pnw218

wow! that had to be a scary experience! I don't think I have ever hit 64 oz, however maybe my body was used to that before surgery?? Hope you are feeling better!!

yep. exactly. I was fortunate to have met a gal who had sleeve surgery a year ago and was able to talk to her in person. Knowing her first hand experience made me and my husband more comfortable with this decision. I did go to a different doctor than she used. Her's was about $3500 more than I spent.

I dunno! lol But the GasX strips helped alot! I have also had a few EGD's, an ERCP and other lap surgery. They always told me that passing gas or burping was normal.

Good Luck with your surgery! Positive thoughts and prayers coming your way!

that is awesome!! Congrats!! I look forward to that day!!

yikes!! that doesn't sound like fun at all : ( Are you sure your surgeon will require a catheter? Not all of them do .... hopefully you will be sedated before they do that!!

Men. Can't live with them. Can't shoot them legally : ) Mine has been supportive regarding the surgery but he certainly doesn't hesitate to open a big bag of chips and eat them in front of me! Why can't he just eat stuff I don't like or miss????? lol Seriously Goodlife ~ I have similar issues with the back pain and sleep apnea. My kids have always been involved in sports; I have coached volleyball for over 6 years - and this past season, I couldn't do it without help. Fortunately I had an elementary team last fall and my youngest, a high school freshman and one of her teammates were there. I travel as much as possible and the flights have become almost unbearable without an ice pack and meds. We cruise most of the time and our strategy has always been to always take the stairs, not the elevator - so we can eat what we want. In January, my back was so bad that I could hardly walk let alone climb up and down stairs. I got my cpap machine just over 2 weeks ago. There does come a time when we have to take charge of our lives and everyone close to us has to accept it. I would agree that your hubby could be experiencing a variety of fears and loss of control. Hopefully he will see the light when you are succeeding with your new sleeve. I haven't had a c-section but did have a tummy tuck. It was much worse than getting the sleeve surgery! And there are always risks. Driving your car to the grocery store is a risk. Sedation is scary. I have had several surgeries and it is always in the back of my mind that I might not wake up. This surgery was definitely worth the risk for me. Diet and exercise just doesn't work for everyone. I have much more of a mental / food addiction than I knew. Good luck to you!

Sorry to hear about the denial! Even with my insurance, if I had met all of their "crazy" requirements, it would have cost me the same or more for co-pays, deductibles, etc than I spent going to Mexico for the surgery. I know Mexico is kinda crazy; if you had asked me a year ago, I would have told you that I would never do such a thing! LOL However, after reading about so many people who have been there, done that, I decided to do it. It really is a great tool - and so far is incredibly easy. Hopefully it will become more available in the US. Seems it would be more cost efficient for the insurance companies to pay for the surgery than all of the health issues without it! I have had over $46,000 in claims since August 1st, and over half of that, I believe, is directly related to being overweight. I am probably looking at another $10-20k until the issues get resolved thru continued procedures and weight loss, and possibly more. Good Luck! Positive thoughts and prayers being sent your way.

I also traveled alone and it was not an issue at all. I did meet up with a couple of gals from this board which was nice in the clinic and recovery house : ) I packed a very light carry on, was able to walk thru the airport and did fine on the actual flight. I used a different doctor/clinic but was also transported between the airport, the clinic, the recovery house, etc. Even if you want to go shopping, someone will go with you. I was into sleeping tho, not shopping! : ) Get lots of rest while you can the days after your surgery. Hopefully it will go smoothly and you will be a-ok for your flight home.

I exchanged emails with my coordinator today. They felt it at the clinic but there was no damage. No changes to their schedule. It would be very scary to be in a hospital during an earthquake!

I exchanged pm's with him on March 6th. Just sent him one now. Hopefully he will respond. He was doing fine tho according to his message. Did something happen later?

LOL everyone is different. Sometimes it comes out North, sometimes South. VV2010 ~ glad you are doing well :cursing:

Blood clots were my biggest fear! I hardly even sat down before my flight - wanted to walk as much as possible. I did the leg stretches and foot circles during the flight. When I changed my flight to an earlier time, I was able to get a non-stop. I felt very fortunate not to have the layover.

Good luck with your surgery! It is an amazing tool!

[quote name= Last night I forgot to take my evening calcium and had foot cramps all night. I wonder if there's a correlation between the two. That was the only thing I could think of. Would the cramps be from the calcium or lack of potassium?? If I get low in potassium, then I get cramps in my legs or feet. I usually take one tablet a day. I have been way too low before and had to drink two little dixie cups of it. It was horrid. As bad or worse than the purple crap we had to drink for the post op leak test : (

I am sorry to hear you are having problems! It must be very frustrating! I can only comment a little - maybe someone with a medical background can answer more. My back was very sore after my tummy tuck and a little after this surgery. If your stomach muscles aren't "pulling their weight" - then the back has to work harder. Or maybe it is sore because you aren't moving around much and/or staying in the same position for too long? Hopefully the back pain isn't from the incision issues. I am surprised about your BP tho! Mine is always at that level. The only time is changes is if I am in great pain and then it is higher. Again, not a medical professional .... Did your doctor put you on antibiotics for the infection? I hope you are able to find a surgeon to help you!

That would be wonderful in a perfect world but unfortunately there are people who have ulterior motives for dispensing false information. It becomes very difficult to decipher what is true and what isn't, what is someone's opinion and hearsay versus what is fact.

Good Luck! All will be well soon : )

I have often had headaches when going thru sugar withdrawal also when going on the Adkins diet or similar. It passes in a few days. Get as much Protein as you can, that might help. Soon you will feel great!!

anything that gives a good overview of the surgery and a picture of what they actually do. maybe something like this: Gastric Sleeve Surgery a post-op diet guideline like: http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/pdf/dietary_guidelines_sleeve_gastrectomy.pdf I am sure there are lots to choose from online. I would find something simple tho; your dr probably won't have a ton of time to read a book : )

I didn't feel great on day 2, was nervous about the flight and thought about changing the flight times - but by Sunday morning, day 3, I was feeling fine and very excited to get home. I took a pain pill before getting on the plane as a precaution but didn't take any after that. I did splurge on a first class seat coming home and was very happy that I did! Was nice to have the extra room.

My primary was a new doctor to me as we changed insurance last fall. I was very afraid to tell her - and then by the time I decided to tell her, she was out of town until after I got back. I wrote her a letter and then had a followup with her when I got back. I was very surprised to hear the office staff telling me about other patients who have gone out of the country for a variety of surgeries. She has been very supportive and even printed my weight chart as a souvenier showing how much weight I had lost! :001_smile: She was not familiar with VSG so I was glad I had given her printouts, etc. She was totally thinking bypass, malnutrition, etc.

Good luck with your planning Amy! My only regret is that I didn't know about it sooner! It is a wonderful tool : )

LMAO Thin! And let me guess, you look better than her now??? : )

Capital One also does medical financing via an unsecured credit card, or they used to! Who knows with the current state of affairs with lending. Their interest rate is based on your credit rating. If you can afford to make larger payments, the interest you are paying is less. I agree with Dalisgirl tho that your own bank or credit union might be much better. Many businesses are starting to pass the 3-4% fee the credit card companies charge them to process the transaction on to the customers. That is why American Express is/was accepted by so few businesses. AE doesn't charge interest to their customers who pay the account off monthly, so they had to make money somewhere. They did it by charging 5-7% of each transaction as well as a monthly fee to the business.