Amanda 3.0

the gas pains actually stop? i dont know why but i thought they would be there forever. lol. i honestly wish i had aremote so i could fast fwd until february! i just want to feel normal again

If you read through the forums it is crazy how many different reactions there are. I think most people are doing okay after the first few days. My friend who had it done had no bad reaction at all, but she isn't on the forums.
If you want to do this, just realize that the odds are in your favor that you will make it through this. Maybe take your friend or husband with you to be your advocate and ask tough questions of your surgeon and to be your second set of ears. Ask the surgeon what he or she is going to do if there are complications and see what he says, are they going to be there for you if it isn't going well?

Hey Guys!!!! I'm doing well.. I was sleeved, Monday 12/19....So far, I've been very blessed to be able to get all of my liquids down.. somewhere between 64-84 oz per day, including 4-5 bottles of Water, diluted organic apple juice, and SF popsicles... Hang in there guys!!! Today I was a little groggy and sore... Just by one incision though.. Nothing that I want to take meds for.. I pray you guys feel better and better each day!! Take your time.. We can do this!!!!.

Those feelings should greatly decrease once you have moved to solid foods.

It is interesting how everyone seems to have a different recovery rate. I was sleeved the same day as you and it was rough trying to get anything down, and I did have very bad gas pain for the first two days. But that is all gone now and I am climbing around like a spider monkey! lol I have no abdominal pain whatsoever and really never did.
That sounds like an anesthesia issue. They tape a tube in one corner of your mouth, I think? I didn't have that either but I did get dry lips so lip balm was much appreciated.

Right now (pre-op) I really like the Premier chocolate shakes from costco (pre-made with 30g protein) but I've heard from a lot of people that things you liked before surgery you won't like after, so we'll see Do you have any of the unflavored Protein powder from unjury? I've heard people mix that in with their Water or other liquids to get Protein if they can't tolerate the shakes.< /p>
Good luck - hope you find something that can keep down!

In spite of the six month work up prior to my insurance approval, I was not really prepared for how quick this surgery happened.
I got my insurance approval less than two weeks prior to my surgery date. So, I only got 13 days of my two week pre-op diet.
I was very excited, until we got to the hospital. Once in the hospital, I was so scared and full of doubt. I was crying in the waiting area (quietly, to myself), and then when we went into the pre-op area, my surgery was delayed. During that time I broke down in tears and considered calling the whole thing off. My husband said he had never seen anything like that from me. I was so frightened of the pain I was expecting to happen. The doctor came in and offered me some valium, which I was so happy to take. I went to sleep, which was good because my surgery was delayed from 11:00AM until 4:30PM! If not for the valium, I don't know that I would have gone through with it.
I am glad that I did it. The surgery itself is a piece of cake. I had some complication with stuff not moving through the sleeve and a lot of pain from that, and oh my gosh, I had horrid gas in my shoulder. I've been walking since a couple of hours after surgery though. The actual pain of the surgery (incisions, etc.) are negligible and now that liquids are going through, I am so happy.

I totally understand people's hesitancy to be open about WLS. To people that have not struggled with their weight for DECADES, it might seem like the easy way out....people LOOOOVE to judge others.
For people that know you and love you, that have seen the toll that excess weight takes on your mind, body, and soul, well...they love you and so they should want you to live as long and healthy a life as possible!!
I do worry about what some of my friends and family think, but I have chosen to be completely open about the process. I have been researching and jumping through Kaiser's hoops for 4 months now, so I am trying to get my loved ones warmed up to the idea gradually. Yes, they are worried, and yes, some of them are skeptical that I'm "BIG ENOUGH" (266# and 5'0"?!?! yeah, hell-O?! I need this), but in the end-
people that love you will support you. My people are warming up to the idea, and they will have a lot of time to get used to the new me.
After all, I AM THE ONE LIVING IN THIS FAT BODY, tired of being invisible, tired of wondering if everyone is watching me eat, tired of not being able to shop in "normal stores". I'm 29 years old, and starting to deal with several obesity-related health issues. Unh-unh. Enough is enough. Ultimately, we each have to do what's best for ourselves, and I'm choosing to be proud of that.

And now, for all the naysayers, a quote from Salt-n-Pepa, 1993:
"The moral of this story is:
Who are YOU to judge?
There's only One true judge,
and that's God, so CHILL,
and let my Father do his job!"
There, that should shut 'em up

I am reading this in tears now. My mother and I have had numerous quarrels regarding my weight, even long after I passed the age-range in which it is still legit to shove her nose into my plate. Ever since I was a toddler, I was taught that "kids will always be cruel to fat people". The irony is that the abuse from my other classmates stopped around the age of 13, when they were no longer so immature, but my mother's abuse, name-calling and accusations never ceased, to this very day. This topic probably justifies a separate thread, I'm sure lots of people have a lot to say on this matter.
You wrote that you and your mother do not communicate. Neither do I communicate with mine.
My sister was the one that held my hand before I entered the OR. She didn't pass a single word of judgement. My mother was emotionally incapable of supporting me, or anyone for that matter. I suggest you google the term "poisonous parenting", you mind find interesting readings.
In my humble opinion, if your mother has the same issues and her behavior is as detrimental to your mental health, do not bother sharing this with her. No good can come out of it.
As for your husband, all the researches and statistics reinforce the notion that the comorbidities of obesity pose a higher risk to one's health than the operation itself. Diabetes is more hazardous than anything, and I recently read that the daily routine that HIV carriers go through is less troublesome than diabetics'. I can't be arsed to find the links, but the death rate from VSG is teenie-weenie - 2-6 people out of 1,000. I find pure science to be more reassuring than faith, positive thinking, trust in god etc.

My family knows. I am sharing this info with the people I know who struggle with weight loss. My 10+ year struggle caused so much pain in my life, and so many missed opportunities. If VSG allows me to get my life back it's only fair to share that information with someone who is also struggling.
I have not shared it with friends who do not struggle with weight. They just don't understand what it's like to struggle with weight loss, and they think the solution is simple (the solution is simple on paper). I've complained about my weight, and yo-yo'ed up and down for over a decade, and my fear was that if I got the surgery and failed to reach my goal and/or maintain my weight loss, it would be extremely humiliating.