PCOS_Mama94

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!

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!

Congrats on your "period" - 🥳🥳
Only those with PCOS may realize how celebratory it is to have periods naturally. I am still waiting on that day. 😭
I am hoping soon it happens, otherwise may need to go back to the hormonal pills 😭😭

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 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?

Have a couple squares and flush the rest lol.

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!

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!

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.

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😁

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😁

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😁

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😁

I have (maybe had at this point) severe fatty liver disease when I had my surgery (VSG), so I was super worried my liver would be too big or fatty for the surgery to go forward on the day and specifically asked my surgeon about this. She said that they generally only worry about the liver being too big/fatty with patients with BMI in the 60s or higher, which wasn't me. I don't know if that is you or not, but a bit of info. She also said that the pre-op diet, especially the liquid portion, is very effective and can shrink the liver quite a bit in just a few days/weeks.

As for starting the liquid diet early...I wouldn't suggest it. It is pretty tough and if your program is anything like mine, it will be a loooooooooong time before you get to eat food again. Don't give it up too soon. I was on nothing but liquids for 10 days pre-op and more than 15 days post-op--25 days total. I had three periods of psychological difficulty with this--day 2 & 3 pre-op (just hangry and had a headache for more than 24 hours--pissed me off), the day before surgery (just tired of liquids and impatient) and then about 10 days post-op, when I was really, really over the Protein Shakes and just wanted to eat something--anything.
Good luck!

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!

The sleeve was my first time under general anesthesia (I had had twilight anesthesia for a colonoscopy before). They put the oxygen mask over my mouth and then the anesthesiologist said "I'm going to put something in your IV that's going to feel spicy". And I thought, "what on earth does that mean?" Then two seconds later, I thought, "Oh, that's what that means." And then I remember my body moving and feeling nauseous and I remember someone talking to me and then struggling to open my eyes and looking around the room and seeing my mom and realizing I was still alive and being happy, but then immediately falling back asleep.

For me, one moment I’m joking/chatting with the anaesthesiologist & the next I’m waking in recovery. I usually feel a little heavy in the head or disorientated for a minute or so but then I’m fine. Sometimes I doze off again. You may find your body feels a little odd for a short time too like is it really your body especially if you have drains, drips, etc. Little gentle stretches & flexing your muscles help to reacquaint yourself with your body. You may find you don’t remember exactly what happens after you wake clearly - I can never remember how I get my glasses back. Did they give them to me? Did they put them on me? Was I wearing them when I woke? 🤷🏻‍♀️
Hope you get your date soon.

You won't even feel yourself get sleepy. The nurses will be chatting and then suddenly you're in recovery. It's literally like a time jump.
Both my previous surgeries (an ACL knee reconstruction and a gall bladder removal) were different waking up. I woke up in recovery after my knee like my brain and body was wading through mud. Making involuntary noises. I could hear the nurse and she was shouting at me to "stop" whatever I was doing, and I managed with great effort to tell her that I couldn't help it. Then I must've lost consciousness again and was being wheeled back into the ward.
My gallbladder op was smoother, I woke up in recovery pretty well, like waking up from sleep, and was wheeled back to the ward.
It's worth noting that the knee one was waaaaaaay back in 2000, and I had a rougher time all round post-surgery (and honestly I don't think that hospital was terribly good - only one nurse was nice). The gallbladder op was in 2015 and was a breeze - much better hospital.

I've only had three surgeries, but I've been put under a LOT because I've had multiple EGD's due to my EoE. You go into the OR and they prep you, and maybe ask you some questions and then with two of the surgeries they put me to sleep via the IV in my arm. I remember I woke after my WLS and felt like I got hit by a BUS! There was only one of my three surgeries that differed as it was brain surgery and they instead put on an oxygen mask over my face and I got the anesthesia that way for that one and they thought I'd get claustrophobic because a lot of patients start to panic with the mask on supposedly, but I was really calm and was complimented for that (next thing I remember about that one was waking up in recovery with the WORST headache of my LIFE and at that point the worst nausea of my life up until the nurse tells me that my sister is there to see me and the second my sister walked in I vomited! She thought it was hilarious that I puked as soon as I saw her lol.)

I've had four surgeries in my lifetime. It's like the others have said - one minute you're chatting with the nurses, the next minute you're in the recovery room. It's kind of bizarre....

Agree with others here. This was my first surgery with general anesthesia. One minute the anesthesiologist was talking to me and I was taking deep breaths with the oxygen mask, and then next it was over. It definitely is like a weird time jump. No dreams while being under. It's like snap you are asleep and don't know it, then snap you are sort of awake, though I was definitely was disoriented when I first woke up, and I just kept dozing on and off for a long time afterwards.

Last month I had VSG to RNY for gerd/esophagitis. For me, I fell asleep (without realizing it), woke up, stomach felt like I had done a zillion sit-ups when I tried to move, my throat was sore, I slept rest of the day. Pain was 100% doable, nausea minimal. I don't even remember the nausea part but my husband who was right next to me said I said "I'm prone to nausea" when I first woke up lol.

Like others have said, it's a time hop.
My anesthesiologist didn't even say much. He put the little plastic cup over my head and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room.
I was incredibly sleepy all that day and much of the next. I had brain fog like when you're addicted to caffeine and can't have any (though I've been off caffeine for weeks now). My anesthesiologist gave me a TAP block, which is like an epidural nerve block for your abdominals, so I really didn't even feel much around my midsection. I was able to hoist myself off the bed and go walking, albeit slowly and clutching my IV pole at first.
They also put a seasickness patch behind my ear in pre-op prep and I cannot even describe how much that helped.

I also never had surgery before, they were wonderful, I explained how scared about surgery I was and the nurse and anesthesia doctor were fabulous,. They held my hand explained they would be giving me medication in my IV and she held my hand, asked me OK where is your favorite place you want to visit and we were literally talking for 10 seconds and next thing I know I was in the recovery room with my husband and other post op staff. Completely wonderful, they did great work


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