ShoppGirl

For me the physical hunger is completely gone now. With my sleeve it was also gone but it did come back. It was around 6 months that it started coming back if I’m remembering correctly. It comes back for most people to varying degrees of intensity. The best case is that you take that time to really change WHAT you eat, not just how much because when the hunger comes back you will likely eat larger portions and if it’s less healthy food you will probably begin to gain. At least I did. With my revision I have changed what I eat entirely. I didn’t do this with my sleeve. I had just a few menu options so it’s no wonder I got board with it and started to eat off plan more often. This time I did research and found several healthy recipes to try and I found quite a few that I enjoy so I don’t get board at all. You may not recall but I have Bipolar and Anxiety. I have found that freezing some healthy meals has come in real handy at times when I am not up to cooking. I also am in touch with my surgical team more often for office visits as well as the support group meetings and those help tremendously. Post op I also had more frequent appointment with my psychiatrist and psychologist as well. I just asked for all of the support I could find because it is a lot of change which I don’t do well with but now that I am two months out and i have a little routine I am feeling better than ever. The exercise that I am finally energized enough to do has helped my mood tremendously and the weight loss and the social aspect of the group fitness classes have helped with my self esteem too. I have so much more structure and routine now which is actually really great for Bipolar. I am able to fall asleep at night and stay asleep and I wake up at the same time and exercise, I set recurring alarms for vitamins/food and I log my food with the Baritastic app and my fitness watch keeps track of all of my activity. I show all of that data to my NP at my checkups and she helps me make adjustments to my nutrition. You will probably see a nutritionist for food related questions but I had a newer surgery called the SADI and the nutritionist wasn’t very helpful with regard to the macros after I got back to normal food. As long as you are managing your mental illness, though, you should be just fine. Just don’t hesitate to ask for whatever help that you need in order to be successful.

I’m not sure about the snow but I’m glad your surgery is still scheduled. I think you’re probably right about then just making sure that you understand the surgery. Hopefully they will give you some written stuff about the post op diet and all of those instructions when you get to that part so if you forget you can go back and read it over again. I read mine a couple of times before my last appointment so I could ask all of my questions.

I had a revision to SADI two months ago (which is a modified DS) and I’m very happy with it. After the sleeve I always felt like I was just on a diet. I still craved unhealthy stuff and didn’t have all the extra energy that people explained. So I lost a lot of weight but once my appetite came back I gained it back. Since the SADI it’s different. I would obviously still like to have pizza and pasta but I still enjoy the healthier choices and I have tons of energy. I walk about 5-7 miles a day and just started YOGA twice a week. I want to do an aerobics/strength class that meets two other days but I’m not quite there yet. I have lost 48 pounds total in 2.5 months (which includes the two week preop in which I lost 13 pounds). Not all surgeons do the SADI yet and there is not a whole lot of help out there in terms of what you should be doing nutrition wise. I spoke to two different nutritionists and they just gave me the same info as they would give for bypass but the NP has been looking at my fitness and food log charts and helping me to adjust my macros and it’s working. I was warned about diarrhea and stinky bowel movements but I have not experience either. In fact I’m still weaning off the stool softener. My surgeon did a few tests first to make sure my sleeve was In good shape because he does not make adjustments to the sleeve. He feels the risks are too high. The recovery was a little tougher this time and you have to be disciplined with your portions because physically you can eat more but once I was healed I was able to tolorate all the same foods as before since they didn’t operate on my stomach. I am now back to pretty normal portions of healthy foods.

I agree. Four years out from a bypass it’s not very likely that it’s related (could be but less likely). I would give your family provider a call because it does sound like something is off. They will probably want to order labs at the very least.

Oh yea. Take that sooner rather than later. Better to have it too loose or often then to get real constipated. My team had us start on stool softeners twice a day as a preventative and take milk of magnesia as needed. Straining can really hurt you right now so better to be on the safe side.

Oh and also, for what it’s worth I went in early because I was concerned that my weight loss had slowed a bit and she said that is perfectly normal. You’re able to eat more than 2 ounces so of course it will slow.

Well I guess that’s not too much longer at this point so ask him to reschedule they probably couldn’t even get you in any sooner but while you are there maybe ask if it’s okay for you to go more often than the required visits. I mean, it can’t hurt to ask. I did and my team allows me to but it’s possible that’s just because they are well aware of my anxiety issues at this point ?

Check out the Red Cross. They are pretty widely known organization that provides help for all kinds of disasters. This is from their website. The Red Cross is proud that an average of 90 cents of every dollar we spend is invested in delivering care and comfort to those in need. Each year, the generous support of donors like you enables our disaster workforce— 90% volunteers—to help millions of people in the U.S. i don’t love that it’s 90% of what they SPEND and not what they GET on donations (seems like it could be misleading) but maybe that’s just semantics?? I know it has been around for a long time and when I Googled it quickly, it seems to have pretty good scores on sites of people that review different charities but check it out for yourself.

Getting up does kinda seem like a chore when it’s painful and you’re not hungry or thirsty anyways but it’s good to get up to avoid possibility of blood clots. When you do get up try walking a bit further than just to the kitchen too. You will see that you can do a bit more each day. Don’t rush it, of course but do get up enough to prevent clots. My goal was every hour but if I’m being honest I didn’t quite make that. Also, don’t forget to do your spirometer thing. The walking, spirometer and fluids should be the priority. Protein and vitamins are important but not nearly as important as the others. Take each day at a time this first couple of weeks. You will get in your groove soon enough.

2kg according to google is 4.7 pounds. That’s a lot for a week for most people at this point. Unless they have a higher starting weight. I mean of course some people do lose that fast but I don’t think it’s the norm just like some people lose it really slow. We will all get there though. As much as our bodies want to fight to hang onto it, it really just can’t with how little/healthy we are eating. Congrats on your loss. It feels amazing, doesn’t it.

Oh good. I really do think you will be fine but if not don’t let it get you discouraged, Just do what they ask you to do and you will get there soon enough. One step at a time.

Oh good. I use the Baritastic too. It’s pretty great isn’t it? I’m so sorry that your dietician didn’t help. I know how frustrating that is because I went out of my way to see a second one, even and they didn’t help either. Did your surgeons office give you a book of any sort? Mine didn’t have like a calorie goal or any other macros other than protein and water but it did say what portions they expected me to eat at each stage and stuff to avoid. What were your questions? Maybe between the group of us we can tell you what advise was given to us and that will help. If I were you I would see if you can meet with the NP or PA at your surgeons office if they have one. I told mine that the dietician wasn’t very helpful with the SADI so she has just been going over the nutrition stuff with me.

Oh I have so many questions that I seen the NP like five times since surgery and I call In between ? The NP finally gets it that with my anxiety I just need a little more reassurance throughout such major changes. She is so helpful. I ask her about my macros and stuff. I didn’t really feel like the dietician was very knowledgeable on my surgery. The goals the NP have given me are nothing like what the dietician had said. They should be fine to answer about the more common surgeries though. And they can tell you specific foods that will work. The NP just looks at the bar charts from my food logging app and says things about my trends. If you don’t have a fitness watch, consider one of those. They have some pretty inexpensive ones on Amazon now. I got one on sale for $20 that seemed like a good one but my husband was able to get my old watch to update so I returned it. It’s really nice to be able to tell them your activity trends. And if you have an iPhone and carry it with you when you walk around you already have it on your health app. The watch will record your heart rate too though which gives you a better idea of calories burned.

Exactly. Everyone is different in terms of loss. The important thing is how you feel and that the trend is down. We will all get there eventually.

Ooh. That doesn’t sound fun at all. Glad you were able to get that repaired at the same time. I mean I’m sure recovery was a bit worse but to me I’d rather get it over in one shot. Thanks for clarifying.

Have you talked to your team about your fitness and your macros. I was actually eating too little for my level of activity. It was really scary to be adding carbs but I trusted the NP and I’m still losing. You’re definitely not over reacting though. I was upset about not losing as much as I have been and I made an appointment to talk to my team about my loss. They reassured me that I was doing what I should be doing. I recommend that you do that if you can. It can be so upsetting and sometimes even makes people less motivated to exercise and make poor food choices if they feel like it’s not working for them and I’m sure it will feel much better to hear from them whether you are on track for what they expect for you.

It definitely couldn’t hurt to check with different attorneys. It’s just about their judgement as to whether they think they can win the case and like everyone In life some are all about the money but some actually care about justice. You should be able to find one that wants justice for you. I mean had they called for an ambulance right away and sent you to the closest ER you may not have even needed such extensive care. I think in medical claims they have another doctor review it to see if they did everything they should have. I’m not a doctor but it doesn’t sound like it from what you’re saying.

@Greekmom4 I have a question for you. How did you know that you had a hernia. I have a sneaking suspicion that I developed an umbilical hernia post surgery. The NP doesn’t think anything is weird but my belly botton is shaped differently and I can feel that it’s really hard inside and it was not like that before. Not sure why she can’t feel what I’m feeling. Maybe I’m feeling the sensation from the inside. Anyways, do they do an ultrasound or something?

What is Wednesday? Your follow up appointment?? If you have an appointment Wednesday and you can stand waiting you could call earlier, but you really should find out about it at your appointment If not you can just say “you got my psyc clearance, right??” And see what they say. Just make it about your concern they didn’t send the paperwork and not your concern that you didn’t pass. Honestly I think you did though. I can’t imagine that a psychiatrist would leave the surgeon to be the one to break the news to you that you didn’t pass this time. They know that they are better qualified to help you get through it if it is upsetting to you and it would be for many of us, once we make up our minds to do this we want it now. But you already know that if you didn’t pass YET, that it is just a delay. Try to focus on that for now. It may be one more hurdle but you are still on your journey to get your surgery.

Maybe check the hospital website so that you can get the person’s name that you need to speak with so when you ask for them by name, it holds a little more merit than just asking for a supervisor like genetically. And if they won’t put you through then just send something in writing usually things in writing (email). Usually they have to respond to that because you have proof you sent it. Good luck.

Yea, maybe just ask if they got your clearance yet instead of asking Did I pass?

I didn’t even think about the fact that they had him drive you. I have heard of some people getting the surgery as an outpatient although I don’t think it’s very common but yea @SleeveToBypass2023 is right. They even wasted precious moments waiting for your husband to get you there while you were essentially bleeding out. The purpose of an ambulance is to get you there quicker and have care in route. I mean if the Dr couldn’t help you then surely your husband couldn’t while he was driving. That was a really bad call on their part.

You have to keep on them. Tell them if they got “pre approval” then you want the pre authorization number to call the insurance and give to them so they can pay it. Ask for the BOD or whoever is the higher up at your hospital. They don’t want to do more work rebilling but you only have so much time to appeal things before it’s too late. Also ask insurance how you can get to start an appeal on your own. I had a bill that my local doctor didn’t get prior approval for the procedure so it wasn’t covered but should have been because it was medically necessary and I had to fight for like 6 months until they finally wrote it off and that was only like 5 grand. I called three times a week to see what they were doing to rectify it. I actually used my headset and walked back in forth in my house while I was on the phone to get my exercise in when I was post surgery. Keep detailed notes of everyone you call, email, leave vm, etc with dates.

Yea. Fingers crossed it does go away, but for some it doesn’t. If you haven’t always had it then hopefully it will go away but I know people who are very fit and healthy who still need BP meds. ?

possibly or also some people have high blood pressure that is purely genetic I mean if it’s not diet or weight related maybe the surgery doesn’t make it go away?? I imagine that reducing weight and changing diet would have to help some, but maybe it doesn’t cure it entirely. Good you are back on it though for now if you need it.