educationrulz

Pushups are great once you are cleared to do them. They work the entire upper arm - and probably the lower arm too. Even the girlie pushups are effective. Start with a few and work your way up. I do agree that for some people surgery may be the only absolute fix. I'm almost holding my breath to see what kind of luck I'm going to have with my arms. It's lookin 50/50 right now...:scared0:

I was cleared for baths at my two week post op, when I still had some glue left on my largest scar and some scabbing on the other larger one. I was told no swimming until all glue was gone, everything was closed up on its own and all scabs had fallen off. I'm almost there but I can see a couple of points of vulnerability on the two largest ones where something might sneak in and set up an infection. I'm going to stay away from swimming for another couple of weeks to be safe. I'm also still doing showers just to be safe.

I have a job that is part desk job with spurts of walking and moving around the office involved, and moving around a large school building as needed. There is no way I could have gone back before 3 weeks. It took me that long to figure out what was going on in my body, get my eating and drinking patterns established, stabilize my Fluid intake, and most importantly to build some general endurance. Obviously, it's sooner for other people. I think two weeks is a good starting point for most people and maybe 4 weeks for those with very physical jobs.

When is it ok to start swallowing vitamins instead of using the chewables?

I just wanted to say that I'm sorry to hear you are going through this. My prayers go out to you. I sent you a Private Message.

I had to wait a little over a week for my approval. I've heard of others getting it in a day or two. I think mine would have come faster if a paper had not been missing from the packet that was submitted to insurance. From what I understand if you meet the BMI requirements, did your 6 months of appointments, and WLS is covered in your policy, you're pretty much going to get approved from UHC. Good luck!

Jane, I think you're going to be fine because you're being proactive. Purchasing the extra seat is clearly the most important hurdle. No one can put you off the plane because you won't be infringing on another passenger's seat space. I think when you make your reservation you could ask to have a special designation put on your ticket, maybe like a medical patient or something. This may be what you meant when you talked about asking to board first. It may be more important on your return flight because it will be more difficult to walk postop and you may need a wheelchair and/or golf cart transportation within the airport. Good luck and best wishes. Keep us up to date on your plans.

I was told no watermelon for at least 8 weeks because of the fibrous content - or something like that. Has anyone else been told that?

6 months!!! Crikey! Treat yourself to a filet mingon as soon as your 6 months is up girl.:thumbup:

I still can't eat enough to get anywhere near 60 grams of protein per day. I'd never get close if it wasn't for the Isopure (or Isopuke as some call them). I try to drink a whole one each day but I can't always do it if my stomach is feeling "off". I'm still thanking my stars every day that I actually like the flavor. I have been buying the individual bottles at Vitamin Shoppe because their bulk packs are all one flavor and I refuse to drink the same kind everyday. I would love to get the variety pack. Has anyone seen them at a GNC store? The link Christy posted seems like a web only offer.

Cool! I'll definitely ask my doc about this. I am ready to go back to that now that I can drink without pain. Thanks

So is the only issue with the caffeine that it can increase appetite? I mistakenly drank caffeinated warm tea a few days after surgery and I was wondering for a minute if I did something to mess up my sleeve. When I realized it, I switched to decaffeinated right away. I was too nauseaus to have it increase my appetite. I'm wondering about this because I eventually want to go back to caffeinated tea. I need some kick every now and then and I'm going to avoid even trying diet soda for a long time. When is it safe to go back to caffeine?

So if you have a hiatal hernia repair during WLS is that supposed to take care of the acid? Do you still need the PPI? I just can't seem to get a grasp on whether I need to be taking it. Does everyone have acid production?

Hiccups and a runny nose sound way better than a big ole burp! I don't know how I"m gonna manage that when I go back to work. I do a pretty good job of stopping eating before I get that uncomfortable fullness most of the time, but I still get the burps even if I'm not stuffed. Will continue to work on making my burps sound more ladylike...:thumbup1:

diva, I totally understand your issues as a single parent. I am also an educator so I appreciate your interest in being somewhat back to normal by the time school starts. (I assume that's what you mean when you talked about needing to be able to drive). However, I would say that if there's anything you can do to get the surgery you want - including changing surgeons - then you should go for it. I would seriously caution against letting the school calendar be the primary reason for stopping you. Yes, your surgery may be delayed and it may affect your child's time in school. In the grand scheme of things, everyone (including the attendance clerk) will get over it. I've had some bad feelings myself about how my slowness to get back to normal has affected my daughter. I've had a lot of days where I've been dragging around, feeling weak and out of breath, and just plain pitiful. Poor little thing was stuck in the house alone with me, no where to go, and no one else to interact with (once my sister left to go back home). I had to keep telling myself that I was doing it for her as much as for me and that this too shall pass. And it's getting better every day. We've been getting out more and more and even made it to the park several days in the last week or so. My point is that things are going to be rough after surgery for a minute no matter when you do it. It'll be ok. Just have some help for the first week and you should be fine after that. If your child misses school for a few days, get someone to bring the makeup work to you and do it at home. If it ends up being the difference of a few weeks to get the surgery you really want, why pass up on the opportunity. And I totally agree with Tiff that you should strap on some weights or something if it's not too late to document your weight with the insurance company. I wish I had done that for my first consult and I wouldn't have driven myself crazy trying to lose weight right before surgery. However, if you decide that the bypass is the right surgery for you, then I think you should go for that. Just be aware that that may not work out to your time schedule either.

I had surgery on June 22 and have lost 16 pounds since surgery. I haven't weighed since last week, so I may have lost some more since then. I don't have any doc appointments this week, so I'll have to find a scale somewhere so I can update my ticker. That may be enough motivation for me to get to the gym so I can check my weight. kenwillmore and I have the same surgeon.

My postop diet from the doctor's office doesn't say anything about straw use. The info packet I got from the hospital bariatric unit only says that straws may cause you to swallow more air. I had decided against them based on what I heard preop about straws, but after reading this thread I asked the nurse about it at my 2 week appointment. She said it's pretty much individual choice. So, I tried it yesterday and VOILA! I got a lot more Fluid in a shorter period of time without any pain or additional gas. I do get gassy if I drink too fast with or without a straw so I think that's a different issue. But, I'm excited about the straw helping me get my 64 oz per day.

I think you should just wait to see how you feel. I had it rough after surgery but others don't. You may feel back to normal after three weeks and only need to watch how many books you're carrying at one time. If you still feel like you're struggling the Thursday or Friday before class starts, then contact someone to see if you qualify for accommodations in your classes.

Can't wait to hear how things went Becca. Check back in and let us know how you're doing after surgery. :biggrin0:

I honestly haven't used half the stuff I bought in preparation for surgery. There's only so much your stomach will be able to take in and by the time you might need or want something different, you'll be well enough to get out to the store. Also, you will lose your tastes for some things, so don't buy too much of any one thing. Congratulations!

Congratulations! Did you decide to get the super sleeve over the plication?

I'm excited for you mp! It sounds like you are planning very carefully with all of your docs and will have a successful experience this time.

Hey Trinity. Just saw this thread. I had my VSG surgery at Northside and it was great. The bariatric floor was nice and the nurses were very responsive and caring. I've had surgery at Emory Midtown before and that was a great experience too.

Note: I edited this post to get it off draft status so the post date has changed from when I originally posted it before surgery. *************************** I am just a few short days away from surgery and have begun preparing for my post-op phase. I went shopping today and got my popscicles, jello, italian ice cups, and pudding (all sugar free/low fat of course). I already got my Unjury unflavored protein packs in the mail and I"m praying that I can tolerate it. I ordered a Majic Bullet from Walmart.com since they had it for a good price and that's here. So, here's the post-op diet as prescribed by my surgeon. I feel very lucky to be able to progress things at a good rate but a little nervous about it. I have to assume they wouldn't be using this diet if anything bad happened to someone eating this stuff. I just plan to take it slow and go back a stage as needed. Day of Surgery - maybe ice chips if I'm lucky:001_rolleyes: Days 2 and 3 PostOp - Clear liquids Days 3-6 PostOp - Full Liquids, to include 1% milk, protein shakes (plan to continue with Atkins), low sugar/fat pudding, plain/no sugar-added yogurt, thin cream of wheat/oatmeal/grits, strained low fat cream soup, soft margarine, veggie juice Day 7-10 PostOp - Pureed/Soft to include applesauce, baby food (avoid sugary options), pureed or finely chopped moist lean meats/poultry/fish and meat substitutes low fat cottage cheese (yuck!), scrambled eggs (Yippee!), hummus (what?), mashed potatoes, cooked cereal Days 11-30 PostOp - Soft Diet to include ground/flaked meats, chopped/mashed foods, lean moist tender meats/poulty/fish and meat substitutes, low fat cheese, cooked or dry ceral, potatoes, whole grain whole wheat rye bread/crackers, toast, soft cooked veggies w/out seeds or tough skins, unsweetended cooked/canned fruit, bananas, ripe soft fruit w/out seeds skin membranes - no watermelon Days 31-45 PostOp Soft Diet to include small pieces of low fat/low sugar food easily chewed, all other foods above, incorporate pastas (preferably whole grains) Part 45 Days PostOp-Regular Diet incorporate more grains, fruits, and veggies as tolerated, gradually add more fiber, no nuts and seeds until 3 months postop

I posted this in one of the VST threads, but I thought it might be helpful to post here as well since I only mentioned it briefly in my 2 week postop update. ******* I became dehydrated a couple of days after coming home. I attribute it to pain when drinking from the hiatal hernia repair, nausea, and lack of desire to eat or drink. In hindsight, for a couple of days I wasn't drinking much of anything at all even though I thought I was sipping all day. It felt like a hot poker every time I drank something so it was discouraging to try. The symptoms I was having were a fast heartrate, feeling like my heart was trying to beat out of my chest, extreme weakness and fatigue, lightheadedness, and nausea. I felt like my body was shutting down. This was really scary for me because my sister had left and gone back home and I was alone with my 4 year old. She needed me to do things for her and everytime I moved I felt my heart thumping in my throat and felt like I was going to pass out. Luckily, I knew something was wrong fairly early on and took myself to the doctor's office. I just knew I was going to have to go somewhere and get hooked up to an IV or get another leak test. But, they knew from looking at me that I wasn't bad off enough to be admitted and did some retraining with me on fluid intake. I feel now that they should have given me something for the esophageal spasms so that I could drink easier, but there's not much to be done about it now. I discussed it with the nurse at my 2 week followup. I did go have an EKG that day just to be sure there wasn't a problem with my heart and it was normal, other than an increased heartrate. The experience shook me up enough to make me start forcing fluids. I stopped thinking about protein and food and focused on any kind of fluids. Within a couple of days of basically walking around with something to drink in my hands at all times (because I could only sip small amounts slowly), I started to feel better. I'm sure there are a lot of different factors that determine how severe dehydration gets. I'm thankful that I was able to get it under control without having to go back in the hospital. Now, my ability to drink has improved significantly and I have no problem getting my fluids in. But, I do still have to think about it because it's easy to forget when you're not thirsty. I mentally track my drinking thoughout the day to make sure I'm not too far off the mark of the recommended fluid intake (64oz). **DON'T GET DEHYDRATED!**:tongue_smilie: