muhol88

I just had to share this. As of yesterday I am officially 100 pounds lighter from my first day of my pre-op diet on October 28, 2016.
In fact, tonight I was 367 pounds so now it's 103 pounds lost from my starting weight of 470 pounds. I am over the moon.
If anyone is on the fence about getting this surgery, let me tell you. It's the best choice I've made in years. You have to follow your doctor's advice and do what they tell you to do including what to eat and exercise. If you do that you will get results!

Thank you to everyone who answered! I just ordered it from Amazon!

I'm on day 8 of 14. It's tough but does get easier as each day passes! I just keep thinking of the many months it took me to get to this place! It's all worth it!

I feel the same way! I was also sleeved on the 29th and having difficulty getting all my liquids in. My incisions are also so sore that getting up and down is painful. Still sleeping on the recliner. So wish I could get into my bed.

I'm on day 8 of 14. It's tough but does get easier as each day passes! I just keep thinking of the many months it took me to get to this place! It's all worth it!

I'm on day 8 of 14. It's tough but does get easier as each day passes! I just keep thinking of the many months it took me to get to this place! It's all worth it!

I'm on day 8 of 14. It's tough but does get easier as each day passes! I just keep thinking of the many months it took me to get to this place! It's all worth it!

I am on day four and am so ready for this to be done! 10 more days to go. What I wouldn't give for one cracker! We must stay strong.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you! Hopefully today is a better day, I'm going to include chicken broth today and see how it goes. Hopefully my body gets used to it soon..
good luck to you too, keep in touch
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@luzR I'm right with you! I started the liquid diet today with surgery on the 29th. I have wanted to eat everything in sight, but u did good with 4 Protein Shakes, chicken broth and a ton of Water. Have felt a slight headache all day, have been told to just keep drinking fluids which should help!!! Good luck! You got this!!!

@@DivaSoBlessed so happy to see the last post from you!! I know how frustrating this whole journey is. I was just told by my surgeons office that my insurance changed from last year and now require 6 month work ups with my primary Doctor! I was on path to June surgery, now looking at September! Best of luck with your journey! Looking forward to hearing all your updates!

Today is the big day, March 7th at 1pm. I literally have these intense feelings of bliss, happiness, and a good kind of anxiousness.
I went from being completely paranoid about the anesthesia to getting over that fear. Not completely but for the most part. And I now I am just so grateful for all the support I have and all that I have learned from this forum. I feel so completely READY. The first day I came onto this site a girl wrote to me and said girl enjoy your journey and omg what amazing words.
This has been such a journey so far and I just feel endless gratitude for the good and the bad. I was literally in the hospital having a panic attack two weeks ago to hysterically crying to a friend about my biggest fears to now being so happy.
Thanks for all the support and nice words and story sharing.
See you all on the other side.

Starting at 326 lbs. last April, I could only dream of being 199 lbs. again for the last 30 years. It was a dream I never expected to come true. I'm so happy to say that I OFFICIALLY hit my goal this morning and cannot be happier with where this journey has taken me and what all it has taught me. Thanks to God, my family, doctors, friends, and nutritionists!!! Without all of them, this would have never happened or been this enjoyable of a story. Eating right and keeping a positive mind will never allow me to go back to the pain, both physically and mentally that I experienced for most of my adult life. I encourage anyone reading this that is thinking of surgery to talk with your doctor and look at its benefits. It's not the magic pill, but it is the tool to get you back in charge of your life.

Thank you for your encouragement! You are right, let the doctors figure it out since they know best! And clearly I want to be healthy for and after the surgery! My dermatologist is concerned with healing after surgery. My scarring would take a while to heal! Just the initial shock upset me, but I'm feeling better now! I would rather be safe then sorry!

I didn't know that Accutane was prescribed any more. I would definitely let your Dr's figure this out and go with their recommendations. I am not a stringent type personality, but that is one drug I wouldn't take risks with. Please remember if your surgery is delayed it is for your safety. I know it feels frustrating but rushing wouldn't be worth the risks. Please let the Dr's work together and figure out timing. Best of luck and hang in there.

After 6 months of nutrition visits, a Dr supervised diet, and a Health Insurance carrier that filed bankruptcy & shut down on Nov 30th, my new insurance company just approved me! I can't even believe it. I'm so happy, relieved, excited and so very grateful to my surgeons office staff who have been so kind & helpful. ????

Welcome and best of luck with your journey! I also am newer to this journey and I also wasn't expected it to go as quickly as it is! I'm looking at a January or February surgery date And it's almost like I can't believe it! I wish you lots of luck as you continue down this courageous path!!!

I know many pre-op patients have questions about the process. Each one of us is different but I thought I'd share my experience around the surgery and recovery in case it is beneficial to anyone preparing to undergo VSG.
Based on my BMI, my doctor put me on a one-week pre-op liquid Protein diet. This consisted of three Protein shakes a day and otherwise Clear liquids. The first couple of days were tough, but by day 3-4 my system had gotten over its carb withdrawal and I tolerated the diet fairly well. I also used this time to wean off of caffeine since my surgeon didn't allow any for 8 weeks post surgery. During the pre-op diet phase I dropped 8 pounts, from 285 to 277.
On my surgery day, I arrived at the hospital fairly early. The nursing staff prepared me (IV, gown, support stockings, etc.) and I met briefly with the surgeon and anesthesiologist. I was wheeled into the very cold operating room. Shortly thereafter I was given the IV anesthetic and was fast asleep.
I woke up in the recovery area. This was easily the most uncomfortable part of the process as I was coming out of general anesthesia, hooked up to everything and now had a wonderful (not!) urine catheter placed. As I came out of the fog, I remember trying unsuccessfully to negotiate with the nurse to remove the catheter as it was very uncomfortable. After 20-30 minutes in this area I was moved to a wheelchair (a surprisingly challenging endeavor) and was wheeled to my room.
Once in the room the PCA pump was attached. This helped greatly with my comfort level. I was also allowed to start sucking on ice chips. I did experience some gas pains but they were manageable. The nursing staff got me up to walk within a couple of hours.
My particular facility was absolutely wonderful. It is a small satellite surgery facility of a large hospital and is in the same building as the surgical practice. I think most of the patients are part of the weight loss surgery program. On my particular surgery day I think my nurse had two patients, so I was able to get as much attention as I needed.
One key item they were monitoring was my blood sugar which was running low. This was surprising as prior to surgery I was a Type-II diabetic with a normal glucose of 115-120. They gave me IV glucose a couple of times and were monitoring it closely.
I progressively felt better throughout the day and evening and walked a few more times. There wasn't much sleeping as it seemed like every 10 minutes someone was in the room to do something. The day shift nurse had been bringing me ice chips in a small medicine cup. The night shift nurse brought a large cup of them with a spoon (what an angel!)
By about 3am I was able to get myself out of bed and move to a nearby chair, managing all of the lines and connections carefully. I found that the more mobile I was the better I felt.
At 5am I was told that we needed to begin preparing for my discharge. This involved giving me a glass of ice Water which I sipped on. It also involved removal of the catheter and the surgical drain, both of which were momentarily painful. I did feel better after that though. One more walk, a visit from the surgeon and his assistant, and I was discharged a little more than 24 hours after arrival. We stopped at the downstairs pharmacy for the liquid narcotic pain medication.
At home, day 1 post-op involved mostly sleeping and relaxing. I had to sleep in a recliner for a couple of days to limit suture pain. I used the narcotic pain med a couple times that day. I began sipping and walking, encountering a little pain but nothing unbearable.
By day 2 post-op I was feeling much better. On day 2 I stopped the narcotic pain meds and switched to liquid Tylenol. I had been told I could drive as soon as I was off the narcotics, so switching to liquid Tylenol meant I wasn't tied to the house. By that evening I felt well enough to drive myself to a meeting of an organization I'm involved with. Moving slowly but without much pain, it was nice to get out a little.
I noticed I had real challenges with capacity of my new stomach for the first couple of days. It seemed like it would only hold a couple of sips or maybe a teaspoon of broth. On day 3 this got better, and by day 4 I was able to drink liquids and even broth and Soup without much restriction. I think this was the post-op swelling going down a little.
My surgery was on a Tuesday and I came home Wednesday morning. My first venture out was Thursday evening. I returned to work the following Monday without any real issues but I have a fairly sedentary office job.
I have to say that my recovery was quicker than I expected with relatively few issues and no complications. I know this isn't the rule for everyone. I think it helped that despite weight and Type-II Diabetes I was in generally good physical condition which probably made things easier.
I'm now about 10 weeks post surgery. I successfully transitioned diet from liquid to pureed to soft foods and then to regular foods. I've experienced two stalls (one early and one now). I've dropped two shirt and pant sizes and am almost ready for a third. I'm still learning how to manage my weight loss and diet while traveling extensively for business. I have yet to get locked into an aggressive exercise regimen but am trying to do so. But overall this has been a totally positive experience and a decision I am 100% happy with.

Hi everyone - I've been a member for some weeks now but have just gotten comfortable posting here and there. About me:
I am a military wife and thanks to my amazing, selfless and just all-around wonderful hubby and his military service, I have Tricare (United Healthcare Military West) insurance and I'm about to get my surgery date.
My weight gain began when I left my father's house and entered into the real world sans maids, which meant no regular healthy meals prepared on schedule every day which is how I grew up. I was 125lbs at 21 but by the time I got married in 2009 at 23, I was 201. End of that year I was 231. Between 2010 and 2012 I began Zumba and became a certified personal trainer and got down to 181 and was quite happy there until I dislocated my knee cap one day at the gym. This led to some serious weight gain and I was at 240lbs. So I decided to do Optifast through Kaiser (medically supervised) which I did and got back to 207 by June 2013. Well, around this time my knee started bugging me again so I had surgery to repair the damage from the initial dislocation. I gained 20lbs right after surgery in October 2013. My husband had just returned from his 2nd deployment and I had promised him that when he got back we could finally have a baby. I didn't know before he left that I would have surgery but a promise is a promise right? Jan 2014 I was pregnant and we welcomed our lovely daughter in September 2014. I left the hospital at 310 lbs. fast forward to now, I have gotten myself down to 282. I've been going up and down from 252 and 282 this whole year.
I decided in mid November that I would finally have the surgery. Met with Bariatrician on 12/1 - said I'm a good candidate and that after talking to Tricare reps, was informed that my 6 months on the Kaiser program from 2013 meets the insurance requirement of having a documented attempt at weight loss before approval, so I was told I needed to have one dietician visit to complete requirements. Had EKG same day. She also put in an order for pre-op labs, GI, etc. 12/2 - Met with surgeon (amazing dr!!!) and he agreed that I was a great candidate and he was especially interested to see my results as far as my knee issue. 12/3 - had psych eval and was told no red flags and that I would be recommended for surgery. 12/4 - had labs, chest X-ray and scheduled GI X-ray for 12/11. Dietician appt. is 12/8 - will receive pre and post diet instructions, information on general eating, as well as final green light to be scheduled by surgeon. Was told surgery will most likely be mid January so fingers crossed for that!
It's moving faster than I expected and I'm really excited. There's a lot of good information on the forum and I can't wait to learn more and share more. Especially looking forward to joining a monthly group once I find out my surgery date.
God bless you all on your journeys!

Welcome and good luck on your journey!
I also started out thinking for sure that I wanted the bypass. However, about 4 months into the pre-op process I realized that all of my reservations were related to the re-routing of the intestines that goes on with the bypass and not any other part of it. So, I talked to my surgeon and we agreed that I would do the sleeve instead. I felt a huge relief because I knew it was the right decision. It just somehow felt less invasive if that makes sense. I have not one single time regretted my choice. I was thinking the bypass originally because I read that you could lose more weight with it. But, I just realized that at a certain point, I had to just work hard to make up that final 10 pounds that maybe I would have lost easier with the bypass. In the end I've lost 140+ pounds so far and have been maintaining for about a year and a half. So, no regrets~!
The one thing I wish I would have done pre-op that I didn't was start working on the emotional side of things. I didn't get to be 280 pounds and in need of WLS by just liking the taste of food. I had underlying emotional eating issues that had to be dealt with. I didn't really start dealing with this until about 9 months post op, and I so wish I would have started sooner. If you have some free time I highly recommend "When food is Love" by Geneen Roth. I would have loved for someone to have shared that resource with me pre-op because it's made such a difference in my life.

welcome welcome and welcome

always room for one more
hey dude love your "handle"@@TodayItEnds
i heard that gastric bypass "re-routes" your intestines
possible malbsorption problems
don't want to go there

lapband works for many
i have heard of too many problems -ie erosion, band slippage that might occur over the years
that's why i said no thanx to lapband
many docs don't perform the lapband anymore because of possible issues
LAPPERS pllllease don't shoot me!!! i love you all
i'm just saying what i've heard and my thoughts
covering my new and improved"little" assss to say the lapband can work great for many
our "fearless" leader who started this board ( @@Alex Brecher ) has had the lap band for "about" 10 years
very successful
my biased thought - you have made a great choice with the VSG
happy you have been researching
Knowledge is Power!!
many people on the board will give great advice
info, suggestions, experiences
glad you have finally committed to having WLS
one thing about complicating surgery for 15 years
is still thinking for 15 year and 1 day!!
sleeve hopefully will give you no problems
normal side effects of possible gas, tiredness etc
most of us have been there done that
i can't imagine the fear of hospitals
maybe you've never had to go to hospital??
i am pretty sure many others are in the same boat as you
try to mentally prepare yourself for surgery
MAYBE you could even visit hospital, check things out
doc could even explain that hospital should/will be safe
no second guessing yourself if you are scared of hospitals
i have confidence that you can do this
the end result of having successful surgery
out "weighs" LOL being a little uncomfortable/scared
good luck
kathy

Just had my surgery two days ago. Welcome to the club. I feel great. Some pain but anything that is worth it is worth the pain

You'll do great! I do have Tylenol with codeine but haven't taken it yet cause I'm still in the hospital.
I had my surgery yesterday and I am nauseous now but I think it has to do with the fact that I'm not allowed to eat or drink until tomorrow. Just remember to keep pushing that pain med button and don't be afraid to tell them you feel sick! My zofran is scheduled every 6 hours but when it got really bad they gave me a suppository that worked wonders. My pain is minimal aside of my one large incision, but I make sure I'm pressing my pain med button religiously.
I never thought I'd be looking forward to sugar free jello!
And nurses really are the most wonderful people ever. I've been waited on hand and foot, I feel like I have 5 moms taking care of me!

I just had a spinal fusion done at Jefferson on 10/22. I can honestly say they were THE BEST hospital I have ever been to. They were so amazing in taking care of me. We weren't from the area so my mom and fiancé were staying at a hotel while I was there for 2 days and my mom is a freak when it comes to making sure I'm taking care of in a hospital so she usually doesn't leave my side but she was comfortable enough to do so there. They were the nicest staff and truly cared abut their patients. If anyone has the opportunity to have a surgery there. I would recommend it.

@@trm - I'm with Dr. Palazzo. Are you also going through Jefferson?