docbree

Deep cleansing breaths.... Put the other thing out of your head right now. She is probably worried and can't express it in a helpful way.
Take care of yourself

I know what you mean. I feel the same, but lifes too short for regrets.
Who knows what affect being overweight or obese has had on us. Maybe we have more empathy, maybe we're stronger, maybe it's why we never give up.
I don't regret being obese. It's part of what I'm made of - I'm just glad my future isn't as a fat dude!
Deano

The rapid heartbeat thing is concerning and has nothing to do with food textures. Personally...I didn't push hard enough for a barium swallow (leak test of choice). Given how long this has gone on, and the weakness (which I had in spades) I would call back and not ask, but insist on one. It's an inexpensive and easy test to rule out a major problem. My leak was small...so it took a while to really damage me. But mine was there from the start. You started to experience symptoms in the highest risk window as well so it really should be ruled out.

I have been grateful for the horror stories. I am in the process of losing 17# to be approved for the sleeve. They do scare me and I think I should be scared. This is a life changing surgery with risks that need to be considered. If someone out in the real world has an opinion to have the surgery because they watched someone they love come close to death...I would say I'm so sorry, try and comfort them, and move on with my surgery based off the reasons I have decided to have it.
It's crazy to me that we would treat people different here because we are anonymous.
I feel after surgery I will be that much more vigilant to watch out for scary symptoms because of these posts.
Thanks to all of you who post your stories...good and bad. They are all helpful!

Awwwwww....I always love your post. You are so witty u make me laugh always but this time I smiled and just thought she's a lucky woman.

We went to The Hobbit over the holidays. I had to get up in the middle to go to the bathroom and saw this chick sitting next to the friend of my granddaughter, Emily, who was visiting us. This intruder was sexy looking with high-heels, black leather jacket, tight pants, and I wondered why she was sitting right next to Emily when there was so much room elsewhere in the near empty theater. I was about to get mean when I realized.... it was my wife. I walked away with my red face.
We went to an unbelieveably crowded outlet center in Orlando yesterday. A number of times I lost her and had a hard time picking her out of the crowd.
She has lost over 100 pounds in a year, looks and feels good, and my brain hasn't caught up with her rapid descent.
I am so proud of her, she made this happen.

Of course my first pregancy i was just 14 and i had no idea. My mom would scrub and scrub but of course to no avail. I still remember the humiliation of feeling "dirty". Im sad that people live under that misconception because it sticks with u long after the pigmentation fades. : (

Let me be VERY clear on something. The darkening on the skin we are experiencing IS NOT dirt. That is either an ignorant comment from an uneducated person, or someone who has been EXTREMELY poorly informed. It has to do with Insulin Resistance and the insulin leaking out of our bodies. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the TRUE cause of this very embarrassing, hygiene UNrelated issue. Please read below or take time to do your own research on Acanthosis nigricans. I myself have found very positive information regarding this unsightly issue, with regards to weight loss and overall fading of the problem areas.
Acanthosis nigricans is a brown to black, poorly defined, velvety hyperpigmentation of the skin. It is usually found in body folds,[1] such as the posterior and lateral folds of the neck, the axilla, groin, umbilicus, forehead, and other areas. (In other words..your neck, armpits, groin (inner thighs), near the belly button, and forehead)
It typically occurs in individuals younger than age 40, may be genetically inherited, and is associated with obesity or endocrinopathies, such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, acromegaly, polycystic ovary disease, insulin-resistant diabetes, or Cushing's disease.
The most common cause of acanthosis nigricans is insulin resistance, which leads to increased circulating insulin levels. Insulin spillover into the skin results in its abnormal increase in growth (hyperplasia of the skin).

:lol:

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.

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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

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?

They said "In the month after her May surgery" but did not state which May, nor that it was last year, etc. Why on earth would people decide that was this May? Those would not be the "facts" it would actually be supposition, and an incorrect one at that.

While you may strongly disagree with the OP, there is no need to resort to name calling. The name caller is the one put in an unfavorable light, and it is against the forum policies.

Im sorry for your sister... but your "scare tatic" should be to warn people to research the Docs they choose... what happened to your sister sounds like Malpratice to me... I hope you got a good attorney.
People that make this choice usualy do TONS of searching for the right Docs, the right Hospitals. It sounds like your sister made a bad choice and is now paying for it... THAT is the message you should be telling people about.

I looked at your before and after pictures in your profile.
Maybe she means "sick" in a colloquial sense, like "sick-good"...otherwise suggest to your friend a support group.
Here's one that seems appropriate:
I Have Bad Eyesight
Personal Stories, Advice, and Support from 200 Members

OMG I can't thank you enough! I cancelled my surgery after joining this site. Most posts are negative and ready to call in the lawyers. After your post I will reconsider.

I'm glad someone finally said what I've been thinking. I have learned to avoid any posts by the negative certain people. I agree, there isn't enough inspiration on these forums, I understand the risks and have enough fear and worry on my own without the constant postings to remind me. Thanks for posting your story its encouraging to read stories like yours!

Dr Davidson is amazing!! Intelligent, caring person and skilled surgeon!
I thank every day that I met him and chose him to help save my life!
His nurse Gayle is super sweet and helpful and gives so much of herself.
I love him and his team!!!

Mine was not coved either. Talked with the hubby, he asked how much would it cost for us to pay. He stated, "We could do that". Now I'm post-op. Definately got the secondary insurance. I drive a 12 year old Jeep, instead of replacing it soon, we invested in me. I'll be the sportscar!