JT2002TJ

I haven't posted in a while. I don't have a lot of before pictures (full body). I started at 320lbs 1/1/2017, had a pre-liquid diet weight of 297, surgery weight of 280 (surgery date 9/25/2017). Today 8/7/2018, I am 211 lbs, so a total weight loss of 109 lbs. I have gone from a 4x shirt and 52" waist to a XL and a 38" waist.

My surgical group believes in no caffeinated coffee for life. They are ok with decaf, but warn us to be careful because there still is caffeine in decaf. We also are told to have green tea (decaf) or herbal tea (decaf). We were told that caffeine can cause ulcers and that since it is a diuretic it can be counterproductive.

Thank you for sharing your story. I know it was hard. It is important that others see what can happen. I haven't had any drinks since my surgery 5 months ago, and am not in a rust to start drinking again. I think I might just be done. Thank you. I wish you all the best in your lifelong recovery.

Sorry, I didn't read the entire thread. I had problems when I initially got my machine because my sleep therapist was garbage. In fact, their entire company is garbage. My therapist came over basically threw the machine at me while driving by at 60 mph and left. So, I got the sleephead beta software, and started learning about how these machines work, and monitored my sleep myself. Turns out, I needed to increase my starting pressure. I found I was out of breath just getting into bed, and had a hard time falling asleep. Once I was asleep, I slept fine through the night. Once I increased it, I have not had an issue for 3 years. This is not to encourage people to go adjust their settings themselves, but sometimes the therapists aren't doing their job. In my case it was, and still is too difficult to switch suppliers (my therapist works for the supplier). My Pulmonologists office doesn't like them either, but there just aren't many options.

I drove the day of discharge. I was off of pain meds since day 2 (discharged on 3rd day). It is because of pain meds, so if you don't need them, and you think you can focus on driving, it is fine to drive.

As others have said, I do Wendy's Chili. I am almost 3 months post op, I can not eat an entire small (it is at least 2 meals to me). Anywhere else I will order a burger/grilled chicken sandwich without the bun (dry) and ask for mustard. If it comes with bacon I will eat the bacon. I do Buffalo Wild Wings (traditional on bone) hot/medium or lemon pepper (now that I eat so little, I have added other flavors that have some sugar in the sauce). It is too early for me to eat salads (raw fruit or veggies), so will change over time. I find it easier to ask for it without the bun. They usually put it in a hard plastic container and are used to people asking for it this way (for those who watch carbs or for those who order it this way for their dogs).

Sorry for your complications. I'm sure it will get better, and once the memory of the issues are on the back burner and your rapid weight loss is up front, I'm sure you will be happy with your decision. It will get better! I wouldn't jump to any quick decisions about canceling. Complications are typically <3% (from my understanding) and most complications go away (except GERD, which can be managed via medication for most). If you need more time to think about it, and you will not lose your insurance approval, then maybe it would be a good idea to push it back a bit, and spend some time with your surgical group's support groups.

I followed my surgical groups pre-op surgery diet. It was 1,200 calories per day, by doing 7 Premier Protein (Chocolate) per day. I was also allowed about a cup or 2 of beef/chicken broth (I added hot sauce for flavor), and up to 2 sugar free jello (pre-made jello cups). You can have as much water/crystal light as you want. There was NO other food, and I did not cheat at all. I lost 17 lbs in those two weeks (297lbs - 280lbs).

Some insurance companies have a requirement where you have to lose a specific amount of weight, some don't care, and some if you lose any at all they deny. But, I think it is common across the board that when they approve you, you can lose as much as you want from packet weight to surgery day weight. Once the pre-authorize you for the surgery there would be law suits from insureds, surgical groups and hospitals if they reversed their approval. The pre-authorization is all that is needed to schedule and preform the surgery. They know most surgical groups require a liver shrink diet (I lost 17 lbs in 2 weeks). They also only see that surgical day weight AFTER the surgery, either submitted by a case manager (if they required continued stay reviews) during your stay, or after discharge when billing.

I had no pain (other than surgical site pain) or nausea. I took 2 weeks off, but was board out of my mind after one week. I am a computer programmer, and work 40 miles from home (driving), I EASILY could have gone back to work within one week. I would say, since you are at home, and can take breaks, I would plan on 2 weeks, and be happy if you can get back earlier. Everyone is different, but not everyone works from home.

I feel much better after my surgery. No more knee pain, no more back pain. I am down a total of 80 lbs since my highest weight (February 2017), Surgery date I was down 40 lbs (9/25/2017). Since surgery 2 months ago I have lost 40 lbs (12/6/2017). It is a big decision, one that I am 100% happy I did. I thought about doing WLS surgery about 10 years ago, it would have been the LapBand, I am glad I procrastinated, as now we know more about the LapBand high % of failure. The good thing about the sleeve is, it does not have a single point of blockage, with a full size stomach beyond it. It is a much better design.

You will go less, because you are on a liquid diet. But, if you have that feeling of bloating that you think is constipation, you should contact your surgical group, and see what they allow. I had Vitafusion Fiber Well Sugar Free Gummies (from CVS). This with MiraLAX mixed in with my Crystal Light. Both were allowed prior to my surgery by my surgical group. But after, they did not want me having the Fiber Gummies, they want me to only use MiraLAX, because they are worried about dehydration.

Rogain has been known to prevent hair loss when used as instructed. But, it is also know that when you stop using it, hair loss will progress as before. Not just for male pattern baldness, women use it to for hair loss. Now, I have no idea if it will work with hair loss because of rapid weight loss.

About 3 weeks out, in two of my pees (not sure how to say it) I had clotted blood. It looked like little red strings in my yellow urine. The first was the morning before work, the second was a few hours later when I went to LabCorp to get a urinalysis done. The first thing i did was call my surgeons office to get the script for the urinalysis. I had the results shared with my urologist. I had a appointment 2 weeks later with my urologist, but he had me go in for a CAT scan (with and without contrast). The CAT scan showed no kidney stones (which can cause blood, and is common after a high protein low fluids diet), and no other issues. At my urologists office he preformed a cystoscopy (a scope is pushed into your pee hole all the way to your bladder, where they push fluids in and inspect the passageway and the bladder). He found nothing with my bladder but noted 2 slight urethral strictures (narrowing of the passageway). After, your bladder will be full, so taking advantage of this, he had me do a flow test (you pee into a toilet looking device that measures your urine stream), which was within normal range, indicating no obstructions. I was given a clean bill of health. The important thing is visible blood in urine or stool must be checked out by medical professionals.

I caught it and chuckled.