Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums

My doctors office faxed in my information last Wednesday afternoon and at 8:30am Thursday morning, I received the phone call that I was APPROVED for the Sleeve. I am beyond excited right now. I received a call from the surgeons office and I had to stop taking my Omeprazole for 2 weeks and have a bacteria test done on my stomach. My appt is scheduled for July 5th for the test and then I get to schedule for my surgery, I am hoping for July 23rd. My question for everyone that has already had the surgery, what do I need to take with me for my hospital stay?? Also, I would like to find out approximately how much money will be spent on protein powders.

So, I'm returning from San Diego and I'm feeling guilty from some of the poor eating choices I've made. I made some good choices too and I did walk A LOT. I'm really hoping that made up for some of the naughty choices.

So I was sleeved on Feb 20th and I'm down 46 lbs, and a wee bit under halfway to my ultimate goal weight. I haven't always been overweight, but for a good part of my adult life, I've been overweight to some extent or another. Like many (most?) of you, I've done the different weight loss programs of the moment, I've been to the "diet doctors" who herd you in, give you pills, then herd you back out again. I've had successes and failures, ups and downs..... all of it. Now I know that our sleeves are only a tool.... a very powerful one mind you, but still just a tool to help us get the weight off, and keep it off. And that tool can be misused and the weight return. B…

Anyone had tattoos done over their stretchmarks? Did it look better before or after?

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120621/Largest-study-to-examine-impact-of-gastric-sleeve-surgery-on-pre-transplant-obese-patients.aspx

I have noticed alot of people who have lost some weight begin to use this forum like thier own personal ads... It may seem harmless to the person doing it but you are making financial gain of of pushing a product, and using your own success as proof. Your sleeve was the success. I wish the owners and moderators AND members were mroediligent in making this a taboo thing to to...

Yayyy! A Summer Solstice baby! You are "born" on or shortlyafter the solstice as the Sun waines and daylight slips away again, so shall your weight. Just like the everything benefits from the warmth and light, so will you as you get out and walk and play and begin to feel so much better... "Loved by the Sun."

I want to bring my Grandbabies (ages 5 & 7 ) here to spend some time for the summer... Can you tell me after surgery how long it takes to get my energy and my pep back? Thanks.

Hi banders that have been revised to sleeve. Did you lose weight faster with the sleeve than initially with the band?

So is it pretty standard that if you lose weight too rapidly that you will have a problem with your gallbladder? I'm worried about this, as my mom had wls also and had to have hers removed.

I was just wondering if anyone could provide info as to pain level after conversion from band to sleeve? When I had my band installed I was up and walking around within hours. Night nurse that took care of me said only way they knew I was that patient was because I had an iv in my arm. I am tired of this sore port that I have on my belly and I'm almost positive I am going to get sleeved. A little nervous about the removing of my stomach but only other option is full bypass.... Anyways if anyone could help with info that would be great!!! Thanks

Just wondering what books are good to get on how to deal with all the emotions that come with the weightloss. Just want to know what to expect.

I'm not sure how this works but going for it. I'm just 5 mths 3 wks out so I'm not quite an expert. I'm kinda looking for a mentor,,someone who has had the surgery and close to or met goal to help me with motivation and support.

Cut it all off!!! I just couldn't handle it anymore it was falling out all over and looking very stringy and sad. So I just cut it all off.

It's hard to stay away from the scale! What days / how often do you weigh yourself? I want to weigh myself and not get frustrated about a couple of lbs fluxuation...

I just went to my surgeon's office for a follow-up and was very pleasantly surprised! That neat little scale gizmo that he has that also calculates your BMI, water, fat and muscle ratio provided me with some great information. According to my scale I had only lost about 9 pounds since my last visit 2 months ago. The scale at the doctor's office agreed with my weight loss numbers but the doctor told me that I had actually lost 15 pounds of FAT, while gaining 6 additional pounds of muscle, even though my weight loss was 9 pounds. My point is this... while I thought I had hit a stall, my body just fooled me into thinking I had stalled while it kept whittling away at the …

So I googled...reasons why you shouldn't have bariatric surgery...mind you I have already had it but I am a research freak. So anyhoo...new study shows that bariatric patients have a greater likelyhood of breaking a bone due to the lack of calcium. This study was for people who were far out from surgery. I just read it, but I am sure they were taking about bypass...but hey I thought I would share.

Im 4 weeks out, I've had some complications, and no weight loss this past week...I like to consider myself a foodie...I didn't get obese from junk, just a lot of rich and quality food. Lately if I think about certain foods they seem appetizing, but start eating anything and i lose interest in food rather quickly. I've even been really picky with drinks. Anyone else?

Hello New Friends, My name is Sara. I got the band in 2003 in Mexico and liked it too tight. I lived on liquids and tiny amounts of food, which caused sliming and puking every day for years. I lost 100 lbs in the first year and slowly regained it all with liquid calories. My band was so tight and I ate a quantity of food that caused esophegial stretching. So my lower esophogus has become a pouch that stores food until it makes its' way through the band. I have now had all fill removed and the gastro surgeon in my doc's medical group wants to remove the band but he says I would not succeed with a sleeve revision because the ways I cheated with the band (liquid calo…

I am going back to college soon as a sophomore, living in the dorms. I am an RA on campus and have my own room. I will have three weeks after surgery to recover and get back to everyday living at school. BUT we are not allowed to have our own microwave, stove, oven, etc. it is going to be incredibly hard for me to make the healthy foods I am supposed to be eating. What am I supposed to do?! Does anyone else have/had this problem? What did you do? I am very afraid I will be stuck and not have the option I would at home. please help!

I made it through surgery today! Keeping up w pain w pain pump meds through iv. Took first walk at 5:30 tonight wasn't bad. Will be walking every 4 hours, they will wake me up in middle of night to walk. Ice chips one medicine cup every hour. Tomorrow will do 4 an hour of medicine cups of clear liquids. They found 2 hernias fixed the hital hernia but left other one. Fixing the hital hernia might make it hard to get liquids down tomorrow the Dr said. Other hernia will be fixed later down the road dr said.

After endless research on the lap band, I decided it wasn't for me, and that the sleeve might be a better option, since I have a BMI well under 40 and will have to pay out of pocket anyway. I'm 24, 5'6" and weigh about 200 lbs. I have tried every diet and exercise plan in existence, and never had long-term, or even very good results with anything. Everyone in my family is obese, and I see what it has done to the relationships and the quality of life of the generation before mine. I already have asthma, difficulty sleeping, can't lie flat, shortness of breath, back, neck, ankle and hip pain, high blood pressure and GERD. I know that my health will continue to de…

Sorry I haven't been on much like I hoped to be. I have had dehydration issues and have required iv fluids. 5/29 - follow up visit- rehydrated 6/9 & 6/17 - visited ER 2x - rehydrated 6/12 - follow up visit- rehydrated I don't have it as bad as some folks and should be more thankful. I don't want to complain but this is so frustrating!!! I am also off work an additional week and feel bad for my coworkers. The quite tempermental, aging, room size, dial tone computers are giving them an awful time by breaking themselves frequently (especially the large one). Fixing them is my specialty. I feel some guilt from not being there to take care of them. I have learned t…

Hello I just found this forum a few days ago and love how it has so much information and support. I got my sleeve surgery June 7 at Cedars Sinai in LA, my dr. was Dr. Lyass. I have lost about 9 lbs so far, and hope to lose a lot more! What is everyone eating now, I am totally sick of Jello and broth yuck!!! Any ideas?

Hello All! And congratulations on our anniversary month! Please be warned in advance that my post is about some "bathroom topics" so feel free to stop reading if your easily grossed out. I was aware that constipation was a likely issue for "sleevers," but I have had the exact opposite problem -- and frankly -- have not had a normal bowel movement since the surgery. I'm very, very careful about sugars and fats, and I've eliminated lactose from my diet all together because of the horrible reaction. Yet I'm still in the bathroom multiple times a day with water-based diarrhea. Food and certain medications come out in the bowl as though they were not digested at all! What…

Well, I'm here and playing the waiting game. The hardest part so far is not having anything to drink. I'm sure that will change.

Hi. I want to know about your extra skin and has it tightened up at all? Especially for women who lost over one hundred pounds.

I was wondering if the surgery interfered with regular college life like walking back and forth to classes, carrying books, etc. I'll be getting the surgery over my winter break in December, around the 15th, and I don't go back to school until mid January so I will have around 2 solid weeks to rest. Will I be okay to go back to school?

Im having my surgery at st. Vincent on July 25 is anyone close to me.

I had the sleeve done 4-12, and had lots of complications. My dr didn't check for leaks before hosp discharge and I was back in a week to ER. They gave me fld and the next day dr to me I had a spleen infarction and sent me home. The next week I was back in ER very sick. For 3 days the dr and radiologist argues if it was a leak or pneumonia, finally deciding both. They placed a drain in and doing so they punctured my lung. The next day they put in a chest tube to re-inflate my lung, but in doing so they drug infection from the leak into my Lung and caused an encapsulated pneumonia. I ended up having a thorancotomy (decortication) leaving me with 2 chest tubes, feeding me w…

Would I get denied a surgery from having mental issues if I am paying out of pocket?

Are you having surgery on June 5th at Forest Park with Dr. Nicholson. There are three of us - kstalvey, txdee and me who are. If you are, let us know. It would be nice to have each other as support.

Hi I am getting Spider single incision VSG surgery with Dr. Robert Marema in FL 6/27. I live in Atlanta and would appreciate any tips/help. Do you know a great trainer? My best friend who is my husband and I are former foster parents and also used to foster dogs and cats too. I do some couponing and we love to travel. Hoping your days going great! Sincerest thanks for reading.

Good morning June Sleevers. I know everyone has different doctors & each one of us will be expected to do something different for their pre-op diet. I started my first day of 14 day New Direction (3x's a day) pre-op diet. I picked two variety packs with chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, hot cocoa, cream of chicken Soup, plus I picked a few boxes of the strawberry, chocolate and chocolate with Fiber which may help a bit. This morning I had the hot cocoa, it was kind of whatever tasting, it's mixed with Water. I'm used to drinking the Pure Protein 100% whey Protein Frosty shake with Skim Milk, which I absolutely love and have had for Breakfast every day for the la…

I am trying to figure out how many days I will need to take off from work to recover from the surgery. I don't do any lifting at work but I do have to drive about an hour each way and interact with several customers throughout the day. How much time did you take off? How did you feel when you returned? I hear many people say that they have very low energy and are too tired to make it through the day. Any recommendations

Okay, so I thought it would be fun to post pictures of NSV's. Pictures motivate me so I thought it would be fun to post all kinds of them showing an NSV. I have posted 5 examples, but they can be anything, like a seatbelt that is too big, extra room in a seat, 2 people in your old pants, etc. Funny or serious, no feat too small pictures can help us through our stalls (hey, that rhymed). We can use these pictures to reflect back on the progress by SEEING our NSVs. Surgery Date: 3/13/12 SW: 243.6 CW: 193.6 5'5" 1st picture: my watch was tight when I went in for surgery 2nd picture: my feet shrunk and now my shoes are too big 3rd picture: my size 18w can be pull…

I had my surgery this morning! I have manageable pain and I haven't pressed the pain killer button since 2 o'clock. I have already Ben up walking and hope it continues to improve from here!

Well, today I went in to get my IVC filter removed (it was placed a week prior to my surgery) and they found a gigantic blood clot "hanging on" to the IVC filter. Sooooooo...yikes. I'm back home and tomorrow I go in to see my surgeon. I guess we'll discuss what to do at that time. I've never had a blood clot so I'm not sure what the next steps will be. I do know that they scared the crap out of me when I asked if I could still do my walking (I was referring to my nightly "exercise" walk) and they told me that it "should" be okay for me to walk to the bathroom, but to try to avoid bending over because the clot could dislodge. *gulp* Yesterday I was zipping arou…

I'm from a little town called Martinsville. I would love to be able to speak to someone close. Maybe have an exercise buddy

Well this is not easy to talk about, but I sure wish that I had a heads up before surgery. As long as I can remember, I have always had- mild- anxiety issues at times. Also some seasonal 'Winter blues". After vsg I became moody, irritable, anxious, and sleep pattern was totally messed up. I even wound up loosing my job because I wasn't a 'perky cheerleader' like the rest of the girls. Well I finally got in to see my doctor. Come to find out there are a few factors that can affect your anxiety/ mood issues after weight loss surgery. With weight loss, stored estrogen is released from the fat- which can make you moody like when you're pregnant. Also the doctor said that …

I finally got sleeved 6/28 with Dr. Cavazos in San Antonio, TX. I started my pre-op diet at 417. Prior to surgery I had to do a 10 day shake diet. I cheated a couple of days but the doctor said it still managed to do a good job shrinking my liver. 2 days prior to surgery I went on clear liquids. I've continued to be on liquids the past 9 days since I got out of surgery. Clear liquids being water, broth, sf jello and sf popsicles. I discovered the popsicles have an unfortunate 4 carbs each in them so I have been avoiding them. So in total I've not had any food in about 19 days. SO I'm hungry! I don't know about others but whatever stomach got left behind IS hung…

Hello. Wondering about the "band to sleeve"... Anyone that might have had reflux or heartburn prior to banding and then without... how's the sleeve working in that area?

I am down 38lbs since my surgery on april 17th!

moved

I have now experienced something that I consider really odd. I don't know if I am being naive, or if people are just nuts sometimes or if I should have genuine concern... Someone privately messaged me to tell me that having surgery in Mexico is horrible and that they know someone who died down there from it. I don't know if it occured to this person that - 1. NO ONE makes the decision to have VSG without LOTS and LOTS of thought, research and desperation. Sure, I wish I was one of the few and fortunate and either had fantastic insurance that would pay for it, or had bags of money lying around to self-pay in the USA. But.. I simply don't. 2. Infection, complication…

Hey All! I will be getting my band removed and sleeved on July 16th. I have only had my band for 10 months. I met with doc today and he wants me to take 6 weeks off work. I had only thought I needed 2. What was I thinking! Lol I am a nurse on a labor and delivery floor. What did you all do? How many weeks off? Amy Sent from my iPhone using VST

Hi All. I had the VSG 03/10/2011 (4 nights ago) (DD/MM/YY for you septics ) The 1st 2 nights were a blur of pain and blind compliance to the nursing staff. Then I thought I was ready to go home (and I wasn't) Released today (Friday) into the care of wife and 4 young kids!!! To think that they offered me another night and I refused............. Haven't weighed yet. Vale Steve Jobs

It's curious as to why everyone picked sleeve vs Roux X Bypass? I'm At a seminar And they are explaining the differences. Made me wonder why everyone picked it

IS having you period during surgery a problem? Surgery in 3 days and i just got it! Ugh

Ok I am having a panic attack and for really no good reason...I really want to lose this excessive weight..so I was rereading my packet on diet ext..and saw ( and I already knew this so it's not like I didn't know already) statistically with the sleeve you loss 50-60% of your excessive weight..well I calculated it and I want more than that number on the calculator! I am proud of 53# weight loss in 10 weeks, so I don't feel I a failure...BUT that number on the calculator scared me. I know..obsessive...but I am working so hard..I want this to work..so anybody havin panic attacks that are completely off the wall?? Or is this just the normal fear and progression ..sipped bu…