meggiep

This will be one day of work as a wedding photographer. Then I will have eight days before one day of work. I have had such physical problems for a few years that my husband and son do the bulk of the physical stuff at the weddings and I do things like sit and back up our CF discs, etc. I have a few times I am on my feet shooting, and usually adrenaline (and pain meds) see me through. I would probably have my surgery around the 18th and the wedding is the 30th, then we have one on the 6th of May and then nothing until May 30th (the recession has not been kind to our business!)

My doctor says to put your fork down for 30 seconds between each bite.

I am in shock- once all my tests were complete I knew they would submit to insurance. I wrote to my surgeon and told him how excited I am and that I have my Protein Drinks all ready so I can start my two weeks liquids at a word from him. I was blown away when he emailed back yesterday and said "start liquids now". WTF!!!!!! Basically due to my wedding photography schedule I either need to have the surgery by April 15th or so to give me two weeks before our 4/30 wedding, or else wait until after our May 6th wedding, giving me three weeks until our May 30th wedding. If I start liquids tomorrow (obviously I needed to talk to his nurse today to see if he was serious that it could be that soon- she said yes, it is good to have already started the diet so I can get a date asap)- then I could have the surgery on the 18th. I am wondering what condition I would likely be in at day 12 or so. I know that everyone varies- quite a bit, but I thought if I have you all weigh in on what it was like for you I can get a general idea if I could possible work a wedding on April 30th. My husband and son both shoot too and obviously with my weight and many pain issues they already do the bulk of the work. I am trying to figure ou if me post surgery 12 days out would be about as able .... Meanwhile of course I am really mourning a little that I don;t even get to have some of the favorite foods I Planned to have before my liquids. Still, things happen for a reason and maybe that is for the best!

:P That is great to hear! I am in a tizzy as I just found out I might have surgery in two weeks and one of my major questions is whether I would be able to work an eight hour event at 12 days.... So glad you are alive (and well).

Thank you! I guess I will leave the thread here ;-P Yes, I think since I usually am in huge pain and can hardly move- how could post surgery be very different? I have always bounced back from surgery pretty quickly so I at least know anesthesia is not usually a problem, etc.

Maybe I should have posted this in POST op- d'uh! I may be pre-op but the people who I need answers from are post op- obviously I am in a tizzy with this news. Hopefully enogh post ops will read this...

You are right- I think I was just touchy when so many here give so much to have her complain. I did also give some thoughts about what to do , at least! I agree I was wrong to come down on her when she is already low about her stall.

I agree with everything already posted and I also believe that so many people are on antidepressants that cause weight gain that it is also a big factor in the higher weight that seems so prevalent. I am happy with lexapro- and was happy with celexa, but they both cause blood sugar issues that I know contributed to my weight gain. Seriously- there are so many prescriptions for these drugs that it is in our drinking water! When I met with my surgeon first time he actually said that my body has well protected me for a famine, while he will die!

Several of my first posts in My Story received no answers-sure I noticed- but I am not going to throw a fit over it. About your problem- there are so many posts about this- I haven't even had my sleeve and I can answer you because I have read so much. Have you looked around the forum and found all the posts about stalls? Here is what I have learned Are you drinking your Water? 64 ounces plus EVERY day? Are you getting your Protein? 60-80 grams Are you working out? This is very important as you move forward... Are you limiting your carbs? VERY IMPORTANT- the way my doctor puts it- if you give your body carbs to burn it wont burn fat even if the calories are low. If you are limiting your calories and thinking that is all it will take, that is a mistake- and in fact you may have to add some calories to kick start your losing. All these things are written over and over again and readily available to all of us. I have also found the best thing to do when you ask about a situation like that the best thing to do is tell in your original post what you are currently doing so as to give the responders enough information to help you. Otherwise they could just see it as another post just like the other posts and without knowing your details they have nothing to work with. Good luck to you!

Yuck. Double yuck! Thanks for the warning. I have about 13 samples I got and I will definitely review them so as to do service for others! Thanks for sacrificing yourself on the fish chalk altar.

Take it back! My doctor's rule of thumb is single digits carbs and double digits protein. That has way too much carbs and sugar.

I actually was thinking the same thing! Then tonight at Water aerobics thr woman in my class who is also progressing towards the sleeve told me she had the study and does not have apnea! For the OP- often thy will do another study after you lose the weight and you will no longer need the machine.

You have gotten great advice- I just want to send you a cyber hugs for what happened. I feel so lucky that it was my PC doctor who recommended it for me due to my chronic pain and inability to be active. One question- do you have any co-morbidities like apnea, diabetes, etc. that would help you qualify?

I had a ghastly time during mine- she had to up the chemical five times and they were cheering me on having me flap my arms and pump my legs to get my heart rate up so that I wouldn't need another higher dose. If I ever need a stress test again I will wrap both my knees and suffer on a treadmill.

I wondered when you would mention the numbers! Congratulations!

I learn so much from you! I plan to also sip starting very early in the day so that I am well hydrated before meals and hoping that helps.

Is your super special machine sleek and metal? I have that one. SInce we all support one another I feel like I should tell you that If you do have severe apnea ( I was diagnosed with mild end of moderate apnea) it is actually possible to die in your sleep. In addition it can contribute to many health issues (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol), as well as slow your metabolism. The woman who fitted me said that 50% of the people dxed with severe apnea who do not comply with CPAP use die of an apnea related incident, from falling asleep behind the wheel to an apnea caused health condition to sleep asphyxia. Please be careful! For one thing- suppose it speeds you metabolism- you will lose more weight after the sleeve ;-P Not wanting to nag, just wanting you to know. Also, if your doctor does require use of your machine, the fancy ones have a CF card the tells your use and all the phases of sleep you enter, etc. So just saying you did it wont work!

I totally sympathize about the pre-op nightmare- it seemed that every test found something that had to be investigated further and deayed me more. I had to really fight for some things- for example my colonoscopy doctor decided that because I use a fentany patch for pain I would not be susceptible to fentanyl twilight sleep and therefore I needed to have a general anesthetic , and that was going to delay my March 24th appointment to June, and therefore would delay my surgery. I knew he was wrong as I use the smallest dose possible, and when I was upped to the next highest dose it knocked me out so I cut back again. I had to make a appointment and plead my case- and he agreed and I had the procedure this past week. This i one example of the roadblocks that have come up and that I have had to push against to get to my goal. I do want to talk to you about the CPAP machine though . I too had a sleep evaluation same kind you had with the machine in the middle of the night. I would have SWORN I did not have apnea. WRONG! I do- mild to moderate. My doctor requires that you use the machine for at least two weeks before surgery, with at least 4 hours a night. Please make sure whether your doctor has requirements once you are dxed as I would hate to see you be delayed again. The thing is, sure as I was it was not a factor in my life- I actually have noticed a total difference now that I am using the machine! I usually am so tired when I wake up that it takes me a long time to wake up- and I find I am much more alert in the morning now. I also feel more energy! SO don't be sure it will not help you. My husband watched me sleeping and was also sure I did not have it. Apnea can affect many health conditions as well as metabolism! Also- call every day to remind them you are on the waiting list. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the appointment. I got my psych eval moved up by calling all the time. Good luck!

What is his pre-op and post-op diet? BTW, My surgeon has done thousands as well and his one fatality was an RNY patient who went home from the hospital and ate pizza. The pouch ruptured and eventually gangrene killed the patient. Considering the thorough preparation and education my doctor provides I simply cannot imagine a patient doing that.

My doctor's is 2-3 days clear liquids, full liquids to day 14, and pureed/soft foods until 5-6 weeks. Then full diet.

They will just be jealous watching you bloom!

As I mentioned in my post over in pre-surgery- it is two of my siblings and a couple of nieces- they have called to do interventions, ad one nice actually sent me a powerpoint of her research of all the things she figured I did not know about the VSG. She figured wrong, I knew it all and a lot more. They are treating me as if I am just in la la land thinking this will solve all my problems and then will find out it was a mistake. They are violently anti medical model and they also have not lived near me for many years so really do not know me, my life, and the prison my body has become for me. I had to tell them that I do not need info from them- I have plenty of that- I need love and support and if they can;t do that I wont be telling them any more about the process. This weekend I was so happy as I finished every single pre requirement this Friday and it was so hard not to call them when I usually would share happy things with them. They wont think of it that way. Luckily I - and you- have place like this for support. My husband and son are also totally on team Meggie! I feel for you.

p.s. If it helps, I saw a Dr. Oz this week that discussed this and he said he only worries if you have fewer than three bowel movements a week. I appreciate hearing what people do for this as I would love to avoid it! I have managed to avoid this even though I have been on opioid therapy longterm for pain and I hate to think I would have that problem for the first time if there is a way to avoid it!

One thing that occurred to me is that it seems (from what I have read) that many sleeved folks have a barium swallow leak test post surgery. Is that true? If so that sets you up for constipation right out of the gate. I know this because I just did my upper GI and I went from a day of completely purging my whole colon for a colonoscopy to the opposite problem immediately. Barium is bad that way. It's too bad you would have that when you already face getting your new stomach to behave and be regular!

Another thing I just thought of- it is not as if we get to STOP trying! This is just a tool- a great tool, probably the best we have ever had. If we are on a losing roll going into it- all the better!