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6 hours ago, Katja said:

Hi Folks,

Anyone know why we should not have alcohol for a year (my program's rule)?

I know it's empty calories and it goes to the head really fast, but is there some other reason not to drink?

My doc’s rule is six months. I was told it was because they want to make sure your pouch is healed completely and also dehydration is an issue since alcohol is so dehydrating.

I lost 16 pounds in the first month also.

OMG I'm 3 weeks post surgery (bypass) and have been having issues with this dry mouth thing too. I've been taking esomeprazole for years and I'm taking much less now so I don't think that has to do with it. I do have Biotene and will use it more often. It's painful! Woke me up a couple of times!

Today I had an A-HA moment. I went to get my hair done and the owner came up to me and said "You lost weight! You look great!!" and I *almost* said...yes I had surgery 2 weeks ago. And I caught myself. I thought *surgery* didn't do this. *I* did this. I've only lost 13 pounds since surgery. I've lost 45+ on my own since January. Actually I don't even know why I would tell her about surgery. I haven't told anyone except my kids LOL. But it was weird that it was the first thing I thought of. But I'm glad I realized it quickly and gave the credit to *myself*. I'm the one doing the hard work. Yay me!

I'm glad your mother-in-law is supportive and willing to help you out. Hopefully she can smack some sense into her son while you're in the hospital.

59 minutes ago, Brando6601 said:

Hi guys! I had my surgery on August 9, 2021. So I’m 8 days out today. Anyone else around this same time? Anyone else feel like the want to eat something? Like an egg or something.

I also had surgery 8/9. I’d like to chew on something other than a popsicle. It’s. Full time job getting liquids and Proteins in.

I was so allowed food until 24 hours before surgery. A few Protein Shakes a day and a Protein and veg or a lean cuisine type meal twice a day.

2 hours ago, DemiW said:

I wanted the sleeve but after an endoscope was done, large hitial hernia, some esophagus issues and a serious case of acid reflux, my doctors aid the bypass was what I needed. I’ve called him about my weight and he says “oh that’s normal”.. God I hope I will not look like a malnourished Skelton!

I ended up with the bypass for those reasons also. She repaired a large hiatal hernia at the time. I also have Barrett's esophagus caused by GERD. I'm ok with the decision because I've struggled with acid reflux issues for years.

I saw your comment about the fried rice. I thought you were 12 days POST op!! I was kind of impressed~! LOL

19 hours ago, cellbell said:

How is everyone doing? I'm still in more pain then I expected. The biggest problem is the gas because it's poofing out my tummy and making the incisions sore. I've been trying to get by on Tylenol and Lyrica and have been avoiding the oxy because I'm scared of constipation. I keep walking and walking and walking but it didn't seem like it's doing much!

You're a couple days behind me (I was 8/9). The last two days I've felt the most improvement in pain. I had been taking pain meds at night to help me sleep. Tylenol during the day. I probably won't take any tonight though. Not so much dealing with "constipation". I just hadn't had a BM since last Saturday and I felt I should have one after a week LOL so I took some Senna last night and the night before to get things moving. It helped. Hang in there!!

I'm 59 and had the RNY last Monday.

4 minutes ago, vikingbeast said:

You might want to look into nasal pillows (the thing that goes up your nose, instead of covering your nose like a nasal mask). That's the only kind of mask I can use. Get a chin strap to keep your mouth closed. And... this is the most important thing... look up how to turn off the "ramp" on your CPAP/BiPAP/APAP. The ramp is the thing that starts the flow slowly and builds it up over 5, 10, 15, or even 30 minutes. It is awful. I feel like I'm suffocating the entire time. When you turn off the ramp, it takes five seconds or so for the machine to rev up, and then I snap the nasal cannula into place and can breathe normally.

Thanks for the tip. I was using the full mask but ... I guess I had some restless sleep the last couple weeks and I'd wake up with the mask not fitting correctly anymore. I went back to the nasal one that I had from the original test and started using that. I'm getting pretty good at keeping my mouth shut. It was just the whole coming out of anesthesia thing and I didn't even know it was on. I did have a call in to the DME company about a new mask. I'll look into the nasal pillows. Thanks!

2 hours ago, toodlerue said:

Sounds like you are doing good.
Here’s the thing about sleep apnea, it is really hard on your heart & can lead to an earlier death. Yes the mask is hard to sleep with. Your right, you can’t catch your breath through your mouth when you have air constantly pushing through your nose. You just gotta learn to keep your mouth shut when using it. It’s even hard to talk with it on.
I have slept with one since about 2005. It seriously takes 2 years to get used to. I jokingly say that I sleep with it so my husband won’t hit me. He has to get up really early in the morning & he needs a good nights sleep so I learned to sleep with it for him. Now it’s hard to sleep without it.

Thanks! I had no symptoms..no snoring, no waking up short of breath etc. We just found out from pre-op testing. I'm hoping that when I lose some weight and retest that I can go off it. It was just NOT helping me as I was coming out of anesthesia, not being able to fill my lungs with air because of the gas/diaphragm and to throw that on just had me panicky. But when it was off and I realized it was just from the gas it was better.

9 hours ago, utaker1988 said:

Hi everyone! New here and I had my bypass yesterday (8/11). Everything is ok. It hurts and I’ve had nothing but ice chips. The worst thing so far was when the IV fluids caused my forearm to retain Fluid so bad it was hard to the touch. I’ve walked around my room a bit. I hope everyone still waiting and/or just had theirs is doing good!

Tonya

That sounds scary, Tonya. Hope they were able to do something for you and send you home! Always easier to heal at home.

7 minutes ago, cellbell said:

I'm home from my surgery yesterday. I guess it went ok but it hurts to sit down or get up. The hospital ran out of rooms so i was stuck in the recovery room for 6 hours and couldn't get up to walk there. My surgeon said to start walking as soon as I got to my room but it took a lot of convincing the nurses to unhook everything so I could. I wish everyone was on the same page with these things.

I agree with you. When I got to my room they brought me ice Water and a straw. (My instructions were room temp. No straw). Made me wish they had a bariatric surgery floor there, but they don't. Also I had the same issue with telling them I needed to get up and walk. I was totally paranoid about it. Glad you're home. My surgery was Monday and it still hurts to sit down or get up. My bruising colors are coming in nicely now too.

Just wanted to give an update on how my experience went. I always found it helpful to hear other posters experiences.

Surgery was Monday, 8/9. Arrival time was noon. I was scheduled for 1:30 but they didn't take me in until 2:30ish. I had a large hiatal hernia that was repaired so between that and the bypass it took almost the full 4 hours. I barely remember recovery. I heard them talking about putting a catheter in but I didn't feel it. (Side note: During this process I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Never any symptoms. I hate the mask and haven't really slept well since I got it. I usually use the full mask but the nose mask just seemed easier to take. I always feel like I can't catch my breath if I open my mouth with the nose mask on. Hospital insisted I bring it). So apparently I felt like I couldn't catch a good breath (gas pushing against my diaphragm.) Then I heard my husband telling them to take the cpap off (which they had hooked up with oxygen somehow) and that was much much better. By the time I got to my room it was after 8 p.m. Thank\fully they let my husband and son wait so they could see I was ok. My mouth was horribly dry. I was able to take in some Water fairly easily. They gave me pain meds in my IV, but I hardly got any sleep. I'd fall asleep, wake up and it was 15 minutes later. Longest night EVER!!! Plus when I was sleeping, they'd come in for vitals.

I kept telling them I needed to walk (because I read that in the instructions a million times). I finally got up and walked around the room a little around 2 a.m. (?)

Tuesday Day 2: In the morning with the shift change, things started to move along. I got some broth for Breakfast and some Jello and water. I was able to sip pretty easily. Actually I had to remind myself not to just gulp. My husband showed up and we walked a bunch of times. I was really paranoid about not walking. I also had a drain and the catheter. I talked to the day nurse and she removed the catheter, which made me feel better. Doc showed up and said she'd discharge me. They removed the drain (not bad but not a ton of fun - more discomfort than pain). I went home, took some pain meds and slept for a few hours. Just really tired all day. Sleeping was hard. I'm not a back sleeper. Most pain when getting in and out of bed.

Wednesday Day 3: Had jello for breakfast. Again..pain mostly when moving. (up and down from sitting or laying in bed) and coughing. As expected. Took more oxy and slept. I'm not 100% sure it helps with pain but it does help me sleep. I got some dissolvable Tylenol. Kind of like pixie sticks. So that helps. I was taking them in between.

Thursday Day 4: Kind of a rough night last night. Fell asleep but woke up a few hours later uncomfortable. shoulders hurt and I was making myself paranoid about everything. So I dozed for a while longer, thought about ordering a binder off Amazon and how long it would take to get here. I had two "wicks" in one of my incisions that I was allowed to remove today. I was also able to take a shower (it was 48 hours after surgery but since my surgery was so late I just waited until this morning). That made a huge difference. I'm on to full Protein today instead of clear so that's something! I have to figure out the sleep thing still. Not sure I can do anything about the pain when sitting/standing.

Hope this helps someone a little.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Like the surgery isn't stressful enough! I wouldn't go uber either. Basically some stranger picking you up and dropping you off. I would rather swear a friend to secrecy before that. You could ask the facility what they do since solo adults are probably fairly common these days, they may offer a service or something, Another option is to hire a home care professional. Check Care.com I'll bet you'll find someone on there willing to help you out.

Also since you won't be getting help at home, have everything set up for yourself as much as possible before surgery...foods, drinks, meds, etc.

A LOT of us can lose the weight on our own. It's keeping it off that's the problem. We've all been yo-yo dieting for years or we wouldn't be here.

On 7/11/2021 at 1:34 PM, BigSue said:

I've like to join the ML10 group, except for the fact that it's on Facebook and therefore not anonymous. I chose not to tell anyone other than medical professionals about my surgery, so I don't want to join a WLS group with my real name.

For me, it depends on what the homework is. The first therapist gave me a generic feelings journal that felt really pointless, and I suspect he gives the same thing to everyone. I wouldn't mind doing "homework" that felt like there was a purpose to it -- some kind of actionable advice.

Just saw this post. I have a separate FB account that I use for bariatric groups and information only.

On 8/8/2021 at 5:39 PM, cellbell said:

You're in a fantastic place! The surgery should help you maintain that loss AND lose more! If you're anything like me, losing 50 pounds is one thing, keeping it off forever is another thing altogether. I'm on Wednesday so I'm hoping to see you post about how well it went before I go in. 😉

Hi cellbell! I will say yesterday was tougher than I expected. It was a few hours late. I felt like I couldn’t take a good breath. sleep was in 15 minute increments Longest night ever! But I’m going home today so yay!! Catheter out. Waiting for a drain to come out. And I have to pee on my own. Lol. Drinking has been no issue. Good luck tomorrow!!!!

1 hour ago, cellbell said:

You're in a fantastic place! The surgery should help you maintain that loss AND lose more! If you're anything like me, losing 50 pounds is one thing, keeping it off forever is another thing altogether. I'm on Wednesday so I'm hoping to see you post about how well it went before I go in. 😉

Thanks! I will! 😬😬😬😀😀

1 hour ago, Tgtr said:

I’m the same mindset, but I remind myself -and you- that there’s a reason I haven’t been able to do it before. This is a tool to help me / us make it work. Sending prayers your way. My surgery is 8/23.

Yes. Thank you. The logical part of me knows this. I just have to keep reminding myself.

I"m tomorrow. Noon arrival at the hospital. Still talking myself in and out of it. I lost 50 pounds since January. I keep fighting with myself that if I lost that, I could lose the rest. Then I come to my senses and realize I've been doing this for a good 40 years. Not the first time I lost weight. It doesn't stay off so I *need* this tool. Right? Right!

Ugh. Oh no! I’m so sorry! Don’t give up. You’re husband will get another job. My husband lost his job last December. We were on insurance through the Marketplace —- which did cover bariatric surgery. When you get your new insurance they’ll probably take all your notes etc and hopefully you can pick right up again. Hang in there!!

6 hours ago, chaos_everyday said:

me too

They told me to try to do an ounce every 15 minutes (they use one of those little nyquil cups) or 4 oz per hour (while awake). But we'll see how it goes after my surgery on Monday.

Thanks!! I needed this post today!! Surgery is Monday and I've been talking myself into and out of it 100 times a day.

Not hating myself in pictures.

Dumping the CPAP machine (which I just got because of pre-surgery testing)

I want my husband to be able to pick me up.

Feel like I look good in clothes and not so self-conscious.

Not doing a quick survey of a restaurant, concert, plane, etc., to see if I'll fit somewhere. We can usually do a booth but some places are just too tight.

Not feeling self-conscious ALWAYS...not just in clothes.

Not walking into a store (Ulta, Sephora, any "regular" clothing store) and not feeling like people are looking at me like 'What are YOU doing here?"

No bowel prep here, just a very restrictive diet and Clear Liquids only the last day. Almost there!!! I talk myself into and out of this a million times a day.