CrazyCatLady

Actually, Isopure is whey Protein...whey is extracted from milk. I started the day with some blended chili. I haven't tried eggs yet, based off so many here saying they had problems with them, but I may be daring later in the day and see if I can poach one up. I just want this whole surgery thing to start getting easier - I'm tired of complications! I've never regretted something so much in my entire life.

Absolutely....it's flaking everywhere! I just started using coconut oil after I shower, which has had a vast improvement....except for my poor calloused feet. My friend the RD says that this will continue until liquid and fat intake is increased.....just swell >.<

Warning: This may be TMI Ever since I had surgery, I have had diarrhea . However, this last week has taken a turn for the worst. It has evolved from painless to extremely painful! Often, it will sneak up on me in the form of gut-ripping pain, where I can feel my intestines churning and bubbling. And this goes in intervals throughout the entire day, making it very difficult to carry on with life. It makes me paranoid to go for a walk...because what if I start getting those warning pains while I am away from home, with no bathroom in sight? I usually only get a few minutes to find a restroom once the cramping starts. I am friends with a Registered Dietitian with a specialization in bariatrics, and after a long discussion of what I've been eating....it appears I may have an extreme intollerance to dairy products in any form - even the whey-based Proteins. I have been attempting to consume a variety of whey-based Protein since 3 days post op, and always with the same effect: I can consume 3 or 4 swallows and then my stomach starts to painfully churn. What I did consume sits in my stomach like a brick for a couple of hours and increases in discomfort if I attempt to drink Water or anything else before it clears. And then without fail...the gut-wrenching diarrhea. I did attempt to ingest soy protein on one occassion....similar results, in that I had a TON of gas that walking and Gas-X couldn't control. Probably will not attempt it again any time soon. Since I hit mushies, I have branched out into things like ricotta, cottage cheese, yogurt...with similar results. Dietitian says I should cut out everything even vaguely dairy related for a week and see if my symptoms improve....needless to say, I am bummed! But willing to try anything at this point to not be held hostage by my intestines! Any other recommendations are welcome

I am having the same problem with full...I can't tell when I'm even close! I'm either empty, or "Oh dear God, what have I done!" Oddly, I've only had a couple things make me slime - when I was in the hospital last week, their bariatric surgeon put me on Carafate. I would take it and immediately get the salty/tangy mouth and drool for about 5 minutes....terrible! That, and if I have any calories closer than 2 hours to when I want to lay down to sleep...up comes the slimes. I've had to learn to lay off on that, but still can't figure out the capacity thing. If you learn any tricks, let me know!

Today is my 3rd week post-op. The family wanted BBQ last night, so we all went out to my FAVORITE BBQ place here in Tucson, the Brushfire BBQ Company. This was my first time exposed to "eating out" since surgery. I haven't even been on puree a week yet, and there was nothing on the menu that I felt comfortable with attempting to eat, so I sipped on iced tea while everyone else ate ribs, wings, mac'n cheese, etc. And it was the first time since surgery that I felt ANGRY at other people for eating in front of me. Crazy, right? I couldn't sleep last night, I was up pacing and going crazy over hating the events of the evening, wishing I could rewind and not have surgery, and have been sitting at the table, eating grilled garlic bread and wings and whatnot. I let food get me fat. I have had more Pasta and wings than any human should ever conceivably in a lifetime...I ate them all in a decade instead of spacing them out, and now I must deal with the consequence. Like you, I know this is "normal", but it feels alien. I hope it passes soon.

Spasming left flank and abdominal pain is what put me in the hospital last week - turns out I have a blood clot in my portal vein. All that pain? The portal vein normally drains fluids from the intestines, abdomen, spleen and pancreas - since the blood clot is blocking between 60-70% of the vein, the Fluid that can't pass through is backing up into my abdomen and damaging my organs, causing severe pain. While I was in the hospital, IV push Dilauded was needed to control my pain level...serious heavy stuff. What sorts of diagnostics have they done on you to try to pinpoint the source of the pain? My problem was found through an oral/IV contrast-assisted CT scan. Best of luck to you!

I am one of those people that had (and am still having) complications, as mentioned in previous posts. But I want to say to you that..we humans are amazingly resiliant creatures, and that we are able to survive and even thrive through tough situations. Dr Aceves was my surgeon, and he performed my sleeve flawlessly. Ten days after surgery I began having some severe issues - and it was discovered that I have a 60-70% occlusive blood clot in my portal vein. Are there things that could have been done to prevent this? Possibly, though Dr Aceves does follow standard pre/post-op anticoagulation protocol with lovonox injections. I just had the misfortune of being one of the 0.07% to suffer this particular condition, which is a risk with any type of gastric or upper abdominal surgery. Through my rare complication discovery and subsequent week in the office, his office was supportive and kept in touch, even though they had already received their money from me Prior to surgery, I was diabetic, hypertensive....both of those conditions have totally resolved since surgery. In fact, I am now HYPOtensive! I have a young daughter who has Aspergers, so like you, I certainly had to take into account the how/why behind this surgery and how I got to the point of needing to pay someone to cut my stomach out in order to make positive changes. In the end, only you can make the choice whether to go through with this surgery or not. None of us can make this decision for you. I am an RN, I spoke extensively with bariatric patients over the years and was well aware of the possible outcomes - heck, I worked for a bariatric surgeon for a short period of time, teaching pre-op classes! But even with the knowledge of what could go bad, I knew that this was my last-ditch effort to finally lose this weight before it killed me. I finally decided that I would rather die on the OR table, attempting to finally effect positive change in my life, than to have my family find me dead in bed a few years from now. Or worse. Educating yourself and taking good care of yourself (emotional/physically/spiritually) are the best ways to prepare and work towards reducing complications. Try not to dwell too much on "what if". If you have more questions, feel free to PM me.

I just got home from a week long stay in the hospital with complications partially relating to my gastric sleeve surgery. Emotionally and physically, this has been a trying week. I went around and around in my head many times...would I have still developed this clot at another time at another surgery, or just this one? Am I very fortunate, or am I being taught a lesson? I came home from the hospital with more questions than answers. I have this clot inside me, mentally it feels like a ticking time bomb. Rationally I know that the Warfarin is doing it's job and that the clot was shown to be stable....but that little nagging part of me still worries. One of the worst parts of this whole ordeal is the side effects. Because I have this large clot partially obstructing my portal vein, blood backs up behind the clot and into the areas that the portal vein normally drains. This has resulted in very substantial fluids in my abdomen and near-constant pain at my left flank area, where my spleen is under backflow pressure. Before I left the hospital, the consulting surgeon went out of his way to make sure I realized that my spleen still may die or need to be removed within the next few months, if the increased blood pressure to the spleen continues and it becomes damaged or infarcts. This would mean more surgery and hospital stays. I have regained scale weight because of all the fluid retention, leaving my current weight at 289lbs. My surgery day weight was 296, and I was 277 on my hospital admission 04/27. This is....frustrating. It may be many months before I am able to lose all the excess abdominal fluid. Here's the awkward part - I can tell I've lost weight off my hips, as my pants fit better....except for the waistbands, which I can hardly button due to the extra fluids. My waist is currently LARGER than it was preop, I've had to return to using yoga pants. I feel like an over-full water balloon. I want to say a word of caution - knowledge of your procedure and it's limits is going to be your most important ally should you need to be hospitalized post-op. When I was in the ER this past friday night, the ER doc wanted me to do an abdominal-pelvic CT scan with oral contrast. For those not familiar - the patients needs to consume about 12oz of contrast fluid within a certain period of time in order for the film to highlight the abdominal contents correctly. When I informed the MD that it might take me a little bit to get the contrast in, he became impatient and told the nurse "Just put an NG tube in her and push in the contrast if she won't drink it". Once again...for those not familiar: a Nasal Gastric (NG) tube is just like it sounds: A tube inserted through your nose and run down into your stomach for the purpose of inserting or draining of stomach liquids. I had to really advocate for myself - this MD was not familiar with the sleeve at all and thought I had a Lap Band and was simply refusing to drink the amount required of me. It took many stern reminders to get him to understand that I had a tiny stomach space with both sphincters intact - you can't just SHOVE fluid into it! Also, throughout my hospital stay, getting things I could consume from the kitchen was an ordeal. They would send me trays with ginger ale, coffee, cranberry cocktail with HFCS, milk....and this was after I had explicitly told the kitchen and the staff many, many times - no carbonation, no milk products (I'm lactose intolerant now), no sugar (tummy doesn't deal well with it now)....if not for my husband, there would have been problems. I sent him out daily for things that I could actually consume. Sad statement of affairs. I thought I finally got a doc to listen to me...and he switched me to a regular diet! Imagine my chagrin at the turkey sandwich, salad, baked beans and chocolate cake that were brought to me! Just 4 short weeks ago...but I digress. Be aware that medical staff is not out to harm you, they just don't know any better. You are now a sleeve ambassador! On the bright side, I started mushies yesterday. Darling husband brought me some very pureed refried beans from the local mexican place....heavenly! I can get down a couple Tbsp, no gas or issues, seems to sit nicely. Tried some strained cheese soup today, results not nearly as good. Still touch and go. It is frustrating to realize that Monday is my 3rd week post-op...and I'm still feeling tired and like I can't seem to fit in with the world yet. I hope this changes soon.

Worse yet - sometimes your tastes don't change, but what your sleeve is willing to tolerate changes...I'm so glad I only purchased samples!

I'm another one that had their PCP dump them...but mine just dumped me over getting bariatric surgery period, not over going to Mexico...she called it "barbaric surgery". Awesome. The big thing, no matter which surgeon you go to and what country they practice out of...do your research. Ask those questions. Be confident in your choice...it's easier to combat superstition when you are armed with facts At the risk of sounding like a JG Wentworth commercial, I have side with Mews here...."It's your money...use it when you need it!". I'm pretty confident that you can withdraw from your 401k for medical expenditure over X amount. I have had patients come through my practice in the past year who had done just that for medical bills. May want to check with a CPA, they're usually have a pretty good knowledge base on such things. Good luck either way!

If I listed all the ones that I HAVEN'T been able to tolerate....holy moley, this would be a long list! So far, things I can tolerate (and when I say that, I mean palatable to taste and tolerated by sleeve...most do one but not the other): Syntha-6 chocolate Dymatize Chocolate Mint

A lot comes down to surgical technique, and why the drain is left in place. Some doctors use a drain for a secondary leak testing technique involving methylblue or another orally injestable method of testing for surgical line leaks. Realistically, a drain is not something you can simply "ask" your surgeon not to use, as I have seen come up many times in posts over the last several weeks. Penrose and JP (Jackson Pratt) drains are placed for the patient's well being, protection and healing. Realistically, the body can only reabsorb around 30ml of excess Fluid from surgical sites/abcesses/etc a day...this amount varies from patient to patient. If the surgical line along your new stomach is creating a higher fluid excess than your body can safely handle, placing a drain at the time of surgical close-up is the current standard-of-practice taught by the majority of highly ranked surgeons, both in bariatrics and otherwise. Without a drain (when one should really be used), the patient risks increase changes of abcess, seroma, etc... I had a Penrose drain placed in my upper left abdominal quadrant during my sleeve surgery. I drained about 60-90cc per day that it was in, and hurt like a mofo! Once it came out...immediate relief. My particular surgeon utelized a drain for the two above mentioned purposes: To channel away surgical drainage excess, and for the purpose of checking for leakage of stomach contents with oral methylblue on the 1st day post-op. It was very gratifying to NOT see blue show up in my little drain pouch, let me tell you! YES, they are uncomfortable - but a nesesary evil. If you have more questions about specific drain types and their care, feel free to PM me (Wound Care RN - I'll break it down in plain language, this is what I do for a living )

So I did contact my Dr's office...the response was to walk more, try to get some gas out, and let them know if I spike a fever, start vomiting or develop sharp/severe abdominal pain. I made a concerted effort to get in as many fluids as I could yesterday through this am, and still can only hit 1.5liters. Much more than that and the nausea evolves from nagging to threatening. Better luck today. If I can't bump it up in the next couple hours, I'll head over to the ER for some fluids and eval.

I wish I would have thought to write on here before. It would have been nice to look back at pre-op. But what is done, is done. I was sleeved on Monday, April 16 2012 by Dr Alberto Aceves in Mexicali MX. Surgery was uneventful. The first couple of days post op were normal - some gas, a blown peripheral IV...normal things. I was released to home on Thursday, April 19th....I drove myself the 4+ hours back home. Since I have been home...each day, I have felt progressively worse - physically and mentally. Today I feel like I am at my bottom. I ache all over, from neck, through my abdomen, all the way to my hips. For the first time since surgery, I have nausea. It gets better when sitting, worse when standing and almost unstoppable when walking. My first two days home, I could walk a mile without issue (I'm a nurse - I spend my entire day walking, one mile is normally insignificant.) Today...I could barely manage to make it to the soup aisle in the supermarket and back to the car without total fatigue and agony. I have a tightness behind my sternum that never seems to go away. To top it - my stomach feels like it is on the LEFT side of my upper abdomen, and it is freaking me out. The left side of my abdomen continues as firm and tender to palpation since surgery, with minimal reduction. I can't tell if these things are normal, or if I am just being paranoid/psycho patient. I have been able to consume around 1 liter of fluids daily, and minimal protein. Every shake or supplement I have attempted has ended up with me curled up in bed, in agony. It feels like a lead weight in my chest and stays that way for 2 or 3 hours after consumption. I've tried watering it down, making it hot, cold, tepid...no dairy, no chocolate, unflavored...you name it. This is the worst decision I have ever made. I don't know how I'll live through it. Rationally, I know why I did it. I am 31, and 2 months ago I was diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease. I am a Type 2 diabetic. I have exercise-induced asthma, I am (was) hypertensive. I had tried and failed diets for almost 15 years. I had to do something. But right now, sitting here crying over a bottle of sugar free Propel that I just can't seem to get down...I feel lost.

I would like to add a thought from our dear friends at Wikipedia: "A liquid diet is also used as a torture technique." Amen. A friend of mine who is a 2 year RNY post-op said to me: "No one enjoys the liquid diet...they simply survive it. If they're lucky."

I am now 9 days post op and have been experiencing something odd. I used to be able to feel my stomach as "central" in my abdomen - just under my breastbone and southward. If I drank something cold on an empty stomach, I could feel it trace all the way straight down from my esophagus. Since surgery, I have had persistent soreness (no pain - normal for post-op, I know) only in my left upper abdominal quadrant. Also, I can feel my sleeve...on my left. Almost directly under my left breast, down by a handsbreadth. When I drink, I can feel the Fluid go straight down my esophagus, then jog over to the left and congregate in my sleeve. Has anyone else experienced this? I am tempted to ask my surgeon, but don't want to be a paranoid patient, lol!

I had a friend that got stuck in a very, very long vehicle line trying to get back across the border at Tijuana - they ended up getting out of the van and using the pedestrian lane, then taking a cab to the airport so she could make her flight on time. God forbid that should happen to you...but where there's a will, there's a way!

Can I say a big factor being ignored here is comorbidities and their effect on post-op healing???? The majority of us (I won't say all - I am constantly amazed with the stories of folks getting bariatric surgery with less than BMI of 30 and no weight-related diseases...but that's the nurse in me talking ), had this surgery because we were either A) Very seriously obese, Had very serious weight-related diseases (diabetes, sleep apnea, degenerative bone changes, etc), or C) All of the above. It's a dirty thing that us fluffy folks don't like to talk about, but simply being overweight (let alone obese...or beyond) compromises our body's natural healing process in relation to surgery - especially the major invasive kinds. We become slower to heal, have higher infection rates, and significantly higher rates of things like dehissance, necrosis of tissue along surgical lines, leaks along surgical lines and generalized surgical complications. Let's then add further to that with the influence of the before-mentioned comorbidities: Diabetes slows wound healing and increases the risk of post-op complications. Sleep Apnea: ditto. I could go more into the "how" and "why"...but I don't want to go into a 3-page ramble So even with the PERFECT surgeon, the PERFECT surgical technique, the PERFECT nursing care, PERFECT patient post-op compliance....we are at higher risk for issues, simply put....because we are sick and fat. Which is why we invested in this life-saving procedure in the first place, right? I don't want anyone to think I am trying to deter people from surgery - far from it. I just believe that everyone should be well-educated before going under the knife.

I actually ended up quitting my job just before I was sleeved. Because about the time I decided I was really ready to take care of myself, I decided I deserved better than to spend the majority of my waking hours with an employer that undervalued me as an employee and as a person. It's been the best decision I ever made. Once I start feeling well enough to job hunt (hopefully this time next week, heh heh), I have the feeling I'll be more selective about where and with whom I work with.

I went to Mexico for my sleeve for a multitude of reasons. My insurance has complete and total exclusion on bariatrics of any type. I knew I would have to be self pay. When I started researching options, the only surgeons that were in my reach financially within the US were either very inexperienced or had shady reputations...and their prices did not include meds, or a variety of other fees. Additionally, I wanted my surgeon to have had many years of experience specifically with the sleeve. I found through my research that I was able to find a varied selection of Mexican surgeons that had this experience, as other countries (on aggregate) have been doing stand-alone sleeves longer than US surgeons. That is not to say that this is true for ALL US surgeons (don't flame me!), but it is distressing to see the number of US surgeons who have done a dozen or less sleeves being touted as "experienced". For me, it came down to being realistic about availability of funds combined with the surgical experience I was looking for. I had my sleeve surgery in a hospital staffed exclusively with BSN prepared RNs, with a nurse to patient ratio of 3:1. That is nearly unheard of in the US. My surgeon and his team visited me personally several times a day, both before and after my surgery. This is also virtually unheard of in the US. As a wound care nurse, I get to deal with a lot of post-op wrecks as far as bad surgical techniques, poor closures, etc. The fact that my doc did not 1, but 3 leak tests (one in the OR, a methylblue first day post op and fluorscopy 2nd day post op), and that I could only find a couple US surgeons that did the same (and they were both WAY out of my price/distance range) made a big difference to me. Being a Registered Nurse makes me a bit more than simply an "educated consumer" - I am intimately acquainted with the other side of the nurse's station, and how the politics in US hospitals and nursing can be a detriment to the patient. I know that going to Mexico may seem a little crazy. But it comes down to comfort and research. I had very strict standards that I wanted in both my surgeon and hospital facility - I was unable to find these standards in the US, so I looked elsewhere. Medical Tourism is a growing industry - can I tell you that I felt more pampered as a surgical patient abroad than I ever have when going to the local spa, a place that is supposed to be designed for pampering?? lol There are many, many stories on this board of why people have made the decision to leave country for surgery - whether to go to Mexico, India, or beyond. If you have further questions, feel free to PM me ~Asche, The Crazy Cat Lady

My mother is famous (infamous!) for saying: "Change comes from inspiration or desperation....so, which one are you?" I hated that phrase as a kid. Now I use it frequently.

Even with checking for leaks at immediate post-op, leaks can still develop due to a multitude of factors: Over eating/drinking (stretching the pouch and causing hairline leaks along suture line), necrosis of stomach tissue along surgery line, failure to properly heal....any time you have a long staple/suture/surgical line, you have these risks. Be vigilant.

Tomorrow I will be a full week post-op. As a wound care nurse, I was overly pleased that my wounds are pretty much totally healed - yay! Still a little soreness at the lap keyhole where my penrose drain was, but nothing too bad. In many ways, my recovery has gone beautifully. I was able to lean over and pick things off the floor at 4 days post op, can walk pretty well (though I'm slow), drove home 5 hours on 3rd post-op day. On the other hand....my sleeve is a tempermental tyrant (we call him Cthulu Jr.). He won't tolerate plain Water in any form - tepid, warm, cold - I get terrible cramping and bubbles, often resulting in that gut-wrenching kind of gas. My sense of smell has become hypersensitive - on the drive home, my husband opened a bag of Doritos in the car and it felt like my stomach was going to come up through my nose. It's been the only time I had really terrible nausea. My doc has me on clears until 10 days post op, and I've yet to make my Fluid goal of 60 oz a day yet - I'm lucky to hit 30oz. Even watered down, anything with sugar gives me terrible cramping diarrhea - apple juice, white grape juice, clear VitaminWater. I have attempted liquid Protein twice (once with Isopuke, once with Nectar), both times with extreme discomfort. I had 3 sips over 30 minutes, and then it sat in my abdomen like a lead weight for nearly 2 hours. Chest felt tight and I generally felt unwell. WTF? This has been such a change for me. In the past, I was the master of my stomach....even if it said "I'm full!", I would just shove more food into it! Now, I am at the mercy of this tiny abdominal tyrant who gurgles and churns constantly. It's like when my daughter was an infant, before I figured out what her different cries meant and they all sounded the same....is it hungry? Is it full? is it angry?? I can't tell! The worst is those gurgles that I have learned to identify as "Oh my God, find a bathroom...high-speed liquids coming through!". Ugh! It starts bubbling at my low abdomen and progresses in one long, writhing motion up to my esophagus...and I've got about 90 seconds to find a toilet. Sorry, probably TMI. I thought I was prepared for post-op - heck, I've taught bariatric classes! But I feel like a n00b. ~Asche, The Crazy Cat Lady

I had a bariatric patient at my last job who recommended a Protein called "About Time". It is 100% whey protein with no artificial sweeteners of any type - uses natural Stevia for sweetness. http://www.tryabouttime.com/ I have tasted one flavor, Birthday Cake, and it was pretty decent. Their website offers samples, or you can order single-use bottles off of LuckyVitamin.com to try all the flavors Hope this helps, Asche, The Crazy Cat Lady

My surgery was on Monday (April 16), and when I was released from the hospital on Thursday morning, I drove the 5 hours home to Tucson. It was doable, but man was I tired and cranky when I got home. In summary: doable, but YMMV.