mednar

I had this the first week or so after surgery. My physician put some type of patch behind my ear afterwards that was to be absorbed through the skin for up to three days after the surgery. I've long since lost that box, so I'm not sure what that was called. It didn't help that it fell off and refused to stick soon after I got home. He also gave me a prescription for ondansetron, an anti-nausea medicine that really seemed to help when I took it as prescribed. Another thing that he prescribed for me was a battery powered wrist bracelet that seemed to help me. I went home from the surgery center with that. I'm pretty sure i recently saw a similar device in the local CVS in the motion sickness department. My completely unqualified medical theory is that the slight shock that you get at the wrist every few seconds helps distract you from the feelings of nausea as your stomach readjusts to it's new shape. The first week for me was rough with the nausea. Hopefully your loved one has gotten through that by now or is getting better. Take care.

Quick update. Don't remember to get on here much anymore. Had surgery June 6, 2011. To date, I've lost 87 lbs. According to the BMI charts in the doctors office, I need to lose ~ 52 lbs to be "normal" BMI range. For me to be happy, I'd still like to lose ~25-30 more lbs. It's gotten harder to lose, but I also gave up on getting up 2.5 hours before work to exercise. Haven't replace that weight training/exercise, and it's slowed my weight loss down. I've got to find something to replace that with, or develop a routine at home. I'm back to walking again 5-6 days a week. Also still trying to train to run when I can. I'm up to 5 minutes running, 2.5 walk, 3 minutes running, 1.5 walk x2. Start a new week this week. The third run this week is 20 min running. Not sure how that will work out. Might have to repeat a week. My weight loss of late has been slow, but clothes sizes are slowly dropping. I've gone from wearing a 3XL mens shirt to a L, depending on the manufacturer. They all seem to have some different body size in mind when they make stuff. Hope all the "old" plication patients are well. Hope all you new ones do well. Take care.

it's diffucult to read this. I hope I'm not there in few months, . I think I just clocked 7 months out last Friday. Overall trend is to lose. My exercise committment has waned with bad weather (1 hour every other day walking and 3x circuit training each week, weather permitting). Both suffer during winter. I just need the sleep during the depths of winter. It's hindered my weight loss with rainy days and days where I just can't get outside. I can't speak for anyone else. I still have restriction. My overall trend is downward. The slope is less steep. Had my lowest weight last week, then had nearly a 9 lb flucuation upward a few days later. A lot of it is Water weight for me. Keep at it. Mednar

I didn't have any complications post op. However, many surgeons offer post op insurance (Bliss-care was what mine was called, or something like that). Since most health insurance companies don't cover WLS to begin with, and also don't cover complications from the surgery, it's probably a good idea to find a surgeon that offers that type of post-op coverage in my opinion.) You can opt into/out of the duration and extent of coverage, at least that was my experience. You would have to read the specific documents from your physician and discuss them and the insurance carrier to be reasonably sure you'd be covered during a specific event. Strongly suggest that you talk with the insurance provider to understand what you're buying with those policies. It was another step and another pain in the ass, but I felt better having it and knowing what they would/wouldn't cover. Traditional insurance plans don't cover anything regarding plication as best as I can tell. It's too early for them to make any money off the procedure.

Hope you're doing well recovering!

You are losing 7 lbs per month on average. That's great. Don't be too hard on yourself, but keep pushing. There are apps tracking food intake and exercise. Maybe one of those could help? You can do it. Keep at it.

Glad you figured it out. Hope you're doing well. I feel like my experience with plication has been positive overall. Day to day, my satisfaction is variable, but that's mostly because I really want instant results. Patience with myself about this issue isn't a virtue I possess in great quantity. I've lost weight consistently, but the scale goes up and down in small increments. The overall pattern is downward however. Hope your return to work goes well.

Thanks TjP. I need to proofread more carefully before I click the post button. Didn't realize I made that mistake I'll see if I can go back and edit it now. I think my surgery was 9600 dollars. I posted somewhere the exact cost, but I can't remember where. There were a couple of tests I had to do before that pushed the costs over 10K (a barium swallow/endoscopy and some blood tests). My insurance covered the barium swallow, but the NP at my employer didn't code the blood tests to my benefit. Not sure how much the barium swallow was, but the blood tests were about 400 dollars. Hope that helps..

Jamie Ponce at Gastric Band Institute in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Researched my options a few years ago. Wasn't happy with many parts (filling of the band, slipping, excision of stomach with VSG, etc). Returned to him when he began offering this procedure as part of clinical trial to collect data about how effective this procedure is. I've lost ~65 lbs since June 6. I have had to work consistently regarding exercise (walking 5-6 hours a week). I've even recently tried to begin running. Not sure my knees are up to it yet, but I'm doing it on my schedule. I've changed how and what I eat. I also get way more activity than I did before. I'd love to think that surgery did all that for me, but even with surgery, at least from my experience, it's still a considerable lifestyle change. My surgery has helped with food restriction. I feel full (though in a different way) sooner. I still fight daily with making the right decisions regarding food. It's possible to indulge and "cheat" with high calorie density foods. It's hard to say how much of my weight loss is attributable to the surgery or to the change in lifestyle. My experience has been that they are linked in ways that are hard to distinguish. Hope you find what works for you.

I had a long draft that I somehow lost track of. Regardless of the procedure that was approved, you need to weigh the benefits of that procedure against what your ideal is. If they don't match to your satisfaction, you have to seriously consider if someone else paying is enough to overcome the short and long term disadvantages. TijPlication has talked about her struggles and regrets, including what she would consider revising to. Please read those. I had all sorts of issues standing in my way regarding different procedures starting 3+ years ago. This has worked for me, but for many others they have had mixed results. For me, when I first investigated this path, nothing matched. I knew up front always that I would be self-pay. I made sure to review my options. When the sleeve plication became available, it met all my criteria. Even if my insurance had offered to cover another procedure, I wouldn't have been able to commit. At this point, making the self-pay sacrifice has been worth it. Gah. I was much more clear before. Be honest with yourself about what you want, research whether or not that's possible with what your ins. co. is offering. Above all, investigate your physician, their patients, and how happy they have been. Ask to speak to some of their patients, either during seminars or individually. Don't make a fast decision because you feel pressured. There's enough of a market for this surgery now that you can research the best procedures for your situation and your insurance/financial situation. I'd say above all, don't go for what the best option your ins. co. is willing to pay for at that moment. Reflect, Research. Reflect, then Reflect some more. Success and all my best, Mednar

One week might be enough. Hard for me to say. I had the summer off. I had nausea (a lot) the first few days, but tat faded quickly.

FTP is right. Moving in that direction is all that matters. I get so pissed some days when I know I've made the right choices and I see no results. For days. Or even weeks. I try to keep in mind that my doctor's nutritionist says that 4 lbs per month is what to expect in general. You're losing almost double that on average. I struggle with that number. Seems like it should be more. Don't beat yourself up for what you consider Halloween mistakes. Keep at it.

I spent nearly a year receiving "treatment" for a compressed disc in my back. My primary care physician at the time diagnosed me with a compressed disc in my lower spine. The machine he had in his office was basically a fancy version of the inversion machines that reduce pressure on the lower spine. He conveniently had the new machine in his office. I stepped up for those treatments because I was in pain and not willing to seek further surgical treatment. After nearly a year of those treatments with little benefit, the primary care physician at the time referred me to have a series of steroid shots in my lower back.. During the second or third trip (I think you can only have 3 of these shots per year), the doctor giving these shots asked a series of questions because the first shots had not relived my pain significantly. He had me do a series of test questions that required me to do things like touch my toes, bend over with my legs crossed, etc. It's been a couple of years ago, so it's hard to recall the specifics. The "steroid" physician then elected to put a shot into my sacroiliac joint rather than my lower back. It was the most painful thing I have ever been awake for, but it also helped. I weighed about 315 at the time. I gave up sugared soda then and dropped to around 295, my pre-plication weight. Losing that 20 lbs and doing the stretches the doctor told me about have helped me avoid a recurrence of that pain. Anytime I have felt my right hip bother me, I try those stretching exercises and they help.

FTP, I'm sorry to hear you're not well. I had a couple of years with right side hip pain that wasn't properly diagnosed. I was finally diagnosed with SI joint issues that required proper stretching techniques. Those exercises have helped me greatly. Doesn't sound like the same issue, but that pain is debilitating. I think we all struggle with making the right choices. At least I do. While reading your post, I was thinking about a big bag of Kit-Kat bars and snarfing them down. I think we might all cave occasionally. It's part of being human. I'm not sure it's fair to yourself to discredit what you've done so far. Stress from health issues is hard regardless. Hoping for your best. Mednar

Hi Doodle. I also had to do the 2 week protein shake diet before surgery. I could have up to four protein shakes a day. My physician indicated that it helped reduce the size of your liver which made the surgery easier to do. It was tough, but keep at it. All the best.