jenny8791

Has anyone else had issues breaking out in hives in the first few months following surgery? The first time it happened was about 3 weeks after surgery. It's very random, but probably 10 times or so in the last four months. I've never had any sort of allergies before (skin, seasonal or food). Nothing has changed in my skin care or laundry. I'm creature of habit so all the same soaps, etc. My primary care doc says its likely a new food allergy or something I'm eating, but I cant find any sort of a pattern. Thoughts anyone?

Hi All - I am about 4.5 months out from VSG. Overall, I'm doing well and couldn't be happier. I am starting to hit a plateau but I know it happens and I'm ok with it. My question is.... What did 4-5 months out look like for you? What were you eating? Physical changes? Any foods you couldn't tolerate at this point, etc. There's a lot posts about what happens immediately after this surgery and what long term looks like, but I'm curious about other people's experiences at this point. Thanks for the feedback. Have a great day! Jenny

Here's what I take: (all chewable, none upset my stomach) Procare Bariatric Multivitamin - https://www.amazon.com/ProCare-Health-Bariatric-MultiVitamin-Capsule/dp/B06WWM7PRD/ (3 or 4 formulations available based on your iron needs) BariMelts B1 - https://www.amazon.com/EZ-Melts-Thiamine-Sublingual-Vitamins/dp/B00VVLAPKM/ Country Life Brand Chewable Calcim Citrate Natrol Brand Biotin Natrol Brand D3 Sublingual b12 I started all of these after my very first appt with the surgeon. I stopped before surgery and resumed when I could eat soft foods. 3 months post op my vitamin levels in bloodwork were better than before surgery. I've had no deficiencies.

I can totally relate to this! Especially when I'm at the gym I want so badly just to have a bigger drink of water but nope. It makes me nauseous every time. Thankfully that only lasts about 30 seconds for me and I've never actually puked because of it. My bestie is about 4 years post-op and she can drink about twice as much as me, but she can even drink too much and be uncomfortable for a bit. I think it's one of those thigns that gets better, but never back to normal and we learn to adjust.

Well I wish this was true for me! I miss having cocktails with my friends. I was pretty good about making them low-cal when possible. Last weekend we went wine tasting. I had a 4-pour flight. I took literally a small sip of each and felt slightly buzzed when I was finished. My wife and friends were more than happy to finish mine so no harm.

After surgery, I really couldn't stand to drink the premier protein drinks. I think it's because I had them so much before surgery. A lot of my taste buds changed after surgery. Don't forget to drink them exceedingly slow. I only had a couple sips every few minutes. The only time I had pain or nausea was when I drank to fast (and that still happens now). Also, I found that walking helped. I paced the house a lot to get rid of that uncomfortable feeling. One thing that did make me feel better and allowed me to get the protein in without the shakes was soup. I had pho broth with unflavored protein powder, or ithe lipton cup of soup (cream of chicken) with unflavored protein. It will get better! You got this.

Congrats! Keep noticing the little victories. I find them more rewarding than the numbers.

It happened three times this weekend. I think I'm going to call my primary care doctor and see why I can't go through allergy testing to see what's going on. I did stop all vitamins for a bit when it first started happening because I thoughts that's what it was but after 4+ days of being without them and coming down with hives again I eliminated the vitamins. And i'm really only taking a heartburn pill so I don't think it's that. I was taking about 12 prescriptions a day but I reversed all my health conditions with the weight loss. I guess I need to stop complaining. Getting rid of the diabetes is worth having hives for. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Is it gas pain? I dont think they always tell people but they pretty much inflate your abdomen during surgery. Gas can travel up in your body and get trapped in your shoulders. My bestie had the issue when she had surgery 3 years ago. She didn't know about it, but a friend who was a nurse told her about it and went over to her house to walk with her. I avoided the issue of trapped gas by walking continually to work itself out. I walked laps in the hospital until they wouldn't let me any more. When I was home I paced the hallway upstairs, and walked around the kitchen island when I was downstairs. Maybe walking will help ease it a bit? Hope you feel better soon!

Congrats! I remember how fun it was when I started fitting into smaller clothing. NSV's are everything to me. Keep up the good work! I always lost really really slow before surgery. And now almost everything I bought after surgery is too big. (And as much as I think it's a great NSV, it's a double edged sword. I hate shopping for some things, like bras. Now I'm having to shop again, but its less fun since I'm broke from surgery) Congrats again, keep up the good work.

I had surgery a couple weeks after you, and I noticed this week my hair loss has really sped up. I know its normal, but my hair was thin to begin with. I've been stuggling a lot with it. I dont want to try rogaine or nioxin because they are all dependent upon your continual use of them. However, I am making sure to really stay on top of my vitamins. I also added a sublingual folic acid. I'm also using the Vital Proteins Collegen Peptide powder that you can get at costco. My wife puts it in her coffee every morning. I usually just add it to a protein shake. It came at the recommendation of many friends, two of which also had the sleeve surgery. It helped them with the hair loss. One of them swears by taking the bariatric multivitamin one day and then a prenatal the next day. Dont forget to stay on top of your protein. If you dont, it will make your hair loss worse.

I stopped inhaling about a week before surgery (vape, joints, etc). I continued with edibles up until 48 hours before surgery. After surgery, I used a liquid syrup starting about 10 days after surgery. I only took painkillers for about two days after surgery. I used the syrup because it was gentle, didn't need to be chewed, etc. However, I would strongly suggest trying it before surgery so you know how well it works etc. Not all tinctures and syrups are created equal. Some that say they are 30mg a dose I might not feel, but take 10mg dose of another and it hits me hard. I personally made the decision to avoid inhaling anything until after the stomach suture line is fully healed. It wasn't worth the risk to me to get into a coughing fit. (Even though I am a long time smoker and don't cough) And I understand what you are saying about the munchie concern... once you have used marijuana enough you know what gives you munchies, what doesn't etc. I avoid the strains I know will do that to me, or I only have healthy munchies close by. Dont forget that your tolerance and the way you absorb things has changed.

After surgery, I used some THC syrups for the first couple weeks. I smoked my first joint about a month after. Ironically, I passed out after smoking but it had nothing to do with the smoking. I thought I was just panicking because I was high, but it was actually dehydration and i went kerplunk walking from the front porch back into the house. We tested my blood sugar because I thought maybe it was low, but it was fine. I realized I should check my blood pressure and it was very low! Half a bottle of gatorade zero and I was getting back to normal. I saw my doc the next day who confirmed it wasnt the smoking but dehydration. I personally waited a month before smoking just because it takes at least that long for the stomach and staples to heal. I didn't want to take a chance with the coughing.

Cream of wheat with protein powder added Turkey lunchmeat with a tiny bit of mayo and seasoning so it was like a spread Pureed eggs that tasted like deviled eggs Cream soups with added protein Cottage cheese And I also freeze protein shakes in a little ramekin or popsicle bag to make it feel like a treat. If it freeze it in a bowl I try to stir it a couple times and then eat when its the consistency of soft serve. Eating it with a spoon made it feel like eating. I used baby spoons to extend it.

I was told absolutely no gummies as well. I take the Procare Bariatric chewable formula with iron. It's never upset my stomach. However a friend had an issue with the iron in it upsetting her stomach so she started taking it at night before bed. It worked for her.

I also take the Vital Proteins collagen powder, but I do not count it toward my protein goals for the day. It's not a good protein source. I take it mainly to help my hair and skin. I figure the protein in it should just be a bonus. If it helps, it helps but I don't want to count on it for my health.

I started taking the vitamins from my first appointment with the surgeon six months prior to surgery. I started with chewables from the very beginning because I hate swallowing big pills. I stopped a couple days before surgery when I had to start the liquid diet. I resumed the bariatric multivitamin chewable about 4-5 days after surgery. I was instructed to not take the calcium citrate chewables until I could eat pureed foods. Around that time I also started the d3, b12, b3 and biotin too. My vitamin levels 3 months post surgery were higher than my values before surgery.

Regarding the pain - walking helped me immensely. I had pain for two reasons - the gas pain from the air they fill the body with during surgery and pain/pressure whenever I ate or drank anything. The thing that helped me the most was pacing up and down the hallway. To this day I still do that if I'm feeling any discomfort at all. I had the best luck sleeping on my back, but elevated and with my legs elevated. I was so thankful that my best friend had the surgery years ago and knew exactly what I was going to go through. She has one of those adjustable beds and offered for me to recover at her house. The bed was just what I needed to sleep well. I stayed for almost a week, but learned to still elevate myself and my knees when i went home. I just had to use pillows. This also made it easier to get up without straining. I couldn't tolerate being on my side or my stomach. It was a few weeks before I went to my side, and I still used some pillows to help lower pressure points.

My surgery was paid by insurance. I have a 20% co-insurance, but an out of pocket maximum of $5k a year. I ended up paying around $4000 because it was early in the year, but on the flip side I'm going to have hip surgery in a couple months and will pay nothing. California / Cigna