travelchick

Hey everyone, This thread has been such an inspiration for me! Before surgery, I could barely fathom 30 lbs. off in a month. It's the incredible story I told my friends about what was possible with VSG. Now, I'm 24 days out from surgery and 22 lbs. down! I'm especially shocked since I started at 210 with a height of 5'1". That's a huge percentage of my total body weight GONE, and I'm thrilled!

Hey there, Awesome Augusts! This is my first time to check in after my surgery on Aug. 31. I'm doing really well. I'm already in ONEderland with just over 10 lbs. lost! I awoke in recovery to learn that my spleen was removed. Not 100% sure why this happened, but apparently my surgeon knicked something and I was losing quite a bit of blood. His options were then removing my spleen laparoscopically or opening me up Frankenstein-style. I'm fine with the spleen removal. I'll just need a couple immunizations. Now I'm without a gallbladder and a spleen. Are there any other unnecessary organs they can take out? I spent one night in the hospital, as planned, and loved the hourly morphine. I had no trouble making up for the blood I had lost in surgery and was walking the halls right away. Since Tuesday I've been recuperating in my comfy couch nest in front of the TV. My doctor didn't have a specific Clear liquids phase, just full liquids for 3 weeks. I am loving popsicles more than anything! The flavor gets rid of the nasty hydrocodone taste, and they are just fun to eat! I'll see the doctor on Tuesday and then fly back home to Atlanta that night. Work on Wednesday will be tough! Luckily I have the kind of job where I sit on my butt, and no one will notice if I put my head down for a few minutes.

Hey, Awesome Augusts, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel coming. Just a little over 5 days until my surgery. I found out that my doctor has post-op instructions a little different from what I've been reading about here. Apparently I don't need to be on just clear liquids at all. I can go straight into full liquids, but then I need to stay on them for 3-4 weeks. His office also says I'll be able to swallow all of my pills with no problem. Does this sound crazy to anybody?

Hey, Ms. Hart38, This could be crucial information -- 9/1/09 is next TUESDAY, not Monday! I know because my sleeve surgery is scheduled for Monday, August 31. Whatever you decide on, I hope it goes well. travelchick

Have you guys tried Jolly Time 100 Calorie Healthy Pop Kettle Corn? It is my absolute favorite, and guilt free! It's endorsed by Weight Watchers and is only 1 point for an entire bag. They come in slightly smaller bags than regular microwave popcorn. Also, it's kettle corn, so it has just a touch of Splenda sweetness.

I recommend eating sugar free candy very sparingly. When I have more than one or two pieces at a time, I get terrible, uncontrollable, embarrassing gas.

Hey everybody, I know there are diabetics out there, so hopefully you'll check this forum! My surgery date is in less than 2 weeks (hooray!), and I'm curious how quickly you've seen improvement in your levels after surgery, and how long until you were able to throw those pills away! Currently, I'm on Metformin and Glipizide, as well as Lisinopril for hypertension. My surgeon's nurse says I'll be able to swallow all my pills without a problem after surgery. Has this been your experience? It seems to be contradictory to the liquids only philosophy. At least I know I can split the pills into smaller chunks. My surgeon is located in another state from where I live, so I won't have regular follow-up appointments with him. How often do you guys think I should see my PCP to check my stats? Is 3 months post-op too late? I realize my speed in weight loss may be a factor in this. travelchick

It's so comforting to know so many of you have found success with VSG after a band complication or failure. After getting some family help in addition to my own money in order to pay for my band, I'm not thrilled to buy a whole other surgery. However, I can't think of a better investment than my health. A monthly payment to Care Credit will be tough, but worth it. travelchick

I'm happy to answer any questions. You can also read about my story in the threads at the top of the forum titled something like "Excited to join the VSG club." I am originally from Houston, and my dad is an orthodontist there. He knows an excellent circle of all kinds of doctors, and it turns out he's old friends with Dr. Philip Leggett, an excellent laparoscopic surgeon who's done many, many bariatric surgeries. This made my selection of a surgeon easy, and Dr. Leggett shows care and concern for me just as if I was his own daughter. In fact, he did the Lap-band surgery on his own daughter just a week after he did mine. Travelling back to Houston, along with getting off work, was a hassle with my lap-band, but I hoped that would become less frequent with time. When I thought my band was too tight (turns out it had slipped, but we didn't know that yet) I even made a special trip to Houston for a bit of an unfill. A week later, I still wasn't able to keep stuff down and was vomiting about 10-15 times a day, pretty much after any bite or swallow of food or drink. That's when I knew I'd better go to the emergency room. I had read on LapBandTalk about people instructing ER docs on how to stick the syringe in and take out Fluid, and I thought I could do this. When I got in there, they did the X-ray and knew that surgery was necessary. Funny side story about my day at the ER. I had discovered that I could sometimes keep fluids down if they were slightly slushy and frozen, perhaps because that forced me to drink more slowly. At lunchtime, I went through the Dairy Queen drive-thru and got a blue raspberry flavored Arctic Freeze. I tried drinking it on the drive back to work, but actually had to pull the car over so I could throw up in the bushes. When I got to work and told my friends what had happened, we decided I'd go to the ER. Of course, my lips and tongue were a lovely shade of blue from the drink! I had to assure all the nurses and doctors, upon first seeing me, that my mouth was blue from a drink and not some bizarre medical condition! Anyway, I had emergency lap-band removal surgery (laparascopically) and spent two nights in the hospital. I was home recovering and being depressed about my WLS surgery being suddenly reversed for the next week or so. Then I talked to Dr. Leggett about the vertical sleeve. I decided to keep my same doctor in Houston because I trust him. He personally called me while I was in the hospital after my unexpected band removal. He cares about my health. I don't believe it was his fault that my band slipped. I'm also stoked that VSG won't require regular fills or follow-up appointments like my band did. I'll make one trip to Houston, have surgery, recover with the comforts and TLC of home, have my 1-week follow-up, and then fly back to Atlanta. travelchick

Hello everybody, I'll be getting my VSG in exactly three weeks on Aug. 31 in Houston, although I live in Atlanta. I'm very optimistic that this procedure will be longer lasting and easier to manage than my Lap-Band, which had to be removed three months ago. I lost about 50 lbs in 15 months with the band, but something went very wrong in those last couple of months. I could hardly keep any food down, occasionally even vomiting into a napkin at the table. Nothing is more embarrassing and disgusting! I thought I just had horrible acid reflux, but meds never seemed to help. It got worse when I couldn't even keep liquids down and was notieably dehydrated. Losing 8 lbs. in one week was also a big clue. I went to the emergency room three months ago anticipating getting all of the Fluid in the band removed. It didn't quite work out that way. They took an X-ray and discovered my band had slipped and that my stomach was herniating through my band. They were worried about necrosis, as they couldn't hear the normal stomach sounds through the stethoscope. I had to go into emergency surgery within hours to remove the band. I had been self-pay, so I asked that my doctor take that into consideration when they got in there to see what was going on. Well, he just took it out. I was extremely depressed for the next week, feeling like I was right back where I started. I have type II diabetes and hypertension, and my mother died at 45 with these same conditions. Doing nothing special about my weight and health was simply not an option! Finally I spoke with my original surgeon in Houston, who told me about VSG. I went online to do the research and started feeling hopeful again. My surgeon's office also told me about Care Credit, so I can make monthly payments over 5 years to pay for my VSG. Clearing the time off with work was the last obstacle. It's finally happening Aug. 31st. I'm thrilled! travelchick

Hey August sleevers, I'll be joning the club August 31 in Houston, but I live in Atlanta. I got a Lap-Band in Feb. 2008 and had severe slippage that resulted in emergency removal in May 2009. It's been terrible since then, and I've gained back so much weight. Thank goodness I'll be back on track with the sleeve in just 3 weeks time! travelchick

Looking for inspiration to get exercising again, I had the brilliant idea of combining it what what I love most -- travel. Today I decided to run the Crescent City Classic 10K in New Orleans on Easter weekend. I already had a gift certificate for a few complimentary hotel nights, so this fits in nicely. I have only done one 10K ever before, the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, and training for that years ago was also motivating. Here's to another successful experience!

Before the band, did you dread cramming into a tight airplane seat? Or did you avoid being seen in a bathing suit? Has all of that changed since losing weight? I'm researching an article for travelgirl magazine, and I'm hoping you can help me inspire people to consider the surgery to enrich their lives. Maybe you've even celebrated your weight loss success with a dream vacation or running the Paris marathon? Please share your story. I might like to interview you for my article. Cheers, Leslie (aka travelchick)

Hi luluc, Cool. New Zealand is such an adventure capital. Is that a place you would have considered going at your heavier weight? Or would your activities have been different? I'm curious...now that you've lost the weight and a bit of your daredevil attitude, have your dreams or priorities changed? With health and fitness achieved, is there another area of life that you're more inspired to tackle? Cheers, Leslie

That's really fantastic, Jessica! It sounds like just the sort of thing I was hoping to write about. Do you mind if I interview you over email or phone for my article? Please send me a private email at lswiedom@yahoo.com with your email address and/or phone number.