slimthickens

Oh and I am 3 months post-op.

I know exactly what you are talking about as I was rushed to the ER by ambulance just the other night from this exact pain! It feels like you are having a heart attack and you cannot breathe! I was given morphine and the pain released within minutes. The doc says he thinks I had an esophogeal spasm. My pain was centered right between my breastbone just like you described and was the worst pain I have ever had in my life. All I could do was lay there gasping for air and writhe in pain. They gave me a CT scan once the pain subsided and said it was not gallbladder and that it was an esophogeal spasm like I mentioned. I hope I NEVER experience this again and I hope you don't either.

I NEVER drink soda unless I use this little trick I learned. Of course it should be diet soda, that goes without saying but take the soda and ice and put it into your blender bottle-you know the kind with the metal ball that blends our protein drinks- and shake it vigorously for about a minute until it goes completely flat. It takes ALL the carbonation out and you are left with an ice cold diet coke without the bubbles that could stretch your sleeve. I works for me if I get an itch for a soda but don't want to break any rules. As a matter of fact this technique was listed on my post-op diet instructions under the beverage options.

Just read this new travel advisory for those traveling to Mexico for surgery this week. Probably nothing will come of it but its important to be aware of your surroundings just in case. http://news.yahoo.com/travel-warning-mexico-possible-violent-retaliation-against-americans-143445504--abc-news-topstories.html

Today I hit the 40lb's down mark since my surgery on 4/12 and I couldn't be more excited. Last week I was not so excited to discover the first sign of loose skin at the very top of my upper thighs. I was drying off after my shower when I saw my reflection in the mirror and saw the skin for the first time...I was horrified to say the least! I got very upset for just about a minute and sat down on the bed to regain my composure. I began reasoning with myself that there was going to be more loose skin as my weight loss continued but then I realized that I shouldn't be surprised by it. We can't expect to be overweight for so long and not have our bodies damaged by it in some way. I thought about it more over the next few days and decided to put my big girl panties on and just deal with it. That was last week and today I am totally fine with it. I am getting stronger and healthier every day and as long as I look nice in my clothes who gives a rip about a little loose skin! lol Looking good and feeling good comes from a place of gratitude and that is something I will remember each day.

I know we're not supposed to take ibuprofren but my cramps were killing me and it was either that or have to leave work so I took them. I'm hoping that taking them only during the first day or so of my TOM will be allowable once I talk with my surgeon.

Did they use the clear glue to seal your incisions? They used it on mine and by the sencond week my abdomen itched so badly that I broke out into a rash! It didn't stop until the glue began to chip away after each shower. I guess it does not start to do this until your incisions are closed properly but it was maddening until it all flaked off at about 2 1/2 weeks.

I'm 4 weeks out and eating wheat thins with soft cheese. I make sure to chew very well to a mush before swallowing and have had no problems. They seemed to do the trick in eliminating those awful loose stools...TMI...lol

Are you on acid reducers? Sounds like too much acid in the stomach to me.

This is SOOOO normal to feel like this prior to surgery and we all wen't through it. I often felt like I should give it one last try on my own before I took such a drastic step in having the surgery. I realized that for me, losing weight would be possible if I could just stick to a diet long term but then I reasoned that even if I did lose all the weight I would gain it all back just as I had done many times during my life. I realized I needed this tool to control the food issues since I couldn't control them on my own.

I'm almost 4 weeks out and I notice that sometimes but not always, I get a slight cough after eating. When it does happen I will cough sporadically for several hours before it finally subsides. It almost feels like my full stomcah is triggering a cough reflex. I'm not sick, have no fever, am keeping all foods down with zero vomitting ever. Any ideas what this could be?

Yep, NEVER trust your farts!! I farted while watching tv one afternoon and crapped my pants! Seriously! *laughing hysterically as I remember this* Lesson learned...lol

I still laugh about it because whatever they gave me was som goooood drugs! I just remember feeling really high and relaxed as I drifted off to sleep. After that I don't remember anything. You will be fine.

I was just as terrified the night before my surgery so I took a benadryl before bed to keep me from tossing and turning all night and I was able to sleep great. Don't worry about the anesthesia. It feels just like you're tired and you drift off to sleep and don't remember anything when you wake up. You will be absolutely fine.

TMI ALERT! I didn't feel comfortable with my hubby on top because the pressure of his weight would hurt my tummy so we opted for other positions...lol. We waited for about a week post-op.

If you're having chest pain your bite size is probably too big. Try eating with a coctail fork and take teeny tiny bites and chew them until they are liquid and almost competely dissolved and see if that helps.

Oh and forgot to add then when I began the process of researching the sleeve the first thing I did was contact my insurance the confirmed for me that it was a covered procedure. I didn't want to waste my time looking into it had it not been covered.

This sounds like a giant mistake. I have United Healthcare for Railroad Employees and I was covered 100% for my surgery in April. UHC just began coverage for the sleeve in January 2012 so I'm hoping this is where the confusion is coming in. Maybe since it is a recently covered procedure the billing process is not up to speed with the changes in January. I suggest getting the info in writing as to when the sleeve became an approved procedure and then begin building your case with a lawyer.

Are you on an acid reducer? If you have a lot of acid already in your stomach trying to put food in on top of that will be just like overeating.

You look absolutely RADIANT!!! Great job.

The Depo shot really messed me up a few years ago when I took it. I ended up having to stop it after about 8 months because it caused terrible night sweats and hormonal upheaval. I did gain weight on it too. My doc told me it takes a minimum of 18 months to get out of your system.

It could be from taking your meds with only liquids. I know if I take ANY meds without something mushy or semi-solid that I will be nauseous as soon as the medication hits the bottom of my stomach. Our new stomachs have a narrow curve at the bottom now so pills tend to sit there as they dissolve and it can irritate the stomach lining quite a bit if they are sitting on bare tummy. Try taking them with something solid or yogurt or pudding at the very least so that the pills can dissolve in the food and not directly on the stomach lining before passing into the pylorus.

I'm 3 weeks out and have not felt hungry once since the surgery. I have to remind myself to eat now. It is the weirdest thing but don't worry because you will have almost no appetite for a while. Now you may have head or emotional hunger but that it different from actual hunger. Emotional hunger is easy to overcome if you just talk yourself through it and stay busy with other things and before you know it you've forgotten all about it. You do have to set up some barriers to avoid battling head hunger though. For me It is making sure not to watch cooking shows or channels, not browsing through cookbooks or any other outlet that causes you to focus intensly on food. Keeping a journal has also been a huge help for me.

I experienced this for the first time last night or at least I think it was dumping. I added a tablespoon of superfood powder-its a highly concentrated powder of 24 fruits and veggies-to my juice and within 10 minutes of drinking it I was in the bathroom with cramping and diareah. Was this what you experienced?

Thanks for the input Forensikchic! That really puts my mind at ease. I'll just eat what I can comfortably in that hours time and then call it quits until the next meal. I tend to eat slower because I DO NOT want to ever have to experience sliming or vomitting and so far so good so I guess slower is better in my case. Thanks for the advice and congrats on your awesome success!