katwmn63

i only did 10 days...some do none so don't be surprised. just stick to it for those 7 days and you'll do great!

thanks Rutglius, i haven't tried the gasx yet, but think i will:)

my surgery was monday the 13th also...and today was the first day i had a bowel movement... i had 2 and they were both loose. i am on a full liquid diet...so it does include creamy Soups and Protein shakes already (was not required to do all clear liquids) but not mushie food yet. perhaps since you are having a slightly thicker diet (Beans, mashed potatoes) than liquids in your first week, that you are experiencing more dirrahea. i do hope you feel better soon!

I agree with ccweeks above...post this in the isurance & financing forum and you might get more direct help. my brother is using BCBS federal emplyees program and they do in fact cover lapand and followup. i also know that there are many users on this site that have used BCBS with great success, but there are just so many different types of BCBS it is difficult to sift through any differences between them. keep looking and certainly call them directly and ask. good luck!!

wow...this really surprises me. i know there are alot of differences in preop diets, post op diets, requirements for insurance comapanies, etc. etc. but thisis one difference that doesn't make sense. If we have a risk of clotting high enough to warrant daily self injections of heparin postop...shouldn't we all be doing it? shouldn't at least this be consistent?

apparently some surgeons are very strict... i asked to be weighed when i went in for my surgery... otherwise they wouldn't have even weighed me. My surgeon only required me to "lose as much weight as possible" during a 10 day preop...i lost 10 pounds but don't even think the surgeon knows. at the very worsed... i am sure it wouldjust be postponed, not cancelled. you'll get there.

NO!!! I had one injection before surgery directly into my belly...but not after surgery. Do you have any kind of clotting history??? I do know there is a concern about blood clotting after surgery, but self injecting after surgery??? not heard of this.

Best of Luck.... it will be over before you know it, then the journey really begins:) Keep us posted!

the best of luck to you. let us know when you here back frm your insurance!

we really don't know if we are ready do we? some of us are not ready and will fail. very few of us, if any, are trying this as one of our first real attempts at weight loss...in fact proving to our insurance that we have made previous attempts to lose weight is a prerequisite for approval. so i guess it is fair to say that most of us are here as a last resort...we've tried everything else and we are desperate. a majority of us will be successful. maybe it's because we have to jump through so many hoops to get it approved. maybe it's because of the pain and discomfort we experience with the procedure. maybe it's because if this doesn't work, the only other option is bypass....or maybe it's because for once we are not starving while on a diet. whatever the reason... and maybe it is a combination of all of the above... this is a huge step, and if you are willing to take this enormous step, then trust yourself that you are going to take it all of the way. those that have succeeded with this procedure have done so after many failures, just like you and me. So why not you??

i have always been a shallow breather... and every once in a while i need to just spontaneously give a quick, deep, breath...almost like a "got-to-catch-my-breath" kind of thng. i also have apnea.. and this happens several times a night actually waking me up. the problem is, since i had my surgery monday morning...these deep breaths really hurt. initially i assumed this is normal... but it almost feels like my port is stuck tight to my diaphragm or something.. it's like a painful squeeze whenever i breathe deeply. has anyone else experienced this? will this heal/go away with a little more time?

make sure you tell your anesthesiologist and recovery nurse.....though alarms will probably go off anyway. i had my surgery today and of course the sleep apnea i suffer from was not that much of an issue during surgery because i had the oxygen tube... but when i got to recovery that was a different story. the recovery nurse asked about my pain and gave me more dilauded (sp?) which is the pain control medicine, in my iv. shortly after that i fell asleep. my recovery nurse kept waking me and telling me to breathe deep breaths....then the alarm sounded on my monitor, then she gave me oxygen.... and no more dilauded. i had a longer recovery time also. i had assumed i wasn't breathing in deeply enough...because deep breaths were less comfortable immediately after surgery due to the gas/tightness.. but come to find out that my sleep apnea was also a very likely culprit. my surgeon contacted me and told me to avoid my pain meds going to bed tonight and opt only for ibuprofen when sleeping. just want you all to have a heads up...i know many of us have sleep apnea as a comorbidity. be careful k?

I had my surgery mon the 13th, and like you, i am sore :[ I have alot of tightness and pain when trying to get a deep breath, like someone is squeezing me...and i feel alot of discomfort trying to sleep (changing positions when i sleep). I also do have some gas that has settled up in my left shoulder blade, but have found some comfort with a heating pad. I have been told that this is all normal and WILL pass. the only other problem is that i am having a tough time getting in all my protein. i need 4 shakes to get it all in and that is tough. i get full very easy...it takes nearly an hour to drink a shake. i am thinking it is swelling more than any actual restriction since i haven't had a fill yet. let me know how you are doing? it's nice to find someone who went on the same day -kat

these are such great suggestions!!! i love my starbucks (and a privately owned coffee bar near my home) and love a strong espresso flavor. this has been one of my favorite threads to date! Thank you!!

thanks everyone... it seems this is common, including the need for oxygen in recovery and setting off the monitor alarms!! you have no idea how much better i feel knowing this. i was not given a spirometer (RM), but i emailed my surgeon and asked about it. sounds like i should have been given something to get my breathing stronger. he didn't mention any hernia repair (emmylou) but it sure sounds familiar to your symptoms doesn't it.?.? i'll wait to hear what the doc says... and in the meantime just try and stretch out my lungs. thanks again!!

woooo hoooo!!! you probably won't sleep much tonight, but just think.... you are going back to school in the fall a new you!!! :wub: my surgery was monday morning, and i am hoping to shed some before the school year myself. we'll do great. keep us posted:)

with it only being that percentage of your total bill...perhaps your surgeon will take payments for the thousand bucks...you might be surprised.

isn't this bandster hell? your first fill is coming up...you don't have restriction so you might just be getting hungry.?.?.?

it really just sounds like you took too much out. if it came on that fast, it can come off that fast. It sounds like you need to be somewhere between where you were and where you are on your fill.

one thing that i was glad i just so happened to have at the hospital was a tighter fitting layering tank... no way was i gonna wear my bra after surgery... the small incisions were just not in a bra friendly location. the tank came in handy for an extra layer instead of a bra. good luck on your preop diet. first few days are the toughest...but it does get easier:)

Congratulations!!!! Best of Luck and keep us all posted on your preop & postop progress!!

i felt the same way when waiting for insurance approval. i was anxious and focused only on that approval ...not at all on weight loss efforts. i was in a sort of weight control limbo. but boy when i got that approval my motivation perked right up and stayed up! right through surgery. it will for you too. hang in there!

i had surgery yesterday. really not too painful. take your pain meds when necessary and you can keep your pain at a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10. I really can't call it strictly "pain" it is more a tightness... similar to what you feel with gas when you really feel the squeeze before a big burp. it can be difficult/uncomfortable changing positions when sleeping, bending down, or anytime you would typicaly use your abs.. but tolerable. i do have the trapped gas up in my left shoulder blade. a heating pad works well...but even better is I have my daughter use a thumping fist on the area so as to "burp" me in an attempt to break it up. it really seems to help. with what you have endured and tolerated,...you will get through this piece of cake :thumbdown:

had, and still do to some extent, the phlegm issue. to cough it up i hold a pillow tight to my belly/incisions. if you are doing alot of sneezing and keep the pillow next to you...perhaps it would help for that too.