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I hate to admit that I had coffee before I was even discharged! I'm putting my, so far, pain and complication free recuperation to the healing properties of good coffee.
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Hello everyone, I've been lurking around these forums for a while now, I thought I would go ahead and introduce myself. My name is De, I'm 30, and I'm in the bariatric program at Toronto Western Hospital. HW 360, CW 298, GW 135. So far I've only had my orientation class and gone to one support group meeting. My first visits with the nurse and social worker are in a couple weeks, I'm still looking at 8-10 months before surgery. I'm lucky in that the government covers the cost of surgery and aftercare. It will be RNY unless there's complications, then it would be a sleeve. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm going to go through with it. My wife is extremely against it, she thinks it's way too risky and way too extreme for me. I'm not so sure. I've been overweight my whole life, and six months ago that climbed to 360 lbs. I feel like I need the surgery in order to succeed. But we've agreed that I will start the program, go through my appointments and nutrition classes, and if I can drop down to close to 210 lbs before surgery, I don't go through with it. At 210, my BMI drops below 35, which is the cut-off for WLS. I really don't think I can do it, which is awful of me. I know I should be pumped and positive, but most days surgery is the only light in the tunnel. And then other days I feel like I can do it on my own.
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The "head hunger" is the worst for the first few weeks postop. Once you're eating real food again, it does get better. You do have to work through the head game (don't just avoid it.. actually take the time to think yourself through it).. and take your diet week by week, and pretty soon you'll be on the other side, and able to taste that pizza or ice cream again. (And might be surprised to find that it isn't as good as it used to be!). How I worked through the cravings.. I would see a food that I wanted, and I would just sit there and stare at it. While I was staring, my mind would work through the memory of what that food tasted like, it's texture, etc. Then I would imagine my current size, and the size I wanted to be, and all the health complications that come from consuming those types of foods, etc. I would stay with it until I felt relieved of the pressure to eat it, and then I would go on about my day. When a family member would see me staring at that pie, so intently, they would think I was really miserable.. but I was allowing myself to go through the process. And you know what? I only had to do that a dozen or so times, and I didn't have those cravings so much anymore. I'm SURE that if I just simply ran and hid, and avoided the pie, that I'd still be here, trying to avoid looking at pie 4 months later. I can look at pie just fine (most of the time). If I'm ACTUALLY hungry, then I have to fight with the pie concept (a little), and go get something real to eat.
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Day two begins at home... in our own bed. That's so much better and sleep is a complete blessing. I'm not sure if I should post a status report or run round the block waving streamers - I feel so good it's almost indecent. Anyway, here's where I'm at. I have no pain. None. I'm faint;y aware of the incision points but no more than if I had nicked myself shaving. I'm drinking as much as I like, I'm not swigging but I can sip constantly and have had a water, watered down fresh apple juice, a latte, some Complan (for those of you in the US it's a recovery drink) and some other hot drinks. I have to say I'm over the sweet stuff already and have some beef shin and oxtail in a slow cooker to make a soup for later - I can hardly wait. I'm burping heartily from time to time, which I take as a sign to slow down on the liquids but I'm comfortably meeting any targets so that's not a worry. I went out for a walk around the block this morning, just a little shy of half a mile according to Strava, and felt great, initially I felt a little stitch in my side but that was all. I'm aware of a kind of tightness but it doesn't really register as pain, it's more like the muscle ache you feel after returning to core work in the gym after a long time. It's really hard to put my finger on what the sensations I'm feeling are, there is a physical sense but it's not familiar. I'm going to try to pin it down in words as I go on. Subsequently I haven't taken any pain medication since I came home (though stocked up with liquid and soluble paracetamol). I found the self administered injection of Fragmin, the anti-clotting agent, relatively painless - this was an enormous and welcome surprise. My surgeon tells me that it's not unusual to feel euphoric after a day or two and that there's an inevitable crash in energy and mood. Well if that comes so be it, it's good to know so that it's easier to cope. I've read an awful lot about side effects and complications here, and that might be the nature of the beast where people comment about the negatives in the hope of help, however unless I'm a complete statistical outlier it can clearly be a lot easier than it seems.
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What was the biggest surprise for you at or after surgery? What do you wish you had known?
XYZXYZXYZ1955 replied to sunmeadow's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I have to ask . . . what other surgeries have you had? Was there any complication that caused the pain? I'm expecting it to be minimal, but of course there can always be surprises . . . -
What was the biggest surprise for you at or after surgery? What do you wish you had known?
CocoNina replied to sunmeadow's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
The pain! I have high tolerance in pain & only requested a week off because that's alI I thought I needed. I ended up taking the whole 6 weeks off & made things complicated at my job because the long time off was unexpected, oops! Height: 5'0" Weight for WLS consultation: 216 lbs. Surgery date: 2/13/17 Goal: -71 lbs for healthy BMI (about 145 lbs). Current weight: 145 lbs, now ready to lose 15 more past goal. My profile picture is not me. It's my "FITspiration" body. -
I had my bypass on 7-7-17 & had a complication that led to a revision on 7-19-17. I have been doing well on my post op program outside of another complication(collapsed lungs).Lately, I been talking more about food that I had in the past(good food&bad food). When I saw a pizza hut commercial I saw the cheese&tomato sauce and it kind of perked me up to where I started discussing with my father how I loved cheese pizza with extra tomato sauce. Then later my dad asked me about oatmeal and honey and I was like oh I love oatmeal&honey and that conversation continued on with me telling him that adding butter to oatmeal & even steel oats are the best. Then I sat back in my recliner and just thought about how great oatmeal is. Then peanut butter & jam came up later in the day and I was like oh yes I love it. This has been the theme in the past 2 days. Im not tempted to have them but it is refreshing to talk about them. Is that weird? Has anyone else liked to talk about food they ate in the past? Im sure its just a phase iamready4this
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So afraid I am going to screw this up.
BigViffer replied to melty29's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Woah... this is just chocked full of bad advice. It's your life so you can do what you want, but please don't encourage people to advance their diet before their surgeon tells them to do so. Chewing food and spitting it out is just training for an eating disorder. Not to mention that it triggers the stomach to start producing more stomach acid that could lead to heart burn, or worse case scenario complicate and/or intellectually challenged the healing process. "Listening to your body" is a popular phrase on here but it is bad advice. Listening to our bodies made many of us fat and lazy. If this is forever, the best thing to do is follow the plan to the letter to establish good habits. -
Tell me your Gallbladder Story...
Kat410 replied to Ldyvenus's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I had my gallbladder out about 4 years ago. I had been having gallbladder attacks for about 4 months, but I thought they were back spasms in my upper right quadrant. I had no idea. Then my urine turned very dark and my stools looked somewhat chalky. I called my PCP and got referred to a gastro. That same day I had an unbelievable attack and was taken to the ER in the worse pain I have ever experienced in my life. They did an ERCP, then the following day I had my gallbladder removed. I had a complication called Mirizzi's syndrome (which is a rare complication from an impacted stone in a duct) and this became open surgery. I spent about 7 days recovering after discharge, then was back at work within a week. After surgery I was less tolerant of fatty foods. If I ate eggs + bacon (or something like that) I would get diarrhea. Otherwise no changes. My gallbladder disease was undiagnosed and it turned out I was very sick and didn't know it. By the time I went to the ER I was jaundiced, literally in so much pain I was screaming (and I am not someone who cries over physical pain), spent 5 days in the hospital, etc. I wouldn't mess around with gallbladder disease. -
So Many Questions About My Eating Habits At Work
OutsideMatchInside replied to Redo2017's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I am not criticizing your choices at all. I don't think you should have to disclose your choices to your boss or your co-workers and if you worked some place with better protections, or if we had better protections in general in the US you wouldn't be in this position. You told a cover story to get time off and now you have to stick to it. Adding more layers to it, makes it more complicated and more likely that you will be detected. I completely understand why you said hernia not VSG but your boss and co-workers might not be as understanding, at least you don't think they would be or you would have told them in the beginning. No one should be in a situation where they have to be dishonest about taking a proactive stance on their health. Good luck OP. -
Just got discharged - AMA
OutsideMatchInside replied to Half-Tum's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Did you have complications? Why were you in the hospital 3 days? Or is that standard policy where you have surgery. I spent about 26 hours at the hospital. -
What was worse: wisdom teeth or gastric sleeve?
krystalrose219 posted a topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Hello all! I'm 7 months post-op, down 97 pounds with no regrets or complications. I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled in a few weeks and since getting my sleeve was the only surgery I've ever gotten, I was wondering what people thought was worse: getting their teeth pulled or getting bariatric surgery? I'm asking in terms of pain, recovery etc. -
Getting sleeved on August 2nd
Missy161 replied to fat2skinny's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
No need to worry. There are not usually complications with the sleeve. My recuperation has been awesome so far. Just follow doctors orders. Good luck! Mich W Hw 223, SW 217 CW 197.4 GW 135 -
Hello! Welcome to the forums! This is a good place for support and advice. I am navigating the journey to sleeve surgery. Hoping to have surgery by the end of the year. With a job/insurance change, I'm not sure what hoops I have to jump through yet. My husband was sleeved in April this year and has had no complications. He's down 70 pounds since then. Looking forward to following your journey to health! Wishing you all the best!!
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Tell me your Gallbladder Story...
rainyann replied to Ldyvenus's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I had my gall bladder removed when I had my sleeve. I had no gall bladder attacks (lucky) but during the pre-op workup they discovered huge gall stones so it was just a matter of time..... I had no complications -
Best WLS for my weight? Process?
pinky72 replied to MissBJones's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I had diabetes also Your height and weight size my Dr and I both decided Gastric Bypass I had my surgery and gall bladder removed last week and I'm doing pretty good try to lose 10 percent of your body weight that helps because the more you loose the lesser chance of complications I loss 24 pounds before surgery -
How can a patient expect to feel comfortable going to another country for major surgery when their own patient coordinator is no where to be found. Been calling and emailing with no success. I was scheduled to have surgery with Dr.Illan august 18. Now I dont think I feel comfortable depending on them to help me if I have any issue with my stay or complication after surgery. I hope they change their ways.
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Em-route to the hospital as I type this for my 6:00am EST check-in for VSG! So excited [emoji38] and would just like some additional prayers up for a non-complicated surgery. See you all on the Loser's bench! [emoji1437][emoji1437]
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WLS Blog - Daily Updates...Laughs, Tears, TMI!!
Berry78 replied to AHappierMe's topic in Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story
How the heck do I know what sleevers end up looking like? I never met one. Lol. Actually, I meant to add that the bypass patients that are over 2 years out look good and normal, so that sickly look does seem to go away over time. Temporary, like the hair loss. Weight loss, although nice, is not my biggest concern. It's health. The bypass surgery will help the sickest of people to become healthier, but the same way that it is more powerful for them, it may be too powerful for a less-sick group. I appreciate the feedback about how my post came across.. I'm not trying to scare tactic anyone, I just like for people to weigh all their options. A good friend got the band because she thought her only other choice was the bypass, and that was more surgery than she wanted. She might have been a good candidate for the sleeve. There are two major problems with the sleeve that isn't as much with bypasses. GERD and leaks. Both tend to show up within the first few months. Many that get severe gerd go on to revise to bypass. Leaks can be a real nightmare, fortunately they are relatively rare. The bypass tends to have similar numbers of complications near the surgery, but more that show up later down the line. As I said, more severe procedure for the sicker people. The other thing to keep in mind is bypasses have been around a while. The sleeve is relatively new, so we don't know what will happen in 20 years... for all we know, they may be an unsustainable fad like the lap band. You want scare tactics? Ask me about DSs! Lol! -
Nerves only thing stopping me
maimee replied to BEllKAT's topic in Mexico & Self-Pay Weight Loss Surgery
I am terrified. I booked my surgery and am just living in this constant state of anxiety. Complications and the surgery risks are on my mind. -
Won't recommend BariatricPal a mexico !
Ready2enjoylife posted a topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
How can a patient expect to feel comfortable going to another country for major surgery when their own patient coordinator is no where to be found. Been calling and emailing with no success. I was scheduled to have surgery with Dr.Illan august 18. Now I dont think I feel comfortable depending on them to help me if I have any issue with my stay or complication after surgery. I hope they change their ways. -
7 mos post op, divorced and 90 lbs gone ( pics)
Dknal2 replied to Dknal2's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
It feels awesome... I am 3 lbs from my goal weight of 150 lbs n I am so pleased with how this turned out ,.. only complication from surgery was a divorce ,lol. Thank you hun for encouraging words and I wish you the best inyour journey as well . -
I'll assume you meant 50. My hubby once lost 49lbs in a month. He had contracted some sort of tick-born illness that had him vomiting up every sip of water he drank, coughing nonstop, a fever that wouldn't quit.. and he was that sick for a month straight. We had no insurance, so couldn't send him to the hospital, so we kept trying different antibiotics from the local clinic. Finally the doc found some that worked, and my 6'4 tall, slightly overweight Army man that had turned into a skeleton... managed to pull through. Trust me, you don't WANT to lose 50lbs in a month. Your body needs time to heal and process the fat. Most patients that lose more than 30lbs a month have had complications. (Before I get jumped on, it's not EVERY patient that loses that much.. just an awful lot of them). A common theme among people of size is self-loathing. Surgery doesn't magically make you feel good about yourself. That takes work on your emotional/spiritual side. YOU are not a number on a scale, and after a while, you will realize that YOU are no different, even though that number changes. It's a good time to start some good habits, one of which is to thank your body for doing those things you want it to. Keep it all positive. Thank you for helping me get out of bed and empty my bladder. Thank you for accepting that food/fuel. Thank you for losing that .01lbs Thank you... It seems silly, and simple, but it will really help your outlook if you do it. (This morning I thanked my body for having healed my surgery scars so nicely, and for my waist having become more visible.) And you know what? Much like a dog that loves pets and praise, my mind and body like it too
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200+ pounds to loose and scared
Berry78 replied to Bombshellkitten's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Congrats on taking the first steps to a healthier you! One of your first decisions to make is which surgery. Please don't do the lap band. Just cross that one off your list right away. The Roux-en-Y bypass (RNY, or simply bypass), the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (sleeve), or Duodenal Switch (DS). You might qualify for any of the three, your surgeon will likely point you in a direction based on your circumstances or his own expertise (be careful of the latter, because you want the right surgery for YOU, not just what he's selling). There are tons of threads on the board about how to choose a procedure. Look around, and have fun during the research phase. You don't have to make a decision right away either. (But you might as well start looking early so you have time to really get comfortable with the idea of whichever you choose). All three have similar post-op diets and recovery phases. The main differences are the long-term complications, statistics, and vitamin requirements. (The DS also has higher goals for protein and fat intakes.) Good luck! -
7 mos post op, divorced and 90 lbs gone ( pics)
MBird replied to Dknal2's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Congrats! You look beautiful! His loss! Now you're free to enjoy you without complications *Hugs*
