LAN2k

I wish you the very best Brenda but I will say that after doing 1 month of research on the band I positively did not want that thing implanted in my body! I would go with the sleeve if I were going to do it again. My insurance covered the entire procedure. My hospital stay was a full 5 days. I used a surgeon local to me in a reputable hospital. After reading months of posts on this message board if I had to do it again and had the money to self pay I would go with Dr. Aceves. His record is impeccable and he has done (if I'm not mistaken) approx. 700 sleeve gastrectomies with 0 leaks! Everyone who has had him perform their sleeve surgery in this and other message boards like OH have reported only great things and they themselves have done exceptionally well after surgery. Best wishes to you whatever you decide. -Lis

Stacey, I am starting to crave food and think about it like old times. I found a terrific tea by Biglow it's Vanilla Hazelnut and it is sooooooooo yummy. I add Stevia to sweeten it I find I don't even need to add milk but a little milk wouldn't hurt. I love it and feel as if I'm having a warm fattening sweet desert.

You sound so level headed and happy. I thank God all is well. I think you are going to do great with the sleeve. All the best to ya-Lis

Apple juice and ice chips worked for me the first couple of weeks...protein was tough I didn't tolerate the stuff I liked pre op but I found a ready made refrigerated Protein nectar called Naked which I can't find any more. It was very high in protein 30gms per 20 oz bottle. I'm on Long Island not so far away from the Bronx! and have a Trader Joe's close by they have come out with these various health nectar in the refrigerated section usually by the yogurt and milk etc. It's the Trader Joe brand but one of them is high protein like the Naked brand. It has a few carbs though but that did not matter to me because the carbs are from whole fruit not refined sugar. I'm telling you this because I couldn't tolerate any of the artificially sweetened clear protein liquids. You may feel differently. Best wishes and prayers to you all! Keep us updated...

aussieaj--praying that things go well for you. Waiting to hear from you...

Congratulations and welcome to "the losers bench"...just make sure that you get up and take frequent walks, frequent sips and you know the rest. Wishes for continued success and great health...keep posting.

As I understood it, the first night gets the baseline and determines if you have sleep apnea. You are back a second time to be observed while you sleep with the mask. That is how it was done when I had my studies. I don't see how it would be done all in one night.

You may cover them with gauze pads keeping them open on 2 sides so that they are protected but the air will still flow through. Let us know how they heal.

That sounds about right but I'm not certain. I had stitches that dissolved in there own. My surgeon only took out stitches where I had drains stitched in, in two places. He pulled those stitches out when he took the drains out about 2 weeks after surgery. My incisions were all closed but still tender at that time and he put a type of tape over them with gauze pad coverings.

Hi Trish, I didn't have a problem with reflux in any chronic way prior to my sleeve surgery. After being sleeved I had maybe 3 episodes at night awakening me from my sleep, but I was not on a PPI at that time which is recommended for several months to a year after WLS to prevent ulcers (due to excess stomach acid production). I decided to take a PPI for the following reasons, 1. fear of ulcers--after finding out that a friend of mine who refused to take a PPI after having the gastric bypass almost died from bleeding ulcers a few weeks after her surgery. 2. Most WL surgeons do put their patients on a PPI as I've already stated. 3. I had/have this over production of mucus and read on a thread here somewhere that sometimes that is an unusual symptom of reflux, like the body's way of protecting itself from too much acid production. I have lost a total of 70 lbs. I've approximately 30lbs to go to reach goal. Aciphex is what I am taking once a day in the AM w/or w/out food as per directions. I tried some others but experienced unpleasant side effects, not with the Aciphex, it's working out well for me. Hope that helps.

I don't really know. It's probably not too big a deal but I am wondering why you took out the stitches this early?

I just want to clarify ...The H Pylori was detected via a blood test PRIOR to my surgery. I took the treatment consisting of 3 antibiotics and a PPI it's a standard protocol given called "prevpac" I had to take that for 4 weeks! I asked my surgeon if he was going to test me again to make sure it was gone but he said "no, that won't be necessary." I asked my PCP if she could run the usual blood work on me and to include the test for H Pylori (this was post op) the results came up as positive. I phoned my surgeon and he said ignore it your blood work will always have H pylori positive results but that doesn't mean you have the organisim.,,he explained why but I forgot what he said. I went to a GI specialist because I had been gagging and heaving every morning when I would go to brush my teeth, I also had this glob of mucus in my throat that I could not expel no matter how I tried. While consulting with him I had my blood work to show him and asked him why the H Pylori was positive and he told me it will always show up positive hereafter and again I forgot why but he explained. He is the one who told me that THE ONLY VALID WAY OF KNOWING DEFINITIVELY THAT YOU ARE NOT INFECTED WITH HPYLORI IS VIA A STOOL SAMPLE. NOT THE BREATH TEST OR ONCE INFECTED, BY BLOOD. So if you go through the prevpac treatment and you want a retest to find out if it's erradicated you must have a stool sample tested to get true results. The stool sample test is no biggy. You get a kit from the lab and put your sample/s in the containers, seal them and drop them off back to the lab. Hope that helps.

Oh sorry I know you really had been enjoying it for a while. I am scheduled to take zumba classes in April--I hope I can keep up. It looks kind of fast paced.

Hi I am sorry you've got to take that rigorous treatment for H Pylori, I made sure to put back the healthy bacteria using pro biotics and yogurt. Don't worry too much because the medical consensus is that many people are carrying the H Pylori bacteria w/no symptoms. It is true however that if unchecked symptoms can manifest later on down the line, ulcers, even cancers. I had it pre surgery and was treated. Remember it will show up in future blood tests for it as positive for the rest of your life. I had to have a stool specimen tested (at my request), to be sure I wasn't carrying it post surgery and thankfully it came out negative. You'll be fine.

I am 6 months out. I had only 3 instances of reflux and they were mild. I am on a ppi called Aciphex, once daily in the morning w/or w/out food as per directions. I've had no problem with reflux. From what I've read the Lapband can really cause reflux issues. I have a friend who had a gastric bypass and had issues with reflux as well. I'm thinking the VSG is the least likely to cause reflux in any chronic or significant way. Best wishes to you whatever you decide...stay healthy and be well.

Daisy I am sure you will whip yourself back into shape. Just Zumba and you'll burn those extra calories away!

Jana I switched to GHI Medicare PPOIII. They sent someone to meet with me at home and he was vague with me about the sleeve gastrectomy (he was clueless) but when I called I was told they would approve any weight loss surgical procedure if it was deemed medically necessary. It went through first shot. I can't promise you it will work for you but now is the time to switch so I'd really hustle and call which ever plans available to you in your area and try to nail it down. Maybe see if you have GHI coverage in your area. Best wishes I hope your strike it right.

I am 6 months out now and still do not tolerate plain water. I dilute my Vitamin water bottles with half water and add stevia to restore the sweet flavor. I can detect the water in it still. It sort of lays heavy in me. I am thinking of trying water from a super water purifier that my friend owns from Nikken. If I can tolorate her water then I may buy the H2O purifier for myself at home.

Lee your attitude is so healthy and beautiful. I am happy you are part of this forum and message board. I have alway been fearful of thinking positive...fear that if I felt/thought positive the opposite will happen. I am now trying to understand just where my thinking in such a way originated from. I have read that what we think and/or say about ourselves will manifest. I get so confused I don't know what to believe.

I still can't drink plain water so I stick with vitamin water and I mix each bottle with water 50/50 so I get 2 bottles for the price of one. It is still the only way I can get in the fluids. My favorite is the Citrus punch or Tropical Citrus..it's deep yellow in color.

Well actually the cream of wheat saved me for a while I was repulsed by most everything and had a hard time getting in enough nutrition. This is not the case any longer however I so enjoy the warm creamy grains in the early morning. I do cook it with water and only add the milk after the flame is off right before I whisk the Solgar vanilla whey powder in. I also add pure bourbon vanilla extract to the mix ..it is delicious and sustains me for quite a while. Hope it works for you too. Thanks!!

Firstly I'm sorry about the loss of your husband. I had both my parents, and my daughter support me before and after my surgery. I was cautious about when and how I'd tell them. With my mother I walked her through and shared as much as possible with her about the procedure and the stats and showed her many posts here at VST. I think it's important to educate them as much as possible and then tell them how important it is to you that they support your decision. I wish you the best and hope that your family (or at least one of them) will come around and be there for you.

Me too........LOVE pasta I could bask in it with all the varieties and especially home made .........so much you can do with pasta!! I strolled today through Uncle Giuseppe's an incredible Italian market here in town where I live and drooled as I walked up and down the isles. Pasta is what made me huge I'd eat pasta dishes until I could hardly breath, rest and then eat some more. Now I may be tempted to sink my teeth into a forkful of linguine or a cheesy ravioli, or tortellini but thanks to my sleeved tummy I won't be able to indulge ever again as I used to. For now I'm going to refrain until I reach goal or a little below goal. After that I will try to see if I can have a small amount now and then. How could I not? I'm Italian through and through!

You are very early out and it is normal although others may not share the same feeling. I had a mixed bag. Most food repulsed me but not everything. I couldn't even drink plain water! To this day I need to dilute vitamin water in order to get my water/liquid in. Before the surgery I was able to drink a variety of flavors after surgery only one, Tropical Citrus, and now 6mo. out, I can add another Peach mango. It takes time for your body/brain to adjust. I don't know about the blurred vision but I would talk to your doctor about that.

Can you use the evidence that Medicare will provide you with? I had straight medicare when I did my pre-op testing and at that time, August-Sept. 2009, Medicare did not approve the sleeve. I took a gamble and switched over to a medicare advantage plan "GHI Medicare PPO..." This plan was vague on weight loss surgery and when I called and asked I was told that they would cover it if it was deemed as medically necessary and that it was not excluded. My surgeon sent them a letter with all the test results and recommendations from various doctors and within 2 weeks I was approved! I think you may have an argument if you can get that information from medicare so hang in there and fight the good fight. Best wishes...keep us posted.