MNovalis

Maybe you could start small, like with just pumping your feet or with some hand weights? Then move on up to something more? Just anything to get moving :-)

Hi, I'm on day 8. I ventured into pureed baby foods last night. Mixed the pureed chicken with some chicken broth, salt, paprika and a dash of steak sauce and it was actually really, really good! I also tried some Oikos black label chocolate greek yogurt thinned out with a little skim milk and I mixed in some salted caramel protein powder. OMG! Amazing! Picked up a few different flavors of protein powder sample packets from the local Alpha Nutrition store today. Cant wait to try them. Got a pineapple coconut and one that is supposed to taste like the milk leftover from Fruity Pebbles cereal. Each one has about 25G of protein, 0 Sugar and only 1 carb. So, since they're freebies, guess I'll give them a try!

You'll get there. Just give it some time. Your tummy is not very happy with you right now. I was sleeved on 8/3 and I am ALMOST up to 64 oz per day. Its something you have to work at, thats for sure. I even keep a bottle next to my bed and if I wake up at night, I roll over and take a few sips. Every single chance you get, take an extra sip. And remember that since you'll be sipping your meals for a little while too, even sipping your protein counts. This is like a second job! Its WORK! But you can do it, YOU HAVE TO! And your tummy will protest. But find what helps it to protest the least and stick with that until you have healed enough to move along to something else. This part wont last forever, at least thats what they have told me on here. And there are some pretty cool people on here! Good luck!

I was having a pain under my left ribcage that was pretty bad. But it was more of a spasm type pain that went away after a few seconds. I called my Dr about it and the nurse asked a few questions, told me to take Milk of Magnesia and it should get better. Well, low and behold she was right! Seems it was something pretty common and I was thinking the worst!

I am 2 days post op and had to call the Dr today about a pain that keeps hitting me on my left side just under my ribcage. It comes like a spasm, lasts a few seconds then goes away. No fever, no nausea, just a quick spasm then its gone. The nurse said it was probably gas or i need to use a laxative. She said if it were serious, I would be deathly ill. Well... ..you'd better be right Missy! Sent from my LG-V410 using the BariatricPal App

Today is my first day home after my surgery and my only 'real' pain has been from the gas. There's some trapped under my left rib and in my shoulder. But I'm walking it off! My pain level in the hospital never went above a 3 or 4 on the pain scale. I only hit the morphine button once and that was right after surgery. I was in worse pain after my last baby was born and I had my tubes tied, honestly! Sent from my LG-V410 using the BariatricPal App

No longer counting down the months, weeks or even days. I am sitting at less than 18 hours until the time I have to be at the hospital.........WOW! I think back to when I sat my husband down and told him that I wanted to make this change and he asked me why (not to discourage me, but to hear my honest answer.) I told him I wanted to be healthy, to be able to play in the floor with our grandchildren, to be able to walk without getting out of breath, I TRULY want to grow old with him. He said, "Well then, lets do this!" And he has been AMAZING! So, in the wee hours of tomorrow morning that amazing man and I will travel 2 hours to the hospital to start this new leg of my journey. And even though it is MY journey, I couldn't have done it without his support. I pray that each and every one of you has that kind of support and encouragement in your own journeys. Well, back to fluids now! :-)

Well, after an overnight stay, I am back home! Trying to walk this dang gas off, Lol! But honestly, it really wasnt that bad. My throat is sore from the breathing tube, so its hard to swallow as much Fluid as I need, but I'll get there in a day or two. I've had a little nausea, but I've used my Lamaz breathing from over 20 years ago and I get through that. No regrets! Sent from my LG-V410 using the BariatricPal App

One of my co-workers had used the same surgeon as had 2 of her friends. They all LOVED this man, loved their results, loved his bedside manner, the staff, everything about their experience! When I was ready, I talked to her about using him. When she mentioned that he prayed with her before surgery, well that sealed the deal for me. I don't regret my decision one bit!

I cried reading that list! Then I printed it out! I'm carrying it with me everywhere I go!

My doctor has everyone do two weeks of Robards Meal Replacements (4 per day) with one 'real' meal allowed. The 'real' meal can only be from a very strict list of lean meat and green and/or non-starchy veggies mostly. No sugar, oil, butter, caffeine, carbs, etc. I've been on it for a week and have already dropped 10 lbs. But honestly, it isn't that bad. The chocolate shakes are actually pretty good and I've gotten pretty creative with my veggies!

I've never heard of vitamin patches. But I'd sure be willing to give them a try!

Hi Ashley! I havent had my surgery yet. Scheduled for August 3rd! But just reading through all of these posts and seeing everyone else's experiences was the best thing I could have done to reassure myself that I had indeed made the best decision. So many things were brought up here that I never would have thought of. And there's nothing up can't ask! Good luck!

August 3rd for me. I'm 5 days into my 2 week pre-op diet and have dropped 5 pounds already!

Mine is August 3rd also!

I just got the call from my surgeon's office this morning. Insurance approved and surgery set for August 3rd! Happy dancing here! WooHoo!

I have BCBS through my employer that covers WLS, and then I am also covered under my spouse's insurance that covers WLS as well. He is a retired federal employee with AMAZING insurance. The only thing I will have to pay out of pocket is the $300 'program fee' for consults with the physical therapist, nutritionist, etc. that insurance doesn't cover. I should have done this years ago!

I'm just counting down the days until the 18th. That's my last PCP appt. Then I wait for my insurance approval. And in the middle of all of this, we are trying to sell our house. As much as I want to sell it, I sure hope I'm not packing boxes while trying to recover from surgery! Yay! Come on, July 18th! Oh, wow... Selling a house can be stressful. I hope you're not over-working yourself. I'm trying to find a new car. So far, I'm not having very good luck. My tag hasn't come in yet, so Driver's Way won't write be a check for my old car. My blood pressure was 122/86 yesterday, which is good, but it's high for me. My BP is usually between 97/76 - 110-80. So, I know I'm stressed. x_x Nah, I try not to get too stressed. I just try to think ahead to post-surgery day when I will be sipping my meals from the little cups that my salad dressing used to come in!

Absolutely! Go ahead and use the machine. For one thing, if you don't use it, some insurance companies will show that you are non-compliant for not using it. But also, for your health. If they gave you a machine to use, there was a reason. My oxygen dropped down to stroke level while I was sleeping. Do you really want to chance having a stroke before you get the chance to have your surgery?

I'm just counting down the days until the 18th. That's my last PCP appt. Then I wait for my insurance approval. And in the middle of all of this, we are trying to sell our house. As much as I want to sell it, I sure hope I'm not packing boxes while trying to recover from surgery!

I first saw Dr. P back in December and my insurance requires 6 months of doctor supervised diet. So July 18th will be my last of those. Hopefully I am looking at an early August surgery........ I've been for my cardiac tests, my EGD, nutrition and physical therapy meetings. Got all of that behind me. Feel like I'm turning the corner now!I guess I should read everything before replying! LOL!! How was the EGD? Mine's in August and I'm nervous! Sent from my HTC331ZLVWPP using the BariatricPal App The EGD was no fun, I'll be honest. But I'd do it again if I had to. Dr. P's nurse was an ANGEL helping by talking me through it. And it only lasted about 10 minutes. It showed a couple of polyps so I had to go back and have a 2nd one. All was good and now I have one last visit with my PCP and then send everything in to my insurance company for approval. My co-worker got her approval back in 15 minutes, so I'm hoping for fast results as well. I've got all my ducks in a row so I'm really hoping to have my surgery in early August.

Hi!!! I'm also having mine at Grandview with Dr. Pennington! ???? I will be finished with my insurance stuff (BCBSAL) in August and will, hopefully, be approved shortly after then grab my date! When are you having yours?? Us Birmingham folks should keep in touch! Sent from my HTC331ZLVWPP using the BariatricPal App

You are right about that! That 6 month period was a good thing; and a good thing for others. It would probably help me as well, but considering my condition and having a high risk of losing my vision, they felt that it was necessary to go ahead and approve my surgery. When they looked at my optic nerves in the ultrasound, they were shocked to find out that I have 20/15 vision. They said, according to the images, that it looked as if I should be legally blind. I was told that I have the most interesting eyes that clinic has ever seen in a pseudotumor case. With me, even though my vision is so good, I still have temporary blindness at times. Sometimes when I stand up or bend over, I go blind for about 10-20 seconds. Sometimes I go blind for a bit longer than that, and I wonder, "Is this it? Is this the moment where I lose my vision for good?" And thankfully, the blackness fades away. I think I have had enough time to decide that this is what I truly want. If someone told me I would have to give up my favorite food (Mexican cheese dip) for the rest of my life in order to be thin and healthy, I would still give it up without hesitation. Because to me, a lifetime of good health is worth more than a few minutes of pleasurable taste. I have wanted to be thin the moment I reached 150 pounds. I am now 250 pounds and I can honestly say that I have prepared myself for this day out of hopes that one day I would be thin again. I even told my surgeon that if someone told me I would have to lose an arm in order to be thin and healthy, I would accept it. He looked at me and giggled, but for a moment he gave me this look of understanding and compassion. It's like he knew how badly I want this. I am a bit worried about the shock my body will experience on the pre-op diet. I am mostly worried about the migraines and the fact that only Excedrin helps them. Since Excedrin has aspirin in it, I will not be able to take it. Lets all hope that Tylenol works this time, since the migraine won't be pseudotumor triggered. On another note... OMG! Cancer?! Can you tell me more about that? Are you ok? o_o I am so sorry to hear about your vision issues. And I completely understand the urgency in you getting your surgery. And I can also relate on the migraines. I take Topramax for mine and it really helps. The cancer scare turned out to be just that, a scare. I had an abnormal pap smear that ended up requiring a biopsy. My dr said that she had to take 3 biopsies (sp?) because of everything that she saw. And that on a scale of 1-3 I was a very high 2 to test positive for cervical cancer. When I came back for my results, she told me that her first impression upon 'seeing' what she biopsied was to schedule me for surgery the next week, but the lab results showed NOTHING to be concerned about! I was doing some shouting and praising God, let me tell ya! I believe I had nothing less than a miracle!

Hey all you beautiful people! I am, hopefully, just a few weeks away from my surgery. So happy to see that the Christian thread on here is active!