Lissa

For the first week or two I had shoulder pain when I'd get full. At first I chalked it up to gas pain and walked, walked, walked trying to alleviate that pain. A few days in, I was wondering why on earth I was having so much shoulder pain when I'd stop to drink water while walking, then it clicked. Now, I actually have a full feeling when I eat. I try not to get there, in the interests of not doing something that Rex (my sleeve) won't like.

Good luck to both of you! I know nothing about VSG through the military, but thought I'd welcome you to the forums!

bellabr, Good luck with finding a surgeon. I'm happy with mine, Dr. Domkowski in Sebastian, but that's quite a drive for you. I drove down to Straxx in Ft Lauderdale and talked to Dr Michael Choi when I was first starting my journey. He was nice, but his office made me feel like I was the next number in line at the deli counter. You may have a different experience.

I have RA in my hips and knees, which was one of my reasons for getting sleeved. I've lost 35 pounds so far, but I'm now having an unusual (I think) problem. When I lie on my left side at night, my hip aches. It feels like there is no padding there for my hip bones, but believe me, there's still PLENTY of padding on that side! Anyone else have this problem? Did it resolve on it's own or is this just an age thing (I'm 45) and not really related to VSG?

I'm bumping this up to see how all the Florida sleevers are doing! I'm still doing great out here in Sleeve-land. BTW, am I the only one who has named their sleeve? I was out with friends the other day and (since I'm still on mushies) we had to really work to figure out where to go for lunch. One of the guys suggested I name my sleeve since sleevie is going to be running my life from now on! LOL So, my sleeve has officially been named "Rex". Sleeve can't be T-rex, because he's been downsized!

Congrats on being on the loser's bench!! Hopefully, the chest pain will resolve itself quickly. Good luck with getting out today, and you're doing a great job!

Ellie, May I chime in on the dying issue? I was CONVINCED I wouldn't make it through surgery, but I also knew that the co-morbidities I had were going to kill me. My doctors told me so. Basically, I was healthy until May when I contracted pneumonia. I was hospitalized three times in less than two months and, in spite of losing 50 pounds last year on Atkins, I came () that close to dying. The pneumonia was followed my a mega blood clot, and that clot shot out two pulmonary embolisms. Those are scary because there is NO treatment when one bursts and the odds are that it will kill immediately. I was lucky that neither of mine burst. Other health problems quickly followed. When I decided to have the surgery, I went through a few days of "what if", then I made a list of what I was scared of, and made myself do what I could to handle them. I made a new Will, Living Will, Health Care Surrogate, etc. I talked to my family, including my adult kids, and let them know that I loved them, but this was a risk I had to take for my own life. I had to try to save my life, even if I died trying. My first words when I woke up from surgery were "Really?" I couldn't believe it. I gambled and won the lottery. This surgery will literally save my life and I have already been taken off of one med. I'm hoping to drop the others as I'm able to exercise. Oh, and having this surgery meant I had to actually have THREE surgeries. I had a removable filter installed to prevent a clot from moving around and that filter will be removed next week. I still think it's worth the risks. Good luck with your decision. But, know that eventually you will have some co-morbidities from being obese. It's much easier to have the surgery before you get to that point. Before the first two surgeries, I had to give myself twice daily injections of lovenox. It's extremely expensive and it leaves big bruises whereever you inject it. That alone makes me wish I'd had the surgery years ago. Now, I have tons more energy and I feel like getting up and moving around. My house has never been this clean!

I had chronic swelling in my feet and ankles before surgery, so that was the first place I really noticed. My best friend says she can see it in my face and butt already...and I notice that I'm not "waddling" anymore. I walk with long strides like normal people do! I'm two weeks and two days post op.

lob1999, I know NOTHING about the duodenal switch (unless it's another name for RNY). I imagine there are probably message boards for those folks as well... and I would look for blogs by real people. I agree with you about the other post, but feel that I must believe until proven wrong. I cannot imagine someone having that negative an experience and not already beating on their surgeon's door. But, everyone does things differently. Good luck. Please let us know what you decide, whatever it may be.

I paid $12,500 in Sebastian, FL. I love my surgeon and the hospital!!

OMG, Luvinit! You look fantastic! Just the glow in your face is amazing to see!! Even better is the dress you are wearing in the second picture. One of the gals who attends my WLS Support group has a dress that is very similar to that one and has offered it to me when she's shrinks out of it! It's my mental "goal" to be able to wear that dress, which she says is a size 16! I am working hard to get there, still in about a 22/24, but its' amazing to see it on someone else...and in a smaller size! Woo Hoo!!! You've done an incredible job and you look amazing!!!

So, one of my co-morbidities was blood clots and two pulmonary embolisms (emboli?) sitting in my lungs. Went to the pulmonologist today for a quick check up and he cleared me for the clots and the emboli, saying that they should not repeat (because they were caused by being sedentary after having pneumonia) AND, big whoop here, he took me off of coumadin!!! Between him and my surgeon, they told me that I also don't have to take lovinox injections when I go in the 20th to have my blood clot filter removed!!! So, I get to quit taking one med, and avoid taking 14 shots of a drug that leaves me bruised and hurting!! Yippee!! That, along with 33 pounds lost, made my day!!! Oh, and the pulmonologist cleared me for "any exercise the weight loss surgeon approves"!!! I'm a happy camper today. In one week, I get to start lifting weights and I can up my exercise to include the recumbent bike and the elliptical!!! I know, too many exclamation points and smiley faces, but I'm trying to convey how thrilled I am!!!

Melissa and Dallas Mom, I used a sports bra when I had to wear one. Luckily, I had three that were so old and worn out I probably wasn't getting any support from them, but they made me feel like I had a bra on anyway. I tucked my little drain bottle into the center of the bra. Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, I can't say it enough. I live in an apartment and kept walking the "Little D", from my hallway to the closest end of my building. Even if I could only manage one lap, I walked it...and having a dog who needs to go out really helped, too. I was so proud of myself the day I walked the "Big D", around the end of the building to the farthest hallway and back to my door, the first time after surgery! LOL Even the little bits of walking I did seemed to help a ton with the gas pain in my shoulders and upper back. I'm also seeing more definition in my legs already, so it pays off quickly! I've been lucky, too, that I haven't experienced the chronic fatigue or depression that others have noted. As a matter of fact, a friend told me yesterday that I am "glowing" because I'm so happy. I know that I feel much better already, at just two weeks post-op. I haven't felt this good or had this much energy in years!

TwoSteps, I don't think you're a failure at all! As a matter of fact, I think you're doing great! 81 lbs gone is no small potatoes!! I'm really glad that you posted about the pouch test because I've been wondering what it was. The link was great to have for MY future aresenal. I'm grateful that you posted about your struggle because I'm in the honeymoon period (less than two weeks post-op) and, of course, weight is dropping quickly. However, it's good to see that folks do have struggles and how to overcome those difficulties. It makes me keep my eye on the goal of weight loss. I have 170 lbs to lose, and I KNOW I'll be using all this great information as I work to get to goal. BTW, Lil Miss Diva, I am STUNNED at your transformation! You were where I am, and seeing your weight chart and pictures re-motivates me every time! I may never hit your size, but you give me hope that I will make my goal!

lob1999, I suggest that you do your research by reading the forums both here and at the Lap Band message boards (there are several). There are also TONS of bloggers who've had the lap band and post about their experiences. I have about 100 of them bookmarked and checked them daily while I was researching. MY conclusion was that the lap banders had a really high incidence of slippage, erosion and general failure to lose the weight they wanted to lose, whereas those who had VSG seemed to lose a significantly higher percentage of their weight. I had one shot (self-pay) and wanted to make sure I got what I wanted out of the surgery, especially since I was doing it more for health than vanity, like most people. IMO, there are a lot of people who have had band to sleeve revisions because of complications. I just didn't want to do two surgeries and I really didn't want to have to be constantly going to the doctor for a "fill" or an "unfill". I was sleeved on Aug 30 and I'm (so far) content with my decision. Disclaimer: I had several co-morbidities and a death sentence hanging over my head: "Lose weight or you'll be dead in a year." Seeking Health, I STRONGLY suggest you talk to your surgeon and/or your PCP. Your experience sounds atypical of anyone I have met or seen who has had VSG. I cannot imagine the hell you go through with your GI difficulties. It sounds like something is really wrong and you most assuredly need some kind of intervention. I can't imagine living with the side effects you are experiencing. Please post again once you've seen your doctor and let us know that they were able to help you. You're in my prayers. The only person I've heard of who has problems is the sister in law of a friend, but hers are self-inflicted because she is not compliant with either drinking Water or ensuring that she gets enough Protein daily. That lady is in the hospital regularly with malnutrition and dehydration issues. She's a great motivator for me to keep plugging away at the liquids and protein on a daily basis. Every time I see her, I note her pallor and she looks bad, almost emaciated.

Good luck to you! My Sister in Law had a Roux n Y at 17 years old and she's 30+ now. Her experience was very good and she managed fine through 2 pregnancies. Right now she has a little extra weight, but nothing like how morbidly obese she was when she had the surgery. I don't know if I'd pull out of school unless you are one of the few people who have major pain afterwards. Your school should be able to accomodate you in a similar fashion to how they deal with students with diabetes. You'll need permission to carry a Water bottle even during class and to possibly have an extra few minutes between classes so that you can eat. You're probably gonna have to carry a lunch box, but I'm carrying one to work each day without a problem. So my suggestion is to wait until after the surgery to decide whether to pull out of school or not. I applaud you for doing something about your weight now, rather than waiting until you are an adult and have major problems then. Again, good luck!!

That "brick" could be gas pain. Try walking around some, at least up and down the length of the room a few times. That helped my pain, which was all in my shoulders and upper back. I didn't have "pain", more a feeling of being uncomfortably full...and drinking seemed to make that worse for the first couple of days. I just slowed down on the drinking so that I didn't get that feeling. If walking doesn't help, you may need to call your doctor's office and ask for suggestions. BTW, I found that sitting on my couch or bed was pretty uncomfortable because they were so soft, so I sat in my office chair a lot the first couple of days. For me, that really helped me keep my back straight, which seemed to lessen my discomfort.

Congrats!! It sounds like your sleeve is working for you. I can't help with the anti-nauseua med because I haven't needed that. I'm at two weeks post op and I did full liquids with cottage cheese, yogurt, SF pudding, and broth. Your doc may have given you different instructions. I was also allowed some lower sugar fruit juice (4 oz daily) mixed half and half with Water, along with SF drinks, including Special K Protein Water, which has 5g of protein. Oh, and Protein shakes galore! Your sleevie is still tender, which is why it's so hard to get stuff down. Mine kept me guessing about when I was full because I'd have shoulder pain whenever I ate or drank for a few days. Walking helped with that, tremendously. I'm still on instructions to worry about drinking more than eating, but to try to get my protein in daily. Since I can count the ounces in my Protein shake in with my liquids, that helps some with both goals. Good luck, it will get better, and quickly!!

Lisa, I went into full melt-down mode about 3 weeks before my surgery. I imagined every possible bad thing that could happen and I kicked myself for letting me get to this point. Then I decided that I should take those worries and make something positive from them. So, I listed every worry on a piece of paper and made myself find a solution for them. I updated my estate planning documents, and made peace with a couple of people with whom I'd had falling outs years ago. I talked to my kids and business partner about what I wanted to happen if I didn't make it through surgery. I also took a good hard LONG look at the life I was living. I looked at the list of co-morbidities I had (sleep apnea, blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, rheumatoid arthritis, pre-diabetic, high cholesterol) and knew that I couldn't let those things keep adding up. I got pneumonia in May and that led to testing for all the other mess. I received my bi-pap two weeks before surgery. That night I sat and cried because i just couldn't see myself living with all that baggage. How do I get rid of that baggage? Most of it was weight related, so losing weight had to become the absolute priority...and fast!!! Now, I feel like I've been given a new lease on life. I have more energy already and I'm only 2 weeks post-op! The liquid diet sucks and mushies are only a little better, but soon I will be able to eat anything I want, just in smaller quantities than I'm used to eating. The bonus is that I have turned back the clock on those co-morbidities listed above. I hope to be able to eliminate the Bi-pap machine in a few months and I pray that I've dodged the diabetic bullet. I'm working the plan with this sleeve and will continue to do so. Just imagine how much better your life will be when you're a normal weight instead of obese!! Don't let fear stop you from doing the best thing ever for yourself. The pain isn't that bad and is gone quickly and a few weeks of liquids/mushie foods is a small price to pay for having a wonderful rest of your life!!

Like others here, I had a nasty wake up call when I had medical problems. I had pneumonia in May that led to a host of other problems, which I've listed in other threads, so I won't repeat them here. My PCP kept listing me as morbidly obese and "non-compliant with diet and exercise instructions" even though I worked my butt off last year and lost 50 pounds on Atkins. 50 pounds is nothing to what I NEED to lose, though. I can't wait until it's time for my annual physical this year. I'll be that 50 pounds lighter and way more energetic than I've been in forever!! My other inspiration is an aunt in her 50's who has had tons of trouble with her diabetes and is now all but housebound. She'll be dead in a few years, but she's already mostly blind. She's never clearly seen the faces of any of her grandchildren and she has to have someone wiht her constantly because she can't/won't do anything for herself. I'm too darn young to live that way!!! This is the aunt who used to be my party buddy. We'd go out on the weekends, take day trips just because, and think nothing of gathering up our kids (who are close in age) and heading off to do something fun. Now, she's an old woman living for her next meal. I don't want that to be me!!! I was sleeved Aug 30, 2011 and I have more energy than I have had in forever. Reversing the health problems is primary, but I think I'll enjoy looking better, too!!!

Good luck to all of those having surgery tomorrow. It's my birthday, so I know you'll all do great!!! I was sleeved on Aug 30, so I'm almost 2 weeks post-op and doing great! I was nervous a couple of weeks before surgery and went through all of the worst case scenario stuff in my head. Then I sat down and did what I could to make sure all of that stuff was handled. The weekend before, I picked up a good friend and we spent the time doing things to keep my mind off the surgery (movies, listening to old music, walking the beach). I don't remember being jittery at all the day before. I felt almost strangely calm, probably because I had handled anything that could be an issue earlier. I do remember feeling like it was totally surreal when I was going into surgery, like it really wasn't going to happen. I was worried that I'd wake up wishing for my mom afterwards, but when I woke up, I said "Really?" and the nurse asked me "Really, what?". FWIW, I had some pain, but I didn't think it was too intense, probably a 2-3 for me. My legs actually hurt a good bit once I started walking because I was using them instead of my tummy muscles to pull myself up when I stood up. Get up as soon as possible, concentrate on doing the breathing exercises and walking. Both will help with the gas pain (if you have any) and will get you a jump start on the weight loss. I found that sitting up in the hospital chair was more comfortable than being in the bed. IMO, the bed was too darned soft! Let us know how you're doing. I've felt more energetic since I've been home than I have been in years, probably. Good luck to you all!

Aimee, Do your research and do your "head work" so that you KNOW this is what you want to do. I had some negative comments, but I just kept reciting my long list of co-morbidities to them. Those, coupled with the amount of time I've spent in hospitals this year, were enough to convince me that it was TIME to do something drastic. I've tried every diet and exercise program out there, just like many others here. They didn't work. So far, between two weeks of pre-op liquid diet and 7 days sleeved, i've lost 27 pounds. The last time I lost this much weight, I was starving and ready to kill anyone who ate something I couldn't have where I could see them eating. Now, even though my 21 year old son has cooked pizza and salmon this week, I've had no cravings...and no urges to cheat! I'd have never survived it before! LOL Make your own decision and don't let those other people get you down. Your health and your life belong to you. If this is the key to good health and longer life for you, then the rest of them need to back off and be supportive.

I've never been rescheduled, although I did have a long wait for my last pre-op appt. I was an add-on because I had so many other medical issues that Dr D wanted to re-address before surgery. I had to have another procedure done before he could do my surgery. That said, everyone I have spoken to has sung Dr D's praises. He is apparently VERY picky about how his patients are treated and Sebastian River makes sure that you know they will do whatever it takes to keep you pain-free and healthy while you're in their hospital. I've never seen such an attentive nursing staff at any hospital...and I've had a good bit of experience with being in-patient for different things recently. The support group is great, too. Getting to talk to the other patients and hear their experiences is awesome!

Doing a quick check in to let everyone know I'm still doing great! I cannot believe my energy level NOR can I believe how purty my feet are these days. I've had swollen ankles and duck paddle feet forever it seems. Now, they look like feet again. I have some discoloration from the swelling, but that is slowly improving as well. I'm sleeping better, probably because I'm better hydrated and because I'm moving a lot more than I used to move. Not sure if I'm actually getting in half an hour a day of walking, but I'm doing loops around my building and adding a few more each day. I have respiratory issues that keep me from being able to go real fast, but I just keep plodding along. All of you who are pre-sleeve, start working on the walking now. It will definitely help if your leg muscles are stronger before the surgery. My thighs ached for about 4 days after surgery because I had to use those muscles instead of my stomach muscles when I stood up or sat down. I didn't think the after-surgery pain was that bad, but I had two children by c-section. IMO, the c-sections were much more painful (the difference between laparscopic and open surgery?). Good luck to you all!!!

Doing a quick check in to let everyone know I'm still doing great! I cannot believe my energy level NOR can I believe how purty my feet are these days. I've had swollen ankles and duck paddle feet forever it seems. Now, they look like feet again. I have some discoloration from the swelling, but that is slowly improving as well. I'm sleeping better, probably because I'm better hydrated and because I'm moving a lot more than I used to move. Not sure if I'm actually getting in half an hour a day of walking, but I'm doing loops around my building and adding a few more each day. I have respiratory issues that keep me from being able to go real fast, but I just keep plodding along. All of you who are pre-sleeve, start working on the walking now. It will definitely help if your leg muscles are stronger before the surgery. My thighs ached for about 4 days after surgery because I had to use those muscles instead of my stomach muscles when I stood up or sat down. I didn't think the after-surgery pain was that bad, but I had two children by c-section. IMO, the c-sections were much more painful (the difference between laparscopic and open surgery?). Good luck to you all!!!