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i'm actually cleared for roughage at 7 weeks, which will be the last thing i'm cleared for. but i would still check with your NUT first!

SO After going to a few different doctors and seeing an endocrinologist and explaining my symptoms a few weeks ago my endocrinologist thought i must have low blood sugar, he gave me a blood sugar tester and asked me to moniter it and if i got the dizzy fainting spells to test it out right away. I was testing my blood sugar normally and found that I was always testing normal... I then had an appointment with my surgeon, explained all the concerns and he just looked at me like i was a hypocondriac i told him the endocrinologist was running lots of blood tests on me that i was awaiting the results of and that my bloodsugar so far was coming up normal all the time, he literally listened to me talk and then told me i was a normal healthy person and that if I REAAALY wanted too i could go get a ct scan to see everything going on if i really felt concerned but that he dosnt think i need too (im a cash pay) anyway i left his office and went home, a few days later i had another episode of nausea passing out ect.i had someone with me this time and he rushed me to the hospitol (i passed out in the car) woke up and debated going in, i walked around a little and started to feel better, i decided not to go in...then i went back to my endocrinologist this time i saw a different doctor (former er doc) and explained to him my symptoms that it happend again and that wen i tested my bloodsugar in the middle of all this it was normal. He consulted the other endo i had seen previously and they both came in to talk with me. They were fairly confident that during my surgery my surgeon damaged my vagus nerve. they seemed very concerned but at the same time there was really nothing they could do for me (they deal with blood disordered and all my blood work came out perfect) they told me that it is a huge concern but something that really dosnt have a fix and its something im going to have to learn to deal with for the rest of my life... i dont know where to go from here... the vagus nerve runs through your entire body...what does this mean? i guess i was so shocked at the diagnosis i didnt even ask all the questions i wanted too... what does this mean for me in the future when i want to have children? they seemed shocked that i saw my surgeon a few weeks ago and i explained my symptoms to him and he didnt say anything (almost like it was so obvious what was wrong with me that any experienced surgeon would KNOW what was going on and advise me of what could have happend) i feel so wronged like my surgeon was keeping this from me because he was scared of how my mother (who was with me at the appointment) would act.... i dont even know how seriouse this could be....this nerve runs through the whole body are there any people out there with maybe some knowledge on this subject that could shed some light?

I did the post-op diet for 3 weeks -- my liver looked GREAT! Do whatever you can do, it's not going to hurt anything as long as you do the pre-op diet.

That's what I did. I went to all my favorite restaurants and don't regret it. I would try to cut down on sugars a little in the last few days so that it will be a little less hard on the withdrawls. Good luck and enjoy your last week.

Wow Mac that's great ... my whole life has been a diet - down 20, up 12, down 15, up 10 ... I would have done the pre-op diet longer but once I decided on Dr. Aceves, it was only weeks before my surgery.

I'm curious as well. I have an appointment with my GH doctor on the 14th for my referral. I've heard that it could take upwards of two years to get the procedure done though. I'm hoping that is NOT the case. So hopefully I'll have some more answers in a couple weeks, but until then.....I worry!!

Our "Team of Experts" here in Portsmouth, NH requires .... Initial group seminar. Fill in paper work. Meet with RN a few weeks later and she tells you to loose 10% of body weight. Diet ...Meet with RN again, go see Shrink one on one and then once a week for 5 weeks with a small group. Meet the nutritionist twice, go to physical therapy twice. THEN .... if you have met all the requirements you finally get to see the surgeon. Go for an upper GI testing, EKG, chest x-ray and tons of blood work (that is where I am). Then it gets insurance approval, meet with surgeon again and get surgery date. I bet in a few years this procedure will be so common that all these hoops you have to jump through will be cut in half ... or they will come up with a magic pill that does what the lap band does now. This is the second time doing this. Last time I was just not committed enough and didn't know what I was getting myself into with all these appointments. How can people with a full time job / family get all this done? It's like another part time job. This takes many months depending how long it takes to loose the weight and when you can fit all these appointments in. I started again in March 2009. Surgery will probably be sometime in July. I'm one of the "quick" ones cause I worked my ass off to loose weight and wasn't made to take the 5 week course again.

it must be very hard that your family is not supporting you...I am lucky in a way because my family is.. well my Husband and my Sister are. I don't think my teen is.. she is not so keen on the idea. but she really has not said anything to me.. but what she and my other daughter don't know is I am doing this for them as well as me. I want to be healthy for so long I have always wanted to be healthy and happy.. I am not happy, I am down right a mean and sad.. and if I keep going like that they my life is only going to be one pile of junk and I dont want that for them.. I am also doing thos for my self.. I truly belive if I am not happy then who can I make other people happy.. or have other people like me.. I think your doing what makes you happy and if you are not happy with your weight or your health .. then you got to do what you got to do and what you want to do.. so good luck. and do what makes you happy.. this is a very scary thing... and waiting is a tough thing I am so happy that my program I am makes you go through all this stuff. I went to an information meeting in Jan. then in feb I had my first meeting with the surgeon then two weeks ago I had my work up stuff. stress test, upper GI. blood work, ecko cardio gram. then on the 16th I go for the phy eval.. (well there goes that I failed) hahah and I have to work with a nutritionist then I see the Doc between all that. then I have to have a sleep study.. then.. I am not sure I think we do get it scheduled.. gosh I think having a baby went faster..LOL you know it is almost like that.. you know its coming after a certin amount of time that passes and you prepair all for it.. LOL well any ways feel free to write me any time good luck You can do it

Hi! My surgery is a week from today! Woo hoo! Still working on getting all my pre-op done, which is stressful. Endoscopy is tomorrow...EKG later today. I'm rushed because there was a cancellation for next week and I took it! :biggrin: I'm wondering if there are any 20-somethings (I'm 26) that would like to stay in touch as email buddies for support, etc? I live in the Thousand Oaks, CA area, so even if you aren't a "20-something", but live in the area, let me know! I haven't been able to find a local support group, so I'd like to hear from some locals on that. Thanks everybody! Wish me LUCK! amy

It is sooooo worth it in the end, so be patient. I had trouble with the pre 3 month weight loss program my insurance required. The PA was not nice, was shaming and critical. One session I told him he had never told me a certain thing and he lambasted me saying the other three ladies in the group that day would tell me differently - I reminded him I had never been with this set of ladies before as they had stuck me with a different group each time I came. He always made me cry. They kept mixing up appts and times. I came for an hour visit at the assigned time to find out they had moved me to a 3-hr group from an individual hour appt. The group wasn't to start for another over 30 minutes later, and they hadn't notified me about the appt changing to three hours either. I had to work following the scheduled hour appt. It was a mess each time I went. I kept telling myself it's only three months, only three months like a mantra and I would never have to see these people again.Whew! thanks for letting me vent, too. Soon it will be all done, with some followup appts, but after surgery it is really about YOU, your program and you using this wonderful tool of VSG well. Don't let the turkeys get you down.

I start my liquid diet on Friday for surgery on the 21st. This is my food funeral. Portuguese pichadinos Flank stuffed with spinach and feta Prosciutto wrapped chicken breast Not sure what to make the other 2 days. Maybe pizza and Chinese.

Yep. So many of us. You're full of IV fluids and swollen. I urge you to stay off the scale for the next two weeks. I lost very little during that time. Get your water, protein, and vitamins in. Walk, rest, and be good to yourself. You will lose weight! Now is for healing.

Post surgery was really rough on me too. It seemed a lot harder than anyone had prepared me for. Everyone else was back at work in days, but I felt like you did for days (and more!) I had that horrible shoulder gas too. Anyone else have that problem? My incisions seemed to cause more pain than any possible internal pain as well. Especially the big one in the middle, where the port is. (The doc said that was normal.) I remember my first small victory... the day I got up and out of bed by myself, without my dad having to pull me up. That was after 4 or 5 days, and I actually felt if I could do that then the rest would be fine. Even with that, however, I wore loose sweatpants and big shirts for the next couple of weeks, even to work. I wore a bra, but it hurt so badly. When I was home I would take off the bra and tuck my shirt under my breasts. That kept them slightly elevated and off of my incisions. I was most comfortable sitting like that slightly reclined on the couch (propped up with pillows.) I don't know if that's a helpful suggestion for you or not. Just hang in there and do your best. You've come so far already, congratulations!

Sounds a lot like the first week I was in the hospital after surgery. My chest was constantly hurting, O2 levels were around 75, pulse dropped to 35 all the time, etc. i had a fever almost constantly the first week around 100. it was a good thing I was already in the hospital so I could ping the nurse to have them check stuff out. The gas was the worse part because I could get any liquids in without excruciating pain when sipping. Everything got better at around 5 days post op, but it was about 3 weeks Neil I started to feel 1/2 way normal again without feeling completely drained. Oh and I did spend the first 3 weeks blowing into the spirometer until I got my lung capacity back. The surgery really did a number on my lung capacity, but fortunately no pneumonia. You should probably just go the the hospital for sanity checks, just in case there really is something going on.

I was really freaked out during the information seminar I attended. They said NO smoking at all for 2 months before surgery. So I did it! My GP wrote me a RX for Chantix. It stops the nicotine in your blood stream from hitting that happy place in your brain that says "gotta have a cigarette because it feels good!) Okay, that's my unscientific version of how it works. You take the pills for 7 days before your quit date, quit, and then keep taking them for around 12 weeks. I just finishing my starter pack of pills and will be using the continuation pack for another 4 weeks. I can truly and honestly say this has been a breeze. I have smoked for 20 years, stopped during my 2 pregnancies and kept starting up again. This time I really and truly feel it's for good. Just one person's story. Good luck to you.

Everyone's body is different, but stay on top of it, I was a week out before I had my first BM, and then it was another week, I could feel the discomfort building. Milk of magnesium is the only laxative my dr allows. It works great for me. Stay up on your water, and I found dulcolax suppositories sometimes can help get things started. I currently take benefiber each morning to and it seems to be helping.

I just had labs done with my PCP about a month or so ago for something unrelated. It was kind if spur of the moment, so I wasn't fasting so blood sugar was a little high and hormones were a little out if whack but otherwise they were good. I wasn't experiencing the frequency of dizziness so I didn't even bring it up to her. Although I think I had "white coat syndrome" in the doctors office causing a higher blood pressure reading, I checked it in a grocery store a couple weeks ago and it was very low....so I'm thinking that could be it. @@bikrchk I will take your advice and try the Gatorade and see how that works! Otherwise it's back to the doctor for me!

I'm nearly 4 months out, so still a newb, but I had the same concerns you did, so I thought I'd chime in on my experience thus far. I started back running at 6 weeks post-op. Around 2-2/12 months I was back to my pre-surgery lifting weight. At first I felt off...little dizzy, weak, just not 100%, or even 75%. However, with each week it got better and I listened to my body vs. pushing through. Around 10 weeks post-op I started to feel much better. I'm running farther and faster than I have in over a decade. I am trying to figure when/what to eat before an intense workout because I now get nauseated and heart burn easier.

I am new to the process. I am 5'3, 200 lbs. (bmi 36). I also have a comorbidity. I went to the seminar so far and meet with the surgeon next week. What should I expect at the visit and has anyone with blue cross of North Carolina run into any problems?

I was really hungry the first couple of weeks post surgery while on liquids. Not sure of your plan but it helped me to not be so hungry to have creamy Soups, thinned yogurt and keeping up on my Protein shakes. I've moved up to purees now and that helps even more. Make sure you're getting in all you're supposed to. You will make it through.

On the scale of 1 - 10 (1 being nothing and 10 being terrible) I would probably rate it a 7-8 in the hospital. I have low pain tolerance and didn't want the pain meds because it made me sick. However, once the found the right pain med to give me I was in heaven. I was able to walk around and was great. After day 2 I was more of a (5) until about the 5th day. Then I had to go back to school - I'm in Cosmetology school where I work on my feet 8 hours a day and was completely fine. I was probably a (2) but hardly felt it at all. Definitely the pain is temporary. We've all been there for sure. It gets better...even if it doesn't feel like it will. I remember asking, "Is this going to be forever?" but before I knew it, I woke up and was itching to get to the gym! You can do it!! There's no doubt that you can it! Do attend the support meetings, and even watching shows on TV like Extreme Makeover - Weight Loss Edition help. Find as much support you can, and don't forget that you're your own biggest fan. It didn't take a few weeks to put the weight on, so don't forget that it will take more than a few weeks to get the weight off. But I can promise you that the day you buy a smaller pair of jeans, you will never want to give up! Definitely hit me up if you ever feel nervous. That goes for anyone. I can be a great listener. I will listen to your complaints, and your excitements! Good luck to you! You'll all do great!

I was banded 4/12. The fear began a week prior to my surgery. I started doubting the potential success of the surgery. I did not tell anyone, but my husband. However, a funny thing happened, I picked up the phone three days before the surgery to let my mom know that I was having surgery. I did this because at the last minute, I began to think that I will not wake up from the surgery. That stayed with me until they took me back to be prepped on the day of my surgery. I had not seen my cycle in months so I started wishing that I would have a positive pregnancy test at the hospital. Surprise, surprise, surprise-My cycle was on when I went to change for the surgery so there was no backing out. The nurse was so nice and talked to me so much that I did not have time to be scared. Luckily, I was the second surgery that morning and the one before me ended early. So I did not have a lot of time to sit and think. Within twenty minutes of getting changed, I had the IV placed, then my doctor walked in with his reassuring smile. As he walked out, the Anesthesiologist walked in. Within minutes my CPAP machine was taken and checked. Before I could turn to relax, the anesthesiologist(sp?) came back and added a cocktail to my line. He then unlocked my bed and began rolling me back. I made a bet with him that I will make it into the surgery room without going to sleep. Just before going through the door they had me to switch beds and the next thing I knew was that I was trying to get up, but I couldn't. I asked the nurse, "how much longer before they begin?" She patted me on the shoulder and said that they were all done and just waiting for me to wake up. I was in the recovery room. So do not worry, just show up and before you know it, it will be over. Saundra

So, my doctor is a great surgeon, but not great on the nutrition part and I'm a little lost. I'm 4 weeks PO and trying to get ready for the months ahead. Looking for a nutritionist with experience in bariatric surgery that I can consult with if anyone has any recommendations. Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

i had many. pizza, subs, seafood, stromboli, Pasta, all sorts of appetizers from EVERY restaurant i loved. it went on for about 2 weeks. some friends of mine actually took a notepad and made a list of all of the things they wanted before surgery, and they crossed each one off as they went along... i truly believe there is nothing that i won't be able to have eventually, even a good filet and corn on the cob- hopefully. i'm only 11 days out but so far having NO problems. good luck to you on your pre op!

Yes about the fourth day it got easier I don't know if you have kids and such but for me, I planned meals that where easy as not to suffer to much making food for them. And I also stocked up for after surgery for easy dinners that my husband or kids could make so I didn't have to look at food for a week or so..