fencepost

I was sleeved 3 years ago. I've lost 176 lbs. I could never have done it without the sleeve but the surgery alone won't get you there, expect to work at it when the rapid loss stops. Working out & getting on Weight watchers helps me keep going. I'm still trying to lose to get to my ideal weight.

High, I'm KayKay's husband. I just joined the forum yesterday. See my initial post where I tell my story under the name Fencepost. I encourage you not to give up. If this is important and you really want this ask God for him to provide a way for you. We will pray that he will help you. Insurance companies are changing what they will cover every day now. I just saw on a video that my insurance company has started covering the sleeve. It didn't cover mine because of a company exclusion for all weight loss surgeries, but that might not be the case for you. Job's change, situations change. Who knows how your answer might come, but don't give up. Our proyers will be with you.

I'm the husband KayKay is referring to. I joined the forum yesterday. I found the pain level and the recovery pretty bad even comparing to my experience having heart surgery. It's definitely not a walk in the park. After getting out of recovery however the story is much different. I am feeling much better much quicker than my previous experience. Laparoscopic has a lot advantage when it comes to the speed of recovery. I still have had to maintain my use of the pain medications up until this point but my need is diminishing. I had some complications I believe that may have contributed to my pain issues. One, I had my gallbladder out at the same time. Two, the took me off a medicine called baclofen which I take for a urological condition. It's basically a type of muscle relaxant. You are not supposed to ever get off that medication suddenly but to taper off and to taper onto it. I had aches all over my body, back, arms, stomach, legs etc. It seems when I got home and got back on that medication a lot of those issues went away. It's just a caution for others, you know your medicines sometimes better than the doctors, and you have to hammer home to them that these issues exist or they might let something like this slip through the cracks. I believe that I will be off pain meds. and back to work in another week as I had planned. I was off for months with Heart surgery. My energy levels post surgery are much better than they were then also. I'm very hopeful for what the future brings from this procedure.

I'm the infamous missing husband KayKay is referring to. I had the same concerns about the diet leading up to the surgery, but I guess all went well for me to. I lost 18 lbs. the last 2 weeks. I was supposed to do mostly shakes but I just did those some times and tried to be careful and avoid all fatty foods. I understand the purpose is to make sure the liver loses it's slick fat exterior so it is easier to move out of the way during the surgery. I'm now on the back side having had surgery 6 day's ago. The diet after is much harder than the one before They have me on clear liquids 50 oz. 1 week, full liquids 60 oz for 2 weeks then soft baritric for 3 weeks. It's going to be a long time until I will see real solid food again.

I did some testing and came to the conclusion that my headaches have multiple sources but one of them is definitely caffeine withdrawal. I decided not to take the my pain medicine but simply have a cup of caffeinated tea. My headache diminished some, but did not go away leading me to the conclusion that caffeine was part of the problem. I am now trying having just a minimal amount of caffeine until my system get's over the withdrawal. I also think part of my problem was simply a hunger headache similar to when I have fasted in the past. I don't think I was properly managing the amount of Protein I was taking and started making sure that I got a minimum of 40 grams of protein supplement each day. Before the surgery I was taking Sudafed for sinus problems. I have a lot of allergies from mold here in the Dallas area. I discontinued it along with all medications except what the doctor told me to take when I left the hospital. My wife spoke to our pharmacist and found out that Sudafed could be crushed even though it's a small red coated pill. Warning: it was coated for a reason, it taste terrible. I think taking a little of that also has helped some. I am still taking my pain med. but it seems I have been able to reduce the frequency. One additional thing, the liquid mixture they gave me to take for pain includes both Tylenol and Hydrocodone. For that reason I am avoiding taking the liquid Tylenol I purchased prior to the surgery. I know there are a lot of warnings out there about the danger of over medicating with Tylenol causing liver damage. So just a warning, read the information about your medication so you don't end up getting two sources of Tylenol without knowing it.

I had my surgery on the 28th the day before yours and my experience is similar. My doctor's nurse practitioner warned us about the pain in the left shoulder. Apparently the lung on the left side has more room for gas to rise around it than the right. This gas in not in your intestinal system but is residual gas from them injecting gas in your abdomen to make room for the surgeon to do his laparoscopic procedure and is common for any type of surgery like that. GasX and such have nothing to do with this type of Gas, only walking will help get this out of your system. I had a severe pain the second day in the hospital that I would have thought was a heart attack if I hadn't been warned. It went away but since getting home I have had some recurance but not so severe. I guess eventually all that excess gas will go away. I think as some of the swelling in my adomen has gone down probably there was some more gas escaping from somewhere and making it's way to my upper shoulder.

I think a good porkchop would fix my problem, but cause others. I'm the husband in question.

This is a story about not giving up on your hope for change. If God is with you,who can be against you. Four years ago I tried to have the RNY. During the process of getting my medical approvals my Cardiologist found out I needed another type of bypass and I ended up having a Quadruple Heart Bypass operation instead. Fortunatly I had just lost 25 lbs. and was walking every day preparing for the RNY. I believe because I was trying to get healthy it ended up saving my life. The checks I had already written for the RNY surgery were returned to me. I was not to eager to have surgery again right away, nor could I until I completed my Cardiac rehab. I attempted to lose the weight using other methods, I worked out and attended Weight Watcher meetings. I ended up losing 10 % of my joining weight. I did not however maintain my loss, which is typical of my weight loss experience, trouble maintaining over the long haul. So earlier this year in October I attempted to go back to my original surgeon. After discussion with him and much research I settled on the Gastric Sleeve. I called Aetna and found out they would cover the RNY but not the sleeve. I still was hoping to have the sleeve. In the insurance investigation by the surgeons office it was discovered that my company had a specific exclusion for weight loss surgery of any kind. I no longer had the money to pay cash as I had 4 years ago. My hopes were dashed. I gave up on weight loss and started putting on weight. I would try again but my heart was not in it. Then later this year in the summer we had a financial miracle. A farm property was sold and the money was sufficient for me to have the VSG I had always wanted. In addition I was able to have a troublesome Galbladder removed at the same time. On July 28th 2009 I had the VSG & the Galbladder operation. I am now 4 days out and doing extremely well. God is truly faithful and I give him all the glory. I believe despite my failures in losing weight God's grace toward me allowed me to have this surgery. I am so thankful for this tool he has given me to lose the weight I need to. I am under no deception that this won't require hard work and faithfulness to the purpose, but that it will assist me in more closely following the Lord's perfect will for my life. Thank you Jesus that you are always faithful even when we are not. I would encourage you if you have a similar story not to give up, but go to God, keep on asking, keep seeking. VSG July 28th 2009 James A. Davidson M.D. Forest Park Medical Center Dallas, Texas