Djmohr

Don't be nervous. Most people only need the pain meds for a few days and yes they send you home on liquid pain medications. The worst pain is that lousy gas they use to expand your tummy. The pain meds don't really help that, what helps is heat packs, walking and sipping Water. I was on dilaudid the first day, the next day in the hospital they started me on liquid Vicodin (I am allergic to Percocet). I was in the hospital 2 nights, got home on wed. Took the Vicodin for moderate discomfort on Thursday and by Friday I stopped taking anything. They will make sure you have good pain control before you leave the hospital. I have been hospitalized before for pain control and honestly for me this surgery was more about discomfort that severe pain. You tend to be a bit nauseous and they give you meds for that as well. Good luck on your surgery and try not to worry.

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch Oh I know. I wear two rings, my wedding band set which has the engagement ring, wedding band and 25 year anniversary band all soldered together and then a journey band on my right hand. To size both of them is quite a production because of their design, especially my journey band. Anyway, at 3 months post I had ring guards installed and wore them until that too was too big. I had them downsized 3 sizes in May. Well since that time I have lost another 50+ pounds and they are both dangerously loose again. I had very chubby hands and a very big neck and wrists and I love jewelry. My husband loves giving good jewelry as gifts and of course I appreciate it but all of my necklaces are too big, my bracelets literally slide off my wrists given I am basically at goal and still losing. I guess hubby just has to replace a lot of my jewelry. OH DARN! LOL!

16 months post op and if I don't take a stool softener with laxative twice a day, I don't go. I never knew how bad constipation could be. Unfortunately this seems to be the worst part post surgery for me anyway.

I had bypass and had pineapple beginning around month 4 post op. I can eat a few bites but more than that and I get what I would describe as near dumping. I am careful but I do eat it once in a while. For me it is about quantity.

Yes, I am 16 months post op and I have to take two doses of stool softener with a laxative to stay regular. I am taking narcotic pain medicine daily since November but even before that I had to take it twice a day.

@@Babbs I had the same thing happen. I lost a half size and of course all the wide width. Shoes I bought about 3 months post op are sloppy on me now. Of course I always spend serious money on shoes so I had only bought a couple pair but I am bummed that they no longer fit.

If it were me I would literally go back to the basics, start following all the rules that you know work. Protein - 1 gram for every inch you are tall Water - 48 to 64 oz per day Vitamins - whatever your doc prescribed for you No drinking 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after Exercise - start by walking 30 minutes per day Stop eating all processed foods, sugar, Pasta, rice, bread. Start eating good dense protein, good fats and great vegetables and small amounts of fruit. Reset yourself. If you go back to the basics the weight will start coming off again. My most helpful tool is logging my food so I know exactly where I am with all my nutrients. Yes, I even log the bad stuff so I hold myself accountable but more so because it helps me make better choices if I stray. For example, I plan to have delicious Balestreries pizza tonight for dinner. It is a thin crispy crust pizza and it is delicious. Knowing that will put some bad fat and carbs in for the day and not enough protein, I plan my Breakfast and lunch to balance and ensure I get proper protein and keep the bad carbs to a minimum. I will have a Protein shake for breakfast as I always do, for lunch I will have some left over baked chicken breast and cucumber salad. I will likely not need a snack today.

Good for you! I love shopping so much now that I wish I could be someone's personal shopper. LOL! I could spend their money instead of mine. One problem though, I would be the person trying clothes on like a crazy woman! I just love seeing all the stuff right off the rack that I can fit in to. I could spend the whole week in a dressing room. A few months ago I went shopping for a sweater dress. The dressing room was loaded with about 25 different dresses that someone left in there. I found myself trying them on just to see if they fit me! LOL It's like a challenge now! Thank goodness I really do have some willpower!

Nicely done! You look fantastic! Congratulations!

I just drink my 11oz. Premier Protein shake, it has 30grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar. I miss my workouts!

@@Pedro Valle-Inclan Geez, I brought my phone and my iPad. I just had my hubby hold on to them until I was out of surgery and back in my room. I never slept a wink that first day and night. No one was stealing my stuff. LOL! I slept the second night but very lightly.

Honestly you may absolutely hate them after surgery. It is really weird but anything overly sweet is absolutely disgusting. I made the mistake of buying some chews as well and they were so good, after every time I ate one I gagged. Now I have this giant tub of sweat tart Bariatric Calcium citrate. They are even more disgusting. I was going to throw them out and find something new but they so expensive so I just use them and shiver every time I eat one. After this container I will get some chocolate chews, I like those. You really do learn to control yourself after surgery.

You are likely withdrawing from sugar. It will get better, I promise!

It is all about dehydration. Sip sip sip. For he what worked easiest was literally holding my cup in my hand and sipping about once every minute. Until I started doing that I could not get enough fluids in me. Good luck!

I can drink normal and have been able to probably since 6 months out. I don't gulp because that introduces air and air hurts like hell even now. I also use a straw and have learned to drink without sucking air. Yes, before anyone scolds me, my team knows I am drinking from a straw. I had cervical spinal fusion of 3 levels making it difficult to drink from a cup without a straw and then I just kept doing it. I have never had a problem with the straw either.

Woot woot! Congratulations!

Congratulations and welcome!

@@Sammie16 Hi there! I am 16 months post op bypass and have had a lot of positive health changes after losing 141lbs. I am less than 5lbs from my ideal weight and for the first time since I was a teen I am a normal BMI. Bypass resolved diabetes, apnea,anemia, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe Gerd and stage 3 kidney disease. I am very very glad I had this surgery. It also resolved severe pains in my feet, ankles and knees. Unfortunately I have severe osteo arthritis which impacts my spine and I have psoriatic arthritis which impacts many other joints in my body. Before bypass I had 4 back surgeries including a lower lumbar fusion. I was really hoping losing all this weight would improve my back. For me that has not happened but I don't believe it has anything to do with having bypass. I believe my disease and age, I waited to long is why I still have severe back issues as well as other joints. In June, I had a 3 level cervical fusion because I had severe stenosis and spinal cord flattening. In November we went in and removed a neurostimulator I had implanted for nerve pain in my lower lumbar. We had hoped that this would resolve severe thoracic pain I have been experiencing for the last year. It didn't. I have been in pt for several months and Tuesday we do an MRI to find out what is happening. For years I was pain medication free. In November I could not take the pain any longer and have been taking Vicodin daily. I know that if I still weighed 310lbs my back would be in a much worse situation and there are many on here who have had a lot of pain relief in their backs. I believe because mine is related to severe osteoarthritis of the spine, no amount of weight loss can resolve that damage. I don't know what your situation is but I share my story to help enlighten others not to wait too long to get the weight off their bodies. Once the damage is done there is no turning back. I wish you the very best of luck and hope that your WLS resolves some or all of your pain.

I occasionaly will have a few orange segments. They don't bother me at all. The peels from an apple or pear don't work for me but everything else is fine.

Have you called your doctor? Maybe you have something going on that is causing that feeling. I have had days where I feel that way and then days where I am not hungry at all. Many times for me a simple cup of skim milk does the trick and stops the madness.

I am so glad they figured this out and you are on the road to recovery! Welcome to a whole new wonderful life. You deserve it after what you have been through!

I would also add that what is interesting is understanding how many obese people are actually malnourished! I was shocked to learn this but the reality is many are eating the wrong things even though they are eating a lot. I know I myself had big issues with macronutrients even when I weighed 310lbs. I had more dental issues at that time, I was anemic as well and severe arthritis which could be related to the crap I ate. I did not eat a lot and what I was eating was not providing good nutrition. My family could not understand how I could possible weigh 310lbs because I did not eat a lot. What I did eat was definately not healthy. If I have learned anything through this journey, you really are what you eat.

This is all about follow up to ensure you are getting proper macronutrients. Many do not realize when you choose to have weight loss surgery it comes with lifetime of Vitamins and annual blood tests to ensure your levels are correct. Many have the surgery and at some point think they don't need to continue to take Calcium and other vitamins and they stop following up with their Bariatric teams. Many general doctors have no idea how to follow a post Bariatric patient so it's important that you have proper follow up.

@@claddagh66 When I started the process I was planning on the sleeve. I suffered from very severe Gerd in which I coughed everyday for over a year. The acid was so bad that it actually made me cough like that and nothing resolved it. They had me on the max dose of nexium and no where to go. When I saw the surgeon he recommended bypass instead of sleeve. I did a ton of research and ended up getting the bypass. I am so very glad I did. It cured my reflux completely. They had me take nexium for the first 30 days following surgery and then stopped it. I have never had even the slightest bit of heartburn and I am down 141lbs, less than 5lbs from goal. It also resolved many other medical issues for me including diabetes, stage 3 kidney disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and anemia. Don't be afraid of bypass, it works!

@@bugsy72 Hi there! I buy chocolate chai tea from Teavanna. There is cocoa nib in the tea it is not something I add. It has a subtle hint of chocolate and lovely chai spices. It is a loose tea and wonderful treat. I order mine online. You can buy a 2 oz. sample and try it. I loved it so much that I bought a whole pound of it. LOL!