iggychic

Tutu I'd agree, but also say that no one has to suffer the level of pain she is suffering. There's no reason not to prescribe something that will help her out some. At least that we know of. Some docs are so conservative on drugs it's ridiculous. Some go overboard. There is a happy middle road that could help this poor gal out.

So what I'd ask you is, if you have complications, how will you deal with your children hun? I was unable to pick up my child for three months. Unable to care for him at all for about two. In hospital for 22 days a few hours away from him. I didn't die, but I certainly wasn't able to be a parent due to the complications and what they did to me. You need to get the network in place prior to having any surgery so that, just in case, they are cared for. In addition, and this is the hardest thing to do, I advise that if you do go forward be sure to write each chile a "worst case" letter so that if you die on the operating table you can say the things you want to say to them before you are gone. Don't tell them you did this for them! Talk about leaving them with guilt Even if you are doing this to be healthier so you can enjoy them more, it's not something you want to dump on them if you are gone right? But tell them the things you need to say. Put the letters in a place that they won't be found unless you are gone (mine was the bedside table). This is probably the hardest letter you'll ever write, but for me, I can tell you it gave me some peace when I thought I wasn't going to leave the hospital I'd do anything you can to lose weight first, and then be sure you are set up for the worst case example out there of complications, hoping that none of these take place This way you know your kids will be ok if you aren't. Whatever you do, I wish you the best.

The after effects of all the crap they do to you are hell. I'm so sorry Liz. I hope you see a turn for the better by New Years hun.

Read past line one darling. I did say "not as bad as a life threatening leak" in the third sentence. Just concentrate and you'll see it there....

I just typed a long reply and it didn't post dang it. So let me try again. Yes I would change my decision in a heart beat if only life were that easy. And if I said I'd do it again I would expect the guys with the rubber rooms to come take me away immediately. No for gods sake I'd never do this again to myself or my family. Would I inform and encourage people who are in the beginning stages to not go through with it? Maybe, I often do tell people it's not worth the risk, but not blindly. I'd need to know your story first. If you are low BMI with no comorbidities and no family history of weight related health issues (even if the family history includes being overweight) I'd say it's cosmetic and not worth it. If you were a mother with small children with no life threatening issues at the time, I'd say don't do it now because you might not come home to your babies (that goes for fathers as well). Wait until they can make it in this world without you. If you were going to a day surgery center I'd say go to a hospital for gads sake. If you were needing the surgery but were going to be eating popcorn and fried chicken week one, I'd say get some danged counseling before you have the surgery because IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!! Some people are ready for this. Some jump in too soon. If you are one of those, take more time to decide if this is worth the risk. My son worries that I will die or leave him for a month if I have a doctors appointment. If I can take that worry out of a child...I don't mind telling their parents it's not worth it. I think about a third of the people who have this surgery are actually ready for it and need it, from reading here. Those people face serious risks to their health because of their weight and need to do something NOW. For those folks I think the surgery is a godsend, far better than a RNY, but for most....I think they see it as magic and find afterwards that it's not magic. And lest you think I'm just a meanie...I tell people this because I don't want anyone, even a stranger, to experience what I went through in order to look better in a pair of jeans! It's not worth it

Then again I had my first surgery at a BCE and had major complications. It was also a day surgery center (avoid that like the plague...this should be done in a hospital!!!) So what does a BCE really mean???? I personally wouldn't see that as a sign of assurance after my experience. Doctors make mistakes from all kinds of places, good and bad.

I had a c section in 2005. During my vsg I had massive bleeding which caused seizures that likely caused the slow leak that almost killed me. My doctor didnt do any extra testing. Now after reading the other stories out there I wonder if that was the cause of the bleeding? I hate my doctor more and more each day. I can't even ask about this because I don't trust him. Sad

This thread is going to haunt me. I had a massive bleed during the first surgery. I always assumed it was from my stomach....but I was never given details and I too had a csection. The blood loss led to seizures which likely caused the leak....gad do I even want to know?

I had one and from the moment of the first surgery I never recovered as others do. My energy never returned, in fact it got lower and lower and lower. I had a low grade fever. Pain on the left side, shortness of breath, rushing heart beat, just a general feeling of malaise at all times. And that got worse and worse, sending me to the ER regularly as well as my surgeon's office until the final ambulance ride to a good hospital who took my concerns seriously and treated my leak. You wouldn't be feeling well if you had a leak. Trust me, it's obvious!

I'm four months out from my first surgery and three from the second. I still regret it daily. For me it wasn't worth it at all. Yes I've lost weight, but it wasn't worth the price I and my family paid.

That reaction to glue builds up in your system. I started out in the hospital able to handle the tape after a blood draw and within a week was red and inflamed if they carried the stuff in their purse! (ok not that bad but I was getting worried LOL)

you can look up their medical license online as well as their state advisory board disciplines. do a search on his name with complications, see what you find

Shoot for crazy low amounts at first liz...get 8 oz at least one day, take that up to 16 the next, keep going and shoot to meet 48 after a week (my docs plan and it worked). count everything!!!! vodka too!!! ;p

I will say that a resurrected thread happened to me as well. It was my doctor's staff who were kind enough to try to blame my complications on me. The post above reminded me of that.

The fun thing about the medical world is that half of the chit is made up And in this case, BMI is actually a greatly debated item as well. I had a nurse who was overweight on the BMI chart. She was a very healthy athlete and her muscle mass was significant, but she was not overweight. For me a goal of 128 would be "healthy" though I know that 128 is overweight on my frame. I am shooting for a weight I was easily able to maintain in the last ten years of 110. 99 puts me in a healthy BMI as well...but I know that would be unhealthy having been that small in the past. Often patients choose weight goals that are quite high if using a BMI. Many who have never been normal weight will pick weights 40 or 50 lbs too high for them selves because they just don't know, or can't imagine what xyz might look like on their frame. So a doc using a patients pick would end up with all kinds of crazy goals to work from. It's kind of like a doc who advertises he's never had a leak during surgery. Well that sounds great right? Especially to someone who hasn't studied the surgery much. If a doc lets a patient leave the table with a known leak they'd be grossly negligent. But that does not look as good in adds as to say they've never had a leak during surgery It's all the fun medical chit at play (I saw this claim recently and it made me laugh, hence the reference). I'm sure the docs who are using the higher number to track against don't want to be forced to use a national average as it would screw with their advertising. Afterall, who wants to see the doc who has patients who only acheive 40% of their weight loss goal as opposed to 85%????

Informed consent does not excuse negligence. Who knows if that's the case, but that should be clear. Whenever I see someone say "well tough, you signed a consent form" I want to remind them that we gave consent to a surgery and the possible outcomes or risks were noted on the consent, but there isn't a one liner to sign away your life to a sloppy surgeon. That's why docs have malpractice insurance. To the OP...your journey was horrible and I hope you are recovering well now. One thing in your story resonated with me. That damned doc saying it was going to be a breeze! I heard the same thing......it must be the kiss of death dang them! I want my next surgery to start out with a doc saying something to the effect of "well this is going to be a tough one and recovery might just suck". Then I'll know all will go well! There are surgical logs as well as often films of surgeries. You could request these from the hospital as they are part of your records. I myself have chosen not to see or even request these so far. The trauma I went through is something I want to put behind me. If I found out without a shadow of a doubt that the doc did something wrong in surgery I think it would just make how I feel about this surgery even worse Just mulling over my thoughts...I'm in bed sick with some virus today and remembering those months in bed too well. DS won't leave me alone because he's worried I'll need to go to the hospital again Here's hoping you and I never see a gurney again!!!

You are not the only one confused. There is no standard for "excess body weight". http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21159563

I gained 40lbs the first five weeks so you now feel great don't you LOL Really though, your progress is YOUR progress. Was that good? Well it wasn't bad, but you just can't compare because everyone's body reacts differently to the surgery, not to mention that the amount of weight you have to lose also factors in (higher BMI tend to lose a lot more than lower BMI...men lose more than women, etc). Congrats though 9 lbs is just the beginning!!!

We had a couple of dinners because...ok we like having parties LOL Saturday we had a huge group over and DH made chicken. We had folks bring side dishes so I had a little chicken, some artichoke dip on rye toast and half of a cravory cookie (chocolate and cyan pepper). A couple of glasses of wine, and still I stayed below my calorie goals because I can't seem to eat above them LOL Christmas Eve we had filet mignon. I had the steak and some cauliflower mashed potatoes (we rarely have real potatoes anymore because we love these). DH made a sauce so I had a bit of that on it. We had several tarts as options for dessert. I had a few bites of a pumpkin puree tart. Very good but that's all I can handle. Christmas morning my mom made me bread pudding, which is a breakfast on christmas since I was a child. I had a small serving and she did make it with less sugar than normal because she knows that bothers my tummy. I ate it slowly, about 1/4 a cup and must admit it was yummy. Then we had traditional dinner (for us...what's with you lasagna eaters? LOL). Ham (we buy a naturally made product which does not have a bunch of additives in it) sweet potatoes (which are my specialty...made with brown sugar, butter, cognac and whiskey) brussel sprouts (made with garlic and bacon), red cabbage, and pumpkin pie. Oh and dh made a lovely spinach salad, which I had a bite of (my first since surgery and it was yummy). I had ham and sweet potatoes as well as a little pumpkin pie. Whipped cream was not comfy to eat so I just had the puree...it was a lovely dinner and I didn't feel I was missing out on a thing Christmas was special because I had such a bad medical year. I've never been totally focused on the food, more enjoying the company and the family, but I still used to eat more than I did this season. I bathed myself in the joy of my family, who were almost lost to me, instead of the nectar of whiskey soaked potatoes LOL It was heaven

There can be two causes for this. The most likely is that your skin is healing. You have to remember that beneeth those small holes are larger areas that need to heal because they were pulled, stretched and damaged during the surgery by the tools that were in them. We can't see that so we tend to forget that they exist. For some this area around a wound can be quite large, depending on how hard the surgery was for the doctor. Your tummy is basically surrounded by wounds if your doctor used a four or five point approach, so this can feel like your whole abdomen is itching. I used liquid benedryl (which is fine for about anyone) itch cream and it helped me out. Until the itch got worse and worse....for me, I was facing the other kind of itch. If you have this itching and it is accompanied by weakness, sickness, pain, fever, chills, etc, meaning you don't feel fine except for the itch, you could be dealing with a leak which is sending poison into your body. The itch is a sign of toxic fluids within your body. I've experienced that twice. It tends to start where the fluids are concentrated then move throughout your body as the infection spreads. (Eclampsia does this as well to pregnant women). This does not sound like what you are experiencing That's a good thing! So, if the itch is concentrated in the general area of your wounds (even out several inches from those) then get some cream and it will go away soon. It is a sign of healing...not a fun one, but a sign If the itch is spreading or can not be relieved with the cream, AND you have other symptoms, go to the ER right away and get a leak test.