Hipigrl

My NSV this week - I ordered new jeans from the Old Navy clearance section online. Was wearing 24 before I started the surgery program in March, ordered a 20 & a 18 thinking that should take me though Christmas (had the surgery on July 1). Got them in the mail on Saturday, tried them on and they were both too big! I have to go to the store and exchange them for 16 and 14 maybe! My elation really comes from the fact that I ordered them from the normal women's section, not plus size, so I CAN go to the store to exchange instead of having to mail them back in! Both aspects make me happy! Woohoo! I also order a clearance skirt in Large thinking I would be there in a few months, would be nice to have ready for then. Well, it fits NOW! Double woohoos!

14 lbs. the first week, 30 after surgery so far and I am in week 5.

@theatrejo I forgot to say anything about the pain. When I woke up from surgery the only real pain I had was a sore throat from the surgery. My incisions never really bothered me, the gas was uncomfortable but not painful for me, and that was about it. However, 9 days after my surgery, I woke up with major pain my right shoulder. Everyone had said to worry about the left, and this did not seem to be what I had been told to watch for. It felt like tendonitis, which I have had once before. I waited all day, and then as it was getting worse and worse, I went to a doc-in-the-box, and explained that I thought I had tendonitis, that I knew I needed and anti-inflammatory but was unable to take one because of the recent bariatric surgery. They gave me a shot of torridol (spelling?) and within minutes I was out of pain. THey took x-rays and came to the conclusion it really was tendonitis. The doc said she thought it could have been caused by lying on the operating table for an hour and a half or so. But, the point to this is, call your surgeon before it gets too bad. I wish I had called mine that morning, and if it happens again I will call his office before I do something stupid like wait all day and then go to a doc in the box.

Here are the issue I ran across: Make sure you are stocked up on recovery liquids before you get home from the hospital. I did not have the juice, popsicles, and broths that I needed and I really did not feel well enough to get them myself. My husband is not a good grocery shopper and I had to send him back a few times to get the right stuff. Walk walk walk. If you do have gas pain, walking really does help to get rid of it. Take before pictures. You will want to see how much better you look even just a few weeks afterwards! Expect to feel a drop in your energy. I took two weeks off from work but still was not prepared for how little energy I would have once I went back. Even now I have issues with feeling so tired all the time. But I am just beginning my 5th post-op week and I am told over and over again that this will get better. Especially as I get more protein! Get your bariatric Vitamins before the surgery! Find the right Protein supplements before the surgery! I am still struggling to choke down ones that I do not like as I try to find one I do like. Expect to have very watery poops for a few weeks - my surgeon said "liquids in liquids out". Don't worry too much about this, it is normal. Especially if you have to do a bowel prep the day before your surgery. Do not trust a fart! Expect to not feel like yourself for a little while. I have heard that for women especially, your hormones are really out of whack as your weight drops. I was not so all over the place, but a friend of mine who had the same procedure done a few months earlier, she wept all the time, even when she was happy. It lasted for about 2 months for her. Make sure you have comfortable clothes to wear for the first few weeks. Um.... I think that is about it for things I wish I knew before I had my surgery! Hope it helps.

I have been "heavy" my entire life, but I started getting morbidly obese about 15 yeas ago after a back injury. I had two back surgeries, first one 8/2007, second one in 11/2009. I also broke my left ankle (for the 5th time) in 10/2010. After a major foot surgery in 3/2011, I decided to go for the sleeve. About a month out from surgery, I got pregnant and abandoned my WLS plans for the time being. I had the baby (best thing ever!!) and got back on track for surgery in October of 2013. I then caught the NORO virus from my kid and spend two days sitting on the toilet and vomiting into the waste basket. That freaked me out so much that I backed off from the surgery. My back and foot pain was getting worse (one of the five screws in my foot/ankle had broken and wow, the pain has been intense!) and all the doctors were telling me it would never get better until I lost about 100 lbs. at least. At the time, I was about 330. The doctor for my foot told me that he would have to take out all the pins, put in thicker ones, and reinforce the area with steal plates. This did not sound like it was going to help get me out of pain. So, back to the bariatric surgeon. I started with this again in February of 2015. My doc put me on a diet pill to help with appetite suppression, and I lost almost 50 lbs. from March 2015 - June 2015. It took a while to get all of the insurance requirements met, but it was finally approved, and my surgery was on July1. This is my 4th week post-op, and while it has not been easy, I would not go back. I had the sleeve because I did not want to have as many issues with malnutrition as I have heard can happen with bypass. I know that I will eventually get to eat real food again, just not nearly as much, and I am so happy with the weight loss. The biggest issue I am having is getting my Protein. I am a vegetarian and the idea of drinking milk repulses me. I am not a vegan, will eat cheese and yogurt, it is just milk that grosses me out. Soy milk was not something I wanted to try, but I find the light vanilla and light chocolate is palatable. I am still experimenting with different protein supplements, but I feel confident I will eventually find one that I can get down. I have found a few suggestion on this forum that give me hope. :-)

My husband said after I went in, it was about 3.5 hours before they got him to come see me in my room.

I have been "heavy" my entire life, but I started getting morbidly obese about 15 yeas ago after a back injury. I had two back surgeries, first one 8/2007, second one in 11/2009. I also broke my left ankle (for the 5th time) in 10/2010. After a major foot surgery in 3/2011, I decided to go for the sleeve. About a month out from surgery, I got pregnant and abandoned my WLS plans for the time being. I had the baby (best thing ever!!) and got back on track for surgery in October of 2013. I then caught the NORO virus from my kid and spend two days sitting on the toilet and vomiting into the waste basket. That freaked me out so much that I backed off from the surgery. My back and foot pain was getting worse (one of the five screws in my foot/ankle had broken and wow, the pain has been intense!) and all the doctors were telling me it would never get better until I lost about 100 lbs. at least. At the time, I was about 330. The doctor for my foot told me that he would have to take out all the pins, put in thicker ones, and reinforce the area with steal plates. This did not sound like it was going to help get me out of pain. So, back to the bariatric surgeon. I started with this again in February of 2015. My doc put me on a diet pill to help with appetite suppression, and I lost almost 50 lbs. from March 2015 - June 2015. It took a while to get all of the insurance requirements met, but it was finally approved, and my surgery was on July1. I am 23 days out of surgery, just started my 4th week post-op, and while it has not been easy, I would not go back. I had the sleeve because I did not want to have as many issues with malnutrition as I have heard can happen with bypass. I know that I will eventually get to eat real food again, just not nearly as much, and I am so happy with the weight loss. The biggest issue I am having is getting my Protein. I am a vegetarian and the idea of drinking milk repulses me. I am not a vegan, will eat cheese and yogurt, it is just milk that grosses me out. Soy milk was not something I wanted to try, but I find the light vanilla and light chocolate is palatable. I am still experimenting with different protein supplements, but I feel confident I will eventually find one that I can get down. I have found a few suggestion on this forum that give me hope. :-) I hope this info has helped. Good luck!

I took two weeks off, but my third day back I had to go home early, I was feeling extremely light headed and nauseous. After slowly sipping some diluted juice and napping, I felt much better. It's been 23 days since my VGS and I feel pretty good. My energy level is still not what it was pre-diet, but my weight related pain levels are seriously down and I feel like I am doing better than I was pre-surgery. I lost almost 50 lbs. over 4 months before the surgery, and have lost 25 more since the surgery. I fit everything better, I have had to get rid of some clothes already, and even my feet seem to be slimmer! I think the (hopefully temporary) energy drop is worth the elation I every time I look in the mirror!

I use the Celebrate Chewable Nutritional supplements. I am at the beginning of week four post op, my surgery was on July 1, and I have not been very good about taking the Vitamins at all. I hate the taste and the chalkiness. I considered taking my son's gummy Avengers, but since I am already anemic and had B deficiencies for year prior to the surgery, I will choke these down until they are gone. My doc told me that after the first 30 days I can start taking a pill instead of the chewable. I am a bit concerned with the nausea factor though. Taking vitamins without having a decent amount of food in my stomach has caused me to become very nauseous in the past. And it is still another 5 week before I am allowed solid foods. Any suggestions on what kind of vitamins contain Iron and B12 and does not make you nauseous?