Oregondaisy

I am very happy that Dr. Aceves fixed my hiatal hernia when he removed my band and did the revision surgery to a sleeve.

Hey can somebody tell me how I am supposed to care for the drain opening? I must have left that paper in my room. I have the post op diet instructions and the phrases in Spanish (I saved those for my daughter since she's a nurse and we get a lot of Hispanics that don't speak English in our hospital) Am I supposed to leave the gauze pad on? I remember them telling me to shower and pat dry. After that, do I keep it bandaged? It's gross looking.

Honestly, I have no complaints. I was treated like royalty there. They said they called my daughter and left her a message on her phone. She says she never did get a message and checked her voice mail. Maybe they dialed the wrong number and didn't notice because it's not her voice on the voice. It's only of those recorded voices that said "you have reached the voice mail box for 541-xxx-xxxx Maybe they just didn't notice that it was not the number I gave them. It all worked out fine. Once we figured out that my daughter could call my cell phone and she was not charged international rates, she called me all the time. I could not call out. I am glad to be home. I will be even happier when I advance to full liquids. I don't seem to have the trouble that Susan and Elizabeth had with getting the liquids in. I have the opposite problem. I want to guzzle all the liquids I can get my hands on. I have to stop myself and remember what it says in the papers they give you . "No more than 2oz at a time" I stopped on the way home from the airport and it took me an hour to drink a bottle of Isopure, but I could have easily guzzled the whole bottle right down. I have to force myself to sip, stop, and wait.

Everything was great for me . I did have to wait a long time for Ernesto to pick me up at the Comfort Inn in San Diego. They told me to be in the lobby at 10:30 and he did not get there until noon. He had trouble finding the other patient at the San Diego airport. It was fine . they had a tv in the lobby and I called the office a couple of times to find out what the hold up was. Everyone here is great . I am using Dr. Campos' computer at the moment. Most of the nurses speak English and are very helpful and friendly. Dr. Aceves and Dr. Campos ask you over and over if you have any questions. They could not be more helpful. The only complaint I had was they promised to call my daughter the minute I was out of surgery. She finally called the office and talked to Monica because nobody called her. I asked the minute I woke up if anyone had called her and they said yes. It was a couple of hours after that, when she finally called the office. I had told her what time I would be in recovery and she waited a couple hours past that before she called. It kind of upset me that they told me they called her when they hadn't. My other complaint is that my phone does not work here. That is not their fault though. It worked the first day I got here and it said AT&T. then the next day it said TelCel. I had called my cell carrier while I was in San Diego and they told me if it said telcel, it would cost .99 per minute. I probably ran up a $100 phone bill while I was here, but Dr. Campos let me use his phone anytime I asked if I could use it. The only other complaint I have is it's pretty boring cause I don't feel like I need to be in the hospital. I know I do, cause I just had surgery, but I don't feel sick. It's pretty boring to lay around. I went for several walks outside, read, chatted with the nurses, and watched a little tv. There isn't much on cause 2 of the 3 English channels are the same and the rest are in Spanish.

you have to drink some horrid tasting stuff when they do your leak test. It's so they can see if anything at all is leaking out of your staple line. There are really no words to describe how bad this stuff tastes. You take a big gulp and it's over with in about a minute or less. Then I went and spit in the garbage can and brushed my teeth. the taste was gone quickly.

I told everyone at work I was having my gall bladder out. I didn't want to tell anyone I was getting my band. I told them this time that I was going to see my dad in Phoenix. I still don't want to tell them. it's nobody's business. I didn't want people watching what I ate or asking me quesitons and I still don't. 10 days of clear you can have jello sf popsicles broth herbal tea, unflavored whey protien mixed in crystal lite and I think Elizabeth had soy milk. 10 days of regular liquid you can have soup but you have to blend it so there are no chunks in it and progtein shakes. Let me know if you have any other questions and nobody comes back here for awhile. I have the lap top at the hospital til I go to sleep. Then tomorrow Susan Elizabeth or WasA will be around to answer more questions . we are all glad to help!

yes, I second that. Good luck Karey! Elizabeth, the nurse that took me down for my leak test said he lost 100 lbs in 6 months with his sleeve. I know I am going to love this sleeve.

I had a fatty liver before I was banded. My dr. made me get an ultasound. I had one a couple of months ago and all signs of a fatty liver are gone. That's one good thing the band did for me. With the amount of food that I could eat though, I bet it would have come back. For me, the band was almost like being on every other diet I had been on all my life. They call it willpower, and I am going to love being full on a smaller amount now.

wow Susan! That is so great!That's a lot of weight to lose in a month. I am really happy for you!

I don't remember who told me that hunger does come back in about 1 1/2 years but never as strong as before. I am drinking all the stuff they give me. I am thirsty but not hungry.

I feel great. I wish I could go travel around a little bit and see more of Mexicali . It's so boring in this hosptial. Everyone in the hospital and outside are wearing masks, so I don't think it's a great idea for me to go exploring on my own. I think people think I am a little nuts walking around outside in my housecoat. Dr. A told me to walk to the fence and that's where the border is and my phone would work. I had to cross a busy street. Maybe the people in the cars are used to seeing crazy Americans walking around the hospital neighborhoods in their bathrobes. Acutally, I could have gotten dressed, but I decided that was a hassle.

My friend has a really bad gag reflex. She is really worried she will not be able to keep it down. I borrowed Dr. Campos' phone cause she kept texting me saying she had a quesiton. She wanted me to ask Dr. Campos if they could put down a tube in her throat. He said that would be too dangeous and risk hurting the staple line. She is going to have a lot of trouble swallowing that stuff, I know. It tasted horrible but it was over fast. I spit in the garbage can and ran back to my room and brushed my teeth. I walked over to the border today where Dr. A told me I would be able to use my phone . It still didn't work. I am glad I am going home. It's so boring here when you feel fine.

I don't know yet if there is anything I liked better about the band. I know that I could eat way too much with the band even with a good fill. it was difficult for me to lose weight with it and evenmore difficult to keep it off. I have only had my sleeve going on 3 days. I have had juice Water and tea and have not felt one bit hungry. I remember being on Clear liquids for 24 hours with the band and I was starving the entire time. I think the 10 days of clears isn't going to be as difficult as I thought.

I was only on pain meds the first day. I wish that was the problem because then I could use my phone. I can get calls in but have to pay roaming fees of .99 per min. I can't callout at all. I just get a busy signal even if I put in all the country code numbers first. I am really happy I slept so well last night. It was 100% improvement over the 2 previous nights. I survived drinking the battery acid. that stuff was nasty but I am all done with it. Yay! No more leak tests and I am on my way to not feeling the need to eat all day long because I am so hungry!

yeah, I can receive calls and receive texts. I can't call out or send texts. It was such a pia to type it all out to my bf and then it kept saying text failed. I finally gave up and bought a phone card at the hotel. Then today my friend who is supposed to get the sleeve next week texted me today and I tried to text her back. same thing, text failed. She is worried that they are going to close the border down. I asked Dr. A today about her candy addiction and he said if she continues that even after getting the sleeve, it will not cure her diabetes.

You sound just like me. The band worked great for me in the beginning. Then I had to have an unfill and it was all downhill from there. I wanted it out as soon as possible before any more complications set in. I am so glad I will never have to worry about another fill or unfill.

No! I walked across the street from the hospital and down a block and it still would not work. They told me to go outside and turn it off and walk away from the hospital, and then turn it back on when I got about a block away. That didn't work . I was bummed. I still don't get why it said AT&T when I first got here and now it says TelCel. That would not be so bad if it would at least call out. I use the country code and it just beeps like the line is busy. I can't even send a text. It just says text failed.

That's hilarious! For the most part, my pbs were over the kitchen sink. My friend who is the one who convinced me to get the band, told me to just keep a bowl next to the bed in case I needed to puke in my sleep. There is just something so wrong with that habit!

Just like I was very against it when she decided on RNY. I guess at least she doesn't have to have a band removed, even if RNY doesn't work out for her. If she keeps drinking diet pepsi with her meals, I will be a good mom and not say "I told you so!" Phew! I was freaking out . Dr. Campos' computer went dead. He gave me the charging cord and I thought he must have given me the wrong cord. I could not get it to fit anywhere in any of the holes. Then I finally found an adapter in the bed.

Just remember if this happens again, that it is not your fault. If you follow the rules and still have problems, you will join many of us who had band problems in spite of doing everything we were told. That is why I had mine removed and got the sleeve. I will now have restriction for life without another fill or unfill. Those fills and unfills were just too much of a problem for me to keep dealing with.

I am all for that!

puggy lady, did you get some fill taken out?

thanks susan. that's kind of a relief to hear. now if my neck and shoulder would stop hurting, things would be pretty perfect.

Where was your pain? I am having more trouble with the left shoulder deal and my neck. My incisions don't hurt at all. I am wondering how it's going to feel when they pull that drain out tomorrow.

I have gone channel by channel looking for the shows in Englsih. It's funny that sometimes there will be a show in English on a channel, and next time I try that channel, it's in Spanish. That list does not seem to be up to date for the programming it says will be on. I go to that channel, and all I get is a fuzzy screen. Yes, I am surprised too that I can get the liquids down so easily. I will be glad to actually see the sleeve on the screen tomorrow. My daughter is freaking out calling this swine flu central. Everyone in the hospital is wearing a mask. I am not wearing mine, like a good little patient:redface: