theantichick

I had a great experience. I packed WAAAAYYYYY too much stuff. All I really needed was a comb, toothbrush, a change or two of underwear, biotene spray, my phone, and my charger. I do wish I'd not packed the rest of the nonsense I took, and used the room in my bag for a heating pad. That was something that really helped the soreness when I got home.
I have a history of severe nausea post-op, and my surgical team did an amazing job giving me meds to counter that. Which caused me to have complete amnesia from the pre-op room when they pushed the first sedative to an hour or so after I was in my room, which has never happened to me. Makes me want to get a copy of my records and find out exactly what they gave me. LOL.
I had virtually no pain from the gas that many people complain about. My surgeon does her leak test in the OR, so something to do with the Water for that may have cleared the CO2 out more effectively, I don't know. My overall pain was there, but nothing too horrible. We'd decided on a milder pain med than she normally prescribes because I don't like the side effects of the one she normally uses, and it was sufficient. I just felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and had that residual severe soreness.
The staff were great, making sure I had plenty of Water and things to drink on day 1, and then Protein shakes and water on day 2 (my doc keeps us overnight to make sure we can keep fluids down well). The tech came in several times to make sure I got up and walked (which helps with the pain, but disconnecting all the stuff is annoying). Slept in short spurts, but that's typical in a hospital. Didn't have enough focus to read a book, so I played games on my phone and facebooked and watched a marathon of whatever crime drama was on TV that day.
Doc came by to check on me Day 2 and discharged me.
Very uneventful, which is the way we want it.
You'll do great. As a nurse, I'll just say that you should work with the nurses about letting them know when you're STARTING to hurt so they can stay ahead of it with your pain meds (if you need them, some people have very little pain). Knocking pain down when it gets bad is MUCH harder than keeping it at bay. And the rest of the time, walk walk walk and sip sip sip (as soon as they let you have drinks).

I had a great experience. I packed WAAAAYYYYY too much stuff. All I really needed was a comb, toothbrush, a change or two of underwear, biotene spray, my phone, and my charger. I do wish I'd not packed the rest of the nonsense I took, and used the room in my bag for a heating pad. That was something that really helped the soreness when I got home.
I have a history of severe nausea post-op, and my surgical team did an amazing job giving me meds to counter that. Which caused me to have complete amnesia from the pre-op room when they pushed the first sedative to an hour or so after I was in my room, which has never happened to me. Makes me want to get a copy of my records and find out exactly what they gave me. LOL.
I had virtually no pain from the gas that many people complain about. My surgeon does her leak test in the OR, so something to do with the Water for that may have cleared the CO2 out more effectively, I don't know. My overall pain was there, but nothing too horrible. We'd decided on a milder pain med than she normally prescribes because I don't like the side effects of the one she normally uses, and it was sufficient. I just felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and had that residual severe soreness.
The staff were great, making sure I had plenty of Water and things to drink on day 1, and then Protein shakes and water on day 2 (my doc keeps us overnight to make sure we can keep fluids down well). The tech came in several times to make sure I got up and walked (which helps with the pain, but disconnecting all the stuff is annoying). Slept in short spurts, but that's typical in a hospital. Didn't have enough focus to read a book, so I played games on my phone and facebooked and watched a marathon of whatever crime drama was on TV that day.
Doc came by to check on me Day 2 and discharged me.
Very uneventful, which is the way we want it.
You'll do great. As a nurse, I'll just say that you should work with the nurses about letting them know when you're STARTING to hurt so they can stay ahead of it with your pain meds (if you need them, some people have very little pain). Knocking pain down when it gets bad is MUCH harder than keeping it at bay. And the rest of the time, walk walk walk and sip sip sip (as soon as they let you have drinks).

I had a great experience. I packed WAAAAYYYYY too much stuff. All I really needed was a comb, toothbrush, a change or two of underwear, biotene spray, my phone, and my charger. I do wish I'd not packed the rest of the nonsense I took, and used the room in my bag for a heating pad. That was something that really helped the soreness when I got home.
I have a history of severe nausea post-op, and my surgical team did an amazing job giving me meds to counter that. Which caused me to have complete amnesia from the pre-op room when they pushed the first sedative to an hour or so after I was in my room, which has never happened to me. Makes me want to get a copy of my records and find out exactly what they gave me. LOL.
I had virtually no pain from the gas that many people complain about. My surgeon does her leak test in the OR, so something to do with the Water for that may have cleared the CO2 out more effectively, I don't know. My overall pain was there, but nothing too horrible. We'd decided on a milder pain med than she normally prescribes because I don't like the side effects of the one she normally uses, and it was sufficient. I just felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and had that residual severe soreness.
The staff were great, making sure I had plenty of Water and things to drink on day 1, and then Protein shakes and water on day 2 (my doc keeps us overnight to make sure we can keep fluids down well). The tech came in several times to make sure I got up and walked (which helps with the pain, but disconnecting all the stuff is annoying). Slept in short spurts, but that's typical in a hospital. Didn't have enough focus to read a book, so I played games on my phone and facebooked and watched a marathon of whatever crime drama was on TV that day.
Doc came by to check on me Day 2 and discharged me.
Very uneventful, which is the way we want it.
You'll do great. As a nurse, I'll just say that you should work with the nurses about letting them know when you're STARTING to hurt so they can stay ahead of it with your pain meds (if you need them, some people have very little pain). Knocking pain down when it gets bad is MUCH harder than keeping it at bay. And the rest of the time, walk walk walk and sip sip sip (as soon as they let you have drinks).

I had a great experience. I packed WAAAAYYYYY too much stuff. All I really needed was a comb, toothbrush, a change or two of underwear, biotene spray, my phone, and my charger. I do wish I'd not packed the rest of the nonsense I took, and used the room in my bag for a heating pad. That was something that really helped the soreness when I got home.
I have a history of severe nausea post-op, and my surgical team did an amazing job giving me meds to counter that. Which caused me to have complete amnesia from the pre-op room when they pushed the first sedative to an hour or so after I was in my room, which has never happened to me. Makes me want to get a copy of my records and find out exactly what they gave me. LOL.
I had virtually no pain from the gas that many people complain about. My surgeon does her leak test in the OR, so something to do with the Water for that may have cleared the CO2 out more effectively, I don't know. My overall pain was there, but nothing too horrible. We'd decided on a milder pain med than she normally prescribes because I don't like the side effects of the one she normally uses, and it was sufficient. I just felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and had that residual severe soreness.
The staff were great, making sure I had plenty of Water and things to drink on day 1, and then Protein shakes and water on day 2 (my doc keeps us overnight to make sure we can keep fluids down well). The tech came in several times to make sure I got up and walked (which helps with the pain, but disconnecting all the stuff is annoying). Slept in short spurts, but that's typical in a hospital. Didn't have enough focus to read a book, so I played games on my phone and facebooked and watched a marathon of whatever crime drama was on TV that day.
Doc came by to check on me Day 2 and discharged me.
Very uneventful, which is the way we want it.
You'll do great. As a nurse, I'll just say that you should work with the nurses about letting them know when you're STARTING to hurt so they can stay ahead of it with your pain meds (if you need them, some people have very little pain). Knocking pain down when it gets bad is MUCH harder than keeping it at bay. And the rest of the time, walk walk walk and sip sip sip (as soon as they let you have drinks).

I absolutely agree that people need to hear the stories of people who have complications. The first place I came on this board after reading some of the FAQ posts was the complications board. I wanted to know what the worst case outcome potentially was, and get a feel for the types of complications people have, and if there are things I could learn about those complications that might reduce my risks. I applaud you for speaking out. If I were having the surgery with NHS, I would know some more things to ask and look for with the team before committing, only because you are sharing your experience.
I have said that people need to keep in mind that these stories are not representative of the vast majority of people who have the surgery, and that negative experiences are in a higher concentration in an online forum, because it's the nature of people to speak up only if they need support or have a problem. This is NOT intended in any way to say that you shouldn't share your experience, or that your complications need to be minimized. It is only to remind people that may be worried about complications that the incidence is much lower than it may appear reading through an internet support board.

(RN and comprehensive sex educator hats on)
There is nothing structurally different at any point in the intestines for a sleeved patient. For the lower intestines including the rectum, sigmoid, and descending colon (the parts that could potentially be involved), there is no structural difference for a RNY patient either. I don't know much about duodenal switch, but I wouldn't imagine that they've rearranged anything that far down the intestines.
So structurally, there's nothing changed that would affect the act.
However, there are bowel habit changes that may need to be considered. Many people have Constipation which of course can result in retained stool that you might want to address beforehand due to hygiene or comfort issues. Constipation also has the complication of creating or aggravating hemorrhoids which can cause pain and bleeding with anal intercourse. Other people have varying degrees of diarrhea post surgery, and sometimes with some stool incontinence (hence the warning "never trust a fart"). So this could create a hygiene issue which again you might want to address beforehand.
While I know the topic may be shocking to many, I believe it's important for adults to be able to discuss sexual matters and their bodies without embarrassment. Our societal discomfort with the subject of sex is a holdover from our puritan roots, and I believe it should be reversed.

(RN and comprehensive sex educator hats on)
There is nothing structurally different at any point in the intestines for a sleeved patient. For the lower intestines including the rectum, sigmoid, and descending colon (the parts that could potentially be involved), there is no structural difference for a RNY patient either. I don't know much about duodenal switch, but I wouldn't imagine that they've rearranged anything that far down the intestines.
So structurally, there's nothing changed that would affect the act.
However, there are bowel habit changes that may need to be considered. Many people have Constipation which of course can result in retained stool that you might want to address beforehand due to hygiene or comfort issues. Constipation also has the complication of creating or aggravating hemorrhoids which can cause pain and bleeding with anal intercourse. Other people have varying degrees of diarrhea post surgery, and sometimes with some stool incontinence (hence the warning "never trust a fart"). So this could create a hygiene issue which again you might want to address beforehand.
While I know the topic may be shocking to many, I believe it's important for adults to be able to discuss sexual matters and their bodies without embarrassment. Our societal discomfort with the subject of sex is a holdover from our puritan roots, and I believe it should be reversed.

For my birthday I thought I'd have a hard cider, since I am cleared for anything. I got about 1/4 of the bottle down before I fell asleep. I think my hard drinking days are over. LOL.

(RN and comprehensive sex educator hats on)
There is nothing structurally different at any point in the intestines for a sleeved patient. For the lower intestines including the rectum, sigmoid, and descending colon (the parts that could potentially be involved), there is no structural difference for a RNY patient either. I don't know much about duodenal switch, but I wouldn't imagine that they've rearranged anything that far down the intestines.
So structurally, there's nothing changed that would affect the act.
However, there are bowel habit changes that may need to be considered. Many people have Constipation which of course can result in retained stool that you might want to address beforehand due to hygiene or comfort issues. Constipation also has the complication of creating or aggravating hemorrhoids which can cause pain and bleeding with anal intercourse. Other people have varying degrees of diarrhea post surgery, and sometimes with some stool incontinence (hence the warning "never trust a fart"). So this could create a hygiene issue which again you might want to address beforehand.
While I know the topic may be shocking to many, I believe it's important for adults to be able to discuss sexual matters and their bodies without embarrassment. Our societal discomfort with the subject of sex is a holdover from our puritan roots, and I believe it should be reversed.

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.

My husband assures me that guys by and large (no pun intended) don't care about any of the stuff women care about. They are getting laid, and that makes it all good in their book. LOL.
I have given a lot of thought to the hanging skin. I know I'd rather have that than the fat, but I don't know that I'll ever really come to love it.
However, I am damned good at costuming. LOL. Quality lingerie can hide a multitude of sins, rolls, and whatnot. And there's nothing like french lace to make you feel pretty, IMNSHO. I will be finding what lingerie styles camouflage the stuff I don't like seeing, and having fun collecting pieces for my "naughty" wardrobe. I can even whip up a little arm sleeve thing similar to some belly dance costume pieces I used to make, with spandex lace if the batwings get too flappy.
I think it's a matter of finding what will help *you* be OK with (or maybe even love) the way you look, and the right guy will love it. You'll have a whole new body to dress and play with, enjoy it!!

Rough. I had decided to pursue nursing as a mid-life career change, with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. I loved ER nursing, but especially with my primary symptom being in my feet and making it incredibly painful to stand, and treatment compromising my immune system, I couldn't stay bedside. I miss the heck out of it.
Luckily in my former life I was a data warehouse analyst, and a good one. So I changed my grad school track from NP to Healthcare Informatics (will graduate Dec 2017 god willing) and am back behind a computer. Where I didn't want to be, but at least it's an option that gets me off my feet, pays well (better than nursing), and with all of the assistive tech available, I'll be able to keep doing it as long as my brain works.

Several of the RA boards I'm on call prednisone "Satan's little tic tacs". When we were getting my diagnosis and trying to find a med that worked, I begged my rheumy for steroids. Without going into the long drawn-out story, I'd been having symptoms for a year or more but they were atypical. One of my hellish symptoms was plantar fasciitis that turned into these incredibly painful knots in the arches of my feet. In a desperate attempt to figure out what was going on and get some relief as I was an ER nurse at the time, I got a doc to give me a round of steroids. I hadn't realized that my pain levels had gotten so high... I would tell people I lived at a 3 or 4 with all the joint issues I've had most of my life. The steroids brought my pain down to a 0 to 1 for the first time in decades. No telling how long the auto-immune was a factor. I had actually been living at a 6 to a 7. I didn't need a lot, just 20mg a day to get it under control and 10mg a day to maintain. I seriously considered black market prednisone. I understood what junkies feel for the first time.
Rheumy held the line though, and it was a good thing because while on the pred, my bloodwork wasn't showing anything. Got me off the pred for about 2months, and my bloodwork popped.
Methotrexate helped, but not enough. Now I wish we'd tried the shots. I don't have an issue with needles, and the pills were rough. I had what we think was an allergic reaction to mtx so now we can't go back to it.
When we started talking biologics, I asked my rheumy about WLS. She was enthusiastically for it. The data isn't all in, but she said there's good evidence that the stomach fundus is responsible for a bunch of inflammatory factors. And of course all the fat tissues and the hormones they secrete is responsible for a bunch more. She said it wasn't likely to put me in remission, but it could really help.
Going off my sulfasalazine (which was working some but not 100%) for the 3 weeks needed before surgery, I thought I was going to go nuts with the pain. My surgery pain by day 3 wasn't as bad as my arthritis pain. But it's been gradually getting better. I see my rheumy next week to get a date to start biologics (I think she said 3 mon after surgery) and see if I go back on Sulfasalazine in the meantime. And of course bloodwork. I'm curious to see where my factors are now because my pain is pretty much back where it was medicated.
It's a roller coaster. I don't expect remission, but if the VSG helps the meds work better so I can function better (and get active again) then it's worth every bit of it. And of course I'd welcome remission if it comes.

Yeah, the long term effects of steroids are serious. NSAIDs don't have a lot of long term issues, except a slightly higher tendency to ulcers for some, and at high enough dosages kidney issues. But I know when I was hurting bad, and got relief from steroids, I didn't care about the long-term effects. I wanted to quit hurting so I could work (I was an ER nurse at the time) and move without hurting. It's a long slog getting a diagnosis and moving on to drugs that can help and prevent joint damage. Keep at the docs until they give you an answer.

The "arthritis of unknown origin" is a common bucket to toss those of us without specific blood markers in until another symptom or test points the way.
I went through years of my doc telling me that it was depression, putting me on anti-depressants, and eventually an anti-psychotic (sounds worse than it is... they've found that some of the atypical anti-psychotics help with untractable depression when added to an anti-d) and eventually she just put down "arthralgia" which is the $15 medical term for joint pain. I insisted on getting referred out to a rheumatologist after steroids took my pain level down from a 6-7 to a 1.
Rheumatologist couldn't find any specific blood markers, and eventually after finally seeing some joint swelling after 3 months off of steroids (ouch) diagnosed me with non-serologic RA. Prescription NSAIDs failed, methotrexate failed, and I had partial success with sulfasalazine. Then I sent my daughter in to my rheumy, and she has been diagnosed with non-radiologic SpA (spondylarthropies) because the rheumy right now can't differentiate between psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis (kiddo's dad has AS, she has the gene for both PsA and AS) so she's about to start the medication train to try and get her some relief. After seeing my daughter, rheumy looked more closely at my nails and found pitting (pitting is a sign of PsA, kiddo has it but she also has alopecia which can cause pitting) and then went back to my original worst pain which is these knots in my feet. She had originally said it wasn't related, but now with the pitting decided I have PsA, even though I've never had the skin symptoms.
So she says I need to move straight to biologics, and that's when I asked about VSG. She was very excited about it for me, because apparently some of the hormones that directly affect PsA are altered by the removal of most of the stomach. And, fat cells secrete lots of estrogen which is part of the inflammatory factor. So we're putting off biologics while I get the surgery, and will start as soon as I'm recovered.

I have RA/PsA. I had to go off my meds for surgery and had a slight flare after surgery but my inflammatory markers are slightly down now. And less excess weight makes my joints hurt less. The early indicators are that the meds are now working better.
sent from mobile device

I got popsicle sleeves (narrow, long ziploc type bags) and mixed up Syntrax lemonade flavor to put in them and freeze. Yummy popsicles with Protein. Got me through the first couple of days when it was so hard to get anything down.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1258-sleeved-spoonies/
It's down in the support groups under social groups. I made it open, so pass it along.
We will probably need a better logo and banner, I just threw up what I found easily on Google Images.
Spoonies Unite!!

Auto immune runs in my family too. I have an aunt with MS, a grandfather with psoriasis, a cousin with internal scleroderma, a grandmother with rheumatoid arthritis, a sister worth lupus, and a daughter with both alopecia and non- radiologic SPA. I just shut my computer down for the night due to a storm coming in, but tomorrow I'll set up a spoonies group.
Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App

I have Cigna, didn't lose anything during the 3 months. Didn't gain, but didn't lose. No issues getting it approved, went through on the first try.

(RN and comprehensive sex educator hats on)
There is nothing structurally different at any point in the intestines for a sleeved patient. For the lower intestines including the rectum, sigmoid, and descending colon (the parts that could potentially be involved), there is no structural difference for a RNY patient either. I don't know much about duodenal switch, but I wouldn't imagine that they've rearranged anything that far down the intestines.
So structurally, there's nothing changed that would affect the act.
However, there are bowel habit changes that may need to be considered. Many people have Constipation which of course can result in retained stool that you might want to address beforehand due to hygiene or comfort issues. Constipation also has the complication of creating or aggravating hemorrhoids which can cause pain and bleeding with anal intercourse. Other people have varying degrees of diarrhea post surgery, and sometimes with some stool incontinence (hence the warning "never trust a fart"). So this could create a hygiene issue which again you might want to address beforehand.
While I know the topic may be shocking to many, I believe it's important for adults to be able to discuss sexual matters and their bodies without embarrassment. Our societal discomfort with the subject of sex is a holdover from our puritan roots, and I believe it should be reversed.

Sheesh.
I think Rants and Raves shouldn't be included in the regular feed. You should have to intend to click on it, and even possibly have to click through a disclaimer saying you understand that it's Rants and Raves and agree not to get butthurt.

I have Cigna, didn't lose anything during the 3 months. Didn't gain, but didn't lose. No issues getting it approved, went through on the first try.

(RN and comprehensive sex educator hats on)
There is nothing structurally different at any point in the intestines for a sleeved patient. For the lower intestines including the rectum, sigmoid, and descending colon (the parts that could potentially be involved), there is no structural difference for a RNY patient either. I don't know much about duodenal switch, but I wouldn't imagine that they've rearranged anything that far down the intestines.
So structurally, there's nothing changed that would affect the act.
However, there are bowel habit changes that may need to be considered. Many people have Constipation which of course can result in retained stool that you might want to address beforehand due to hygiene or comfort issues. Constipation also has the complication of creating or aggravating hemorrhoids which can cause pain and bleeding with anal intercourse. Other people have varying degrees of diarrhea post surgery, and sometimes with some stool incontinence (hence the warning "never trust a fart"). So this could create a hygiene issue which again you might want to address beforehand.
While I know the topic may be shocking to many, I believe it's important for adults to be able to discuss sexual matters and their bodies without embarrassment. Our societal discomfort with the subject of sex is a holdover from our puritan roots, and I believe it should be reversed.

(RN and comprehensive sex educator hats on)
There is nothing structurally different at any point in the intestines for a sleeved patient. For the lower intestines including the rectum, sigmoid, and descending colon (the parts that could potentially be involved), there is no structural difference for a RNY patient either. I don't know much about duodenal switch, but I wouldn't imagine that they've rearranged anything that far down the intestines.
So structurally, there's nothing changed that would affect the act.
However, there are bowel habit changes that may need to be considered. Many people have Constipation which of course can result in retained stool that you might want to address beforehand due to hygiene or comfort issues. Constipation also has the complication of creating or aggravating hemorrhoids which can cause pain and bleeding with anal intercourse. Other people have varying degrees of diarrhea post surgery, and sometimes with some stool incontinence (hence the warning "never trust a fart"). So this could create a hygiene issue which again you might want to address beforehand.
While I know the topic may be shocking to many, I believe it's important for adults to be able to discuss sexual matters and their bodies without embarrassment. Our societal discomfort with the subject of sex is a holdover from our puritan roots, and I believe it should be reversed.