lucygoose

Hi Deb, I speak from experience - it does get better! After my complications and I went back to work I would carry some deli ham slice wrapped around a string cheese for lunch. I had to make myself eat it and could never finish half of it. Then one day I realized that I had eaten the whole thing! From then on each day was an improvement. Last night I ate about 9 shrimp and 2 deviled eggs. Hang in there! Just take one day at a time; at least try to get enough fluids in so that you dont get dehydrated and cause more problems; and let your tummy heal at it's own pace. It will decide to get with the program! Keeping you in my thoughts.

I can only speak from experience. I had my surgery in Mexico and did have complications. Severe ones. No bariatric doctor in all of Atlanta or surronding areas would see me. Period. And that was even with my hospital doctor calling and asking - REPEATEDLY. My care was provided by a doctor who is a Hospitalist who happens to be on call when you are admitted. When I went back for a 2 week checkup, he said that I did not need to come back for anymore followup. He obviously wanted to wash his hands of me too. That was scary and still is. I can certainly have my blood work done by my PCP but that is as far as that goes. I think most of us bank (literally) on the fact that complications are rare and happen to other people. And most of the time that is true. I had a wonderful experience in mexico and would recommend the surgery or doctor that I went to: but I would have a hard time recommending the location. However, I am still so thankful that I had the surgery and I feel GREAT now. But that peace of mind knowing I had the right aftercare would be priceless.

Congratualtions on your surgery date. Feb 18th will be my 48th birthday! I will be sure to send you out well wishes when I blow out the candles!

Deb, I'm so sorry you are feeling poorly. I had surgery on Dec 8 and did great until Christmas Eve. Mine was severe nausea and dry heaves. Hospitalized for 11 days. This is what the Gastroenterologist told me: In our stomaches we have a nerve called the Vegal nerve. It is a central nerve that controls everything from your stomach to your intestinal tract to your bowels. Sometimes during the healing process, this nerve becomes "disturbed". That doesnt mean that the nerve has been damaged during surgery. Mine was not. As your stomach comes together, or the healing begins to subside, etc - this nerve is affected. It can react in different ways from moderate to severe cramping, nausea, diahhrea, or in my case it actually paralyzed my entire GI tract. Yep, nothing in nothing out. Air from the 2nd endoscopy evidently triggered something to move again which landed me in the ICU for 2 days. I think everyone thought I was going to implode or something. Mind you this was from a doctor that was not very familiar with the VSG, but he does have experience with abdominal surgery patients and was highly recommended as a GI doc. Since no other Bariatric doctor would see me because I had surgery in Mexico I pretty much had to trust him. He also said that 99% of the time - even tho they are discomforting - cramps, nausea and other systems are just part of the healing process and are not major worries. This is a MAJOR surgery and healing is not complete in 3 - 5 weeks. Please try to rest and take care of yourself. I hope you feel better soon!

I was on a pretty high dose of Reglan for about 7 days while I was hospitalized with severe nausea. My doctor said that was pushing his time limit to be on it because of the side effects. Luckily, I didnt have any from using it.

Wannalise, I had surgery in MX on Dec. 8th by Dr. Alvarez. I feel like I got excellent care. It would have cost me $25,000 to have it close to home and it cost me around $10,000 to have it in MX. However, about 3 weeks out I had complications that landed me in the hospital for 11 days. (unfortunately - they do happen even when you follow all of the rules). The hospital bills so far have reached around $50,000. I am resigned to deal with those the best I can and not let it affect every aspect of my life. HOWEVER, the one thing that I wish I could change was my aftercare. I have virtually none. Even tho the hospital Dr.s called every bariatric Dr. in Atlanta - no one would see me due to legality reasons. My care is limited to my PCP and Gasterenterolgist who admit they know nothing about the sleeve. So, as far as the surgery and it's experiences in MX I would do it again. To know that I had the aftercare I needed would be priceless.

Yes Mini-Me. We are all FAB-UU-LOUS aren't we? Early this morning when I went into the restroom here at work, I looked in the huge vanity mirror and thought I even looked smaller than yesterday! haha - silly me. haha - I dont care - I am going back in there just to look again in a little bit!! I am sure many of you understand - but I think I am on such a personal high today mainly because I KNOW that I will NEVER see those 200's again and limit my life to what I had let it become. I am not sure where I read it (maybe from one of you inspirational people here) but it stands true for me as well : " The more weight I gained the less of my life I lived". Now it's time to reverse it!!!

I had 2 huge accomplishments this weekend. 1st was that my almost 30 day stall broke! 2nd was that I am in Onderland! Sunday I did a happy dance at 199 and today I did another one at 198! It has been 10 years since I could say that and then only for a couple of months before the weight came back on. I feel fantastic and can only imagine how much better I am going to feel as I continue to get healthy.

STALLS STINK!! I was sleeved on Dec 8th. By January 11, I had lost 40 pounds. (some of that was from being hospitalized for 11 days around week 3). Since January 11, I have only lost one pound! That is all in 23 days! I am getting in good calories now (at least 650 - 700), carbs in the 20's, Fat in the 20's, and Protein in the 75 - 90 range. Drinking lots of Water and doing eliptical or walking everyday. Somebody tell me what gives? For a while I was patient with the stall but everyday it gets more and more frustrating. Have I gone thru all of this ordeal for just 40 lbs? Do our bodies find a comfortable spot and decide to maintain there? I sure wish it would go back to week 2 and 3 when the scale moved even a little bit everyday. Jeez!!! I did have to go buy a few slacks this weekend and was able to go from a very tight 18 to a comfortable 16. So I guess that is an accomplishment in itself for 2 months - but the scale needs to MOVE!

WOOHOO! I broke my 3 week stall! Only by 1 pound but I broke it. Since I had gotten out of the hospital with the complicatons I bounced from 203 to 204. Today I was 202.0! I realized that I was not eating enough calories. My carb intake stays pretty close to 30. My Protein is hitting 50-65. But I'm lucky if I hit 500 calories. It seems the stuff that has the best protein doesnt have many calories. I could add a Protein Bar in there but then my carbs would skyrocket. Does anyone else have this problem ?

Thanks, For some reason my ticker will not update correctly. It should show that since surgery on Dec 8th I have lost 43 pounds.

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to give a quick update. The first of the month found me in the hospital for about 2 weeks with severe nausea and vomitting (dry heaves really). Well today - I FEEL GREAT! It is almost like that time never even happened. Of course as the hospital bills start rolling in I get a quick reminder. ugh. That's ok though. If that is what it took to start a healthy lifestyle then that is what it took and I'll just do what I have to do. I'm still trying to get use to finding the foods that work best for me but I'm learning. It may have taken me a couple of weeks of being seriously ill and LOTS of money, but I know in my heart that if I had not had the surgery, my life would have continued to be less than what I deserved because of my weight issues. I am already off 2 blood pressure meds and my sugar levels are perfect! the hubby says the snoring is minimal now:blush:. I'm still at a stall as far as weight goes but I'm not stressing about that either. Thanks for all of your support,

I had my surgery on Dec 8th by Dr. Alvarez and have posted a few times here. Today is the first time in 2 weeks that I have been able to come back because I have been hospitalized for the majority of this time. On Christmas day (almost 3 weeks after my surgery) I developed symptoms of nausea and vomitting so severe that it required 5 visits to the emergency room, 2 admissions, a couple of days in ICU, 2 cat scans, an endoscopy, 2 weeks away from work, and being sicker than I have ever been in my entire life. I can be thankful that as far as the actual surgery was concerned, all of the test showed no complications. I guess my sleeve is what it is suppose to be. I called Dr. Alvarez several times and he always returned my call promptly each time. But then again, when he is in Mexico there isnt a whole lot he can do. He did request certain meds that I relayed to my doctors. Today, I feel ok. Getting a little energy back. I HAVE to return to work tomorrow whether I feel like it or not. Eating and drinking don't feel good. Does this strange feeling ever change? I have lost about 40 pounds but if I had to tell you today I would say the cost is too high. I had my surgery in mexico because insurance would not cover it. I am sure when the medical bills start piling up it will be in excess of $30,000. As hard as my doctors tried to - not one bariatric doctor in the Atlanta area would see me becasue of liability reasons. I am under the care of an internist / nutritionalist now. I know this forum is a positive place for research and I think that is wonderful. But I do wish that some of the regular posters who have had complications would give more attention to them. Or maybe once the complications are over and we accomplish our goal of loosing weight we forget the trials? I dont know. I only pray one day I will feel "normal" again. Thanks for listening.