My consultation is FINALLY here! Tomorrow my husband and I will be driving the 4.5 hours to see my surgeon and to get a surgery date! Woo hoo!!!

For the past month, I have been jotting down questions to ask him. Here they are:

-What bougie size, and does he oversew

-What is the post-op diet

-Does he use a catheter

-Does he use a drain

-What Vitamins and acid reducers do I need to use post op

-How soon can I take my regular medications (anti-depressants) after surgery

-Do I need to change my anti-depressant (Effexor XR) because it is extended release

-What gallbladder risks are there and do I need to take a gallstone preventive pill (Actigall)

-Does he perform a leak test

Did I miss any important questions? Any advice would be awesome Thanks, guys!

Keep me updated on how the appointment goes! Good luck

It went GREAT! I really liked Dr. Borlands personality- very down to earth & whitty! He def. made me feel at ease after talking to him! He said as long as I dont eat fried chicken right after surgery, I dont need to worry about leaks LOL!

SO, Monday morning @ 10am I am getting my sleeve! We will check into the Candlewood Suites on Sunday night! A little nervous, but nothing over the top :-)

One question- I will be driving there from New Orleans (less a trip than you had) How did the whole Magnesium Citrate thing go? Did you drink it before you left, or once you were there?

So glad it went well!!! I knew you would love him.

Uhh, let me just tell you... the magnesium citrate is putrid and vile. It will be very hard to drink this stuff without vomiting. Just being honest with you, lol. It says on the bottle "Pleasing Lemon Taste"- the lemon is correct, but not the pleasing part, ha. It's almost kinda oily. This is how I made myself drink it: put a straw in the bottle and next to it, put a straw in a bottle of good tasting drink (I used some purple Powerade, I think). Take sip of mag. cit., then very quickly sip the good tasting stuff to clear the bad taste out. I know it sounds crazy, but after one bottle of this stuff, it gets harder to drink. Dr. Borland has you drink one bottle at 4 pm and one bottle at 6 pm. We left at about 4 am to get there at 9 am. By that time, most of the lovely diarrhea had passed (no pun intended!). I think I only had to stop twice.

dying2bhealthy, Congrats on getting your loan approval and your consultation. I hope that your fears have been allayed and that you're ready for the next step in your journey. Good luck!!

I know I've posted all over the place about how happy I am that I made this choice, but let me tell you again. This is SO worth it. I'd do it all again! I am looking forward to seeing you on the loser's bench with me!

Good luck, dying2Bhealthy! Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life!

Hi there! I made it through surgery quick question while I'm awake lol....

Did you have pains in the left side of your chest? The only thing that is hurting is this pressure feeling in the chest... Nothing else!

I did not, but from what I've read it is common for the gas to cause left side/shoulder pain. My main problem was my stomach spasming every several seconds. Just short intense pain in the center of my chest.

You will feel better tomorrow! Especially after getting home...

weight loss since Monday, Nov. 14th----

Yay! Doesn't it feel awesome!!!

it feels amazing!

however, I am starting to have food depression. im having dreams of eating ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! I wake up and am scared to death, thinking I really just ate that LOL! Today was my birthday, so no cake, no bday dinner, nothing :-(

On a good note- down 15 pounds since monday is GREAT :-) & def. making all of this CLEAR liquid crap worth it

I think I was so desperate I didn't think very much about complications, lol. I just prayed for the best. I never asked Dr. Borland what his leak rate was, but I can tell you from my experience that I never once had any complications/ problems. I felt completely safe because even though VSG hasn't been around too many years in the US, Dr. Borland has been performing Gastric Bypass surgeries since 1982. That was the year I was born! That's 29 years of experience in bariatric surgery. I think you are in safe hands with him. I also have no regrets about the surgery. I would do it again in a heartbeat. And take today, for example. My mom and I went shopping and ate lunch while we were out. We went to Zaxby's (a chicken tender joint) and I ordered the smallest plate they had- only 5 chicken strips. I ate 2 of them and was STUFFED. Before surgery, I could easily eat 10, plus 2 sides. I love my sleeve I hope this helps with your decision. I know I am so thankful for my opportunity!

You were sleeved by Dr.Borland!?!? I'm getting sleeved by him in July and am like you desperate and haven't htought about comlications but was reading a forum tonight...omg....scary....your experience was good!?!

Looking for support....