I noticed a few July folks posting on other threads and thought there might be enough of us to start our own thread (rather than hijacking whatever threads we find with a July surgery in them) - so I invite anyone with a July surgery to post their story here so we can support each other and share our experiences.

I'm C and my surgery is scheduled with Dr. Aceves on 15 July. I'm 29 and married to an Army man - we're currently stationed in Germany. We have two year old boy/girl twins. I'm choosing to self-pay because Tricare does not currently cover VSG and none of the overseas military facilities do the procedure at this time. To complicate matters, our next assignment is (as of right now) in Yerevan, Armenia. Getting this surgery in a remote location like Armenia isn't even a possibility. I'm not willing to wait more than two more years for this surgery.

I started my research in the summer of 2008 when my doctor diagnosed me with Type II (I developed gestational diabetes with my twin pregnancy and it stuck around afterward) and suggested the band. After much research I decided the sleeve best suits my needs.

I'm 5'1" (and some change), 240 pounds and I would be happy with any weight under 160 pounds. I haven't weighed less than that in more than ten years and I have been plus-sized since high school.

Please, hop in and share your own stories so I can share this journey with others instead of doing it alone! If I am successful my mom would like to have the surgery, too, but she's very nervous because she has never had surgery before.

~C

Hi Everyone! Just finished day one of my preop diet - 10 days of liquids, the last 3 days are Clear Liquids. I felt pretty decent all day, then this evening I started getting that restless "I want something to snack on" feeling. I did manage to make it past that, but it wasn't easy! Day 1 down, bring on Day 2!!! lol. I might be eating the paint off the walls before July 15th gets here!!

Hi kathy!! You made me laugh out loud! I too am on my pre-op, although not liquid. I'm scheduled on the 15th with Aceves.

I'm having a hard time with my "food" preop, 30g carbs and about 80g Proteins. Given how hard I'm struggling, I'm giving you a HIGH FIVE for making it through day one! Go girl!!!

You know, I quit smoking last sunday, after 25 years!! Every morning when I wake up, I tell myself "TODAY, I will not smoke". And guess what, ITS WORKING! Half the battle is with the brain!!

Stay strong, and leave me some paint chips!

Wow--good luck tomorrow. I'm up 7/14--about a week from now. I've made peace with the pre-op diet, and can't believe that this is actually going to happen. I've been trying to do this since 2002!

Just so everyone knows there is a form on post-op for everyone getting sleeved in July. I love reading on how everyone is doing! And I can wait to see what joy July will bring! I can't believe Monday my life is going to change forever!!

http://verticalsleevetalk.com/post-operation-vertical-sleeve-gastric-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/7030-july-2010s-new-losers.html#post61478

That's great to know - I will look for it! One week from tomorrow my life will change forever!!

Well, I finally lost that five pounds I packed on somewhere between March and June. Now everything I lose between today and surgery will be a bonus. My flight leaves in five days (I'm landing in San Diego a night early) and I need to start gathering things to pack. I'm trying to jam everything into a carry on sized suitcase, but I'm not sure I can do that with my pillow in the bag!

KathyM: How's the preop diet going? Hang in there!

LaSaJaTa: How are you doing? I know our preop is easier than most and I'm really grateful for that. Are you logging your food? I'm trying to keep low carb/low fat but it's actually kind of tough to do. I'm getting around 30 g carbs per day, but my fat has been between 40-50 g per day. I'm just curious what you're doing. The guide Nina sent only says to try and keep the fat as low as possible and acknowledges that it's not easy when you eat low carb.

Mellifrits: Thanks for the heads up! We'll be there soon. :001_unsure:

~Cheri

Just got back from my doctors office ? and hit with a problem. I was suppose to have a sleep apnea test and it fell through the holes. He insist that I have one prior to my operation which is scheduled for July 14th ? 6 days from now. I was able to get the test setup for tomorrow night ? which works out great ? get there @ 7:30 and out my 6 the next morning ? no loose of work. My doctor said that sometimes it takes awhile to get the results back so my date might be put on hold ?. And after 9 days of my diet. The good news is everything else is fine and I lost 15 pounds in 9 days.

Lets hope that its negative and they tell me/him by Monday....

Lou

My band revision/hiatal hernia repair became a repair, removal, and sleeve on 7/6/10. Surgery was about 3 hours due to the size of the repair, but all in all, I'm doing very well, had to spend two nights at hospital, but got home today. Tolerated the drive home and was able to shower after getting home. I'm on clear liquids for a week, then pureed. Have a drain... ewww wasn't expecting that, but it's tolerable. It will come out in a little over a week.

Lou, I can imagine your frustration. When my DH was banded waiting on the results of the sleep apnea test was the worst. But eventually everything feel into place. On the pre-op side it's hard to imagine that post-op this will all be forgotten and forgiven. LOL I just try to remind myself that maybe there's a good reason things aren't on the day I expected. How many times have you been held up in traffic and then come upon an accident you could have been involved in had you been that little bit sooner?

Well, I finally lost that five pounds I packed on somewhere between March and June. Now everything I lose between today and surgery will be a bonus. My flight leaves in five days (I'm landing in San Diego a night early) and I need to start gathering things to pack. I'm trying to jam everything into a carry on sized suitcase, but I'm not sure I can do that with my pillow in the bag!

KathyM: How's the preop diet going? Hang in there!

LaSaJaTa: How are you doing? I know our preop is easier than most and I'm really grateful for that. Are you logging your food? I'm trying to keep low carb/low fat but it's actually kind of tough to do. I'm getting around 30 g carbs per day, but my fat has been between 40-50 g per day. I'm just curious what you're doing. The guide Nina sent only says to try and keep the fat as low as possible and acknowledges that it's not easy when you eat low carb.

Mellifrits: Thanks for the heads up! We'll be there soon.

~Cheri

Hello CLK, Hope you're well! I've actually been working with a holistic nutrionalist, and she's been keeping my fat to about 30g, carbs to 30g and protien to between 80-100g. I am logging my food on a great site called MyPlate - Food Diary & Food Calorie Counter | LIVESTRONG.COM .

I've lost 8 lbs in 3 days with the pre-op and I'm not hungry. HEAD HUNGER is a very real thing, but my stomach is not growling. She also has me taking some additives (natural) which may be helping...like dandylion tea and milk thistle, which I understand will prep my liver for an easier recovery so it can work through all the fat! Also, a digestive additive which is preping my stomach for the surgery, so it will heal faster (we hope).

Hope you're doing okay otherwise....

I'm FREAKING EXCITED and CANNOT STAND waiting these last few days!!!!

KathyM, how's it going girl? Have you any paint chips left on your walls? :thumbup1: I'm hoping things are better for you today.....

Hang in there everyone!!! :thumbup::thumbup:

LaSa,

I was sleeved on 7/6/10. There was a list of herbs and Vitamins in the pre-op area that said it was important for the anesthesiologist to be aware of. I don't remember specifically what they were because I didn't take any of them except a daily multi-vitimin which was okay (within limits?). Just thought you might want to mention them so they can adjust accordingly, if necessary.

I'm scheduled for surgery July 31 with Dr. Alvarez in Piedras Negras. Anyone else for July 31???

LaSa,

I was sleeved on 7/6/10. There was a list of herbs and Vitamins in the pre-op area that said it was important for the anesthesiologist to be aware of. I don't remember specifically what they were because I didn't take any of them except a daily multi-vitimin which was okay (within limits?). Just thought you might want to mention them so they can adjust accordingly, if necessary.

Greetings Ellisa, thanks for the heads up! I've actually been told not to take the following (by my surgeon):

Asprin, Garlic, Ginkgo Biloba, Ginseng, epheda (yikes), and Vitamin E.

I've been through everything with my nutritionalist, and I'm all good!

As you know, it's very important to consider all aspects of preperation for surgery, including those little innoculus (sp?)things you may not even have considered.....

Thanks again, and hope you're recovering nicely!

Cheri -

Preop is getting a little easier - i haven't told alot of people at work that im doing it and when they are eating in front of me the smells of their food drive me craazy!! I could have tackled one of my coworkers for his salad today lol. It's so hard to believe that exactly one week from right now I will be postop!!! I wish I could go to sleep and wake up to have it be that day! I am sooooooo EXCITED!!! Did I mention that I am excited?

LaSa -

Great job on the 8 lbs!! I thought I had lost a few according to my scale, but of course then when I weighed at work this afternoon, fully dressed with shoes on, I weighed MORE - bah!!!!! I am going to have to just pick one scale and stay off of every other one - makes me too crazy! And btw - paint chips can be quite tasty!

Kathy

Greetings Ellisa, thanks for the heads up! I've actually been told not to take the following (by my surgeon):

Asprin, Garlic, Ginkgo Biloba, Ginseng, epheda (yikes), and Vitamin E.

I've been through everything with my nutritionalist, and I'm all good!:thumbup1:

As you know, it's very important to consider all aspects of preperation for surgery, including those little innoculus (sp?)things you may not even have considered.....

Thanks again, and hope you're recovering nicely!

You have it ALL under control! Looking at your list above, I remember those things being on the list on the wall. LOL.

I'm getting along wonderfully well, can't believe how well. My surgery took longer because I had the "grandmother of all hiatal hernias." Which was a difficult repair... but repaired! The first day I was very groggy (day of surgery) due to being under anesthesia for 3 hours (that's a lot I guess) but once the grogginess wore off I was able to walk around without any issues, bath myself, and anything else needed. I also had a 3 hour drive home and wasn't one bit uncomfortable. I was kept two nights though because of the extensive surgery. I'm still on Clear liquids but I'm not hungry. Smelling food makes me THINK I am, but once I drink something I'm not hungery. Only issue is insominia. I get that from anesthesia and pain meds. That's not fair! LOL

Your recovery will be probably be even better!

OK - I added a picture to my profile but for some reason, it doesn't show up when I post things - anyone know what I need to do? Also, if you make a weightloss ticker, do you paste it in the signature section?

I am a little apprehensive about the preop phase - I have to be on clear liquids for 10 days prior to surgery and it happens that I will be working 5 of those days. I work in a busy ER, and I am scared that I will feel shaky or weak at work. It's weird how much difference there can be from one dr to the next as far as preop goes. I have read everything from clear liquids to full liquids to one lean cuisine type meal a day to no preop diet at all. Weird. I'm not planning to cheat, I want this so bad that there is no way I am going to screw it up, maybe after all these years of stuffing my face, I am just starting to panic a little about losing my food lol

For me, anyway, the worst part was the first 48 hours. I am doing the clear liquids diet for ten days pre-op as well, and I've reached day six. The last four days I've felt really good, but the first 48 hours, I had a raging headache that I thought I couldn't do anything about because I didn't know I could take Tylenol. I've heard other people say the first 48 is the worst too, that it's a combination of no caffeine and the body adjusting to burning fat (I think that's called ketosis, but I just barely woke up and could easily be wroooong) instead of carbohydrates, which is its usual state, and which is the body's primary fuel source (because it's the easiest one available). I took a cellular biology class during winter quarter, and learned all about how the body converts carbohydrates, fat, and Protein into glucose, which becomes ATP (adenosine triphosphate) as the 'cell energy currency,' but describing the process would almost certainly profoundly bore every single person reading this, including me.

In any case, knowing what's going on inside your body doesn't particularly help the fact that too much stress and physical activity at this point might leave (or is leaving) you feeling weak.

My advice--after spending three hours yesterday getting pre-op shopping done, when it was 107F outside--is DRINK. Your body's adjusted to burning fat and you're undoubtedly taking all kinds of dietary supplements, so all you need to do is make sure you get your Protein shakes in, and drink the prescribed types of fluids 'til your pee comes out odorless and either clear yellow, or totally colorless. I didn't drink nearly enough fluids yesterday, and by the time I got home, I was limper than an overcooked noodle until I'd had a nap and rehydrated myself.

I've found that staying well-hydrated keeps the weakness and fatigue pretty well at bay. Of course, your mileage may vary--drastically.

Keep going and persevere. You can do it!!!

July for me too! Either the 16th or the 19th. I should have gotten my date yesterday but I keep waiting....I don't have a job or insurance. I am a private pay and having surgery here in AZ. My Dr. Husted just relocated here from KY and is awaiting his surgical privileges at the hospital near the wt loss center.

One of these days I will take a few minutes and add a tracker to my profile. But not today. Good luck all!

~GG1957

ps...just found out Dr didn't get his privileges. I am tempted to go to Scottsdale Bariatric. Anyone got experience there?

Edited July 9, 201016 yr by GeorgieGirl1957