Why didn't anyone tell me it was going to be this hard?

[newme57 1]

Hi

I am in the prossess of buying health insurance . I am self employed and want to know if anyone knows what health insurance I can get that will cover gastric sleave surgery can anyone help with some info please Thanks

[uscbree 4]

I have United Healthcare and process was really pretty simple. But every company has several different policies. You have to check the policy you are buying to see if bariatric surgery is covered.

[hatters 47]

I think the reason people dont tell you how hard it is, is because they forget. Things will start tasting better, drinking and eating get easiers, the pain goes away, and all that is left is weight loss and a distant memory of surgery. Hang in there, i too thought right after surgery "what did I do".

[Sunshine81 1]

I'm drinking my shakes!!!! But they make me gag....can't take it yuck..... I'm dealing with this.... dinner at my house: jerk wings,rice and peas,cabbage,corn bread.... for dessert cake and ice cream...... NO SUPPORT AT ALL!!! I WANTED TO THROW ALL THAT STUFF OUT THE WINDOW!!! If I can't eat NOBODY IS DOING TO EAT LOL!!! But seriously I'm fighting these meals everyday, and since I haven't eaten I've noticed how my family eats Alot!!! The sad thing is my husband is 6ft 145 and can eat you out of house and home, same for my children..... I had my surgery March 5th.... so I'm one week out.... one week on my liquid diet, two more to go... its a struggle!!!

[chelseabell91 19]

I'm drinking my shakes!!!! But they make me gag....can't take it yuck..... I'm dealing with this.... dinner at my house: jerk wings,rice and peas,cabbage,corn bread.... for dessert cake and ice cream...... NO SUPPORT AT ALL!!! I WANTED TO THROW ALL THAT STUFF OUT THE WINDOW!!! If I can't eat NOBODY IS DOING TO EAT LOL!!! But seriously I'm fighting these meals everyday, and since I haven't eaten I've noticed how my family eats Alot!!! The sad thing is my husband is 6ft 145 and can eat you out of house and home, same for my children..... I had my surgery March 5th.... so I'm one week out.... one week on my liquid diet, two more to go... its a struggle!!!

That sounds awful!! I am so sorry!!

Have you spoken to your husband about it? Maybe you guys need to try to focus on eating healthier as a family in general... That way it's not

so hard on you. I'm a week and a half out and I'm doing so much better. Not as depressed and starting to feel like "me"

I'm also allowed soft food now so it helps. Try getting a bariatric surgery cookbook- I got one from Amazon and it's created for us AND our family's so they can eat well too and it so good!

[ziggypbang 272]

I'm so sorry for what you are going through! I didn't have your exact experience, but I did have strong aversions to certain Protein shakes after surgery. Everything they gave me in the hospital (green Jello, chicken broth, grape Isopure, lemon Crystal Light) still make me gag just to think of them! Blech! All vanilla and chocolate shakes still make me sick-ish. I used to drink the Atkins Mocha Latte shakes pre-op and thought they were delicious. Now I hate them.

At any rate, God willing you will find something soon that sits a little better in your very delicate tummy! I found that the Fuzzy Navel and Pink Grapefruit Flavors of Syntrax nectar tasted OK to me. I also found that, although "broths" weren't great, I could make the packets of the old Lipton Noodle Soup, strain out the noodles, and enjoyed the flavor. Also, the tropical flavors of sugar-free popsicles were a lifesaver. You can't eat them too fast, which helps protect you from that discomfort of taking a big swallow of liquid accidentally.

I had to take a lot of anti-nausea medicine and antacids after surgery. I assume you are taking both?

I hope more people chime in with ideas for you! Blessings - may each day be better!

[newmenick 2]

I had very little pain the first day, no gas pains.... Ate the broth from Campbell's chicken noodle.... Loved it ..... No shakes the first week

[Sunshine81 1]

Thanks, I'll look it up, now when they eat I just go for a walk. I'm determined... I know it sounds crazy but my goal is to get on a ROLLERCOASTER this summer, I was soooo adventurous when I was younger... I can't wait.

[Vixynne 695]

I appreciate the positive threads but my journey thus far has been pretty bad. I'm 3 days post-opp and trying to hold on to the belief that I won't regret this down the road but today has been hard. I can't relate to those that say they had little pain and didn't feel hungry. I'm hungry, chicken broth makes me gag and so do the Protein shakes. Am I alone?

I'm over 8 months out from surgery, and I agree, our memories tend to be pretty kind (unless we had reaaaaally bad post-op experiences). I just went back and looked at some of my forum posts from the days right after my surgery, and I was a hurtin' unit for sure! I remember how much it hurt to swallow even the tiniest sips of Water, how I asked my surgeon for reassurance about those twisting cramping pains in the first three days post-op, and he just smiled and told me to keep drinking. I wanted to cry! I remember not being able to sit or lie down comfortably at night. I definitely do remember how sick to death I was of chicken broth and Jell-O! I remember my awesome nurses fussing at me for using my heating pad over my incision area (but that warmth was so soothing) and they scolded me for sleeping too much (well, yeah, morphine makes me drowsy, and a healing body wants rest).

I remember thinking I was going to throw up, faint from dizziness, and/or just plain fall over and die when I had to take my first recovery-hallway walk. When I got home and was on full liquids, I got so discouraged when out of nowhere I developed an intolerance to my favorite Protein Shakes. Eventually, I became able to tolerate the whey Proteins again--thank goodness. As I went through the stages of post-op eating, my digestive system had to sort itself out and decide if it wanted me in the bathroom every ten minutes or only once every three days. Stool softeners, Fiber, Vitamins, antacids--I had to figure out a new balance to all of it. It wasn't pretty, but I made each milestone, one at a time.

I know "it gets better" becomes the last thing you want to hear...so how about "I promise it won't be this bad for very long"?

For me, the first four days were the worst. By the end of the first week, it was starting to slowly improve. I think it took two weeks to really feel like myself again. Be gentle with yourself; surgery takes a lot out of us, and it takes time to let all that sleeve-swelling and incision tenderness subside. Take it one day or even one moment at a time. When I was in my first week or two post-sleeve, it helped to look at time in VERY small chunks. Try to get through a morning (or just one day) instead of worrying about next week, so you don't feel overwhelmed. Before you know it, you'll be looking back, thinking "wow, I have come such a long way!"

[green*eyed*girl 170]

"Try getting a bariatric surgery cookbook- I got one from Amazon and it's created for us AND our family's so they can eat well too and it so good!"

Can I ask you for the title of the book?

I'd like to be able to cook such food that is good for me but also my BF can eat it. I am afraid I won't be able to cook 2 different kind of food and I feel it would be unfair from me to not cook for my lovie just because I'm going through this transformation. Plus eating together was always important for us. We want to be able to still eat together even if I have to eat less and different from him! Thanks in advance!

Edited March 14, 2014 by green*eyed*girl

[mommyof3sweetboys 67]

I'm drinking my shakes!!!! But they make me gag....can't take it yuck..... I'm dealing with this.... dinner at my house: jerk wings,rice and peas,cabbage,corn bread.... for dessert cake and ice cream...... NO SUPPORT AT ALL!!! I WANTED TO THROW ALL THAT STUFF OUT THE WINDOW!!! If I can't eat NOBODY IS DOING TO EAT LOL!!! But seriously I'm fighting these meals everyday, and since I haven't eaten I've noticed how my family eats Alot!!! The sad thing is my husband is 6ft 145 and can eat you out of house and home, same for my children..... I had my surgery March 5th.... so I'm one week out.... one week on my liquid diet, two more to go... its a struggle!!!

I can relate. Last night, my family had French toast and bacon for supper. The bacon smell made me sick so I went outside and walked. Their food doesn't tempt me because I'm not hungry but I am acutely aware of how much and how unhealthy most meals are. I'll be proud to eat food again where I can get everyone on a good course for healthy eating. My sweet mother-in-law is handling all the meal prep this week so I'm not complaining...just hope this change I've made will be a really good influence for everyone.

[MIMamaof2 30]

I asked my dh (also a bariatric patient) why the heck I did this to myself quite often the first few days. It's getting easier. I was so excited to start soft proteins!

ALso, I found I was lactose intolerant after surgery. I could tolerate the Protein juices and Ensure Protein shakes. My surgeon suggested I use a whey isolate Protein powder and decide between Soy (which is not good for thyroid issues) or Almond. I went with Almond until my brother suggested Lactaid Milk. I now use that for the extra protein.

It does get better! Good luck on your journey!

[LWren 7]

I know how you feel I'm four days post op and I felt like my weight loss center got up my hopes, they said most people left the hospital within 24 hours, didn't need the pain meds when they got home and were back to work within a week. I don't fit into any of those, I wish I was better prepared for the pain or extra days I'm going to miss.

[badabing40 21]

Hi I'm 5 days post op. As far as pain goes I guess I'm very fortunate as to not have much I haven't had a pain killer since the day I was discharged, I can say day 3 & 4 was very tuff. This might sound crazy but I need to ask. Did any one have a "hospital" (for lack of a better description) taste/ smell that they couldn't get rid of when you came home?? Nothing not broth not Water tasted right everything I tasted or smelled had that horrible smell to it. It was so bad that I did not eat anything on day3 &4 because of it. I drank as much Water as I could but it still wasn't enough. Finally today I was able to have some yogurt and some broth. It is tuff for the first few weeks but we have to pull thru and get to where we need to be after all it will all be worth it. Good luck to every one. Rose

[spraine 14]

I am 3 days post op today. Post op day #1 was my worst. I was nauseous and vomited a couple of times when I tried to swallow anything. Post op day #2 wasn't a picnic, but I could do Clear Liquids, albeit with pain. I could feel everything I swallowed as it went down, and there was definitely pain. OW! But since I could keep everything down and was walking around a ton, I could go home. I was totally constipated and took a side trip to Target to keep the walking going. It took me about an hour to have a bowel movement yesterday (sorry if that is TMI). Today (post op day #3) seems to be diarrhea day, but it is so much better than Constipation. Also, I can do about 4oz/hour. So far watered down cream Soup and lactose free milk seem to be okay. Unfortunately, I am only at 25g of Protein today. But, I am really happy that I have been able to take all my Vitamins and that I did not gain any weight in the hospital as so many seem to do. So small victories. Hang in there!