ShoppGirl

Does lidocaine actually help you with acute pain or does it just help heal things faster. I used the icy hot brand lidocaine 4% and it felt like it was helping so when the dr said they had 5% prescription ones I figured the more the better but they don’t feel like they are doing anything really. I wonder if it’s because they don’t have a second ingredient (menthol I think it was). In all fairness I am almost better at this point so maybe it’s just not helping cause the pain is less?? Heat and tens seem to be the trick right now.

I just found something for my back pain that I’m pretty sure could be worn backwards to help with menstrual pain as well. It’s a waist band made of neoprene with a pocket and it comes with two gel inserts that can be either used hot or cold so you can keep one in freezer and microwave the other for heat. It fits well under comfy clothes when worn on the back. I tried it on the front and it’s a little more bulky looking but it still fits. I was thinking that the heat may not last very long but I guess cause it’s so close to your body it has stayed warm for a while and to recharge it you just pop it in the microwave for a few more seconds. The only negative thing I can say is that it only fits up to 46” and it could’ve so easily been made longer with a little more Velcro to fit more people oops forgot the link. Limited-time deal: Magic Gel Ice Pack for Back Pain Relief | 2 Pack Lower Back Gel Pack Wrap for Hot or Cold Therapy | Relief for Lower Lumbar, Sciatic Nerve, Herniated or Degenerative Disc, Coccyx, Tailbone Pain https://a.co/d/b8Sx35T

I was talking about the OP.

No revision here but wanted to say bellow and welcome. Hopefully you get your surgery date and some relief really soon.

Hello Seattle lady. I am so glad you found a doctor that is in your corner. I hope your get your revision and some relief very soon.

Hello Sasha and welcome. Congratulations on your surgery date.

Hi David. Have you met with your surgeon yet? They will likely have an opinion of which surgery they feel is best for you. If you are on certain medications they may trend towards sleeve IF all other things are equal but if you have GERD they typically lean towards bypass (not always though). Those are not the only factors and it’s not exactly that clear cut. It certainly doesn’t hurt to do your research but you surgeon should help considerably to make this decision. Mine said he would do sleeve or bypass (if I really wanted it) but he recommended sleeve. He thought bypass was overkill for me and the NP thought because of my medications that the conservative option was safer. I didn’t lose all the weight I hoped though and struggle to keep it off. I will always sorta wonder if I would’ve lost more with bypass. Who knows though. I am on medication that causes weight gain so I may be in the same exact boat with bypass. It’s really hard to say. They are both really good surgeries, though. Regardless of whether I can fit into my skinny jeans I am very happy I did the surgery. I was already beginning to have knee pain with exercise and I know that at the rate I was going I would be even heavier now than I was pre surgery with more knee pain so the Fact that I am maintaining anywhere below that weight and pain free is better than I could’ve done on my own. I didn’t have to decide on which surgery until my pre op appointment. Hopefully your team will give you time to make your decision too.

I never had a lap band (I had sleeve) but I have seen a lot of people on here posting with issues and most of them end up having to revise to another procedure eventually. May be worth doing some research if you are having issues.

Not near California but Hello and welcome. Also, your profile says your surgery is lap band. Are you doing a revision??

Hello and welcome. Guess we know what gift your giving yourself for Christmas this year.

I started taking them right out of the hospital. The chewable ones. I didn’t have any issue. The one time I did have issue was when I was in a hurry one day and took it without drinking the full shake first. I threw up but immediately felt better afterwards. Now I still drink a shake for breakfast most days and I’ve just gotten into the habit that the last sip of the shake is to take my vitamin. If I feel hungry and eat food for breakfast I take it after I am done eating.

Ha. We posted at the same time and it looks like you already ordered a bed wedge but I guess I will post this for others who have the same concern. i wasn’t on this site long enough pre surgery to even realize that the recliner was a potential necessity or I would have probably done more to get prepared (even though like I said I was fine in my own adjustable bed). If you want to be really proactive without just wasting money you could research the two without ordering anything quite yet. Find a bed wedge on Amazon and have it in your cart. I’m sure you can find one that is next day shipping for if the other suggestions don’t work out. And you could even find out where to rent a recliner, if absolutely necessary, and what you need to do to get it if the bed wedge doesn’t work either. I am not sure how long it takes to get that stuff near you but when hospice ordered a bed for my grandma they were delivering it before transport arrived to bring her home from the hospital so apparently near me it’s delivered the same day. Hopefully you don’t need any of it, but if you are like me you will feel better knowing you have a plan in place just in case.

I sleep on my back and I was fine in my adjustable bed with the back up. Oh can achieve this with a bed wedge. They have them at medical supply or even on Amazon (I think they are cheaper on Amazon but it’s been a long time since I bought one in the store).

Hello and welcome. Fingers crossed you get your date soon.

Some people say that Gas ex helps but most of the doctors say walk walk walk

Ooh that’s a good one. I used to drink a 12 pack of Coke Zero a day!! I gave it up two months before surgery and have not looked back. Now I do have a protein shake with caffeine in the morning but that’s it, nothing else unless I splurge with an iced coffee (coffee, milk and Splenda) which I don’t have too often.

Well I’m guessing your maintenance diet is a little different than your weight loss phase of the diet. I’m thinking you just have to go back to the weight loss phase. I have gained too and that’s my plan. I am going back and forth as to whether I should start with a week of my liver shrink diet which was basically two shakes and a lean protein and veggie dinner.

I have seen people on here who have gained back 30 or 40 pounds and they have been able to lose it. Your restriction should still be there. You most likely have just changed WHAT you are eating throughout all of those stressors. Change it back to your post surgery plan and you should lose. It will be a little more difficult because you probably have your appetite back but you can do it. I am saying all this for myself too as i have gained some back and I’m struggling to lose. I have an appointment set with an endocrinologist because I thought something may be wrong with my hormones because I didn’t think I was eating that bad but my husband told me last night he thinks maybe I have been splurging more than I realize (don’t quit tracking folks). I’m still going to make sure but I’m thinking that I’m right there with you. I have heard of people going all the way back to their liquid diet but idk if that extreme is necessary. I was thinking of going back to my liver shrink diet. It sort of detoxed me from all the junk and mine wasn’t too bad. Actually the more I think of it it kinda looks the same as the post surgery regular diet. It was mostly lean meat and veggies (just a little more veggies) with a couple shakes as best as I can recall. I guess what it really amounts to is just getting back on plan 100% for dinner with a couple shakes a day to cut calories a bit further. I am expecting the loss to be slower this time cause I can eat more now and I have my appetite so I can’t cut calories AS much but I’m hoping it will still come off eventually. I will be rooting for you too. We can do this.

Yea I have only ever heard of that on tv. Even there they said it was really uncommon. On the show the interns were all excited to see it. Lol

Wow. I’m sorry that this happened to delay your surgery but it could be a really good thing to know in the future like if you need an emergency surgery (they can get the best person to help you in that surgery asap) or if they ever do a procedure where they go in blind they can take whatever precautions. I assume that’s something that is stamped in bold across all your records kinda like a latex allergy because it’s something that would be really important to know. May even save your life someday knowing that. Who knows. I’m sure someone out there went to that facility. I would think that it would be reasonable to call or email and ask them some of your questions about the surgeon such as how many of these operations they have they done on people with your unique anatomy. Or better yet, see if you can do a virtual visit with the surgeon.

At first I thought you said you don’t even put it on fries I was like OMG gross. I tried one of my moms (she had a heart attack and has to ask for things without salt now) it was so disgusting. I have been trying to cut back just cause I don’t want to have to make the switch cold Turkey some day. Lol

I know it’s aweful but I couldn’t live without salt so I had that immediately post op. Everything else I waited till soft foods but noni didn’t have any issues with spices.

Great suggestion. Dr Weiner just made an instagram post about the GLP-1 the other day for weight loss. It’s hard to get insurance to cover it though if your not diabetic but since you are this may be a really good option for you, OP. Also his book, a pound of cure was really informative.

I would take the paperwork with me to the nutritionist and ask questions. But definitely follow your teams plan. You are trusting them to take care of you and if you run into any issues it’s best if you are doing what they assume you are because that’s their plan. In other words if you call in with a question the dr knows how far you are out and assumes your doing X plan but your really doing Y well your issues could be related to the food but they would rule that out because you shouldn’t be eating that yet. Does that make sense. Just less confusion if you do what they suggest.

Doctors are all over the map with their opinions on drinking post WLS, probably similar to their views on drinking to begin with if I had to guess. My team said it was okay at three months for a special occasion. I have to say it’s not the same as it was pre WLS. I may be one of the few willing to admit but when I drink I do it to get a buzz, lol. Post WLS the buzz comes and goes in like ten minutes for me. I can’t drink fast enough to maintain it and probably would kill myself trying. It’s almost not worth it to me. Waste of calories. That being said my real advice is if you do decide you want to do it try it at home first. Your body may react welrd and the last thing you want is to feel sick or get sloppy drunk on your birthday off one drink. And make sure there is a designated driver around. I still worry about how long it stays in our system and all that being different than before.