. However, yesterday and all last night was terrible. Barely could sip enough water without feeling stuffed and sick. Then I had to try to take my pills with water and that felt terrible. But the sugar free popsical put me over the edge! Took about 3-4 licks and then I started to dry-heave. Then threw up again after trying to take my pain pill later that night. Now I’m currently sitting here this morning just trying to chew my vitamins. I have no idea how I’m going to get my water in!!!! Help!

Saying good morning from my hospital bed! Had the surgery yesterday. I was pretty knocked out and exhausted all day yesterday so I did t get a chance to post. Pain is better today. I was pretty nauseous and I a good amount of pain yesterday. I’ve gotten up to walk a few times but have only burped a little. Hopefully when my Dr comes in this morning I will be discharged! There were A few things I definitely didn’t expect or prepared for. I didn’t expect to only be allowed a shot glass size of water every hour. I thought I would be able to sip throughout the day. This was/is rough because my mouth is soooooo dry and I was so thirsty all day. Second thing i wasn’t expecting was the “numbing” stuff they put along your nerves in your stomach. This way you don’t feel the pain as much until the next day...I definitely feel the pain more today since it wore off. Sort of feels like I got punched really hard in the gut or did the hardest Pilates class of my life. And third thing I wasn’t expecting was pretty much telling a lot of info about this surgery to all the nurses. Apparently they do t get a ton of Bariatric patients so they weee extremely curious. Lol, I didn’t mind answering them though. Anyhoo... the first 2 pictures are from yesterday morning right before surgery. Last pic is post op and the incisions! The bottom ones don’t hurt as much as the top ones. (Sorry about the under boob)

They told me to shower with Dial soap tonight and tomorrow morning as well. I am assuming the wipe they will give me I will have to do when changing into my gown. Lol, I don’t even want to think about what I’m going to look like under anesthesia!

They said this because of a certain anti-bacterial wipe I’m supposed to wipe all over my body before surgery.

I’m going in tomorrow, the 25th!!!

Ugh, I just started mine today and my surgery is tomorrow! I was worrying about the same thing about wiping and being able to change tampons. Sorry to hear you had a rough start.