i1Linda

Some doctors use staples for the skin incisions, others use dissolvable sutures and still others use surgical glue. If I remember correctly, Dr Nick uses glue. I had staples with one of my c-sections, tiny pinch when they clip the staple and a slight tug when they pull it out. Not horrible.

Congratulations MrNick and Anna - Way to work that sleeve!!!! :smile:

Hi! Obviously, every individual will lose at a different rate depending on start weight, gender, age and how much you have to lose. I lost 20 lb the 6 weeks before surgery (including 2 weeks of pre-op diet). From Aug 4th (my surgery date) to Sept 3rd, I lost another 19.6 lbs. I continued to lose consistently for the next several months. Now, for the last 4 weeks, I have been in a stall - stuck :smile: Oh well, I am sticking with it, the last 20 will eventually come off.

Congratulations Dee Dee!!! I am so happy for you (and a tiny bit jealous :001_tongue:)!!!

Looking good girl!!!

I do not know the answer to your question, but wanted to send good thoughts and prayers to your husband for his surgery tomorrow.

I liken this whole experience to pregnancy and child birth. Everyone's experience is a little different. Some people have very little pain and nausea, others have a bunch of either or both. Like child birth, I think once it is over and we are so happy with the results, we tend to forget the hard parts and focus on the wonderful. Just my two cents.

I am not familiar with Cigna, however, I would stay away from anything coded as post-op WLS and anything "routine".

Norma - Congratulations on your weight loss thus far. You are looking fabulous!!! Keep up the good work!!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Wow!! Now that's AWESOME. Looking at all three pictures is enlightening. By one year post-op, my stomach better hold more volume than day 1 post-op. I can't imagine living on 1-2 tbsp of food for each meal forever (I remember those few weeks). At nearly 6 months post-op, this evening I ate 1/2 cup of chili for dinner and am stuffed. My husband easily put away 2 cups of chili, a bunch of Fritos and diet coke. Looking at these pictures, it is apparent as to why. I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!!

Loser & YouKnowIt - Good luck on your surgeries tomorrow. Lot's of HUGS and PRAYERS headed your way. Give us all an update when you can. :thumbup:

Yep - what Tiff said. I was self-pay and knew that it was a risk I was taking. My insurance wouldn't pay for anything related to it. However, my insurance did pay for a CT w/ contast done post-op. I was having back pain and we wanted to rule out a leak and see if anything else was going on in there. It was coded as back pain (because that was my symptom) and was covered without incident.

Congratulations Gary & Carol on your sleeves!!!! Sorry the weather did not cooperate with your journey home - what a bummer. Glad you're home now and resting.

Whoo Hoo Dee Dee!!! I have 9.5 lbs to go before "normal", it's definitely my current mini-goal I'm working towards. You're right, many others don't get it, but WE understand what it means. Congratulations on your success. Way to ROCK YOUR SLEEVE !!!!!

Oh man Tiffy, that stinks Lots of prayers and hugs headed your way. Please try to keep us posted when you can. We will be thinking of you.

Newme Dr. Nick didn't want me to take the ibuprofen but if I was going to, wanted me to go back on Protonix bid to protect my stomach. Obviously, your situation is different. I had an acute problem with a short term solution. If the oxicams are what work for your pain, it sounds like Dr Nick was giving you an option that allows you to continue with it's chronic use while still protecting your tiny tummy. Dr. Nick didn't recommend the ibuprofen, I requested it. It works really well for me for my knee pain, especially post-op. I think different types of pain respond differently to different classes (and subclasses) of pain meds in different people. Most docs start with the proprionic NSAIDs and work from there depending on response. In what way did you find the post-op diet lax? Unless it has changed, it is very similar to most I have seen. For me, post-op has been a breeze (well...starting 3 weeks when I started on mushies). Once I was back on solid food, no problems. I have kept in touch with Melanie, one of his dieticians, with several questions and follow up. I know how to diet, have always known how. I was a great dieter for 2-3 months at a time, but eventually I would get hungry and would fall off the wagon and gain it all back plus a few. As far a complications, none really to speak of. I had some weird back pain at 14 days post-op. It was pretty significant and felt like it was getting worse. I called and was asked to come right in. He ordered leak test as a precaution, no leak. We ended up diagnosing the pain as muscle spasms - I think just knowing there wasn't a leak helped it go away - I'm a worrier. At nearly 6 months post-op, I love my sleeve and more importantly, I love my life with the sleeve :smile:

Okay - I'm almost 6 month outs so take that for what it is - I'm trying to eat normally, just smaller portions. When we go out for TexMex, my husband usually order fajitas and I make a half fajita with a little extra meat. I nibble on a chip or two (or three), but I usually splurge for the margarita and enjoy that rather than many chips. At home, I make tacos, chicken tacos, etc quite often. Sometimes I have a tortilla (half anyway) but often times I just make a mini taco salad and crumble a couple chips on top. Totally satisfies my Tex-Mex craving. When we order Thai food, I usually get shrimp/chicken pad thai. I eat mostly the meat and nibble on a few noodles. If you stick with the concept of "Protein first", it's pretty easy. By the time I eat the protein, I'm usually too full and can just have a couple bites of the carbs. My body tends to crave the protein anyway - well that and salads lately for some reason. I hope this helps.

yummy! having this on the work week menu next week.

mmmmmm....Thai. Maybe we will have that tomorrow for dinner. That's one of my favorites too. Now I'm hungry.

OMG - I didn't even see you were from Plano - I'm in Frisco. Not an RN, I'm a pharmacist. I loved Dr Nick and his team. I actually go back in next week for my 6 month post-op appt. I've never really been excited to get on the doctor's scale before, but I am this time. I haven't yet attended the support group, I keep meaning to, but end up on here instead. I literally had to BEG Dr Nick to let me take ibuprofen for just a week. Vicodin makes me itchy (like bugs crawling under my skin itchy) and I have to take benadryl with it - you can imagine, I'm quite intoxicated on that combo. There's only so many days I can do that. I was like, "come on, I'm a pharmacist, how bad can a week of ibuprofen really be?" He said he's seen an ulcer with a sleeve in less time with NSAIDs. That was good enough for me, so, protonix for me twice a day. I think medically, Dr. Nick is pretty conservative, not a risk taker, which is fine with me - it's my tummy and I was self pay. I liked the "better safe than sorry" approach. Hopefully, as you lose weight, you may not need the Mobic. I am taking Celebrex PRN for my knee (not my favorite anti-inflammatory, but better than nothing).

Once I was cleared for "real food" at 6 weeks post-op, I really haven't noticed a problem. I had chipotle pork (it was spicy, whoa!!!) for dinner tonight if that says anything. I love spicy Tex-Mex and it hasn't been a problem. :laugh0:

Yep - Allergan & Realize pay for those commercials. I have started to see more generic WLS commercials from doctors. Commercials that state they offer "different procedures for different people". After being home for a few weeks near the first of the year post-knee surgery, I was surprised at how many commercials were aired for WLS.

One more thing...the three drugs recommended are tackling the risk from several angles: Prilosec - proton pump inhibitor - reduces acid secretions in the stomach (longer acting) Cytotec - inhibits acid secretions in response to stimuli (30mins - 3 hrs) Carafate - simply put, it works by coating the lining of the stomach and therefore protects it from acid. I hope this helps :laugh0:

Vicodin isn't the problem with your sleeve, it's the Mobic. Mobic is a NSAID and NSAIDs can cause ulcers, especially with chronic use. People with the band or bypass have a higher incidence with problems than the sleeve, but our risk of developing an ulcer with NSAIDs is higher than pre-op due to less surface area in the stomach. I had to beg my surgeon to let me take ibuprofen 800mg following knee surgery. In order to take it, I had to go back on Protonix twice daily. I only took it for a week. Sounds like your doctor is being conservative and trying to limit your risk of developing an ulcer from chronic NSAID use post-sleeve. Following his advise is much easier than dealing with the complications from an ulcer in your tiny tummy. Good Luck :laugh0:

Barbara, Iron can be very constipating. I only take iron a couple times a week and drink extra water those days. I take colace (docusate sodium - a stool softner) every day at bedtime.