capecoralgrandma

Congratulations, Hevnbound...now I hope your rain showers will turn out to be sunny days ahead. Good luck!

I went home about an hour after it was done. My surgeon just said not to drive for 24 hrs.

Hi Hevnbound, I was glad to see your post...hope your surgery goes well tomorrow. I am 74 and had my surgery on Dec. 26th. My surgeon never once felt my age was a problem; in fact he encouraged me to have the sleeve over the lapband and I am so happy I took his advice. I am diabetic, have high blood pressure, hiatal hernia, sleep apnea and also a breast cancer survivor. Now, 2 months later, I am on half my diabetic meds, my primary physician has cut my blood pressure med in half and I no longer need the CPAP for the sleep apnea. Also, my surgeon corrected my hiatal hernia during the surgery. I have not had a moment's regret about this surgery - it is the best thing I ever did for myself, and I'm sure you will feel the same way. Good luck, Betty

Make sure you're getting at least 60 oz. of Protein a day. If not, lack of protein can cause hair loss, so it might have something to do with making your hair greasy.

If you are in that much pain, call again and explain that to your dentist's office...you could have an abcess . If your dentist won't see you for a week, I would look for someone else. When I had pain and ended up needing root canal, my dentist took me in the same day.

If your surgeon does send you home with a drain, it will only be one place in your stomach, not in the incisions. I had a drain for a week after I left the hospital and it was no problem. I would put the pouch in a pocket or pin it to a piece of clothing and I didn't have any problems with it. I just drained mine twice a day. When my surgeon removed it, he did it so quickly, that I didn't even realize that it was out. Good luck, you'll be fine.

Once you wake up, go home and relax...you won't even know you had anything done! Good luck, Betty

If you are talking about the scars where the incisions are already healed, they are not going to open. Or do you mean the incisions are still healing? In any case, I would call my surgeon to find out what is going on. Good luck.

I also take my acid reducer in the morning and haven't experienced anything like you're saying. Like some of the others have said, walking also helps. I never used a heating pad so I can't comment on that although it does sound like it would help.

The pain could be caused by gas. Has your surgeon prescribed an acid reducer for you? If not, try Gas-X strips, they may also help with the back pain. Good luck. Betty

Hi, You're only two day out, it's probably because you're hungry. As soon as you can get some broth and Jello in your stomach, you should feel better. Good luck, you'll do fine. Betty

I also would get to a bariatric surgeon with the open wounds. My incisions were closed by the surgeon using surgical glue and I had no problems with. In the beginning, I was only able to get down one tablespoon of whatever soft food I was eating so maybe just cut back. As for the lack of energy, I also felt that way the first few weeks...I believe it's because of the lack of carbs in our diet. Try to get your Protein in, that might help with the energy too. Best of luck, it will get better. Betty

Also try Gas-X strips for the gas...it does help. Good luck.

Hi, Pinterest has lots of bariatric recipes.

I had GERD before surgery so my surgeon did an endoscopy to see if I had a hiatal hernia, which proved that I did. He was able to repair the hernia during the sleeve surgery and I haven't had any problems with indigestion since my surgery on Dec. 26th.

Wow, that does seem like a lot of food for weeks 3 and 4. I'm 4 weeks today and still only have between 60 to 70 grams of Protein a day.

Oh, my goodness. I also had acid reflux so my surgeon did an endoscopy to see if I had a hiatal hernia. It did show that I did have a hiatal hernia so he repaired it at the same time that he did the gastric sleeve. My surgeon recommended the sleeve right from the very beginning and with the repair, I should have no problems with reflux. I would really question your surgeon on this. I have heard of more patients having dumping problems with the bypass.

I also downloaded Pennie Nicola's book, "The Sleeved Life: A Patient-to-Patient Guide on Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Weight Loss Surgery" and bought Alex Brecher's "Big Book on Gastric Sleeve," both very helpful before and after surgery. I especially liked Pennie's book because it is from the perspective of a patient.

I also like Premier Protein, vanilla and chocolate. I bought the first ones at BJ's, then ordered them on Amazon. Also, I like Muscle Milk and Carnation Instant Breakfast. Good luck.

Has anyone had a problem with the opening where the drain was removed not healing? My drain was removed 10 days ago and the hole does not seem to be closing or healing. I've been using Neosporin on it but doesn't look any better. Would be interested to know if anyone else had this problem before I call my surgeon.

I was allowed to have 3 to 4 Protein drinks a day the second day after my surgery, as long as I was getting 60 to 70 grams of protein a day. I like Premier and Muscle Milk. Even the diet I got from my nutritionist said Protein Drinks for 16 days after surgery, then start on pureed foods. The bariatric diet is from Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.

I'm 2-1/2 weeks out from surgery and I've been taking Centrum Chewables in fruit flavor. I just break the tablet up into 4 pieces and they don't taste bad at all, just very sweet. I also bought Vitafusion Calcium, only I didn't realize that they are gummies, even though they are soft and don't taste like gummies. I guess I better stop taking them.

Hi Brandi, The only thing I remember about tightening skin was from Weight Watchers that drinking skim milk would keep skin from getting flabby...hope that helps. Betty