[caribbea]

Hi,
I just joined and my surgery is scheduled for next week. It's been an interesting journey. Five years ago I was approved for this by insurance and went thru the entire process only to the have the insurance company renege right before the surgery date.

Now I live in a different state and went thru the process again only now insurance will cover only the bypass or lap band, neither of which seems appropriate for me. I have a history of esophagus issues (my own natural lap band the surgeon joked) so the lap band was out and all the intestinal rewiring of the bypass scares me, not to mention that the esophagus issues make it problematic. The best choice for me (and the least scary) is the sleeve. So, I sold some stock and I'm paying for it myself.

So the surgery is next Tuesday (day after Memorial Day). I have to do it in May or can't do it until 2010. I have a prior commitment that will involve some travel during the last week of June and our busiest time at work is July thru November.

My question for you guys is.... is it realistic to think that three-and-a-half weeks after the surgery I'll be recovered enough to do some 4-5 hour driving stints?

My numbers: highest: 380
now: 360
height: 5'9"

[trish29]

Good luck to you - so super exciting. You have such a huge week ahead.

YES, you will be able to drive 3-4 weeks after surgery. Obviously, crazy things happen, but 99% of people on this board will probably agree that you could do that driving that far out.

Good luck!

[caribbea]

Thanks Trish!
I forgot, another question....what's the earliest after the (lap) surgery that I should expect to be able to hit the pool? It's going to kill me if I can't swim for weeks especially now that the temperature is in the 90s and the 100s are coming soon. Swimming is really the only exercise I can do as I have bad knees and ankles with multiple surgeries on both. A week or two, okay, but more than that and I'll go nuts!

When I ask at the doc's office, they say "after your incisions scab over" but I can't pin them down to when that's likely to happen.