EmilyIsSleeved

I am no longer using the pill as a contraceptive because my surgeon told me that our bodies won't absorb the pills the same way and may be completely uneffective when it comes to preventing pregnancy . I don't know if that is true, but I am not going to risk it ha ha. Alot of women on here use mirena or other forms of contraceptives.

I do still have my gallbladder. The doctor didn't seem worried because he said if it was my gallbladder I would be in much more pain. I am not having any tests done because the doctor seems to think that if i know how to make the pain go away and it isn't really severe, then it can't be much of an issue. I also have no clue why the pain goes away when I press on the area.

I was just wondering if anyone has had this same type of situation or had any idea what is causing this problem: Lately I have been noticing that when I sit up (especially when driving), I get this pain on the right side of my abdomen. The pain occurs a few inches below my breast. I don't really know how to describe the pain...it isn't stabbing pain, but more of like a deep dull ache. I know it isn't muscles healing or whatever because I talked to my doctor and he said my muscles should be completely fine now (I am almost 3 months out). What I find weird about the whole thing is that if I push my fingers where the pain is or if I lay down, the pain goes away within maybe 20 seconds. It is just kind of frustrating. Just wanted to make sure you guys didn't have this problem and then find out it was something serious.

I had my surgery 3/6 and lost 15 pounds my first two weeks. Since then I have only lost 4 more pounds. I go in for my 2 month follow up on May 3rd. I'm worried that my surgeon will be disappointed at only losing 19 pounds. Just wondering, is this rate normal? Or am I just destined to be a slow loser? I have been following the diet and exercise program so I don't know what else I could do to increase the loss (any tips are welcome).

Well that's the thing. My surgeon doesn't like to count what was lost on the pre-op diet because it lasted so long. If he counted that, I would be down 40 pounds which makes things sound a whole lot better. I find it strange that I lost much more on the pre-op diet with a huge stomach versus trying to lose weight with my now tiny stomach. Im sure the weight loss will catch up, as it makes no mathematical sense not to lose when I am eating less than 1/4 of what I used to. Maybe I will get lucky and my stall will break just before my appointment (one can only hope). Thanks for your responses.

I am just over 2 weeks out and I am allowed to eat crackers as long as a chew them well. They sit just fine with me, just gotta make sure I don't eat too many since they are more of a slider food.

I was very nervous about this too when I was pre-op because everyone I know who has had any type of WLS either had it removed during the actual WLS or after due to complications. However, I couldn't find any surgeons near me that were willing to take it out as part of the surgery. They thought it was unethical to take an organ that is still working how it's supposed to. In my mind, they just want it in there so when it does go bad, you have to pay more medical bills to fix it As for like statistics of it going bad and needing future removal, my surgeon told me about 25% of all WLS patients will have at least mild gallbladder problems in the future. I guess time will only tell for my gallbladder..... If it is something your surgeon would do, I suggest having it taken out at the time of your sleeve to prevent possible problems in the future, especially since you can live without your gallbladder just fine.

I had my surgery on 3/6/12 and I want nothing more than to be able drink some plain ice cold Water. However, every time I try to drink plain water, it makes me very nauseous regardless of how small of sips I take. I don't have problems with any other liquids such as gatorade or Protein shakes. The temperature of the water doesn't seem to be the problem either because any temperature of water will make me feel sick. So I am just wondering, has anyone else had nausea problems with plain unflavored water after surgery? And if so, how long was it before you could drink water without a problem? Thanks in advance for any replies!

Congrats!!! I wish you the best of luck with your new bakery!

I can't wait to go shopping for clothes in the same stores as my normal weight friends. I will also enjoy being able to try on clothes and ask for their opinions instead of simply being the friend that sits outside the changing rooms to say "that looks good" to every outfit my friends model. I also will be so excited to be able to go in a normal size bathroom stall without basically standing on the toilet to be able to close the door. I will also will enjoy when I can order food and not have to worry about people thinking "she is going to eat ALL of that?" or "no wonder why she is so big" I'm sure I will have many more to post later

I agree with the above poster, I would much rather deal with a surgery with unknown long term results than to die from weight related issues.

I am 19 years old and I had surgery just over a week ago. I am 5'2" and my starting weight was 271. I say age doesn't matter as long as you know that this surgery requires a lifelong commitment. If you ever want a sleeve buddy to talk to, feel free to contact me anytime!

I would assume it is because I am healing, but lately my belly has been so itchy! I tried anti itch creams but nothing works. Just wondering if anyone else was very itchy around their incisions and what you did to solve the problem.

My surgeon told me Yeast infections tend to be common after surgery due to rapid hormone changes and how your body reacted to all the meds and anesthesia given during/after the surgery. It's the same way lots of us tend to get really random periods after surgery as well. Just treat the infection and I'm sure things will settle down as your body gets used to its new normal. Hope you get over your annoying infection soon

I was just sleeved on Tuesday morning. I am able to get up and walk around with minimal pain, but whenever drink anything I get a horrible feeling like someone is stabbing me in my chest. After a few seconds the pain in my chest goes away but I can feel the liquid like gurgle down through the rest of the pouch.. I am able to eat some warm Cereal like coco wheats, but liquids just refuse to go down easily. My doctor says it is probably just swelling, but I don't know how I'm supposed to avoid dehydration until the swelling goes down. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. The temperature or sip size doesn't seem to matter much. I knew the first week was gunna be hard, but I really want to prevent going into the ER for fluids if at all possible. Thanks for any responses in advance.

Just chew them up as good as you can. My surgeon says it is okay to chew Vitamins even from day one as long as you chew them really good. Not having vitamins may also be contributing why you feel weak. FYI, I also have to chew my vitamins and I haven't noticed a problem with it.

Update: I have noticed this morning that the pain seems to be going away (knock on wood). I have basically been living on Popsicles because they don't really hurt going down as long as they are sugar free (I accidentally grabbed a normal sugary Popsicle from the box my family eats from.....never doing that again, it made me so nauseous). VAcookey, my surgeon told me liquids are way more important than calories in the first couple weeks. He said as long as you are taking your Vitamins, you can basically forget about calories until you are able to get more liquids in. Thanks again for everyone's responses, they really helped!

I also forgot to mention, when I feel the pain, I feel like I need to burp but i just cant seem to get a burp out.

I have my sleeve the day after you. I would love to compare stories and stuff if you are interested. Good luck with your surgery

Not to upset you, but I am finally getting sleeved on Tuesday after over 16 months of fighting with the same company. That being said, my fight with them was for different reasons. If they deny you, I would definitely send in an appeal with a letter from your doctor and/or surgeon. I think a lower BMI would be easier to fight about and win than when I had to fight an unexpected exclusion that was added to my policy. It may not seem like it, but BCBS of MN is alot better now than it was when I first tried to get approved. Hope I answered your question. Good luck!!!

Hi everyone, I am scheduled for surgery on March 6th, but I am now starting to get really worried about future gallbladder problems. Everyone I know had their gallbladders removed due to WLS. My surgeon doesn't take the gallbladder out or give meds to prevent problems after surgery. I will be attending nursing school starting this fall and I'm afraid my gallbladder will begin to create problems when I am in school and can't afford to have the gallbladder removed. I guess my question is how many people have had gallbladder problems after surgery? Do you think I should risk future problems or try to find a different surgeon who will agree to either remove the gallbladder or at least give meds to reduce the chance of future problems? Thanks for all responses in advance

We are having the surgery the same day! Like you I am also very nervous about starting the liquid pre-op diet on Tuesday. I'm worried that if I struggle through the pre-op diet that I will talk myself out of surgery easier. I also think it will be much easier to drink only liquids right after surgery because you will be able to tell yourself that if you eat anything, you could damage where they cut the stomach. I think I would also be trying to eat all the junk food in sight as a food funeral type situation if it weren't for my surgeon being so strict on how much you have to lose before surgery. I have to lose 25 pounds total before surgery and I was told my surgeon will postpone surgery even if I lose 24 of the 25 pounds. Anyway, we should keep in touch! Would be interesting to compare experiences since they will be happening the same time. Good luck on your pre-op diet!!!

I apologize for the long post in advance I'm so incredibly happy today. I finally got a call from my surgeons office saying that I'm approved for surgery. I started this whole process in October of 2010. I went through all of the psych evaluations, 6 month long diet, etc. Unfortunately, when my surgeons office submitted my file to the insurance company BC/BS of Minnesota), I got a call back saying an exclusion I was not notified of was placed on my policy at the beginning of 2011. So that left me with 3 choices...I could either pay for the surgery myself (but I'm a broke college student the way it is), I could try to lose weight on my own again (imagine that, it didn't work), or I could wait until the beginning of 2012 to try a different policy within BC/BS of Minnesota. Eventually I decided my only real choice was to wait and get into a policy that would cover the surgery. Needless to say, switching my policy (even though it was still with the same insurance company) paid off. I was finally approved this morning after only 9 days of my info being sent through to the new policy. I had to wait 16 months for insurance approval, but I already know this surgery is worth it. Can't wait to start posting in the Post-Op section of this website!!!!

Hey everyone, I am in the need of some advice regarding recovery time/how long it will take to get my energy back after surgery. This spring and summer I will be taking a total of three college classes (2 during the spring, 1 during the summer). All of these classes will be online. My question is, do you think I would be taking on too much by doing some school while I'm recovering from surgery? The main concern I have is that I won't have the energy to do homework within a couple days after surgery. I'm just looking for some input as to how you felt in your first week or two after surgery. Sorry for such a random question and thanks to any replies in advance!

Thanks for all the responses! I will be 19 at the time of surgery, so that might help my recovery a little. The only downside is that I have never had surgery before, so I don't have any prior experiences to compare to. Since all of you say that you would do the classes and most of you are taking care of kids and working as well, I think I could handle classes and work. Thanks again for your responses and good luck to all of you with your sleeves!!!