PdxMan

34 here

Don't try this at home, but I did play about 20 hands of blackjack the evening of my surgery. I was only going to play a couple, just to say I did, but I was winning, so ... my wife had to pull me off the table. So I'm going to change my surg fron Tj to Las Vegas. Pain pump on one side, draw poker in the other. Drink comps for gambling. And they speak english! (been a nurse 31 years) It was smoke free, wasn't crowded and I got to sit sipping my Water. Now that is what I call recovery.

When I was at about 6 weeks, I was feeling the same. I talked to my NUT and she suggested I increase my carbs by adding more veggies to the Soups I was pureeing. I was making ham and smoked lentil Soup, so I added carrots, onions and green Beans. I also made a veggie chicken soup and added carrots and zucchini to my chili. About 4 days after doing this I noticed a marked improvement in my energy. After my 3 month blood work results came back, I was low on B12, even though I was doing the sublingual once a week, as directed. I was told to up it to every other day, but at my 6 month blood analysis, I was still low. I was then moved to the shots every two weeks and I have been hitting the right numbers since. This was 2 years ago. I can't say I really noticed much of a difference with the B12 as I did by increasing my good carbs. Are you tracking in MyFitnessPal, or the like? How many carbs are you hitting a day? Are you trying to do a low-carb diet?

Ask them about the nasal pillows. They are tiny compared to the mask (Google them) and have less of a chance of inducing anxiety.

It's not normal ANYWHERE except for Las Vegas. The majority are 1 night stays here in the US. He's just extra special!I would LOVE to think I was special, but the truth is, I felt fine. I think I'll have to post a poll asking if people really found it necessary to stay in the hospital. Sure ... it can be nice having Nurse Nice get you ice chips and pop-sickles all day, but I can honestly say I did not need it. I was best served getting out and getting moving. Besides, a great way for hospitals to make money is to have patients. ESPECIALLY if insurance is picking up the tab. I don't know.... You might have Super Ppwers, and you just don't know it! I've been a nurse a long, long time, all in Critical Care. I think this is a Vegas thing. Not to poke holes in your lovely vision of nurses being the provider of Popsicles and other comforts, but we also monitor for bleeding and leaks that first 24 hours. It doesn't happen often statistically, but they do still happen. It's hard to visualize walking along the Strip with a narcotic infusion, but then again it's Vegas - you probably fit right in! We nurses (as simple as we are) like to make sure patients are fully ready to take care of themselves before they go. The average person is pretty foggy for 24 hours post anesthetic making it a little longer to get going. Some have a but of anxiety. And I can promise you that not everyone experiences pain the same way, our brains are not wired the same. Many, many obese patients have atelectasis that can lead very quickly to pneumonia if they don't do their spirometer or get up and move. I know most of us are well prepared before surgery and that helps tremendously, but there is much to gain from good nursing care (besides the Popsicles) the first 24 hours. At least I'd like to think so. Of course, I guess I make my living off of sick people so I'd want them to stay sick. I get what you're saying, but the AVERAGE person is not ready to walk the Vegas Strip on the day of surgery. I'd hate for Preops to get this as "the norm". Again, I suspect you store some Super Powers somewhere in there! . Now maybe this pain pump made a difference? I'd be interested to hear how frequently this is used. My hospital doesn't send anyone home with pain pumps unless they are in hospice. Would love to hear more about that. I have read many stories very similar to mine here. Many, many. I hope you don't think I was disparaging nurses, though, because that certainly was not my intent. If a person has issues with anesthesia, then yes, you should plan a stay. My facility was associated with and across the street from a hospital, so if I needed monitoring beyond the support system I brought with me, I could have gone into the hospital. That is always an option with outpatient surgical procedures. I have had two surgeries on my spine, for heaven's sake ... in the past 18 months which were both outpatient, which, to be honest with you, I was surprised. I mean, they were playing around with my spine! Those procedures were done in the hospital and again, if needed, I could have gone to a room, but I don't usually have lingering affects from anesthesia, so, again, it worked for me. As far as the walking around Vegas, hopefully you all know there is air conditioning everywhere there. It is not like I was walking up and down the strip. We would drive to a casino, walk around for an hour and go to another. At 1:00, back at the hotel for a 2 hour nap, then back at it again. 95% of the walking was inside casinos. Have you been to the Venetian? You can walk for miles in there alone. The picture from my gallery is when we visited the Wynn and briefly went outside. As far as monitoring for leaks, as far as my research has determined, the vast majority occur well after dismissal from the hospital (for those that had hospital stays). The stomach and suture line is so swollen from the surgery, a leak doesn't actually present itself until the swelling begins to go down. Again, I value the nurses tremendously, don't get me wrong. I have an issue with being able to urinate after surgical procedures and they usually have to straight cath me before I leave. I take one with me and if I continue to have issues, I can perform the procedure myself. My wife was able to redress my bandages from my back surgery and I just feel I can recover better from home. I do understand other people feel more relaxed recovering with professional care. I totally believe they should get it. But if there are folks out there who feel they have the means to take more control, know there are options to do just that. Also know I had the surgeon's cell # (called him once) and hospital number in my speed dial, just in case. *** EDIT *** Forgot about the pump. It was the On-Q system. The meds are in the ball under pressure, slowly sending the meds out through the tiny little tube. My surgeon said I could pull it out when it was deflated (yup, it was a little tube stuck in me just below my sternum), but I opted to have him do it. I was surprised and relieved that it didn't hurt a bit when he pulled it out. To see the picture I put on here, you have to have a web browser, I believe. Here is the link: http://www.iflo.com/images/on-Q_pump_with_tags8.jpg

Surgery was on Friday and the pump was removed Monday. I was back at work half time Wednesday and full time the following Monday. Wow! What a difference. How long were you on the pain pump? I need to be up and ready to go ASAP.

Stay off the scale and reset your expectations. They are unrealistic. Just keep doing exactly what you were instructed to do and don't cheat.

I was told to wait at least 6 weeks for anything except walking. He said that would give the stomach time to heal and that the last think I wanted was an accident on some exercise equipment and inure the suture line. If you don't believe it can happen, do a Google search for treadmill fail. It's all about what you are willing to risk.

It's not normal ANYWHERE except for Las Vegas. The majority are 1 night stays here in the US. He's just extra special! I would LOVE to think I was special, but the truth is, I felt fine. I think I'll have to post a poll asking if people really found it necessary to stay in the hospital. Sure ... it can be nice having Nurse Nice get you ice chips and pop-sickles all day, but I can honestly say I did not need it. I was best served getting out and getting moving. Besides, a great way for hospitals to make money is to have patients. ESPECIALLY if insurance is picking up the tab.

Cupcake Lasagna

If you go to my gallery, you will see me the day after surgery. That picture was take at the Wynn hotel/casino in Las Vegas (baby!). I had a pain pump which had a tube running directly to the suture line in my stomach. I was taking liquid loritab every 4 hours or so, too, which is basically liquid vicodin. I walked about 5 miles that day all over Vegas ... and it was July 9th ... about 105 degrees. Kept hydrated and had a great recovery. I have similar sentiments as you, but just the opposite. How can anyone actually WANT to be in a hospital? There are sick people there. When I have been in the hospital, I just want to lay in bed and be sick letting others take care of me. I knew with this surgery, I needed to be up and moving doing the things I needed to do to start my recovery. Outpatient was a great option for me.

And this was at ...

Where was your surgery? Were you impatient or day surgery? I was day surgery and there were about 5 people in with me. I woke up, asked for meds, then asked to leave. No problems.

Check out: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=53850&page=2 Don't worry about your Dr being female. Mine is too. We've talked about my ejaculate on more than one occasion. She examines my testicles and checks my prostate. I am not the only male patient she has, so ... she has seen/heard it all. If you are uncomfortable talking to her about these things, then I would suggest getting a male doctor. This is your life your talking about. Your pride could be the death of you. Literally.

How did the pork turn out? I love the idea of the taco soup. I will be making that soon, for sure. Thanks for the idea. If you do not like BBQ sauce, may I suggest a teriyaki or a mustard/herb sauce? I like plain pork enough, but I need some kind of sauce on it if I am going to be eating it over the next few weeks. One thing I accidently discovered a couple weeks ago, though, I have to share. Trader Joes is now carrying this chopped veggie mix: I put some of this on some romaine lettuce with a bit of ranch on a plate with my BBQ pulled pork. Well, some of the pork accidently mingled with this blend in a bite and OMG! It was incredible. I have had it a few times since. It is so good and so easy to make now that I have my pork all jarred up in the freezer. Talk about good and good for you. Can you say 5 minute meal?

I do enjoy veggie soup, but have tried to stay with things packing Protein punch. The only tofu I really enjoy is in stir fry types of dishes. Otherwise, I can't handle the texture. As far as the cabbage dish it is: 1 head of red cabbage, cored and sliced medium width 1 medium onion diced medium 2 tart apples diced medium 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup butter (yup, the real stuff) 1/2 cup sugar (yup, the real stuff) 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 - 3/4 tsp clove (I like the flavor, so ...) 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 Tbsp salt You want a medium dice on everything as it is going to reduce when it is cooked and you don't want it withered away into nothingness. If I have some excess kale, carrots or zucchini from my garden around, I will toss some of that in, too. In a large pot, just toss it all in over medium heat to a boil, then reduce to low. Put a lid on and simmer for an hour or two stirring occasionally. This is one of those dishes where you need to determine how you like it and cook accordingly. If you like a crunch, you will want to simmer less. If you have kids in the house, you will want to make sure you turn on the stove vent as it can be quite stinky to humans under the age of 18. Myself, I make massive batches and then can them. I do not cook the mixture very long as they get to sit in my pantry from months absorbing all of the yummy goodness. I pull a quart out and add it to the cooked ground turkey. After enjoying the meal, I have enough leftovers for about 6 or 7 jelly jars. Into the freezer they go and become lunch options over the next few weeks. *** EDIT *** I use the "real stuff" in all my cooking. If you look at this recipe with alarm, let's take a deeper dive. I am getting like 7 to 8 meals out of this, so take whatever alarms you and divide it by 8. That half cup of sugar works out to 1/16 of a cup in a serving. This works out to 12.5 g of carbs. For me, I resolved the sleeve is going to be restricting my intake of all the "bad" stuff. As long as I follow the basic guidelines of the sleeved life, I do not have to militantly monitor my sugar/butter intake. For those who have not read my ramblings over the years, I have been maintaining at goal for over 2 years. This approach works for me.

Does your insurance cover any sort of psychiatric services? There could be many things going on, here. It almost sounds like you may be wanting to isolate, which could be due to many reasons, none of which we could decisively discover on an internet forum.

This should be a must read upon signing up. Not allowed to post until acknowledging having read this. Thanks, Alex. It is funny some of us feel we have to fight the "normies" regarding WLS all the while fighting each other.

That is a question that each of us must answer for ourselves. We all have our own background with regards to our relationship with food. Myself, I knew my dieting history as I had tried many times to make the lifestyle changes required to maintain the losses of whatever diet I had been on. I believe my failure with making those changes stemmed from never addressing the mental reasons why I abused food. Perhaps if I had done that work, I may have never landed on the doorstep of WLS, but alas, it was only through my WLS I was able to do this work. When people ask me if they should have WLS, I always ask them if they have attempted to make the changes at least 3 times in their lives. Really earnest attempts at not only dieting, but maintaining that lifestyle. IMO, WLS should be the last stop on the block. It is not a decision to be made lightly and certainly is not the easy way. For me, it has been a life-saving procedure. I know where I was going and I felt so powerless after many, many failed attempts. I have discovered I am a stronger person as I have had to confront the reasons (and continue to) I abuse food. I have a great outlook on my life now with new energy and vigor. Good luck with your journey. Continue to read and be prepared for the ride of your life!

Almost 3 years post and would sign the release form right now, if I had to. On your scale, my complications have been a 1, physically. About a 5 mentally. I have learned things about myself I never anticipated. That was the toughest part. But not so tough I wouldn't do it again. I have grown from it.

Hey there So a few things: She doesn't know when I started losing weight and I only saw her once in October and had not seen her for a month prior to that... Then I saw her once in November and then pretty much not again until January. Sooo, as far as she knows, I started losing this weight back in September through now, which is 7 months. Also, I have never said to her that I've lost 60 lbs (65 now), nor have I told her what size I used to be and what size I am now, so she wouldn't be able to do the calculations you are doing. I do agree that communication is key and resentment isn't her fault... That's a ME problem...but her not being a good friend and being supportive when I have mentioned how hard I've been working out and eating healthy ... That's a HER problem. I'm telling you, she would never think I got surgery. I bounced back and was working on day 4 in outside sales, never missed social events, etc... If people have asked what I've been doing, I've just said that I've been working with a nutritionist, she has me eating small meals every few hours to keep up my metabolism and I've been working out almost every day, drinking Protein shakes to replace breakfast and dinner on most days, cutting carbs, etc... As for the bridesmaid dress, we are not being fitted on Wednesday, we are just going to look at dresses to see if there is one that we all can decide on. I won't have to order a dress until June and I will go on my own to place my dress order. If I am alone with the lady at all on Wednesday, I will ask how much these dresses can be taken in. Typically, the rule of thumb is 4 sizes max for alterations, but it depends on the style my friend chooses. If that's the case, I will just order a size or 2 down and then have it barely altered. I just did this same thing for a wedding I'm in this May and now the dress is big but won't need crazy alterations had I ordered the size I used to be when I got fitted. Be glad you aren't a woman!! Sorry, I thought you said the two of you were good friends, best friends through High School and such. I think a lot of people are trying to see the best in her because she is (was) such a good friend of yours. Also, I thought you said you see each other once a month since last fall, so I assumed she had seen you every month since, well ... last fall. I think by your own presumption, she doesn't have to know what your starting weight or sizes are to notice a difference. A drastic one, at that ... right? So, I'm just going to come right out and say it appears you have already determined you are upset your friend didn't meet your expectations and have come here to validate your feelings. Anything contrarian is going to fall on deaf ears (eyes), so, I will wish you well on your journey and suggest you not let others live rent free in your head.

You are still so early post-op. Your body is still healing, retaining fluids and releasing them. The question you have to ask yourself is what am I wanting to lose? Weight or fat? What you must keep in mind is that 1 pound is equivalent to 3,500 calories. Eat 3,500 calories more than you burn, you gain one pound, burn 3,500 calories more than you eat, you lose a pound. So, with your measurements, do you think you ate so many more calories than you burned that you added fat? I'm guessing your resting metabolic rate is in excess of 3 to 5 times of what your current caloric intake is, so, there is no way you are putting on fat. Right? Everybody is going to experience weight fluctuations early out. Just give yourself some time to heal and know this is a long process. Manage your expectations as well. Now is not the time to be restricting what you are eating. It can only hamper the healing process.

As silly as this may sound ... embrace this time. I soooo understand your feelings about mourning food. I used to as well. I questioned why I was mourning. I would see people stuffing themselves and wish I could do that. That is just the sick part of me talking. Wishing I could abuse food the way I used to. Why did I want to eat half a pizza? What was it I was trying to fill? Now and again, at coming close to 3 years post, I catch myself using food for other purposes than feeding my nutrition. I am angry, lonely or tired and return to my old ways of mindlessly eating something that I really don't want or need. Back in your stage, I couldn't do that to the point I do now. For the most part, I keep it contained. I am able to maintain now at my goal weight, but it is a constant struggle. I have to always be way more mindful than I was in the first 6 months.

They call the first 6 months the "Honeymoon" stage as this is when your weight loss will be "easiest". I use that term lightly, though, as this is just something you have to experience to understand, I think. For me, after 6 months, I was able to tolerate just about anything. These first 6 months are your opportunity to learn new eating habits, find an exercise routine which you can maintain and basically find your groove for your new lifestyle. That meant I also needed to do some soul searching discovering the core reasons why I had such a poor relationship with food. For some folks, after the 6 month mark, they discover they can eat a doughnut, so they do. They return to their old eating habits and continue to abuse food. This is where the "real" work begins to take place. The bottom line is as long as you follow the guidelines for sleevers, you can lose the weight you want and maintain the weight you want for yourself. Stop following the guidelines and you will struggle. This is true at 6 months, 2 years, 5 years ...

Every Sunday I go to the store buying what I need for a large batch of something nutritious and delicious. I try to buy local ingredients and keep the recipes very simple. I detail my plan here in this thread: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/300695-discouraged-with-planning-meals/?p=3397701 Mason jars are the key to my success.