iggychic

You know sometimes you read a thread like this and it's happy, encouraging, etc, but this is the first time I've read a thread and cried tears of joy for someone. You found your life again. That's amazing. I can't wait to see what miracles you preform at 300lbs down!!!!! I don't tell people they are an inspiration often...I'd say I've probably said it once, but darling, you are an inspiration. And what you've shown your kids about strength and determination...it's a priceless life lesson.

Do you have fever or pain in your shoulder or am? Low fever is fever by the way....if you have this (heck I'd do it anyhoo...because your pain is not normal) you should be checked for a leak. An overly unconcerned doctor almost killed me by dismissing my pain. Make them take yours seriously.

You know, I don't like to lie and yet I was going to hide this surgery. Life got in the way so I'm glad I didn't attempt to lie (I had major complications and was bedridden a couple of months as well as hospitalized several weeks). In my mind lying just leads you down another dirty path and really, why lie? If you were leaving for heart surgery would you keep it a secret? I prefer to tell my secrets so that they don't become the fodder for gossip. It's no fun to gossip about the girl who told already I've always been this way and it's so much easier than getting trapped in a web of lies. You look like such a fool as well when it's clear you were lying, which hurts your credibility both in your personal life and work life. Go at it full force and embrace what you are doing and no one can have anything to gossip about except how good you look! I will give you another perspective though....I am "the boss" and if I was told by a staff member that they needed to leave for medical reasons, aside from requiring the usual doctor waivers etc, the fact that you are going to be out or even why if I happened to know the details would NEVER pass my lips! NEVER NEVER NEVER! My answer would be "shes out for a couple of days" and nothing more. This is both a legal and ethical requirement of a boss. If you are worried and do consider it a secret, be sure to be very clear that you do not want this known by anyone. That said, you will be acting differently at the office and might need more time off than you ask for if you have complications. Upfront and honest is the only way to be IMO as that will garner you support where as a lie will result in quite the opposite situation. Just my 3 cents Best of luck whatever you do.

liz darling I'm so sorry. some of the meds are so hard on our bodies and it sounds like you are getting the worst of it. i am so glad that you get your chips though. they taste good don't they? although with all the other issues you probably don't want too many of them! TMI as well dear but my body went the opposite direction as yours. it hurt to move, yet i had diarrhea so badly i needed to go constantly and making it with the hoses, lines and tubes was HELL! i hope they get this under control hun. do you want me to fly down and beat someone up? I've never forgotten how supportive you were of me after my hell and it breaks my heart that such a dear person has to suffer the same...or maybe worse issues. you are always getting healing thoughts your way when I'm in wa and alaska (those might make you chilly though) smooches from afar and i hope the day gets better for you!!!

Good question Fishy....and for me the answer is yes. We are very into wine collecting. Many friends own wineries and we spend a lot of time learning about their craft. We enjoy it a lot. It has nothing to do with getting drunk, nor do we drink it with Breakfast lunch and dinner (every day LOL) but it's an enjoyable part of our life that we share with friends. If I could never have a drink of wine again I would live. But I enjoy it and would just assume keep it as a part of my life. I do not enjoy drinking heavily at a party til I can't stand...that kind of thing belongs to youth I guess But responsible drinking isn't a bad thing in my mind...as long as you are at least three days past surgery (KIDDING!!!!) I should mention. I had this surgery verses the bypass because it allowed me to live a more normal life, and being able to drink was one of the factors. I wasn't willing to leave the whole cellar to my dh lol

The claw is basically something you don't feel at all. So much better than a stint which moves and can have to be placed repeatedly. My claw did hold. I am now out of the woods for any danger to my stomach (just concerns from the blood transfusions as well as the lung damage but those will be around for a few years). Honestly the day after they installed the claw I felt like all the other people here feel after their first surgery, tired but amazingly well I did everything I was supposed to and it held (they don't always) and then went away invisibly (wasn't there in the last scan). Just as it's supposed to. I'm glad you are well now. The suitcase comment did make me grin. What a great analogy...garden hose to suit case LOL Yup and then with the suitcase/hose combo there's the joy of never being able to potty without help. Oh and the sponge bath...don't take me down memory road LOL This is a great holiday season because we're both home to enjoy it I still regret the surgery, always will. To be totally honest, I did this for myself, not my family. I was healthy, just fat My family is all healthy and fat so there were no worries there. We all live to 100 in our clan So that guilt won't go a way sadly. My poor son asked me the other day not to go see the doctor while I was in alaska for a couple of days because he didn't want me to stay in the hospital there Gad that made my heart hurt! But I went and came back and went again and came back so he's starting to feel safe that I won't disappear again it seems. So all is well. I hope you have a lovely holiday season my dear!!!

Sannah, I'm so sorry you are going through this but thrilled that you listened to your body and got help immediately. That's the key it seems. Stints aren't easy. You will have good days and bad days. Keep listening to your body...they move and can cause issues (better than a leak though) so just be as proactive as you've been. The same for a PICC. I got blood clots from mine, which happens. But I also caught it right away...you feel any heat or lumps near it, get your arse back in ASAP. When caught early they're not a big deal. I wish you the best and a continued road to recovery. Take extremely good care of yourself so those stints don't move, and don't push them. You want to hear in six weeks you are well and they are bye bye

I'm worried you got bad news honey. Send me a note of post please when you feel like it. I'm thinking of you a lot as we get into the holiday season.

Do you then maybe have reflux?? GERD is the term for long term reflux which causes those symptoms as well. The test of that is probably different for an adult than it was my baby so I can't help much there, but they do have testing to determine if you have it. The thing is, it can cause long term damage, which can lead to cancer so it's important to get it under control. That can be done during the surgery actually if they find a hernia in your esophagus (which happens a lot with these surgeries). Talk to your doc about it. One thing you'll definitely want is a prescription for prevacid after this surgery. Either way you can have issues and my docs both handed it out to all patients for the first 90 days. I needed it for three months and have just discontinued it, but it might be a god send for you.

I was cleared for Champagne In moderation LOL I've had a glass now (at a holiday party I was at recently) and was happy to find no ill effects. I didn't have more than one because of the bubbles, but it was nice to have something special After all the goober I went through for this sleeve, and now finally feeling healthy again, I have to admit I'm enjoying holiday celebrations almost more than ever (our son was born during the holiday season so that one was special as well). And I'm enjoying a glass or two of wine with friends as well. Feeling "normal" finally makes the celebration so much more sweeter...and the scale is going down

Let us know how the swallow test goes dear. I'm hoping you get your christmas ice!!!!

Lol your doctor knows how far a natural healing process is at day ten, twelve and fifteen . Let me assure you, being conservative is not a bad thing. Leaks are HELL! No one wants to know first hand what that feels like, especially if it's self induced!

Exactly . It's certainly not our last holiday so enjoy family and friends and the rest is all just grav.....ummmm bad analogy .

So why don't you call him and ask? If he made these rules he did so for a reason right? And you wanted him because he's top notch...so why break them? Progressing too quickly can lead to vomiting which can cause leaks. I'd advise you follow the rules you paid good money for, or call and ask if he feels comfortable with you breaking them.

Ok Katie can you now give me the flow of orange juice? It also enters your body "in diluted" lol. Trust science to remove the romance from a great pinot noir As Aussie mentions, when we drink and are trying to lose weight we have to account for those calories in our daily goal, which I do as well. But I can increase my goal by only drinking at wine bars located uphill or upstairs which I do as well heh heh (kidding!)

Why have the surgery? Because alcohol, like other things I put in my mouth, can be consumed in moderation throughout my lifetime. The surgery does not alter that. Because I collect and we plan on making wine in the future. I enjoy the craft of wine making, the artistry, the skill, it's pretty amazing. You speak as if it's all or nothing, but that's silly. It maybe for you, but many others enjoy having a drink on occasion. It will not be traveling unchecked to the liver (no medical basis for that statement) and if taken in moderation causes no damage to the body. Sure if we were talking a fifth a week or day...ya, get away from it, but to say never? That's just rediculous for most adults.

At three weeks out a large cookie could EASILY cause a leak. It's not a "slip" it's dangerous. You should discuss this with your doctor and be sure to watch for signs of problems for the next few weeks.

That's completely false information. Yes if you drink like a fish, a bottle a day, sure you'll have issues, (which are not complications, they are issues related to the alcohol, not the surgery). ANYONE WOULD! Another NUT!

Anyone who says they've read of no negative experiences or regrets hasn't been reading much. Currently there are three people I can quickly think of on this forum who are in hospital because the sleeve surgery has had huge negative effects on them. Much as it did me. I was bed ridden for 60 days, in hospital 22, nearly died of a collapsed lung they couldn't get under control, internal bleeding, seizures, blood clots, etc. Negative effects? I was low BMI, no comorbidities, have had surgery in the past and it was always a breeze. I was as low risk as you can get and I almost died. This is NOT an uncommon story! No it's not worth it. The other day I was flying to alaska for a party and my seven year old son asked me not to go to the doctor while I was there because he didn't want me to stay there forever. I put that fear in him having this stupid surgery. We were apart so long when I was in hospital that he fears leaving me. He worries I'll die or I'm sick if I take a nap or sleep late. I did that to him Not to mention the excruciating pain and torture I went through during those days. I am not a cryer and I cried most of them. I cried if they pricked me with a needle and I used to be able to do that myself and had no issues with it. I almost lost my stomach all together. For 60lbs...it's not worth it. I have deep regrets about what I did to my body and my family. The worry I put them through was terrible. I was so wrong to have this surgery. Yes I've lost weight. No it's NOT worth it!! Oh and did I mention the money? Twenty grand to be put through the torture, then another almost half a mill in care afterwards to save my life. Normally for elective surgery, especially surgery done out of the country, that's not covered by your insurance (mine was done in the states and only covered because it was necessary to save my life...we have very generous insurance, most don't).

After having worked with many NUTS due to my son's medical condition, I can tell you from experience that the majority of NUTS are aptly named as such. 90% of them let their personal opinions override any medical information they may have gained in their five mins of medical training. They make blanket and stupid statements, such as the one that you heard, which are completely false, and sadly people believe them because they have a title and work in the medical field. If the cleaning lady at the hospital said that you'd dismiss it right? Well she's probably smarter than the NUT Honestly, when I've challenged these idiots on total stupidity that has come out of their mouths they fall apart. Total idiots and we are supposed to PAY for their services! I can't even begin to tell you the stupid things they've said to me about my son's needs in the past. My favorite was one who told me to force feed him juice (he was two months old and less than 8lbs) because he needed to develop a taste for natural flavors at that age or he'd never be healthy. Tell me....how do you force feed a baby without drowning them???? Oh and did I mention he had chronic and explosive diarrhea so fruit juice was a 100% off limit item to us on the orders of our doctors? They're fools, and you were listing to a classic fool apparently who maybe had an alcoholic father or something. THere is NO medical data to back that up and frankly, I'd ask them for the studies in class next time to put them on the spot. Ask if they can bring it to the next meeting with references of course because you are finding that the information might be misleading or some other not threatening style question Bet they call in sick the next meeting LOL Your nut is a NUT! As to the liquor hitting you quicker This is actually not true of all sleevers. I find that it is quite the opposite for me. I only drink wine, so to be fair I don't know how hard liquor would effect me, but wine, while I drink less of it, actually does not effect me as much as it did prior to surgery and any effect I do feel goes away quickly. The only thing I have noticed as a trend, and this is only twice so it might not be my long term effects....is that if I have more than two glasses of wine during a long evening I wake up with a terrible headache. But I'm also able to drive home because while everyone else is partying silly I have sobered up quickly. And I use that term, sober, gently because I don't seem to get even tipsy. I actually don't mind this because we are wine collectors and wine tastings and dinners are a big part of our life. It's nice not to feel like a total lush after just a glass or two LOL

Both of my surgeons prescribe anti nausea meds after the surgery. Vomiting is very hard on your new sleeve and can cause leaks early out.

LOL Donny...in the old days would you have thought that was a "crazy" day? heh heh

My doc is an absolutely balanced diet kind of doc. While early out you are naturally lower in carbs, they are not a requirement for me to worry about aside from totally empty ones (white bread, egg pasta etc). I eat them a bit, but prefer whole grains, which are encouraged in my program. I have asked "how many carbs" only to be told that I am not on atkins Healthy carbs is the focus, not carbs in general.

How premie were you? The sexual organs are sort of the last to develop and right before that is the internal gastric system, from the neck to the umm bottom (inside stuff). It's there earlier but not refined enough to work on it's own until the end. My son was 7 weeks premie. Delayed gastric emptying is not uncommon among babies who are premature. Most grow out of it entirely but some don't ever see relief. Sadly it's not diagnosed and these babies are considered to be extra fussy or colic'y etc. It's a very badly diagnosed syndrome. My son's issues were studied closer because he was fail to thrive and vomited as well as had horrific diarrhea and malabsorption (hence my fear of bypass). We saw some pretty high level specialists for the diagnosis. I learned later how often it's missed and often discuss this with preemie mom's who have "difficult" babies. It's also confused with reflux rather often. You have to do the test to really get to the clue (which is easy by the way...much harder when you have an infant who refuses to eat the dye LOL). But knowing if it's one or the other is key to future feeding issues...and as an adult to issues you have with food (ie pain with many types, difficulty swallowing, feeling overly full or never full). It's a bizarre syndrome and challenging to those who deal with it. So I feel for you! I can see that if they take the upper most portion of the feeding system out of wack (which happens with gastric bypass) it might actually cure you. It does make sense as the part that causes the delay is also what is worked on with bypass and not effected in sleeve. I'll be closely following your story. I hope it's a great one, whichever way they go!!

Too much sugar hun. It will make you much worse. That said, peppermint tea, sweetened with sugar free or plain, is very good for nausea. I drank a lot of it post surgery and in the hospital after both of them.