Bethanyblondie

I had surgery on the 18th of May and went back to work on the 21st...I got up that morning and showered and I literally had to sit for 10-15 minutes just to get my energy back to blow dry my hair afterwards! Then just driving to work I was miserably tired. I came home that afternoon and slept for like, four hours. I think it's pretty normal to be completely exhausted for up to a good week or so after surgery.

Your body isn't working great when all you've had for days is clear liquids! I had the same issue where I couldn't even see words clearly because I was so tired!

Yes, the surgeon diets are very different. I was only on liquids for three days post op, then on pureed for four days after that, now I am on "soft foods." I had some pizza toppings for lunch today and I am definitely full just from one slice! I had tomatoes and mushrooms and mozzarella cheese, very good! I am on soft foods until I'm a month out from surgery.

We were told not to chew gum for a while after surgery because of things like this. I'm sure it's rare for it to get stuck, but better safe than sorry I guess. I'm sure you'll be fine!

I think that is very common post op. I am only a week and half out and I have lost 13 pounds. I was able to start soft food on Monday and I haven't lost anymore in the last three days. I know it can take a while to find the perfect fill adjustment.

You're doing the right thing by going back to your surgeon...they'll help you out and maybe give you a little more fill. We just have to remember this is still going to be a lot of work to lose weight, even with the band.

But yes, I can relate...I'm trying to stay positive and wait to get my first fill and see if I'll start losing again then. The scale was just sailing down those first few days, then nothing in the last few. Frustrating, but I think typical at this stage.

I was banded on May 18th...here's my story!

I didn't have to to do any sort of pre-op diet, so all I had to do was stop liquids and food by midnight the night before. I had to be at the hospital at 7:30 for 9:30 surgery. My husband waited with me and came back with me when i had to a few paperwork things, then we were sent to the surgery waiting area. I only waited about fifteen minutes and then was called back, by myself at first. I went to the bathroom, changed into my lovely and all too exposing from the back gown, and then they nurse put on my surgical socks. She did great putting in my IV, I didn't feel it at all. What was humorous was with every person that came to talk to me (nurse, anesthesiologist, etc), I guess they are required to ask me, "And what are having done today?" And they would ask in a way that you knew they knew the answer but were required to ask. My surgeon stopped in to see if I had any questions and they let my husband come in for the last couple of minutes. They put some Pepcid (to battle stomach acid) in my IV drip and put a nausea patch behind my ear.

Not long after that, they gave me the "happy medicine" and started wheeling me off to surgery. All I really remember is the nurse saying it might be cold in there. After that, all I remember is waking up in recovery. My stomach was very sore...I could feel the gas in me and feel all the incisions, but I was still so sleepy that I was kept dozing off. After a while they wheeled me into my own room and my husband and mom joined me in there. The nurse encouraged me to use the morphine button as needed, especially when I had to get up to go to the bathroom. Getting out of bed was a pain, just because they had to unplug everything that I was attached to, but I knew I needed to get up and walk as much as I could. The nurse also gave me a little plastic breathing gauge thing that I was supposed to use ten times an hour, to help expand my lungs and make me cough up any phlegm in my lungs. I didn't really have any gas pain that day, but it did really hurt to breath deep and cough. The nurse gave me that shot in the stomach that was supposed to really sting, but I honestly never felt it...she did it close to one of the incisions, so maybe that helped. I also got to have ice chips and eventually a teeny bit of broth.:thumbup:

By that evening I was sitting in a chair instead of the bed, and my surgeon popped in right as I was going to take a walk in the hall. He was very happy i was doing so well, so he said I could go home if I wanted to. I did, but it took forever for the nurse to get my discharge papers together. So I didn't get to leave until about ten o'clock that night, but it was nice to go home and sleep in my own bed.

So that's my story...not too exciting, but a really great experience in terms of surgery!

MsGulfCoast, I haven't started exercising yet but plan to in a few weeks, maybe when my incisions are more healed.

Sounds like a lot of people have a much more specific food plan to follow than my surgeon gives out...but so far so good so I won't complain! I think the trick will be not to succumb to eating mostly carb-filled options on the soft food phase...still try to get in plenty of Protein. I was tempted to have mac and cheese the other night...but was able to make a better choice in the end!

This is too funny...I'm only a little over a week post op and I get very excited to take my bra off at night because it's sort of irritating my incisions...sounds like I may always look forward to taking it off though! :thumbup:

I had to do breathing exercises as well after surgery and had to use this plastic breathing gauge thing...I had to take a huge breath and make the gauge go up to a certain place. They also wanted me to cough and get out any phlegm that developed during surgery. I guess under anesthesia your lungs shrink up, and the pain meds can decrease respiration as well. Plus if you have any gas pain under your ribs or anything then it hurts to take a deep breath.

It did hurt to take deep breaths for a few days after surgery, but I made sure I used my exerciser thing and was able to cough out all the phlegm. Did your nurses after surgery have you do any of that? Maybe that's why you had Fluid build up?

Anyways, I was extremely weak and tired up through about 5-6 days out of surgery...the last couple of days I have felt pretty much back to normal...probably because I got to start soft foods.

Hope you are feeling better!

My post op diet was as follows: Day 1-3 post op was Clear Liquids, Day 4-8 was pureed food, and Day 8 -month out from surgery is soft food.

Not everyone has the same type of post op plan to follow...I am now on soft foods and feel great. Lost 13 pounds in the first week after banding!

i don't think eating a few spoonfuls of oatmeal is going to hurt you...especially if it will keep you from vomiting, which could cause your new band to slip.

I think you'd be fine for vacation by then! I'm a week and a day out and I feel pretty normal today! Get it done! Sooner is better than later I say!

I was banded on the 18th, and lost 11 pounds in five days while I was on the liquid phase. I felt SO weak and tired during the first few days, but now I am on pureed foods and feeling a little more normal in terms of energy.

The funny thing is, the last couple of days on pureed foods I haven't felt full at all...but today...and I'm still on pureed foods...is that I ate yogurt at lunch and I have felt full all day since then...almost like I need to burp but the gas won't come up. I don't necessarily feel uncomfortable, but feel like I could burp. I am thirsty, though, so I keep taking sips of Water and so I keep staying full feeling.

I wonder why I feel so full today? Why won't it go away, even when i don't eat or drink for a while? Weird...

Yay, Cathy...so glad I read this post because I am having surgery on the 18th and was about to ask for what everyone uses on the liquid phase. I am definitely going to try and make some homemade broth ahead of time...that sounds really good!

I can't believe I'm about a week away...I'm excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time. I'm trying to anticipate that I will feel like crud for a few days. I'm trying to anticipate that I won't feel the same way about food (because right now my hunger controls me!), and I am anxious to see how all of this will change my life completely!

I got scheduled for my May 18th surgery about a week and a half ago. I was expecting her to tell me when to start a pre-op diet, and she says "You don't have to do a pre-op diet or anything, until the night before." I was really surprised.

It seems everyone on here had to do a pre-op diet. I'm trying to trust that my surgeon knows what he is doing...but I'm a little freaked out that something will go wrong if I don't do a pre-op diet at all....like that on May 15th at my pre-op appointment, he'll examine me and say I have to wait a couple of more weeks to shrink my liver down or something. I weigh about 245 and I DO carry most of my weight in my stomach...which seems to be the most likely candidate to do a pre-op diet.

I don't know. I'm confused. Anyone else out there NOT have to do a pre-op diet?

Sooooo...it seems like everyone and their mom has to do a pre-op diet before surgery. I of course expected to do one as well, but when i got my surgery date she said I didn't have to do a pre-op diet, which shocked me!

I carry most of my weight in the middle, but the surgeon never made any mention of that or examined me when I had my consultation with him back in January.

So I read about EVERYONE else having to go on a pre-op diet and I now am panicking a little bit that now if I don't do one something will go wrong....he'll examine me on the 15th at my pre-op appt. and say we can't do the surgery because my liver is too big or something. Can I just trust that he knows what he is doing and just carry on as normal until then?

Anyone else out there NOT have to do a pre-op diet?

I only lost about 8 pounds over the six month diet...so I wouldn't worry about it! Now I'm just trying not to GAIN weight before my surgery because I don't have to do any pre-op diet and now I'm sort of in "last supper" mode! Two weeks to go!

I also have Cigna. I basically "checkmarked" everything off the the requirement list (from the website) before I turned in my paperwork. I only submitted BMI proof from the last 24 months with my stuff and I was approved in a day and a half. So many complain about Cigna, but so far my experience has been fine. Granted, I worked my butt off for the last year jumping through Cigna's hoops in hopes that I would get approved on the first try, and it worked!

Sounds like you are on the right track though...and of course you have us all here to help you since most of us are experts on the requirements now! Good luck on everything!

I didn't have to do a sleep study, but I did have to do a bazillion other things before my surgeon's insurance coordinator would file my paperwork. I was VERY thorough in making sure I had everything before I turned it in to her. I got approved in a day and a half! I'm having surgery May 18th!

I had to pay for six months of weight watchers and lots of doc appointments, therapy, nutrition classes, and other things. It does cost you some money but it's worth it!

Check out my new signature! I'm an official Bandito!

I've told my immediate family and a few close friends that I am getting the band. I figure when I start dropping enough weight to be noticeable in the near future and people ask me about it, then I'll be glad to share with them. For now, I'm not going to make a big announcement of it. I'm not hiding it, just not advertising it, ya know?

I'm not banded yet, but my nutritionist says that even if you chew bread up in your mouth thoroughly, as it goes down your esophagus the contractions "squish" the bread back together into a little dough ball, then lands in your stomach as a ball of dough that will block your band opening. I'm sure if you eat super teeny bites at a time that could probably be avoided.

As for me, when I get banded, I'm going to try and avoid bread just because i know it's really not adding any nutrition into my tiny amount of food I can eat. It will truly become eating to live...not living to eat! Although...that's always easier said than done, huh?:smile:

I have Cigna insurance, but all they required was proof of my BMI being over 20 for the last 24 months, so I only sent in the medical records that had my highest weights on them. I was approved in a day and a half.

Aetna doesn't have to see all your fluctuations...just send them your highest weights recorded at any doctor appointment in the last two years. Good luck!

I'm sure if your PCP will write you a recommendation letter they'll approve you. Especially if you've had the co-morbidities the last two years. Sounds like you've got everything else covered.

What insurance do you have? I've never heard of any insurance company not being able to tell you the information you requested. I have Cigna...which has the reputation of being incredibly hard to work with in terms of bariatric surgery, but I had NO issues with them and they approved my surgery 1 1/2 days after I submitted my paperwork. Cigna's requirements for bariatric surgery are available on their website, and I was able to "checkmark" each thing off the list before I submitted my stuff.

Now I will say I did call one surgeon back in May (the one my PCP referred me to) and they practically hung up on me when I told them I had Cigna. So I had to find another surgeon on my own. I did have to go to their weight loss seminar, and their 5 hour nutrition class. And then the insurance coordinator in their office was never particularly easy to get a hold of...always took numerous e mails/phone calls to get a response. But overall the process was not near as daunting as I thought it would be...just time consuming!

Almost all insurance companies that I've read about are okay with approving surgery for someone with a BMI over 40, even with no co-morbidities. I have a BMI of about 42, but am healthy as can be...just fat! But Cigna still approved me.

It seems in general, for most insurance companies, that you have to do the 6 month supervised diet with your physician, meet with a nutritionist, have a psych evaluation, log your diet and exercise program, and either have proof of a BMI of over 40 (no co-morbidities required), or between 35-39 with two or more co-morbidities from the last 24 months.

So if you haven't started your 6 months of dieting I would get on it...and call your insurance company again and ask what their requirements are for approving bariatric surgery, and if they say they can't tell you again ask for a manager. Also check their website. Good luck!

How exciting! I just got approved for surgery and am supposed to have a date set Monday or Tuesday. I'll be getting it in May sometime. I'm SO pumped! Woohoo! This is going to be a great summer for all of us!

I got approved in a day and a half by Cigna, but I had literally "checkmarked" everything off their requirement list for approval. But they do absolutely require your proof of a high enough BMI from the last 24 months. I'm not sure what to tell you if you don't have the BMI requirement. Hopefully there might be someone on the forum that has had the same issue that found a loophole?