HSV Olivia

I’m so glad you posted this question! I could use some help myself! Here are a couple exercises I was given by a trainer. They are 3x per week. 20 x 3 reps. I started with 5lb weights and moved up to 8. I had to you tube a few of them. They are lower impact but super effective.

Looks like I finally got past this dreaded 3rd week stall.
Weight started dropping again, pretty happy and feeling good.

GENEPRO lost a lawsuit over misleading labeling regarding the Protein content. It never had 30 grams of protein in 7 grams of product. The "new" Genepro is the same product without the falsification.

During weeks 1-4 if you are on liquids/purees, the restriction won't kick in. You'll feel the restriction when you go on solids. This is why the Dr. suggested to limit the purees by volume, to avoid taking in a lot of cals. (And I guess to train me in the proper portion sizes for later)
After the surgery gas dissipated, I haven't experienced stomach pain. While eating or otherwise. Had some discomfort a couple of times when eating puree too fast (big spoonful, not waiting enough time in between)
This is more or less what I followed.
Week 1. Used a 2oz medicine cup. One every 10-15 minutes. More like 5 minutes toward the end. If too fast, would get stomach pain. Week 2. liquid diet, Protein Shakes, etc. I could drink a Protein Shake (12 oz), in about 30 mins. Just a sip at a time, no particular wait in between. 3-4 shakes per day. Week 3 - 4. pureed phase. 2 Shakes. 2 Snacks. 2 meals (whatever Protein was for lunch/dinner, pureed with salsa,broth or mayo). meals limited to 3 fl. oz. (~ 1/3 cup) Week 5. Solids. Dr. suggested 2 shakes, 1-2 snacks, and 2 meals. Meals consisting of 4 oz total. 2 oz protein, 1oz vegs. and 1 oz carbs (optional).

The Medicaid denial is based on your state Medicaid guidelines, not whether Medicare is primary. Since it is a Medicare covered service, you will be liable for the 20% Medicare coinsurance, and it can be pursued all the way to collections even though you are a Medicaid patient, specifically because it is considered non-covered by your Medicaid plan.

I mean obviously I'm a stranger on the Internet so take this info with a grain of salt. But my career is in Medical Billing, specifically Medicare and Medicaid.

Best of luck to you!

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

Pain up un your shoulders is likely trapped gas from the surgery. Move around a lot... that will work out. Mine is lower.

Checking in. I will be 2 weeks post op tomorrow. On Wednesday my surgeon cleared me to start soft food. I have been eating fish that I grill and I have been using my Instapot to pressure cook some things. I am not interested in puréed. I can live on apple sauce and fish for a long time.

Weight loss has stopped at 30 pounds in 3 weeks which I am fine with. I haven’t lost much post op but I lost so much Pre-op I am not surprised. The Dermabond is finally starting to come off my incisions. No problems so far tolerating food. I am slowing sampling different things. I am avoiding sugar.

I so far have nothing but positives to say about my experience. For me this isn’t about a number on a scale. This is about my health and I already feel more energetic and am not longer using my CPAP.

I had the SADI on the 24th via the davinci robot. Turns out that there was my surgeon there plus two others to help! One was a specialist in diabetes and he intervened when mine went through the roof during surgery.

My blood sugar is under control now on the liquid diet but … I sure do still have diabetes. I thought maybe it would go instantly away like magic. Maybe it will in a couple months, but for now I’m still on insulin.

I didn’t anticipate coming out of anesthesia would be so rough. I was incredible pain and my first words were “can’t breathe” so I was immediately put on my cpap and then given fentanol.

I was only supposed to stay one night but was still in a lot pain that we were chasing with a cocktail of drugs. So I stayed one more night. Now I’m able to walk and am not in a fog of pain. Just sitting in my room waiting to go home.

It was a little rough at first but I still feel like me, and can see a path where I’ll feel better each day. It will have been worth it I am sure.

p.s. At some point during the pandemic I must have become a different person because I have mooned everyone on this floor and worse. I just don’t care anymore. 🍑 I used to be modest but not anymore!

I had my surgery yesterday November 23rd and it went well. I also had hernia repair at the same time. So far I am not in much pain just a little discomfort. The nurses were surprised at how well I was doing. I drank two bottles of Water. Took me several hours but I got and keep it down. No Nausea and i have I walked every our sometimes twice an hour to help with the gas. For now the gas discomfort is completely tolerable. The worst pain was my throat from the intubation, but still tolerable. I just made my first Bariatric Fusion shake today and so far so good. Just slipping on water in between. I know I will probably have some bad days, but I’m happy the start has been really good.

Crazy scale victory... So, from the time I started my pre-OP diet for 1 week prior to surgery.... that was 2 weeks ago today, until now... 1 week post-OP, I'm down 40#.
Non Scale victories... soreness almost gone. Water weight in legs and hands vastly gone. But most importantly, I did all of this due to an arrhythmia and that too is now 95% gone.

Just as the two above said, results can be super variable. I lost 50 lbs in three months but I just saw another post where someone lost 46 lbs in only one month! It's hard not to compare yourself, especially if you're a competitive person, but give it time and stick to your plan and you'll see the scale start moving. Good luck!

I agree with everything Arabesque said. Plus I don't know if you weighed yourself when you got home from the hospital or not, but most of us "gain" weight from the IV fluids they pump into us -- some people up to 10 lbs. It takes a week or so for all that to work its way out, so it's not uncommon to have no weight loss at all - or even a gain - for at least a week.

There are many factors that affect your rate of loss: age, gender, starting weight, genetics, etc. Some are slow losers others are fast losers to begin. The rate you lose doesn’t affect the amount of weight you will lose. There are slow losers who reach their goal & fast losers who don’t.
Don’t worry too much about your weight loss immediately post surgery. You have swelling, possibly still retaining fluids, your body is under stress, etc. Some surgeons even advise not to weigh yourself for a couple of weeks after surgery because of this.
There are a couple of things you can rely upon. We all lose at our own rate & your rate of loss will slow as you get closer to goal.
Every pound you lose is a win. Congrats on your surgery.

Lets Start on a good news - Wine and Vodka is a liquid = Thats how i got thru it
Become the broth Master! I am a chef so it was easy for me. but make a bunch of broth's You can buy pastes and powdered mixes
Make yourself some of the Asian broth;s will fill you up and keep you busy
Next become the shake/Smoothie queen you will need this skill for quiet awhile - welcome to the journey and welcome to the group reach out anytime great people in here paying it forward

1. Who moved my car seat back? Oh, nobody. My butt is smaller and I'm sitting further back.
2. What? Do gold necklaces stretch? Oh, no. My neck just got smaller and now the chain looks longer.
3. Painting my own toenails.
4. Fitting in most any chair.
5. Not worrying about getting stuck in chairs with arms.
6. Not worrying about a chair breaking (mostly outdoor chairs). Been there, done that.

Wiping my own butt without breaking my back trying to reach 🤦🏼‍♀️

Try holding a pillow over your belly when getting up or twisting. Putting that mild pressure over the incisions helps. A belly binder also helps, but if you were to order it now, you will be up and around before you would receive it.

The pre-op diet is really hard, especially for those who have a full liquid version! You're essentially putting your body through the start of the post-op phases, without the benefits that come from the surgery. If we were all able to stick to diets perfectly, none of us would be here. You made a mistake, you haven't failed. That said, do your best to stick to it the rest of the way, for your own safety and post-op success. Sometimes remembering that it's only temporary helps a lot.

My answer to temptation is to not have stuff in the house (like not making muffins) or eating some Protein like Greek yogurt or string cheese. If the craving persists after that, I promise myself that I can have the craved item if I wait for half an hour. I've usually lost interest during that half hour.

re: bony butts...I ended up having to get one of those memory foam cushions with the cutout for the tailbone. I even just got a new car with REALLY comfy seats, and I drive pretty long distances and I still have to use the cushion on long drives because my tailbone is out and proud, apparently.

Are you able to up-chuck when you get that chest pain? Up-chucking usually gives immediate relief. I'm 30-years post my initial RNY and I still (rarely) get that blocked feeling. I tried to eat sweet potatoes with skin the other night and the skin did me in. <Urp!> and it was all better.

Thought I would give an update here. VSG was done 9/14/2021, today is 11/14/2021.
THE GOOD:
Down 55 lbs from surgery, 64 lbs from the start of the pre-op diet, and 94 lbs from my heaviest weight. Hypertension and asthma diagnoses were officially withdrawn. Hypogonadism is under review. CPAP average setting went from 16 cm H2O to about 7 cm. Have an appointment soon to see if I need it any more. Depression has almost completely been put in remission. Went from 52/34 to 36/34 in the same cut of jeans, and actually need to go see if they have 34/34 at the outlet. Went from 4XL or even 5XL shirts to L or XL (mostly XL). Went from 15EE boots to 12D; my arch has returned, which shocked my surgeon and my PCP. Running and enjoying it for the first time ever. Way too many NSVs to count THE BAD:
Still occasional bouts of Constipation which mess up scale results, but then it all, um, resolves and the number on the scale goes WHOOSH. Had to fire my NUT for being a horrible person. Found a new NUT who is amazing and who does the same fitness I do. The extremely restrictive diet (especially under the old NUT's "guidance") caused a massive drop in strength, which did not help at work. It also caused me to stall out. The new NUT increased my intake from 600-800 to 1000-1400 cals a day, and WHOOSH went the scale once again. It actually hurts to sit down because my butt is bony. I'm cold all the freaking time, even when it's objectively-by-any-sane-standard not cold. Needed a chiropractic adjustment because my hips are not used to carrying 25% less of me and were hurting badly. Had to replace expensive work boots because they were giving me blisters. Clothes I can get from the Goodwill and Ross Dress For Less; work boots not so much. THE UGLY:
Eating too fast or even one bite too much means spending the next 30 minutes to an hour in great physical discomfort. It takes time for the full signal to arrive in my brain. Eating lettuce salad was, in hindsight, a really, really bad idea. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Some gnarly skin tags as my fat melts away, and the beginnings of some loose skin. Added in a daily dose of collagen peptides to help. One incision is still quite visible, though it's healed over. Starting to notice a little more hairfall, including head, beard, and chest. Still the best thing I've ever done for myself.

I made an account just to say how much I understand and feel this. LOL

I'm having the sleeve done the 22nd in Huntsville!

I'm having the sleeve done the 22nd in Huntsville!