NICU-RN

Hi all, I am 8 months out and I hear what you are saying. One thing you can do for Fluid intake is to take micro-sips. That means literally just a tiny drop on your tongue of water/liquid and then swallow. You will be doing this almost all day, but it does help avoid the pain/cramping. Or you can use ice chips and put 1 ice chip in your mouth and let it melt, slowly swallowing whenever you feel a bit of liquid. The "indenture" is just a dent - it will smooth out as scar tissue stretch and weight comes off. That incision was/is the most painful because it was stretched the most of all of the little incisions they make. The lump is just inflamation and scar tissue forming. The purpose of rubbing it is two fold. One: to "distract" your brain from the pain sensation and give it another sensation to focus on (rubbing.) Second: to stretch or break-up the scar tissue. At first, the "rubbing" is just lightly touching the area - no pressure. As pain receeds you can apply more pressure. The "lump" takes several months to heal and fade, but it does. Another thing you can do for the pain in that area is to appy an ice pack to that area for 20 minutes several times per day. Do not put the ice pack on bare skin, use a thin towel or washcloth to protect the skin from frostbite. The ice will numb the area making the pain lessen and will also help reduce the swelling and inflamation. Inflamation is NOT the same thing as infection. Inflamation is normal after surgery of any kind - infection is not. While I have experienced all that you have described, I would encourage you that it does get better with time. Also, it NEVER hurts to call your surgeon if you have concerns/questions. That is why he earns the "big bucks." I have been told that it helps to keep liquids at room temperature for the first few weeks, I liked mine ice cold and never had any different experience regardless of the temperature of the liquids, but thought I'd pass that along as it might help some of you. Good luck and stay the course.

If you are going down in size but the scale is not moving - you still have a huge reason to Celebrate as you are converting fat to muscle at this time. Muscle is heavier than fat, and the more muscle we have, the more fat we burn. Congratulations.

Ask your surgeon. Did they remove the polyps during the colonoscopy? If not, ask that doctor why they did not, as colon polyps can be a precursor to colon cancer. I would be more concerned about that than bariatric surgery at this point.

I am 6 months out and just broke a 4-6 week stall that was messing with my head! I am eating very few carbs and do Water exercises 4 days/week. Even though my weight was not changing - I was stuck at 191-192 - I could tell my body was still changing as clothes were still getting looser. Also, remember, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are exercising and not losing, your body may be converting fat to muscle. Keep the faith, keep the Protein in, the carbs out, and the exercise going. You'll start to lose again.

I agree with BeagleLover. I also use unjury and nectar. Both are good and both websites allow you to order individual serving sizes so you can try the various flavors without buying a huge container. Welcome to WLS.

Don't make assumptions. If you are interested in the surgery, make an appointment with a surgeon you are considering and ask the surgeon. Only then will you have an answer you can work with. No one on this site can answer your question regarding your situation. Even someone with the same diagnosis, whatever it is, can not say with any certainty that your situation is exactly the same. Ask your doctor.

Try to drink a Protein shake instead of eating a snack. Protein shakes are your friend. Keeping your protein intake to at least 60 to 80 grams a day is essential at this point and will help you fight any hunger as well as feel hungry less often. Get a good quality Protein powder. I use unjury and I've not found any that taste better. 3-4 shakes/day gives you 60-80 grams of protein and if mixed with 8 oz. skim milk it gives you 84- 112 grams. I am unable to tolerate lactose in the milk and use an almond/coconut milk instead so don't get the extra protein. But I still am drinking 3-4 protein shakes/day along with eating a protein rich meal. I had my surgery in January and am currently down 76 lbs. Yes, I feel hungry and sometimes I feel as if I will die if I drink one more shake, but then I cheat a bit and eat 1 or 2 unsalted crackers and that helps me get past that feeling. You can do this. I don't know anything about Quest bars, if they have a lot of carbs in them, that is just feeding your hunger rather than helping reduce it. Eat until satisfied, not full. Full is not the goal, satisfaction is. They are two separate things. Also realize that as obese persons, our sense of "full" is extremely skewed, so you are in the process of changing your perception as well as reducing the amount of food you actually need. You are still very early in your journey, don't let yourself get discouraged. Does your surgeon offer nutritional counselling? Seeing a nutritionist at this point might really help you. Also a local in-person support group can be very helpful as well.

Your relationship with food will change - it has to. That being said, nothing is absolute. I am 5 months out from my sleeve. I have had the complication of not being able to tolerate more than a bite of solid food, so am living on Protein shakes. I still go out to restaurants with my husband, I may not eat more than a bite or two, but I can still enjoy the company and the atmosphere. I am not feeling hungry, so it bothers me not to sit there and sip on a glass of ice Water while others eat. I am not an alcohol drinker, but I have read that on some programs a bit of alcohol is allowed once weight loss has been consistent. I know I haven't answered all of your questions, but don't be discouraged. Lots of us have been where you are, and we are making it just fine. You will also. (Also, reading the internet, while helpful, can at times be very unhelpful. Don't take to heart everything you read on here.)

My labs were all normal - I use a good quality protein powder and make sure to take my vitamins and supplements.

I recently figured out that I am now severely lactose intolerant. I had tried almond milk and found it to be too thin. I now mix my Protein powders with almond/coconut milk. It has a good texture and tastes a bit nutty which only adds to the flavor of the protein powder making it more tasty. I am doing quite well on it now. No more cow's milk for me. I am not using the unsweetened almond/coconut milk because what I am using has only 60 calories/8 oz. and with the protein powder the shake is only 140 calories. Since it is the only thing I am currently able to "eat" (severe nausea ever since surgery), I need the calories of the sweetened a/c milk. Drinking 3 - 4 per day gives me only 420 - 560 calories/day. It works for me. Water and fruit protein powder are not too bad, but vanilla isn't good.

I agree with all of the above advice. Please leave him to himself to help himself. He is responsible for his care. His bariatric surgery did NOT make him an invalid. You need to get away from him until he realizes that his needs are HIS responsibility - not yours. Help is one thing. Demands and abuse is another thing altogether. See a counselor and don't put it off. You need to take care of you and let him take care of himself.

I agree with Majique.

It isn't the insurance you need to worry about - keep on top of your surgeon's office to get the surgery scheduled in a timely manner. My insurance didn't delay, but my surgeon's office dropped the ball and I got put off until just after the new year so deductible and co-pay's kicked back in on me. I was majorly ticked at my surgeon's office "case manager" but that is another story. I just strongly encourage you to keep on top of the surgeon's office and insurance if you need to - but I really think the problem if you have one will be the office and not the insurance company.

Yes. I was sleeved January 7, 2014. I am still unable to eat solid food because of intense and constant nausea. I am still on Protein drinks. I had my gallbladder removed 3 weeks ago - it was full of stones and stiff and had a lot of thick sludge in it. The doctor said it needed to come out - so it did. He also thought that might solve my nausea problem. It didn't. So I am now missing 2/3's of my stomach, my gallbladder, and FOOD! But I would still do it again because the weight loss has made me feel so much better inspite of the nausea. The gallbladder surgery was more painful than the gastric sleeve, but two weeks later, I was healed enough to return to my Water aerobics and felt good as far as the surgery goes. I can't tell you how it affects eating/food as I don't know. Good luck.

That's a bummer! I don't have any suggestions for you about your date - if the surgeon is OOT, then you're OOL. My surgeon's office offers a monthly support group - have you checked to see if there is one in your area or with your doctor's office? Also, this is a good place for support also. And there are other bariatric support groups online as well. I am rather a private person and have done most of my journey by myself, asking for help on here when I needed it. This is a good group for the most part and as long as you don't take medical advice from here rather than your doctor's office, you can get a lot of help here. Look forward to your surgery date. It will arrive. You will be feeling good yet when your child leaves for college so can make that a special time for both of you. Also, your child can still be supportive even at a distance. Email, Skype, Phone, Text, etc. As far a physical support for recovery from surgery - other than having someone to drive for you for a couple of weeks, I really didn't need anyone to do anything. Lifting is restricted for a few weeks, but I just carried things in smaller amounts and made more trips if I had to relocate something. You can do it. You WILL do it. Chin up.

Yes, just relax and enjoy watching those numbers drop! I lost 22 lbs in the first week.

I took just one small swallow of Coke three and 1/2 months after surgery - it tasted awful and I really paid a horrible price for the carbonation. Don't do it.

I would suggest you call the surgeon's office. My experience was that if I didn't keep on top of things and waited for the office to call me, I would still be waiting to hear from them about a surgery date! Good luck.

I was never told anything about straws and have used them since the day after surgery (even in the hospital they gave me a straw.) So I wouldn't worry too much about that. Regarding your comment "My body would reject it if I was doing harm, right?" - Your body may tell you if you are doing harm - but I wouldn't count on it. You have to pay attention and know what you are doing. If you have questions - ask your nutritionist or if you don't have one, ask your surgeon to refer you to one. I refuse to say I can "Never" have something ever again. Moderation moderation moderation. thesupportedhalf nails it with comments #2-6.

I was very tired, weak, horribly nauseated, but mobile. I felt rotten. My abdomen was horribly swollen and extremely tender (no pantyhose or tight panties. Your dress may not fit so soon after surgery either.) You may want to sit rather than stand before and after the ceremony. Don't plan on eating anything at the reception. Take your liquid either clear or Protein shake (whichever you are on according to your doctor) with you to have available. My REAL advice to you would be to see if you can postpone your surgery date one week until just after the wedding. You could possibly do the wedding just 5 days post-op, but you will feel better and it will be a much more enjoyable day if you wait. You just don't know how it could affect you - if there were any complications or if you have more trouble than your doctor is planning on you could totally miss the wedding. Is it worth the chance when just a week could spare you and the bride-to-be the stress & agony of a bridesmaid having to cancel last minute?

Unfortunately, bat/whale wings do not contain any muscle so you can lift weights until you are purple and it will have no effect on that area of the arms UNLESS you are young enough to have very elastic skin and it has not been stretched out past the point of no return. If you DO have very elastic skin, losing the fat in those areas while exercising will help reduce the flabiness. Otherwise - surgery after weight loss is about the only way to get rid of these flapping wings. Exercise will help develop the muscle in your upper arms and if you are young enough to still have elastic skin and as I said earlier have not stretched it past the point of no return, then you will see improvement as you drop the weight and get rid of the fat in the upper arms and tone the muscle with exercise, but if that skin has been stretched past that point of no return - then surgery is the only way to get rid of that excess flab. I know - I am waving all the time.

It could also be your heart (those were my symptoms and my ONLY symptoms and I ended up with an emergency triple bypass surgery and almost DOA) - call your doctor.

Welcome. I had my surgery in January of this year. I am enjoying watching the scale go DOWN for a change! Your weight loss is phenomenal! Snuggle your little one at your side while sitting and soon you'll be carrying her again. Understand that is hard though. I'm glad your husband is supportive. Mine says he is, but his actions make me doubt it - he keeps trying to feed me everything I am not supposed to have nor do I even want that stuff anymore. Recovery has been easy except I have had constant nausea and am just this week starting to eat more than my Protein shakes and only now because last week I had an EGD done to discover the cause of my nausea - a severely irritated stomach from the protein! On an earlier diet a few years ago, I developed 3 ulcers due to protein intake. This could make my journey interesting. Anyway, I am now on Carafate and the nausea is a bit less.

Less than 24 hours after surgery I was on my way out the door. Not my choice but insurance rules.

I just returned from my 2 month post-op check. I was so disappointed. First, I was scheduled with a different doctor than did my surgery and no explanation was given. Unless an emergency, we are supposed to see our own doctors. Second, I was not given any information about my Protein, Vitamin or mineral status even though I had a huge amount of blood drawn for labs two weeks before the appointment as directed. Third, I am having and have had since surgery constant nausea such that I can only manage to get down 3 Protein shakes a day and some Water, unable to tolerate any pureed or solid foods. Fourth, the doctor did not mention anything about the rate of weight loss I am having - I don't know if I am on target, slow or fast. I am a nurse and know how to question doctors, however this blew me away as he stood over me the entire time, looking at the door waiting to escape. Anytime I attempted to say something, he interrupted me with something about the nausea - that is the only thing he heard me say and the only thing he addressed. I am scheduled for an EGD on Friday to hopefully figure out if there is a reason for the nausea. Just need to know that someone cares. Anyone out there?