Morgandobes

Well, I think I have found my new doc. I had to go out of state for what I felt was the best thing for me. I went with a doc who my friend had her bypass with Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians in Salt Lake city, about a 10 hour drive for us. I called two surgeons here in Colorado and am kind of getting the run-around. Had to leave messages at physicians offices, etc. When I called this place I immediately got to talk a nurse and explain my situation. She is sending the paperwork, and the only thing I need to be in Salt Lake City for is several days before/after my surgery And the best part is he uses a 36 fr!!!yay! Lisa

Going to save Tiffykins the work of posting this again..there has to be an easier place to put this for easy finding.. http://verticalsleevetalk.com/pre-operation-vertical-sleeve-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/5409-48-fr-bougie.html That thread shows the different size measurements. 32 appearing to be the most common

Thanks for the support guys, I knew I could count on you! Good luck with your surgery lunvandros, I am jealous!

I am going to. I figure if I get in a stall, or get stuck in some bad habits, I will haul out the 'before' pics and find a whole new source of motivation!

Yep, we will be your cheer leaders here. Keep in touch with your sister any other family, and try to blow off his negativity. We have ALL failed at diets, else we wouldent be on this board. Keep up the faith and hopefully soon you will find a place on the losers bench! Lisa

:sad0: Yay, Yay, Yay for you!! That is AWESOME I can imagine how excited you must be to go on vacation as a normal size person! I would be so excited I couldent stand myself!

Thanks Tiffykins, the support on this board is spectacular and I might not have had the courage to make this change without it. Lisa

For a little history, I found a doc that I thought I wanted to do my sleeve. I even have a surgery date set for 5/27. But when I talked to the doc 2 weeks ago, he says he uses a 48fr and sews to the left of that. I tried not to let the HUGE size bother me, but really has been. I am going to start my search for another surgeon on Monday. I dont want to go through all this work have this huge sleeve and then have trouble losing the weight and keeping it off. Just not worth it. Its scary for me a little to give up something sure-thing and go back to the beginning. But, I really feel its best for me... Lisa

Thanks for the responses..I guess I will go with it and hope it works for me, but I sure wish he would go smaller. But, at this point I am not giving up my surgery date, I guess go for it and hope for the best Thanks, Lisa

Hey Dave How goes the 15 lbs? Thats really the pitts that they make you lose weight before. Hope things are going well for you, and we will be on the losers bench before we know it!

I talked to my nurse today, to talk to the doc and ask him if he could go with a smaller bougie than the 48 fr that he had originally talked about. Apparently at some point he went with a smaller size with one patient and they ended up with a stricture. Has anyone had this? I dont hear about it often on this board, so I would have to think thats its not that common. Thx

Hi all So I finally got my surgery date. My dr plans on using a 48 fr bougie, which I am nervous about, I am going to see if I can get him to go a bit smaller..ok, a lot smaller, wish me luck! Anyway, going to use this time period to get myself weaned off of the sugary drinks..I have fallen into the bad habit of having sugary cokes, dr peppers, etc..plus fixing up my coffee with hot chocolate, etc. I am going to get myself over on coffee with just splenda or splenda/milk, and crystal lites instead of the other drinks. Doc says the preop diet is 1 week clears with "an occasionaly cracker". So, impatiently waiting!! Lisa :confused1:

FYI..he says he uses the larger one because a smaller diameter can cause a 'stricture' near the bottom curve of the stomach. I havent really heard about that on this board, but I guess being a doc he might be better connected than I am Lisa

Thanks Again Tiffykins, you are an awesome resource. It just seems so HUGE...lol. I am hoping to not have to do a lot of 'dieting' after this surgery, and dont want to have to go in for another revision if I can eat too much is all. Sigh.. Thanks for the link, :-) Lisa (Who has a surgery date of may 27th!)

Thats what my doc says he uses. He says he sews loosely to the left of this, guess he is very conservative. Ack! should I be concerned that this will be waaaay to big for me to see the big weight losses other people are seeing here on the board? Anyone else have this size bougie? Thanks, Lisa

Yippee!!! Congrats! What did your doc tell you about your pre-op starvation...errrr..diet instructions? did you get them yet? There seems to be a wide range of what docs are doing. Lisa

All of the bariatrics surgeons in Colorado have less than 10 vsg surgeries under their belt according to obesityhelp. This doc is the only one in his practice. Soo...I *will* become a pain in the arse..I *will* stand up for my rights!! lol Thanks for understanding you guys! Lisa

Hi all; I had my band out last wednesday. Before the band removal, my doc said that in 1-2 months after the band removal that we could do the sleeve revision. I went back in for a post-op check up today, and now he is talking 2 months! He didnt give any emperical evidence about why we need to wait 2 months, he just said that this was just a post-op visit, and that we needed to start the bariatric surgery back from the beginning about getting me qualified, etc. I brought out the big guns and told him my company was talking about layoffs(what else is new, right?, but they really ar), the time frame is may-june, and that since I know I have coverage with my current insurance, I wanted to make sure it was done before that happened. He didnt appear particularly moved with my argument. I am BUMMED. I was hoping to come away with a date today since we both went in knowing I was getting the revision and not just the band removed. Sigh.... Another trip back to him on Monday with the packet for the bariatric work up. I was hoping to finish the summer with most of my weight gone, not sure where it stands now. blech Lisa

Wow, the pain from the lap band removal is HUGE. They gave me a nasal spray for pain releif, but it barely takes the sharp edge off. I cant bed over, squat down, or kneel on the ground(because it is painful when I stand up) It is exceedingly painful to just roll over onto my side in bed, hard to get into bed and hard to get out. I hope nothing is going wrong. No fever or anything, but this is way worse than I remember when I got the lap band in. My stomach seems swollen/distended on the left side where my incision is where they removed the lap band, an the whole area is tender all the way down to almost my belly button where my port was, to above where the incision is. Well off to take some more of the nasal stuff I guess. Did you guys go thru this?

This is a super easy recpe and the cheese really hits the spot. Take 1/3 cup of broccoli or cauliflower and cook it until its mushy. Add enough milk, to make pretty much half and half Water and milk. Turn stove down so you dont burn the milk. Add in pepper to taste 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1 1/2 tbs of chicken boullion. 3 pr 4 pieces of a sliced cheese. Handfull of regular cheese. Let cheese melt. For thicker Soup, add 1 tb of corn starch to 1/2 cup water. Stir well and pour into your soup, stirring well immediately. Bring to almost a boil so the starch thickens. This is a good yummy, filling soup. :thumbup:

Thanks so much for replying..I was being impatient with my Doc when he wanted to wait 30-60 days after the lap band removal to do the sleeve! I am ready to be thin! But, I guess its good that one of us has a patient level head on our shoulders!

Thanks Tiffykins! Hey on a sidebar..do you think your post-op sleeve issues were because they did the band removal and the sleeve in the same operation?

Well, my band came out at 230 yesterday. My doc did it as a 'single incision', and removed the whole deal through a 2 inch incision just below my left boob near my sternum. Nothing to eat or drink for the rest of the day were his orders,but I got down a diet black cherry slowly, the food wasnt as big of a deal but I was SO thirsty. His order are liquid diet till my follow up, dont really understand that as I have no date for my sleeve. I will give them a call this morning and clarify, and get a date for my followup. Not bad for the pain, they gave me a nasal spray to contro the pain which is very bitter down the back of the throat but does a reasonable job, and some antinausea melt on your tongues. Thats it from me hope everyone has a great day, Lisa

Wow, lots of good info. Thanks Tracy, I wondered why I was reading so many post-sleevers taking nexium! Lisa

Watched, your 4 month update video and loved it. What is the couch 25k?