Pookeyism

Thank you very much!

Thank you! That is so good to be off your pump! Are you staying hydrated? That can impact your liver readings.

Godspeed! You are in my prayers!

Beautiful!

YOU MUST EAT. Force it down if you need to, start with the protien shakes again if you must, just eat. You are experiencing a fairly common side effect. It may be permanent. Just keep trying foods. I was told after 3-4 times, alot of food is OK again.

I was never small, but I spent years and years at a size 14. I was fit and strong, and I miss it every day. I could do about 10 pull ups "in the day". I did several types of martial arts and even fought with swords, lol. There is something about when you have been a a good level, to gain the weight, and never fully loose it again - it is a bad feeling. I will be OK, however. I will do a pull up again, and I am going to run a Zombie 5k race in Austin, TX next year 12/15/2012! Let's keep each other up to date, and keep me informed of your progress. Strong, good vibes to you as you start on your journey!

1 week out from the surgery. Last visit to my surgeon's office to meet with my Bariatric Dietician, woot, woot, lol. My Hubby came along and asked so many questions, but she did not seem to mind. We went over again what my limitations will be, possible complications, etc. It appears my liver is shrinking, and they were very happy over my BG readings. The night before the surgery I will drop my Metformin tablet, and lower the Victoza shot from 1.8 to .6. It is creeping up on me! Teh mostly protien diet is sapping some of my strength, but I feel good. I just want this over with!

Yes but it also depends on your routine. If you only Zumba, you will see the effects of the weight loss drop off after awhile. If you mix up your excercise and include days of cardio, days of core, etc you will see more results...join the occasional boot camp, etc. It is my firm opinion that everyone should exercise! I do not know what size I would have been if I had not kept up with exercise. I couldn't always control my weight, but I could always at least take the stairs, ride my bike, do some light yoga, etc. One of our malnutrition concerns is brittle bones and osteoporosis, which is signifigantly reduced with exercise. It helps with diabetes and so much more. Build up your cardio, but work on your core - it is the center of all you do, literally!

After our first experience with ER care in Houston, we did research and selected a private ER care provider near a good hospital. That way unless it is ambulatory or life-or-death they have our records and can treat us. They also have a note to our account that I am due in for surgery, my meds, etc. It sounds expensive, but actually most healthcare covers it and it took years to need it but my husband got food caught in his throat. He has had it happen before, and he could breath, so unless he started worsen he would have waited in the always full waiting room of the hospital ER. We walked into the private ER, told them they had us on file; they took him back as I confirmed some info and made my copay. By the time I was back he was already in X-ray and was being medicated and treated within 15 minutes. This is NW Houston, Cypress/Fairbanks/290 corridor area. My husband had even asked them to make a note that in the event he was being treated to please ask me to check my blood glucose to be sure I wasn't bottoming out in response to the adrenaline that can accompany an emergency. He did eventually have to go to the ER once we determined he could not dislodge the food without an endoscopy. They made the arrangements for us, had us wait until they called and told us they were almost ready for him and he did not stand in line at the ER either! I compared the costs, and it only cost about 150$ more, since I had the copay, and he did not sit or suffer through a long wait, in a room full of people with who knows what. I did not want him to go in with a blockage to catch the cold or MRSA.

Hmmm...Okay, resisting all urges for some crass humor... I have lost 33 lbs., and I have noticed that my excess skin, er, holds more water. Our folds are very susceptible to capillary action, which is when water flows up vertical surfaces or seems to be draw along a surface. Our folds, especially when it is water form a tub or such (our folds are literally floating away from our bodies in the water) catch a lot of water, and that is what is probably happening to you. As long as it isn't discolored nor has any smells I would not be concerned. With my newly increasing folds I dry, and dry again with a towel I have "treated" in zinc oxide. It helps a lot. I have started to take a small bit of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste along the inside of my folds (sorry being blunt but am I mentioning anything we all don’t have? lol). It prevents heat rashes, etc. >>to treat a towel in zinc oxide, take an impermeable laundry bag or a cotton pillow case with a 900 thread count or so and out a plush towel and about a half cup of gold bond in the case, seal thoroughly. Run on medium heat for about 20 minutes. It saturates the towel and the medium heat fluffs the towel and allows for better saturation. Avoid eyes with this towel!

PS - if you get an error message along the way, if you can, plesae do a screen capture of the message and save it, if it is a repetitive issue I can forward it to the webmaster. screen capture instructions: open a microsoft office attachment, change the margins to narrow and the layout from portrait to landscape. control+print screen will capture the web page you have pulled up, including the error message. go back to the office doc and paste, save as, and file it.

I have sent out an invitation to everyone to join the skype sleevers group for now. As soon as you add yourself, should you choose to, go ahead and post whether you have a cam or not, if you have skype and how familiar with it you are. Maybe some of the more experienced Skypers can act as mentors to help those who are not as familiar. Again, my schedule clears up soon, and I can focus on this more. With the way the Holidays are falling in relation to my VGS date, after the 27th I will have much more time (I hope!).

I am chatting with my god daughter's fiance (EGADS, wasn't she like 3 years old last year - getting old!) so anyway - getting old...focus! He mentioned that as a nurse he wonders if people on the forum are substituting peer advise to determine if a symptom is bad enough to return to the doctor, or to go to the ER, etc. I can say that I would have to say "maybe/probably". So at his urging I am posting this. He started out by asking that like any other posting on this forum, you have no way to add a true rating of credibility to what I am posting - so gauge this post in the same manner we are referencing the subject. This operation is easier than it would have been even just a few years ago, but the chances you will experience certain things are a given. A bit of doubt, excitement, anxiety, pain, fatique, etc. Some things, however, are still typical but not case-wide; there are others that happen often, less often but still common...and so forth. But there are symptoms that should not be ignored, and you should not rely on the forum to decide if you go to the hospital. By no means post here before you seek emergency medical advice! If you suspect you need to go to the ER - you should probably set that in motion and then add to the forum. Do not post to the forum first in the hopes you will be told you are okay. You can always apologize to the friend or neighbor or spouse that was going to take you if the symptoms pass. Now is the time to ask yourself what you would do if you were to have to go back in the hospital or you have severe complications that limit your ability to function for a period of time. Have something in place before you go in for surgery to handle the possibility you need to go to the ER. Do not overlook your contact number for your doctor after hours, and set a time limit that you wait on a response, and who to contact if you don't get an almost immediate response. NO SURGEON SHOULD NOT HAVE AFTER HOUR CONTACT INFORMATION. I am not going to list any symptoms or exclude any symptoms that should be considered possible emergency situations. This is not to define which symptoms are what - but to get you thinking, in advance of the surgery or complication what to do, what not to do, and have everything organized in case you need to go to the ER, call 911 or even find yourself back in the hospital. In the event of a stressful situation, it is totally possible that something else can develop or emerge. This is an awesome forum, and it is so very helpful. Do not confuse this forum, ar any like it, as any replacement for how to determine your care.

That is consistent with surgery. How regular are you? Do you know of any cystic ovarian or uterine conditions? I would not worry, but if it were me I would confirm it not with my bariatric doctor, but with my gyno. Maybe an early follow up just to be sure. Ugh! You know I did not think about that! I was thinking I had 9 days after surgery before I was due again. I think I will stick to wearing a "just in case" liner for the first few weeks.

I doubt my visit was more than typical, and everyone is giving you good information, so I will just try to add to it. I made a voice recording of the appointment for future reference. I also made written notes, and followed up with an email in the form on "Just following up on what we disccussed". Which I used an outline style to go over the topics and how I understood them, rather than a lengthly reiteration of the meeting. Do some research about your healthcare plan, and what your healthcare offers pre-op and post op as far as covering needed equipment. Depending on what they cover and what you may need, you can begin to plan ahead for expenses that will definately not be covered. For instance, a friend has a bidet in her master bath, which made a friend of hers look into post op equipment and her health care would not cover it, but her doctor added it to a "prescription", so she is taking it off her taxes (so she says and is confirming with a CPA). Which goes to another thing:Keep all reciept for everything, ANYTHING. That chapstick, those slippers, that medicated soap, those bariatric supplements - and then take it to a CPA that has alot of expense helping people in your income bracket itemize medical expenses! Taxes...okay a little further from your question...record you driving to and from doctor's visits, mileage, reciept for gas, any parking you had to pay for, taxis or valet or toll, etc. If travleling outside the country, and plan to combine the vacation, maybe rethink that - you can count it off your taxes easier if you can demonstrate it was a trip with no opportunity to relate to leisure or vacation. You can deduct medical expenses but there are guidelines, and what may and may not fall into that will vary. the 12$ for hospital supplies - chapstick, slippers, etc - and that miscellaneous 10$ a month after that - if you are sleeved in June that is 70$+, and follow up visits and such for travel, at 3.00 gallon...it adds up, and you can get that back. You could pay a medical loan off at the end of the year. One very good thing came out of this. With my initial doctor, the bariatric coordinator gave me very bad, very incorrect information about something, and if I had not followed up with the email, I would not have any proof she gave me the wrong information. This situation even escalated recently when the doctor contacted me and asked me to go into detail about my conversations with her - I implied from our conversation) there has been more than one person who has said they were given wrong advise or information was omitted, and she denied it. This isn't as much work as it sounds. Use it to start a journal that you can keep track of your doctor, nitritionist, etc visits... TAKE PICTURES!!! Take them outside the office, take pictures shaking hands with the doctor, the nureses, etc. These people are helping you take a giant step. You will want to remember them. I regret not having pictures of the day of my first visit, of my nutritionist, etc. I will have them of the surgery! sorry for the novel...but I hope it helps.

Good question! I will be sleeved on the 4th, and wonder about this myself.

Glad to know you are OK!

Suggestion. Anyone who has the ability to cam or skype go ahead and add yourself to the "skype sleevers" group. Okay, back to Christmas, my "well trained" bunnies found the box with the left over wrapping paper...

DOn't let them treat you without an EKG and a chest xray - EKG eliminates heart problems, and hopefully chest xray will catch any emerging infections... ....BE REALLY CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH MORE THINGS THAN NECESSARY!!! You are post surgery and having a complication as it it...you do not need to contract MRSA or anything else. I would ask for a mask as soon as you walk in, and take you own antibacterial goo - on the way home, go buy some hibiclens from a pharmacy or walmart, and give yourself a basin bath wit about 1 oz to 2 quarts Water - hibiclens is chlorhexidine gluconate - avoid eyes, ears, etc. use it in diluted form. <<<ex Funderal Director and (now) somewhat germaphobe :/

I am going to be the wet blanket. Your numbers are all over the place, and that isn't good. One very basic problem with diabetes is that many doctors go for well enough, rather than really good, so once you are looking at it from a weight loss perspective it looks better than it is. Did your doctor take you off you high blood pressure meds? Did you check to see if you should go off cold turkey? My blood pressure has never been high, I have always been within normal range for all of the basics - bp, cholesterol, trig's...but I am also diabetic. I am not a doctor, but I can tell you my experiences since I was diagnosed with diabetes. I was told by doctors that 6.1 was ok (after 8.2 at time of diagnoses), and that 140 BG was ok for a diabetic. I lost down from almost a size 30 to a size 26, and there I stayed. I began to do research on BG and relation to your metabolic rate, healing, immunodeficiency problems, and how this affects weight loss and exercize. I tightened my belt on my readings, and the weight loss began again. But I had stalled. It took me two years to find the realtion between my readings and my weight. Doctors just aren't thorough enough to cover everything. I personally think they spend so much time looking after increasing workloads that they couldnt possibly be following up on the information that is coming out. First, you should aim for a 40 point spread throughout the day. 80-120, 90-130, 100-140 even is OK - studies are finding that your "daily high" can be 150 even, and if your point spread is in the 40 point range you are about 80% likely to have less complications than someone who goes as low as 70, but never past 140. or worse. I would start with a journal to keep you bg readings and when you ate logged in. test about 6 times a day, but alternate the times...2 hours before meal, two hours after, morning, evening, before scheduled exercize times, etc, if you test on the varying schedule, you get a really comprehensive view of your BG readings over the course of an average day over the course of about a week...and you will catch your repetitive highs and lows. Doctors give really inconsistent information from one doctor to another, so I did research from publishes positions, test results, etc. I interpreted what I could and took the others to my doctor to help me understand the data. I did not ask her opinion, only facts. I made my decisions from there. I got my BG down to the 80-120 range, with some days 90-130, with some occasional high mornings. My A1C is 5.2 to 5.4. your A1C is a average of BG within the body for about 90 days. So the higher you get with an average, the higher and more frequently your BG fluctuates. May I suggest you talk to your doctor and see in any of the newer medicines that are injected might be of benefit to you? Victoza had 3 different dose levels, and is a once daily injection, and doesnt have to be times with food - just take it at the same time each day, preferably when you wake for the day. The lowest dose might be enough to help control your levels for awhile. You are still healing, and you will or have begun to exercize, and you aren't out of range for complications yet. Diabetes affects your body's ability to heal, and can cause inflammation, etc. When I say heal, I don;t just mean the incision in your tummy, but your body's ability to cope with less food in a very permanent way, the bowel issues as you acclimate, your skins ability to recover, your immume system in general. I have not yet read it, but a friend of mine read a study that the more you BG fluctuates after wls, the more likely you are to develop gall stones or a blockage, pancreatitis, pleurisy, even empyema (you may need to google that one, people often mistake it for pneumonia). My background is medical to an extent, but I am not a nurse, doctor, nor do I even dress up as one on the weekend , but if you would like I can pull up some of the positions and articles I was referring to. I didn't men to imply that you couldn't go on doing pretty well at what you are now. I have found, however, a few points difference in levels, the "point spread" and a daily journal to keep an eye on it all was the difference of 30 lbs for me - I am still pre-sleeve, and I am still loosing.

Does anyone know her? Really wish we could follow up and make sure she is OK.

Awesome!!! We will get it up and running soon! I Anyone who wants or needs more support in the meantime, I think it is safe to assume that you can contact anyone one here for questions, opinions, feedback, or to air your worries and more! Merry Christmas!

Unbelieveable! Your tenacity is awesome! Keep it up, and keep us posted! I go in 1/4/2012.

I am really glad to see people interested in this. I want us to not hide behind a PC while we need help. I have a very full plate (pun intended) for the next several days, but after the 27th I will have a lighter schedule. I will contact you all and we can go from there. Don't forget there will be MAD sales on and I am sure you can find a deal on a cam (:

Absolutely, I have a trainer also. Expensive but worth it - but I suggest you only use them about every third day, or three times a week. Do your core with your trainer, do your cardio on your own time!