Lillimint

As for whether I feel anything ‘missing’ or does my stomach area fell different...the answer is no. I had a full hysterectomy about 5 years ago, and I definitely felt like my insides had been rearranged then. But even that feeling went away after a couple of weeks. With the gastric sleeve procedure I did not have that feeling at all. It was too uncomfortable to sleep on my side for about 2 weeks but I probably could have with the support of a pillow. Now I sleep on my side all the time and it’s completely comfortable, with the exception of my knees feeling much more boney. The surgery part was not pleasant, but very temporary. I’m 5 months out, and I still have scars, but I’m sure they’ll continue to get lighter. Even now I bet a man wouldn’t say anything. It’s been my experience that men have a completely different set of observational skills than women, and in this case I would expect they wouldn’t even notice. 😁 The scars are small enough that they could easily be explained away with some white lies if you didn’t want someone to know. I’ve had no problems with gas at all. As for bowel movements, what I eat definitely has an effect. It’s more that since I am consuming so much less that what I’m putting out is much less. I’ve had a couple of instances with constipation that I never had before. I just make sure to take some miralax at the first sign of any issues and the next morning I’m right as rain. As I’ve moved into eating more normal foods I’ve had fewer issues with that.

I too am a “every morning” weigh-er. Just after I wake up, pee, brush my teeth and wash my face, either naked but more likely with just my underwear on. I convinced myself that underwear is okay after weighing myself approximately 90 times to convince myself that it made no difference. I live in a 150-year-old house that is extremely drafty! 😳

I am 4 weeks pot op, and having trouble getting all my protein in. I’ve formed an opinion about the protein shakes. Which btw, taste perfectly fine to me and didn’t cause any issues with constipation *before* surgery. Now....ahem...not good. I am at the puréed/mushy food stage and I’ve tolerated just about everything perfectly fine. I just can’t get enough down throughout the day. My digestive system is working very well right now and that makes me very happy. So I’m weighing the pros and cons with the protein powders. Any issues there? Are certain kinds of proteins harder on your digestive system than others? Like whey vs. whatever else is out there. And what about the clear protein waters? I did get super tired of them just before the surgery, but I’d be willing to give them a try again. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I wasn’t going to tell my work anything. I was using a week of annual leave, then returning to teleworking. Unfortunately, I ended up back at the hospital after a few days with dehydration. Totally fixable, but I realized my recovery wasn’t going to be smooth and I was going to need more time off. (I also had an absolute need to sleep like a hibernating bear.) I needed a doctors note and an ‘explanation’. I wish I had prepared for this possibility ahead of time. Anyway, I took the .pdf of the doctors note and erased where it said “Bariatric Center”, submitted it to my boss with a very terse explanation that I had a procedure that hadn’t gone as smoothly as expected and needed an extra week using sick leave. I added that it was not related to COVID. My boss just replied with prayers, and asked for no details , but I got the impression that he thought it might be something much more serious. Now I’m somewhat worried that I might have to squash some rumors of serious illness once I get back to the office. I kind of wish I had gone with the hernia or gallbladder explanation. Even if that’s a transparent explanation/code for WLS I hate the idea that I have given coworkers the idea that I am seriously ill.

My version of BCBS does cover WLS, but I called them anyway to confirm. It was a fairly lengthy phone call as they went over all the preop requirements. Then they sent me their coverage info so I could look it up or refer to it on my own. The approval process required 3+ months of various appointments (cardiologist, psychologist, 3 months of nutritional counseling, PCP visit, etc.) so there was plenty of time for the WLS office to work out any kinks (there weren’t any). After I had gone to all the various appointments the WLS office called BCBS to verify final approval and set the surgery date. That took maybe 10 days. I got the impression it probably goes slightly quicker in non-COVID times. With the whole process there really isn’t a possibility that I could have ended up getting expensive surgery without insurance approval, something I was concerned about in the beginning.

Hi @Jen637! I had a terrible time post-op with my sense of smell. I was so sensitive to any smell and it played a huge part in my nausea and vomiting. It felt like I was being assaulted with information overload to my brain. The good news is that at 3 months after surgery it is completely back to normal. The first week was the worst, but it slowly eased up each week. I might have been back to normal by week 5 or so? But no vomiting by the end of week 1, definitely bearable by week 2-3. It was so horrible and distracting in the beginning! My sense of taste seems to be fine now, too. Good luck, and I hope this passes for you quickly!

@dal101 I bet there are maps or groups someplace! I’ve always heard about the Jurassic Coast in southern England if you’re into fossils. And there’s lots of metamorphic rocks in Scotland. There’s always weird and unusual minerals in metamorphic areas.

I am a geologist, and I’ve been opal mining someplace just south of Death Valley. It was probably 20+ years ago, so I no longer remember the name. I’ve also been to the diamond mine in Arkansas. Beautiful and interesting geology in that area, and there’s also several places close by where you can dig for some beautiful quartz crystals. Lots of other interesting minerals in the area as well. There’s a series of great books called “The Roadside Geology of [Utah]”. They exist for nearly every state. I’m almost positive there’s one for Nevada. They are great for road trips to explain what you’re seeing, and will mention places that are good for rock collecting/mining/fossil hunting. They are not too technical. Glad you enjoy digging in the dirt! It’s one of the things that attracted me to the profession. Although now I work in an office and make maps. I haven’t gotten to play around with a rock hammer in years. Maybe once I lose a bit more weight I can get out there again...

At 4 days out I was still feeling pretty rotten/sick, but I could move around, and get up and down just fine. It definitely took me by surprise how tired I was, which I put down as not reacting well to the anesthesia. (Maybe it takes a while to get all that anesthesia out of your system??? Just a theory.). I took naps during the day that would last 3-4 hours — deep, deep sleep. That alone was weird because I don’t normally nap. I took the first week off from work, which was absolutely necessary, and worked half-days the second week. I felt pretty much okay by then, but I was still needing those long naps in the afternoon. By the 3rd week my energy level felt back to normal.

I have an uncontrollable drunken-sounding hiccup several times a day. It’s so loud! I sound like a day-drinking pirate. Fortunately I am working from home so it’s not particularly bothersome. I’m not quite 3 months out from surgery, so I’m assuming/hoping that it will lessen with time. Also, looking at ms.sss’s list, I bet I’m probably eating too fast.

Congratulations! Your loss is very inspiring!

I really like the idea of having a “red alert” weight. When I regained weight before WLS I would get frustrated and give up because it always felt like starting over. I let it get so far out of hand that it *was* starting over. I never halted myself quickly enough.

At my 2 month follow up I asked the nurse practitioner if she could recommend a therapist to supplement my weight loss journey. She said no one had ever asked her that before but it seemed like a good idea, and just recommended the psychiatrist who did my pre-op evaluation. Hmmmm...so I guess my particular program puts no emphasis on talk therapy. I don’t really think I need to schedule with a psychiatrist — I’m not looking for medication. I feel like my weight loss journey has been fairly ‘normal’ so far, but clearly I don’t have a healthy relationship with food or I wouldn’t have needed the surgery in the first place. I want to do everything I can to make this a success. If you’ve gone to therapy, how did you find your therapist? Did you look for someone with a particular specialty? Or particular credentials? How do you know if you’ve got a bad therapist? Or a good one? What major kind of topics did you talk about? And did it help? I’m trying to figure out what I should tell the person what I’m hoping to get out of the talk. Maybe I’m making this way more difficult than it should be, but I just don’t even know where to begin.

Thanks, @BriarRose. This is super helpful! I like being prepared, so I will get a list of things I’d like to work towards.

You mentioned the smell. One of my issues after surgery was was a crazy super-sensitive sense of smell. I had a hard time getting anything down, and everything made me gag (or worse). It lessened pretty quickly starting at about 7-10 days and everything got much better. I can drink or eat just about anything now at 2 months post surgery. Hopefully yours will go the same. In the meantime, breath through your mouth or hold your nose, or try to distract yourself while taking in those protein shakes. And some of those clear protein waters can go down way better in the beginning.

I had surgery 7/23 and mine is still slightly indented. At first I couldn’t tell, but now I’m sure that it won’t be permanent. It was the incision that hurt the most. It’s still a tiny bit tender (inside - not tender to the touch), but that might be my imagination? It looked so weird when I first came home that I assumed that my surgeon just wasn’t concerned with the outward appearance of things. Now I think it’s just a temporary issue that goes away at different rates for different people.

I’ve been able to eat chicken, but very, very slowly. Shrimp has gone down extremely easily so I eat that nearly every day. Good thing I’m in southern Louisiana! Weirdly (for me) I have not been able to eat canned tuna. I liked it before surgery but now I can’t keep it down. I think it’s the smell rather than the texture. I developed a super sensitive sense of smell since my surgery 6 weeks ago which seems to be linked to my taste. It’s faded some, but I sure hope it fades more.

Thanks @NovaLuna!

I am now 8 days out from surgery and today is the first time I’ve felt even remotely normal. The recovery has been ROUGH! The nausea was so bad I couldn’t get in my liquids or even take the zofran pill without throwing up. The stomach spasms are something else. Ended up back at the hospital for IV fluids and a CT scan. At least I know there’s nothing wrong with the surgery. I got a prescription for scopolamine patches which has helped tremendously, and along with crystal lite I should be able to hit my goal for liquids today. I’m also able to watch food commercials on tv that don’t make me turn queasy. The stomach spasms are still there, but are no longer overwhelming. I tried to sleep as much as I could to make this period pass more quickly. I feel as if my progress on Day 8 is equal to what so many others have progressed to on Day 2 or 3. I was definitely full of regrets the first couple of days. Now I think I can see a path forward with being able to follow the recommended diet.

Cheers @Repeatingthoughts! I’m right behind you with my surgery scheduled at noon today. It was very hard to sleep, but 24 hours from now we’ll have this huge step behind us!

Did my COVID test today and already got the results (negative). It wasn’t too bad at all. My doctor just emailed and said I was good to go. My surgery is scheduled for Thursday. I’m definitely nervous with wondering if I’m doing the right thing. I keep reminding myself of all the things I hate about my present weight, and all the things I can’t do. I just wish I could skip this next week or so.

My date for VSG IS 7/23, and I’m already on day 5 of the pre-op liquid diet. I’ve been hugely surprised that it’s not as bad as I expected. I had headaches the first 2 days, but otherwise it’s been pretty manageable. My fingers are crossed that things don’t get cancelled due to the COVID, but there doesn’t seem to be any talk (around here) about canceling elective surgeries.

I’ve just started telling a few friends and they’ve been very supportive. I haven’t told my family yet - I’m not sure that will go over well. I’ll probably hold off saying anything until it gets closer to the surgery date (07/23) because I hate to let the cat out of the bag then it gets canceled.