ahillig

Hey everyone! I'm 6 weeks out and feeling out food situations. I've definitely found somethings that do not agree with me and I've found some things that I can eat that I'd never thought I'd be able to eat again so I'm happy about that. Last week I was up 1.2 lbs but it was a really rough week transitioning to soft foods and figuring out what I can eat in addition to a wedding that I poorly prepared for food wise. This week though I'm down 5.2 lbs so things are back on track. I still cannot choke down anymore protein shakes so I'm conscious to get in a lot of protein with food. I also ordered a treadmill for my house because living in northern Illinois our winters suck and it'll be nice when I don't want to go to the gym just to walk because I didn't do cold before surgery and now after surgery I'm always cold so I'm definitely not going outside unless I absolutely have to.

I just take 1 capsule 3 times a day of the Celebrate Multi-Complete 45 with Iron, it has everything you need, minus calcium. Because my diet is still largely based on dairy like cheese, yogurt, milk, etc I'm not on a calcium supplement yet but I'll probably start that soon as I'm starting to branch out from that now that I'm on soft foods.

Mine are 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 18 months, then yearly for life.

I was on a chewable for the first month then switched to capsules. At the end of the first month they became too tart for me and it was a challenge to get them down. Now I'm on capsules and that's 3x a day! I might keep some chewables on hand just for busy days because it'll be easier. I use Celebrate vitamins and the chewables actually taste really good, I was just having a hard time with them at the end of my first month.

I was off for a week and it was just fine for me. I actually started a new job the week after surgery and just spent some time doing desk based stuff but was back to doing my job at week 2. I had a very active job prior to surgery so that helped prepare me for sure. I was driving 5 days after surgery as I was off narcotics and my only restriction was to be off narcotics and be able to safely operate a vehicle in an emergency situation.

I'll definitely have some loose skin when all is said and done but certainly not going to rush to plastics. If you like leggings Old Navy has some good compression on a budget, if you're ok spending a little more Fabletics has some really cute things in compression as well. Under Armour also has compression and if you have an outlet by you that's the best way to go. I think Spanx are overkill for day to day wear but great for wearing with a formal dress, suit, or other more formal occasions. Those suckers are TIGHT even when you buy the proper size.

My insurance plan is wonderful, I don't have a deductible, I've only paid co-pays for my appointments with my primary, my surgeon, and facilities. I've had surgeries before with this insurance and never once had an issue. Until now. I just got a call from the hospital saying I owe them over $2400, which they were told by my insurance was a deductible. Knowing my plan as well as I do I figured my only hospital cost was $200 for my stay. They originally billed me $350 but because it was done at a Blue Distinction Center my co-pay was only $100/day. I don't have a deductible, I have an out of pocket max that will eliminate co-pays when I hit it but because our out of pocket costs are so low I never reach it. I downloaded all of my EOBs related to the approval process and surgery and kept a spreadsheet of what was billed, what insurance paid, and what my responsibility was. My numbers match what my insurance portal says. My insurance company verified that I don't have a deductible and that they show I should only owe the hospital $200. Just a heads up to keep track of EVERYTHING! especially if you don't want to pay more than you have to. I had a feeling something like this was going to happen.

I'm an ER nurse and was working on the floor two weeks after surgery. I bounced back really quickly from this surgery and at a week post op didn't even feel like I had surgery. I'm 4 weeks and change out today and have my first appointment with a personal trainer tomorrow. I've already found I don't burn as many calories (thank you apple watch!) in a day as I did before surgery just from everyday stuff before surgery so I need to get in the gym. I love working out though so it's not a chore for me, it's a wonderful stress reliever.

I just got moved to the soft foods and it's intimidating because my dietician said that anything that can be mashed with a fork is ok. I can have ground beef just not a steak. Obviously there are some foods totally off limits like rice but I can move to salads and such at the 6-8 week post op mark. I told her I just don't feel hungry and she said it's ok not to push the issue so long as I'm meeting my water and protein goals each day.

My insurance approval took about a week and I had surgery two weeks later, so total of 3 weeks from the time that all the paperwork was received by my surgeons office. I had a really tight timeline because of finishing school and starting orientation for a new job but it all worked out. I was in the hospital for 2 nights.

My EGD showed damage from reflux and my surgeon urged me to do the bypass because he said the sleeve can make reflux worse. I ended up doing the bypass because I also have mild Barrett's esophagus (pre-cancerous changes in the esophagus) from the reflux so by doing the bypass we eliminated the risk of further damage from the reflux. I'd definitely do the bypass over the sleeve if that's an issue for you.

I had just the opposite. I was set on the sleeve and had to do the bypass because I had severe reflux I wasn't aware of and the sleeve would make that worse. Trust your surgeon, they're experts in this field and they would never guide you the wrong way.

My heart rate is typically in the 70s and while in the hospital I was in the 90s to low 100s for most of my stay. Your body just underwent major trauma so it's normal for your heart to pump a little faster while your body heals. There is a lot of inflammation caused during surgery and one way your body compensates is the increase the heart rate.

I use premier and muscle milk. Premier tastes pretty good, not a fan of their cookies and cream flavor and all the other flavors beyond chocolate and vanilla are tasting really sweet to me lately so I haven't been drinking them. I like the muscle milk coffee house brand because it has caffeine. I'm an ER nurse on night shift so I drink that on nights I work to keep me awake. My doc is ok with caffeine in moderation.

I struggled with pills the first week or so after surgery, it hurt. I broke my multivitamin up into small chunks at first and was told three quarters was fine until I could work my way up to a whole one. I think I did 10 days with the quarters then was able to take a whole one but only along with food. I just got switched to capsules today so yay for that! You just have to be careful that you aren't taking iron and calcium together or within 2 hours of each other as they will cancel each other out. I haven't had any problems with low blood sugar but I am just not hungry, at all. I have been focusing on high protein when I do eat because the protein shakes are getting to me. My doc is more concerned with me getting my protein, water, and vitamins in at this point. I'm focusing on that and then going to work on adding food in.

I had to stop my birth control before surgery and was able to restart it this past Sunday. This entire week I've been super nauseous and I finally put two and two together that that was the only thing that changed. I haven't taken it for a couple days and now I'm feeling fine. I'm not on it to prevent pregnancy but rather for menstrual problems. Has anyone had this issue and what did you do? IUDs are a no go because I have a heart shaped uterus. I'm considering retrying it again in a month or two.

I had mine removed 3 years ago, long before I ever seriously considered surgery and it was a rough surgery and recovery for me. It took about 2 weeks to feel somewhat normal.

Severe pain, 3 days. Pain free at a week with occasional soreness. I had gastric bypass and it was by far the easiest surgery I've had.

I love NSVs!!! I put on a shirt that was pretty tight when I bought it and it was actually loose. This weekend I worked my EMS job and I actually needed a belt to hold up my pants, not just a place to hang my radio, my shirt was also way looser than it was previously. I also had to take my Apple Watch band down another notch too. Definitely getting there!!

I was in the hospital for 2 nights. Had surgery on a Wednesday and was discharged on Friday afternoon. My insurance initially only approved one night but I later got a letter stating that they approved a second night. I was not ready to go home the day after.

There was one day I was ravenously hungry, like could've eaten all day. I didn't over eat and stuck to what I was allowed but that one day was tough. It's been much better recently, in fact there have been a couple days I have forgotten to eat because I'm not hungry.

I've felt like it's been nothing but doctors appointments since I started my journey in March. This week I have my surgeon and my nutritionist!

I'm thankful that I have clothes left from when I lost a bunch of weight a couple years ago so I still have some smaller sizes. What is going to get expensive for me is buying scrubs and tactical pants. I'm a nurse and paramedic so I have two uniforms to buy for. Unfortunately, my hospital doesn't have a uniform allowance and we're allowed to wear whatever we want and we don't have access to hospital laundered scrubs. As for my tactical pants, I have one pair that fits now, and I have a smaller pair that should carry me through the rest of the year with a belt. I know I'll have to buy jeans here soon but I'm waiting for a decent sale at Old Navy.

The one I go to has two days blocked off for patients of my surgeon and his partner and their office can schedule their patients on those days which is nice. She sees other surgeons patients as well but I've never had problems getting in with her.

I had gastric bypass on 8/28 and have lost 23.2 lbs since. My highest weight was 275 when I went for my consult but I had a very active job over the summer so I lost some weight before the surgery. HW: 275 Surgery day: 266 Current: 242.3 I've been back at work since a week after surgery, with permission, since I'm just on orientation right now. Overall I feel fantastic. A week after surgery I felt completely normal, like I didn't have surgery at all. I was shocked at how quickly I bounced back. My only complaint is ridiculous hip pain at night that wakes me up. My physical therapist said that people who have bariatric surgery are at risk for hip and core problems because the body can't adjust as quickly as the weight comes off. I'm seriously considering going once a week to get this under control, I'll see what my surgeon says when I see him next week.