meggiep

I have a prescription for medical marijuana for nerve pain and spasms.Sometimes it is the only thing that helps, thught I do not use it often.My pain management doctor knows about it. I expect to do without for quite some time after my surgery- it will be worth it! Ultimately losing the weight is something I hope will lessen my need for pain meds of any kind. Certainly of fentanyl, dilaudid, and pot, all of which I use, the pot is the most gentle!

This forum is the BEST- you will find loads of support here. Another thng I have found really great as I await my surgery date is You Tube. You will find many You Tube channels from generous Sleevers willing to inspire and educate you with their weight loss journeys. I often watch in bed while falling asleep, on my iPad. Just do a search for the vertical sleeve gastrectomy and you will find tons! I also did a lot fo research and chose the VSG. I think you made a great choice, and I personally believe it will become the most popular procedure in the future. Good luck to you on this wonderful journey!

Please do - I'm enjoying the read! Good luck to you on this wonderful journey ,

Really? I guess it is different if you take one regularly. Our good friend was just at a music convention he had been looking forward to forever. He takes coumadin right now. He cut himself shaving and was literally in his room for 24 hours trying to stop the bleeding. Yep- he should have gone to an er, as you never know... He has grown a beard ;-P Edited since it is coumadin instead of warfarin and to add my MIL also has ssues with having trouble getting a small cut to heal and ended up in the ER.

I am so excited- today I went to see the colonoscopy doctor to argue about his requiring a total anesthetic for my colonoscopy. That requirement would put my colonoscopy in June and thus delay my sleeve, which I hope to have in April or May. His requirement was based on my use of the fentanyl patch for chronic pain and his concern that I might not be sedated and pain relieved enough with twilight sleep. (The anesthesiologists for GA are less available, hence the delay) I realize patience is a virtue and the time would pass, but a a wedding photographer I really need to be past the gnarlier days of healing before our season kicks in hard. I prepared for this appointment like I was a lawyer preparing her closing argument ;-P I use the smallest available dose of the patch, and when my pain management doctor upped it I slept all the time, so he put me back on the lower dose. I had already spoken to said pain management doctor and he agree twilight sleep would work for me. And the doctor today AGREED! YIppee!!!! So with the cardiologist saying he did not even know why I was sent to him as my stress test was normal ($25 to be told that), My roadblocks are DOWN! I have my psych eval next Monday, the second and final nutritionist appt. Tuesday, the now rescheduled colonoscopy next Thursday, the upper GI the following wednesday and then everything gets submitted to insurance. Meggie is doing a happy dance today! ps I can't believe I am looking forward to a colonoscopy!

You have to be an old fart to have one ;-P Yep- their planned cocktail for me is versed-demerol-fentanyl-benedryl. I have had an upper GI- don;t care for that either, but at least no icky drink prep.

I am just so thrilled to get their requirements out of the way and it seemed the roadblocks kept appearing. Lets face it- it is not the colonoscopy that is awful- it is the prep for the colonoscopy! The procedure itself is a snap- all those happy drugs... but that slimy stuff you drink- ugh.

Welcome and congratulations! I think there s a tutorial /instructional on the site in another area for the tickers- I have to look for myself! The support here is AWESOME!

Don't feel too bad! Your original post resonated deeply with me. You said some things that make a lot of sense I personally will follow my own doctor's two week liquid diet requirement to the letter- the liver thing does make sense to me and I want the best start I can have. That said- I think if it were an absolute truth that you need to diet to shrink or change your liver before this surgery, all doctors would have us do it. I suspect there was a bit of anger at the fact the instructions were not followed mixed in with the health concerns. Most of us (and I include myself) are awed into silence by our doctors, and we forget that they actually work for us! It would not hurt to remember that , at least a little bit. A helicopter medic (hunky cutie pie putting a warm blanket on me when I was in the ER with chest pains) told me a great joke that helps me keep things in perspective: What's the difference between God and a doctor? God KNOWS he is not a doctor!

I am 57 and hope to have my sleeve in April or May if I can remove all the roadbocks! I have to admit I find myself having pangs of regret about not having done this sooner. However, I have always been young at heart and now my body will be that way too. I will be You Tubing my journey eventually so as to help others.

I got th Unury samples , and the Bariatric Advantage samples as well as some nectar samples. Then I also found that the site Vitalady dot com will send you a sample of all these different kinds for a nominal amount (fibro brain tonight so I am not sure how much.) So I now have about 12 kinds to sample! I actually posted in the nutrition section wish I could find some people around my area to get together with to do a taste test. Wouldn't that be fun? I will probably start my You Tube series with the taste tests instead, though of course everyone likes different things so my experience might not be yours. I expect the most pertinent issue will be how s trongly the Protein taste comes through.

Welcome and congratulations on taking steps for YOU, for your health, life, and joy.

You are totally right- all of these procedures have complications! I think I am resopnding to a few posts I saw saying the plication was reversible. I just wanted to state what my doctor said- feeling tender about my WLS brothers and sisters here and not wanting to imply anything about the choices that have been made, yet wanting to have it be known what the response was to my question. I was actually very surprised by his answer- from what I had read plication seemed like an ideal thing, perhaps the next new best choice. He made it very clear he was concerned about many issues. Best of luck and light and love to you! I look forward to seeing your great results on your journey.

I asked my doctor about the pication. He is one of the best WLS surgeons in our area, and has been doing the sleeve for a long time- worked with the surgeon who developed it. He will NOT be doing the plication- he believes the problem with lack of blood flow will be common and these complications are the tip of the iceberg. I am not wanting to be a Debbie Downer, I am just relating what my doctor said. I had been very interested in the plication, as of course it seemed attractive to keep the rest of your stomach and reverse it when you reach your goal. Once he told me his feelings, along with some of the complications I have seen, I decided full heartedly on the sleeve. I also wonder, considering the fact for many of us surgery is the last resort after trying everything, if reversible surgery will mean lots of weight gain ultimately.

Oh Heather , I am heartsick for you! I know how much I long for my surgery and to think you got so close and were sent home really hurts. <<<HUGS!>>> BTW, be mindful you have had a blood thinner- if you cut yourself you will need to be extra careful about stopping the bleeding. Don';t shave ;-P

Be careful! If you see the thread down below titled Rock Bottom , Infernored just had the total heart break of having her surgery canceled after going in to the hospital, doing the bloodwork, and being ready. Her doctor saw that she had gained a couple of pounds and asked if she had eaten carbs. She told the truth and now has to wait . My heart HURTS for her! Stay on your liquids until Thursday and know you will be eting things again some day, in a skinnier body. Good luck!

Keepng you in my thoughts!

Oh I wish I could have surgery on your date! I totally recommend that you look for You Tubes of people who have had the sleeve. I think that will allay your fears. Some of my favorites- sunkiss718, juliarh, and a really interesting set of a brother and sister who both had it GastricSleeveReviews . You had a really good reason for wanting this- remnd yourself of that! Also , really, where has that relationship with food gotten you? That is what I ask myself.

Right now I am doing low cal but not cutting way way back. Just trying not to go over bard and losing a few pounds. Once I have my date I have been keeping a little "bucket list" of few things I know I wont have for a long long time, and never in the same way. Sees Candy, my fave pizza, In and Out, just a few things I will miss. IN fact right now every time I have my morning seeded whole grain toast I honor it and speak fondly to it ;-P. Our son works at the movie theater and brings home free buttered popcorn- in big quantities, whenever we want. I will miss that for sure.

One of the great You Tubers said something I think you can apply to yourself- his doctor told him to expect to feel, for a week or two "Why did I do this?", and then, after a month or two to say "Why didn't I do this sooner?". You are at the worst part now- I Know this without having had the surgery yet and I learned it from everyone here. Give yourself time to adjust, and especially once you start being able to eat and you see the weight coming off I think you will be happy with your sleeve. This is a great place for love and support. Also check out You Tube = there are great vloggers recording their journeys to inspire you. Many of them felt ghastly at first and I have not found anyone yet who would go back and not do their sleeve. Good luck!

So I have accumulated about 10 kinds of protein drinks so far from various places that give samples. More to come. I hate to taste them all and not have other benefit from it- since of course my taste is not necessarily someone elses. It occurred to me that if anyone is in the area who wants to try some we could meet and do a sampling- certainly I do not have to drink a whole one to get the idea, in fact don't really want to until I have to ;-P I f there is anyone in the area who would like to get together we can also continue on to supporting our journeys.

Bump in the hopes someone is out there! Thinking I might do a vlog of a taste test f I can't find anyone...

What she said!. From everything I have learned you are way too close to surgery to have three drinks. And for me it makes no sense to consume empty high carb calories when every single thing you put in your sleeve needs to count. I think you called it when you pinpointed alcohol as the source of some of your weight- so in a way it's too bad you experimented- finding out it slides right down. You know the sleeve is no guarantee you wont have a weight problem. Alcohol will pose just as much of a problem with your weight as it ever did, sleeve or no sleeve. And hey- I do NOT want to seem like a moralizer here as I enjoy socializing and partying, I just know I have to choose for my health now and I would love you to have long term success. To me choosing to have three drinks this close to your surgery is a red flag. Just the fact you felt hunger for the first time, probably from all that pure carb- well what a bummer! You sure you want to encourage that problem?

I am really surprised about that! The need for protein, in healing and in keeping your body from burning muscle instead of fat through the months ahead, and for the Vitamins, iron and calcium in light of your reduced ability to get them from food- well, it all just makes sense. If I were you I would follow those guidelines, and since you are most likely on Clear liquids or full liquids, the protein shakes are mainly for that period. Get some and drink them now! Especially to help heal the staple line.Then once you can eat you need to focus on getting all that protein from your food, only needing the shakes if you are not able to do that. M doctor says eat protein first, vegetavles and fruits, second, and carbs third (knwoing you usually wont get that far).

I have to say that I love the fact that once you do it you can't talk yourself out of it and the sleeve itself kicks in to help you so much doing what you need to do. Go for it! I too spend a lot of time looking at the inspiring YOU Tube VLOGs- amazing, inspiring stories. You can't help but want to be one of those stories instead of the saem old story that has you so needing this.