AGreenEyedWolf

I have to cook every day for my husband and son, and the cravings can be awful. I am one week post-op... the day after my surgery, the floor staff in my hospital ward ordered pizza - thanks to the aroma, it was all I could think about for the next day and a half. Then I got home and between cooking for my family and watching TV commercials and reading descriptions of food in the books I read and recipes on Facebook... I am now craving bacon, a cheeseburger, salad, french fries, mozzarella cheese, fruit of all sorts, broiled seafood and a chicken philly. :-P

I was glad I brought: Lip balm gas-x strips (most hospitals don't have them or offer them but most nurses understand the need for them and pretend not to see them) I wore comfy, soft, loose elastic waistband sweats, underwear, a bra, socks & shoes and a t-shirt to the hospital and wore the exact same clothes home (your feet may swell... bring larger shoes or a pair of slippers or flip flops just in case) cell and charger (I also brought an extension cord so I could charge my phone more easily as most charge cords are pretty short) Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, a hair brush and a hair tie Also... before surgery, I had to shower with chlorhexedine soap the night before and the morning of surgery... to keep my hair from being a mess after being stuffed under the OR hair net thing and after being in a bed for long periods, I put my hair 2 braids and left it that way until I was discharged. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

I was supposed to stay 1 night but ended up staying 2 Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

You have to remember you won't see it coming off for quite awhile. You'll notice it on a scale before you'll see it in the mirror. I am 1 week post-op also... the scale says I have lost 11 pounds, but I don't see it in the mirror at all. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

I've heard good things about a Mexico option called A Lighter Me... I have a friend who had such a great experience with them that she went to work for them later!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

One of my concerns pre-op was enjoying myself going out with family & friends again. I'm still worried, but I have friends who manage just fine... one meal out becomes 3 or 4 meals they take home sometimes... or a small meal with lots of great conversation means eating a bit, resting while conversing tgen perhaps earing a tiny bit more later on... or 1 meal becomes something 2 friends or a couple can share... I think I can live with all of that :-) Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Have any of my fellow sleevers used NE FL Center for Obesity Surgery & Treatment (or other surgeons in Gainesville, Florida)? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

I did mine about 24 hours post op... 2 medium sized swallows of this crap that tasted like baby shampoo (not barium... this was a liquid the color of ginger ale but with no bubbles) and one swallow of Water and the test was done in less than 15 minutes. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

That's where all my pain is as well. I don't have a lot of pain in the first place, but whenever I do feel pain, 95% of the time, its on my right side. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

A pillow between the seat belt and my belly would have been nice... especially since the last 2 blocks to home are dirt roads full of pot holes :-P Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

This is what my diet looks like... I have to do at least 4 days of clear liquids only in order to move on to "full liquids"... today is day 2 of clear liquids for me. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

My surgery was yesterday. They pushed me back frommarriving at 6 a.m. two arriving at 8:30 a.m., so that's what I did. They had me taken to pre-op at 8:40, where I was supposed to get an IV and all of that and then my husband would come back and hang out with me until they move me to holding and then he would head for the waiting room when I headed for the OR... But I ended up in pre-op until sometime after 10... without my spouse.. because I had a complete and utter meltdown. :-( I have no idea what happened but the minute they came at me with that IV, I thought about what my husband said as we walked into the hospital which was "last chance ... are you sure you want to do this?" And I just started bawling! Sobbing and sputtering& scared to death that I was going to end up regretting doing this! And it took four different nurses, my surgeon and his helper, Amy anesthesiologist to come in and get me calmed down. I have no idea what came over me. One of my best friends had this surgery about a year-and-a-half ago ... and she works for a lighter me ... so I called her and she helped me a lot and eventually I did sign everything get my IV and agree to go into surgery. I was out of recovery and in a room by around 3:00 pm. My husband and my son came to visit me after I got into a room. They stayed until 8 p.m. and then headed home. Around 6:30 I had them help me get up and I sat in a chair for a while which felt better I hadn't really had a lot of pain at that point... but man was I bloated and that gas is very uncomfortable! I have not had my week test yet, so I haven't been allowed anything to drink... I keep getting a headache off and on it feels like a dehydration headache even though I'm not dehydrated because I'm on IV fluids. Maybe it's a lack of food headache because I haven't eaten anything since the day before yesterday. I walked one time around the ward, felt very tired, and decided to lie down. Around 9 or 10:00 last night the gas became very very painful... at that point they had given me Toradol around 6 p.m. and I had a pump for morphine that I had not used it all yet. I used it like 3 times and it did not touch the pain so I had them get me out of bed. Once I was sitting up in a chair it was better and then I decided I needed to walk to start getting this gas moving... I walked around the ward twice, took a break, walked around the ward three times, took another break, walked around the ward twice, and didn't really get back into bed until around 3 or 4 this morning. (I I'm unable to sleep without taking my Seroquel and I'm unable to have my Seroquel because I'm unable to swallow anything). I dozed off in a straight backed chair for a few, then slept in the bed, partially on my right side, until about 6 this morning... it is 7 a.m. now and I'm hoping to go for another walk very soon. The only gas I have moved has been a few very small burps... and they won't take my catheter out until after I've had my leak test. I am using Gas-X strips they're just not helping much. At this point the gas is uncomfortable and a little painful but the only pain I've had from my stomach has been when I cough which I've done, thankfully, just a couple of times. Also a stomach sleeper so my back and hips and butt are killing me :-P That's about it for now I'll come back and update more after my leak test which hopefully will be in the next few hours. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

I am home now! I had a struggle getting my liquid Lortab prescription filled as no doctors near my home carried enough to fill it and thr big ones like Walgreens and CVS wouldn't do partial fills. Found a private pharmacy that gave me enough to get through till tomorrow and then the rest will be ready after 11:30 am. I haven't used mush pain medicine anyway... the morphine they gave me via PCS did absolutely nothing, so I only hit the button like 6 times while I was in the hospital. I'm finding it difficult to get comfortable at home, it seems that I end up stratched out too far or squished over too much... there is no middle ground on our broken in sofa and love seat :-( I'm also struggling to keep my pets off my stomach (ouch) Showering felt great but I think I'll get more out of showering when I can face the Water and really scrub all the iodine and stuff off my skin (I look like my belly had a run in with some bad self tanner lol) I've had 28 ounces of Fluid... mostly water, also hot tea and a little chicken broth. I feel throaty but over full at the same time and I'm being careful not to swallow air, since my belly is still pretty bloated all on its own (which is still very painful... nothing else bothers me, it's just the gas). Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Have now passed gas 3x... have had 11 oz of Fluid by mouth since 6 am (3 and a half hours) and my discharge papers are in progress ... I can't wait to get home!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Well, overnight I managed another 21 laps around the ward and a 4 hour nap in a chair. I wish I could pass gas. So far I have peed and burped but nothing else... and it feels like if I could pass some gas I'd probably feel a lot better hut it just hasn't happened yet. I did drink another 30 ml of Water, though to be honest, I started my last batch of laps right after I drank that in sips and for 3 or 4 laps I had some pretty sharp pain under my ribcage on the left side. I can hear activity and grumbling in my abdomen so I hope more of this gas starts to dissipate so I can drink more and go home Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

The leak test was at 1:30 this afternoon. It went well. The stuff I had to swallow for the test tasted like shampoo, but I managed not to puke and made it back to my room. They had me drink 2 thirty ml medicine cups of Water between 3 and 4... and by 5 pm I was in extreme pain again. :-( The doctor decided to keep me another night. He says the leak test shows no restriction, so he thinks the issue is that all this gas in my abdomen is squishing my irritated stomach and that by tomorrow, a lot more of the gas will be gone my insides won't be getting so squished and I'll be able to consume a little more than I have been able to today. That's my goal: to consume more by mouth so that I can go home tomorrow. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Clear liquids only since noon... heading to bed now... leaving for hospital in the morning to have my VSG... having no food today has my medication, at its normal dosage, making me feel quite loopy... I wonder if I'll have to talk to my doctor about adjusting the dose, especially while I can't eat more than clear liquids for several days? Anyone else experience this? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

My bag includes the following: Kindle & charger Phone & charger Toothbrush & paste Gas-x strips Deodorant Brush hair tie Clothes to go home in Case for my glasses Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 8:00 am (24 hours from now!) I don't know what anyone else's day before surgery looks like, but this is mine: Protein sake at 7:30 and 10:30 I can't have anything but Clear liquids from lunchtime today until midnight... but NO solid food is allowed today so I will have my last shake at 12:00-12:30 this afternoon. After I shower normally tonight, I then have to shower with a special soap, which involves turning off the Water and rubbing the soap all over me for 5 minutes before I rinse, after which, no lotions, powders, deodorants, perfumes, etc. I have to get up at 4 am and do the shower thing a second time. I have to leave for the hospital at 5 am and check in at 6 am. Does anyone else have special "day before" instructions? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

I haven't allowed anyone to take or have pictures of me full length in years. I don't even own a full length mirror. I always see myself from the chest/neck up and in my mind's eye I am the size I was when I was just "chubby"... seeing the "before" picture they took at my surgeon's office a week ago shocked me... I had no idea what I really looked like despite seeing what the scale said whenever I had a doctors appointment and was forced to step onto one. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

My husband isn't an alcoholic. He is a disabled former law enforcement officer with a brain condition. It is my friends husband who is an alcoholic, and trust me... they have been fighting that battle for 10+ years. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

This is long... but I really need to get it off my chest and see what you all think. My situation is this: I have a husband with a brain condition, an 8 year old son, and a 25 year old daughter (plus 5 grandsons all under the age of 10). I live in a rural area about an hour from the hospital where my surgery is supposed to happen on Wednesday. I have to check in at the hospital at 6:00 am that day... but my son needs to get on the school bus at 8:15 am that day. We have just one vehicle, and my husband doesn't drive much... but he is going to come with me Wednesday and stick around until I go to the OR... at which point he will come home and get updates by phone until after our son gets off the school bus at 3:00 pm, when he will bring him along and come back to visit me (because by then I should be in a room... kids under 12 are not allowed in pre-op or recovery, so he can't come to the hospital with us). The plan was for my adult daughter to spend the night at our house on Tuesday night and get her brother on the bus Wednesday morning before she goes to work... but she just told me she will be out of town until Wednesday morning sometime and can't do it as planned. I can't take a chance on her not making it in time on Wednesday morning since she has no idea when she will be back in town... my husband and daughter are the only family members who know I'm having surgery, because the only other family member nearby is my mom who will freak out (and as a result stress me out) if I tell her (all I've not told other family members either because they might tell her)... she can't help me anyway... she lives an hour away in the opposite direction of the hospital I'll be at and one of my grandsons lives with her, so she has to be home herself to get him to school that day. Most of the friends I have who would be willing to help me all live too far away to actually help me (as in they pretty much all live in different states), except 2... one has a new baby and another child my son's age, but she lives over an hour away... and the other lives nearby... BUT she hasn't been very supportive of my surgery AND she will want me to send my son to her house for the night instead of coming here for the night... (but my husband won't allow him to stay the night over there because my friend is a victim of domestic violence and he is afraid her alcoholic husband could randomly show up anytime and be violent). So if I even ask, I'm afraid it will put me in an even more stressful position, being stuck in the middle between them. I'm on the verge of saying screw it and cancelling my surgery... I've got no way to make this work that I can see (other than getting a friend to drive me to the hospital and not having any pre-surgery moral support and that's IF my husband would agree to not being there with me and putting our son on the bus himself)... I'm nervous about the surgery anyway... and while I hate to have spent 2 weeks putting out the money and frustration on this pre-op diet, I did lose 10 pounds on it so maybe this is a sign that I just shouldn't do it and can try (again) to lose weight on my own without surgery. I'm so confused and stressed out!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

That has been my question as well. All the doctors seem to do it differently and I'm sure they are doing what they feel works... but why isn't it more "across the board", ya know? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

The dye stays in your system, xoats your organs, and can make it look like you are bleeding internally when you're not. Same reason they don't let you do red or purple stuff before a colonoscopy or EGD. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Have you tried the Eas shakes they are pretty good tasting progress starts in the mind No, I haven't been able to find those around here. I do Premier Protein Shakes... the only flavor I am starting to be okay with is chocolate... I can't do the bars anymore at all, or other brands of shakes (the bars are too dry & take too much chewing to be able to swallow and other brands of shakes make me gag because they are so icky). I'm on day 11 of my luver shrinking diet now... I did better after day 3... but I admit it... my surgery is the day after tomorrow, so after lunch tomorrow I'm on Clear liquids only... and I gave in to temptation today and ate a donut :-( Why? Maybe because my brain was telling me I may never eat anything enjoyable again so one last donut wasn't going to kill me. Maybe because last night my husband commented that I "take everything to to extremes unnecessarily"... including this diet, and how he is sure I could have eaten half a cheeseburger and some fries one day and it would have been fine. I don't know, but I did it and I feel guilty and am determined to stay on track the rest of today and tomorrow. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App