Gaintheworld

I didn't have any stitches removed, they put glue on the incisions had only two tiny tiny incisions and one large one at belly button. Personally I didn't need pain meds after 1 st day. Had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work the next Monday. Biggest problem for me was fatigue the first few weeks after surgery.

I had 3, 2 were very tiny and one at the belly button.

I told the truth, I've found that everyone has been supportive. People are naturally curious about it and answer their questions the best I can. I hope that having that accountability by having told everyone, that I will stay true to myself and the plan and not gain it back. I don't want to screw up this opportunity.

Hi Gaintheworld! Sounds like your doing really well. Even tho you feel your loss is slow. Did you have bypass or sleeve? You lost quite a bit prior to surgery. Good for you. I wish you luck! We're all here to cheer you and each other on! I'm always around if you need to talk. How are you feeling? Thanks for the encouragement, I had the sleeve and am happy with the progress so far. I've gone from a size 22 to a 16 and am feeling so much better mentally and physically. The first 6 weeks, I was really tired but other than that no pain or complications. Good luck on you're journey!

My loss has also been slow. Age 40, 5'4. Started at 243 in August. Surgery 12/8 @ 222. Today, 197my goal is to lose 100 lbs total.

My doc, Dr Duc Voung, wrote a great book for sleevers: Ultimate Gastric Sleeve Success. In it he talks about the 21 day exception where you choose 21 days out of the year, where you may not eat totally on plan because life happens and you cannot be perfect all the time. He instructs us to eat the most nutritious food we can most of the time, knowing there will be exceptions. We can't eat like that every day and expect to be successful, but we can't always be perfect. So brush it off and don't beat yourself up, you can get back on track tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I had mine removed before surgery. Highly recommend you have it taken out before you find yourself in an emergency situation. I knew I had stones, but thought I would take my chances and try home remedies that I read about online to get rid of them. They didn't work...ended up with pancreatitis because a stone got lodged in pancreatic duct and spent 5 days in hospital for something that would have normally been a short stay. Also, I can say that it can be highly painful if the stones get stuck. Thought I was having a heart attack, severe chest pains, sweating, nausea... It's definitely no fun.

I'm only 10 days out , and am allowed mushy foods now. I can eat a whole egg or 4 oz yogurt without discomfort.

I'm 10 days out and my tongue still feels strange, kind of like when you scald it, but I didn't. Also still have metallic taste in mouth all the time. Chewing gum helps some, but even gum doesn't taste right. Did anyone else have this? How long did it last?

So thankful for gum, it makes me thirsty so I get a lot more water down while I'm chewing it.

My doc allows "mushy" foods at 10 days out if you can tolerate them. He says to dip and lick and be cautious and can go back to liquids if there is any pain.

Thank you! I am glad to hear this will be a temporary thing, was kind of worried it might be permanent.

I'm one week out and back at work. Have no pain, just major fatigue. Personally, I wouldn't want to be learning something new right now as my focus is not as good as normal due to the tiredness. Get lots of rest when you can, best of luck in your new job.

I just had my surgery this week. My surgeon had me do 1 week of 1200 calorie diet followed by 2 weeks of optifast. I lost about 13 lbs during those weeks. I had lost a few lbs prior to that. Started at 243, day of surgery was 222. Losing 15 is very doable on optifast, if you follow program during those weeks. Good luck to you.

I'm a pension administrator. Talk to your hR or plan rep. Each plan is different in the types of loans and withdrawals that are allowed. Loans are not taxable to you unless you default on them or terminate employment. Then the unpaid balance becomes taxable income in the year of default. Loan payments are deducted from payroll on an after tax basis. Some plans offer hardship distributions where you can make a withdrawal to pay medical expenses. However hardships are taxable income in most cases. I would recommend talking to your tax preparer about how much to have withheld for taxes on your hardships. Also beware that you can sometimes throw yourself into a higher tax bracket with the income from a hardship.

Went really well for me too. No real gas pain yet. Hardest part was recovering from anesthesia, made me nauseous. After that I've felt little pain.

Good luck everyone...I am also scheduled for tomorrow morning. Bag is packed.. Kids on the way to grandmas... Time for a good nights rest????

Mine will be the same, in Tuesday morning, out Thursday

I had my last pre op nut visit today(surgery next week). They gave us calendars with the dates marked so we would know when to transition to each stage. It was very helpful, she said when you transition you can always go back a stage if you need to because your stomach isn't ready yet..each person will be different on how quickly they are comfortable reintroducing certain foods.

I'm scheduled for surgery next week. The program at my hospital used our initial weight from the first visit to submit to insurance. I was borderline, but they still ask us to lose as much as possible and work on better eating habits prior to surgery. They require patients to lose 10% before surgery. I think the pre-reqs vary widely by surgeon.