NovelTee

Hey March buddies, Just checking on y’all. Hope everyone’s journey has been going smoothly. I will admit that I have been struggling to get both the recommended amount of protein AND water down each day. It feels like I have to choose one or the other, because there doesn’t seem to be adequate time to fit both. I’ve been prioritizing the protein, but I have my checkup with my surgeon in a couple weeks and hopefully they’ll have some tips. I’ve been lucky, I haven’t experienced dumping at all yet. I’m not a huge sweets person, but even when I’ve had dessert, I was okay. My stomach did not approve of fresh corn the last time I tried it, but that’s been the only thing to give me an issue. Popcorn at a movie was fine. My hair has thinned dramatically, and I’m praying it comes back. I already have alopecia and was prepared for this to happen—I’ve been wearing wigs all summer, but I miss my hair and I’m trying not to worry, but it’s hard. I’m down 65 pounds, but I’ve been in a stall for the last 3-4 weeks. I’m going to try to get up earlier to get more water in and I’m starting to weight train in the gym, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while but just felt super self-conscious. Just gonna pull up my big girl panties and get to it. Hang in there, friends. Even with the challenges, I wouldn’t go back to what was before. I’m excited for a season change and for the weather to be cooler so that I can walk outside a little more. Sending good vibes to all of you!

That green is GORGEOUS on you!!

This gave me so much hope. I hate feeling like I look like a hunchback. I used to have amazing posture, but as I gained, I think that I lost confidence and sort of cowered in my own little shell trying not to be noticed. I've been working on bringing the posture back to what it used to be, but I cannot wait for the neck hump to be gone!!

Right? Coffee is needed badly lol. And on the 10pm-4am, from what I've seen in the forums, I think my nurse was going for extremes lol. I did tell my surgeon about it during our first check-in, so who knows if the next people will have it any better, but it was worth a try!

*March 2024 🤦🏽‍♀️

Checking in with the March 2023 crew. How y’all doin?? My surgery was 3/28. Things have been going relatively smoothly for me. My toughest time was my overnight in the hospital—the night nurse was a bit extreme and wouldn’t let us sleep. She wanted us drinking two ounces of water every hour from 10pm to 4am with the threat that we wouldn’t go home if we didn’t complete it. Needless to say, I did not go home at 5am lol. I definitely told my surgeon at my 1wk check-in. The first few days, it was painful trying to get up out of bed and if I sneezed, but I never needed to take the heavy duty pain meds they gave me. I did need to start adding Miralax to my water every few days and I use Benefiber daily. Other than that, it’s been really smooth for me so far. Getting all my water is sometimes tough, but I try to start drinking it earlier and can handle it far better than I could right when I got home post-op. I can’t wait for coffee! Hope you’re all recovering smoothly!!

Does every doctor interpret this treatment process differently? I've been reading so many different timelines that everyone is being given, and I'm confused as to whether there is actually a "norm" and then doctors deviate accordingly, or if each doctor/medical group sets their ideal SOP? For instance, my surgeon required 2 full weeks of liquid only diet for pre-op and at least one night in the hospital after surgery. My first in-person check-in was at one week. I have video/phone appointments until my next in-person at 6 months. Pureed/soft foods don't start until week 3. Solid foods will start week 7. Red meat/shrimp at 6 months. I have Kaiser in the DMV, so the food part is proscribed by the bariatric department, but even the overnight requirement was different with other people having surgery the same day as me. A nurse said my surgeon makes it a standard while others are out in hours. Obviously, it looks like my doctor is moving out of an abundance of caution, which I appreciate, but is anyone not in the Kaiser system getting the same guidance?

Oh, how interesting! I wonder what caused them to make the adjustment, but I’m glad it moved closer to what my doctor does. Though a total of 5 weeks of liquid makes me want to cry lol. I’ve got 2 left.

Ahh, this is really interesting! Thank you for this perspective!

Thank you too! Recovery has been really smooth so far. The hardest part was my overnight in the hospital—my nurse refused to let us sleep and wanted us to drink two ounces of water per hour, which felt impossible at the time. Once I got home, I was able to do it no problem. Everything seems to be healing well and I haven’t had any digestive issues or needed pain meds, which has been a blessing.

I wasn’t warned about chewing gum through my health provider. The guidelines we were given allow it. I’m 8 days out and chewed gum yesterday without any issues.

Thanks for this! I fully intend to follow the guidance, it was just a curiosity as to how they determine their guidance. I just think it's really interesting to basically still be on full liquid to week three post-surgery. Maybe yours is tailored and mine is just sort of a set rubric? The food guidance I have isn't tailored to me––it's a PDF that's given to every bariatric patient in our medical group. My assigned nutritionist shared with me that her department always receives random updates to the diet directly from the bariatric department when the issue the new PDFs (we went through two updates while I was waiting for my surgery to be scheduled. When I have update calls with my nutritionist, she just asks me if I'm getting in my fluids and proteins and following the PDF for guidance on what I'm allowed to have. Either way, really interesting! Hope your surgery goes smoothly!!

I had surgery last week and those were definitely my feelings lol. Honestly, I’m still excited and nervous—excited at the changes to come but also nervous that somehow I’ll let myself down. Grateful for my support system. Just taking it one day at a time. Good luck to y’all!!

Congrats!! 👏🏾👏🏾

I had my surgery last week and my surgeon said he has all of his patients stay one night for monitoring. There are other surgeons in the same unit that let people go home same day, but he said he prefers not to rush care. It made me feel safer. I did have some overnight challenges, so I was glad to still be there. I left the next afternoon.

All of the reasons above plus the heightened risk of lung collapse due to the surgery. I found that when my cpap readings fell short, it was mostly due to my mask not being tight enough for a proper seal. The stronger my oxygen levels, the better I started sleeping. Keeping fingers crossed for you!!

Fingers crossed!!

I tried cutting my pill into small pieces rather than crushing them into powder, and I was finally able to get them down. Yesterday I was able to get down a little over 40 oz, thank goodness. I know they were super ready to send me to the hydration clinic if I wasn't able to get my water intake up. Today has been much smoother with water and a protein shake down so far.

This has been my experience too. My surgery was 3/28, and I'm barely now getting down a little water without it coming back up. I'm trying to figure out how to get down my crushed meds if I can't get down much water.

I'm so happy to find this thread, because I've been anticipating these questions and am so nervous about them. My immediate family and a couple of close friends know, but I don't intend to share beyond that. Currently, my plan is to simply say that I've been addressing some health challenges and leave it at that.

TBH, this gives me hope. My surgery is in two days (March 28), and I've been trying my best not to stress out about it. Hope your recovery continues to go smoothly!

So relatable!! My surgery is in two days. I've been on an all liquid diet for two weeks, and cravings are REAL. Sending you good vibes and hope you're on to the next phase soon!