A little over 3 weeks post-op here. Returning to work tomorrow. Sleeve is fine....hernia is still swollen but feeling much better. 13hr shifts and fast paced.....it's going to be intense. I'm taking 4 shakes to space out during the day and I'll be constantly drinking Water. Will be working these shifts for the next 6 out of 7 days.

On an average shift I have plenty of opportunity to get the 10,000 steps my Fitbit is coaching for.

I went out yesterday to run some errands. Trying to get things wrapped up before my work schedule resumes.

Stopped at Best Buy to pick up a new CD that I wanted (full version not available on iTunes ).

Walked around the store some.....went over to get the disc and had to stop a minute and steady myself on the CD rack. I thought I was about to pass out. Regained my composure and walked out of there. Freaking strange feeling.

Energy was shot. Sat in the car a few minutes and resumed drinking water.

Failed to get the CD I wanted. Mail ordered it later on.

Reached back into the cooler and grabbed another Protein shake and sipped it down on my way to the next stop.....grocery store run for the family. It went fine. No issues.

I'm very disappointed that I didn't kill it at the gym over these three weeks.....but the energy just hasn't been there and the wounds aren't fully healed. I did go a couple times but simply ran out of gas shortly after starting my treadmill sessions.

Seven of the wounds have healed over. Two of them are still scabbed. These two were larger than the others and appear to have double-width incisions compared to the rest.

I did go on daily walks and the weight loss has been steady.

I've stayed with the liquid diet.

I'll see my surgeon again on Monday. This will be our second visit. I'm expecting him to advance me to the next step of the permissible foods list. I imagine this will help with the low energy.

*Today.....I know I have to go back out to the mall. I have to get some new clothes for work. Old stuff looks funny having to cinch it up tight with the belt tag end now really extended.

*I'll be grabbing some more Blender Bottles while I'm out. They travel easy and work great on the job.....just add ice and water and instant Protein Shake is ready.

*I'll be taking a water bottle that I'll carry around and keep refilling.

*Evenly spaced protein and water in between is my plan for the long shifts.

Any advice or tips on last day off considerations ????

Sounds like you're doing great. I do think you're right, that you will have more energy as you advance through the phases.

I hope your work will understand if you have to stop and take more frequent breaks. You don't want to make yourself so tired that you cannot work the next day.

Just don't over do it. I'm 10 mo's out and still have periods of just complete and utter exhaustion that seem to come out of nowhere. Sounds like you've got it all covered though! Good luck!

I would relax, as it doesn't sound completely healed. I would take some time at home and do anything you need to do to get stuff in order before your busy stretch begins. Are you OK to lift heavier things yet? If not, hopefully you have some help. Don't sweat the exercise (no pun intended) today, as you want to be sure you don't go back with an unnecessary injury. That will come in time. Also, unless there is something you are absolutely dying to do recreationally, I'd put it off until your next off day, just so you have as much energy entering this high-intensity work period as possible. 13 hr shifts with your current energy levels will be challenging. Make sure you get your protein, even if you need to use liquid supplements to combat this, and this will also contribute to fast-tracking your healing. Good luck!

Thanks everyone.

I'll tell ya.....I may be onto a revelation of sorts. I just sat down put on the blood pressure cuff.

I have not taken my blood pressure meds today and the reading was 106/65. I waited ten minutes and ran it again with similar readings.

I haven't had it checked since the last visit with the surgeon.....six days post-op. It was 146/94 then.....which is what it had been running during the months leading up to the surgery.

I'm thinking that the aggressive weight loss has brought down my blood pressure overall......and taking the meds for it is dropping it waaaaay low.

I've got a call into his office now for advice. I'll not be taking the meds until I get further word.

I don't know why in the hell I didn't strap on the cuff sooner. I'd just assumed the weak and puny feeling was from the low calorie intake. Dumbass. I should have been taking daily measurements all along.

Idiots will idiot.

On the brighter side of things......I may have reached the point where I can toss these bp meds in the trash. Life without side effects from them will be much appreciated.

Don't overdo it Dub. Try and take breaks when you can. That exhaustion can kick in out of the blue. Best of luck and congrats!

Yes, my BP in HS was always 90's/50's. They'd ask if I felt okay, all the way up to my 30's it was this way. Guess what...I'm back in that saddle. And it does make huge difference! I can tell when my BS drops, which it's gotten into the 40's since surgery, and my BP is low. You feel weak, shaky, just lethargic almost. Both things to keep an eye on!

You nailed it - sinking blood pressure would be my guess even before you strapped on the cuff. Did you take your meds today? If not, try holding them and see how you feel. The half-life of most of them is such that you'll likely have some carryover effect anyhow.

If the doc doesn't call you back today, I'd definitely hold them til you hear back. You will likely want to be checking your BP daily to see how it trends.

Good luck!

Yes, my BP in HS was always 90's/50's. They'd ask if I felt okay, all the way up to my 30's it was this way. Guess what...I'm back in that saddle. And it does make huge difference! I can tell when my BS drops, which it's gotten into the 40's since surgery, and my BP is low. You feel weak, shaky, just lethargic almost. Both things to keep an eye on!

You nailed it. That's exactly the feeling. Thank you.

You nailed it - sinking blood pressure would be my guess even before you strapped on the cuff. Did you take your meds today? If not, try holding them and see how you feel. The half-life of most of them is such that you'll likely have some carryover effect anyhow.

If the doc doesn't call you back today, I'd definitely hold them til you hear back. You will likely want to be checking your BP daily to see how it trends.

Good luck!

Thank you. Excellent advice. I appreciate it.

Have not had my meds today and will be holding off, too.

I got through to the surgeon's assistant. She advised me to contact my primary doctor since he is the prescriber of these meds.

I'm waiting on a call back from my primary doc's nurse. She's golden and has been a huge advocate for me getting this sleeve surgery. Supercool gal who is probably going to see this as I now do......a victory.

Getting off these meds is going to feel great. I hope I'm at that point.

I feel stupid for not checking and confirming my blood pressure prior to this. I used to hate the process........now I'm grinning thinking it's going to read favorably at long last.

Here is a bit of irony, too: My final 2 meals yesterday & last night were chicken broth with added powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken Soup Protein powder. For the first time since surgery I added salt, too. I was trying to get a different flavor from the meals. Salt. Dumb, I know. Now, the next morning after eating this stuff....my diastolic number is 60. Crazy turn of events.

Feeling better about jumping into the work grind already.

Your doc may want to gradually reduce your dose, or cut one med and keep the others. Don't be surprised if that's the answer.

Man, will they surprised when you show up at work in clothes that fit and see your success!

Your doc may want to gradually reduce your dose, or cut one med and keep the others. Don't be surprised if that's the answer.

Man, will they surprised when you show up at work in clothes that fit and see your success!

Cool. Understood. There are three different blood pressure meds. I'm hopeful for cutting them back or out altogether.

As far as returning to work.....they are gonna be like, "What's Up?....How's it going?......Never mind that....you aren't going to believe what's been going on here......better get your ass busy".

It'll be like I never left....only it'll be piled up. I'm looking forward to it, bigtime.

My advice would be lots of breaks tomorrow. I'm so glad you are excited about going back but my first day I had to leave after four hours (I'm a big wimp though, I admit). The next day I made it six hours and the next the full eight. I was glad I had a four day week that first week so I could recoup over the weekend and then hit it for regular after that. One day I got woozy and wanted to go home but realized it was because I had failed to drink my Water as needed. I got some water in me and started feeling better right away.

Good luck and congrats on doing so well!!

My biggest thing when I came back to work was getting off track on eating and drinking and really reminding myself to get those things done. I need to set up alerts more so for the food. I just started adding back in all of my Vitamins this week so that adds another set of to do's. I'm doing good with it, but need to be doing better. Vitamins all in. Food is not all in. liquids are OK but should be more. I did better when working from home after surgery. Probably easier to focus without distractions.

I haven't killed it at the gym yet either. With work, surgery, family and this benefit I've been working on, I am tired by the end of the day which I usually ignore, but this is like 8 PM I may fall asleep reading my son his bedtime story. LOL I am going to the gym this weekend as my benefit wraps up Saturday night! Hooray!

Good for you on the BP and new clothes. That's awesome!

Your doc may want to gradually reduce your dose, or cut one med and keep the others. Don't be surprised if that's the answer.

Man, will they surprised when you show up at work in clothes that fit and see your success!

Cool. Understood. There are three different blood pressure meds. I'm hopeful for cutting them back or out altogether.

As far as returning to work.....they are gonna be like, "What's Up?....How's it going?......Never mind that....you aren't going to believe what's been going on here......better get your ass busy".

It'll be like I never left....only it'll be piled up. I'm looking forward to it, bigtime.

I totally agree. I decided to "cut back" on my Bp meds after my readings were consistently low after I lost weight. However, it shot up out of nowhere. Give it some time, watch it, and let the doc step down the dose. Worked a lot better.

I still get days where I just get wiped out at work and others I'm fine. For the first few months, it was very common to need a prolonged break to get my second wind. Good luck!

I haven't had my surgery yet but one of the things I am hoping for is that I can get rid of some of my daily medications.

The problem is that I will have to replace them with Vitamins

@Dub. Even though your low blood pressure caused you to feel like crap- congrats on a victory!! You will be off all those blood pressure meds soon. I am excited for you.

Enjoy your last day off and try to rest up as much as you can.

I work twelve to thirteen hour shifts myself and I know how hard it can be. From the beginning I have always packed more food (protein shakes in the beginning) than I think I will need. That way if I do need it I have my stuff with me. In the beginning I also set timers on my phone to remind me to drink/eat. It was easy to forget in the beginning, especially at work when I was busy. I am fortunate in that I can carry a water bottle around with me. I too walk a ton at work.

As for the exercise, since I walk over 10,000 steps a shift, in the beginning I just focused on rest, continuing to heal, and getting in my nutrition and fluids. That was challenging enough the first month I was back to work.

As my energy came back and I mastered how to eat and drink in a busy hectic work environment I then added in more and more exercise at the gym. It was probably month three before I began to aggressively pursue fitness at my gym. Up until then it was walking and listening to my body.

Wishing you the best when you return to work. You have a great attitude and you will do wonderful. Keep us posted.