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Although I do not have an exact date just, I know I am going to have surgery towards the end of May or beginning of June 2019. I have been having appointments since the beginning of this year, but I still have not found the right way in which I should tell my Supervisor that I need the time off for surgery? I did not want to say specifically that it is bariatric surgery/weight loss surgery though. I don't feel ashamed by having this surgery, its just that, to me, this is so personal and I do not feel comfortable with telling anyone at work what I am going to have done. Does anyone have any tips on how I can word it or has anyone been in this same situation? Also, apart of me is wondering if I can actually get the time off needed. I have accrued PTO hours, but Im still figuring out how all of that can work for me. If anyone has any tips or advice or anything in general, I would really appreciate it, this is my first ever surgery and I am new to all of this. Thank you.

They very possibly could have, when YOU are in pain ,often you don't have the Brain God Gave A GOPHER! I finally figured out the source of my very first ulcer, Hector, that I brought into the RNY mix. Ok, I have been " cheery" every since I was a small child, every cold virus visits my lungs and engenders mucus to get rid of. My PCP gave me frequently Capmist, a lovely expectorant, got rid of my lung mucus but had the effect of minimizing if not destroying my gastric mucus layer. At the same time, I was also having arthritis flares, I am the unhappy possessor of both varieties, Osteo and Rheumatoid. Orthopedic surgeon says Take Advil and since you are such a BIG Girl take then every 4-hours! Well both doctors are Graduates of very reputed Colleges of Medicine, did I question THEM? Nope, just kept on until Hector showed up and. nearly chewed a hole through my Gastric Well. When I consulted my. Gastroenterologist, he was almost perforated, and I was on Omeprazole therapy at that time. It DOES NOT WORK for me! Okay fast forward to Surgery last September 5th, that went well but among my post- surgeries is my non-friend Omeprazole, I told them at that time, we are Going to have problems,it isn't going to be Gastroprotective! Please let me take Dexilent which does work for ME! I was told the professional equivalent of "Please shut up and give the meds we have ordered a chance to work, we are the educated and licensed individuals. Give yourself the chance to heal and heal correctly!" Well I am nothing but compliant, I took each med faithfully and at proper intervals. Even opened the Omeprazole capsules and sprinkled it in a teaspoon of unsweetened applesauce, that was the excuse Shannon one of the NP gave me for Omeprazole instead, shoot I could have cut my 60 mg capsules,of Dexilent open and shook it on! Well 2 weeks in I started fussing, told them" I am starting to get,ulcer symptoms again!" been there before, knew WHAT it feels like. And every Man-Jack said I was delusional. I was not giving my new pouch a chance to heal properly, I was being nothing but a pain in the backside! Finally at 6 weeks, I suspect to Shut up my Mouth, they scheduled an Endoscopy, that was October 12th, went peacefully to sleep, when I awoke Dr Noria, my surgeon's Junior Partner, who does their endoscopies because she likes doing them, shook my hand and stated " You were correct, you have a very irritated pouch, 2 ulcers within and severely stenosed, that's why you are frequently having emesis, it's like a pin-hole, only liquids make it through. If that isn't enough you have 5 additional ulcers on the back wall of your jejunem, and those do look wicked, I will be giving you script for Carafate, every 6 hours around,the clock,we will get,on top of this but I was not able to dilate your stomal opening today" well I started having attempts at 2 weeks, a month later, the end of the month of November I was hospitalized for a week because I was malnourished and protein anemic, that's when I received my PICC line, was fed TPN every 12 hours to Give my GI,system a chance to heal and THAt was a 3 months duration, in that time I still was receiving frequent endoscopies, I have now had a lifetime total of 13, 10 with Dr Noria, and now it is believed one more and it should stay open. I would have stented ME before now, started me on Carafate from the start since I was a proven Ulcer Producer, but I don't have the medical licenses, certification of surgical skills, I am only the sufferee, But I see a future, there is hope for me AHEAD and they feel by September I should be over this all. After final endoscopy which should be June or July 4th at latest, at my next visit in August. the final decision will be made, whether further surgical intervention is needed or whether. I have completely become open , functional and ulcerations are healed. But at this point, betting odds are 8 to 5 further surgical repair. I know this was long but now you and all the readers know how things stand with the World's Oldest RNY recipient and No, despite everything in my bumpy path, I DO NOT REGRET MY BARIATRIC surgery, I have a lot more. of Life Achievements Ahead.

If you have never tried to sous vide meat (chicken, pork, etc), I HIGHLY recommend it. If you then sear in the juices afterwards, it becomes heavenly. It really changes how it tastes and makes it soooo juicy. My husband just yesterday sous vide cooked a lot of skinnless chicken breast for me and then pan "fried" it (just a little oil salt/pepper, garlic powder, etc) . Then he sliced it to look pretty and measured out 150 portions to vacuum pack individually. (Im pre-op so 150g maybe more than I can have post-op..dunno.) Those then went into the freezer. So today, I pulled out one pack and defrosted/warmed it in the microwave while I was cooking some asparagus with a dash of parmasean. It took me all of 10-15 minutes to prepare and boy was it good. Even when Im post-op, I am so looking forward to this kind of meal.

Hoping today is a Good Sunday, yesterday was mffp, woke up and couldn't sleep, went and nibbled protein at 5AM, don't think my count was high enough to endanger my downward weight plummet. Really hoping to be 210 at months end, at least be 220 or less on Friday this week. Was 224 on last Wednesday, dropping 2 to 3 weekly, probably be weighed again Thursday at Dietician appt, was supposed to see him last Wed but he wasn't able to see me then. OMG I just realized - I am turning into one of those people I used to make fun of, a calorie'Macro freak. Maybe we all reach that point, so I am in the clinic twice in a 8 day span, N.P. happy with my weight results but seeing if I can get balanced better on nutrients that I don't lose to emesis. Precious Pouch has no sense of humor, but I am trying so hard to make this journey perfect with my imperfect self. Go and make myself some home-made kind of soup , I have something planned, kind of course ground broc- cauli- cheese, got some frozen Green Giant riced broc- cauliflower, going to add that to the soup. Finishing up mixed veggie beef bone broth soup, defrost last portion today, maybe lunch as soon as meds settle. Still have to tuck in Calcium and Vitamin D after 2 hours and then space my Ferrocite away from that and food. And I slept in after my protein nibble in the night, didn't get back up until 11, good thing I didn't request a church to pick-up this AM, I would have to gone in leggings and a OSU sweatshirt. Got to get a church dress smaller but still covering up my figure flaws, do I buy an 18 or remain in a 20-22, and hope it doesn't look baggy by the end of the month when I really should attend? My former go-to-church is. hanging like a cancer chemo victim on me. Last time I went that dressed, I ended up in dark slacks and dressy top instead. Poor Old Faithful is ready for the Donation Box, not really sure if it was a 24 or 26, but it looks like a mission barrel survivor and I don't feel like cutting it down somehow. Bye Bye navy 👗 dress, you can find a new home now! I dropped to a 26 after leaving 28-30, stayed there a while, dropped right past 24, barely skimmed through 22, into 20s and now teetering on brink of 18s. Newest dressy top is a 19 Junior and "Thank You God" it fits now like a custom-tailored item! Tried on 18 dress slacks other day, too tight in rise yet, split me like thong panties, yet I'm going to slid out of my 2 pairs of 20-22 dress slacks if I don't figure a way of elasticizing them smaller, starting to gap where my booty used to be, Baby has round butt cheeks instead of a shelf of flesh back there, used to make Sir MixALot short of breath, if it continues, I may look " normal" or dare I say, flattened? Oh,i thought I was cursed with Big Mama- good until my dying day, this RNY tool is working but like many other tools I am not that far from clumsy with it. Oh I will get better. & coordinated with practice!

Hi everyone. I was sleeved on May 1, 2019. I came home on May 3, 2019 because of my blood pressure. Now that I'm home I realize I cant get comfortable at all.. my stomach on the right side hurts so bad. I have been sleeping on the sofa and still cant get comfortable. Tonight I tried sleeping in my bed and it was the worst decision i had made. I'm in so much pain. I cant sleep on my side at all. Just wanted to know if anyone else has been like this. I'm frustrated. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I am 32 years old, I am 5 ft 9in and my current weight is 345 lbs my heaviest weights was 362 lbs. I have two children who are 13 and 10. I have been married for almost 14 years. I am scheduled to have surgery on the 19th of June if everything goes according to plan. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I’m hoping that this time next year I can be back in the softball field and running in a 5k and more with my youngest son who is very active. I am so sick of sitting on the sideline in a chair. I want to be out there helping him practice and get back to my old active self. I was in a car accident when I was 17 which is when I started all my weight gain. Then at 18 I got pregnant and gained 90 lbs in 9 months lost 30 of it after having my oldest and then gained 75 when I got pregnant with my youngest. I want to wear high heels and not feel like I’m going to snap the heel. I want to get back to my Hot Mama self lol anyone else with me?

Hey, I am in SC and was told that the sleeve was best for me. I have severe reflux disease and was type 2 diabetes, hbp,high cholesterol and sleep Apnea. So I did have the sleeve done, i lost 87 lbs in 11 months but I was having worse reflux. Much worse had 2 add 3 extra medications to what I was already doing. Went from 2 pills a day to 10 a day now. My gastrointestinal doctor said that he believes it has gone into Barrett's Esophagus now and I needed to originally have the RNY surgery. Now in process of getting approved for the RNY revision from my insurance companies. My advice is if you have reflux disease to get all the information from your doctor about the effects of the sleeve before considering that option. RNY is supposed to completely get rid of it. I was told that the sleeve would get me off the meds.Well it did for the first 6 weeks. Once foods were coming back in the Reflux got way worse and has gotten so much worse since surgery. I am absolutely miserable. I don't know your situation but I just wanted to let you know that reflux can get worse with the sleeve. Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Wow, I read your stories and realize even more how lucky my process was. I have BCBSTX, I got sleeved 10/17. From when I did my seminar In August of 17 to my surgery it was 2 months. My surgeons office is the best and always on top of things. He is also my general surgeon, so it was a no brainer to go with him when I did this. My pcp brought up gastric surgery in August 2016 but I was 220 and didn't think I was "fat enough" to do it. But I had several comos that qualified me. I'm a shit medical magnet though, I had reflux before this, and about month 8 it got super bad. Pcp added Zantac on top of the protonix. On top of that I was going through a bottle of alka seltzer chews like crazy, about a month before I call my surgeon I was up to 2 bottles a month. I called him, went in and he said I was at risk of aspirating in my sleep because I'm on several meds to sleep at night and I was vomiting up acid in my sleep and because of the meds I wasnt waking up. He ordered and EDG and found out I had severe inflammation due to the reflux, and a restriction where my esophagus and pouch was meeting, that day they submit to insurance to convert my sleeve to bypass, by the following Wednesday I was approved, that Friday I was preop and that Monday I was converted. I'm blessed my husband has amazing insurance. And they don't drag their feet. Once I meet my deductible my meds are covered at 100%. Never had ins do that before! We found that out after I had my sleeve! Too bad vitamins aren't covered under ins! They should be! I know the waiting game sucks! My sleeve was scheduled and it was literally a week and I still hadn't gotten an answer and the medical assistant in me called and demanded that I get an answer because I had a week, and I wasn't going to pay and preop and not have an approval, I had an answer in 24 hours! Don't be afraid to call your ins yourself! Be your own advocate! They can escalate to a higher rep and get you an answer in 24-48 hours in most cases. It's a rough journey. But it's worth it. The stalls, the medical nightmares, the pain, the aggravation, I'd go through it all again.

I had the lap band for 10 years, it worked for about 8. I had it removed last year and then after being diagnosed with sleep apnea, my insurance said I met their standards for coverage. I couldn't afford to pay for it myself as I'm retired and paid for my band surgery. Just hoping all goes well for you and keep us posted.

Late as usual. Hey y'all! Happy May. So here are my stats >>> Surgery: April 8th, 2019 Weight at surgery: 262 Current weight (as of may 1st): 247.6 End of May Goal weight: enter the 230's. I will even take 239.9😊 My hopes for this month are to stay consistent, stay accountable, and stay active. I will continue to log my food and vitamins in MFP everyday. I would like to increase my 'step goal' number to 12k every day on my Fitbit. I would like to start from couch potato to 5k by the end of the month. I would like to shave two minutes off my walking mile. I would like to meditate 3 days a week.

Hope it went well for you! I will check out your blog. Mine is May 10.

I had my VSG surgery on May 2. I was in the hospital overnight and released the next day by 2 PM. Had a great experience, didn’t have any nausea didn’t throw up was able to keep down more ounces of liquids and I thought I could. The gas pain does come on in your sternum area but it’s not terrible you just need to make yourself belch and almost immediately it goes away. For the times it doesn’t go away just remind yourself need to be walking. The time I was in the hospital I got up and walked about every hour hour and a half. Been home now since yesterday afternoon and I don’t feel terrible. The only thing that hurts is if you do get it a short gas pain. I absolutely recommend having Gas-X what you can get over-the-counter on hand. I take up to four a day which is the limit. I have also been taking my Tylenol with codeine every four hours just because of the soreness of the tummy muscles. I don’t think I’ll need to take it past the next day or two. I’ve had two C-sections and a tummy tuck in 2007 with full muscle repair. In comparison to either of those, this is by far easier. I went into surgery super anxious, expecting the worst but was pleasantly surprised. Everyone’s experience is unique. I recommend drinking out of a regular cup so you don’t get so much air drinking out of a bottle or even a sippy cup. I also recommend doing the breathing exercises with apparatus they will likely send home with you. Use it 10 times each hour so that you can avoid getting pneumonia. When you go under your lungs shut down and they build up with mucus and so you need to make sure you’re clearing that out after the surgery. This was something I didn’t prepare for but it’s totally easy to do.

So depressing. I try to make early morning appointments. I always have a drink in my hand so if I go in the afternoon or forget to take my water pills I can easily be up 8 to 10 lbs. So annoying but I actually have contemplated taking a picture of my scale morning of an afternoon appointment. Lol Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

So depressing. I try to make early morning appointments. I always have a drink in my hand so if I go in the afternoon or forget to take my water pills I can easily be up 8 to 10 lbs. So annoying but I actually have contemplated taking a picture of my scale morning of an afternoon appointment. Lol Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had sleeve surgery in October 2016,lost 87 lbs but( gained back 30 and have lost 11 recently),my reflux (GERD),has gotten so much worse than it already was.Instead of 2 pills a day I am taking 4 medications a total of 10 pills a day just for the reflux. I also had a hernia repair at the same time which almost immediately came back. That's why I am waiting for approval from my insurance companies for the RYN surgery. I am absolutely miserable all the time not sorry I had surgery at all as I am no longer type 2 diabetic, no high blood pressure, no high cholesterol and the weight loss is a great plus. Just want the reflux gone. Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Sleeved May 10, 2018 and I’ve lost over 200lbs. 211 to be exact.

Got it. We're allowed some full liquids immediately but cottage cheese is included as puree stage in our plan (which starts two weeks post surgery). I don't know what sugar free pudding is, so I don't know if that's liquid or puree! Basically what we're allowed to eat immediately is anything that's liquid at room temperature. How are you feeling by the way? VSG 27th April 2019

I also had a lot of pain, waking during the night as soon as my pain meds wore off. But it improved very quickly. I'm on Day 8 today and I haven't needed painkillers all day. By comparison, on Day 3 I was in so much pain that I contacted my surgeon to ask for increased medication. Hang in there and know it gets better. VSG 27th April 2019

I don't know what's categorised as a clear liquid and a full liquid because they don't use that terminology here (UK). In the UK you're allowed to have all smooth liquids straightaway. As you kmow, I was sleeved two days before you, and I have already eaten milk, chicken soup and yoghurt. Does this help at all? VSG 27th April 2019

1. Gestational diabetes at the age of 28 with child #2 in 1997 (also my last pregnancy). Gained 96 pounds during that pregnancy and lost 12 so by the time it was all said and done, I was carrying an excess of 80 pounds more that. Would. Not. Stay. Off. 2. Triple negative breast cancer diagnosis in 2009 at the age of 40. Mandatory year of chemo/radiation which completely finished wrecking what little metabolism I had left that the gestational diabetes didn’t wreck. Gained 15 pounds during that year that. Would. Not. Stay. Off. 3. Hysterectomy in 2014 because of complications due to chemo-induced menopause at the age of 40. And at the age of 41. And just for fun, again at the age of 44. Went through menopause 3 times. Gained another 10-15 pounds that. Would. Not. Stay. Off. 4. Bariatric surgery in February 2019 after 21+ years of fighting a losing battle with metabolic syndrome caused by all of the aforementioned issues and yo-yo dieting. When I was 28 and got pregnant with my daughter I was about 140 pounds and a size 8. When I started the bariatric process at the age of 49, I was 259 pounds and a size 20/22. Throughout my years of yo-yoing, I’ve always been a SLOW loser. I was the girl who would diet/exercise for 4-6 weeks before even 5-6 pounds would come off. Then after it would finally start to come off, I could count on losing about 6 pounds/month eating 1200 calories daily and exercising like a maniac. Then the instant I would stop that brutal routine, the weight would insta- jump back on.    Since my surgery date on February 6th (where I weighed 244 pounds) I’ve lost 46 pounds. Honestly it’s been “slow and steady”. Besides the first 2 weeks, I’ve not had a single week where I’ve lost over 3 pounds, but I’ve also not had a single week where I’ve lost under 2 pounds. So if I can lose weight with my history, honestly anyone can

Thanks so much for your reply. I've been thinking in old "maintain weight" rules. I'm down to a size 2 and losing . No appetite whatsoever. Nothing tastes good...almost anorexic. Wish I could do reversal, but don't know if it's possible. I revised from VBG because of severe acid reflux. Told could only do Bypass. Now, I feel as I may literally die eariy if I don't get rid of this. I don't cook, so that's out. Frozen meals if Im lucky can do 8 to 10 bites. And that's a 340 calorie total meal. Im probably absorbing about 600 to 700 calories a day if I'm lucky. I think I'm getting anorexic. I have a total revulsion to food. Nothing tastes good! Don't have the energy to even drive to buy milkshakes every day. Can barely get to hematologist. On Vit B12 injections for past 4 weeks, had first Iron infusion last week, getting another next Tuesday. Also taking double dose of strong 8 wk Vit D therapy. Labs are getting much better, but still feel like hell. Super anxiety, memory loss, I am totally overwhelmed. Crying as I'm writing this. God, I wish I had done intensive therapy before I started all of this. It IS the answer for so many, but not for me now at 67. My health is more important. Even though I was obese for 15 years, I had no chronic health conditions. But fearing I would, I chose weight loss surgery. Now, I'm fearing Im going to die early from this. IF a reversal is possible, not even sure I would be a good candidate for surgery until I can get stronger.

I was sleeved on April 29 and my first follow up is not until May 9. This feels excessively long to be on clear liquid compared to others here that I am seeing are already on soft/purée. I am not having any issues with getting things down and the gas gets better less every day. I really would like to go to full liquid sooner for variety sake. Does anyone else find 10 days on clear liquid a bit excessive?

April 2019

Running my first race on 5/19. It will be one hell of a race because it’s a long distance. I can complete the distance on my own an I am confident I will do well. My question is, what can I expect? How are these things structured? I am nervous because I’ve never done one of these and being around all those people running at the same time, lol. And advice would be appreciated :)

Is it possible to drink water “to quickly”. At the end of the day when I realize I didn’t drink enough I take big gulps (no air) every 5-10 minutes just to get the full 64oz in that day. And I didn’t know if it was going to do any harm. I mean obviously it’s easier to drink it throughout the day. But I’m a caregiver and i guess I’m to focused on helping them to make sure I drink the whole 64oz.