healthy-me-in-Az

Hi everyone. I am a little bummed right now. I am exactly 2 weeks post-op today. My stomach is still very swollen. My port site incision has come open a little bit. It started at the beginning of the week. I called office and they asked me if it was red or puffy. I said no. They said just put some gauze on it so it didn't bleed on anything and leave it loose to let the incision 'breathe'. Well, today I shower and that little part is red, a little puffy and more open. Ugh. So I am going to have to go in to the office next week. Ugh again. And I know I shouldn't be on the scale everyday but the last two days I have gained! I would be ok with not losing but gaining! Along with my tummy that is bigger than the day I had surgery. Very discouraging. I am not sorry I had the surgery but I can't say I am glad yet. I really really really want to be glad. Somebody pat me on the head and tell me everything will be ok! <grin> Made a joke... but really... <sigh>

I am 2 weeks post-op today. My stomach is still swollen. I am glad you asked this question because it is disheartening to have weight loss surgery and have your tummy be bigger! LOL

Every doctor's protocol is so different. For example, I was back to regular food 4 days post op. Not all foods. I can't have beef, pork, raw veggies, grains. Basically I can have chicken, turkey, seafood, cooked veggies and fruits. I actually got a lecture for having a Protein shake. She wants me to have food I can chew. I say trust your surgeon's program and follow instructions. If you have questions, ask. They can tell you why they follow a certain protocol. Good luck!

Hi everyone. I am 10 days post-op. I seem to have gone through the waterproof seal thingie they put on my incision. I am getting a little blood coming through. Dots on my shirts. It doesn't hurt or anything. I called my doctor's office but they haven't called me back yet. Anyone else having something like this??

I am a week out today! I am feeling a little better each day. Hey, yesterday was a milestone... I could put on my own underwear without my husband helping me! YAY! LOL I digress, I am still VERY swollen. My surgeon said it is just my body type to hang on to swollen tissue and it will pass. The incisions look fine, she said. My port incision has a lot of bruising. I still feel gassy and burpy. I assume this will end at some point!? But, everything is better everyday. My consolation is that I have a whole nother 4 weeks off. My doctor released me back to work with the restriction of not being able to lift 10 lbs. My employer will not allow that. I have to be released 'with no restrictions'. So I will 'suffer' at home with my sick pay and short term disability for a total of 5 weeks. :cursing: I started food on Monday (4 days post op) That was scary but it is going very well. My doctor's program apparantly does things very differently from a lot of programs out there. I actually got a lecture at my appointment yesterday for having a Protein shake. She wants me to eat real food that I have to chew. Here is what I am allowed to have: chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, cheese, yogurt, Beans (not baked beans) Basically can't have four legged Proteins (beef, pork, lamb). I can have all vegetables as long as they are cooked except potatoes, corn and peas. No raw vegetables, no salad (for a month). I can have any fruits I want except dried. They just cautioned about the skin being a bit tough right now to digest. I eat the tiniest bit and then I am full. I think mostly because I am just incredibly swollen. The scale moves a bit every day, so I am happy. My next mountain is to get all the Water in. That is really hard!

Excellent thread! I can't wait to post something good here!

Awww.. thanks everyone! I appreciate it! I woke up today feeling a bit better. I took a shower and decided I wanted to get out today. I can move, just VERY slowly. My hubby and I went to costco. We walked around for about an hour or so, bought lots of stuff. :thumbdown: By the end of the trip though, my port site was VERY VERY sore. Too much, I think. But I am glad I got out. I feel like I could nap this afternoon and I think I will. I am still feeling very SWOLLEN. My whole abdomen is just puffy. I am not eating much, which scares me. I am on solid foods now (started yesterday on day 4.) I only eat a few bites and then I really don't want anymore. I know I am getting hardly any nutrition but I am trying to drink my Water. I think I am getting about 50 of my 64oz. It is hard!!! But I am trying. Thanks again everyone! I really needed the support!! (hugs)

Hi everyone, I hesitate to post my surgery story because I know there are a lot of people still waiting for surgery. But since this was just my reaction to it all, I will post. Surgery was Friday. Supposed to be at 930am but apparantly someone forgot to tell me it was moved to 1030am. No biggie, just more waiting. They took me back to prep me. Started my IV etc. Surgeon came in and said hello. I told her I was very nervous. She said they would give me some versed and I would be fine. Surgery went fine. She came out and told my family at 1145am that I would be in recovery for about 45 minutes before they moved me to the bariatric unit. I was just to sit in a recliner because I wasn't an overnight stay. Well, that is when things went VERY wrong. My blood pressure went berserk! It took them HOURS to get it down. I didn't get up to the bariatric ward until 4pm. I was groggy, nauseas, miserable. Then my blood sugar spiked so to top it off, they gave me insulin. They wanted to me walk right away and eat right away. I could do neither. I walked 10 feet in the hallway and threw up all over the place. It was awful. I will spare the rest of the details but I didn't get home until almost midnight. Saturday I woke up with the gas. Sunday it was worse. I walked and walked and walked. Nothing helped. Took gas x, didn't do a darn thing. Finally Sunday night/monday morning I started passing gas. Relieved a little of the pressure but not much. I am still feeling it. Very uncomfortable. My port site is swollen and more sore than I expected, to be honest. I expected discomfort. It is extremely painful. I am moving around a little better today than yesterday. I am hoping I just improve a little bit each day until I don't remember this part. I am wishing I made a list of the reasons I wanted to do this because those first few days, I couldn't remember! I just keep telling myself it will get better and I know it will. Wishing everyone a smooth experience!

I had to make this choice also. I chose the Realize band. Why? I don't know! LOL Actually, I asked both my surgeon and her assistant that does the fills. The assistant suggested the Allergan. She said she feels it 'sends a firmer message of fullness'. Frankly, I am not worried about overeating. I am worried more about being stuck. I chose the Realize band because it was softer and I felt like perhaps things wouldn't get stuck as often. ???? What did I base this on? Nothing at all. When I saw my surgeon she asked which band I chose. I asked her which one she would recommend for me. She said the Realize band. Then she flipped her chart and saw that is the one I chose. She wouldn't say why but said that is the one she recommended for me. All in all.... who knows? I hope I made the right decision for me. Good luck in your decision!!

Thanks Sue! I had not thought of that. Although, I am going to be out of work for 5 weeks so I have lots of loose ends to tie up this week! headin- I am 5'2. I was thinking along the lines of 135-140 so it isn't too far off, I guess. We'll see how it goes. I think I will kind of let my body decide where it wants to be. I am just aiming to be healthy! :smile2:

Hi everyone! I am so excited to see the first few surgeries this month have gone smoothly! Yay! I saw my surgeon on Thursday. She was running VERY late, my appt was for 415 and I didn't leave her office until 6pm!! Yikes! Everything went really well until the end. She didn't have my labs when we talked. She said I looked 'uncomplicated' and was very happy. She went out to get my labs and came back in. My sugars were up. Fasting 133. I have a Vitamin B deficiency. She said this was because I am spilling sugar in my urine. And my liver enzymes were slightly elevated so she suspects a bit of fatty liver. She gave me a prescription for Metformin. I took this drug about 10 years ago for PCOS and it did NOT agree with me. I stopped taking it. She wants me to take just for the week before my surgery, two pills a day. She also wants me to take my Vitamins and an extra B. I took the Metformin yesterday and well, it still doesn't agree with me. I don't know how I am going to get through work this week! Think they will set up my computer in the bathroom??? I was just so disappointed. I mean, this is why I was having this surgery, to avoid this because I knew it was coming. I am disappointed in myself that it happened anyway. I know the surgery and subsequent weight loss will take care of all these problems so that is good... but still.. On the upside though, any doubts I had about 'do I really need to do this? Maybe I could just try dieting on my own one more time?!' Those questions are completely resolved in my mind. I need this. Oh and did any of your surgeons talk to you about what you should weigh? Mine told me that my body weighs 116 lbs. She said that is my lean muscle mass, my brain, bones etc. She said I have a nice muscle base and for me with my frame should aim for 125-130. Really? Wait, are you talking about my weight or my IQ??? Yikes, that sounds like so little.... something to shoot for though!

Hi everyone! I had my pre-op class today. It was interesting! It was from 7:45am to 2pm. We had all sorts of different speakers. We had the RN that works in the Bariatric Ward of the hospital, we had someone from registration come in and collect our payments/insurance info etc. Then we had the psychologist come in to speak to us. Then we had respiratory nurses come in and show us how to use our spirometer (?). We got a goodie bag from the hospital with some neat stuff in it. Then we had someone come in and do some meditation techniques with us. The dietician came in and talked to us for a while and served us lunch. Finally, we had the exercise physiologist come in and talk about exercise. It made me feel really good about my surgeon and her program. I see my surgeon tomorrow for my pre-op appointment. Then surgery on the 10th. I then have a post-op nutrition class on the 16th. So lots of exciting things to come! :redface:

Yay Regina! It sounds like you are doing great! I am so excited for you! I can't wait to hear how everyone else is doing!

I agree Amy! The only thing that matters is that we support each other!! I hope all the people who post on this thread also go over to the July 2009 boards!!!

What do you add it to? Give some examples, please. I thought of ordering it but didn't.

Hi everyone! I saw the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury Protein advertised on this website and several people talk about it. I ordered some samples and they just came yesterday. This morning I made the chocolate. Can I just say WOW!!! It really does taste like chocolate milk. There is no after-taste! I am so impressed. I ordered samples of the chocolate, vanilla, strawberry sorbet and chicken Soup flavors. If you are trying out Protein shakes, give this brand a try! I am going to have a shake for lunch today too to try out the strawberry sorbet.

Thank you for the reassurance! I just wanted to feel normal about my feelings! I wanted to feel like just because I was nervous didn't mean this isn't going to work for me, like I am not committed to it. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I feel better! Hmm.. I like being 'normal'... go figure! :thumbup:

My surgery is on the 10th. I have 14 days to go. I am on a pre-op diet of Protein shake for Breakfast, nutrisystem/lean cuisine for lunch and normal dinner with my family. With one week to go, I plan on doing 2 shakes a day. I don't have a special diet I have to follow, but I do need to lose 10 lbs before my surgery. I have lost 5 lbs so far. I have made a shopping list for after the surgery. I have a recliner in my reading room but I am planning on moving my living room around to fit it in there because I will be more comfortable in it. I have my pre-op lab work tomorrow. Then on the 1st, I have a 7 hour pre-op education class. That is where I am.

Is anyone having second thoughts? I don't know I would call it second thoughts.. but surgery is coming closer and I think I am just getting scared. I am thinking... do I really want to do this? What if? What if? What if? And that is just my nature... I am a ridiculously overly cautious person. I know I want to do this. I know I want to lose weight. I can't keep doing what I am doing. It took me a couple years to even make this decision so I know I have thought it out. And the fact is, if I decided not to do it, that would be the end. It would admitting I would be fat forever. I would seriously take years off my life AND compromise my quality of life with diabetes, heart disease etc. I think I am just struggling with my self-imposed pre-op diet and feeling sorry for myself. I know that will pass. Plus, when you get right down to it... I am a big chicken. LOL So I know it is just that. I don't do a lot of things I want to do because I am scared and this isn't going to be one of them!!!! Anyone else really doing some soul searching right now?

I have BCBS of Arizona. I did not have to do the 6 month dr supervised diet. They did require my BMI be over 40 for 5 years though. Good luck to you!

YIKES! I am 3 weeks away from band! Looks like I need to get serious about this! I got my packet in the mail today. According to this, I should have already given up caffeine. I drink iced tea. I should be exercising 30 minutes a day. Not doing that either. Oops. There is no special pre-op diet for me, but I am supposed to lose 10 lbs before my surgery. So I am starting tomorrow with my own diet. I am going to do a Protein shake for Breakfast, nutrisystem entree for lunch and then just protein/veggie for dinner. I bought a magic bullet today and also liquid Vitamins. Wow, it seemed so far away and I have a feeling surgery will be here before I know it! :tongue: How is everyone else preparing????

WOW! Lots of responses! Thanks for sharing! It is nice to 'meet' you all. It will be an honor to go through this journey with you! I know we are all going to be healthy and HOT!! :tongue:

Hi everyone! I went to costco today where I bought a Magic Bullet. :sad: I also bought LiquiMax Complete Nutrition Multivitamin. 32 oz bottle for 9.84. I looked on Amazon and their price is twice that so I think I got a good deal. Anyone use these Vitamins??

Hi everyone, I have a question about time off for the surgery. My surgeon's office filled out my paperwork and even though I told her in a phone message AND on the fax cover page that I need to be out as long as I am restricted from activities, she still put me back to work in 7 days. Basically, my company is self-insured so the rule is you have to be 'released back to work with no restrictions' So, if they write that I can't lift more than 10 lbs, I can't work. I am fine with this, I have plenty of sick time saved up to use. From my conversation with the exercise person, I will have a weight restriction until my 1 month post op so this is how long I assumed I would be out. Does anyone remember how long they had restricted activity?? Thanks,

Hi, I am in the Peoria area. I chose Scottsdate Bariatric Center. Dr Robin Blackstone will be doing my band July 10th.