Subaru

Today's lesson - always remember to pay attention to the 30 minute rule! I'm usually very good, but I was eating a desperately needed snack while I was meeting with a couple of people and lost track of myself. I drank water right away. Ouch!

I'm back finally! The forum is giving me fits so I haven't had a chance to read through this thread. I hope everyone is doing well! I'm at about 37 lbs down since Dec 28, so no complaints. I also got back to work yesterday (finally) and am feeling pretty tip top overall. My pouch handles different kinds of food well, and next week all restrictions are lifted so I can try raw veggies (hello salad!) and nuts. I've been fortunate to have a pretty unremarkable recovery. I have finally figured out what my body's "tell" is for when I'm eating too fast (especially), or too much, etc. I get very bad indigestion in my back. Crampy and painful and it can last for hours. I'm only just figuring that out, and I have to get better at slowing down (or stopping) when it happens. (Like right now. OUCH!) Anyway, nice to be back!

Hi Kaydo, How are you healing? Yes, I'm seeing the scale go down! I'm at about 37 lbs down now, so no complaints. I also got back to work yesterday (finally) and am feeling pretty tip top over all. My pouch handles different kinds of food well, and next week all restrictions are lifted so I can try raw veggies (hello salad!) and nuts. Overall, I've been fortunate to have a pretty unremarkable recovery. I have finally figured out what my body's "tell" is for when I'm eating too fast (especially), or too much, etc. I get very bad indigestion in my back. Crampy and painful and it can last for hours. I'm only just figuring that out, and I have to get better at slowing down (or stopping) when it happens. How are the rest of the surgery twins doing?

I’ve been absent for awhile. It’s hard to respond easily from my phone and I was having problems with the app. I’m trying to catch up a little but still on my phone. Three weeks out today (Dec 28!) Overall it’s gone well after the initial nausea slowed down. That was rough and kept me in the hospital an extra day. I feel this week is when the nerves are starting to heal so I’m feeling different things from my tummy. I’m feeling hunger and feeling “stop eating” a bit more now. Some things are making me queasy. Etc. none of it is bad, I’m just getting a chance to learn my new tummy. As far as vitamins, etc go: I’m still not taking them all. Because of the nausea, the surgeons office said to hold off on incorporating all that stuff for a few weeks, so I’ve been slowly adding them in. In a week or two I’ll have everything incorporated. Food is going fine, if boring. I’m still on puréed food, though I’ve allowed myself some stretch on “how” the food gets puréed. (Meatball gets puréed in my mouth. ) Anyway, mostly all is well. How about the rest of you?

I’ve been absent for awhile. It’s hard to respond easily from my phone and I was having problems with the app. I’m trying to catch up a little but still on my phone. Three weeks out today. Overall it’s gone well after the initial nausea slowed down. That was rough! I feel old this week is when the nerves are starting to heal so I’m feeling different things from my tummy. I’m feeling hunger and feeling “stop eating” a bit more now. Some things are making me queasy. Etc. none of it is bad, I’m just getting a chance to learn my new tummy. As far as vitamins, etc go: I’m still not taking them all. Because of the nausea, the surgeons office said to hold off on incorporating all that stuff for a few weeks, so I’ve been slowly adding them in. In a week or two I’ll have everything incorporated. Food is going fine, if boring. I’m still on puréed food, though I’ve allowed myself some stretch on “how” the food gets puréed. (Meatball gets puréed in my mouth. ) Anyway, mostly all is well. How about the rest of you?

I’ve been absent for awhile. It’s hard to respond easily from my phone and I was having problems with the app. I’m trying to catch up a little but still on my phone. Three weeks out today. Overall it’s gone well after the initial nausea slowed down. That was rough! I feel old this week is when the nerves are starting to heal so I’m feeling different things from my tummy. I’m feeling hunger and feeling “stop eating” a bit more now. Some things are making me queasy. Etc. none of it is bad, I’m just getting a chance to learn my new tummy. As far as vitamins, etc go: I’m still not taking them all. Because of the nausea, the surgeons office said to hold off on incorporating all that stuff for a few weeks, so I’ve been slowly adding them in. In a week or two I’ll have everything incorporated. Food is going fine, if boring. I’m still on puréed food, though I’ve allowed myself some stretch on “how” the food gets puréed. (Meatball gets puréed in my mouth. ) Anyway, mostly all is well. How about the rest of you?

It’s been rough for than I expected. I came home today, three nights in the hospital. For me, and for my roommate who have the same procedures, it was intense nausea slowing us down. We both had large hiatal hernia repairs as well as the gastric bypass. Today feels a lot better. But I don’t imagine I’m going to be feeling anything like normal until towards the end of the week. How about you?

Noon tomorrow. Wow it goes by so fast!

My surgeon does sometimes require a pre-op diet. I don't know how he decides. It might be BMI, or maybe when he poked around my abdomen. (Can they feel your liver when they do that?!) As much as I've been happy about no pre-op diet, I feel a bit less prepared than others might. We can compare notes after and see which one of us felt better equipped to manage post op intake.

I'm two days away. Definitely getting nervous. Definitely have NOT gotten my physical space (bedroom) ready for post surgery. (Yes, I'm terribly messy and a procrastinator. All my clothes are everywhere!) I am in good shape as far as food (puree options) and meds (etc.) post surgery. Tonight and tomorrow I'm busting butt to make my room enough of a nest that I can relax comfortably for a few days. I'm getting a little bit nervous, but not tons. My only pre-op diet is tomorrow, which is good and bad. But any way I look at it, I'm all in!

Soooo....I'm scheduled for surgery a week from today. Today I seem to have the sniffles (in an office full of people with colds). I've been taking zinc for the last few days and have been using hand santizer religiously, so hopefully this is just a hint of a cold that will never become anything. However, I would love to hear from anyone who started with a cold before surgery. How were you feeling? Did they postpone or keep you on the schedule? (If this turns into anything I will call my surgeon's office so they can advise on what to do.)

Already this evening it seems all gone. The beauty of zinc!!

That's good though! You were only in two days!

Was it planned that you'd be in the hospital that long? Or did you travel for surgery? Hopefully you didn't have any complications!

Just stay focused. If there is a bariatric support group, go to it. And don't hesitate to reach out to your surgeon's office and tell them that you feel abandoned and ask for more specific advice and guidelines. Good luck. You've got this!

I haven't had a pre-op diet, and only do for the day before. That's actually making me a bit nervous because I feel a bit less emotionally/physically prepared (if that makes sense). Sure, I could just do the liquid diet on my own with surgeon's instructions. But let's be serious. Christmas is coming.

Holy cow. I'm one week away. Yikes!

Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!! One week from today!!

I'm probably repeating what others have said, but the forum is being wonky and not letting me access past page one, so here goes: My insurance only required that my surgeon recommend the surgery. I first met with the surgeon on 10/04 and will be going in for surgery on 12/28. That time frame includes waiting one month for my NUT visit and one month for my upper GI and EKG. Without those two wait periods I probably could have been in at least a month a go. The program I am going through does require sign off by the nutritionist (and she often has people come in at least 3 times). It also requires psych and at least two pre-op approved support group meetings. (These things are regardless of insurance requirements.) Both the group and my NUT provided really great information. That said, I'm a researcher and have gotten much of my info from the web before even having any of those meetings. My being well-informed and pro-active shortened my time with my NUT (just one visit). Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I could argue both sides. In any case, I think my point was that it's just so much information for someone to take in, and there is a difference between reading about it and doing it. I have no pre-op diet requirement (other than the day before) and I have not been diligent about practicing some of the new habits I have to become comfortable with. I don't kid myself into thinking this is going to be easy, but I can see how some folks move into this without getting (as in "getting it") all the details they need, and not really through any fault of their program. Wow that was long winded!

Absolutely everything is done. All my pre-op tests. Blood typing. Pre-op visit with anesthesia. Instructions given for showering with hibiclens and sleeping in clean sheets the night before. All. Done. Now I have 8 days until my clear liquid pre-op day, and 9 days until surgery. A week and a half to just get nervous and stress.

Absolutely everything is done. All my pre-op tests. Blood typing. Pre-op visit with anesthesia. Instructions given for showering with hibiclens and sleeping in clean sheets the night before. All. Done. Now I have 8 days until my clear liquid pre-op day, and 9 days until surgery. A week and a half to just get nervous and stress.

How are today's patients doing?

For me, who has a tendency to overshare, it would depend upon when I thought I might see him, how frequently we are in contact, and those kinds of things. If it's a guy I was in contact with a lot I would end up telling him, because all I be focused on during hospital and recovery is this one very big thing. I date rather a lot and maintain a good handful of those guys as friends. During this pre-op process I have made some choices along the way about telling guys I might date or ones that I have previously dated. (Lawd that all sounds whoer-ish but I'm not!) Reactions have ranged from being really supportive that I'm doing something for me, worried that the girls deflate, and largely uninterested. There has not been a single iota of judgment. I know it's not the same situation that you're in. But I think my point is that you just have to trust. If you think you have a future with this guy, is major surgery something you want to hide or something you want his support on? Whatever you decide, do the best thing for you and you'll be fine. Best of luck!

Mine has, but just a little bit.

Yay!! We can check in on each other!!