Jellico

I guess I am just a determined side sleeper- I was doing it in the hospital right after my surgery. It would take me a few minutes to get there but I did it...lol

Me too, but I had no drainage tube to contend with.

Felix Spiegel did my surgery here in Houston on July 28, 2009. $17,000 for everything (I think that's a little less than Dr. Davis). One night in the hospital. No complications whatever. Back to work in less than a week. Wish I'd done it sooner.

I've lost 38 pounds so far.

I don't know if all doctors use the blue dye or not - Dr. Aceves does - it's truly not bad - it's apple juice with blue vegetable dye added to it - the worst part is your tongue, lips and teeth are blue - plus anything you might spill it on is stained, too. Of course, the absolutely worse thing would be if it shows up in your drainage bag; but we don't even go there!

How does blue apple juice work the day after surgery?

I drank an ounce or two of peppermint flavored radio-opaque clear liquid and had my stomach x-rayed after I drank it.

All doctors are different and I find from my reading here that most use a drainage tube. Mine didn't. In any case, I think the tube is typically taken out a day or two after surgery.

Hey everyone!

I was just wondering if anyone's Dr used a sealant type liquid over their staple line rather than just the stapling itself? Did it help with the drainage of the wound or were you able to have the drainage sack taken out quicker? :party4:

I don't know about the sealant, but I never had a drainage tube or sack to be taken out.

Sleeved in Houston July 28 by Felix Spiegel. I'm down 27 pounds. No complaints at all. I love my sleeve.

Doctors are only human and they are all different.

I have followed people who had VSG with 6 incisions (I had 5), post op drainage tubes ( I didn't have one), staples to close their incisions (I had sutures that dissolved), oversewn staple lines (mine wasn't) and pain med pumps on their IV's (I didn't have or need one).

It's the results that count.

I hate the 'my doctor is better than your doctor' wars that goes on in boards like this.

I do too. It reminds me very much of the "helmet vs. no helmet" flame wars that I see on many bicycling forums.

I was sleeved by Dr. Felix Spiegel on July 28. Perhaps I'm an exception, but I had a little pain when I woke up and asked for some pain med to sleep the first night. After that I was virtually pain free. I didn't need to use any of the the pain med I was sent home with. I returned to my sedentary job 5 days after surgery with no issues. I did have soreness in my abs when I used those muscles, but even that disappeared in about a week. No gas pain, no nausea.

Lan2k, I was very worried about this surgery and pain issues, but now I feel silly for all the nervous energy I expended fretting about a non-problem. I'm down 22 pounds from the start of my preop diet on July 23 and couldn't be happier.

Don, your note struck a chord with me as I am also 5'11" and weighed 282 when I started my preop diet. I'm now a little over 2 weeks post op and already down 21 pounds.

I too was very apprehensive about the surgery, but now I realize that I spent all that time worrying for nothing. The surgery went smoothly and I had no complications or problems whatever. I didn't need to use any of the pain meds I was sent home with and I was back at work in four days.

Like Oregondaisy, I only wish I had done this sooner.

Best of Luck to you on your surgery.

You may be surprised, attitudefree. I have heard several people say they didn't like the taste of coffee anymore after getting the sleeve. Our tastes change a lot. My tummy can't stand anything carbonated, it really upsets it.

I was sleeved on July 28. Prior to that I the most important event of my day was that first cup of coffee. This was followed by 5-6 cups at the office before lunch. I tried a cup yesterday morning and it didn't really appeal to me. So much for that.