kaydo

Yeah, that's what I did with the space heater last night so maybe I'll do that. Seems a very expensive way to heat a bed (I think the mattress pad cost about $130) but I'm so freaking cold, I'll take it...

How funny, my husband ordered me a heated mattress pad yesterday! (Dual-zone so he doesn't have to sweat.) I'm a little nervous about the inconclusive science making a connection between electric blankets and cancer (there doesn't seem to be any serious science that connects them but I know many people are still leery) so when he told me he ordered it, I initially told him to cancel it but it had already shipped and is arriving today. We'll see...

Just ordered this heated seat cushion to use at work (because space heaters are banned in our building). USB plugin. CAN'T FREAKING WAIT. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0774RL3JM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm 4 weeks post-op, still on the Soft Food phase, eating around 700 calories a day, and I'm having a weird bowel problem where I'm getting horrible abdominal pain a few times a day (not when I'm eating; hours later), a horrible urgency to go to the bathroom, and then I either can't go (which feels like constipation) or if I do, it's loose and watery. I started taking a stool softener 2 days ago (when I couldn't go) so I'm think it's constipation but the stools are loose because of the softener, but I honestly don't know? Is it the more solid food I'm eating (more turkey, cheese, and things like bean chili that I've introduced in the last week) and if so, which ones? Should I go back to a simpler/softer diet? I haven't called my surgeon yet (probably will tomorrow) but I'm curious if others have had this. The abdominal pain was so bad this afternoon I was crying and driving home from work as fast as I could to go to the bathroom.

YES. I am 4 weeks post-op tomorrow and I am freezing cold all the damn time. I have a space heater under my desk at home (they're banned in our building at work and I'm DYING), one in our bedroom at night, and in the evenings, I generally sit on the couch with a fire going, a blanket over me, wearing a hat and gloves (with the heat in our house set to 72). I think it's driving my husband a little crazy but there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it, and it's good to hear I'm not alone.

I had surgery 12/28 and had lots of regrets and self-doubt for the first 2 weeks (I kept telling my husband that I felt "broken"... like I had taken a perfectly good body and destroyed it). Somewhere between weeks 2-3, though, I started to feel better. Weight was dropping off, I was starting to feel more human, my clothes were feeling loose, bowel movements normalized, my energy started to come back (a little at a time), I was figuring out what I could eat, etc. Now, at 3.5 weeks out, I have no regrets. I'm down nearly 40 lbs, my face is noticeably slimmer, and I can't believe how much I've accomplished in such a short amount of time. I have another 35 lbs to lose and I know it's going to go much slower than the first 35 but it feels doable for the first time in my life. You'll get there. Good luck!

Hi Subaru - Glad to hear you're mostly doing well! My surgery was 12/28 as well and I'm feeling about the same as you. Can't remember if I posted here about my actual surgery. Sleeve itself went well, but my surgeon nicked a blood vessel to my spleen causing a horribly painful splenic infarction, and one of my lungs collapsed. So I ended up in the hospital for 4 days, and spent nearly 2 weeks on Oxycodone at home. I'm feeling a lot better now, though, and returned to work this week (mostly from home but I went into the office for a few hours today). My biggest issues now are: I'm freezing cold all the time I'm exhausted at night My lung hasn't fully recovered and there's fluid in my lung so I'm coughing a lot, and get tired easily I'm nauseous when I wake up in the morning (I have to take a Zofran and let it kick in before getting out of bed) Some of the puree/"soft" foods sit pretty heavy in my stomach (chicken breast, grits) I'm starting to fight "head hunger" more each day (where I know my body isn't hungry but holy moses I want to eat that food in front of me just to taste it) However, I'm down a total of 36 lbs (20 since surgery) and can see/feel a difference, especially in my face and waist, which is very motivating. Are you seeing the scale go down?

Interesting. I'm actually having the complete opposite - since my surgery 3 weeks ago, I am FREEZING COLD all the time. I read online that it's a common side effect of surgery, as you drop the fat that has been insulating you for years but, combined with the fact that it's mid-January, it's killing me. Have you found any explanation for your hot flashes?

Boston, MA (western suburbs)

Could you just take a chewable instead? I don't love my Celebrate chewables but they're tolerable.

My surgery was 12/28 and I had the same problem during the liquid phase (only had a couple of BMs but when I did, they were dreadfully runny and gross). Everything firmed up once I moved on to puree and is fine now. Good luck!

p.s. Our current dog (the happy faced mutt) came from Texas, where she was found having been hit by a car. Both of her back legs were broken but the rescue in Houston was able to get them fixed. She has no ball joint in her left leg which is why you can see in the picture that she sits with it sticking straight out. She gets around just fine now.

It's so funny that you guys are 2 of my favorite posters, and are dog people as well. After mourning the loss of our 12 year old Sharpei mix last year (sweetest, mellowest dog in the world), we now have another rescue mutt with a lot more energy and who loves nothing more than to be attached to her humans.

So sorry to hear this. I'm 3 weeks post-op tomorrow and haven't had this at all (I've very slowly progressed from liquids to puree and will start "soft foods" tomorrow) but I've been lucky to keep things down. I do wake up nauseous every morning and have to take Zofran before I get out of bed, though. Have you tried any anti-nausea meds? Hopefully your surgeon will be able to help today. GOOD LUCK!

My surgeon nicked a blood vessel to my spleen during the surgery causing this exact pain (splenic infarction) and the pain was so bad I didn't even notice any other pains from the surgery. I was in the hospital for 4 days and getting out of bed to use the bathroom was excrutiating but I did it, and tried to walk the halls a little bit each time as well. It took me almost 2 weeks of round-the-clock Oxycodone to recover from the splenic infarction, at which point my stomach was completely fine. (I'll be 3 weeks post-op tomorrow.)

YES. I'm 2 weeks post-op and so tired I can barely see straight. One of my lungs collapsed in surgery and isn't fully healed yet, so that's partly why I tire easily, but I also think it's because I'm eating so little food. I track my food and I'm generally only managing about 250 calories/day. I'm losing weight like crazy but I feel like crap. I'm glad to read some of these comments saying I'll feel normal again soon because it sure doesn't feel like it. I also have to return to work next week (I foolishly thought 10 days off work would be enough and ended up taking an additional week), plus I have some work travel coming up at the end of the month. I need to feel normal again!!

I'm 2 weeks post-op, had a splenic infarction during my surgery as well, and it seems like this isn't something that comes up (or happens?) much. Has anyone else had this recently? Mine was discovered right away (I woke up from surgery with excrutiating pain in my upper left abdomen) and my recovery has been awful (I was in the hospital for 4 days, then hopped up on Oxycodone at home for another 1.5 weeks). One of my lungs also collapsed in surgery and hasn't fully recovered (I had a CT scan 2 days ago and it's still partially collapsed with fluid in it) so I am completely exhausted and get winded very easily. Although I've lost a fair amount of weight (a total of 34 lbs since I first met my surgeon back in the fall), the complications from the surgery (and this godawful puree diet) have me a little depressed. Curious if anyone has weathered these storms and how long it takes to feel normal again. I just feel broken.

Day 4 in the hospital and I am feeling quite a bit better. Still have pain around my spleen but the meds help. I am going home later today. Thanks for all the good thoughts and support.

I’m not having any pain at the incision sites, and no nausea thankfully. Apparently, this spleen/blood flow thing is rare but it does happen. That’s what’s causing my pain. I’m hoping to get out of the hospital tomorrow, but will see. It’s bearable when I have the pain meds, but still excruciating when they start to wear off. I know this won’t last forever, right now it feels like my internal organs are all moved around. I feel very broken, and I am regretting the surgery so much. I keep reminding myself that having my son via emergency C-section was hard, but worth it, and hopefully this will be worth it too. Right now, it just sucks completely.

Yes, I’m on a lot of pain meds. Toradol every six hours, oxycodone every three hours, and Flexeril three times a day. I’m basically stoned, but at least it doesn’t hurt as much.

I had my surgery on December 28, two days ago. I had a lot of pain when I woke up. Mostly gas pain all over my belly, which is tolerable, but also a stabbing, searing pain just under my left breast. After having another upper G.I. and a CT scan to rule out hernias or other complications, it seems that the source of my pain is that the blood flow to my spleen was cut during surgery. My surgeon says it’s not uncommon, and just means it will take a few days longer for the pain to go away. It hurts so much, though, I am on around-the-clock pain meds and muscle relaxers. I just feel awful. 😪

Will do! I'm crazy nervous, but just went to CVS and stocked up on all the "must-haves" (lip balm, lotion, baby wipes, good kleenex, breath spray, etc) so that's calming me somewhat.

Good luck! My surgery is at 7am. Have to be there at 5:30. My mother was supposed to come from out of town today but there's still too much snow where she is, so I had to scramble to find a babysitter (who could come to our house at 5am tomorrow) but thankfully I found one. I'm getting more scared and second-guessing myself all over the place. I've lost 20 lbs since I first met with my surgeon on 9/22 and I keep thinking maybe I should just be more disciplined and do this on my own but then I know the sleeve will make it easier to do. Did anyone see the Vox series this week about bariatric surgery? Very interesting (and timely) to read: The main story is about a teenager and her mom, who both got the sleeve: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/18/16707428/bariatric-surgery-teen-weight-loss-jewel Then there were other pieces where they talked to a bunch of people who had the surgery a few years ago, to see how they've done with it: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/19/16742884/weight-loss-bariatric-surgery-pros-cons-stories And a more general overview of the surgery: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/7/16587316/bariatric-surgery-weight-loss-lap-band Good luck everyone!

How did my fellow 12/28 sleevers do today? We host a Christmas brunch for my husband's family every year and there was no getting out of it. I am not telling them about the surgery so it was tricky. I made a tonne of food and didn't eat any of the appetizers or desserts, but I did put together a little plate of food to nibble at while everyone ate, mostly fruit, some eggs, and a few bits of starch. It was just going to be too hard to explain away, otherwise. I've been good on the liquid diet overall so hopefully it won't matter much. Can't believe surgery is 3 days away... eep. Merry Christmas!

Anyone else want to dropkick their spouse this week? Between the liquid diet and my period, I am one big pile of cranky. My husband said the wrong thing to me tonight, and first I nearly killed him, but then I burst out crying. Ugh. I’m a mess. And I ate a couple of tortilla chips tonight. 🙁