lizonaplane

Congrats! These are all questions that your surgery center will have to answer, because they are individual to your and your program. Definitely call them and ask them these things! 1) My pre-op appointment was less than 2 weeks prior to my surgery 2) The anesthesia nurse called me and told me which medications to stop taking prior to surgery and that was just for the night before/morning of surgery. I had stopped taking phentermine a long time ago because my insurance wouldn't cover it, but I was taking metformin for weight loss. Again, these are program/personal health related questions and no one on a forum can really answer when your appointments will be or which medications you should stop and when. Good luck!

I'm so glad you said you had hunger. I'm three weeks out and I'm hungry all the time but it HURTS when I eat. It hurts in back on the right side.

Possibly you need a higher dose of omeprazole or whatever you're on? I'm week 3 and I haven't had those issues. Maybe someone else knows. Hope it gets better soon!

I am 3 weeks post-op and I feel hungry all the time. I have pain when I eat, maybe from eating too quickly, but even with those, I'm hungry. I don't think it's head hunger - it feel like how it used to feel if I went 8 hours or more between meals before surgery. Everyone keeps telling me I'm NOT hungry, but that just feels like gaslighting. It's possible it's GERD, but I'm taking 20mg of omeprazole every day...

I will just add that the stall can last a few weeks, so don't panic!

I brought way more than I used. I slept or stared at the wall almost the whole time. I didn't turn on the TV (but I don't like TV much). Here is what I actually USED: Phone, charger, headphones, extra pair of underwear (I did sleep over). I did not take a shower the next morning; I felt too unsteady and the shower looked kinda gross anyway. I brought biotene and chapstick but I didn't need them. They gave me a toothbrush and stuff but I felt too nauseous to brush my teeth. The slipper socks fit me fine, and I wear a women's size 9. I wore the same clothes home. I brought a blanket, but they gave me plenty. I didn't need a pillow for the ride home because I just held the seat belt a bit out from me, and it didn't hurt that much because it was below my incisions and above my incisions. But I also only had about a 20 minute drive. Good luck!

You are dehydrated BECAUSE you are not getting any liquids down. Keep sipping SLOWLY throughout the day. I found I had to hold a bottle of water or other liquid in my hand all day long to keep drinking enough. I would just take a few small sips every few minutes. Some people set alarms. By the end of the first week I had no trouble getting 80 oz of fluid in, but I don't think everyone is able to do that. Call your surgery center if you are concerned.

I take the ProCare Health 1 a day 45 mg iron. I tried the chewable but it was just disgusting. I started the capsules 2 weeks post-op. I take them right before bed, which is when I take most of my meds. I generally only have water in my stomach at that point, but maybe I don't get nauseous because I go right to sleep afterwards? But again, I've only been taking them about a week or a few days more than that, so maybe I'll start to get nauseous. I want to stick with these because they were one of the only brands among those listed as acceptable by my surgery center that was truly one a day.

I was hoping my tastes would change so I wouldn't like sweets anymore. Nope. My tastes haven't changed at all and I'm also hungry all the time. Three weeks out. It's been a real let-down.

Congrats! Very inspirational. I'm in MA too, near Boston.

I also like putting the protein drinks in decaf coffee - I mix half a chocolate fairlife drink with about 10 ounces of decaf coffee to make 16 ounces of fluid and 15 g of protein for my morning's drink

Good on you for taking long walks! That will help with recovery in general and especially constipation. I was still in a good deal of pain when moving at 5-6 days post op. Try taking small sips all day long (I just kept a bottle of water or flavored water or protein shake in my hand at all times). I couldn't stomach the chewable vitamins either - at two weeks I just switched to the capsules, even though I was told to take the chewables for the first month. I realized it was either the capsules or nothing for me. I have never had a baby so not sure about colic but I find burping very helpful still at 3 weeks out. Keep trying to get your liquids and protein in - focus on the liquids first, is what I've been told.

It's great that you've taken control of your surgery, but it sounds like you should consider talking with a bariatric therapist. This should be someone they have on staff, but if not, hopefully they can refer you to someone. I'm shocked that they haven't done that. Congrats on your 100+ lbs weight loss. That's a thing to celebrate!

I would ask your surgery center. I take Imitrex, which is not an NSAID and is designed specifically for Migraines.

Are these the only options available to you in the UK? Would you be able to order from Bariatric Pal? I like the ProCare Health one a day with 45 mg iron, but NOT the chewables. I tried two brands of chewables and they made me almost throw up. For the calcium, are you able to find calcium chews? They sell those here at the pharmacy and at big box stores and online (we have brands like Viactiv). I believe they sell them here too. Not sure if the shipping costs would be prohibitive. Sorry I don't actually have an answer for you for the UK

My friend came over with his two little dogs last night. The 15 pounder was trying to lick me to death and she stepped on my stomach and now it really hurts NEAR the incision but not exactly on it. I'm three weeks out and the bandages and steri-strips have come off a while ago, and of course I was wearing a shirt but I'm just surprised at how much it hurts. I don't see any difference in the incision, and it doesn't feel hot to the touch or bruised or swollen. I took tylenol, but it didn't help. I'd try to call my surgery center, but they never return my calls. Any suggestions? Should I be concerned?

I was very nervous leading up to surgery. It's very stressful, especially if you've never had surgery before, like me. I'm three weeks out now, and eating is hard, and I know some people feel very regretful for the first month, but then they start to feel very happy once life gets easier and the weight comes off. You can do this!

I looked at switching surgeons because I was having a hard time getting the surgery center to respond to my calls and emails. But then they finally scheduled my surgery and I told the new surgery center I was going to go to the original one. The surgery was fine, but now I am having the same issues with the surgery center not responding to me, so I sort of wish I had switched. I have seen other messages on here that people who have had to switch for various reasons have not had to start from scratch, but I don't know if that is true in all cases. I was told I would not need to restart my insurance classes, but I would have to meet with their psychologist and nurse practitioner. I wouldn't call your insurance company as it's impossible to get a straight answer from them. I would have the new surgery center's insurance specialist deal with it, as that's what they do all day long. Good luck!

Congratulations! I would make sure you have everything in your house that you need for the first week after surgery - protein drinks, vitamins, broth, etc. These are heavy and you won't be able to lift them right after surgery. Read your surgery center's directions CAREFULLY so make sure you have what you are allowed to eat. I would also clean your house, do your dishes and laundry before surgery because lifting and bending will be hard for about a week after surgery. Your surgery center will tell you what you need to stop (birth control pills, caffeine, carbonation, certain medications you may be taking, etc) and for how long. This should be in your packet, but if now, ask them and write it down. I found it very hard to remember everything. Don't worry about the excess skin. That may or may not be an issue for you, and that's probably a year or more down the road. Focus on the day by day of learning how to eat again. I'm three weeks out, and trust me, that is enough to think about!

How far out are you from the arm lift? Maybe the scars will continue to diminish? I know there are some products on the market like Mederma that are supposed to reduce the appearance of scars, but I am doubtful of their usefulness. I know nothing about tattoos, but maybe if you talk to a tattoo artist they could show you some examples of their work in that area? Good luck!

Also, for the constipation: it's totally normal. Try taking Miralax (doesn't work right away, needs to be taken basically every day) or if you haven't gone in a long time, use a laxative suppository (not to be taken too often). Talk to your surgery center to make sure these are okay. I find the miralax works way better than stool softeners or senna. You will not normally go every day after surgery because you are taking in less food and fiber. My surgery center said to make sure I'm getting enough liquid and moving around enough. However, I'm doing both of these things and I'm still only having a BM twice a week. And, as @catwoman7 mentioned, the three week stall is infamous. I am basically there right now. This too shall pass!

I went to Mass General Brigham and Dr. Matthew Hutter was my doctor. I think the BMI is only an issue for your insurance - if you are willing to self pay, probably any surgeon would do the surgery. However, I am not sure I'd recommend their program as I had to wait 7.5 months, only part of which was for insurance. The rest was due to them being understaffed and what felt like disorganized. They are all very nice, but they don't return phone calls or messages through patient gateway in a reasonable amount of time. I was hoping they would be better after surgery, but this has not been my experience. The surgery went well and my only "complication" is that I'm hungry all the time. I also looked into the program at Newton Wellesley hospital and almost switched to them when MGB was taking forever. They seemed to get back to me much quicker and I sort of wished I'd gone with them. Good luck!

I didn't like the protein water either. It felt really chalky and sucked all the water out of my mouth. What are you able to eat/drink now? My surgery was 13Sep too and I'm eating soft foods now. I had taco meat with a tiny bit of cheese and some FF greek yogurt for dinner last night. It was delicious!

Best of luck on your journey, not just the drive. It's so hard to move emotionally and physically, but I hope you can at least enjoy some of the beautiful scenery. I love to travel and although I usually fly, I do enjoy all the beautiful things I see out of the car windows once I land. I hope you love your new home and adjust quickly. Also, I hope you can easily find a new bariatric clinic to help you move on in that part of your journey as well. Especially consider finding a bariatric therapist as I suspect that will be challenging with all the stresses of settling in!

I had trouble taking all my 10 pills at night at first, too. They would start to just dissolve in my mouth and I'd herk them up. It would take me almost an hour to take all of them at first. Now at 3 weeks out I can take them all in about 5-10 minutes, but it definitely takes a lot more effort than before surgery, when I would take them all in one gulp. It gets better quickly, or at least that part did for me. Good luck!