misskim3297

My "care person" had to come to the pre-op day at the hospital. I couldn't have the surgery unless I had someone to take me home. Granted, there was no way I could have driven home.

Your taste buds will change a lot so don't be alarmed. Right now, I'm addicted to Wild Strawberry Crystal Light.

I physically returned to work after two weeks. The first week after surgery I basically slept, took vitamins and drank protein shakes. The second week I worked from home. The third week I was back in the office but I was still pretty tired at the end of the day.

I pooped maybe 24 hours after surgery. I haven't had a problem. Once of my prescriptions was for stool softeners but I didn't need it.

Sorry for the delay in response! My pre-op appts took a while bc I had to have a sleep study. They were really booked up. I had my initial consultation in October 2017 and had surgery in March 2018. I scheduled all the pre-op stuff myself. I had to have a mammogram too. The surgeon basically gives you a honey do list depending on what they think you need and what your insurance requires. Some people have to have nutrition counseling too.

You can ask whatever you want. I wasn't in a great deal of pain. I asked for pain medication while I was in the hospital but didn't need any once I was discharged. Everything felt more like muscle soreness rather than pain. It felt like I did too many sit ups. I was very sick from the anesthesia. My back also hurt from laying on a metal operating table for 4 hours. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Try not to freak out about the scale. Your body will lose a lot and then a very small amount or nothing at all. I use myfitnesspal to track everything but that's more so I can make sure I'm eating enough protein and watching my sodium, not so much for counting calories. It sounds like you are doing great so far. I agree with what others have said about blood work and vitamins. They are so important. Good luck!

My gallbladder was removed too. I had the weird dent looking thing. It went back to normal after a little while (I don't remember how long sorry). Like another poster wrote, having one of the incisions larger than the others is normal. I didn't have any bruising but I don't really bruise anyways. The pain when swallowing is probably from the tube down your throat during the surgery. If you are taking pills for your vitamins get a pill cutter. It will help tremendously. Hope this helps. You will do great!

They will obviously catch on but it is your decision who to tell and when. It is all about what you feel comfortable doing. I didn't tell many people... maybe 8. It became pretty obvious a few months after the surgery lol I had DS surgery about 14 months ago and I'm so glad I did. I was in the hospital for two nights (surgery on Friday very early a.m. and discharged Sunday afternoon). As far as the nerves, just prepare the best you can. It helped me knowing everything was set for after the surgery. Good luck!

2-3 in the morning, one more at night. Unless I eat something that I shouldn't lol

Before my surgery, my immediate family, a few friends and a few people at work (including HR) knew. It's been almost 9 months and I haven't told a lot of people but I am an extremely private person. You need to do what's best for you. Don't stress about it.

First I checked where I could go with my insurance. I am lucky to live in a major metropolitan area (Chicago) so I had a ton of choices. A friend of the family had his done and almost died due to medical negligence so I checked what hospital he went to and crossed that one off my list. I asked a high school friend where hers was done. I also did a ton of research. Which hospital had the best bariatric program, how many surgeries had the surgeons performed, etc. I ended up choosing Dr. Prachand from University of Chicago and I'm glad I did. I did not have a recommendation from my primary care physician or anything.

You are going to be just fine. Don't beat yourself up. Remember, no one is perfect and you are fabulous! Track everything you eat in MyFitnessPal or some other app, not matter what you eat. That way you will be able to tell if you are getting enough protein, water, etc. Follow the guidelines your surgeon and nutritionist gave you. You can do this!

Of course you are nervous honey. You are about to have major surgery. What you are feeling is completely normal. Just try to remain calm and remember that lots of people have weight loss surgery and are just fine. You are going to do great. Good luck!

Chapstick for when you are in the hospital. It saved me. Also, I had a phone charger that had a light up cord. It was easy to find considering all the other wires and stuff I had going on (two IVs, a heart monitor and about 6 leads attached to my body). I also bought a water bottle with the fluid ounces on it so I could monitor how much I was drinking when I was home recovering. Lots of people get gasx strips for the hospital. I bought them but did not need them. For when you're home, comfortable clothing. You're basically going to be walking, drinking water/protein and sleeping lol If you buy protein shakes, get more than one flavor. I only bought caramel and now I won't even touch them bc that's all I drank for a week.

Congratulations on your surgery! For the vitamins, try one of those vitamin holds that has different compartments. I have one that has four compartments per day and throw it in my purse so I never forget to take my vitamins. For the calcium, try the bariatric advantage calcium chewables. They taste like starburst. The calcium citrate pills are huge, no matter which brand. The liquids are very important the first few weeks bc it's easy to become dehydrated. No one likes the diet the first few weeks but you will be so happy once you can start eating soft foods and regular foods! Good luck!

You're completely normal. My surgery was 3/16/18 and I had loose stool all the time for the first few months. My surgeon wasn't worried as long as I was getting my liquids and vitamins in. Now it's only loose if I eat something that doesn't agree with me.

I was approved for DS surgery through BCBSIL but it took multiple submissions. They were very picky about all the paperwork. It was denied the first time bc they couldn't find the cover page for the 45 pages that were faxed over. The bariatric coordinator had to offer/threaten to have the surgeon contact the insurance company. Then it got approved lol My BMI was over 50 so I didn't have that issue. You just have to keep on the insurance company and your surgeon's office. Good luck!

As long as you are confident in his surgical abilities, you are good. You guys don't have to be bffs or anything. I had DS surgery 6 months ago and I flat out told my surgeon I lifted heavy (i.e. deadlifting well over 200lbs) and wanted to continue after the surgery. He said fine but I have to be careful. I wasn't allowed to touch weights for the first few months. Each surgeon has their own opinion about that stuff. You do what is best for you.

I hope you are able to find a surgeon in your area but if you cannot, the staff an University of Chicago hospital is amazing. Vivek Prachand did my surgery. Lots of people go out of state for surgery. There was a woman in my preop class from Ohio. Good luck.

I had DS surgery but what I can say is do your research on everything. The surgery, the surgeon, the food phases before and after, how your body will change, etc. Know what you are getting into. I had very little pain after surgery, more soreness than anything else, and (so far) haven't had any major complications. I hope everything goes well for you.

Mine was overnight at the hospital I had my surgery at. The room was set up like a hotel room. I had wires all over my head, legs and arms. I also had two straps with wires around my chest. I barely slept at all lol I was out by 6am and I went home, showered (bc you have goopy stuff all over your head from the leads) and slept for 6 hrs.

Completely normal. I took two naps a day and slept 8-10 hrs a night for the first week after my surgery. Your body needs to rest.

Your tastebuds and what you can tolerate change after surgery. Maybe trying some different foods that you wouldn't normally eat would help make everything more appetizing. You are not alone. There are days when I am not hungry at all and days when I want to eat everything lol I agree with the protein water. I know Premier makes a version.

I had the dry skin but that went away after month 2 post op thank God. I have the weirdest food cravings. Toasted bread, pickles, shrimp with cocktail sauce... completely random.