EmyWemy

Congratulations! My family 'sort of' knew, but I didn't tell my own mom until the week before my surgery date. I just didn't want her to worry since she was against the idea of it when I first mentioned it to her a few month before.

Hi *susan* -- Yay! Please tell me how you did that?! Very awesome

Cool blog and congrats on getting your surgery date. I wish that I had discovered this website a lot sooner before my surgery like you, but am happy that I finally did. I wish you much success on your journey.

My own experience with my surgeon was that he recommended the Roux n Y for me. It's considered the 'gold standard' for weight loss surgery at this time. I am a Type 2 diabetic and he felt that this surgery would be best for me. I had my own personal reasons for wanting to choose the vertical sleeve instead and shared that with my surgeon. He did eventually tell me that there was no right or wrong choice for me so I insisted on having the sleeve instead which is obviously what I got. Perhaps an additional appointment with your surgeon for you to express this might be your next step?

I know exactly what you are going through. I even cried for the whole week prior to my surgery date and that was my #1 fear, not waking up after surgery. I personally talked with folks who have had weight loss surgery and I just kept telling myself that if they made it then I will make it. Talk with your primary care doctor and see if they can prescribe you something to help calm you before you go in.

...by the way, does anyone know how to remove the extra tickers that shows in my signature line? I've tried to delete my ticker and start over again, but it keeps showing up as 4 tickers, ugh

I eat Baken-Ets brand fried pork skins. Per serviing (9 pieces) it's 80 calories and pure protein. I don't eat them everyday, but it satisfies my wanting to crunch on something.

Hi Pipula...oh okay . Probably just 'normal panicking' then. I'm sure you will do great. I have gone over my binder so many times and it seems I 'discover' new info every now and then too. It's quite funny to me when I do. Good luck and I wish you much success...

I experienced the same as you with the exact same incision area. I did exactly as told, remove the first bandage the day after I came home from the hospital, and then remove the 'steri strips' from all the incisions a week after that. At first I used a regular band-aid (not the one with antibiotic in the center pad) to cover the center incision because it was slightly leaking and it kept in that same condition for two weeks, off and on. I decided to keep the band-aid off and use a cotton towel to cover my stomach area underneath my shirt so that my incisions would be able to 'breathe' without any covering. They healed fine after that. Hope this helps somewhat

It sounds like you are doing so much better (thinking wise) than I ever did pre-surgery . I mostly worried about not waking up after surgery and not about calculations. Just knowing that about 80% of your stomach wlll be removed was assurance enough that I would be eating so much more less than how I was eating before. One of my weaknesses was eating and snacking heavily late at night - plus a lot of head hunger. The full feeling after injesting such little amounts was very surreal to me. Everyone's experience is very individual that it may be difficult to compare with others as everyone has their own medical issues, if they are retaining water, etc. Perhaps decide if the actual VSG medical procedure itself is best for you and your medical conditions and discuss with your surgeon?

P.S...sorry about the multiple tickers in my signature. I don't know how to fix that yet

Perhaps start by hopefully getting an appointment with a surgeon. If you have a couple of them in mind see if you can get an appointment with each of them and have your list of questions ready. I met with two surgeons at Kaiser and I was definitely more comfortable with the 2nd one I met. After doing some research online I found out that he was the leading PI (Principal Investigator) for the Bariatric Program at that particular location which was positive news to me and he answered all of my questions and concerns with a very straight and serious face. I appreciate seriousness and would rather have a surgeon tell me answers with seriousness than hear it sugar coated. Doing this surgery is a risk in itself since it is considered major and there are papers that you sign to acknowledge all of those risks involved. It took me several years to even think about doing weight loss surgery and every patient has their own experiences with their own medical issues so no two patients experience the exact same thing I believe. Go with who feels comfortable to you and addresses all your concerns. Hope this helps NHJulie =)

Make exercise a fun thing for her. Is there a YMCA club where you live? There might be a dance class she might be interested in, or perhaps enroll her in a roller skating club or take up ice skating lessons? Maybe do a Zumba class together? Perhaps there might be a sports league she would be interested in joining? As for TV time I limit it to only Friday nights for my little one and in the kitchen she helps me get some things ready like take out the veggies from the fridge and washes them. Also helps peel oranges, puts salads together. I find that when she helps in the kitchen she gets excited to eat the food too. We also dance together doing the Wii 'Just Dance' series (Just Dance 1, 2, 3). The ABBA one is kind of fun too =)

Hi Sarah - I was so used to drinking coffee every single day (morning, afternoon, and evening) that when i learned that I had to cut caffeine out I switched to drinking decaf. I immediately got headaches the day I switched. This happened for about a week for me and then eventually stopped. I'm thinking that this might be the same for you? Hope you are well and exciting news that your surgery date is coming up very soon =) ... take care.