MidwestGirl

I'm not sure on the more leaks thing, but my surgeon told me I needed to quit smoking a least 8 weeks before surgery or they wouldn't operate. I've smoked for 5 years & quit cold turkey on August 23rd of this year. :001_tongue: Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy | VSG | Weight Loss Surgery | Mexico | Ready4Achange Says smoking following surgery can cause serious complications. Not sure how valid the site is or what the complications would be... Vertical sleeve gastrectomy - MMCI This one also says cigarette smoking means a slower recovery & can cause complications. Anyway, his reasoning for me to quit smoking (besides that it's bad lol) is that healing can take longer afterwards for non-smokers. Not sure why this is.

Hi there! I actually had my EKG quite early in the process because during my visit with the nurse, she noticed I had an irregular heartbeat. So I saw my general physician for my annual appointment & got an EKG as well. She freaked out when she saw the results (and freaked me out too) and got me into the cardiologist for the NEXT day. She also told me there was no way I would get to have the surgery. At this point I was quite upset. I saw the cardiologist the next day, they did another EKG. After seeing those results, the cardiologist ordered more tests. I did a stress test, a heart sonogram, and a 24 hour holter monitor. Saw the cardiologist a couple weeks later, he told me I had Premature Ventricular Contractions - basically the bottom chamber of my heart pumps too often and so it doesn't always get a chance to completely fill up with blood before it pumps it out. This is actually a quite common heart problem (so they tell me). However, I have about 14,000 PVCs a day, so my heart isn't ALWAYS irregular. My cardiologist said he's seen patients with 70,000 a day - I can only imagine! He put me on a beta blocker just to protect my heart during surgery, but completely cleared me & wants to see me back in a year. He says it's probably been with me my whole life. Sorry this was a bit long, but I know how frustrated and upset I was when my family doctor told me it was definitely a no-go (though she was never supportive of WLS in the first place...), and I hope I can help so someone else doesn't have to feel that same way! :lol0: So not a deal breaker for me! :party4: Good luck & let us know what you hear back!

Funny, I shrunk at my surgeon's office too! :bananajump: I always thought I was 5'7...apparently I'm 5'6. :scared0:

Oh wow...Why do I always do that? I always SAY 178 when I MEAN 278...I wish, lol! :scared0: I'm silly. I'll edit it. :bananajump:

I'm also pre-op. I was 283 or 284 when I went to my first appointment. The last one I went to (which was 2 months ago), I was 278 with a heavy sweatshirt on. I haven't weighed since then (I'm a college student 2 hours from my clinic, so I don't get to go very often! Having surgery over winter break), but I'll have my next appointment this coming Thursday & we will see what I am now. :bananajump: My goal is to get down to 140, which would put me at 22.6 BMI, in the healthy range. That's my goal, but if I'm happy before then, who knows! Last time I was even CLOSE was at 170 and then I was in some size 14s and happy with myself, but I want to be as healthy as I can, so we will see. So, I understand where you're coming from! I'm hoping to lose a whole-sized-person's worth of weight too. We can do it! :lol0:

Well, I'm pre-surgery right now, too. But, I can't WAIT to get rid of my stomach! I never want to see it again. I'm just curious, but why are you worried about with not having it anymore/What made you worried about possibly needing it again later on in life? :bananajump:

Woot! Congrats! :bananajump: And thanks for being an inspiration! Can't wait to join you one day in ONEDERLAND!

Good luck to all of those having surgery this week! :bananajump: Looking forward to hearing how you're all doing!

Hi! Welcome. Congrats on your decision! I'm also waiting on my surgery date & my date is exactly one week before yours. Looking forward to going on this awesome journey with you! :bananajump:

I totally agree! :biggrin0: Can't wait to do that!

Hi there! I live in Iowa. :biggrin0: (It's SO cold right now!) Just curious, where were you originally planning to have surgery? My surgeon is in Davenport, Dr. Christophersen. Stay warm!!!

Woot! Congrats! :drool: Glad to hear everything went well & hope to hear more about your journey along the way. :lol0:

1) I want to be healthy! I want to be able to do things other people my age do. 2) I want to be able to go jeans shopping and not have a nervous breakdown in the dressing room. 3) I want to be able to buy clothes wherever the heck I want and not have to go to the plus size stores. 4) I want to be able to buy cute lingerie! :lol0: 5) I want to be able to run around with my nieces & nephews (and hopefully my own kids someday) and not be winded after 5 minutes. 6) I want to give my boyfriend a REASON to think I'm sexy. :drool: 7) I want to turn heads for a reason *other* than my size. 8) I want to be able to wear a swimsuit and not feel like everyone's staring at me, for once in my life. 9) I want to be able to sit *comfortably* in an airplane seat. 10) I want to be able to go to the gym and not make everyone wonder what the heck the fat girl is doing. 11) I want to have a clothing choice other than a) a t-shirt or an ugly plus-size shirt. I'm sure there are more, but those are the main ones! Hahaha.

I think that advice will come in handy! I may need to find a nightgown... :biggrin0:

Hi Hannah! Welcome & good luck tomorrow. We'll be thinking of ya! :biggrin0: Looking forward to hearing about your progress!

Congrats! :thumbup: I just got my date about two weeks ago (Jan. 4) and it's so crazy...before it was scheduled it was almost like "Yeah, I wanna do this, but who knows" but now it's a reality! Isn't it a great feeling?! :biggrin0:

Thanks so much, Tiffykins!

Hi angel! I'm new here, too. My op date is January 4th! It'll be fun to have someone so close in surgery dates if you ever need someone to talk with.

Hello all, My name's Randi, I'm new here. I'll be having my VSG op on January 4th! I'm excited & nervous, but reading some of the posts you all have made gives me encouragement. :thumbup1: I would love to find someone who's been through it all an could help guide me on my WLS journey! I use Skype, I check my email constantly, and have unlimited text messaging. If any of you out there would be willing to help, it would be much appreciated! I look forward to getting to know everyone on here and I hope by doing so I can be even more successful. :thumbup: Thanks! Randi

I'm 21! My VSG is scheduled for January 4th, and I'm so excited, but very nervous as well. It's really encouraging to see how successful all of you have been, and I just hope the same for myself!