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Pre-Op Second Thoughts



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I've been back & forth today about vsg surgery. My mother-in-law had knee surgery last week. She developed a blood clot that traveled up to the heart/lungs and she passed away. I've talked to my surgeon's office today and they did tell me what they do to help prevent that while you are in surgery and post-op. I know the best thing I can do is simply move as soon as I can, as often as I can. Nothing in my medical records made the doctor concerned to even mention using a filter to prevent clots. Did anyone develop a clot post-surgery and if so, how was it caught/dealt with?

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Im sorry for your loss, but I know how you feel. My great uncle went into the hospital for a heart attack and ended up dying of staph. Those instances are very rare and unfortunate. It's best to trust in your doctors, and if your religious, trust in god. You'll do just fine!

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I am sorry for your loss also. My surgeon took several precautions to prevent blood clots. I has a heperin shot ( blood thinner) pre surgery and also went into surgery wearing lovely compression hose. After surgery when I was in my hospital bed I had these contraptions on my legs that inflated everything 10 minutes or so to promote circulaton. I also got up and walked as soon as the doctor said it was okay. Complications do happen but I think you will do great.

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back & forth about vsg surgery. mother-in-law-- a blood clot, passed away. . Nothing in my medical records made the doctor concerned

Hi "pre" newbie :)

there are people here that will tell you about their complications, how they regret surgery because they DID have problems - might as well be upfront with that!!!!

99.9% of sleevers will tell you how wonderful the sleeve is - and their only regret is that they didn't have the surgery earlier :)

i'm in the above category - i feel "indebted" to my sleeve :)

alllll surgeries have their "possible" complications, but IMO you/I can't live in fear of what the "unknown" might bring

i was only concerned about the "known" which in my case was that i was 100 lbs overweight!!!! :o

this excess weight was taking a toll on my health and well being, i was miserable :angry:

13.5 months post WLS (at goal) -medical probs are gone, no more diabetes/insulin/med - no HBP meds - CPAP - knees feel great!!!! look hot too :lol:

one healthy happy camper!!! :)

i hope you DON'T 2nd guess your wise decision for the WLS

good luck :)

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I can understand your worries. But any surgery has the "possibilty" of a complication. Just be sure and research what methods your doctor is using to prevent them. Some one mentioned blood thinners and compression hose things like that. Also research his/her complication rate. And try to decrease your worry and be prepared to move as much and as often as you can. Pary to the good Lord and it will work out.

So sorry for your loss.

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Thank you all for your help. Overall, my health is fine. Other than obviously being overweight, my health is pretty good. I guess it's part shock/sadness and of course the manner of death that surprised me. So, it made me question what's going on. I spoke w/ the nurse in my office and she said in the couple of years she has been there, she hasn't heard of any patient w/ that outcome. In fact their rates of complications/deaths is almost nil. I'm not backing out of this surgery. I need this too much and while I know I don't have issues now w/ my health, that won't continue to be the case as I get older and keep the weight on. So, I'm gonna soldier forward and have my sleeve surgery :)

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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