Mandalynne

Good morning everyone! I have to say, all the extreme pain and unforeseen issues with surgery makes me nervous. I know it’s not the “norm”, but it makes you think.
@Singingbarista and @Hiddenroses (i can’t figure out how to tag people hahaha), I totally know what you mean about not telling people. I have only told my sister and my mother and that’s because they’ve both had procedures similar to this. I agree, in my head there’s a fear of judgment that I’m taking the “easy way out”… even if I know that’s not true… this has got to be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. This is a tool to aid us in loosing the excess weight that keeps us down for a number of reasons.
I’m an Accountant, and fortunately I get to work remotely now so I’m not in the public eye, but when I fly down to see my family next year they’ll definitely see a big difference and I’ll have to be prepared for questions. I don’t like to lie so I’ll just have to prepare myself to tell the truth. If they judge me, that’s on them.
I was given a choice on my procedures but was heavily advised to go with RNY because of the success rate with weight loss. My doctor told me that a lot of people he’s performed the Gastric Sleeve on have come back to get the RNY because of the weight gain back.
My surgery is coming up on Wednesday and I’m honestly ready to get it over with. My food cravings and hunger pains are terrible. Maybe I’m not drinking enough Water? I hear a lot of people say by this time it wasn’t so bad for them… ummm am I doing something wrong? 
How is everyone doing on the last days of the liquid diet? I have 4 days and counting… @Singingbarista, you have 3 days right?
By the way, side note… i asked the doctor not to give me anything that’s a narcotic for pain meds (family history of severe pill addiction), does anyone think I can recover on Tramadol or Tylenol alone? Is there anyone who’s gone through that?

Good luck to all, and for those of you who just went through the surgery, I really hope your pain goes away soon.

Thank you @Singingbarista ! I feel better knowing your headaches went away. Today is a little rough… i’m so sick of these Ensure shakes hahaha. I just have to remind myself of the end goal.

Wow, are you having the RNY or the Sleeve? I hope you’re doing well with everything! We’re so close I know we can do it!
I would kill to have a solid food meal. I’m forcing these liquids down at this point. And i’m trying not to be a whiner :D.
I’m avoiding going out because I don’t trust my discipline in the store right now.
How are you doing so close to your surgery date?

Hi everyone, I’m very new to forums, but it’s Nice to meet you all.

I started this process back in February of this year, but I had been considering it for a while. my sister had the Gastric Sleeve, but my doctor wants me to get the Gastric Bypass, so that’s what I’m going to do. My starting weight was 266, i’m 5’3 with a BMI of 45… my doctor put my goal at 120.. fingers crossed. So insurance is covering it but I have a deductible.
I have a surgery date of August 14, 2024. I’m currently on 2 week of the liquid diet. Today being the first day with absolutely no solid foods allowed.

I had started preparing with purchasing toddler utensils and measured food containers, and a food scale. I stocked up on Ensure Max Protein, Unflavored protein powder, PB2 (no sugar added Peanut Butter powder), powdered banana and powdered freeze dried strawberries… all with no sugar added. I also bought Vanilla plant based protein powder. I blend a mixture of whatever flavor I want with 8 oz of skim milk or Water.
My routine is 2 ensures a day, then a powdered skim milk shake (in my ninja single blender) with whatever flavor, then I have 1 or 2 Progresso soup(s) for dinner (strained so I only get the broth)… the doctor said he didn’t care about the sodium only the sugar. If i need Snacks, i drink 4oz of V8 juice original, or I have a Sugar Free Chocolate pudding.
i have been slowly buying and stocking baby food. I buy veggies and fruit and some mixed meals, but this is in preparation of the post-op puréed meal portion. I like to be prepared.
I bought a 32oz water bottle on Amazon with that doesn’t have a straw (teaches me to sip). I know that I have to get through 2 of those a day minimum. I usually do pretty good.
My biggest problem is that I don’t have the energy to get off my behind and use my Bowflex anymore. Sometimes I’ll do Beat saber for cardio but I’m just low on energy. Have to say low carb is rough and it gives me mild headaches every day. I’m worried that I’ll lose weight so fast that I won’t have time to protect the muscles I have because I don’t have the energy to work out.
I’m now 6 days away from my surgery, I’m determined but nervous because the Bypass is a big change.

I’m not a smoker, but to all of you out there quitting for this, kudos to you!! You can all do it if you set your mind to it.

Well my surgery got pushed back to 9/4 because of some covid issue at the hospital. So I’m going to have to start my liquid diet all over again.
I hope everyone is doing well, both pre-op and post-op!!
@AndreaJD and @Singingbarista, how’s it going? Well wishes for everyone!!

Thank you for that! Yes I have been enjoying the smell of his food lol. I told him I was going to sniff all the flavor away lol.

Well my surgery got pushed back to 9/4 because of some covid issue at the hospital. So I’m going to have to start my liquid diet all over again.
I hope everyone is doing well, both pre-op and post-op!!
@AndreaJD and @Singingbarista, how’s it going? Well wishes for everyone!!

Well my surgery got pushed back to 9/4 because of some covid issue at the hospital. So I’m going to have to start my liquid diet all over again.
I hope everyone is doing well, both pre-op and post-op!!
@AndreaJD and @Singingbarista, how’s it going? Well wishes for everyone!!

Wow, I never thought about that as an option, but it makes total sense. It's definitely not something that was talked about in my nutrition class or the doctor's office. Great job on figuring that one out!

@Hiddenroses , i know this reply was to someone else but I just wanted to say thanks for the advice on the cautionary food list, I didn’t know that! And I love tomatoes, Peanut Butter and Pasta. I didn’t realize how long it would be before I could eat tomatoes again.

Also, I too suffer from anxiety and wanted to thank you for the Finch information. I downloaded it today and i think it’s awesome! I think it’ll be extremely helpful moving forward, i appreciate you telling us about it.
I’ve heard the SADI has a wonderful success rate so congrats and I wish you a successful recovery and journey ahead!!

Thank you for that! Yes I have been enjoying the smell of his food lol. I told him I was going to sniff all the flavor away lol.

Thank you for that! Yes I have been enjoying the smell of his food lol. I told him I was going to sniff all the flavor away lol.

@AndreaJD i’m SO glad they still got you in! Good luck and let us know how your recovery goes!! Prayers and good wishes coming your way!!

Don’t worry, you’ll be able to have that pizza again. It’s gonna be a long time before you do, but it will be there for you. so at first, I told my husband that I didn’t want him cooking in the house because I thought it would bother me and then the lack of smelling the food was bothering me so he’s back to cooking and I am even cooking for him I’ve learned to enjoy just the smell of food and what it would taste like and just being content with that mentally, but you’ll get through this!

@Mandalynne - I'm due in the hospital in 30 minutes! So excited to get my designer plumbing!

@AndreaJD your advice about the weight loss discussion with others is great! I’m definitely using that one and thank you!! Good luck on your surgery tomorrow, like you said, eyes on the prize!

@Justarwaxx mine is on the 14th too!! Are you doing the Gastric Bypass as well?

I’ve been told I’ll only be in the hospital 1 night… we shall see. Omg, my husband ate pizza for dinner… he was at least nice enough to eat it in another room, but still… i could almost kill for a piece. But again, eyes on the prize. I keep having to remind myself. 2 more days of this and then my life is changing.
All our lives are changing for the better, which makes it worth it.

You guys stay strong and good luck this week, I know a lot of us are on the roster this week. Be strong and positive vibes everyone!!
I look forward to hearing from everyone after their surgery, keep us updated!!

@AndreaJD your advice about the weight loss discussion with others is great! I’m definitely using that one and thank you!! Good luck on your surgery tomorrow, like you said, eyes on the prize!

@Justarwaxx mine is on the 14th too!! Are you doing the Gastric Bypass as well?

I’ve been told I’ll only be in the hospital 1 night… we shall see. Omg, my husband ate pizza for dinner… he was at least nice enough to eat it in another room, but still… i could almost kill for a piece. But again, eyes on the prize. I keep having to remind myself. 2 more days of this and then my life is changing.
All our lives are changing for the better, which makes it worth it.

You guys stay strong and good luck this week, I know a lot of us are on the roster this week. Be strong and positive vibes everyone!!
I look forward to hearing from everyone after their surgery, keep us updated!!

For those of you waiting for surgery another word from the wise. If your nurse suggests that taking your binder off may help with your pain level consider loosening it first before you take it off completely. I took the advise of my nurse and took it off then two nights later his suggestion was to put it back on. Guess which actually helped….tremendously. I went from two pain meds every four hours to one and then to half just because I had that binder back on. At home now I sleep pretty still on my back so I loosen it a bit while I sleep but tighten it before I get up again. It is a personal preference and may not be the answer for everyone but if nothing else is working consider the binder. It worked for me.

Got my date August 23,I’ll be having the sleeve. Currently 258.8. I do plan on doing all liquids the week of, I’m only recommended to do liquids the day before. I’m nervous but excited 🤞🏼

OK so delayed because my potassium was low but now it's fixed. A few hours behind schedule, but we're a go! See you on the other side!

Got a little nervous because I’m not doing so well with my spirometer. Called the office just to be sure I am okay and the front office I guess explained it a little more drastically than I did but I seen the NP and she listened to my lungs and I am fine. No signs of pnemonia. Sounds like she would’ve been able to tell me that over the phone but ooh well. I’m good and that’s all that matters.

Hi, @Hiddenroses, @Mandalynne, and @Singingbarista,
I had the same question about whether to tell people or not. I decided to tell my boss (that was a no-brainer, because I want her to know what I'm up to so when I need to take it easy, and when I start to lose weight, she'll know why), and I told my work team. I figured when I start losing weight the rumor mill will start (Does Andrea have cancer??!!) and I wanted them to be able to tell people I'm fine. But that's all the people I told at work, because everybody's got an opinion, and coworkers don't need to be weighing in on my personal medical decisions.
I also told my sisters and my Mom. My sisters are totally supportive, even the one who thinks I'm making a mistake. She told me her opinion and hasn't hassled me about it since, she's just been supportive. My mom has said not one word. That's what she does when she doesn't approve, LOL. But that's fine, as long as she doesn't give me grief about it. Oh, and I told my hairdresser, who said her cousin had bariatric surgery and is rocking it.
Here's a suggestion. This is what I'm going to do. If people ask me about my weight loss, I'll say that I am going to the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss and Wellness. Or I'm doing medically supervised weight loss. Both are true, end of discussion. I'm not planning to deny having surgery or anything, I'm just planning to not get into it, especially with people who want to share negative opinions.
Of course we care what others think, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just this is a personal decision about a condition that everyone can see, but is mega-uncomfortable to talk about. We'll support you whatever decision you make. If you have surgery, as you can see this group is quite supportive and willing to share our experiences.

Hi everyone,
well, my surgery did not go as planned. It has been quite the journey since Tuesday. Everything started out great and I was not even nervous. Woke up in recovery and in my half drugged state realized my permanent bridge was not in my mouth. They called the surgeon and he ordered an x-ray which showed my bridge was in my esophagus. The nurse anesthetist knocked it out when he extubated me. I was taken back into surgery, more anesthesia, and all my incisions reopened. They had an endoscopy surgeon go down my throat to retrieve the bridge.
Because of the second surgery it meant I had to stay extra days in the hospital and my recovery will be longer. Also, my potassium is extremely low and I need to supplement that at home. My maiN incision is pretty painful. I’m struggling to get my fluids so I can begin to add shakes back in.
I'm very happy to finally be home and hope to feel better soon.
Hope everyone else is doing well.

@Mandalynne Welcome! I'm due for surgery the day before you - It's feeling really real now. And the August surgeries have started here.
Looks like you have some good prep work done! As long as you are getting your Protein, you shouldn't lose very much muscle (what my Dr. told me, because I also do weight resistance) - you'll be burning fat. The headaches should go away soon, and energy will return. Mine were a bear to get over. My LSD is 3 Fairlife shakes, with one meal of broccoli and 4 oz. of chicken breast. After 10 days, I'd kill for a V8 or pudding, haha.
Let us know how everything's going!

I'm checking in! Surgery itself went smoothly in Monday morning although the gas left kind of a tight band sort of feeling around my chest that felt far too much like an anxiety attack. I remember them trying to talk to me and I just kept saying -tight chest, anxiety, don't like. They gave me some anxiety medicine that soothed me but did make me take a little longer to shake off the sedation.
I elected to send my Mom and friend home after I was settled into my room because my Mom doesn't drive and she is so anxious herself that I tend to worry more about her than myself when hard times happen. I did some standing Monday afternoon before they prompted me because I knew standing and walking would be the only way to feel better and work the gas out.
It took several tries for me to figure out how much of the flavored propel Water I could drink without gagging it back up. It only took once though for me to realize retching )being sick to my stomach hurt like heck and was VERY unpleasant.
I started rocking side to side, standing, walking, and stretching as much as I safely could to bring on burps because those delivered a bit of relief. sleeping overnight was interrupted as expected by staff checking on me, getting vitals, etc.
Tuesday morning I felt a little better and resumed the walking. I found that I needed to be sitting up completely with good posture if not standing for my little sips to go down better. I started sitting in the recliner more than. The bed for this reason - plus it taking less effort to get up that way. Staff was great though, bringing me heated blankets, helping me adjust the room temperature , etc. They moved me to to Protein Shakes Tuesday as well but as I was warned even the little sips still felt heavy and kind of unpleasant. Also, they don't taste very good when warm.
I did more walking Tuesday and the staff even offered to help me shower but I went with the huge wipes instead because I was pretty tuckered out. I have 4 or 5 incisions with a total of I believe 12 staples. They took the bandaids off yesterday evening because they were starting to pull and be uncomfortable so that was my first look at them. There is one main incision in the center that tucks against a fold of skin that is definitely the most uncomfortable.
I had to keep testing my comfort level for fluids and walking, I requested a different type of Protein and found that room temperature beef broth didn't taste any better than the shakes. Ugh. They gave me some unflavored Protein Powder today to mix with my Propel and I got down about 2.5 oz but still not loving it.
I was offered the chance to go home today but lucky me - my body DID decide to double up with my period starting this morning. I elected to take an extra day of IV fluids before heading home tomorrow seeing as I live 2 hours away from the hospital.
All in all I keep being told I am doing great but I'm tuckered out. I have been frequent in asking for my pain medication, anxiety medication, and nausea medicine. This evening I've also had some heartburn. Oh - and you do need to ask for things generally, they will loosely ask if you need anything but can't just randomly offer pain meds. You can also ask for ice packs.
Oh - the only things I had to ask for more than once was for my IV to be redone. My hand kept going cold with the meds and fluids making it ache more so I finally pushed a bit gently to get them to change it out.
Bidding you all the best, hope this helps someone! 🙏🏻