firelle

:-)

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OK, OTR, how did you record my clicks?

Ladies, if you put "ladies only", "TMI", "No men allowed" or anything of that nature in the title, you are assuring that every man on te forum will click on your thread FIRST.

This train wreck has gone way beyond derailed!

It's kinda like a train wreck. You know you shouldn't even look, but you do anyhow.

Since the "ONE post" thing keeps getting brought up as a negative thing for some reason.... I guess I'd have to ask what other posts you guys think the OP should have made before this, and why? It's not like they're interested in Protein shake reviews, or want to ask questions or post recipe ideas for crying out loud.
When I did a google search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy", this forum is the second search result after a medical encyclopedia definition page. This forum is huge and states that it's the #1 place to talk about this surgery.
Now I may be jumping out on a limb here, but this seems to be the perfect place for someone to be who wants to get their sister's story heard. The OP came here, made an account, and posted their sister's story. That only takes 1 post to accomplish.

I'm sorry to hear about your sister. I can't imagine how difficult and scary it's been for her and your whole family. Thanks for sharing her story, and I'm glad you did. I know surgery has its risks, but it's easy to look at a piece of paper that lists the risks, and not really think about it too deeply. It's easy for me to just think about the end result of being thin and healthy, and never give a second thought to any complications that might happen. Your sister's story definitely forced me to get my head out of the clouds. While I am still going the route of surgery, I appreciate you making a serious complication very real for me, and wish your sister and family the best.
You certainly don't sound like an idiot or "mentally challenged" to me, you sound like someone who loves her sister very much and has endured a lot of pain and scares, and wants other people to know her story. I'm sorry the other poster didn't see things that way and had to resort to name calling.

Same here. I was excited to get some ideas on what to tell my nearly 3 year old, or if she should see me in the hospital post-op. I know I would want her, but worry that she might get really scared seeing mommy laying there with all the machines around her and on her.
I thought iggy had a good idea. With my daughter being so young, if something did happen, how much would she remember of me when she's older? At least she would have a heartfelt letter to hold onto.

And now my kids are on school holidays and going back in a week and a bit.
I've told them I've made new school bags out of my left over stomach, because I don't like waste.

I fail to see where Iggy has been a bully at all.
Yes, she has an opinion of the surgery that is tainted by her experience, but I believe all our experiences have influenced our opinions.
Yes, she posts her views often. There is nothing keeping anybody from posting about their experiences right along side of hers.
Really, the only limitations placed on these type of posts are basic common courtesy. Things like don't personally attack each other & don't be offensive just to get a reaction. I will admit, I am a bit partial to Iggy, partially because I was here to witness the hardship she went through, and see how level headed & non judgmental she remained as she was going hrough the whole ordeal. And really, if I would have gone through 1/2 of what she did, I'd be telling anybody that even considered WLS that it's the worst decision they could make.
Fortunately for me, my experience was quite the opposite, as is true for most of he people here. The overwhelming majority of us have had great experiences, it's not Iggy's fault if we don't say it enough.
I come here and support people in their decisions. As do most people that are more than a couple months post op.
I ask of everybody, if you believe this forum has an overbearing dark feeling to it, bring in some light. Tell your good stories. If someone tells of a bad experience, put yourself in their shoes for a minute, and ask yourself how you would act if you had their experience. Attacking someone for posting advice based on their bad experience is not going to make this a better place, it will simply push more people away.
Here is another thing to consider. This forum needs people like Iggy. Without her, or other people like her, what would we have? A forum full of positivity? Absolutely not. We'd have a site that anybody coming here would think s a contrived promotional tool. Showing the good & the bad together is a big part of what lends validity to our little community here.
I truly hope we can all just accept each other for who we are, and let go of whatever animosity we might be holding within.
This is a great place to come to, and it will continue to be.

You seem to be contradicting yourself here. You say Frank has every right to his opinion regardless of how few posts he has, but the OP needs to be discredited because he/she only has one post. There is a word for that...oh yeah...hypocritical. And you...who just joined what....4 days ago??? Telling us how much you think you know about Iggy and her intentions. You don't know squat. You weren't around when she was posting daily from intensive care.

I'l give you the short version Starting BMI of barely 35. No comorbidities, no complicating factors (I'd had anesthesia and knew it wasn't an issue, just an allergy to morphine which of course isn't rare). High pain tolerance, healthy for a fat chick No family history to worry about, The anesthesiologist and doc were joking about a tennis date the week after surgery with me. I was supposed to be their poster child for an easy recovery and weight loss Didn't turn out that way.
Massive bleed during surgery, they didn't transfer me to a hospital though, kept me at the surgery center all night and the next day (I don't know how long, over 24 hours is all I know) where I experienced constant seizures due to blood loss and the mass of blood in my gut. Likely that either masked the leak or caused it but who knows. Finally taken to a hospital and left two days later only to return off and on, much as you read about this case, while the docs blamed it on the blood and didn't feel a leak test was necessary. I had ALL the symptoms, but no one would do the test. So finally my plural sac was crushing my lungs due to the Fluid build up from the infection due to the leak...that no one would detect, and my lungs became the focus not the leak because they couldn't keep them drained. Multiple procedures to drain the lungs finally allowed for discovery of the leak, which was then so far gone (damaged tissue) that they couldn't repair with traditional methods. In the mean time the PICC caused blood clots, the drains caused issues with my lungs....you are a nurse, you probably know how it all snowballs
Aprox five weeks after my first surgery I had my second to install an experimental treatment called a claw. It has a high failure rate, but when your tissue is badly damaged it's the best option so they installed that. I was lucky and it held. But I faced the loss of my stomach if it didn't because once that tissue is damaged, it's tough to put it back together.
I was bedridden about 60 days. In hospital three weeks or so, give or take. Several ER visits, half a million bucks ya da ya da. So this story does not sound far fetched to me. Had I stayed with my original doc and local hospital I might have been in the same boat. They tried to send me home too.
It's hard to be an advocate when you are near death. Even a nurse must understand that there are times when a patient just can't be their best advocate (not speaking of you but of the other nursing commenting). You have to see folks who are normally rational human beings who get so beat down they just can't think or communicate their needs don't you? It's easy to say you'd be tough...but only if you haven't been there.
I have lost weight But it wasn't worth the risk and what it did to my family. This story sounds believable because I lived it to some degree. I feel bad this person was so beat up they never came back to post again. They might have seen that there is some good to this surgery if they hadn't been so beaten up. Do I recommend it? NOt often! But I can see where it makes sense.

Haha, I love that not only did you decide to have beer right after surgery, but that the hospital cafeteria served it!

Just a thought...this person had a different experience and is sharing it, much as others on this forum do and I'm reading from your comment you feel that should be allowed right? She didn't come back...sheesh would you when you are attacked with such vigor?
If you are in doubt, that's ok of course, but wouldn't it be better, just in case you are wrong, to keep that to yourself and just move along to the next thread verses beating up someone who felt the need to share their story? You might be wrong, which then makes your comments extremely dismissive and hurtful to the person who posted their story. If others could do the same than this type of story would not incite such animosity. Much of the frustration expressed is at those who said such hurtful things to someone who potentially was suffering. I don't think you want to be that kind of person do you?

Since the "ONE post" thing keeps getting brought up as a negative thing for some reason.... I guess I'd have to ask what other posts you guys think the OP should have made before this, and why? It's not like they're interested in Protein shake reviews, or want to ask questions or post recipe ideas for crying out loud.
When I did a google search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy", this forum is the second search result after a medical encyclopedia definition page. This forum is huge and states that it's the #1 place to talk about this surgery.
Now I may be jumping out on a limb here, but this seems to be the perfect place for someone to be who wants to get their sister's story heard. The OP came here, made an account, and posted their sister's story. That only takes 1 post to accomplish.

Since the "ONE post" thing keeps getting brought up as a negative thing for some reason.... I guess I'd have to ask what other posts you guys think the OP should have made before this, and why? It's not like they're interested in Protein shake reviews, or want to ask questions or post recipe ideas for crying out loud.
When I did a google search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy", this forum is the second search result after a medical encyclopedia definition page. This forum is huge and states that it's the #1 place to talk about this surgery.
Now I may be jumping out on a limb here, but this seems to be the perfect place for someone to be who wants to get their sister's story heard. The OP came here, made an account, and posted their sister's story. That only takes 1 post to accomplish.

I just got approved today - took less than a week. But I expected that with a 51 BMI. This year has been super difficult for me and my family. My husband got hit by a drunk driver in May and I got laid off from a job I had for 20 years in November. Hoping this surgery is the first hopeful thing to happen of many for 2013! Then job hunting with a vengeance!

Everybodies opinions are subjective.
I love VSG - because it seems like I'm getting a great outcome.
The OP hates it with a passion. I can understand why she does, and so would I if I'd walked in her shoes. I'm happy for anyone to post their subjective opinion on VST - I do it every day!
As for the verasity of the story. Who knows? But how about giving someone the benefit of the doubt, you may just have verbally slayed someone who has had a rough experience.
And everybody reading between the lines of the original post - I am a Detective (not a virtual one ) and there's nothing, NOTHING, in the original post that would tell you weather it's fact or fiction.
So have a heart!
Deano

Since the "ONE post" thing keeps getting brought up as a negative thing for some reason.... I guess I'd have to ask what other posts you guys think the OP should have made before this, and why? It's not like they're interested in Protein shake reviews, or want to ask questions or post recipe ideas for crying out loud.
When I did a google search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy", this forum is the second search result after a medical encyclopedia definition page. This forum is huge and states that it's the #1 place to talk about this surgery.
Now I may be jumping out on a limb here, but this seems to be the perfect place for someone to be who wants to get their sister's story heard. The OP came here, made an account, and posted their sister's story. That only takes 1 post to accomplish.

Since the "ONE post" thing keeps getting brought up as a negative thing for some reason.... I guess I'd have to ask what other posts you guys think the OP should have made before this, and why? It's not like they're interested in Protein shake reviews, or want to ask questions or post recipe ideas for crying out loud.
When I did a google search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy", this forum is the second search result after a medical encyclopedia definition page. This forum is huge and states that it's the #1 place to talk about this surgery.
Now I may be jumping out on a limb here, but this seems to be the perfect place for someone to be who wants to get their sister's story heard. The OP came here, made an account, and posted their sister's story. That only takes 1 post to accomplish.

Haha, I love that not only did you decide to have beer right after surgery, but that the hospital cafeteria served it!

And if this was the reaction one would get to their first impassioned post, passion rightly earned by the way, would you want to post again? I totally understand if she's scared to do so. The reactions were kind of cruel.
While people say the story does not sound true, they show their lack of education in regards to this surgery. I had many of the same issues and many others here have as well. The complications due to lack of attention are just what I had, though not as bad. I lived the mini version so when I read this I totally can see where it makes sense. And believe me, while complications were discussed, no one told me the ugly reality of what that could be. NO ONE. When they say internal bleeding, they don't say you could lay there having seizures for hours without being able to communicate your pain. Nor do they say if you do have bleeding you now have to worry about hepatitis. No one mentioned holes in my lungs, or suction pipes attached to my chest. They gloss over "loss of your ability to eat ever again" pretty well in the paper work And then throw in a "but that's mostly a worry for the higher BMI folks" to put you at ease.
No one wants to hear the dirty side of this surgery. But it is important to hear it in detail, verses to see a few lines on a sheet they throw at you just before you go in. An intelligent adult will read this and process this and add it to their risk assessment without taking offense and passing out insults. Others will do something else. Who do you want to be?

Since the "ONE post" thing keeps getting brought up as a negative thing for some reason.... I guess I'd have to ask what other posts you guys think the OP should have made before this, and why? It's not like they're interested in Protein shake reviews, or want to ask questions or post recipe ideas for crying out loud.
When I did a google search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy", this forum is the second search result after a medical encyclopedia definition page. This forum is huge and states that it's the #1 place to talk about this surgery.
Now I may be jumping out on a limb here, but this seems to be the perfect place for someone to be who wants to get their sister's story heard. The OP came here, made an account, and posted their sister's story. That only takes 1 post to accomplish.