mi75

I have PCOS that was only diagnosed when going through infertility treatment, prior to having my PCOS diagnosed I was banded lost over 6 stone fell pregnant had a lovely little boy but band slipped during pregnancy so band removed all my weights back and I'm having VSG in 3 days time!!!!!!
My surgeons say I had the odds stacked against me with family history & PCOS to loose significant weight alone but that I will be over the moon with my VSG results ! Here's hoping!!!! Xxx I'll let you know how I get on x

I'm the same weigh! After giving birth to my son in 2006 my stomach never stopped looking pregnant!!! I'm so excited to not look 5 months pregnant anymore. I'm a PCOS lady too, I know your struggle!

I LOVE this thread. there are SO many things that describe my current issues and it's good to know others are right there with me...
I'm a nurse and one thing I WON'T miss is my patients asking me "When are you due"?...yes. seriously.
I get asked this at least three times a week. I have PCOS and carry ALL my weight in the front and frankly, it looks terrible and makes me so incredibly short of breath and such. but really?
I see my patients on a scheduled basis so i'm excited for the first one to mention my weight LOSS, not my weight!!!!!

happy for you!

wonderful testimonies!! I am pre op and looking forward to surgery in about 7 weeks from now. I have PCOS, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, fatty liver, GERD, terribly insulin resistant, and possible sleep apnea (had my test last week, was VERY close to call but waiting for sleep doctor to call it).
I am thrilled to know that so many of my medical things will resolve.
so happy for everyone!

For those of us that still have mild Plantars Fasciitis pain I would suggest wearing "running" socks. They have an extra band of elastic that hugs your foot and helps support your arch. I bought these not knowing that they were socks made specifically for runners and I love the added support they provide.

I work in a hospital and check in patients for surgery. I love to meet patients of my surgeon before they go to surgery. I always show them before pictures and they can never believe it. We have to weigh everyone day of surgery and I love to tell them "are you ready to never see this number again?" Gets them all so excited. Needless to say I tell everyone that's interested. Several people have approached me about it and it makes me feel good to help and encourage somebody. There will always be negativity but the good will always outweigh the bad.

Hi and welcome! I'm preop also, should be submitting everything around June 6th(final nutrition class). I'm thrilled to hear what your surgeon said, because I've had GERD for years, and my surgeon said the same thing. I specifically asked about exacerbation and possible revision to RNY, and he reassured me that he's only had 3 patients in the hundreds he's sleeved that needed revision due to GERD. I know that there's no guarantee against complications, but this reaffirmed my gut feeling(pun intended) that the VSG was the right choice for me.
Good luck to you!

I too have had life long GERD. quite literally, I saw a pediatric gastroenterologist for it when I was about 4 yrs old. I have been on daily meds since age 19 (prior to that i took only when it was unbearable), but because I had it for so long, I also had a positive Barrett's screen come back a few years ago. Barretts is essentially pre-cancerous lesions in the esophagus.
This is only one of the reasons I am having RNY, but a big reason. I also have hypertension, PCOS and insulin resistance, plus fatty liver disease.
My surgeon plans to work on the hiatal hernia that I also have during my RNY surgery and has told me that I should remain on GERD meds for only a couple months and should then be able to stop them forever.

According to HIPPA law, NOBODY but you can disclose specifics unless you give them permission.

pre-admission testing usually consists of a chest x-ray to make sure you don't have pneumonia, a urinalysis to check for UTI, sugar, and ketones and a CBC to check for active infection.
every hospital is different too, but I don't believe that secondhand smoke will make any difference. good luck!

i agree with the statement already made that fat is generally replaced by sugar in 'fat free' products.
if you look at the sugars and carb contents of fat free things compared to regular, it's almost always higher.
my surgeon says that some things like regular eggs, mayo are ok, but recommends low fat milk, turkey sausage and other 'light' versions over fat-free for others.
for the most part, at the post-op point i will stick with regular versions of real foods over anything fat free and a few light versions of things just due to the saturated fats.

I told my boss, because obviously I will need the time off, and a couple of people I work closely with daily. My own secretary doesn't even know and I don't plan to tell her.
She held a very strong opinion when other people in our office had it done and said "I just don't understand, if you can have the willpower to stick to the pre-op diet then why can't you just diet your way thin?"......see, that's why i'm not telling her...enough said.

i really like the original Zumba series and have the entire thing but i'm too out of shape and deconditioned right now to use it.
i'm still pre-op but can't wait till after to start using it!
the original Shawn T series of Hip Hop Abs is pretty good, as well as almost ANY Beach Body series.
good luck getting going!

awesome. keep going!!!! it will be so worth it!!

My surgeon, like many others, encourages patients to give up carbonation because it actually stretches the pouch and can essentially stretch you to a large capacity 'stomach' again!
I am also a HUGE addict, Mountain Dew is my drug of choice. I have been told from several friends who are post-op that many times you lose your tastes for many foods post-op and don't crave them anymore. I have one friend who is 10 years out and she told me she started with diet Slurpee's about 10 months post-op and had a couple a week for a few years before she went to pop. I am actually hopeful that I will lose my addiction all together and pop won't be an issue!

My surgeon, like many others, encourages patients to give up carbonation because it actually stretches the pouch and can essentially stretch you to a large capacity 'stomach' again!
I am also a HUGE addict, Mountain Dew is my drug of choice. I have been told from several friends who are post-op that many times you lose your tastes for many foods post-op and don't crave them anymore. I have one friend who is 10 years out and she told me she started with diet Slurpee's about 10 months post-op and had a couple a week for a few years before she went to pop. I am actually hopeful that I will lose my addiction all together and pop won't be an issue!

Best of luck to you too!! Fat free Greek plain yogurt makes an awesome dip for veggies and it's good on a baked potato too!!'

so glad you got that straightened out! i plan to save some chicken bones and make my own broth by boiling it with a couple pieces of meat, tons of veg, salt, garlic, etc. and draining it, like you did with your veg broth!
i am generally not to picky but two weeks is a long time for me (that's my pre-op diet time). I am also able to have RAW veggies, plain yogurt, applesauce, shakes.
i plan to make a heap of dip with the plain greek yogurt and spices and live off those raw veggies along with it! best of luck

honestly I don't know that I have really heard of anybody with long term complications like adhesions. hopefully you will be so incredibly pleased afterward. I have many co-workers who have been through and cannot speak enough positive about it!
just from watching the show my opinion is that Dr Somers seems incredibly compassionate and TRULY cares about his patients. I think that you are VERY blessed to have him as a doctor, and he seems to truly have a gift from God in helping his clients. I think that he has a true dedication to helping obese people become healthy. you should ask him about your concerns, but truly I believe that even if there are small risks of long-term problems, the fact that you are healthy weight-wise would outweigh those risks!
please feel free to reply or post any questions or issues that you have .i am still pre-op too but would love to help!

My eval was a while ago, but while I was answering the true/false portion of the test he walked into the room I was in without knocking and caught me laughing. I turned around as he entered and said "This is hysterical, who writes these questions?" He laughed back and said "You pass, your definitely normal". Talk about relaxing the whole process. From there it was a breeze.

I have been told that the little divided plates and the small toddler bowls with covers are great post-op due to perfect portioning.
I will likely use a cocktail spoon/fork or a little shrimp fork just because I prefer metal to plastic.
also, my nutritionist told me to get a few sets of plastic measuring spoons also for portioning purposes.

so happy for you! I think that it is so often misunderstood that these surgeries are mostly to get our lives back, and regain our health, and not typically anything to do with vanity.
sure, the fact that we look great is a huge added bonus, but I look forward to playing with my son, and teaching my 11 yr old daughter how to become a runner!
i'm still pre-op but pretty close to getting everything submitted to insurance and I am so much looking forward to saying that I am medication free, breathing normally again, have some actual energy and can be totally involved with my kids!

I am also an RN with my BSN and almost done with my MSN (WHOOP!!)
I believe that the best RNs are those that first worked as a nursing assistant. it helps you truly appreciate the TEAM that you are part of, and taking care of the patients. After all, that is what we do, we take care of patients. titles aside.
I work in a huge private practice with multiple docs. The MA's and NA's in our practice do a huge brunt of the work rooming patients, independently titrating meds, triaging nursing calls, etc. The other RN's and myself couldn't provide the advanced levels of care that we do without our MA's.
In my practice, our MA's are absolutely a huge part of our team, and for sure in the medical field. I went to a nursing school where they really encouraged team delegation, RN leadership, etc. That was awesome and really important for learning how to be a nurse, but at the end of the day, we are all in this together.

so happy for you! I think that it is so often misunderstood that these surgeries are mostly to get our lives back, and regain our health, and not typically anything to do with vanity.
sure, the fact that we look great is a huge added bonus, but I look forward to playing with my son, and teaching my 11 yr old daughter how to become a runner!
i'm still pre-op but pretty close to getting everything submitted to insurance and I am so much looking forward to saying that I am medication free, breathing normally again, have some actual energy and can be totally involved with my kids!