3636millie

Oh, god. The lapband should be banned. I am so glad to finally be rid of that piece of "chet" band. My sleeve totally rocks. I have my life back. Literally, my body did not tolerate the band. I had lysis of adhesions in Feb and by July, my band had adhesions develop between the band and the stomach and I spent from July to December unable to do anything but drink protein shakes and water to survive with the band unfilled (even had problems getting shakes and water in- towards the end, I would literally have to have one of the anesthesiologists I work with write a prescription for IV fluids 2-3 times a week and pay out of pocket for the fluids). I had to wait so long to do the revision as I had to finish paying off the $hitty band and then save for the sleeve as the insurance refused to pay for the revision unless I went with the RNY. No way was I gonna do that.

Kelly, Yes, I am a nurse (Director of Nursing at an ambulatory surgery center). I returned to work 3 weeks after surgery. I spend about 75% of my time in the operating rooms helping with patient positioning, moving patients, helping transport patients to Recovery Room, mopping floors, etc. It is the busy "snow bird" season so I have been working 12-14 hr days 5 days a week. The first week was really hard but I did it. My staff are totally awesome and "took care of me" and are still pretty protective of me. In fact, all of them insisted on travelling to Mexicali to "check it out" before I went for surgery (I all ready knew it was a great place) and literally did the white glove check of the place with threats to "tie me down to prevent me from having surgery there" if need be. Well, were they all surprised!! Every single one of them said that they would have surgery with Dr. Aceves in a heartbeat. Anyway, sorry for rambling and poor grammar. I just got home and need to eat. I feel great, just very tired. I think you will be surprised at how quickly you recover from the sleeve surgery. Please, feel free to PM me if you have more questions. There is someone else here on the boards who lives close to Tucson and she knows of a sleeve support group, I believe. I will ask her if she minds that I pass on her "screen name" to you. Oh, I almost forgot. You do have lifting restrictions after surgery. That is something you will need to consider when returning to work. Take care and good luck on your sleeve journey!!!!

If you choose Dr. Aceves (who by the way is a great choice), you will have all your pre-op testing the day before your surgery. You will also meet with the Anesthesiologist, Medical Doctor, Dr. Aceves, Dr. Campos, etc. You will get a copy of all your test results to take home, which makes it nice for follow up. You can just follow up with your primary care physician. Dr. Aceves will give you a list of what you will need tested in the future that your primary care physician can refer to. If your primary care physician will not do this, it is time to search for a new one. I would definately check with the PCP to make sure they will follow you before you have your surgery, just to be sure. There are no sutures that need to come out. They use the same glue and steri strips that are used in the U.S. to close the top layer of skin. All the other sutures are deeper in the lower layers of skin/muscle and will either absorb or are permanent. I had wonderful care from Dr. Aceves and all his "crew" at the hospital in Mexicali. I will be going to him for my 3 month check up as he is one of the most impressive physicians I have ever had the priveledge to have met/used services of. I have worked in many different major teaching medical facilities all over the world and have worked with thousands of physicians. Dr. Aceves ranks in the top 5 of all physicians I have ever came across for knowledge, follow up, and general over all professionalism. By the way, I am not one of the paid "hacks" who are paid to post. I really don't care who you choose as it is your preference and who you feel comfortable with. I am just letting you know of my experience! Good luck in your Quest for the sleeve. It is FANTASTIC!!!!!

Tracy, Thanks for the great recipe. My family were having real pizza last night. I made these for myself and they were yummy!!! Plus, I felt like I was "part of the group" too, since I was having "pizza". Millie

MELLAELLA, Hope you are doing great today. Congratulations on your sleeve! Aren't Dr. Aceves/Campos wonderful!!! Best wishes and keep us posted. Millie

I am 5 weeks out from a revision from band to sleeve. Swear to god, they should outlaw the band. For the last 6 months of my "band life", I survived on Protein shakes and I.V. fluids. I absolutely love the sleeve. I am able to eat real food now (well, nothing sounds good but I still love my Protein Shakes, and cheddar cheese is OHHH so good!). I am able to eat about 2 tablespoons of other food and it is sooo wonderful to have the taste of food in my mouth again. My stomach feels "normal again". No more constant pain, throat pressure, etc that goes along with the stinking band. Please read my stuff on lapbandtalk.com for all the crap that went on with the band. I was under the same name there. Getting the sleeve has been the best think I have ever done for myself!!!

Tiffykins, I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I will be praying that you have a quick recovery.<<<<<HUGS>>>>>>>>>>>.

Tracy, I don't know if it is normal or not. I am about 4 days behind you and the mere thought of food makes me gag. The only thing I've been able to get down the past few days are my Protein shakes and cheddar cheese. Hope this is just a "stage" we have to get through!

April, Here are some things for you to try out for a variety: 1) Breakfast: a. Try some greek yogurt mixed with some fruit sauce (I make my own-buy berries smash them up and strain out the seeds, mix it in the yogurt then add a little sugar free flavoring, whatever strikes your fancy for the day). b. Some oatmeal with mashed up banana and a little vanilla Protein powder, soy milk. 2) Lunch/Dinner: a. Bison burger (very high in protein, lean too so don't over cook it). b. Tuna mixed with some of the totino's spinach dip which is located by the chips in the store-the dip is low in carbs and not too bad calorie wise, mix in a little diced cheese and it makes a pretty high protein low carb salad. c. Piece of turkey wrapped around some string cheese. Just a few suggestions but I hope it gives you some ideas! Also try "theworldaccordingtoeggface" website. She has some awesome recipes that are really tasty.

OMG, WTF??????????????????????????? Are we "chet" stirring again???????? What ????????????????? Oregon's post was providing the links Macmadame has posted, not what Macmadame has to say!!!!!! Is this thread gonna be hijacked to bash Macmadame, who hasn't even posted for quite a while???????????????

O.K. Carole, I spoke to 2 of the Anesthesiologists that worked at our facility today. They both said the possibility of problems with epidurals are pretty rare. Keep in mind that Anesthesiologists are trained to do epidurals as it is part of their job. As stated in my previous post, I didn't even realize that it was done (even though I knew it was gonna be done) until I found the dressing the next day. I'm pretty sure the Anesthesiologist that Dr. Aceves uses has had plenty of practice doing them since most people having the surgery get the epidural. Now, if it were just any "family practice" type physician, or even the surgeon, I would be afraid to have it done as it isn't something that they do alot. Both Anesthesiologists that I spoke to today said they would have the epidural if they were given the chance and they were having surgery. I just want to point out that the less pain you have, the less nausea and vomiting you will have. It is pretty common for people who are in severe pain to have nausea and vomiting. I sure wouldn't want that after having abdominal surgery. Anyway, just wanted to let ya know that I did talk to the guys and what they had to say. Sorry about the poor grammer, spelling errors, etc I just got off a 14 hr day and am not thinking clearly!!!!

Carol, Yes, the Anesthesiologist will do the epidural on you. I knew they were going to do it for pain management before I ever went to the OR. Yes, I was scared "chetless". However, I was asleep when they did it and only really knew it was done as the next day I was feeling around on my back cause it felt like there was a bandaide or something back there. Believe me, I am SO glad that they did it, I literally had no pain when I woke up. At most, my pain was only 1-2/10 about 3 days after surgery. I think, but I'm not sure, that they inject morphine pain medication through the catheter. You could ask your coordinator. If you do not want the epidural, you can always refuse it. I myself would HIGHLY recommend it though. This was by far, the least painful surgery I've ever had and I think it was due to the epidural. Just my opinion. Good luck on you sleeve. You are gonna love it. :thumbup:

Tiffykins, Yes, I'm sure this thread will not be here long. I've been talking to alot of the "old timers" who don't post here anymore. You would be surprised at what I've learned!!!!! Some of the "old timers" have been harassed at their workplace by the "wolves" for daring to post their fact based findings. Yes, some of the "old timers" have been treatened with lawsuits but nothing has ever came of it as the "old timers" have been factual in what they have stated on this site. I did notice the Secretgardens posting has been removed. Honesty will be pushed to the way side when money is involved!!!! I probably won't be able to post after today as I'm sure I too will be banned!!!!!! Don't really care though. I sent ya a PM. Hope ya got it.

Lucygoose, I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I'll pray that you feel better every day. I had a horrible period of time starting about my 2nd week out from surgery. Woke up one night with vomiting. Everytime I tried to move my head or get up, I would feel like my whole world was spinning, then begin with retching and vomiting. Couldn't even get up to go into the bathroom to get sick as would loose my balance and just any movement of my head caused vomiting. Had to stay in bed with an emesis pan by my mouth. Finally went to see the Doctor and was diagnosed with labrynthitis. It is Fluid in the vestibule of the inner ear. She placed me on diamox to get the fluid out and some valium to help with calming me down. It is slowly getting better. It has now been about 2 weeks. Still really dizzy but able to keep fluids and Protein shakes down and can walk in a straight line if I hold onto the walls. I did go to work for 2 hours a day on Thursday and Friday only because someone drove me and picked me up. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't caused by surgery but man......... I hear ya about the vomiting. Is there any way that you could have had an inner ear problem? Just a thought........ Anyway, not sure what kind of insurance you have but if the sleeve was deemed o.k. I would definately fight the insurance company if they didn't want to pay for the hospitalization. Good luck and I am so sorry for your troubles. <<<<<HUGS>>>>>> Please keep us posted. Marilyn

Nice! Great resource:thumbup:

Wow!!! You are doing great! You should be so proud of yourself:thumbup1:

He used a 36 on me (revision from band to sleeve). Not sure what he has used on anyone else. I had alot of problems with my stomach swelling my band shut even when it was unfilled, so not sure if that is what he used to determine the size for me. All I know is I just got to try mushies for the first time and had a real hard time getting 2 level tablespoons of food down.

Ana, I forgot. You mentioned you will be passing through England. If you are, did you pay full fair for your ticket? Sometimes, if you pay full fair, you can take 1 stop (like the one in England) and stay overnight in one of the hotels close to the airport and then continue your flight the next day. You would have to pay for the hotel yourself. If you haven't bought your air line ticket yet this may be a possiblity but ,if you have the tickets all ready, you would probably have to pay a change fee. Just an idea so that maybe you and your aunt could have a break in such a long trip.

Ana, you should be o.k. to travel if you plan ahead, which sounds like what you have done. Some suggestions: You might want to call the airlines you will be travelling with and make arrangements for a wheelchair/attendant to meet you at the plane. You can ride in the wheelchair and hold your daughter. Your aunt can hopefully carry the seat you are taking for your daughter. You can also see if they can provide you with your diet you will be on at that time. Please be sure to walk while you are in the air as much as possible. When not walking remember to do your leg exercises as much as you can (remind your aunt too!). You will be tired but it will be possible. At 2 weeks post-op, I made several trips to San Diego and back which was 7 hours each time I went. It wasn't bad at all. Just be sure to pack some Protein in your carry on so you can keep your strength up. Something else to keep in mind: If your flight isn't full, as soon as you take off and can stand up, take a look around and see if there is an empty row of seats anywhere (usually towards the back of the plane). Go there immediately before all the other passengers who are frequent travellers beat you to it and claim the whole row for yourself by putting up the arm rests and laying down. That way you can try and sleep as much as you can. You can also inform the ticket agent at the gate of your recent surgery and ask if there are any available seats next to empty ones that they can assign you to so you have a better chance of getting to lay down. Best wishes on getting your sleeve. You will love it.

Norma, I have been praying for you that it goes smoothly. Hope things are getting better each day. <<<<HUGS>>>>>.

Have all of you that can eat thought about trying Bison (buffalo) for your protein? It is fairly high in protein (better that ground beef) and is really lean. When cooking it, be careful to NOT overcook as it is so lean it can dry easilly. It will be one of my first go to foods when I can start eating as I am on full liquid stage now.

Congratulations!

Tiffy, no you do not look sick! You look happy and healthy. I don't get on to this site much due to time constraints so didn't get to post when you first asked. Any way, you go girl!!! You are an inspiration to us all.

There is a recipe site called Recipezaar. You can go there and just type in "fish" in the search area. It will bring up hundreds of fish recipes. You can then sort it by ratings. There is one that is a baked herbed fish (I think it is recipe #26451 (you can enter this number in the search area) that is great. If you have a Trader Joe's around you close, they have awesome fish. Just about all that I've tried are great. They have a crab stuffed sole that is good. My favorite is the Teriyake (?spelling) salmon. There is a breaded halibut in a blue and yellow package that comes in really small pieces and is fantastic when baked. They also have really great Bison burgers that are very high in protein for something different. The one with mushroom and cheese in it is fantastic.

When I have back pain between my shoulder blades or just a bit lower, it is a sign to me that my reflux is worsening. It is important that you take care of it right away. If the Prilosec isn't working for you please let your Surgeon know. I had to go through several different PPI's before I found the one that worked best. When you do change meds, don't do the 3 month fill if that is an option for you. Just do the 1 month fill until you know if the new medication will work for you. I ended up tolerating Prevacid solutabs extremely well so you may want to try this. It has an added benefit in that it is disolved in your mouth so you don't have a big pill/capsule to try to deal with. I haven't found that it drys my mouth out at all. For the occassional breakthrough reflux, I take Gaviscon. It kind of bubbles back up and adds further protection. The Prilosec is pretty good though in preventing any reflux at all.