CatKaren

Truthfully I wear my scars as a badge of honor. I had open gall bladder surgery DECADES before laproscopic surgery. I. have a 10 inch scare from that. I had a lap hysterectomy, and a couple years ago, I had my apendix removed, then a VSG 9 weeks ago. I'll never wear a bikini again, but I HAVE gone to clothing optional resorts. I earned the scars, and for me they are my history. Just say in.

I don't know if my surgeons takes larger patients, but it's worth a try, so give him a call. He is Dr. John Yadegar. His practice is in Palmdale. I drove in from Palm Springs. It's a two hour, plus, drove for me. The doctor is awesome. Superb bedside manner, compassionate office staff, and Palmdale Hospital is the bomb. We have a crack Bariatric team at Desert Regional, in Palm Springs as well. One of the Drs is refered to as Dr. Bobby. Look through the on line yellow pages for both of these doctor's numbers. I believe Dr. Y does the DS.

I made my own broth, but chill it and scoop off the chicken fat before you eat it.

Wow, how far out are you? I'm 7 weeks and if I ate hakf that I'd be on the potty with my head in the trash basket sliming my arse off. Thank you for your confession. I did a no- no today. Hubby left his Ruby Red soda out and I snuck a gulp. Shame on me. Why don't you join me on My Fitness Pal. I am CatKaren I agree Tammy.

I HATE those sweet shakes. I now use Gene Pro. Its 30g of flavorless protien in ONE tablespoon. You heard me right. Google it. I add it to my yogurt in the AM. The food thing gets easier. I started on pulled pork yesterday. Oh, I'm 7 weeks out. I'm eating meat, chicken, some pork, and I've made beef stew and ate it with no problem. Just have to chew well. I also measure out how much to eat. Don't push to hard. Eat to much or to fast, and the food comes back up, and you wind up "sliming", that is saliva that is foamy.

I don't use an incline on the machine I use in our club house. I also don't speed it up much. The idea is moderation. Go for distance rather then killing yourself with speed. Today was my first day back in the gym. I did 20 minutes spinning at about a 50 rotations per minute, set on easy, a 3 out of 20. I was not able to spin that long pre surgery. Tonight, I'm feeling good, no pain. I worked my armd and abs as well......and girl....I'm 59 years old.

Seriously, I would opt out. Here's why. Amusment parks are huge. You'd be doing a lot of walking. What do you do if you get tired? You can't take a nap. Then there is the problem of food. At 2 weeks out, most likely your on full liquids. I don't think your going to find yogurt, or cottage cheese at the park. There will be other times, and you will be a skinny mini. Opt out this time around and rest at home where you will be comfortable. Side note, decades ago, I had just had gall bladder surgery. My bff flew in and wanted to go to Disneyland. It was a BIG mistake. Even though we rented a wheel chair, I got very fatigued. I ate junk food, and it took me a few days to get back into a healing mode. I'm 7 weeks out, and I'm still being conservative in what I do, where I go, and what I eat. I JUST went on my first social outing where there was a reception with food. Lots of cookies and carbonated punch. Thank God they had cheese...and I was smart enough to bring my own beverage. Treat yourself kind and be selfish fir just a bit longer.

I'm with you on the sweetness of the shakes. In fact, I was gagging on them, so I stopped drinking them. I craved savory. Then I found Gene Pro. It is a suitable protien that does not thicken your liquid base, has virtually no taste, and ONE scoop, that is ONE TABLESPOON! Seriously, this stuff kicks butt. I add it to my morning yogurt. 30g of protien. I got it on Amazon.

I only had 4 cuts. These are high up on your belly. One was about 1 1/2 inches. Thats where they pull out your stomach. The second was in a scar that I had from a previous surgery. One tiny cut right where my bra would hit, and a tiny cut where the drain was. I'd suggest getting a soft sports bra so the bra line cut won't get rubbed. I got a Geni bra from Wal Mart. The tube, they pull that out before you eake up. Be aware, when you wake up, you will have an oxygen mask on, so don't panic. I stuck my finger between the mask and my face. It helped with feeling claustrophobic.

I stayed in my hospital gown. I did take a shower. They gave me soap, a tooth brush, and paste, even though I brought mine. They gave me booties, so no need for slippers either. They will have you up and walking soon after surgery.

I'm not typical. I had virtually no pain. In fact, the nurse asked me why I wasn't using the pain pump. I didn't need it. I did take the nausea meds though. Anesthesia makes me ill, and as a vetran of several surgeries I knew what to ask for.

I find this interesting, that you mentioned two things that I am knowledgeable with. Coconut oil and good quality soap. I make soap and body butters. Both contain coconut oil, essential oils, and can also contain almond, avocado, EVOO, apricot oil, and Argon oil depending on what formulation I use. Handcrafted soap is awesome.

I really didn't have a food funeral. My problem is Diet Coke. I stopped that the day before surgery. I just found 6 cans of soda I had forgotten about. They are still where I put them. They are there for company, not me.

I use Celebrate vitamins as well. My flavor is Very Berry, and the Calcium is also Berry.

From start to finish, it took me about a year. I even had a sleep study done. The time will pass quickly.