Wheetsin

I'm a little over 2 weeks out and have not had any nausea at all.

I really don't want to be "that guy" but all Proteins are not created equal. Make sure the Protein is a good type of protein. There are many commercially available proteins that our body can do very little with, so even though we're ingesting 80 gm of protein, that doesn't mean our bodies are actually able to use 80gm. If that gel product is based on a collagen protein (I assume it is simply because of its makeup, but I don't know for sure), it's an incomplete protein and really shouldn't be used as a protein supplement. We need really high quality proteins. There's a scale used to rate proteins. It's called the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score, or PDCAA. The scale ranges from 0 - 1. Proteins like casein and whey are top-rated with a score of 1. Collagen proteins vary from 0 to 0.08. I've never seen one get a higher rating than 0.08. So out of 100 possible points, it gets 8. That's basically junk.

If I were in your shoes I would probably call my surgeon or nurse or whomever you have access to. At 3 weeks I don't think your pain should be so much that you are averse to drinking. I'm two weeks out and can drink most things comfortably. In the last few days I've been able to take & swallow about 3 small mouthfuls at a time (I'm sipping through a straw). Really thick liquids sit uncomfortably for a bit, but do not hurt. At first everything hurt, but only for the first few days. If you're taking very small sips, and eating the allowed foods very slowly and in very small amounts, it might be time to get some professional input.

The scars are nothing. They're tiny compared to other WLS, and unless you have a tendency to keloid will probably virtually disappear in a few years. I've had two lap WLS and a lap GB removal, so my scars are a bit more messy, but one of them has now been cut open 4 times. But really, who cares. You're gaining so much more. A few scars is nothing. As for driving, when you're off pain meds and can comfortably turn are the guidelines I go by, but you will be given discharge instructions that should including something specific from the place where your surgery is done.

It's all normal. Tip - don't get on the scale every day. It will only concern you.

BTW I believe the CPT is still 43775. (Just saw that someone above listed the same, so hopefully there's truth in numbers!)

I have Anthem BCBS of CA and my sleeve revision was covered.

My surgery was done in KS but not through that practice, so I can't help with feedback on them or their facilities.

I lost about 40 my first week, including a 2-day pre-op diet, but I'm high BMI and was still very dehydrated when weighed at my 1 week post-op.

"Almost a month out" - virtually everyone experiences a stall around week 3. With my band I hit in from about week 2.5 to about week 4.5. It's your body reacting to the "emergency" you've just put it through. Remember your body doesn't have a brain. It can't rationalize, it thinks it is starving, and is going to react in a way so as to preserve itself. That reaction (unfortunately for our frail psyches) usually includes a postponement of weightloss, and quite possibly a slight weight gain. Two very important things to remember when you start to despair... 1. Weight is not the same as fat. You can weigh the same, or more, and be less fat than you were. This will almost guaranteed be true multiple times. 2. Like investments, you can't look at things in the short term. This is why I hate the scale, it's such a short term de/motivator. You're looking for a sustained average of a couple of pounds a week. So far, you're way above that average. 5 lbs a week cannot be sustained.

I made hummus tonight with roasted edamame, which is easily my favorite veggie. Seasoned with some soy sauce. And now I have heartburn. (the nectar protein drink with SF lemonade mix added could have something to do with it)

Mashed potatoes have about 4g of protein per 1/2 C. They're a pretty crappy protein source. For the same volume of food, you could get about 3x the protein from a good Greek yogurt. I'm not trying to be a "food nazi" - eat what you want, of course. I just didn't want you to be eating mashed potatoes for the sake of protein (as you said) when they actually have very little protein.

This is a good opportunity to show how different each experience can be. I'm 2 weeks post-op and haven't really been hungry once. I have a really, really hard time getting to - say - 45g of Protein a day purely because of capacity. If I eat one of my Vitamins, I'm stuffed for at least an hour, so there's 3 hours right there. I've been allowed soft foods for about a week now but haven't even tried them because I can't get in the basics yet. Soft foods will be my "reward" for hitting protein requirements. Around 7 I had some homemade black bean Soup (Beans fully pulverized with an immersion blender), with some Protein powder added. I ate way less than 2 oz (about 1.25oz) and still feel so stuffed that my Protein Drink sits here getting watery because it doesn't feel like I can drink anything just yet.

Call your nutritionist and tell them. There are cases for which they can make exceptions, i.e. diabetics. They'd rather you call and see if they need to make some adjustments, than have you "cheat". The liquid diet pre-op is very important, not just for shrinking the liver. My pre-op diet was 2 days of sugar free liquids. Normally "sugar free" and "liquid" is what they're after. So do call and see if you can add in any other sugar free liquid items such as Jello or popsicles. Maybe not, but it won't hurt to ask.

Ok, I had to drink a bottle of this stuff pre-op. My pre-op instructions said to take it between 1pm and 5pm the day before surgery. I finished mine around 4pm. It made me feel a little queasy because it was so vile, and I'd burp the flavor. Around 11pm I had a teeny, tiny little movement, tiny, but it reeked of the magnesium citrate. It finally kicked in for me around 6am the morning of surgery. I had to go 2 or 3 times before we left, and about 5 times at the hospital. My surgery was at 9 and my surgeon stopped by around 8:30. I pretty much told him that I'm sorry if I poop on the table, but it was his fault. I have no idea if I did or not, but I had no issues once I woke up. The worst part was that since it didn't kick in until after I could no longer drink fluids, I got pretty severely dehydrated. It took about 12 attempts to get an IV started. They'd get a catheter into the vein, and the veil would just collapse. They couldn't even flush it. At one point I was laying in my prep gurney with 8 different IV kits sticking out of my arms, because they didn't want to remove any of them until they found something definitely better. So I guess my advice would be that if you have to take the magnesium citrate the day before, really, really load up on as many fluids as you can.

I'm 2 weeks out and have a terribly loud stomach now. I get the gurgling, both in my stomach and in my esophagus. I had the esophagus gurgle with my band but the stomach gurgle is new. I also get "whining" - not sure how else to describe it. And typical digestion sounds but on a greatly amplified scale. Apparently it woke my husband up last night. I sure hope it doesn't get louder!

I had a lapband about 6 years ago. Honestly I lost a lot of weight with it without having to try too hard. But the stats are miserable. Through people I've met IRL and virtual, I've seen hundreds of people having their bands taken out. Of the 40+ I personally know who have been banded 5+ years, I know of one person who still has their lapband. She is showing symptoms of a slip, but is too scared to seek follow-up and opting to "live with it." I have 0% trust in it as a long term tool. Zero. It is virtually a fact that it will have to come out within 10 years. And then what? Lots of people think they can keep the weight off themselves (me included), but there are some powerful mental physical reasons why most people will fail. Those who fail tend to develop eating disorders to cope. Show your wife some of the current lapband stats. Have her look (as someone else suggested) at the band -> sleeve revision forum here. Or have her look in the complications area at lapbandtalk.com. I started a thread there a while ago called something like "Who has their band 5+ years out?" - very sad thread. I understand that marriage is a partnership, but this really does need to be your decision. You're the one who will have to live with it. I wasn't a candidate for re-banding when I found out I had slip. After a day or two I was completely OK with that. I knew, no doubt, that if I got a band again I would be in the same place - again needing surgery for a band complication - 1, 2, 5 years later and that time I would probably have longer term health conditions because of it (the upper GI can only take so much of nasties like GERD).

The 11 pimples turned into more like 17 since my last post. Big puffy red ones, that overnight turned into small and medium sized whiteheads. I know enough to leave them alone, just cleanse as normal (over-treating can cause dryness, which can exacerbate breakouts) and this morning there was a huge improvement. Hopefully it'll just get better from here. Cream cleaner in the shower every morning, about 15 warm Water splashes and some 100% witch hazel on a cotton ball at night have done me well for years & years & years. I'm trying hard not to cheat on them. (Good tip, for me personally my skin is too sensitive for benzoyl products, they dry me terribly to the point where I get scaly and almost look burned, but it's a good tip for people who can tolerate benzoyl products)

Thinned fruit sauces, vegetable juices, yogurt, pudding thinned custard, my plan included cream of wheat and thinned oatmeal, Carnation instant Breakfast, any Soup blenderized (lots of people like bean & bacon). Hummus thinned with extra tahini, my plan also allowed cottage cheese, french onion soup strained. I love cream of asparagus, cream of shrimp and cream of onion (I make them myself, I don't like canned soups), Subway makes a good broccoli cream soup, blenderized ham & potato soup. I make a hot wing dip with canned chicken, hot sauce and cream cheese - blended with some FF milk to thin that has been AWESOME. I blenderized ranch style black Beans and mixed with light sour cream and hot sauce, then thinned with FF milk until it was a soupy consistency. Probably the best tasting thing I've had post-op. Hint: blenderizing a chipotle bol tastes horrible. (Tried that with my lapband) Cottage cheese (blended), FF milk powder, and unflavored Protein can be added to any of the above for extra protein, as long as you're able to eat & tolerate milk products.

Lettuce wraps. I make my own with tofu, ground chicken and ground pork. Usually bamboo shoots and Water chestnuts, but I'll definitely be leaving those out now. I will also be skipping the "lettuce wrap" part, and just eating the filling. Tofu doesn't have a lot of flavor on its own. It tends to take on whatever flavor you marinate it in. Soy sauce is a great marinade. You can also get soy/tofu noodles at lots of markets. Make your own stir fry with chicken (or meat of choice).

FMLA covers for 12 weeks per calendar year, not 6, I believe. A doctor's return to work note, if required, does not have to state the reason for the absence in any specific sense. It can reference "medical leave" or "surgery" in generic terms. 2bHotGirl: I once used the "female thing" since I work with 90% males. They all thought I was having a boob job.

Tiny silverware, and with my band I taught myself to chew until I didn't really need to swallow. The food will just sort of go down as it becomes chewed enough. Also cutting food into tiny bites, so I can't take too big of a bite at once.

Your boss legally cannot ask you why you are taking time off, and if you tell them it's medical, they cannot ask for any details. I told people I work with (to explain my unavailability) that I was on medical leave, and my out-of-office notification sttis I am on medical leave. No details needed.

It tkes a long time to adjust, especially if you were overweight for a long time. I lost about 200 lbs with my lapband and went from a 32+ to a 14/16/18. I had my lapband for a little under 6 years and still had never made the adjustment. I would see my own reflection and not know who it was at first. So... in 6 years I never fully adjusted, though I was getting to the point where I could eyeball clothes and make a good guess as to whether or not they'd fit. From my side... it thusly takes at least 6 years.

It varies A LOT by insurance company. If you call your company, they will tell you what their timeline is. Here's an example of how widely it varies. I submitted with Cigna initially. Their timeframe is at least 20, but no more than 30 business days. They denied my first submission, and that denial took 30 days. I appealed, and they approved. That appeal took 30 days. I submitted to BCBS and it took a little less than 2 days to be approved.