MidwestGirl

You all are really scaring me!!!!!

I'm only 6 days out, and I can already say "IT IS SO WORTH IT!" Yes I was nauseous (I didn't have it too bad compared to some) and was in pain a few times but...:001_smile: I'm already feeling much better and just thinking about the fact that in the coming months I'm going to become so much healthier and have so much more energy makes it all worth it. I figure...had I not gotten sleeved, I risked diabetes, heart disease, heart attacks just a few years down the road (and I'm 21 years old!). So the 4 days or so of pain I had to deal with is a teeny tiny price to pay. Really, don't let it make you think twice because the only regret you could have is NOT having the sleeve. As long as you have a good surgeon who you trust, I say go for it! :001_tongue: I'm really only saying all this because I felt the same way just a week ago, especially the night before & morning of surgery, but it is SO much nicer on the other side! :w00t:

I'll be thinking about you tomorrow as you get sleeved! Hope everything is uneventful & wish you a speedy recovery! See you on the other side.:001_smile:

Wow that sounds great! Right now the thought of that much working out makes me do this :001_smile: but not too far away & I will hopefully be right there with ya! Let us know how the Zumba classes go, I've been thinking about trying a class in May when I'm done with college and can get my YMCA membership.

That looks delicious! I should have some venison coming to my freezer here shortly from my button buck & in a month or two I will actually be able to eat this! :001_smile: Thanks for sharing the recipe, Tiffy!

I'm a little confused about the pre-op diet. Everything I've read says that liver fat from non-alcoholic means (NASH) can and should only be reduced by losing weight very slowly, such as 1-2 pounds/week or 5-10% of body weight over a period of months and so as not to hurt the liver.

If the pre-op is meant to empty the intestines and bowel, then I can see more of a relationship between the diet and ease of surgery.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could tell me where I can find studies on how rapid weight loss is positively correlated with a decrease in liver size for bariatric or any type of surgery. Thanks very much. I know there must be another side of the story but I can't find the data.

Thanks again!

My doctor's reasoning was not to make me lose weight quickly right before surgery but he explained it as the lack of carbohydrates in my personal pre-op diet would shrink some of the fat off of the liver. My surgery ended up only taking 35 minutes and he said I must have done well on the pre-op because they had no problems trying to get to the stomach around/over the liver. I don't know if that really helps & I know it's definitely not data, but that's what my doc said. :001_smile:

How long were you in surgery? 35 minutes!!! :w00t:

Did you have a private room post op? Yep!

How many days did you stay? Just overnight

At the worst point, how would you rate your pain? (o-10 with 0 being the least amt of pain) I would say a 9, but it didn't last very long. It was right after I got to my room from recovery & they said I had to wait before I could have any more painkillers.

What kind of pain killers did they use? Did they work? I had liquid vicodin and also some kind of IV line painkiller. They worked well!

What did you do to pass the time? (I don't like to sit for long and I will walk the hospital all day long if they let me) Slept off and on, watched a lot of tv, I walked quite a bit. I was so irritated when I got out of surgery because they made me wait 4 hours before I could walk. :001_tongue:

What did you take for entertainment? Anything? I took a book and only read about 5 pages.

How did you pack and what would you leave at home if you were to do it over again? I packed chapstick which was a lifesaver. If I did it over, I wouldn't have packed gas-x strips (just because they wouldn't let me use them), deodorant (didn't use it), and I guess that's about it. :biggrin0:

With the wind chill factor, it's been like -15 to -20 degrees all week here. :scared0:I thought maybe I was going crazy...glad to know there's a reason I'm cold besides just the weather. I used to never get cold & I'm only 4 days out! :biggrin0:

Ok. I found some Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry and Grape juice. Its amazing!! Its very low calorie and very low carb. Could this be a clear liquid?

I hope so!

I have the same cranberry juice! So nice for a change from water! :laugh0::biggrin0: Though my diet specifies limiting to 4 oz. of juice a day. Not sure why??

The one unfortunate thing I'm finding is - I'm counting the days to pre-op and trying to get in all my larger portions of candy, ice cream, Pasta and alcohol!.....

I attempted to have the lap band 2 years ago and did the exact same thing....I continued to have my last suppers for a week. Had the surgery, but they were unsuccesful in actually placing the band due to excessive scar tissue...My new surgeon claims he will have no problem with the sleeve, but you never know...

All these last meals and drinks are not what the doctor ordered, but I just can't help but feel like I need to overindulge right now.....

I know that feeling! Be careful though because I know my surgeon for one said he would NOT have done the surgery if I had gained any weight at all in the pre-op diet. Enjoy the last few days of yummies! :hurray:

I haven't started losing yet :blushing: BUT my dietitian's stipulations for choosing Protein Shakes includes that it must be less than 5g of carbs per serving. And also low sugar & low fat of course.

Woot! Congratulations on the date!

Woot! Glad you're feeling better.

By the way Shanda, thank you for mentioning theCityDoll - I really like the format of actually watching her journey.

You look AMAZING! Thank you for being an inspiration to me as I begin my journey with VSG. :001_smile:

I think it may depend more on any pre-existing conditions. For example, I had multiple EKGs, a heart ultrasound, a stress test, a 24-holter heart monitor, bloodwork, psychological evaluation, and that was about it. No sleep study because I don't have sleep apnea, and the reason for all the extra heart tests was because I have an irregular heartbeat which I had never had tested. So I think my dr.'s basic testing would probably be EKG & blood work & psych eval, unless the patient has other conditions (sleep apnea, heart condition) that warrant additional testing. :001_tt2:

Hey there! I had surgery on Monday & mine was quite the same. Since you're in the hospital, they should be able to give you some nausea medicine through your IV line, or at least they did for me. Also, ask your surgeon if he could prescribe some nausea meds for when you go home if it doesn't go away. I was fine in the hospital but then had dry heaves last night here at home. But Dr. prescribed 2 nausea meds today & it really made a difference. Hang in there! And like thin said, walk as much as you can!

Wow...called my clinic & they called in the prescription to the pharmacy...called the pharmacy and told them I had two prescriptions left on their answering machine and they were so rude about it. :001_tt1: Days like this I don't even want to get out of bed. Wish people in the real world were as nice as you all.

Didn't get in to see my surgeon today as he is in surgery all day. I talked to my nurse at the clinic & she got ahold of him and he has now prescribed me two nausea medications (I didn't have any before aside from what I got in my IV at the hospital). Stopped at the pharmacy but the prescription hasn't been called in yet. :crying: Too scared to drink anything (including my pain meds) before I take the nausea stuff because I REALLY don't want the dry heaves again. Guess it's just a waiting game. :001_tt1: Thank you all for the responses, glad to know I'm not alone! I guess I kinda came into surgery with no expectations one way or the other so it's neither better nor worse than I imagined - so good news there! The dry heaves stopped around 5 a.m. today, so I'm really happy with that, just don't want them back. And I think most of my pain now is from sleeping upright in the chair! Haha. :001_smile:

Hey all, I just got sleeved Monday and then last night (Tuesday), went to bed at 9p.m. I woke up at 12:45 a.m. and had to puke. It's now 4:30 a.m. and I've been dry heaving on and off with a little Fluid ever since. My fiance called the on-call doctor (not my surgeon) around 2a.m. and he said to make an appointment with my surgeon as soon as I can for this morning. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and knows WHY? I'm supposed to be drinking 48-64oz. of fluids and today I think I probably only got in 30 oz. because I didn't get home from the hospital until after noon. I also took about 3 gas-x strips since I got home. Also, I've been burping a lot with the dry heaves so I was wondering if maybe it's caused by the gas in my body?? I walked a lot at the hospital but not much since I got home just because it's below 0 degrees outside and we live in a small 1 bedroom apartment. I'm going to get in to see my surgeon ASAP, but was hoping someone could tell me why...and how long it lasts. :crying:

I'm on Clear Liquids & my diet plan allows me to have up to 4 oz. daily of either apple, grape, or pulpless orange juice.

I wish I could have milk & bananas right now...bet it would be yummy as a chocolate Peanut Butter banana smoothie! :001_wub:

I've been thinking about you all day & am hoping things went very smoothly! Hope to hear from you soon! :scared0:

Hey there! Thanks for all the support. I'm at home! Feeling good, other than my incision sites are still obviously tender. My surgeon said everything went great - apparently my surgery only took 35 minutes! I was in a lot of pain right after I got out of recovery, but my nurses all took good care of me! I'm sipping, sipping, sipping and walking as much as I can. I was up running around the hospital last night as soon as they let me walk. :scared0: I can't believe I'm sleeved! It's still pretty surreal. I'm enjoying broth :drool5: but I'm also looking forward to full liquids in 3 days when I can have my shakes with milk instead of Water. Thanks again for all the well wishes! They really helped me out! :lol0:

At last! It's my turn to get sleeved.:thumbup: I feel like I've waited forever!

All the support & information I've gotten from this forum over the last month & a half or so has been invaluable and I want to thank you all so much! Hopefully I'll be back soon posting info about my post-op experiences, too!

I need to be at the hospital at 5:15a.m., surgery at 7:15. I stayed up all night because I wasn't tired (and more than a little nervous!) and now I'm sleepy. :biggrin2: Probably wasn't the best idea but I figure the next two days I'll get plenty of sleep! So I hope everyone had a good holiday season & hope to see ya'll again soon...on the other side! :smile1:

And good luck to angel for tomorrow! Knock 'em dead, girl! :biggrin0:

I second Tiffy! I'm the caramel toffee fudge girl. :thumbup: I think it is AMAZING with milk. To me, it tastes kind of like one of those cappucinos you can get at convenience stores, only cold. I'm pre-op right now, so I'm not sure exactly what I'll like after, but I've tolerated several kinds. There were a few in the sample pack I wasn't crazy about, but they definitely didn't have the bad smell/texture that some of the other brands have had.