JamieLogical

My surgeon did the same. I had a prescription for 40mg of omeprazole for 2 months post op and then I was allowed to try to stop taking it. However, I quickly had reflux issues after going off of it, so I now take the over-the-counter dosage of 20mg every day and that keeps everything under control. My advice would be to check with your doctor and/or surgeon and ask about taking Prilosec daily to prevent. For short-term relief of heartburn once you already have it, take Zantac.

Definitely talk to your doctor, as pneumonia is a real risk after any surgery.

No need to panic. I'm 19 weeks PO and I've only lost 38 pounds since surgery. But even with a few weeks here and there of no loss or even a slight gain, I am still losing overall. Try to take an honest look at your eating and drinking habits and see if there is anything you should maybe change, but don't do anything drastic. Are you getting enough protein? Are you drinking enough water? If they answer to those to questions is "yes", then just stay the course.

I weigh myself almost every day, but I only document my weight once a week (on Mondays). I keep that in a spreadsheet and have a graph that shows me the downward trend of my weight. I don't let day-to-day fluctuations bother me.

I totally had this problem. I couldn't stand the smell of my husband, especially his breath, while I was on my pre-op diet and for a little bit post-op, but it eventually went back to normal. It was very weird and I was worried it would be permanent! Glad it wasn't, as snuggling with my husband is pretty much my favorite thing.

I cut off all my hair at about 2 months post-op in anticipation of the inevitable thinning. I figured it would be less noticeable with shorter hair. My hair really started falling out round the 3 month mark, so I'm glad I did it when I did. Hopefully I only have a month or two left of hair loss now that I'm almost at 5 months. It really does still look fine and I don't think anyone would really notice, but my god, my bathroom is like a horror film if hair were blood. Every single day it's all in the shower drain, all over the floor and counter, all in the sink... I try to keep up with sweeping/cleaning it up, but it's everywhere!

I brought about $200 cash in small bills and ended up using almost none of it. I stashed it in all different places so if I lost a bag or something, I'd still have money. But I ended up not using much of it at all. I used it for a couple of tips for shuttle drivers and a bottle of vitamin water. That was it.

Ariel Ortiz was my surgeon as well and Lucia specifically told me no coffee until 30 days PO, so you are being naughty by not following her guidelines! Don't worry. I won't tell. She did say to make sure to use cream or milk in my coffee to dilute it once I started drinking it at 30 days, so if you are going to be drinking it early, maybe just try that to dilute it and tone it down some.

I will definitely be watching your video, no matter how you break it up. But please please please, if you break it into multiple segments, make a playlist of it. I usually watch youtube videos on my Roku and finding and clicking through multiple videos on that interface is a PAIN!

The one thing that's hard to imagine immediately post-op and in the weeks ahead is that you will ever feel "normal" again. But I promise you that you will! Hang in there. It really does get better almost every day. Follow all the instructions and be patient and you will feel normal again!

Definitely sounds like you have the exact same situation I did. I had very minimal pain, no nausea, but that constriction right in the center of my chest with every sip of Water... it felt like my esophagus was trying to turn itself inside out. I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that sensation lasted probably a good two weeks for me. The good news is I'm 19 weeks out now and haven't experienced that for a VERY long time now. So it DOES get better. I am certain that it is a result of swelling and once the swelling finally goes down, it goes away completely.

Thanks! It's been kind of slow going compared to some on the site, but I'm really happy with it. I am 19 weeks post-op and only down 38 pounds whereas some people lose like 40 pounds the first month! Everyone's journey is different and as long as that scale keeps moving down, I am happy. This isn't a race. There's no need to get to my goal ASAP. I think that whole drive to lose weight really fast comes from our old "diet" mentality, where getting to the goal more quickly meant we were "done" with the diet sooner. But I'm never going to be "done" with my sleeve, so if it takes me 6 months or 2 years to get to my goal, what does it really matter?

I definitely had that for a while post-op. It felt like my esophagus was constricting with every sip. Walkign in place while drinking helped me and I just took very tiny sips and waited for the feeling to completely subside before sipping again. That part is just super hard for the first little while, but you WILL get through it!!

Well, hopefully you can get a lot of your questions answered in detail at your appointment next week. I can't help you with the Medicare and surgery date questions. As for your medical conditions, most of those should definitely improve with the surgery and weight loss. Acid reflux may continue to be an issue, as it is one of the common side effects of VSG. Prior to surgery, I often had heartburn and acid reflux when I was at my heavier weights. Meaning it was definitely triggered by obesity, as is common. However, post-op, even though I'm at a lower weight now, my reflux hasn't resolved itself as it had in the past at lower weights, so I am now taking 20mg of Prilosec daily and that keeps it at bay the cvast majority of the time. I have not, however, had any issues with heart burn post-op. Your pre-op and post-op diets will be unique to your surgeon and nutritionist. Some surgeons don't require a pre-op diet at all! Some require very strict pre-op diets. That's definitely something only your specific surgeon and nutritionist will be able to help you with. As for throwing up and bowel problems post-op, again, it's entirely individual. I personally haven't thrown up once since my surgery 19 weeks ago, but some people throw up every single day. I also haven't had any problems with constipation, but for some people it is a MAJOR problem post-op. No matter what, you will definitely have a steep learning curve when it comes to getting used to how much to eat and how fast to eat. I'm 19 weeks post-op and I still sometimes overdo it to the point where I am in extreme discomfort (I feel like I'm going to burst!). With every single meal you will just have to be conscious of how much you are eating, take your time, and listen to your body.

I doubt you've stretched your sleeve much. As Recycled mentioned, in the first couple of months, there is still swelling causing additional restriction and as you heal, that swelling goes down. How much protein are you currently getting. You should ALWAYS be eating protein first. Doesn't have to be chicken. I get protein from all sorts of places now. I eat tuna, shrimp, pork, turkey, beans, beef (I try to still somewhat limit beef intake, though), and dairy. I'm not afraid of carbs like some people on this site, but I just don't eat a lot of carbs because I'm always putting protein first, so just don't really have any room for them. If what I'm eating has some carbs in it (like if any of the meat I'm eating is breaded or the dairy has sugar), I don't stress about it. So long as I'm getting all my protein in. Also, I've found that carbs (sugar especially) don't make me "full" the way proteins do.

You may get a goal weight suggested to you by your surgeon or nutritionist. When my nutritionist came up with my goal weight of 165 (my personal goal is 155), she asked me a TON of questions in addition to looking at my current weight and body fat percentage. She asked what was the least I'd weighed as an adult, what was the most I'd ever weighed, how much weight I'd managed to lose through diet and exercise in the past, what kind of exercise routine i'd managed to keep up in the past, and I don't even remember what all else she asked. Based on all that info, she did a bunch of calculations and came up with 165. I'm 5'6" like you, but my highest weight ever was only 270 and my surgery day weight was only 236. So your realistic goal weight might be a little higher than mine. Definitely just listen to everything your surgeon and nutritionist tell you and be as honest with them as you possibly can.

I had no issues with bringing prescriptions back across the border both times I've been to TJ for surgery. The first time I came across the border in a regular passenger car and they border officers didn't stop us or ask us any questions or anything. They just scanned my driver's license and that was it (I had an enhanced driver's license that allowed crossing at land borders without a passport). This most recent time, when I had my VSG, I actually walked across the border and had to go through a medal detector and have all my belongings x-rayed. I had what I referred to as my "bag of drugs", which was just a plastic shopping bag with my prescriptions in it, which i just sat directly on the conveyor belt for the x-ray and they gave me no flack about it whatsoever. Didn't even ask me about it.

Not every surgeon uses drains. Some use multiple drains. Some only leave drains in for a day. Some leave them in for a week or more. It's very interesting to me that surgeons have so many different techniques, requirements, pre-op diets, post-op diets, and restrictions. I was on a different thread where someone was asking about coffee and some surgeons require you to stop drinking coffee before surgery, some don't. Some allow you coffee only a few days post-op, some allow you coffee 30 days post-op. Some tell you to never drink coffee again! How are you feeling today Pac-woman? Is your pain any better?

Wow, you look great! How much weight have you lost so far? It seems really impressive! I've only lost 38 pounds at 19 weeks out (will be 5 months on Feb. 1), but even with that I see a pretty big difference so far. I need to take some progress pics!

I hear you! I had the day I could start having coffee again marked on my calendar and was literally counting down to it!

I'm pretty addicted to Questbars at this point. I love the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor and have two a day. One for "breakfast" and one at the very end of the day, about an hour before I go to bed. Between those two bars, I get 42 grams of protein, so getting 40-ish more with my lunch, dinner, and snacks isn't too challenging. Just put protein first every thime you eat! My snacks are always greek yogurt or "meat sticks" (like beef sticks but made with turkey or pork too). My lunches and dinners are always meat/seafood or meat and beans. I'll sometimes have an egg and/or cheese in there as well.

I had almost zero fat over my abdomen because I had a tummy tuck with muscle repair 3 years ago and while I put on a lot of weight since then, none of it was in my stomach. You can see in my before photos that, while I was quite fat, my stomach was still flat. Edit: I should definitely post some progress photos now that I'm in Onederland!

I am so sorry for you. It's definitely frustrating that insurance companies don't cover WLS or have such ridiculous requirements for you to qualify. I ended up having to self-pay, because my insurance wouldn't cover WLS unless I had been at a BMI of 40 for the past 5 years. Well, I actually lost weight on my own 3 years ago and then regained it over time. They were basically punishing me for having at least TRIED to do it on my own. So unless I wanted to stay fat for at least 2-3 more years, they wouldn't cover it. And who knows what kind of toll staying that fat for another couple of years would take on my health! I went to Mexico for my surgery. I know that seems really scary to a lot of people, but it was an incredibly positive experience for me and I was able to have the surgery for a price I could afford, with one of the best surgeons in the world. However, even if you travel for your surgery like I did, it's still thousands of dollars out of pocket and that can be tough for normal people unless they have access to financing. I personally was able to borrow against my retirement for the money.

I'm hardly a "veteran" at 19 weeks post-op, but here's my somewhat usual routine: 8:30 am - I take my birth control, first multi-Vitamin, probiotic, and vitamin B12 before leaving for work 9:00 am - at work I eat my first Protein bar of the day, almost always a chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavored Questbar 9:45 am - I have my first cup of coffee (I was allowed coffee again at 30 days post-op) 12:30 pm - I take my second multi-vitamin, Vitamin C, coq10, and Omega 3. I have lunch. Always high protein. Today I had turkey chili, but I usually just have whatever leftovers I have around (chicken, sausage. meatloaf...). 2:30 pm - I have Dannon Light & Fit greek yogurt as a snack at work. Today I'm out of that, so I'm having an organic beef stick. 3:30 pm - I have my second cup of coffee. 5:00 pm - I get home from work and take my first dose of Calcium +D3, vitamin E, Beef Gelatin, and an extra D3 capsule (since it's winter) 7:00 pm - I eat whatever dinner my husband has cooked. I always just have the meat from whatever he's having, so if he makes chicken and rice, I'll just have some chicken. If he makes shrimp and Pasta, I just have the shrimp. If he makes meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I just have the meatloaf. You get the picture. 9:30 pm - I have my last cup of coffee, followed shortly by my last dose of calcium +D3, my antacid (20mg prilosec), and my last Protein Bar. I drink Water throughout the day. I keep a bottle full on my desk at work and I have a glass beside me at all times when I'm home. My surgeon only requires that I stop drinking 5 minutes before eating (I have it super easy compared to some people I guess) and not start again until 20 minutes after eating. So it's never really even a thought for me. Five minutes is really no time to wait before eating and I am usually so full after eating, that I don't feel like drinking anything until about 40 minutes afterward anyway.

Some people experience pain, some people don't. I had BAD "cramps", felt just like menstrual cramps, the first full day post-op until the removed my drain. As soon as the drain was out, I had no more serious pain, just occasional gas pain. I never had any pain from any of my incisions. But don't fret! Even if you are in real pain now, it's unlikely to last more than a couple of days. Trust me, you will have far more issues in the next couple of weeks than a little pain. The first few weeks were rough for me. Always uncomfortable, frustrated at not being able to eat or drink anything without being miserable, always tired, always grouchy... It was NO FUN at all, but 19 weeks post-op, it's all a distant memory now. Hang in there!