PCOS_Mama94

Hi Everyone!

Im 11 weeks post-op tomorrow and have recently started regular workouts at home.

Ive done personal training and dance in the past and am now mixing in strength, cardio and stretching into my routine. Hoping to get back to the flexibility i had a couple years ago!

Id make sure to warm up first and stretch both before and after my workouts.

But since the surgery i find im more sore for longer when i do my strength workouts! I also have found that i cant do as many reps! Is that normal?

I did my last strength training on Thursday and its now Sunday and still sore! I used to be able to do 15 reps/ 3-4 sets but now can barely manage 5 reps!! I guess thats something ill have to work up to!

Also, what does your routine look like now?

Mine is pretty much based on what i used to do. Every second day I would focus on weights and focus on cardio the other days. But with how sore i still am after my last strength session im thinking of changing that up a bit?

Any tips? Advice?

Hi everyone!

Starting to lose motivation!

Ive been sick on/off since just after Christmas. Its made my new job be put off as they are requiring me to have no symptoms for 48 hours before my start date. Ill go one day perfectly fine, the next feeling like death. Its been like that for almost a month.

Ive done so many PCR tests in the last couple weeks and theyve all been negative for covid! Because with the increased covid cases here in Sydney i havent wanted to put my son or I at risk of getting it. My sons unvaccinated and although i am now boosted too, i have asthma and being so soon after surgery i wanted to minimise risk. Even put all the plans i had for school holidays off because of the rising cases.

But then on Monday my son got his test back that hes positive for covid, he was really sick over the weekend. He caught it off his cousin who had been around one of her fathers family's kids who had covid and didnt let any of my family know about it until my niece tested positive and my sister let her husbands side know!!😡 Now im having symptoms again and going for yet another PCR tomorrow. Feeling like the new job will just find someone else at this point! Almost a month later from when i was supposed to start and i need no end to this.

I cant even see my GP. Its just phone appointments and each time i have an appointment they just tell me to go for another PCR because its been a few days since the last one and i could have covid now. Its driving me nuts. I know this time i do a test its likely i will be positive because my son is and i cant exactly isolate him to one room but this whole experience the last month has really made me lost motivation. If im positive ill need to isolate for another 7 days from test result so potentially another 10+ days in isolation.

Im now 8 weeks post op and wanted to be getting out and regularly exercising while the summer lasts but cant now because were in isolation!

And because im a single mum this whole experience has been very isolating, because my family are also in isolation, i dont really have any friends to speak to either😣

Tips on keeping motivated?

Any ideas for what i can do while stuck in isolation?

All we seem to be doing is playing video/board games and cleaning, its getting boring!

How to cope with isolation!

Hi everyone👋🏻

6weeks post op now and started my second period since the surgery yesterday(sorry if tmi!!). Im just so thankful my period has returned after years of issues with it and PCOS!

But since it started i have massive chocolate cravings!! Theres a Sugar Free Chocolate that someone recommended for me and i tried one little square of it and it agreed with me so well im close to binging on the rest of it🥴 Just let it melt in my mouth. But obviously i dont want that happening! The chocolate cravings have literally only come on as my period started😭

Any tips or advice to manage these cravings?

Hi all!

Im 4 weeks post op.

I had surgical glue on my wounds which has now all come off. But ive noticed that it gets so itchy around the incision sites and theres a couple red bumps around them too. It was all fine when the glue was still on, had no issues with that so i dont think it could be an allergic reaction. Its just started up since the glue has come off.

Has anyone experienced something like this?

Im a nurse with some wound training, the wounds are healing quite well, no signs of infection or anything but my god this itchiness around them! Just havent heard of itchy bumps around the wounds before🥴

If it keeps up much longer ill be contacting the surgeon!

8 hours ago, Babin.jessica1993 said:

I don't have to take Iron but I do have to make sure I have something in my stomach when I take my pls. Iron can be alot. Also had my surgery the same day so If you have any meal ideas please let me know bc im struggling

Might need to change when i take that iron pill, or stop it🤔 oh awesome! Well it depends which diet your on now, my surgeon has allowed me to go to soft foods but most of what im eating has been puree still, wanting to take it slow. pureed shepherds pie, mango, yoghurt, baked fish is quite soft and agreed with me. Theres a book by Sally Johnston that has heaps of bariatric surgery meals in it, its been great so far! But taking it slow and trying out different foods to see what agrees with you is what ive been told to do

Hi all!

Had my surgery on 22nd November so im almost 4 weeks post op.

The last 2 weeks though, ive noticed ill become really nauseous about an hour after dinner. Ive noticed its around when i take my Iron supplement and rabeprazole(only have 2 doses of that left) .

Im just finding it weird, its only after dinner ill have the nausea. Not sure if its because of the pills? Or something else? I knew nausea would be a side effect i might experience but the same time each day?

Im not usually the one to vomit either but have been quite close to it at times! Takes me about 5-10mins of like meditating to make sure i dont vomit and then all of a sudden its gone.

Has anyone experiences anything similar?

Of course ill be asking my surgeon at my next appointment.

12 hours ago, OutdoorsGirl said:

No, I couldn’t wait to move on. So far I haven’t had any problems. If you are eating less, the scale should go down.

Thanks!

9 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

you won't start gaining as long as you follow your program's guidelines.

there's a chance your stomach may not be ready to move on (most of us can - but some can't progress to the next stage quite as fast as others). So if your stomach rebels, just back up to the liquid stage for a few more days and then try again.

Thats what the plan will have to be i guess! Being so comfortable on the fluids, just freaks me out having something not liquid. Will have to be a try as i go process!

4 minutes ago, Lifestyle Changer said:

I had to wait until 3:weeks to have puréed. I was on liquids and then full liquids so that my stomach would have a chance to heal and adjust to what I was taking in. 5:days post op for puréed foods just seems really too fast to be introducing puréed foods to your stomach. In my opinion I don’t think your stomach is ready to handle a big change to food that quickly. I’m sorry if my opinion may upset you. Bit through my weight loss program including working with my nutritionist this is not a good choice at only 5 days post op.

I think it really depends on the surgeon. I went with one of the top bariatric surgeons in Australia, hes the one who first started using a minimally invasive method to do the surgery in Australia and trained other surgeons to do it that way.

My surgeon and dietitian said its highly recommended to stay on the fluids for three weeks unless you cant tolerate the shakes. The only shake flavour ive been able to tolerate since surgery is the coffee one, the other flavours made be very nauseous, and even then having more than one of the coffee shakes per day made me nauseous. Ive mostly been living on fluids the three weeks, except for the cottage cheese every couple days. According to studies, its safe from a surgical perspective to start on puree at 5 days post op, but you dont have to if you dont want to, you can simply stay on the fluids for the three weeks.

My surgery came with a complete package of the surgeon, registered nurse, dietition/nurtitionist, counselling and the fresh start program so i trust my highly experienced team who im in regular contact with. I didnt spend two years researching surgeons to just go with someone who doesnt know what theyre doing, i went with my surgeon for a reason, that hes one of the best in Australia. Im also a registered nurse so i really knew what to look out for when finding the perfect surgeon for me.

Ive known some people who do 2 weeks fluids, 2 weeks puree, 2 weeks soft and then normal diet. Some ive known do only a couple days of fluids then by day 3 or 4 theyre on puree and then 2 weeks post op on a soft diet. So it really depends on the surgeon your with and who actually keeps up to date with the current research. Personally i wouldnt have gone with a surgeon who said puree at 3 days post op then soft at 2 weeks!

Hi everyone!

Ive been on liquids since my surgery date 3 weeks ago.

Surgeon said puree would be find after the first 5 days. I did try some smooth cottage cheese and found if i ate too fast i would have some centralised pain like just below my sternum.

So a couple days ago i was cleared to start soft foods! Im almost freaking out! Scared to start it! Will it agree with me? What if ill start gaining? As much as im so over liquids, im just so nervous to move to soft foods.

Ive lost 11kg since the start of pre op, so in about 5 weeks. Im at 92.6kg now and in the past its always been around this weight ill get stuck and cannot move any lower no matter what i do. Been doing everything right, id just be so upset if i saw the scales go the wrong way so early on in this journey.

Has anyone else been nervous to move to the next stage?

I had my surgery on Monday! Making me 4 days post op😊

But what an experience to go through! Ive never had surgery so ive been worrying how id go with it! Had dreams about how i thought it would be, feared that it wouldnt work and id wake up half way through!

Arrived at the hospital at 2pm(my admission time) then waiting around until about 330pm. A nurse took me through, got gowned up, obs taken, met with the anaesthetist(who was such a kind guy!), had an ECG(cardiac history) and then had my preop meds. The anaesthetist was kind and gave me something to help relax, was so nervous at this point! Waited around a little more and then by 440pm i was being wheeled in to theatres!

Now this is the part thats just blown my mind! I transferred myself across to the table and laid back. The anaesthetist was on my left and placed that arm on of of those little arm bed things and a nurse did the same on the right. Another nurse placed some weird spiky thing on my forehead. The anaesthetist said he was going to give me something to relax and i remember thinking to myself that he already did then bam i was asleep😂 not sure if i remember them putting a mask on my face though. The memory is there verrrryyy briefly but that could have been in recovery. So i didnt actually meet my surgeon until the day after my surgery(all appointments have been via phone due to covid)!! Was so quick! Didnt have to count to any number or answer some questions, it was literally instant😲 never expected it to be that quick!

Felt like i had been asleep for a tiny moment then i remember the feeling of the tube in my throat being taken out!! Not sure if i fell asleep again or if that was the moment i started waking up🤔 but when i know i started waking up omg the pain!!!!! Even before i opened my eyes the pain hit me so bad! I already had fentanyl running too!! Crying so much because of the pain! The first thing i remember saying was "does my mum know im awake yet"😅 realised a bit later that the pain was gas pain, which i still have a little bit of now. I woke up at about 830pm so was out for about 4 hours

My hospital stay was amazing though! Had never stayed in a private hospital before, only public, and it was so fancy! Got my own room, fancy looking window with a nice view, comfy chairs, huuuge bathroom. Can see why some people prefer going private now!

On the Tuesday i managed to get over 1L down meaning discharge was for the following day🙌🏻

The only issue ive had since being home is not being able to get comfy! I sleep on my side but cant do that at the moment and even sitting i cant relax while sitting yet so now my back and bum is aching😩

But everythings on the right track now! Cant wait to see where this journey takes me😁

Hi everyone!

Monday is my surgery date and the last two weeks almost ive been super strict on my pre-op diet but ive only lost 3.3kg

Start weight was 103.6kg and im 100.3kg this morning.

Ive heard of people losing so much more in their pre-op and this small loss really makes me anxious that my liver hasnt shrunk enough😱 i have been told that my bipolar medication can make the weight loss slower though but omg this still makes me anxious!

Only a few weeks ago my GP said i have moderate fatty liver disease(after ultrasound) and the surgeon decided a 2 week pre-op will be fine. But im still so anxious that my liver will be too large and they will need to cancel the surgery.

What was your loss in pre-op? Guess i just need to feel some sort of reassurance

Also, packing for hospital! Anything youd recommend as essential to take?

Hi Everyone!

Had my first appointment with the surgeon and dietitian on Tuesday but ive only just thought of this question.. ill end up asking them at some point anyway but wanted to get opinions here first.

Might be a stupid question but after the surgery, what temperature should my fluids be?

I love ice cold Water in the summer(coming up to summer here in Australia now) but also love my tea hot.

Did anyone have any pain or discomfort having colder or warmer liquids? What was your experience with different temperature liquids in the first few weeks post op? Did you just go for room temperature liquids to be on the safe side?🤔

Hey Everyone!

Ive had a few things come up since my last appointment with the surgeon.

This was all through my GP. Turns out my Iron levels are now all of a sudden super high(ferritin was 417), and my liver enzymes also high but thats been an ongoing issue for me. I rarely eat meat and have never had high iron in the past so i have no idea whats happened there.

What im now concerned about is my liver! My surgeon does a standard 2 week pre op before surgery to help shrink the liver but im so scared it wont work! My GP sent me for an ultrasound of my liver and it shows moderate fatty liver disease. Ive been reading ways to shrink my liver now before my next surgeons appointment but all the results i get are what im already doing. Ive always eaten fairly well and even lately ive cut back heaps on the junk and comfort eating knowing i have the surgery coming up yet this has still happened!

So fearful that itll get to the big day, they will open me up and then not operate because its too large still😭 what happens if the pre op diet just doesnt work? Im almost tempted to just start my pre op diet now! I dont even have my surgery date yet!

Hi all!

So im due for my surgery soon, awaiting an exact date.

Ive had so many dreams about the surgery and each one mostly relates to going off to sleep and then waking up. Ive never had surgery before so dont actually know what its like going off to sleep under a general and then waking up from it.

How it goes in my dreams is ill have the drugs administered and ill start to feel very sleepy and veryyyy heavy and not long later all be asleep but it only feels like ive just closed my eyes before waking up again in recovery but still feeling really heavy and unable to move or even open my eyes, id just be laying there for a while as the movement comes back from my fingers first and my eyes opening would be one of the last things i can do.

So is that really what its like? Or is my head just making assumptions of how it feels? It almost feels like my head is preparing me for it as i have felt quite nervous at times about it. Whats your experience with it?

Hi all,

Ill be having the sleeve done later this year.

Ive had my first appointment with the surgeon i want to go with, it was just with the nurse that time.

I did tell her my private health insurance reaches that one year mark in the middle of October and with my sons birthday a few days later I'd be wanting the surgery to be around early November just so I'm not on the pre op diet on his birthday(a kid only turns 10 once!).

They gave me my next appointments to be 19th October which is after that one year mark. Its with the dietitian and the surgeon.

So im just wondering what the timeline is like with these appointments??

Im based in Sydney Australia. Would i start the pre op the day after that appointment? Are there other appointments i need to attend? Im really hoping for that first week or 2 of november to be the surgery date and just feel like the appointments that were made would push my surgery to late november or even december!