Veda

I was sleeved on Friday morning. I had so much stress from work that the surgery wasn't the uppermost thing on my mind and that probably helped me. Although not everyone has it as easy as I am, this surgery has been the oddest thing because I feel like nothing happened. My stomach has the scars, but I just feel like I've done too many sit-ups. I can sleep on my side, don't feel dizzy, can take care of all my own needs, and have no nausea. I wish I had done this years ago so my health would not have been compromised by waiting and hoping counting points would work if I tried it for the 20th time! It is so odd to me to have major surgery with so little discomfort - I hope my surgeon really did take out some of my stomach - LOL! If you decide to go through with being sleeved, I hope your experience goes well too. This forum is filled with people like me who are doing very well right out of the hospital. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my surgery took place at 8:45am and I was home by 3:00 as an outpatient.

So glad to hear you're ok. I'm sitting on the bench with ya as of yesterday morning! I hope you continue to feel better. Big hugs.

I just got sleeved yesterday and reading your post is awesome! Sharing lifts others up and thank you for letting us know of your accomplishment - fabuloso...

Please forgive me, but my computer does not like this forum's new format. I cannot read the profile names of any posters. My reply was intended for a woman (obviously). If this is not the case, I'm going to blame my lapse on the starvation mode I feel today - the day before surgery. Yikes! The person who posted some women like bald men is so right!

I know this may sound odd, but I would contact some breast cancer support organizations and ask them what their patients who wear wigs have to say about style, cost, natural feel, and comfort of wear. My Mom had a wig that looked a lot better than her own hair ever did. I'm getting sleeved in the morning and I will get a wig if needed - I have plenty of hair, but have had some of the problems you mention. I used to tell one of my former employees that her hair was so cute. It was a short and sassy style - cute, cute, cute! I loved it. She finally told me that she was wearing a wig due to cancer treatments she had. I didn't have a clue. Please let us know what you find out in your research.

I am pre-op, but I used to freeze from the inside out. I would be the one at the beach all covered up - cold when it's 80 outside. I would drink hot liquids all day and take up to 3 HOT baths just to keep warm. Once I had my hyterectomy, that totally went away. This is why I wonder if being so cold after getting sleeved can be caused by a change in hormones, especially since the part of the stomach removed produces hormones. Just a thought...

My surgeon says it's because the carbonation causes discomfort with a sleeved person. I asked if it will stretch the stomach; he said is will not do that, but is something sleevers will not want to do because of the pain/burps, etc. I think this is a subject that doctors will have differing opinions about - streching vs. non-stretching.

One sign to watch out for is any swelling, especially of the tongue or heart racing. This is a sign of a possilbe serious allergic reaction to meds. I don't have a medical background, but have had life-threatening problems with meds my body doesn't like. Better to be safe than sorry. I would vote for calling your doc asap.

My Aetna PPO 70/30 Plan does not cover WLS so I'm a self pay. So glad you got it approved!

I am also a November 18th sleever. ONE more week to go!!!!!!!!

Wow! That is determined. The best to you in you sleeve journey...

Amazingly encouraging! Congrats on all you have done to arrive at this point!

November 18th is my big day. It will be nice to read this forum to find out how November sleeve buddies are doing. I'm a self pay for the NEW Program in Newport Beach, CA. I will be having this done as an outpatient surgery and, if all goes right, my hubby will take care of me by the end of the day on the 18th - he's good that way.

I've been on the pre-op diet for a week as of today - whew, the third day was so difficult, but now it's no big deal. I'm actually used to it, but I do work at a stressful job so I don't have time to think of food much. It's the pattern of eating that is tough to break - like going through fast food places on my way home to make the drive home go by faster. Now, I call friends on my blue-tooth to make the time go by and get support. I hope it gets easier for you. WE CAN DO IT!

Sounds a lot easier than what I am doing. My surgeon wants 2 weeks of bariatric advantage protein shakes (3/day), bariatric protein bars (2/day), 2 bariatric chewable vitamins, plus optional salad with 0 calorie dressing as desired. Clear liquids the day before surgery. The end of tomorrow will bring me half way there! THEN, after the sleeve, it's back to bariatric shakes and chewables for 2 weeks. This stuff tastes nasty. Worse products I've ever tasted - I've wondered if this is my doc's sense of humor toward his patients... lettuce never tasted so good!

I am so, so glad to see your post here tonight! I got on this site just to see what people are doing about their pre-op diets. I'm on my third day pre-op and have the same kind of Protein shakes as you do. My surgeon REQUIRES his patients to purchase them from the medical group along with Protein Bars and chewable Vitamins. I usually like protein shakes and bars - through the years I have tried a lot of them. This brand is awful!!! Today I tried something that made it a lot better. The sugar-free and no calorie flavoring that is used by coffee shops adds a lot of flavor to the shakes. The vanilla flavor is good with the vanilla shake. They can be purchased from regular grocery stores. I actually got them down today without my trying to keep from shuddering. The headaches the past couple of days have been the most difficult. Work should be interesting this week. I told my husband today that I cannot understand, with all the products out there now, why this brand is what the surgeon uses. Obviously, he hasn't ingested them. The bars taste grainy and dry. Awful too. And, I'm not picky! Oh, and the product cannot be returned even when unopened - the cost was almost $500! Thankfully people have responded with solutions!!! I don't have to worry now about this post-op, which was a big concern.

My PCP and the surgeon I am going to use both said the stomach after the sleeve cannot stretch to the pre-sleeve size. The tissue that makes up the sleeved portion is different from what is removed and, therefore, is not apt to stretch much so it won't accomodate a large portion of food. Slider foods and high caloric drinks are the challenge to keeping the weight off.

Kala, Good seeing you on here. You're doing great!

I've said the same things to myself many times - exactly what your Mom has said to you. What I do know, from being thin until 6-7 years ago, is that appetite varies tremendously from person to person. I'm sure that I used to be as hungry as a "normal" person due to watching what I ate like most other people do and food not being a big deal, but now taking medications has affected me so much that I cannot seem to get full - no matter what I eat or how often. Before gaining 90lbs., I would have asked the same questions of those thinking about surgery too and never would have been capable of understanding the decision for a seemingly drastic measure. If I could be again who I was, the sleeve would never have been considered. BUT, I cannot behave like a "normal" eater even for ONE day now. The bottomline is that we are all different - our challenges are ours and so are the solutions - No one can live our lives for us and, thankfully for them, they won't really understand what it is like for us either. Thank you for the post! Reading it and the responses here validate why I can't just "pretend." Wish pretending was the answer though.

I have not been sleeved yet, but have been taking Prilosec once a day for years. My doctor knows this and has not suggested that I stop it. I don't think it hurts to continue, in my opinion, and this medication brings a lot of relief.

I did! He said he won't do it when there is no medical reason to do so. Like you, I would rather have it taken out - kill 2 birds with one stone...

You are a very pretty woman. You look so feminine - like you're happy in your body. What a gift! Did you lose some of your weight before your surgery? My date is November 18th and I'm having a challenge losing weight now. Thank you for sharing your before and after pics!

Hasn't everyone had a day like yours? Most of us have had a melt-down or gotten angry when it made us look less than ideal - right! I am self pay so I don't know if that affects the psych eval or not, but the guy asked maybe 3 or 4 questions for a total of less than 10 minutes. I think for him was a rubberstamp deal. Just my opinion. There seems to be no standard in this part of the process; it varies with each office. Glad I wasn't tested on memory! If you get a denial because of this, then I would have a discussion with the surgeon's personnel. It sounds like you had a normal reaction to your morning.

:Dancing_biggrin: AWESOMMMME! You look great - so happy for you! I was hoping you would post pics soon...

If only we could trade!!! :laugh: