theantichick

One thing to remember is that people talk a lot more about their bad experiences than good ones. The people who have problems are more likely to be looking for support online than those who haven't. It gives a skewed perspective of the actual rates of complications. Try to look at what you are reading as informative... most of these things can be avoided if you're prepared.

I agree that frequently complications can be caused by patient non-compliance with instructions. However, just wanted to make the point that the mood swings thing seems to be because of the hormones flushing out (fat cells store estrogen and other hormones) causing a PMS-type situation for a while post-op. This will not be because someone didn't follow instructions or has a poor attitude. And some people will have very mild or no symptoms, others may be very sensitive to the hormones and have a rough time with it. I personally like being aware it can happen, so if it does I can recognize it and hopefully do things to make it better as opposed to having it hit me unawares.

There's a bunch, but this one is the most recent that's specific to VSG and has a bunch of replies. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/367169-hospital-bag-what-to-pack/?hl=%2Bovernight+%2Bbag

I'm a migrainer, so it's murder to try and stop caffeine cold turkey. I've been reducing myself down, and am at one latte in the morning, and sometimes a soda at lunch, but I'm trying to replace the soda with flavored Water. I don't know if I will be 100% off by surgery day, but I'm going to try. My surgeon's not as concerned about it as some, but I hate hospital coffee, and won't be able to drink soda, so I'll end up being without any caffeine for at least 2 days.

I have, but I'm a nurse. Of course, I was a sicko before I went to nursing school! LOL. I got a nerve block for an arthroscopic hand surgery and chatted with the surgeon all the way through watching it on the monitor. When I went in for my other hand, they didn't offer me a block and put me out. I figured the surgeon didn't want a repeat with the chatty Cathy. LOL. sent from mobile device

Mild throat pain is not unusual after anesthesia. Mouth/teeth pain really shouldn't be related to being intubated. When I was trained to intubate (Paramedic) I was warned that incorrect technique will cause you to use the teeth as a lever and could break teeth. I would speak to your doctor about it, there may be something else causing it that has nothing to do with the intubation, it's just coincidence.

I don't know what prompted this message. I don't (can't) read all of the messages on this board, because there's just too many. But in what I have read, I haven't seen much that rises to the level of ugliness and disrespect held out here, especially from the "vets". I've seen a few personal clashes between vets spill over, but I would think things like that could be handled in private messages. I fear that this message has and will continue to cost us some of our most experienced members on this board, ones who have been invaluable to me in my decision and preparing for my surgery. This saddens me, not only because I will miss their posts, but because I believe that the new people in the community will lose out. My therapist asked me why I get so worked up about My Big Fat Fabulous Life, and the Healthy at Every Size movement's message that extreme obesity can be healthy. The answer is that I get worked up because it's putting wrong information out there, and it can harm people. I was an ER nurse, and provided patient education to a wide cross section of our population, and in my experience only a very small percentage of people are educated and well-read enough to be able to tell what information they are exposed to in media, specifically the internet and social media, is incorrect. Heck, I saw a meme the other day that jokingly advised people to put sugar in their auto gas tanks to keep the gas from freezing. And a few days later, news reports about people actually doing so. So when people on TLC are advocating extreme obesity as a "healthy choice" I get upset because people will believe it. Likewise, I worry when I see topics broached on this board and advice that can be very harmful to newbies who don't have the experience or knowledge to judge the validity of the advice. Advice like there is absolutely no health concerns with e-cigarettes, or that drinking alcohol shortly after post-op is fine, or that eating solid food while still in the liquids restriction immediately post-op is just fine. I don't have the experience that some others do here, being pre-op, but I am a registered nurse, and I know that some of this information is dangerous. Yet when vets here or medically trained people like myself say - IN VERY MODERATE WAYS - that these are not really great ideas, we get trounced upon, and called bullies. Yet if we don't speak up, there will be people who will believe what they are reading that is just patently wrong. All I know is that some very straight talk from people who had been through it is what I needed, and what I found here. And some of those very same people are exiting stage left because they're tired of being called out for being "mean" and censured for that same straight talk. Bariatric surgery is a huge and permanent step, and if all we're doing is validating every opinion no matter how dangerous or ill-informed, then I fear for the same newbies that this message is trying to "protect". Instead of assuming people are coming to this board as rational adults capable of processing critical feedback, it seems that we're to assume they are all fragile souls who we can't say anything negative to. I don't find that a flattering or helpful assumption. Just my spare change, take it or leave it. No offense intended, just my opinion, and all that jazz.

I have been on sulfasalazine for my PsA, and I thought it wasn't helping all that much. However, I needed to stop it for my upcoming surgery, and I've been off for a week now. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. My pain level is escalating, and I just hope it levels off soon. While my surgeon said it was OK to take advil and tramadol as needed, I am trying to minimize how much I take pre-op. What's surprised me though is the way I feel driven to eat large quantities of crap as my pain increases. I had been working on my emotional eating with my therapist and been doing really well listening to my body and stopping when I'm full. I know this is not body hunger, but I'm having a really hard time managing it. And the crafts I would normally do (knitting, beading) aren't an option when my hands are hurting this badly. Has anyone else experienced cravings for almost binge eating due to pain? If so, how do you manage it?

NSAIDs and steroids have a problem in they affect the prostaglandin in the body, and can increase the risk of ulcers. I have auto-immune and will need to take NSAIDs and steroids intermittently for the rest of my life. I was advised that the bypass and lap-band were not options for me because there is a complete ban on NSAIDs and steroids after those procedures. While surgeons would be happiest if NSAIDs and steroids were not taken after sleeves, it is not a complete prohibition just a risk-benefit analysis. Some surgeons will say no after VSG, some will say yes, and some will say yes conditionally. It's best to discuss your needs with your medical team and come to agreement about it.

I'm looking forward to being able to wear my wedding ring again. I have a couple of inexpensive rings in roughly the same color that I use in its place. With the arthritis, my ring size changes day to day. I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring in about 6 months.

Talk to your doc. I have some marking from my knee surgery 8 years ago. My surgeon said that fair skinned people like me sometimes develop long-lasting or even permanent markings from tissue damage. But it's hard to tell from a photo, and there may be other things that could be causing it.

Would you believe that nail-painting is a new one for me? Thanks a whole heap for a new, instantaneous cliché. Keep watching over your shoulder. I do what I can ::bows::

::shudder:: I really hope for your sake it's not c. diff. If it is, is there any chance your other friends' issues are c. diff related? Because if they've got c. diff in the OR suite or the recovery suites, anyone there could have gotten it. That stuff is nasty on so many levels. (speaks the nurse who doesn't work bedside anymore, but still has nightmares about c. diff patients).

It's becoming more and more common with all surgeries as we learn more about blood clots, and get better at detecting them before they kill people. Used to be we didn't know people even had them until it was too late. So not all surgeons keep up with all the latest studies and protocols. And some have different approaches to managing it. The lovenox shots have become the standard for most surgeons. But 8 years ago when I had my knee overhaul, the surgeon only had me take 1 aspirin a day. My VSG surgeon said she used to not be as aggressive about it, until she had a patient who had a pulmonary embolism. Used to be we thought if patients were up walking around, they didn't have any real risk. Now we know even mobile patients have a significant risk. My surgeon said that they're finding that the minimally invasive surgeries are actually a higher risk than open surgeries, because the gas they pump in compresses some veins. So we'll see more and more surgeons going with the shots until we learn more about the components of risk. I have a niece (in-law) who has 2 genetic mutations that cause her to be at a super high risk for clots. Which they didn't know until she had to go to the ER for stitches in her thumb, of all things. A nurse noticed that her heart rate was really high, and called for more testing, and she ended up in the ICU with 12 inches of clots in her leg, some of which had already broken off and gone to the lungs. 10 years ago, this likely wouldn't have been caught until her autopsy. So she's really active with increasing awareness, and posts a lot of new research about it.

My BP for most of my life has been "textbook" 120/80. Over the last 6 months, I'd noticed it being high in the doctor's office, enough to need meds but not dangerous levels, but it would be lower at home. Still high, but not "super" high. (140's / 90's) So I'd been watching it but hadn't gone to see my primary. I was worried she would be against the surgery. In hindsight I should have gone to her right off the bat. She's 100% behind the surgery, and is thrilled I'm finally doing something about my weight. And she'd have been a MUCH better option for my supervised diet than the yahoo I ended up seeing. Anywhoo... when my rheumy refused to write the medical recommendation, I had to go see her at almost the 11th hour. My BP in her office was 160/110. If I hadn't gone to see her and her staff caught that very high pressure, I'd have likely gotten refused at truly the 11th hour by the anesthesiologist. I was lucky that for some reason insurance approved the surgery without her note, so there wasn't an actual delay for me. But it was a stressful month while we kept adding meds to get it under control, and I started to wonder if it was going to happen. Luckily, the 2nd round of changes to my meds did the trick. And now I'm even MORE glad I'd decided on the surgery, because I HATE the BP meds. I've been teaching patients about them for years, but experiencing the side effects is a whole 'nother thing. Anyway, be glad it's been detected before the anesthesiologist. I'd rather be delayed before the date is set than get there for the pre-op testing and have everything brought to a screeching halt. It's frustrating sometimes to find the right mix of BP meds, but trust that it will happen. Best of luck!!

No no no please! When your comments are made on a public forum it is helpful to see another view on the public forum. Other people will evaluate both and come to their own opinions. You say she is biased for working for NHS well shoot. We are all biased! You are due to your complications which do seem to me to be rare considering all I have read and seen and I am biased by not having any complications - we're all biased and trying to sort things out for ourselves. . Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I 100% agree. When I started researching, I wanted to know about the complications that have happened. I know that people who have no issues don't post as much as people who do, so it can seem skewed on a support board that there are more complications than there actually are. But having the knowledge about what can happen is hugely important to informed consent. As a nurse, I am ALL ABOUT education for patients and completely informed consent. I think there's always room for improvement in that area. And when there are surgeons or locations that seem to have more complications than are expected, I think people ought to be talking about it.

The fact that you've had anesthesia before and (I'm assuming) without complications is reassuring in and of itself. A small percentage of people have a very bad reaction to anesthesia because of an inherited condition. So if you've had successful anesthesia in the past, your risks go way down. Surgery is scary, even to those of us in the medical profession. It's a complete loss of control and placing trust in other people to take care of you. And the media plays up the rare complications and makes them seem much more common than they are. Try to relax. Easier said than done, but honestly your risks are higher on the drive to the hospital.

Or "paint your nails". LOL

It is true that the joint replacements have gotten tremendously better in the last decade. I would not recommend someone refuse replacement solely based on age. There is one aspect of knee replacements (not sure about hips, my problems have been knees so that's what I've researched) that must be kept in mind. The attachment of the artificial joint to the long bones in the leg requires that basically a hole be drilled in the center of the bone, with a post being "glued" in. Nowadays, this is actually the more common point of failure than the joint itself. If someone is very active, especially with high impact activities, this post gets "loose" and the movement causes it to eventually cause too much pain to continue, and a revision is needed, with a slightly larger post than the one before. Younger people are typically much more active than older people, so it increases the risk of needing a revision. Start too young, and you may need more revisions in your lifetime than you have bone for. However, it's just something to keep in mind, and discuss with a doc about the specifics. Improvements to the procedures are happening all the time, and the risk is much less than it was 10 years ago when I first had to start looking at the possibility in my mid-30's. I'm not trying to scare anyone out of replacements young ... if you need them, you need them. To me, it's an informed consent kind of thing. If I'd had to get a replacement in my 30's (thank goodness I had another option) I'd have wanted my doc to give me the straight story on what I could do to make the joint last as long as possible, even if that meant changing my activity choices. The surgery I did have was extensive, with an 18 month rehab. At that point I was having serious issues with normal daily activities, and couldn't exercise much at all even walking because of the pain. If my surgery hadn't been an option, I'd have had a replacement. My other knee has the same damage (congenital condition) and my doc said I would know when things were bad enough to consider surgery on that one. Luckily it isn't there yet. I'll put off surgery as long as I can cope, but the minute the pain starts impacting my quality of life, we'll find a way to fix it.

I agree with other posters here and encourage you to get professional support. There are also treatment plans available that work differently than AA if that doesn't work for you. Not knocking AA because it has saved untold numbers of lives. It just doesn't work for everyone. I found out about the Sinclair program through some sci fi circles I run in, and like to pass this along to anyone struggling with alcohol. http://www.onelittlepillmovie.com/about.html Good luck, and please get some professional support with this.

I have several types of Spanx because I've not found a lot of options (I don't shop at WalMart if I can help it) that come in 3x or larger. I would welcome the ability to try other brands. I tend to wear shapewear to stop chafing, the "chub rub", not to completely flatten out rolls. The smoothing effect is nice, especially since I tend to wear it under skirts (I'm not big on shapewear tops, they always roll up on me) but I wouldn't want something heavier just for a smoother line. I'd be just as happy if I could find a thin spandex bicycle short (especially with wide elastic lace edging) to wear under my skirts, but the ones I've found aren't plus sized. So I'm probably not the target audience, and am woefully inept at shopping for girly stuff. (Hence the handle AntiChick... LOL)

I haven't had surgery yet, but all of the women in my family have migraines, and my daughter was hospitalized with a nasty sub-type called a basilar migraine. Her neuro told us that there are things we know that trigger migraines... of course any trigger foods (for me it's nutrasweet, lots of others have triggers of aged cheese, wine, beer, chocolate, etc.) and hormone fluctuations, but also letting yourself get hungry or thirsty or if you drink caffeine not having it early enough in the day. It would stand to reason that the hormone dump could trigger more migraines, and of course not keeping properly hydrated. I don't know how much food and of what type it takes to prevent the hunger migraine, but if mine spike after surgery I'll do some experimenting with my Proteins and carbs to see if it affects it. Also, something I was not aware of that he taught us: ANY kind of headache sets up inflammation in the brain even if it's not a migraine, and so we were instructed for any day we had any kind of headache, when we went to bed that night to take a large dose of ibuprofen and as high of a dose of Benadryl as we each tolerate well. He said that helps reduce the inflammation along with sleeping that reduces inflammation and keeps a tension or sinus headache from turning into a run of several days with migraines. Of course, check with your surgeon as some don't allow NSAIDs and may have an issue with Benadryl, but they may know of something else you can take to reduce the inflammation. I had to go on prednisone for several months for my auto-immune condition, and didn't have a single migraine in that time (had been having 1-2 per week). There is a supplement we get at Vitamin Shoppe that has magnesium and feverfew and something else I can't remember in it. The brand is Quantum, can't remember the name of the product itself. He says that those two things can help prevent them, and of course there's several meds that can be prescribed to try and prevent them, but each has side effects that have to be taken into consideration. So I highly recommend finding a neurologist, preferably one who specializes in headaches, if you're having more than the occasional one. They really do have some things they can prescribe to help.