theantichick

Aug 17 sent from mobile device

For exercise, nothing beats getting in the swimming pool. There are people who say a Water aerobics class is a joke, and they're wrong. Don't know if you have that option, but I had to rehab after my cartilage replacement surgery for 18 months, and I'd have died if I hadn't found a 24-hr Fitness where I could water walk, swim, and go to water aerobics. It's my plan for after surgery (as soon as I'm cleared) as well, at least until I get my cardio up to a reasonable level and get some of the weight off my knees.

Never heard of it. But would certainly try it. I find Spanx too thick of a material and too hot. Though that may change after surgery.

Most things in life aren't fun. I just got put on BP meds. I've been teaching patients about them for years, but going through the side effects myself isn't fun. I don't want to be on these the rest of my life. I don't want to become diabetic. I want my PsA meds to have a chance to work and decrease my joint pain so I can go back to knitting and dancing and all the things I want to do. I so much want to be around to spoil my grandchildren who aren't even passing thoughts yet. Now that I have a date, it's feeling a lot more real and I'm starting to have second thoughts. But the stuff I just listed is what's keeping me on the path. I'm not really living my life right now, and while I don't think weight loss is a magic cure (or that surgery is the magic bullet for that weight loss) I know for a fact that a lot of my obstacles to living my life how I want will at least get a lot smaller as I do. Hang in there!! And yes, from everything I've researched and the experience of the lovely people here, we will at some point be able to eat anything we want, just smaller amounts. And what we want can change.

Omg, I do that already. It's going to get worse? sent from mobile device

There are some things that have to be observed in sterile/clean areas, but I worked in an ICU that allowed visits by a dog (wasn't a service animal) provided they had up to date shots, a recent vet visit, and professional grooming the day of or the day before they came in. So there should be some mechanisms, you'll just have to find out the details.

Don't do it!! Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App If I were in that situation, I'd either get friends to go with to eat the rest of the pie, or give it to a homeless person. That is, if I were sure I could stop with one piece.

Oh, and another post just reminded me... if we don't stop caffeine well before the surgery, we're bound to get withdrawal headaches.

@@TracyBar - hang around here and read as much as you can. I'm hardly an expert, since I haven't been through it yet. But there are recurring themes to the "please help!" posts. As a past ER nurse and paramedic, if the only health problem I had was the VSG, I probably wouldn't wear a bracelet, but I would put a card in my wallet with my ID that had bright red edges and said EMERGENCY MEDICAL INFORMATION and had the "no blind NG, no NSAID" info printed on it along with emergency contact info. Anatomically speaking, the blind NG won't be nearly as much of an issue with the sleeve as it would be with a bypass or lap band. And that's not something that's needed immediately in an emergency situation. It's highly unlikely anyone would be putting in a blind NG or giving NSAID's before someone had pulled your ID out. If they are, then they're doing CPR and an NG is the least of your worries. Something like a drug allergy is much more important for medical personnel to have immediately. I have to wear a bracelet for my many health problems and drug information, so I'll just have this added to the record. Let's see... the things I've seen recurring on the board that I've made note of: There's all the post-op "what can I eat" and "I can't keep fluids down" posts - get your doc to pre-emptively prescribe Zofran. And then there's the advice to be deadly serious about getting your fluids and Protein in - most common reason for ER visits post-op appear to be dehydration, and protein is needed for healing. There's the "don't take as much stuff as you think you need to the hospital" posts. Lip balm, computer/tablet/phone, and gas-X strips seem to be the only consistent advice. There's the "don't buy cases of protein stuff beforehand, because your tastes are very likely to change". I've gotten a variety of stuff to try pre-op, and will likely keep a variety stock for after. There's the tons of posts about constipation, and apparently some surgeons don't want you taking certain meds for it post-op, so definitely get instructions for dealing with that from your doc. The change in diet apparently does you in, plus pain meds are notorious for causing it. There's the "I'm crying all the time and regretting this surgery" for about a week or two post-op. The vets say by and large this is due to the massive hormone dump. Fat cells store estrogen along with a bunch of other hormones, and as you lose the fat cells, these hormones dump into your system and it seems to create a PMS-type of situation for a while after. Then there's the stalls that appear to happen periodically through the weight loss period, so we should be prepared for that. And of course, all of the advice on how to not break the bank staying clothed as you go through sizes like crazy. I think that's the major ones.

It does go by quickly, especially with all of the appointments needed during the time. I know back in April when I started this in earnest, I thought August was SO FAR AWAY. Now I have my surgeon appointment tomorrow, pre-op diet starting in a week, and am 3 weeks away from THE DAY.

I don't think there is a "too critical" when it comes to your health. Working with an international office is going to have challenges, so it may not be possible to be *as* comfortable as you would be with someone close to you, but you still need to have confidence that you will get excellent care and the support you need in order to be successful. I wouldn't be able to proceed with surgery if I didn't have that.

Mine appears to have been approved in a matter of days. I still hadn't gotten the release from my primary doc when the surgeon's office submitted, mainly to see if there was anything else insurance was going to require. The approval came without the primary's note (which she was happy to give, once we got my new high BP down with meds). The funny thing was, I got a letter from the insurance company the day before they called with approval, saying the request had been made and they'd asked for more info from the surgeon. Then several days after the approval, I got a letter confirming the approval. I think insurance companies need to quit using postal mail, as things have many times changed by the time you get a letter.

Yep, for me it took 20 years and 2 marriages to complete losers to be in a place in myself that I could find and recognize this guy as the gold mine he is. All mine needed to hear was that I would likely be able to lose the CPAP and my pain with my auto-immune arthritis is very likely to improve, and he was on board but had a few concerns about the risks. Talked those through with him, and his only question was "how soon can you do it?" He appreciates the warnings about the hormone dump that has the potential to turn me into a fire-breathing dragon for a while after the surgery, but says it will be worth it if I end up healthier.

I think you can put whichever you want. Lots of people lose weight during the process of the supervised diet and all, so not every pound lost you see on profiles is from only the surgery.

If you're crafty and can't knit or crochet because of the injury, a knitting loom might be an option. Also, how about addictive computer games that only need a mouse?

My hubby was all for it as well, once I reassured him about the safety of the procedure. He doesn't give one whit about my weight as far as how I look, he thinks I'm beautiful regardless. He knows my weight and other health issues are keeping me from being able to do the things I want to do, and he'd love for us to be more active. He also wants to make sure I'm around a really really long time with him. I'm so lucky to have my guy... he's happy to change the foods that are brought into the house so I don't have to struggle as much with temptation, and he does most of the cooking and is willing to try new recipes and whatever I need. He figures it'll mean a healthier diet for all of us, which is a good thing. I wish everyone could have this kind of support.

Things that have helped my joint pain - I found Naproxen (Aleve) to be better than Advil, but am allergic to Naproxen. As such, I haven't investigated whether Naproxen is better for sleevers than Advil, I don't know how the ulcer risk compares. There was an even better NSAID on the market OTC for years called ketoprofen (brand name was Orudis). I have heard that it can be gotten with a prescription, but I don't know if the risk for ulcers is the same as, or higher than, Advil. Maybe talk to your doc about it as a possibility. They also tried me on Celebrex, which didn't help me but many people get a LOT of relief from that. Tramadol is just a mild narcotic, so whether it helps or not depends a lot on what kind of joint pain, and how your system processes it. For me, it's more effective than Vicodin or other similar "harder" narcotics. I take it a couple of times a month when my pain is too bad to sleep. My rheumatologist is thrilled that it works so well for me, because everyone's so nervous about Vicodin and such now. Ice is my friend for my knees. I found the best ice packs that are big, and hold the cold for long periods of time. Don't know if they're there anymore, but I found them on the bottom shelf in the first aid section of Walmart. I ace-wrap them to my knees in the evenings when I need to. I also bought an ice massage mold which is awesome for when I have twisted a knee and have an acute injury to deal with. Interestingly, my joints that hurt from the auto-immune arthritis like heat more - my feet and hands, so I sometimes even have heating pads on my feet at the same time I have ice on my knees... I'm a mess. I also use a BioFreeze gel that helps when I can't use my ice packs. The other thing that helped, and I still don't believe it, is the Tommy Copper sleeve. It has a slight compression, but not enough (I would think) to be significant. My medical/scientific brain refuses to believe that it's actually because of the copper in the weave. But it really did help when I was working ER and on my feet 12 hours straight. Generally, a higher compression wrap gives me a lot of relief, but I have a hellish time getting them to stay put, and when they migrate on my leg I end up having circulation cut off. Some people get a lot of relief from tumeric, I didn't. However, I've been told I should take it raw instead of capsules, and was told to find a recipe for "golden milk" and start drinking that at least daily, and multiple times a day if it helps. I haven't tried it yet. Some people also get relief from glucosamine/chondroitin ... I didn't notice any change at all. Generally, anything you can do to reduce inflammation in your overall body should help at least a little with joint pain. Also, depending on what is wrong with your knees (osteoarthritis vs. inflammatory arthritis), I know MANY people who have had SIGNIFICANT improvements with Synvisc or similar injections. I have a friend who has successfully delayed a replacement for over 6 years with injections about every year. The longer you can put off knee replacement, the fewer revisions you'll need in your lifetime. Hope at least some of this helps. As I haven't had my surgery yet, I can't report back on where in the weight loss I got the most joint relief, but medically speaking more weight off is better for the joints even if you don't notice much relief.

Your instructions will depend on your surgeon. For me, since I have auto immune arthritis, it's a risk my surgeon and I deem acceptable for NSAIDs as well as steroids. The sleeve is the best surgery for me because of that. Some surgeons say no, but it's not a complete contraindication like for the bypass or the band. But there is an increased risk of ulcer that has to be considered. sent from mobile device

I hadn't heard about this issue - what is blind NG, and why can't you have NSAIDS and other things? An naso-gastric (NG) tube (or oral-gastric, OG) is a tube put down into the stomach for various reasons - pump out the stomach, put in nutrition, deflate, etc. In an emergency, if you need to be intubated (breathing tube into the lungs) they often put in an NG tube at the same time. The procedure is "blind" because a scope isn't used, the tube is just pushed through the nose or the mouth and into the stomach. NSAIDs are prohibited by most surgeons for lap-band and bypass patients, and most surgeons don't want VSG patients taking NSAIDs because the action on prostaglandin in the body increases the risk of ulcers. And to be clearer related to my earlier post, it's never a bad idea to wear a bracelet or necklace with medical information (or a medic alert number to get the info), but if you don't want to wear something, a card in your wallet with your drivers' license will likely get the info to the people who need it fast enough, since the hospital staff will want to get ID in the computer system ASAP if you're in an emergency and can't speak for whatever reason.

I have to wear a medic alert for other reasons so I'll just have it added. If it was the only thing I probably wouldn't bother. I have worked as a paramedic and an ER nurse, and a card in the wallet should be sufficient. The only time we don't look for ID immediately in someone unconscious is if we're immediately fighting to keep them alive in which case we're not giving NSAIDs or doing a blind NG. They do have some very pretty medic alerts if you prefer or need to get one. sent from mobile device

I'm praying for this effect as well. I am constantly overheated. I'd love to need a sweater everywhere. sent from mobile device

I'm an ex-ER nurse, and the BP you listed is really too low, especially with dizziness and light headedness. I agree with Inner Surfer Girl that your doc is the best person to ask. If you can't get ahold of your cardiologist pretty quickly I would recommend the ER, especially since it's the weekend. You do not want to let this go until Monday.

I had similar concerns when I started researching the surgery. I'm scheduled for August 17, so I can't speak to any of this, but my thread on the subject had some amazing information from people who are longer-term vets of the surgery. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/365646-questionsconcerns-about-the-lifetime-commitment/ Hope this helps!!

I have Cigna, and I was amazed that they didn't give my any problems with the approval, it went straight through even without the release from my primary doc which I hadn't gotten yet. Now, every plan is different, and I'm incredibly lucky to have an employer that insists on quality insurance plans for our team members, so it could be more due to that than Cigna itself. I hate all insurance companies based on my experiences with them as a nurse and as a patient. I'm currently fighting with Cigna over reimbursement for my therapy visits - they said I need to submit the name of the provider, licensing information, etc. when everything they needed was on the superbill I sent and my provider is in-network. ::eye roll:: So while I appreciate them moving fast on my surgery, they don't get a pass from me. Oh, and I had a 3 month supervised diet requirement, but there wasn't a weight loss requirement attached.

I plan to make all of my TV watching DVR'd (skip the commercials) or Netflix post-op.