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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/30/2022 in all areas

  1. 4 points
    lizonaplane

    New to all of this

    You can do this! I didn't have a liquid diet; just low carb/low fat/high protein. But even if you do have a liquid diet before surgery, it's just a week or so, and then it's done! The first few days when you are getting over the sugar addiction are the hardest I hear. I had some gas the first day or so after surgery, but it wasn't a big deal. I had a fair amount of pain and took three pain pills total over three days. For reference, I took 4 pain pills in ONE day after some dental surgery. Don't let these things scare you; in the grand scheme of life, they're over in the blink of an eye!
  2. 2 points
    Arabesque

    Incision pain

    Ok, breathe. It’s ok. It’s only been four days since a pretty major surgery. You’ve had 80+/-% of your tummy removed. There are lots of staples & sutures holding your tummy together. You have been inflated with gas & had your insides pushed, prodded & pulled. You’re supposed to be in pain. Give yourself time to heal. The gas pain, surgical pain & muscular pain will reduce. Some people find improvement after 3 or 4 days while others a week. We’re all different. Even our ability to tolerate pain is different & that’s ok too. Contact your employer & see if you can negotiate a delay to your return to work or maybe a staged part time return if you think you will need it. Again we’re all different & you may need longer to recover. A friend was back after a week no problem Another needed three weeks. Me, I needed four weeks & still only returned to work part time. (My blood pressure was very low & my energy levels were zip.) You’d know if you had a leak. They’re pretty rare these days. Symptoms to look for include: Dizziness Fever Shortness of breath or fast breathing - more than 18 breaths a minute Fast heart rate - higher than 120 beats per minute Worsening abdominal pain Chest pain shoulder pain (not from the gas escaping) A general feeling of illness and anxiety Be kind to yourself & your body. You’ve been through a lot.
  3. 2 points
    Arabesque

    New to all of this

    Welcome. It’s ok to feel scared & nervous. It’s surgery. Food likely is something you depend upon as an emotional support & that is going to change & you will be changing what & how you eat. Things like how much pain you will experience after surgery is very individual. You may have a lot of gas pain or nine at all (I didn’t after my sleeve) but there are things you can do to help the gas escape your body. You may experience surgical pain for a couple of days or a week but again you’ll have access to pain meds to help. You may have muscular discomfort & struggle to get up & down for a little while or you may have very little at all. Pre surgical diets differ a lot too. Some are two weeks, some are just a couple of days. Some are all shakes. Others 2 meals shakes & 1 meal protein & vegetables. Mine was keto so … (I have done shake diets before & for a couple of months at a time.) The first challenge to the pre surgical diet is the psychological loss of the crunch & chew comfort of solid food. This can increase your head hunger & cause a lot of emotional turmoil. The second is the withdrawal symptoms (headaches, nausea, tiredness, etc.) from cutting out caffeine & sugar. This usually lasts less than a week. These things are small & are only a couple of weeks in duration. Nothing when you consider the big picture of your whole life & your health. The surgery is an opportunity to makes big changes but you have to be psychologically & emotionally ready. Don’t be afraid to seek support from a therapist (one who specialises in bariatric patients & disordered eating are best). A lot of people have found therapy extremely helpful. Yes, you are on a low calorie restricted diet & eating small portions to begin. Initially it is to support your healing. Then to make you look at the nutritional benefits of what you eat but within a few months you’ll be eating more & a greater variety of food. By maintenance you’ll be eating the portion sizes we all should be eating (not those giant plates two & three times more than what we actually need & lead to our obesity). And you’ll be consuming only the calories your body needs to function effectively & maintain your weight. You’ll discover your relationship with food will change. I still enjoy eating & the taste & texture of food but I see it as something my body needs to function & not as something to comfort & soothe me emotionally - because I’m bored, sad, happy, angry, etc. I’m not continuously thinking about what & when I’ll eat next. It’s that maxim of eating to live not living to eat. All the best.
  4. 1 point
    The Greater Fool

    Need to vent

    Welcome to the forums. This is a rant I can get behind, quite familiar to be honest. Aside from the promotion, which seemed out of your control all the way through, you actually took steps to deal with your frustration and angst. I'd call your response to your lack of control a win. Good show. Bear in mind that the first few weeks or months post-op can just be a circus of out of control situations. If you approach them in the same problem solving way you should do great. Good luck, Tek
  5. 1 point
    Yes. I was self pay so I didn't have to go thru everything insurance requires
  6. 1 point
    catwoman7

    Recent Injury Rant

    honestly, weight loss is about 90% food and only 10% exercise. I know WLS patients who lost a ton of weight even without exercise. That said, exercise is great for your overall health and people should do it - but an injury that causes a temporary pause in your routine is not going to be the end of your weight loss. also, you could be in a stall - they're very common. Just stick to your program and your weight loss will eventually start up again. Stalls usually last 1-3 weeks. and no, I doubt "this is it" as long as you're adhering to your program. Most of us lose for a year - if not more (20 months for me - but I started out much heavier than you, so I had a lot more to lose)
  7. 1 point
    ShoppGirl

    surgeon

    Well I was going to agree is best to just tell them and I think this is the best idea for any of the doctors or nurses during the process. I told them all and they worked really hard to help me feel comfortable to the point it was really obvious and I just felt better because it was so sweet they were trying so hard. I’m glad you already knew the surgeon though.
  8. 1 point
    Mine starts today! We are in this together! 🥰
  9. 1 point
    Its just a test, a pretty mean test at that but if you stick to it then you get the big pay out. After 4 days it gets easier but that's not much consolation now. Try and tough it out, its worth it in the end. Good luck
  10. 1 point
    I sent you an email with my phone number. Please text if you get the chance. I’m seeing 3 doctors in the next 2 weeks and thought we could share research!

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