Cobrargc

OK, today I started day 3. One thing I've noticed is the way I am swallowing. I'm trying to find a way to swallow foods and liquids in a way that doesn't admit air along with the food. It doesn't take much are air to fill our new stomaches. The additional air when swallowing creates a lot of burbs. Has anyone found a knack to swallowing? Other than the swallowing, everything is going great. I feel kind of an uncorfortable sensation sometimes when I eat or drink. I'm not sure if this is the fullness sensation I hear about or just a an uncomfortable feeling due to the healing. I've decided that I am going to return to work on Monday. I can stand another day at home with nothing to do.

Walmart sells a protein drink in a tub for about $17. It has a very good nutritional make-up. It's chocalate. I mix it with skim milk and put it in the blender for 1 minute. It gets wipped into a thick shake type drink and tastes much better this way. I wouldn't recommend blending the drink for post-op people due to the amount of air that gets put into the finished drink.

I had my sleeve done two days ago. I wanted to return to work today, but my wife said no. I will be at work on Monday though. There was very little pain for me at all. I was up and wandering around the hospital shortly after recovery. I haven't felt the need for any pain meds since I was released. In fact I feel so good that I just returned from grocery shopping on my own about 30 minutes ago. Please don't worry. Everything will will be fine.

Thank you

Day two and everything is much better than expected. I slept through entire the night here at home. I haven’t taken a single pain med since I got home yesterday. If I didn’t have the staples staring at me when I look in the mirror, I would almost think I never had the surgery. There is no pain when I get up and down either. I have no swallowing issues. Things (liquid diet) go down much like they used to. I just don’t gulp them down. I’m anxious to begin solid food soon. I wanted to go back to work today, but my wife shot that idea down. I plan to return to work on Monday.

I was seriously entertaining the idea of having mine done in Mexico. I then made an appointment with a doctor in KC. I'd wanted to see what this doctor was like. During my initial consultation with him I mentioned the possibility of having the procedure in Mexico. I could tell he uncomfortable when I brought it up. He told me the decision was mine. He thought the Mexican surgery would likely be safe and the result would be good. He did say "If you have any problems with the sleeve when you get back, don't come to me expecting me to fix it." He then brought up the phrase "medical tourism". He made it plain and clear that he didn't approve of medical tourism. That's just too bad! Many folks have to go outside the US to be able to afford the procedure. Our country needs to get medical costs under control. Things just cost TOO much here. The same thing with prescription drugs being way cheaper in Canada. I was kind of chuckling to myself when the doctor was talking down to medical tourism. The doctor who did my surgery belong to a group in KC that has runs a special on their website. This special pricing is about $5,000 cheaper than here in the Omaha area. I don't know about all of you, but what he is doing seems like medical tourism to me. His lower price enticed me to travel elsewhere for the procedure.

I have to tell everyone that I am so impressed with the hospital staff and the outcome of the procedure. I experienced #5-6 pain when I woke up in recovery, but I was pretty much pain free from that point on. Getting out of bed to use the restroom and taking the mandatory walks was not any problem at all. The doctor normally has his patients use a catheter, but he allowed an exemption for me. He made it very clear that if did not urinate on my own by 5:00 that catheter would have to be used. I was able to use the restroom almost immediately. It’s been almost 7 hours since my last pain medication and pain free as I write this. I am still on a liquid diet and am surprised how well the fluids are going down. So far thongs are great. Tomorrow might be a whole different story though.

My surgery is Wednesday. I've been told to drink 10oz of magnesium citrate the day before surgery to clean things out. The problem is I have to work all day Tuesday, so I don't want to take the stuff at work. I am immediately leaving work on Tuesday at 5:00 to head to KC where the surgery will be done. It is a 3 1/2 hour drive, so I don't want to take it after work or during the drive. I will spend the night in a KC hotel, but I may not get there until 9:00pm. If I take the stuff after I get to KC, I likely won't get any sleep and be sore down there going to the hospital. I am on a clear liquid diet, so there can't be much in there. What if I were to take the stuff late Monday afternoon. The magnesium citrate would wrap up during the night. Do you think this would be OK?

I had this posted in pre-op and didn't get any response. I could really use some advice. I knew there was going to be some challenges associate with an out of town procedure. My surgery is Wednesday. I've been told to drink 10oz of magnesium citrate the day before surgery to clean things out. The problem is I have to work all day Tuesday, so I don't want to take the stuff at work. I am immediately leaving work on Tuesday at 5:00 to head to KC where the surgery will be done. It is a 3 1/2 hour drive, so I don't want to take it after work or during the drive. I will spend the night in a KC hotel, but I may not get there until 9:00pm. If I take the stuff after I get to KC, I likely won't get any sleep and be sore down there going to the hospital. I am on a clear liquid diet, so there can't be much in there. What if I were to take the stuff late Monday. The magnesium citrate would wrap up during the night. Do you think this would be OK?

Well I must be a sucker for punishment. I bought two bottles of the stuff. I took one Sunday afternoon to see how well it worked. It wasn’t that bad. It took exactly 2 hours to hit, then a few trips through the night and one this morning. Everything was pretty predictable so I plan to take the other bottle tomorrow morning while at work. This should have it pretty much wrapped up by evening.

OK, I know I'm probably being a wuss, but how many of us had a catheter inserted for the surgery? I really hadn't thought about it until my wife was reading over the literature last night that the hospital gave us. The literature said one would be used. PANIC set in immediately! I've never had one and I know they will likely do it while I'm put under, but it doesn't matter. Some people are scared of heights, snakes, Water or whatever. For me it has always been a catheter. I didn't get any sleep last night. Does the patient have any input in this? I will likely use the restroom prior to surgery, which is only one hour, and made to get out of bed soon after recovery, which I will gladly do.

How fast acting was it? I've heard horror stories about not being able to make it to the bathroom on time. This is why I'm reluctant to use it at work. How long was the after effect? You mentioned a few hours.

Thanks everyone. I'm hoping my doctor will stop by to see me early enough that we can talk about it before it gets done by a nurse. My fingers are crossed!

I just got back from the pharmacy. My BCBS did cover it as a generic and the copay was only $7. I'm very thankful! Being a self payer it seems like I've hit a roadblock at every turn. 6 more days until surgery!

My surgery is the 7th. The Doc gave a prescription for a blood thinner called Arixtra yesterday. I took a brief look on the web for prices before coming to work and was shocked! Did anyone else need to take these injections for 7 days following surgery? It looks like it could cost $800-1000 for the 7 doses. I am a self pay patient because my BSBS doesn't cover bariatric. Would they at least cover the meds? The baby aspirin I'd been taking for a couple years and then told to stop, seems to be a whole lot more cost effective!

I’ve got a serious question for everyone. We all have a specific goal weight that we’re striving to reach. What I’ve been reading around the forum is some reach their goal and others don’t. Is there a wall or plateau that each of us reaches and we don’t lose much more after that? Is the amount of weight loss tied to a certain time frame post surgery? In other words, do we try to get as much weight off by say month 4 otherwise we hit the wall and that’s it? I know we’re all different, but are there factors that increase our odds of reaching the goal? I’m not sure if any of this is making sense or not. What prevents us from continuing to lose weight 2 and 3 years out? If we’re taking in only 1000 calories a day, why wouldn’t we continue to lose weight if we’re burning up more than that in a day?

I'm currently on two blood pressure meds and have been for a year or so. One of my goals is to get OFF the meds once the weight comes off. My blood pressure has never been super bad. The highest ever was like 158/110. Has anyone else kicked the meds to the curb following weight loss?

Thanks everyone. It sounds like it's not too loft a goal. 9 days to surgery!!!!!

Hello Everyone! I’ve gotten a surgery date of March 7th. I’m pretty pleased that the whole process. From initial call for information to surgery date was less than 6 weeks. Now the nervousness is beginning to set in. I have several questions about the procedure and who better to get answers from than all of you. My doctor has answered some of these questions, but I’d rather hear it from the experts. I’ve never had any kind of surgery before, so this will be a first. How am I going to feel immediately following the surgery and for the first few days? The surgery is on a Wednesday. I tentatively scheduled vacation thru Tuesday, but I’d like to go back to work on Monday and Tuesday, then take Wednesday off for my 1 week follow-up. I have a desk job that isn’t physically demanding, so I’m thinking I should be OK. Is returning to work that soon a pipe dream? What is the first few months going to be like? What is the energy level going to be like? The body will be taking in A LOT fewer calories and I suspect I’ll have no energy. I will have a 3 ½ hour drive back home following the surgery. Will there be much nausea on the drive ride home? Is nausea something many of us deal with for the rest of our lives following the sleeve? Nobody other than my immediate family knows I’m having the surgery. My health insurance won’t cover the procedure, so therefore I don’t intend on telling them anything. This extends to my employer as well. My gut feeling is that if I were to suffer a broken leg and needed medical attention, they would try to link the bariatric surgery and broken leg, and then deny coverage. This is why they will be kept in the dark. Yes, if you guessed it, I am bitter about my lack of real world health insurance. Anyone see a problem with this? Is it difficult to get enough fluids in when active in hot weather? What does everyone miss the most after having surgery? Holiday’s with my family are very important. I believe not having a normal dinner with my loved one will be the hardest for me. I will be there, but it will never be the same again.

Thanks for all the information. My wife and youngest son will be going with me to Kansas City and will do the driving back home. Maybe I should schedule a 2nd week vacation just in case I need it. I could always return early if I feel good. Again I want to thank everyone for their thoughts. This is what makes a forum such a wonderful resource. I hope to be able to offer some help to others in the future. .

I'm having my surgery in Kansas City soon. I live about 3 hours away from KC and to prevent another 3 hour drive to KC the clinic suggested I have an EGD test done near home. The test is set up for next Wednesday. My insurance will not cover the bariatric surgery, but should cover some of the cost of the EGD test. I was stunned when I ran a cost estimate for the procedure through the Alegent Health website. We are in a new year and none of my deductible has been met. The cost estimate tells me my out of pocket for the test could be between $1450-1850 and at the bottom of the page there was a disclaimer that said "Professional fees (such as physician, anesthesiologist, radiologist, pathologist) not included in this estimate will be billed separately." Is Kansas City and the local Alegent hospital on the same page? When all the costs are in for this test, this could raise the final cost of my surgery by 25%. This is crazy and a possible deal breaker for having the surgery here in the states. Is anyone familiar with this test? I believe they run a camera into the stomach to look for ulcers and to take a small sample to check for GERD. Is this test that expensive. Like most folks, I only have a certain amount of money set aside for the surgery and this test might force me to look elsewhere.

How would a person even go about shopping around for EGD prices? Part of the reason it's expensive is because it's done at a hospital. They need to make sure they get their piece of the pie. Would this procedure be available in an outpatient surgical clinic, where the cost might be reduced? Is it nothing more than a reverse colonoscopy? They can't all be done in an overly priced hospital operating room. Would it be possible to get a doctor to order the test in a way that might get my insurance to pay a portion? It's shameful when an insurance company, which stands to benefit the most financially with fewer future claims, doesn't want to help out in any way.

Wednesday I spoke with the surgeon that will be going my sleeve. He does not do the plication sleeve nor recommend it. He said the surgery is nothing more than the old "stomach stapling" surgery that was done and discontinued many years ago. They've replaced the staples with stitches is all. The stomach, since it is still "whole", is subject to stretching as it was in the early days with stapling. I was considering having the plication surgery, but have decided against it. I am doing the regular sleeve instead. I'm sure there are success stories out there, but the procedure seems to be too new to see any long term results. Good luck with whatever procedure you chose.

I am a 47 year old male. I'd pretty much settled on having the sleeve surgery. I thought I was prepared for what lies ahead (diet change, surgery pain, lifestyle change, etc). Then today I was reading some threads on hair loss! Is this true? I should expect the hair on my head to fall out? What is the reason for this? Wouldn't supplements replace any of the nutrients my body will not be getting post op? This might be a deal breaker for me. I am a VERY private person and I do not intend on telling anyone other than close family that I will be getting bariatric surgery. I just can't imagine the stares and questions from co-workers and friends when I lose a large amount of weight and my hair is falling out. The weight questions are one thing, the hair loss in another. People will think I have cancer or some other communicable disease. Thoughts anyone

Thank you to everyone that replied. I feel a much more comfortable aqbout the surgery.