Altered Medical Procedures Post-Op

[dtiller1147 137]

Hello:

I would like to find a list of medical procedures a-head of time that I should caution medical Doctors with.

For example I know no blind NG tubes, but how about colonoscopy were prep causes you to have to drink a lot of stuff to clean you out before procedure. So that not going to work very well. What about barium swallow is that ok? Different contrast? Please some of you Po-Ops help a newbie out and let me know what other medical procedures may need to be altered in advance.

[RickM 1,753]

There aren't any major things that I can think of after some ten years in this game (three years since my VSG and nine from my wife's DS and all the pre-op games before that....) The colonoscopy shouldn't be a big deal as we can drink pretty normally after a couple months or so (quite a few here are marathoners and other endurance/hydration intensive folks) though some of the DS guys have problems getting properly cleaned out with the standard protocols due to their altered intestines, but nothing that really applies to us with the VSG, People do get their sleeves and lower downs checked by contrasts, so the procedures are there - best thing is to make sure that the doc ordering the tests is aware of your condition so he can make adjustments as needed.

Some docs don't want their sleeve patients to take NSAID pain relievers while others have no problems with them (they are a giant NO-NO with the RNY, and some docs carry that over to the sleeve, but to the docs on the DS side of the trade, NSAID use is a big selling point of the DS and related VSG.)

This last issue with the NSAIDs is probably the most common issue that we will encounter in our post-op lives as they are so commonly used for most any inflammatory issues - the laundry list of orthopedic problems, arthritis, etc. - and to most physicians, WLS=RNY=no NSAIDs due to the recent market dominance of the RNY in the bariatric world. Irrespective which side of the fence your surgeon sits on this point, it pays to be conversant on the topic for your own well-being (we have to be our own advocate in our health care!) since their are divergant and changing opinions on this within the sleeve community - one's surgeon may be advising against their use currently but may well have a different view in five years time. And, while NSAIDs can have their issues even for "normal" people, Tylenol/acetometaphin as the typically recommended alternative, beyond not usually being as effective, can have its own problems when used to excess.

Edited May 17, 2014 by RickM