Charity G

@frust8 I was 304 going into the surgery, and somehow came out of the hospital at 312!!! But, today I weighed 296.8. So, I'm down 8 pounds since surgery, and now officially 100 pounds down from my highest weight (396 back in January 2011). I've been doing pretty good getting in the 64 ounces of fluid and the 60 grams of protein. However, I must have missed the memo that i'm supposed to be eating 2 to 4 oz. at a time. I had been eating a 5.6 ounce yogurt once a day for the last week (granted it took me about an hour to do). So, I'm being much more careful and paying more attention.

I had my surgery on May 3 and was in the hospital until May 5th. The surgeon also did a hernia repair through my belly button. He said I had a bit of fat he had to tear apart to fix the hernia and deal with some scaring as a result of my lap band I had from 2002 to 2010. It's now been 9 days, and I am FINALLY under my pre-surgery weight. For the first time in 8 years, my scale was under 300! I've been having some difficulty with activity because of the leakage of fluids (was pinkish clear, but now there's a lot less liquid and its more of a yellow-brown clear) from my belly button. I saw my surgeon yesterday and he said my belly button looked like it was healing fine (along with my other incision sites). His suggestion was to keep changing the cotton ball in my belly button each time it gets soiled, and try hydrogen peroxide once a day to clean it out. Basically, any time I get up and move around much, or do any bending, my belly button weeps So, I try to avoid much bending ( to whomever came up with the claw thingy that I can use to pick stuff up from the floor). As for diet, my surgeon moved me to the puree stage. I've been drinking protein shakes, milk, and water with unflavored protein powder and a dash of flavored drops. I have also been enjoying soups with unflavored protein powder stirred in, mashed potatoes and gravy, and Dannon Triple Zero Greek Yogurt. I think this evening I will try cottage cheese pureed and maybe some refried beans (if I get up the energy to drive to Taco Bell). I'm still taking 3 Percocet a day (7 a.m., 3 p.m. and 11 p.m.) and one muscle relaxer at 11 p.m. I've been getting some great sleep in my recliner thankfully, but just started sleeping in my bed today (took a mid-morning nap and it went well in bed). I'm also going to switch to regular Tylenol at my 3 p.m. med time starting tomorrow. Going to try to be off Percocet by next Friday. We'll see how that goes, as I also have Fibromyalgia my pain tolerance is very low. As for my diabetes, the highest my blood sugar has been since surgery was 143, but usually stays around 115. This morning my fasting blood sugar was 100, so I am very excited about that. I'm off all insulin, but Friday my surgeon asked me to resume Metformin for a month and then we may discontinue it if my numbers stayed low. Considering I hadn't been taking it since surgery, and they are running in the 115s, it will be interesting to see what the Metformin does when I restart it tomorrow.

Good luck with everything! Persistence is key You'll get there soon. In the meantime, I can't believe I'm a week away!

What happened?

What do you mean by unpleasant chore? How is the impacting what you eat?

@frust8 I'm having my surgery at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO. I was really upset to have to push back the date, but I know things happen for a reason.

Wishing you all great success and quick healing! @Nowheregirl - My surgeon doesn't require a liquid diet THANK GOD! His only requirement is that at least two weeks prior to surgery you adhere to a 1400 calorie diet and that you do not go above your weight recorded at your one month prior appointment. Also, I see you had a band before. I had a band put in in 2002, but had to have it removed in an emergency surgery in 2010 thanks to it eroding into my stomach. I'm just now venturing back into the WLS pool. I hope I have more success and less complications this time around. @Gangidiane58 - Yes, my surgery is covered by my insurance. I started the process in December 2017 and had my surgery originally scheduled in early April (doc was traveling in March so appointments weren't available then).

RNY scheduled for April 10 in St. Louis, MO

Recently I got strict about my tracking and trying to lower my blood sugar (had been in the 400s). Now that its down to the mid- to high- 100s I'm noticing everything close up is very blurry. Has anyone experienced this? Do you think my eyesight will stabilize as my blood sugar stabilizes to a more normal level? Should I see an optometrist or an ophthalmologist?

What kind of diet were you on right before the surgery? When I met with Dr. Eagon the nurse said I needed to be working toward 1400 calories a day. But, I meet with the nurse on March 27 (ten days prior to my surgery) and was wondering if they will change this recommendation to liquids or reduced calories.

How is your recovery going, Istytehcrawk? How was/is the liquid phase of the diet after surgery?

Congrats on your loss, Istytehcrawk! Did you have your surgery at the hospital in the Central West End, or Barnes-Jewish West? Do you mind me asking what complications you had?

I'm wondering if when someone has a panniculectomy does it also tighten up or get rid of the excess skin over the pubic bone? I'm thinking it would look weird to have a flat area where your pannus had been, only to then have a pooching FUPA.

My surgeon said because I have GERD I am not a good candidate for a sleeve. He said patients that get a sleeve generally develop reflux, and if you already have a history of GERD its a bad idea.

Good luck on your journey! Having someone to support you is a blessing for sure

How does Premier Protein's price compare to the Total Lean Shakes?

Kakatlady612 - I hope you find a surgeon to perform your surgery. I chose to have an RNY because I had the Lap Band back in 2002, but had to have an emergency surgery to remove it in 2010 because it was eating into my stomach. That history, along with the fact that I do have GERD also, meant that RNY was the only surgery that was recommended for me. I also have congestive heart failure, diabetes, fibromyalgia, high cholesterol & triglycerides, and struggle with anxiety and depression, so you can imagine the size of my pill box. I am looking forward to dropping weight and hopefully becoming more healthy and reduce the amount of medicines I have to take.

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Charity and I live in a small town in Illinois just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, MO. My insurance gave me the go ahead, so I'm happy to announce my RNY is scheduled in St. Louis for April 10th ! Being diabetic, my blood sugar has been higher than I'd like of late (all those "last meals") so I am starting the 1400 calorie diet my surgeon wanted me to do prior to surgery, and focusing on cutting out carbs. I've used Keto before to drop weight, so I'll go back to doing what I should have been doing in the first place. HW 396 CW 315 RNY 4/10/2018