CJ_Redux

Same here. I'm now 11 days post op and I can drink a lot better also. I figured it was just my stomach healing (ie, swelling going down) so naturally I'd be able to get a bit more in without restriction. Sounds like we're probably all keeping pace with what should be happening.

Thanks for the compliment. I am not a "published" writer, but years ago I started a novel (perhaps one day I'll get back to it) and I used to write a lot of poetry. Right now, I'm working on a blog about my life, including my VSG journey. I figure I'll see if I can keep that going for a while. If so, I'd love to be published in some way, some day. As for the vomiting, everyone is different. I pray your experience is much better than mine!

I just posted about my experience. You can read it here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/43212-shes-baaaaaack-from-surgery-lol/

Thanks nabird! Yes I was very nervous LOL! You will be fine too!

@sleevehopefull27, based on your daughter's condition, I think taking her is a bad idea. It would be better for everyone (your daughter and YOU) if your hubby stayed behind and you flew alone. Tell hubby to be reassured that you'll be in good hands. I went alone, and while I was sleeping after surgery, Omar and Dr. Kelly called my sister (she was my next of kin on the forms I filled out), and they gave her an update to my condition. And when I woke up, Omar allowed me to call her every day. Go alone. You will be fine. Or, if you have a relative other than your hubby, ask them to go with you. But taking a child in that condition, whether on a plane or drive sounds like it would be too much for her.

Hello! Hello!! Hello!!! To all my wonderful sleeve peeps! :wub: Well, I made it to the other side of VSG surgery and lived to tell about it! Some of you may have read my 'worry woes' pre-op. If not, you can read them here. The nerves lasted right up until I went under...even was scared afterwards. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me 'splain it all below... Part 1: Before surgery... So I get to Tijuana uneventfully. Cecy (Dr. Kelly's wife) promptly picked me up from the airport. As with others, she gave me a brief tour of parts of San Diego (the pier, historic old town, convention center, etc.) before we headed for the border. Crossing into Mexico was a breeze. Once in TJ, I was taken to Hospital Angeles for chest x-rays. Nice hospital, and we were in and out pretty quickly. From there, she gave me another brief tour of the beach in TJ. Wow...was nice. But I love all things Water (lake, sea, ocean, doesn't matter). There's something so calming for me when I'm near the water. We also drove past the arena where they (used to) do the bullfighting. Cecy said it doesn't happen so much anymore. After that, we headed to the Oasis Hospital, where I was to have surgery. I look at the room...eh, nothing to write home about. It's just a room. I suppose by that time it was about 5pm. Side note: I was supposed to have surgery at 2pm, after arriving in San Diego at 9:30am. However, my first flight to Denver arrived late, so I missed my connection. I had to be re-routed to Oakland, then to San Diego. Mind you, I hadn't eaten since the night before. Argh!!! Anyhoo, so it's about 5(ish) pm when we get to Oasis Hospital. I meet with the cardiologist (can't recall his name). He takes my bp...it's high (150/96), and I'm surprised by that because it's not normally that high. I am generally at 120/80. So I start to tell him of my surprise and he says to hold on, he'll take it again. The first time was with the automatic pressure machine. The second time, he takes it by hand...it's the same. He asks if, perhaps due to my PCOS, I'm on a medication like Coumadin (sp?). No. "Anything?" he asks. Nope, I reply. I don't take ANY medications. Unable to determine the cause of my elevated bp, he merely shrugs it off and says it could be related to the stress of traveling, and nerves. This doesn't really satisfy me, but ok. He does the EKG and asks if I have any questions. Uhhh yeah! Am I ok to have this surgery with an elevated bp??? He says it's not a problem... After that, the nurses start putting the compression stockings on me and I'm like, whoa! Wait a minute!!! This is getting really real! I start asking myself, "Are you really gonna do this?" "Have I made my peace with God??" "If I die, it will kill my mother." As I'm laying there, these thoughts going through my mind, tears start to roll from my eyes down the sides of my face. I realize that I have to be willing to die in order to live. One of the nurses seeing my tears, comforts me...en espanol. At that moment I think, "Maybe I shouldn't have come alone..." Before I can complete that thought, Dr. Kelly enters the room to introduce himself. Omar, the patient coordinator with whom I've had much phone and text communication, is with him. I immediately ask the doctor about my elevated bp and he tells me not to worry. They are going to give me something that will bring it down. He assures me I'm ok for surgery, since I have no other co-morbidities. He leaves to go prep for surgery. Omar stays behind to chat a bit and tells me I don't need to worry. "Yeah, but I am," I say. He assures me I'm gonna be ok, but then says, "If you're really not sure. You can call this off right now. You don't have to go forward. We want you to be extremely sure, so it's ok if you decide not to go forward." In a strange way, this puts me slightly at ease. I realize, this is my CHOICE. I have the power here, no one else. In life, we have to make decisions. I did my best to research this solution, and before it, i did my best to be my best. If this is where my life's journey has led me, then so be it. I make my peace with God that either I'll see Him on the other side, or I'll begin my life anew in this realm. So be it. At this point, probably because I've somewhat resolved that my fate is my fate, I realize no one's even asked for payment yet! So while Omar is yapping away, i just bust out and share that information with him. "I mean, it's fine by me if y'all wanna do this surgery for free, but I don't think that's the case..." He bucks up and hands me my purse pronto! Now it's time to head to the OR...oh Lord! So soon??? Geez, this is all happening too fast! I ask Omar the time, it's around 6:00pm now. We head down a long corridor, me being wheeled on my operating bed, looking up at everyone speaking spanish above me. Okaaayyyy, what the HELL am I doing??? We enter the OR, a bright spacious room. I notice a TV. I guess that should be there, since they are doing the surgery laparoscopically. Then I notice a stereo. I ask the gentleman standing next to me if they plan on rocking out while performing my surgery. He nods his head. "Don't worry" he says, after noticing what I'm sure was a horrified look on my face. Good Lord... Everyone is scurrying about. The anesthesiologist introduces himself and before I know it, he's pulled down my gown to place electrodes on my chest and...oops! There's my boob, in plain sight for everyone to see! I know he has to do this in order to place the electrodes, but...,embarassing!!! LOL! On the other side of me, someone outstretches my arm and begins to strap it to an extended arm pad. Then, he walks around to the other side and does the other arm. I realize I'm in the sacrificial position of Christ on the cross. I'm just now realizing the irony of that... Next, the anesthesiologist informs me he's giving me something to help me "relax". Uh-oh! I know what that means!!! Lights out! My nerves kick into high gear. It's crunch time! I feel the drug and man-o-shevits I start fighting it! I fight to keep my eyes open--WIDE! "Yust relax..." I hear. Wait a minute! I'm not ready... Oh God!, I think in my head. So much for all that "I made my peace" mumbo jumbo!! Is...is that woman on a cell phone over there?? What the hell kinda place is... Next thing I know, I'm waking up in my room! Part 2: After surgery... I wake up in my hospital room and it feels like no time at all has passed. I am confused and wonder who the hell are all these people fussing over me, telling me to wake up. Can't they see I'm soooooo tired??? Noooo, leave me alone! I try to yell but can't articulate. I look over, and I see Omar sitting in a recliner in my room, looking at me. I want to say something to him, but once again, it's lights out for me. When I finally do wake up, it's 2am (I know cuz I asked the nurse who was tending to me). She spoke some English. I immediately began my 48-hour vomit phase. Now, anyone who knows me knows I DO NOT wish to throw up...EVER!!! In fact, I don't do pain or sickness in general well at all. For me, that's always a sign of Armageddon on earth! So me tossing my Cookies repeatedly for 2 days? No. But that's precisely what happened. It started the night of surgery and didn't stop until I was ready to leave the hospital. I asked the nurse for medication. I was flatly told, "No." WHAT??? OK, surely this...person...didn't understand me! But Omar's now gone. No translation for me tonight. And all night that first night, I threw up. Sure, the nurses kept coming in to check on me and empty my bucket full of vomit. But I didn't get any meds. By the next morning, the vomiting had slowed...or so I thought. It seemed every time someone came and asked, "How are you feeling?" I'd consider and then respond, "OK." And no sooner than when they'd leave my room I'd get that Oh God, not again feeling. And then the vomiting would continue. The doctor on call came in eventually and told me I needed to get up to walk as soon as I could. So I did...and then I'd vomit and feel weak. (Damn that hallway was long!!) The next day, Dr. Kelly came as I was walking. When he asked how I was feeling, I told him I had vomited all night and they wouldn't give me any medication. He looked concerned and said if and when I needed it, I could have medicine. I guess he must've went and talked to someone, cuz the next thing I know in comes the nurse with pain and nausea medication. ALRIGHT!!! Unfortunately, it didn't help much. After a while, I just started feeling down. I was sooooo sick. With nothing more to up-chuck, I was dry heaving which is just as bad. It felt like it would never end. Like I'd never feel better again. Like I'd made the wrong decision... When you're sick, you can't see anything but that sickness...at least that's how I am. Omar, who had stopped by with Dr. Kelly earlier, saw that I was in low spirits. So he did something that REALLY helped me: he brought a previous patient back to the hospital to chat with me. There was a lady there who had had surgery with Dr. Kelly 2 days prior to me, on Thursday (mine was Saturday). When she came in the room, standing fully erect (I sure couldn't, at that point), happy go-lucky and having been out walking around and shopping... 2 words: I-WAS-FLOORED!!! (OK, that was 3 words... ) I could NOT believe that she had just had surgery. She certainly didn't look like me. And I really wanted to call her a liar. But she was with her mother...and we all know Moms don't lie, right?? It was really amazing to meet her and see her progress. She assured me that she was JUST LIKE ME 2 days prior. That she was sick constantly, that her mother held her vomit bucket as she walked the halls! (Moms are great, aren't they??) This woman gave me hope, and a newfound motivation that everything would eventually be ok. And you know what? By day 3, it was. By the time I was ready to go to the hotel, I felt about 75% better. While I was still a llittle shaky, there was no more vomiting (thank you Baby Jesus!!). So we left to go back to Hospital Angeles to take the final leak test. Seeing that clear liquid and knowing everyone says it tastes horrible, I was not wanting to chance it. I just knew I was gonna throw up. But Omar assured me that no one had ever thrown up from the stuff. So, I drank the horrible concoction. And it stayed down. Seeing the Fluid travel thru my hot dog shaped stomach was quite a sight! No leaks...I was good. The other 2 days in the hotel were nice. Lucerna Hotel is quite a nice little place. Omar took me to the mall one day, and then to the beach and to Revolucion (a place with a lot of shops for tourists) the next. I decided to spend my last night (night 4) in San Diego, in order to have no problems crossing the border back into the U.S. While crossing into Mexico was a nonevent, coming back took hours! Ugh! Cecy again drove me back across the border. Dr. Kelly, who was on his way to an appointment on the U.S side, rode with us. So I got a couple of hours to really chat with him. I discovered that not only is he a great surgeon, he's a generally great guy. We chatted politics, travel, insurance in the U.S., plastic surgery...coordinators. He admonished me to stay in touch long term. I sure never got that much from a U.S. doctor!! Cecy and I also stopped at The Fashion Valley mall in San Diego before going to the hotel. Wow, I LOVE that mall! They've got EVERY store you could think of!!! I can't wait to lose a good chunk of weight. I wanna shop, shop, SHOP!!! The only downside to crossing the border a day early was that I was put up at the Quality Inn near the airport. I guess it was about the same price as the Lucerna. It certainly wasn't the same quality! I'd consider the Lucerna to be about 3.5 stars, while Quality Inn was about 2.75 stars...that's my opinion anyway. I would stress to everyone that if you're offered this option, you might want to reconsider. The Quality Inn room was shabby. And coming from the Lucerna, it was really a downer. It was livable, but if I had thought about it, if I had considered that the value of the dollar goes a lot farther in TJ, I'd have stayed at the Lucerna and just got up extra early to cross the border on the day of my flight. It would have been worth it. After all, I'd been through enough discomfort by that point. So now, I'm back at home on day 6. I feel fine, if not a little tired from not getting enough calories. I'm only allowed Gatorade, fruit juice, broth, water and Jello. It's getting old... But right now, I'm happy. I'm content. I'm grateful. And soooooo optimistic about my future. I am so excited about my next chapter in life. One of my bucket list items after losing weight is to take at least a year off and travel the world. Now that I'm on the road to significant weight loss, that possibility is now very real. And I'm anxious! One thing at a time, though. I'm sorry this was so extremely long. But I hope it helps someone coming after me to see that you can go thru a wide range of emotions. But ultimately, everything is everything! Take care, and good luck to us all on our journeys!

Having just gone through it, I don't think I'd want to drive for 36 hours after surgery. You'll have compression stockings, but still. It will become very uncomfortable after that first 8 hours, I bet. The last thing you want is to end up with a blood clot in your legs, so you'd have to stop probably every few hours. Which means getting back will take you more days than you'll want (at least 5). My suggestion is not to do that. It's too much risk and discomfort. However, you can ask Dr, Kelly and see what he thinks. Perhaps he can give you blood thinners to take while you travel. ,I don't know. I'm just throwing out options. Good luck!

@joyv, hi neighbor!!

@sleevehopefull27, I'd recomnmend you drive to San Diego and then park somewhere. Then have Dr. Kelly's people come and pick you up. It would be easier in terms of getting across the border (more specifically, in coming back). You can always just travel alone (I did) and leave the hubby and kids home. It might be a lot easier on everyone. I went by myself, and while I did get a little lonely while in the hospital, that all changed once I got to the hotel. Omar (the coordinator) and Cecy (Dr. Kelly's wife) kept me quite busy.

Thank you ALL! :wub:

Thank you!

...I'll be a Sleeved Sistah. As I am preparing this evening (washing clothes, visiting my mom to tell her I love her--in case I don't make it, packing...), it feels surreal. What if this is the last time I'll see my mother? This is really REAL. This is IT. I followed my 2-week preop to the best of my ability. I tried my best. I cheated too. I gave myself the excuse to after I got sick from the sugar-free (yet chemical-filled) pudding. But overall, I did better than I expected and have thus far lost abt 10 lbs. These last 3 days of clear liquid, having nothing but Water, tea, broth (repeat), have been the toughest. I've gone through a range of emotions from hunger to anger to despair. But I made it. And as I end this preop journey and prepare to begin another, I feel...surreal. I know without a doubt that without this surgery I'd most likely never lose this weight. So I am thankful for it. But if I'm honest, I still wish there was another way. I wish my current life was set up to support the weight loss I need. But it isn't. I wish I had the courage to change it without surgery. But I don't. That's the God's honest truth. And so, here I am. Ready to change, but full of fear too. Full of what if's. One thing I know for sure, though, is that this surgery is my leap of faith. I believe I was meant to be MORE than who I am and how I am right now. And I'm willing to face death in order to truly live. Is this will be my end, then so be it. But perhaps it will be my beginning. Perhaps my rebirth. Whatever awaits me on the other side of this surgery, know that I was here. And I tried, really tried to live my life with meaning, passion and purpose. Sorry, I just need to speak my truth to the universe...and any of you who've bothered to read this far. Love.

@Butterthebean, I've never seen that show. Sounds like some sort of Jerry Springer spin-off. LOL! My day was more like Bridesmaids. Whew!!!

Thanks! I do write some...when I'm not busy watching TV. LOL! Actually I'm working on a blog...this little fiasco will definitely be one of my posts.

@JennyB, it was store bought.

OK so I'd been reading other people's posts saying that after the 3rd or 4th day of preop, things get easier. So I woke up this morning, day 5 of my preop diet, feeling ok and hopeful that my knawing desire for macaroni and cheese with chicken would have subsided. Little did I know what this day had in store for me... So I get to work and I'm cool, not even hungry. I decide to have some sugar-free dark chocolate pudding and of course, Water. Mmmm Mmmm! Pudding is smooth and creamy and tastes great! I mean it really was satisfying! Fast forward about 1 hour, I'm in a meeting that's just getting under way. All of a sudden I hear a rumbling in my stomach. Hmmm, that was strange. Oh well... Then, it happens again...and again, getting louder each time. I know this feeling... Last time I felt it was right after my gallbladder was removed. At that time I had been warned: "When you feel like you have to "go", get to a bathroom...ASAP!" So 5 minutes into the meeting, I get up to excuse myself and as I'm walking to the restroom...I start to feel like I'm not gonna make it. So now i'm trying to run/walk to the restroom without looking like I'm run/walking to the restroom!!! Luckily, I make it to the toilet in time. (You thought I was gonna tell you I pooped my pants, didn't you? Disappointed? Keep reading...) So I'm sitting there, in pain. I mean my stomach is twisted like someone wringing out a newly washed garment. I'm praying to God, Allah, Rastafari, the universe, baby Jesus AND Tom Cruise! Just anyone to help me deal with the pain I felt as I pooped. I literally could feel it moving thru my intestines. And I'm wondering how is it I could be pooping so much anyway?? I've had nothing but broth, yogurt, Jello and pudding for the past 4+ days!! And if that wasn't bad enough...oh boy, now I'm getting that increase in saliva...you know, that stuff you get when you're about to throw up? Yep! BLAAAAAAGH!!!!!! All over the floor in front of me. Oh.My.God!!! You do recall I ate chocolate pudding, right? Imagine how that looked on the restroom floor... So now I'm pooping in the toilet and vomiting brown stuff all over the floor. Dear God... I finally get to a point where I think I'm done and I try to clean up the mess I made...AT WORK. I wipe up the poop-looking vomit as best I can, even though it splashed on the walls and my shoes and my slacks. I make it to the sink to wash my hands. And before I can even dry them, i get that rumbling again and head right back to the same stall I just defamed. This happens 2 more times before I'm all done. By now, the hour long meeting I ran out of is done, and people are wondering what happened to me as i weakly try to just get back to my desk. And I have to sit there for about a half hour just to get to a point where I felt OK to leave. It was mortifying! And my question to all you sleeved, post-preop people is: WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WARN ME?????????????????????? I should mention that I never eat sugar-free stuff, and everything I've eaten this week is stuff I don't normally ever eat. I guess my body got sick and tired of jello and pudding and decided NO MORE! Now, I don't even know what to eat for the rest of this diet! I can't stomach the shakes and I'll burn in hell before I eat anything else with "sugar free" written on the label!! WTH am I gonna do??? You can stop laughing now...

This is day 4 for me too. I'm in the same boat as SMP1126. I've asked several times about substitutes and it's really a no-go. I asked if I could do Atkins in lieu of this liquid diet. The answer, "Yes...Atkins shakes!" Uhhh, not what I meant!!! Yesterday and today have been so hard for me. I have images of macaroni and cheese dancing in my head. I really feel like I don't know how I'll make it. But if others before us did it, I guess we can too. That's what i keep telling myself...that, and I need my liver shrunk!

Is that a British accent you have? I can almost hear it in the way you write: "fancy a steak", calling food gorgeous...I love it! Or as you might say, brilliant!

This is always my worst fear...

Thank you for this post! I really need this today...my preop is killing me and i'm getting cold feet about my upcoming surgery. So i need these reminders of why i'm doing this, and what i can look forward to on the other side. Thank you for the encouragement! For reall!!!

Awesome list. The only thing i'll add: having to shift my weight from one hip to the next (in order to give my knees a break) when standing for any amount of time.

Prayers sent! Can't wait to get an update from you! Be well.

Oh and I'm supposed to at least 3.5 liters of water per day, which is about a gallon of water. I don't think I've been getting that much in, but I am close.

I had gotten to the point where i just couldnt' stomach any more shakes, so I switched to yogurt and broth and Soup. That worked better for me, but it just wasn't enough calories. I have some EAS shakes that I bought yesterday and I'm gonna give those a try today. They are 100 cals each, so I'll try to drink about 4 of those along with the yogurt and broth. For me, I don't know if the hardest part is that I can't chew. I just want CARBS!!! I'm used to feeling full and this stuff I've been eating just doesn't give me that full feeling. I doubt chewing would help, if I'm not chewing on some Pasta LOL! I think I've just had a lifestyle of eating a certain way and this is so different. I like tasty food or nothing at all. So that's the worst part for me. That, plus knowing I won't be eating anything truly delicious for a loooooooong time! Sigh...

Well, I made it thru yesterday (surprisingly) and today is day d@mn 4 of 100% pre-op. It’s supposed to be day 6 for me, but since I cheated over the weekend I’m not really counting those days. Yesterday was SOOOO hard! I thought I was gonna break. But I'm just gonna keep on keeping on cuz I’ve still got a long road ahead (this is a 14 day preop). I was sooooo tempted yesterday. I drove over to Noodles & Company (one of my favorite restaurants) after I got off work. But then I just kept going. It was so hard cuz I wanted some mac-n-cheese!!! I felt tense all over my body as I saw the restaurant in my rear-view mirror. But I kept going. I press toward the mark of the high calling of WLS. That’s bible! LOL! I can say I’m feeling different in my body. It’s only been 3 days, but I am sleeping so much better at night. It’s amazing. Normally I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m all sweaty and usually have acid reflux, so I have to get up and pee and then eat a few tums…that’s usually EVERY night! But the past few nights, I still have to get up to pee but no need for tums. And last night, I didn’t sweat AT ALL! That might sound crazy to you…LOL…but that’s been my reality. So when I didn’t sweat, at all, it was like WHOA!!! LOL! So even though it's been quite rough for me to stick to my preop, I can tell that changes are going on in my body, which is good. Surgery day is 6/23!!