SeaShells82

Your NUT and doctor are really the only ones who can advise you to advance your diet to regular foods. Every plan is so different that there's no way to tell. With that said, most practices would have given you handouts with the typical timeline for diet progression as well as a list of approved food. I would review that information until you get in to see your NUT. I would also strongly recommend tracking what you eat so that you can make sure you're hitting your daily protein goals. If you don't feel you're losing weight fast enough, tracking your calories and protein/carbs/fat ratios will also be useful for your NUT to review so they can suggest what to increase or limit to help kick things up.

Biotene spray for the hospital. My mouth was so dry from the scopolamine patch they used (to help prevent post-op nausea) and the Biotene was a lifesaver. I'd read the tip before surgery and hadn't really believed it but I got so uncomfortable I asked my mom to run out and get me some and it made a huge difference. I was a believer after that! The best thing I got for the beginning was a plug in warmer for coffee mugs. I had a really difficult time drinking anything but chicken broth right after surgery and it allowed my soup to stay warm while I was sipping it. When I transitioned to purées, I used a little dish meant for dipping bread in oils as my "plate" and it fit perfectly on the warmer. It took me a full 30 minutes to eat a single scrambled egg and using the warmer kept it from getting cold and gross. I agree with not stocking up too much on protein shakes or jello before surgery. You may find your tastes change. I was stuck with 3 cases of Premier shakes that I'd tolerated before surgery and couldn't stomach afterwards. Good luck!

Are you still on blood thinners at this point? And it's only blood, right? No foul-smelling, brown/green/gold/puss-like/etc drainage? You really need to report it to your doctor. If it's just a little blood and only happened when you washed the area, I'd personally hold off on giving myself any additional doses of blood thinners until I spoke with my doctor first thing in the morning. If it's foul smelling, brown/green/gold/puss-like, OR the bleeding is heavy/continuous, I'd call NOW to report it to the doctor on-call tonight. Hope you're feeling better soon!

When I first started Wellbutrin I did notice I had very little appetite but that only lasted about 2-3 weeks. After that, everything returned to normal.

I'm another Muscle Milk devotee - I just could not tolerate anything else after surgery (pre-op I was able to choke down Premier but after surgery it always came right back up).

I'm sorry you're going through that. It would help to know what reason the doctors who rejected you gave for their decision - I understand the original doctor said he/she wouldn't operate because of the right-sided pain, but I don't understand why the other doctors passed. With the right-sided pain, have you had your gallbladder checked? That might be the source and something that should definitely be fixed. Non-surgical options for pelvic floor problems include kegal exercises and sometimes even physical therapy. Did the doctors who rejected you as a surgical candidate give you referrals to any other type of provider? If not, I would suggest asking them for guidance. With the rectocele, make sure you have a good bowel movement regimen so that you can avoid constipation/straining since that will just exacerbate the problem. Again, sorry you're going through all this. It really sounds like you need to address the specific reasons the doctors gave you when they said no to surgery though.

I am currently in the soft food stage and am only allowed to have saltines since they break down into practically nothing. I use them to hold tuna salad so I get plenty of protein. When in doubt, check with your surgeon since every plan is different.

I think people are talking about 2 very different tests. An EGD is typically done under conscious sedation (groggy/out of it, not necessarily 100% out but you won't remember it afterwards) and involves a scope with a camera being advanced down your throat, into your stomach and the beginning of your intestines so that the physician can actually see the organs. It is an outpatient procedure but you will need someone to drive you home afterwards because you'll be loopy. Think of it as a colonoscopy but for the top half of your body. An Upper GI is done by x-ray and involves drinking a contrast solution and requires no sedation as it is entirely non-invasive. You will have to drink a thick, chalky fluid and most likely be required to roll around on the table to help completely coat the inside of your stomach with the barium. Then you will drink a thinner contrast liquid while they take multiple x-rays. It's actually a pretty interesting process and the science nerd in me was fascinated watching each sip going down on the screen!

It's probably normal spotting but still something you should mention to your doctor since (I'm assuming) they have you on a blood thinner post-op. Congratulations on your surgery though!

I had a large hernia repaired during my sleeve surgery on 2/7/17 - the upper GI I did preop showed no evidence of a hernia so it was a bit of a surprise for everyone involved after they got in there! With regards to recovery, I'm only 3 weeks out and I don't know how much of what I experienced is just typical with the sleeve or how much of it was related to the hernia but I'll share what I experienced. For the first week, I had real difficulty getting liquids down. No matter how small a sip I took, every sip felt like it was momentarily "stuck", right at the level of the hernia, before being able to pass. It was a very strange and uncomfortable feeling but not painful. I learned that warm liquids went down easier than cold or room temperature fluids so I pretty much just lived on broth. I came home on a Thursday and was off pain meds by Friday morning. I still had pain but it was bearable to me and I was able to manage it with a heating pad and movement. After the first week, the "stuck" feeling went away and I can now tolerate liquids and mushy foods without difficulty. All in all, not a bad journey so far. I don't think it's possible to do a sleeve while leaving a hiatal hernia in place so if your options are to repair the hernia, then go back for a second surgery to be sleeved vs just getting them both done at the same time, I'd go with option B. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

Have you checked your sugar levels in the morning when you're having these symptoms? Even if you weren't diabetic before surgery, the drastic reduction in calories, coupled with possible dehydration can throw your body off while it adjusts.

First, I just want to say how very sorry I am for what happened to you and tell you how brave I think you are for sharing and for committing to therapy. Second, as far as the binge goes, I would recommend telling your therapist what happened after your last session so that you can work together to come up with some constructive ways of handling the stress that comes from confronting painful memories. Maybe journaling, meditation, positive affirmations, yoga, or simply having the therapist make sure not to end a session on a low/stressful note before sending you back out to the world? Keep up the good work and hang in there!

Hi everyone, I was sleeved 2/7/17 and have had a bumpy ride throughout my post-op journey. I remember reading other people having changes in their tastes following surgery and that seems to be happening to me. Prior to surgery, I LOVED Water - drank it all day, every day, with no problems. Now, any water I try, tastes like I'm swilling pure metal. Doesn't matter if I try tap or bottled, different brands, etc. The only way to hide it is to mix in crystal light or other artificial sweeteners but I still feel like all I'm drinking are chemicals (albeit slightly better tasting ones now). For anyone out there who has experienced this, was the change permanent or did water eventually go back to tasting the way it should? I'm missing water more than pizza at the moment and that wasn't a problem I really prepared myself to deal with pre-op

I went in for my first meeting with the surgeon on September 15th 2016, and they submitted the request for insurance authorization to Cigna on December 15th (my Cigna plan required 90 days of supervised weight loss/nutrition classes, psych eval and a medical clearance from my PCP). The insurance OK'd the surgery on January 10th 2017 (I suspect it might have been approved a little faster had the request not been submitted over the holidays but that's just a guess) and then my surgery was scheduled for February 7th based on my surgeon's availability and the need for pre-op classes/testing/2-week diet.

Is the cough dry? Or are you bringing up mucous? If it's dry, it could be reflux. In addition to the Pepcid, try sleeping at an incline and talk to your doctor if it doesn't get better because they can probably prescribe a different PPI.

Thank you! Just knowing there might be a light at the end of the tunnel helps at this point [emoji4]

Congratulations! Keep up the great work ???????????? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I don't think there's any way to tell you exactly what kind of questions they will ask because it's different for everyone. In general, they're looking to clear up the following: 1) Do you have realistic expectations for surgery and the amount of work that will be required on your part both pre/post op. 2) Are you truly ready to make healthy changes in your life and have you addressed the things that may have held you back before? 3) What kind of support systems do you have in place in your life? My evaluation was just a relaxed conversation with the psychologist, followed by an online test that I took afterwards. In hindsight, it wasn't scary at all and I worried (excessively!) for nothing. Hope this helps and good luck on your journey Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm February 7th! I keep going back and forth between feeling elated and down right terrified! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm glad it helped TracieSue - there is SO much information being blasted at us during the pre-op stage that it's easy to forget something. Best of luck to you on your journey Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

It might also help to check out a few surgery videos on YouTube - when you see the liver retractor being used to physically lift the liver up and out of the way so the surgeon has room to manipulate the stomach, it could be a good visual reminder about why your doctor needs the liver to be as small and "floppy" as possible. It truly is a safety issue during surgery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

All of the reasons you list are valid but there are 2 other big ones that should be mentioned: 1) Especially for bypass or DS patients, the re-routing that occurs during surgery means alcohol hits your bloodstream very quickly and will be very undiluted when it gets there. 1 drink can easily lead to unsafe blood alcohol levels and severe impairment because the normal absorption pathway has been altered. Sleeve patients aren't immune either because of the small volumes of food their sleeves can take. They're basically drinking on an empty stomach - all the time. Not a good (or safe) scenario for anyone, regardless of the type of surgery they've had. 2) It's also really easy to swap one unhealthy coping mechanism for another when food is no longer something that can be turned to in times of stress. There are even some studies that show an increase in the prevalence of alcoholism among post-op WLS patients. This obviously isn't an issue for every patient but it is a very real problem for a lot of people who choose to set foot on that slippery slope post-op. All in all, drinking is not something that most surgeons support (generally not for the first year or so in sleeve patients and not ever for bypass and DS patients). Every surgeon is different though so if you have questions about your particular plan, I'd check with your team. Hope this information helps. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Just make sure you use a heating pad with a safety on/off setting - especially if you fall asleep using it. Even with healthy people, the risk for accidental burns is real, but many of us also suffer from nerve damage which can increase the risk of injury as well Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think it's great that you've recognized an emerging problem before it's able to derail the amazing progress you've made. I'm a nurse and one of the tools we use to assess for potential problems with alcohol is called the "CAGE" assessment. It's 4 quick yes/no questions and can be a great way to gauge whether or not someone might have a problem. C: Have you ever felt you needed to CUT down on your drinking? A: Have people ANNOYED you by criticizing your drinking? G: Have you ever felt GUILTY about drinking? E: Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning ("EYE OPENER") to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover? Two or more "yes" responses mean the possibility of alcoholism should be investigated further by a medical professional. I hope this information helps. food is a way of self medicating for many of us and when that is taken away, it can be very easy to adopt other unhealthy coping mechanisms. Best of luck to you on your journey (and to anyone else who might be reading this and struggling with a similar issue). Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Still pre-op but I'm a nurse so I figured I'd chime in on this one. Try taking a shower first so the strips get saturated - they should come off with no problem after that. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App