mysparky

Well I did it....after over 3 years of considering, researching, and debating whether or not to have WLS, I finally decided to have VSG and my surgery was on Tuesday, October 26th!

I walked into the hospital Tuesday morning hopeful and a little anxious, but I was ready. Was wheeled into the OR at 11:50 and next thing I knew, it was around 4pm. I was in a good deal of pain after the surgery and when my surgeon came in to visit me post surgery, I told him that I thought he was just going to remove a part of my stomach, not break all of my ribs along with it! Of course it was a joke, but man, that's exactly what it felt like! They originally started w/ Dilaudid in my IV, but just couldn't get my pain to a tolerable level. Eventually switched me to 4 ml of morphine every 4 hours and while pain was manageable for the first 2 hours, I was really struggling for next 2 hours.

Did manage to get out of bed that first evening, but it was really tough. Lots of pain in my ribs, muscles, and a serious burning sensation covering the entire left side of my abdomen. I was so happy to get back into bed, but found that process of actually getting up into the bed tough and painful.

A team of surgeons came in to see me the following morning (about 18 hrs post surgery) and I was one hurtin' unit. In addition to the pain in my abdomen, I felt like someone was sitting on my chest and it really hurt to get a good breath. Was all a part of the gas-moving process and it was painful. They agreed to give me 2 ml of morphine for breakthrough pain and it gave me some relief.

Later in the morning I had to go down for my upper GI. They gave me about 1 oz of some extremely nasty stuff to drink and then watched for leaks. Said everything looked great! Unfortunately, as they were bringing me back up to my room on the stretcher, I suddenly felt sick and I threw up. Wow! A whole new level of pain. Although, I have to say, that was a very good lesson on why I was going to be very, very careful when I was finally allowed to drink Water.< /p>

That first full day following surgery was just plain hard. I was relieved to be drinking water, but I just felt tired and in pain for most of the day. I did manage to get out of bed 4 times and do a few loops around the nurses station but it simply really hard and had me close to tears each time. The staff was willing to give the breakthrough morphine for relief, but the morphine was actually giving me a headache so it was a hard balance to find.

The next day, my new daytime nurse encouraged me to get up and take a shower. She covered up my abdomen with some very large waterproof bandages, got all of my supplies, and stayed right outside the door while I showered. Although I hadn't wanted to do it, I felt really good afterwards. When I came out, my first stage 2 food was waiting for me and I sat down in my chair and had some chicken broth and tea. I followed with a nice afternoon nap and when I woke up, I was actually feeling human again!

I was in relatively little pain while laying in bed, but continued to feel serious burning and pulling in my abdomen when I was walking. Despite this, I was amazed at how much I had improved since the day before.

The rest of my hospital stay was pretty uneventful. The nursing staff at St Raphael's (New Haven, CT) was excellent and because they are a teaching hospital, they had many nursing students around to help. They were great when it came to the basics like getting up to walk, getting water & tea, and just getting comfortable in the bed. I was visited by my surgeon each day, but was also visited by a team of resident surgeons every morning and again every evening. I felt very cared for!

Surgery was on Tuesday at 12:00 and I was discharged on Friday morning. The ride home was a little rough, but fortunately I had read the advice on these boards to bring a pillow for the car ride home! I spent yesterday working on the liquids, getting rest and taking my time getting around the house, climbing stairs, etc.

Since my drain was removed, the burning sensation that I had is not as intense and I'm now taking Tylenol w/ Codeine about every 6 hours. My pain is less than it was yesterday and I feel like I have a little more energy. I'm confident that I'll see these positive changes each day. The human body is an amazing machine!!!

I'm just so thrilled to have the surgery behind me and to be part of this loser's club! Although I don't post much, at all, I feel so fortunate to have found this forum as it's provided me with so much information. I hope that as I continue to go through this process, I can also be a resource to the many who are starting on this path!

So it seems that we're heading into the last week of October sleevers. I'm going in on Tuesday, 10/26, and although I haven't really posted much, it's been great to read about those of you that have been waiting for your October date, had the surgery, and then come back to post about your experience.

I'm excited to get onto that table on Tuesday, but I have to say I'm nervous about one thing....I haven't been as diligent on my 2 week pre-op diet as I should have been. Was given a low-calorie (1000) balanced plan to follow for 2 weeks and I swear, it felt like Weight Watchers all over again! I haven't gone out of control and have managed to shed 3 lbs in the last 10 days, but I'm definitely having these feelings of remorse right now and a "what if he gets started and realizes my liver isn't in good enough shape to do the surgery?" Too late to do anything about it right now, other than strive for perfection on these last few days, but I'm just looking forward to waking up in recovery at this point.

Anyway, continued good health to those October Sleevers that have gone already, and good luck to those of us who are scheduled in the next week or so. Hope to join you all on the losing side soon enough!!

I haven't had surgery yet, but on my plan, you'd be on what my Dr and nutritionist call the "low fat liquids" stage. This is the stage I'll be on when I leave the hospital.

I understand that each Dr's plan may differ, but just thought I'd mention that "allowed" foods on my list during this stage include egg drop Soup, strained cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup, and Jello.

Again, your plan may be different, but I just pulled out my documentation to make sure I got that straight.

Hope -

I'm with you on this and I'm also combing the boards to read stories about how people have overcome their complete love affair with food. I want to make sure I go into this with eyes wide open - not just in terms of the actual surgery, but also in terms of post-surgery.

I just read through the link Tiffykins provided and there are some very powerful stories in there. I guess I didn't truly, truly believe that there are people out here like me that like to "go to bed fat, stuffed and happy". It also struck me that a number of people here have been closet eaters and now they've found a sort of declared a "truce" with food. Definitely a post I will read through more than once.

Good luck to you in your journey.

mysparky

Another October sleever here: October 25th with Dr Nadzam in New Haven, CT.

I'm happy that I'm getting sleeved right before Halloween, otherwise I would likely have another 5 lbs to add to my weight loss goal. Wondering what the holidays will be like this year, though. Guess I'll be making Soup for Thanksgiving!

chilo1 -

Congrats on your success so far and thank you for responding so quickly to my first post. So reassuring to read about the common concerns/struggles. You know, what you wrote about the fact that, by now, you would have given up on your diet and gained back the weight, really resonates with me. 7 weeks on a diet without any tools is really hard and there have been times that getting past day 3 just about seems impossible! I'm glad to read that this tool, while not the magic cure, is a very strong ally in the weight loss battle.

In addition, I had never considered that while my stomach is not allowing me to overeat at the beginning of the journey, my head will start to learn the proper behavior. That makes sense as well.

I'm going to continue to read and post on the boards and I think it will help greatly.

Thank you again.

mysparky

I?ve been thinking about WLS for 3 years, but haven?t been ready to make the commitment to move forward. I had attended a seminar about 2 years and was considering lap-band, but just couldn?t get my head around it. Was struggling w/ the thought of the port, the idea of frequent fills, and the potential side effects (productive burping?!) that I seemed to read an awful lot about. In the meantime, my 70 year old mother actually had that surgery and although she?s been successful at getting some of the weight off (not all), her side effects have confirmed that it?s not the right surgery for me.

Although I work full-time and carry the health benefits, my health insurance policy doesn?t cover any WLS. Since I will be paying out of pocket, I?ve had the chance to truly evaluate the various options (i.e. didn?t have to worry about approval) and I?ve settled on the Vertical Sleeve. I arrived at this after attending another seminar, reading boards, and talking with a few doctors.

I?m 45 years old and have been overweight as a child. Fortunately I haven?t yet felt the health complications associated being morbidly obese (no diabetes, normal blood pressure), but I know it?s just a matter of time.

So despite having been down many, many dieting roads in the past and knowing that I want to lead a long, healthy, and active life, I?m still scared about this enormous change.

Here?s the thing?..I?m not scared about the procedure itself, but rather of the life-changing effects after the surgery.

I truly enjoy cooking, eating, dining out, entertaining and snacking at night. Too much of all of this is exactly what has kept me 90-100 lbs overweight and yet, I?m worried about letting this go. Will I really get used to eating just a few tablespoons of food and mentally find it satisfying, how will my head stay in line with what my body/stomach says is right? Maybe this sounds silly, but it?s where I am right now.

I?m 4 weeks away from surgery and just hoping that when I wake up with this new tool, I?ll really be ready to use it and hope that it really does help get me to a healthier place and then stay at that healthier place. I also hope that eventually my head gets into the right gear, but I remain unsure as I?ve never had success in keeping weight off.

Don?t know what else to say. I?ve been doing a lot of lurking, but this is my first post. Guess I?ll end with I?m glad I found this place and thanks for listening.

Hi I'm fuzzy wuzzy and I'm having lapband surgery on Monday the 24th of March. I'm 72 and in good health except for sleep apnea and high blood pressure. I've been overweight since the births of my children and have never really lost the extra pounds put on since. Have tried ww and different diets but could never stay on them for any long periods of time. I'm looking for someone to talk with during this time.